43 - Conversation with Royalty!

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PART 1 – Conversation with Royalty!

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Skarla followed the servant, leaving the luxurious throne room. Arriving at a properly guarded palace corridor. She could feel the strength and presence of these men and women, the elites.

Based on the amount of mana and the vital force she can measure, Skarla believes that all of these guards are above Level 10. In other words, individuals of the supernatural level—dozens of them.

The Empire is certainly powerful and rich, being able to create so many specialists, and due to their age, they can be used for another 40~60 years without problems, where there is a high chance of a Master Knight emerging among them.

But that's it. Even though the number is impressive, she feels no danger from them. Their strength is interesting, and if it were Murim, they would certainly cause some shock in wars involving armies and the empire since Martial Artists did not get involved with Kings and Emperors.

In other words, everyone you see now has the strength and potential to become Generals and Commanders in Murim.

While she was amazed by this world, she was equally disappointed by the wasted potential.

…

The servant guided him to a room with a luxurious door open, where two huge guards stood guard.

"Your Majesty, I bring Marquise Skarla Verona." - Said the servant, and a relaxed, masculine voice echoed. - "Send her in."

Skarla advances, and the guards stop her, certainly with the aim of searching her. - "I don't use weapons if that's what they're looking for." - Skarla said calmly.

"Let her in; there's no need to search her." - Said none other than Empress Kaleria. - "If she wanted to do us any harm, even Sir Arthur would be unable to protect us." - She said with coldness in her tone and gaze, the guards opening the way but still on high alert.

"Your Majesty." - Skarla bowed slightly, and Kaleria snorted and turned, going to where Lucius, the Emperor, is.

Lucius was sitting in an armchair with his legs crossed. Kaleria approached, sat on the arm of the armchair, and leaned against her husband's shoulder, her cold gaze evaluating Skarla, who respectfully lowered her head when greeting.

"Skarla, relax. We are not in front of the other nobles, and I understand that all this education is nothing more than politeness and respect. I am grateful for this attitude, but you can leave it aside now." - Lucius said, smiling slightly.

"You are not the first legend we have dealt with; we know that we cannot control you, and we prefer to avoid involving you in complex political matters. We've heard a lot from Letiphia about you." -Kaleria said calmly as she ignored her husband, placing a hand on her exposed thigh.

"I didn't expect such a direct attitude, but I'll accept it." -Skarla said, smiling; she really doesn't like it, but she had to act all polite and noble, even wear a dress, for appearances' sake and out of respect.

Nobles prioritize respect above all else, always looking for opportunities to diminish their potential rivals and enemies with anything subtle. If she was rude or did not wear the appropriate clothing, she would certainly cause many people to protest during the reward.

Even though Skarla is a legend, they are noble, and to keep up appearances, they must take risks.

"Relax. Now sit down and have some tea; the conversation will be long." - Lucius said, smiling warmly.

…

Soon Skarla was more relaxed and sitting on the couch, facing the most powerful couple in the Empire, but she didn't feel pressure or nervousness; strength gives her that right.

"So let's be direct; you have doubts and I have goals; you can start." - Said Skarla and the couple looked at each other.

"Okay. Where does it come from? No matter how hard we search, we find nothing about you or your strength." - Kaleria asked, getting straight to the point: It's better to hear it from Skarla herself.

"I think I must be over 100 years old at this point... In a simple way, I'm from another continent; I won't say which one, but I was an adventurer on that continent and grew up to level 20. I became a legend there, and during one of my adventures, I stumbled upon a temple of some Ancient God, Many things happened, and then I was rejuvenated to a very young age, a baby! I was teleported too and ended up in the Krugar Mountains. I was raised by the people there, and then I escaped from there, simple as that. I won't go into details, but that's the basis." - Said Skarla, obviously a lie, but in recent months, in addition to being tormented by Sueika in her dreams, she also had access to a lot of secret information.

Among them are curses that are literally permanent and single-use, transforming you into a baby or even another creature, but while you can reverse the transformation into creatures or animals, in case you become a baby, there is nothing to be done unless an Archmage of Time accelerates your aging, which is not easy to find.

"I see, a Children's Curse, that explains a lot." - Kaleria said, letting out a light laugh. - "Even though it was inconvenient, this must have been a huge advantage, going through the growth spurt period where the EXP per training is several times higher. It is also said that with this curse, the initial attributes are changed, and you recover all the points distributed during your life."

"Something like that." -Skarla said, insisting that she does not want to prolong the matter.

"But that doesn't justify its unmistakable appearance. There's no way someone with your characteristics could be impossible to find." - Kaleria said she was not caring about your opinion about changing the subject.

Skarla sighed and said. - "Yes, but the techniques and skills I possess are special in many ways; they have affected me much more than I imagined they would; I have far surpassed my past height in many ways; and I have gone through strange and unique transformations that have made my body even stronger. I can't explain it because it's something I don't know, but look at it like this: a legendary warrior went back to being a developing baby with all trained attributes, a large amount of HP and EP, and access to the [Aura] skill since an infant stage. Do you think what happens to the muscles, bones, and organs of this body?"

Kaleria's eyes sparkled; she touched her thin chin as she looked up at the ceiling. - "I can't even imagine how monstrously powerful you are." - She laughed, getting a rough idea of how special Skarla is.

Lucius, silent until then, inquired. - "What are your plans? Return to your continent. I believe that being over 100 years old, you have formed a very powerful family; they must have been looking for you in recent years."

"I didn't leave a family behind; they're all dead." -Skarla said, closing her eyes. She tends to ignore these thoughts from the past: her second life, her children, and her wife, who she wasn't that close to.

It is unlikely that the Martial Artists did not kill them for their "justice", not to mention that most of their children were already adults and very talented. Given enough time, they would be a huge problem for the Sects and Clans.

So the chances of surviving are nil, so their lineage ended up there, all dead for their sins. She never thought much about it, but now she has real feelings for her children and a greater attachment to life as a whole; subsequently, she is regretting the past.

"I ask for forgiveness for bringing up painful memories." - Lucius said it was possible to see the pain on Skarla's face.

"It's the past, and I have to live with the guilt; there's nothing that can be said or done." - Said Skarla waving her hand.

"But what about your plans?" - Kaleria said coldly. Lucius rolled his eyes, but he knew that his wife was like that—cold and direct.

"If you are afraid that I want the empire or something like that, I have no interest; I don't see myself in a position as Empress; I believe it is very annoying; I have a lot of potential; and in a few centuries, I believe I can reach the rank of Demigod."

Both of them narrowed their eyes because even the most powerful and talented legends in the world don't have the confidence to become demigods, but Skarla said it with so much confidence and naturally.

"I understand, but what will you do now? The title of marquise is just a formality; we gave it to her due to our conversations with Letiphia and her suggestions. Given your relationship and the information we have about who will be the next master of the Duchy of Veremor, I believe Letiphia will join you. What are your plans for taking on one of the most powerful and influential figures in the empire?" - Kaleria narrowed her eyes.

"I have a family, and I want to raise and protect it. I have people I love, and I will protect them. I need to settle down, and I will do so. My affair with Letiphia just happened; we became close, and we are together. I have no hidden reasons for this; otherwise, as a legend, I would not be after a widowed woman with several children and with several pacts with evil entities." - Skarla said, and Kaleria fell silent.

"I ask for forgiveness for my wife's rudeness; even though she is a wonderful woman, she has little empathy." - Lucius said, smiling gently.

"I noticed that, and there's no need to apologize. Your doubts are valid. But in terms of my plans and goals, I want the Krugar Mountains." - Skarla said, smiling, and both of their expressions changed.

"For what specific purpose?" - Lucius asked.

"I am someone who particularly despises politics and nobility—not the people themselves, but the rules surrounding them and the excessive arrogance that many incompetent trash earn. I like to say it's a lot of ego for so many pigs." - Said Skarla and they were both surprised.

"So I don't want to subordinate myself to the empire; I am helping it and getting paid for my efforts, but I want to conquer the Krugar Mountains and settle my family there. I will control the tribes that live there and can even serve as a shield against the northern people for the empire." - Skarla said calmly.

"So you plan to use the forces of the empire to conquer the Krugar Mountains, then rule them and create your nation?" - Kaleria frowned.

"I wouldn't say I'm a nation; I have plans to create a free and neutral land in some way. The Krugar Mountains are a natural fortress. Surrounded by mountains, internally they have many fertile lands and valuable resources, allowing them to isolate themselves from the world, and with the right technology, they can support 500,000 to 600,000 people without problems."

"If they were successful in conquering the Krugar Mountains, the problem that would arise next would be who would govern it. You couldn't hand over the entire mountain to the Veremor Family, as they were undoubtedly responsible for the conquest. However, it wouldn't be feasible to give them all these lands. This would necessitate the creation of a 4th Duchess Family or even a Main Vassal, to provide a strong front against the barbarians in the mountains and northern lands. But it is a fact that whoever owns the Krugar Mountains and is successful in stabilizing themselves in them, in 50~100 years, their family would have the power to not be easily controlled by the empire."

Skarla's words hit an important point. Even though conquering the mountains had been the Empire's dream for centuries, it was also a huge concern for the Imperial Family about who to give so much land to.

It would not be possible to give it to several nobles of baron, viscount, and count level due to the barbarians from the north. It would take a powerful family with military rights to be able to start wars and train as many troops as they want.

Giving everything to the Veremor family, or the one who conquers the mountains, is not possible, as it would be giving too much power to a single family. Within decades, this family could become greedy and attract all types of vultures and disloyal people, opening up opportunities for rebellion or independence.

"We understand your point, but why should we agree with it?" - Kaleria asked coldly.

"As I said, I have no plans to create a nation, but I will rule over the mountains. The Empire controlling it will automatically make the people of the north come running to expel them and thus give the mountain tribes time to rise again. I, on the other hand, was theoretically born and raised in the mountains and am one of your people; even if I fled, my blood is still there in your eyes, so I would be easily accepted, even more so after I defeat the Orc King."

"For me, having control over the Krugar Mountains would be extremely easy; dealing with the people of the north would not be complicated since, as the empire is not ruling, they would have their guard down."

"But my plan is to develop the mountains, create a large metropolis, and collect its resources. As there is a lot of land, it would be foolish not to use it correctly. But I have plans there to raise my family, and as I will live for centuries, I will rule for a long time."

Both were frowning; Skarla was not direct about her plans; certainly, both of them have many doubts and fears. - "Skarla, we have to think before making any delicate decision." - Lucius said calmly.

"Sorry, but the decision has already been made, and I will rule over the mountains." - Said Skarla and the two began to become hostile. - "I will not use the forces of the empire for this; alone, I am more than enough. I will be investigating the orcs in the mountains in the near future, and I have suspicions about their having a correlation with the Sin of Wrath. I will take the opportunity to take control over the mountains and govern, then stop the useless wars and then settle down."

"Whether you accept it or not, that's what I'll do. If they treat me as an enemy, I will do the same, and I have no problem blocking the entrances that lead to the mountains. This way, I will have time to develop inside, and even without them, I am still a Legend." - Said Skarla and nothing more needed to be said.

Even if the Empire has its countermeasures, a Legend remains a Legend.

"But if you help me and don't impede my development, we can be allies, and with the resources of the mountains, we will have strong trade, and we can also open doors to negotiate with the people of the north and stop their invasions as much as possible."

"And even though the Empire is thirsty for conquest, you border three nations, and there are two other nations—the one in the desert—that you have no conflict with yet, but they are extremely powerful, and the abnormal terrain would make it difficult for the empire to conquer these lands. In the case of the last nation, which is located on a large island, you would need excellent maritime technology to get there and conquer it, something that you do not have due to the focus being on developing magic and waging war against the three nations." - Said Skarla and they both frowned.

"In other words, the Empire has a lot to think about, whether or not having the Krugar mountains under its control would only be an additional expense for the people of the north, not to mention that the Orcs are developing very quickly. Without my help, the chances of you conquering the mountains are practically zero in this generation, even more so with the demonic presence growing and in the future being able to take over the entire empire and then the continent."

"So leave the Krugar Mountains; it will be mine, and I have no plans to have the empire as an enemy, because the woman I love is still loyal and loves this nation, and the family she loves and created so much will still be part of this nation and will prosper. I certainly don't want to disappoint her by coming into conflict with the empire, and like I said, I have no plans to take the throne or conquer the continent."

"I am strong and I will get stronger over time; I have diverse knowledge that I want to put into practice; I have many goals that go beyond what your minds can imagine; I am already on another level, where I have connections with a pretty annoying demigod, but we have a contract."

This information left them on high alert.

"So whether you like it or not, I will take the Krugar Mountains; now whether I will be friend or enemy will be up to you and your descendants, and I guarantee you that unless you send a demigod to kill me, I will not die to any legend!" - Said Skarla arrogantly.

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PART 2 – Fatigue!

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The conversation was objective and quite intuitive, but not pleasant. Skarla left and returned to the party, strengthening her connections with some nobles she thought were relevant and speaking to Letiphia about her conversation with the Emperor. She did not give her opinion on the matter and said that she would only follow her decision.

The hours passed, and the Emperor and Empress appeared during the party. They chatted with nobles, guests from other nations, and more, but their main focus was on interacting publicly with Skarla, both parties smiling and appearing to be on good terms.

Conversations about the future came, which gave the opportunity for many nobles to come in and ask delicate questions that were difficult to escape. Skarla didn't mind any of that; what she could answer, she answered, but what she couldn't, she simply refrained from answering. No one could force her to give her answer.

When matters about marriage came up, which attracted everyone's attention, it was something the Emperor wanted to talk about with Skarla, but due to the direction of the conversation, he couldn't bring up the subject.

"I am a woman who has everything I want, and I am surrounded by people I love. I'm not actively looking for mates; if it comes my way, so be it; otherwise, I'm someone who's content with what I have."

Her words were simple, but also a slap in the face to everyone present, saying that they had nothing to offer her. Many were really surprised by Skarla's tact for politics, her constant refusal, and her triumphant escapes; this only increased everyone's interest in her.

The princes mainly surrounded her, where the Emperor noticed what they were doing and supported them. He even went ahead to talk about how incredible his children were, maintaining neutrality related to the inheritance of the throne. This is still a long way from happening, but as Emperor and Father, he wants the best for his nation and children. If one of them gets Skarla, it will be hitting two birds with one stone.

...

In the end, the party ended, and Skarla and Letiphia left during the night. They needed to prepare for a lunch that would be held the next day at the palace, then dinner and a ball.

Nobles like to party and show off their riches.

When she arrived at Letiphia's mansion, Skarla was exhausted, to the point of not even teasing her women or responding to the obvious provocations of her companions and disciples.

She can have unlimited vigor, have infinite vitality, and stay awake for as long as she wants, but interacting with people is always tiring, even more so with so many people trying to read her and get above her politically.

The act of thinking is tiring, and being bombarded by dozens of intelligent and sagacious nobles is even more exhausting.

When she arrived at the room, she went to a table in front of a mirror, where she began taking off her earrings and jewelry necklace. Letiphia followed her, also taking off her jewelry.

"I will not participate in lunch, dinner, or the dance tomorrow." - Said Skarla, taking a bottle from the side and filling a glass, where she even threw her damn high heels away.

"I'm still surprised you managed to use them. Weren't you a man? Is it common to use something like that? Where did it come from?" - Letiphia smiled and deftly picked up her high heels.

"Do not start. I used my Internal Energy to balance myself; I was literally floating the whole time." -Skarla rolled her eyes as she fell onto the sofa and brought the glass to her lips.

Letiphia poured herself a glass, walked over, and found a place on Skarla's lap, resting her head on his biceps, drinking the alcohol, and relaxing.

They remained silent for a while, feeling each other's warmth, until Skarla's hand came down, pulling her to be more comfortable on her lap, to be better for both of them.

Skarla lowered her head, smelling her silky hair and kissing the top of her head. Letiphia smiled slightly as she snuggled in, resting her face on one of Skarla's breasts.

There were no words; they just enjoyed each other's presence, their tired minds reflecting in their bodies. They soon kissed and went to bed after undressing.

There was no penetration or provocation; they simply hugged each other, a blanket over their bodies, and fell asleep like rocks. Letiphia was very satisfied and safe in the warm and tight embrace.

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PART 3 – Activities!

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The next day, Skarla, in order not to have to participate in these annoying noble meetings, went to meet Arthur Cervero, where, through contacts, she discovered that he was in the prison of the royal palace.

Arthur was surprised by Skarla's visit, but he welcomed her.

"Marquise Verona, to what do I owe the honor?" - Arthur bowed.

"Arthur, I can feel your strength and the honor in your soul. This is something I respect and admire, so I give you permission to call me by my name without honorifics; I prefer it that way." - Skarla said, and Arthur was surprised.

"So, I have no problem calling me by my name either. Have you come to see the prisoners in person?" - Arthur asked, smiling, and Skarla nodded.

"I'm going to use you and this situation as an excuse to not go to lunch. I hate annoying things; I prefer action." - Skarla said, and Arthur nodded, seeing no problems with that.

In fact, he also has this preference, and Skarla ended up giving him the ideal excuse to skip these meetings.

…

"I'm curious; how did you find out about them? Only after we started torturing did we discover the truth, but before that, we certainly thought there was some mistake." - Arthur asked.

"Do you know why I spoke about your strength and the honor of your soul?" - Skarla asked, and Arthur naturally nodded his refusal; he thought it was just an excuse for them to speak without their titles.

"My techniques and skills are special; I can feel your vitality and your energy reserves, but I can also see parts of the soul. I can differentiate between a murderer, a psychopath, a thief, a soldier, and much more, just through observation and intuition. Naturally, this is due to experience, but today I am very experienced, and I rarely fail." - Skarla said, smiling, and that left Arthur amazed.

"From Legendary Level onwards, skills become less important, as you will begin to change them more and more, your understanding of energy and your strength. At this level, this is what will make you stronger. For us warriors, this starts with the presence of the aura; from the legendary level onwards, what involves the aura becomes more important than you can imagine, so train it a lot above all else."

"Thanks for the tip." - Arthur smiled.

"Good. With this experience and mastery, I can distinguish people to some extent, but I don't use it entirely to judge someone. But this allows me, to a certain extent, to see someone's true face, and as I have experience in coming into contact with demonic energy, I can detect it easily. Only a master would have the chance to really cloud my senses, which is not the case. most of them."

Arthur found this quite intuitive, and soon they arrived at the cells, screams echoing, voices begging, and some mad laughter.

Arthur took the opportunity to evaluate Skarla's expressions, wanting to know how she reacts to such an environment, but what he saw surprised him; she smiled. Faced with an environment full of suffering and madness, she smiled and even looked nostalgic.

…

It didn't take long for Arthur to get scared. He has been tortured and seen a lot of torture, but Skarla appeared to be the real devil here.

Her control over energy is so masterful that, in addition to combat, she can use it for various things, including telekinesis, telepathy, manifesting elements, and torture!

Without causing real harm to someone's life, it can make them feel excruciating pain that makes their soul shudder. Even the craziest prisoners, even those getting erections during torture, began to go crazy and beg for forgiveness.

In less than an hour, Skarla was able to get most of them to talk, troops were dispatched, and many of the cultists' bases were discovered and annihilated.

At lunch, Skarla ran away, taking Arthur with her, and decided to teach him some things. In addition to him, Skarla also brought Viper and Cecil. They both had great mobility and could learn a few things from it.

She taught Arthur some tricks to differentiate energy, spread his aura, and also reduce it.

For the people of this world, especially warriors, there are only two things: Mana and Aura.

It's one or the other. Mana is what they use to activate their skills; Aura is the evolution of Mana that they use for things that Mana cannot do without skills.

In other words, the aura is what gives people in this world permission to subtly disconnect from the system. There is no middle ground for these people; it's one or the other.

And what she did was simple: teach him a way to dilute his aura without turning it into mana, developing effects that would previously have been useless or unsustainable.

With the diluted energy, it was possible to assimilate it into his senses and create waves of energy like radar. For Skarla, this is extremely simple, but for Arthur, it is a complex and detailed job, but he is strong and talented, being close to the legendary level.

Viper already knew how to use this, and Cecil is still learning. It is more difficult for her as she is not yet at Level 11, but she is certainly making good progress.

Arthur was able to perform the technique with difficulty, but when Skarla touched his head and injected some energy into his body and veins, the entire process was a thousand times easier.

And with this technique, Skarla taught them to feel people's vital force more precisely, to use their energy to resonate with people without them noticing; at most, they will feel some discomfort or that they are being observed. Strong people will be able to notice and react.

Energy is not something material, so it will pass through everything and everyone, so what you can feel when performing such a technique is nothing more than people's mana and their vitality mirrored in your mana.

With this, Arthur learned many things; a new world was opened to him, and he was extremely grateful.

Viper, like the gold student that he was, pointed to a few people, saying that their energy seemed different and that everyone he pointed out were cultists with demonic energy in their bodies.

After classes, it was time for action. Through the fighting that followed, Cecil reached Level 10, being extremely happy with his progress and being so close to overcoming worldly limits and reaching a new level.

…

"Thank you very much for your teachings; you opened my eyes. I don't even know how to thank you and make it up to you." - Arthur was still in disbelief at how things were progressing. In a few hours, he felt that he had become stronger, the fluidity of his aura was more significant, and the power had also increased. For him, it was as if his body were a large, complex pipe with an inlet, an outlet, and the same amount of water.

The water ends up sliding down the entire pipe, and as a result, it takes a while to reach the outlet. The force varies a lot, but it is certainly weak.

But now, many of these paths are ignored or blocked due to a lack of need. As a result, more water flowed through fewer pipes, and at the exit, the water was even stronger.

This was his scenario; the water reached its destination much faster, without waste, and much stronger.

"If I wanted some payment, I would have said so before; I only taught because I wanted to. Do not think too much." - Said Skarla, but, in fact, this was a test.

Where would she be able to easily find such a talented Aura user? She tested whether her hypothesis really worked with Arthur.

Viper can use his teachings since he is using a mantra. Cecil also started using Mantra, and as a result, she learned these techniques faster than the other girls.

But Arthur doesn't know about mantras or breathing techniques; the flow of his Mana and Aura follows something very natural and raw, nothing refined. She just wanted to see if it was possible for the people of this world to do it without her technical interference.

The result was better than she thought; it was possible to manifest her martial arts without the mantra. In other words, it would be possible to awaken the aura before Level 15.

For Martial Artists, the equivalent of aura would be when a martial artist stops being just another and reaches the expert level, also known as Zenith Level, below Martial Masters.

Before this level, the Martial Artist has very rudimentary control over their Internal Energy, but they can use it in a subtle but quite uncontrolled way to cover their body, weapons, armor, etc.

When you reach the Zenith Level, this process becomes much easier, less energy is wasted, and you evolve qualitatively. From this point forward, the world of martial arts truly opens up.

So for Martial Artists, Internal Energy is already [Mana], [Mid-Term] and [Aura]. So all she will need to do to train the people of this world is teach the [Mid-Term] and disguise her main strengths, who will learn the Mantra, as being excessively talented and, of course, having the best teachings.

…

"Still, I will find a way to pay for it. But I believe this is some secret technique, or-" - Arthur stopped speaking, probing.

"It's no big deal; if you want to teach others, do so, but I find it difficult to achieve results below Level 11. Cecil here is an exception because of me; just as I helped you speed up the process, she has had access to this for more time." - Said Skarla, making it obvious to Arthur that he can teach, but it's unlikely he'll get the same results.

Arthur understood this and wondered what kind of things she teaches those who follow her to treat something like this, which left him a Master Knight at least 1/3 stronger, as something simple and capricious.

'Legends really are on another level. Does she have any sons or daughters?' - The thought of perhaps creating an arranged marriage arose; her children would have a lot to learn from Skarla.

But he decided to bring up the subject in the future; he needs to gather more information.

...

The day passed, and the nobles were receiving reports about cultists being discovered and massacred; even some nobles were captured along with their families for the same suspicion that was soon proven.

In other words, during the party, Skarla discovered cultists among the nobles and merchants. Of course, this information was not made public; this concerned the reputation of the empire. Only the highest-ranking nobles found out about this fact and were on alert.

And all of this was due to Skarla, who was only increasing his contributions, making it difficult for anyone to shake his growing influence in the empire.

…

In the days that followed, troops marched through dozens of cities and towns across the empire, with heavier investigations emerging to uncover the cultists. Resources were sent to the Duchy of Veremor for the construction of the new fortress.

Skarla went to her mansion; it was one of the largest in the city and no inferior to the dukes' mansion in the capital. There were several facilities, a massive number of servants, and spying devices everywhere.

Skarla laughed when she thought about how idiotic they had to be to do something like that, but she thought it was fun. She told her companions to search, and those who find and destroy the most spying devices around the mansion will earn points and be able to make requests.

And with that, a competition arose, with the servants unable to understand why everyone was running around.

Viper would certainly be number 1, but she didn't want much, so she only made minimal efforts. So everyone was fighting for 2nd place to collect as many points as possible.

After 4 hours, they returned, and Skarla distributed the points, with Calah coming in last place, followed by Pelia, who is Level 1.

The one who came first was Viper; no surprises, but she refrained from her rewards; her points were distributed equally among the others. Secondly, look at Sasha. She worked hard, staying ahead of Cecil. Then comes Belinda, followed by Holga.

"In total, 71 points, not bad." - Skarla said, snapping her fingers, and a massive wave of energy spread, covering the entire mansion and destroying 150 other devices.

Not that they are in obvious locations; just that the mansion is really huge, and many are in camouflage. So the 71 devices found were really impressive, considering Viper only collected 25 and didn't try hard.

Anyway, the points would be left for later. The servants were sent to clean the mansion, and she said the reason for the race, which made all the servants nervous.

"After cleaning up the mess, many will be fired because of espionage. I don't care about you, and I won't take your lives; just clean the place and leave; your existence is insignificant to me." - Said Skarla indifferently. - "And if any spying device is installed, they will know who placed it, and that person will die. I'm a legend; I have the power to destroy a nation; did you think I wouldn't discover this rubbish?"

Skarla mocked, and everyone was terrified and had their heads down. They were soon sent to clean, and the mansion became very busy and noisy. After that, Letiphia took care of replacing the servants with some more loyal ones.

Many nobles were also warned that if there is a next time, she will show no respect towards the higher authorities and act.

Even though she didn't make it explicit, it means that if it happens again, even the Emperor won't protect them!