Far away from Jade Dominion, several miles away in a once-regarded worthless corner of the world, Heindal was regaining its former glory through various initiatives.
Though due to orders from the Sword Maiden, the doors of Heindal were closed to outsiders, it was true that within, seven developments had sprung up due to the unification of several kingdoms, leading to a burgeoning expanse.
In the land now ruled by the Silvester family, there were places undergoing changes that revealed the true face of the Silvester family, such as the northern borders of the former Selvius kingdom.
Even though the situation was dire five years ago, it had turned into hell after the Silvester family gained control of the entire continent. As the power behind the Incompetent puppet Empress, they were going rampant across the continent.
It was clear that the majority of power was under the control of the Sword Maiden, but it was impossible that in such a vast continent there was no crime occurring.
Everyone had their own agenda, promoting their interests and neglecting the management of the land, except for a few.
Those few preserved the legacy and thoughts that once thrived under the Selvius Kingdom by focusing on the welfare of individuals within the area now controlled by the Silvester family, but which once belonged to the Selvius Kingdom.
There were several retaliations faced by those individuals striving to keep that flame burning, sometimes to the extent of executing those who once pledged loyalty to the Selvius Kingdom.
Five years ago, during the time of massacre, many lives were saved by the current leader of the Selvius Association of Merchants and goods.
Adanyl Silvester, using her status as the daughter of Ronen Silvester and Laila Tenebri, kept her position strong and remained in support of a lineage that had already been extinguished.
Inside a palace, which was a marvel of architecture beautiful enough to even embarrass the moon’s glow, several individuals moved through the halls, seemingly sprinting inside during the pouring rain.
The rain was at its peak, as if the clouds that should have headed towards the northern borders had instead converged on the headquarters of the Selvius Merchant Group.
“…Count Eric? What’s the reason for your arrival here? Is everything alright in the North?” Johan stood in his butler outfit, his gloved hands folded behind him, eyes fixed on the nobleman. Eric’s body was drenched, his attire plastered to his skin, and his hair clinging wetly.
“Can I talk with Miss Adanyl?” Count Eric appeared exhausted, his eyes barely lifting to meet Johan’s gaze. The butler nodded, placing a hand on his chest, before turning to lead Eric forward.
.
.
.
Inside a room filled with paperwork and a sweet aroma, a soft sound of someone mumbling could be heard.
“Mmm, noblemen seem to act much more stupidly than anticipated.” While chewing some candies, Adanyl leaned on her palm, supported by her elbow resting on the desk where a paper showed the sales reports from the past few months, indicating a significant rise.
“Indeed, as you anticipated, Your Highness, nobles participated in the rankings and tried to purchase as much as possible. Due to them, we have earned more than we spent on the hologram screens,” Vivian informed, referring to the strategy executed a few months ago to deal with the nobles, which had finally yielded very satisfying results.
“Nmm… Nmm,” Adanyl nodded, following the rhythm of her words, her ruby eyes blinking as she appeared troubled by the calculations to increase this value even more.
knock knock
Suddenly, a knock on the door pulled both of their attention.
“Enter,” Adanyl allowed, not looking toward the door, still focused on the page, while Vivian glanced toward the two men who entered the room.
“My Lady, Count Eric wants to meet you,” Johan announced as he entered the room, bowing with one gloved palm resting on his chest while the other was straight along his body, wearing his butler outfit.
“Greetings, Miss Adanyl,” Count Eric said as he came forward and greeted Adanyl, who was seated at the desk, with the distance between them more than ten steps.
“Is something wrong in the North?” Adanyl inquired, lifting her eyes and glancing toward the nobleman, her face still supported by her palm.
“Due to your continuous financial support, the North isn’t completely destroyed, but it seems the people from the monastery are up to something,” Count Eric informed, noting the suspicious movements of individuals in pristine white clothes roaming around the untouched northern region. This area had been left alone due to its soil infertility and a climate degraded to the point of being uninhabitable.
“Couldn’t those guys from the Sanctum have taken these remnants with them?” Adanyl stated lazily after hearing about the monastery’s shady dealings, which had been uncovered two years ago by Bella, yet priests from monastery remained active despite being abandoned by the saintess and Priest Kermit.
“Fine, tell me how I can help. Shouldn’t you go to… ah, forget it,” Adanyl wanted to suggest going directly to the head of the Silvester family or speaking with the current Empress, but she stopped, knowing that she was busy trying to build a ship to leave the continent, including Bella.
Adanyl also wanted to believe that Ryuk was alive, but even if he did, it was impractical to focus on a single person instead of the people suffering in this land.
She was the Crown Princess, and in the absence of His Highness, it was her responsibility to care for the citizens of this kingdom, even if there was no kingdom now.
Unlike them who were doing whatever they wanted, she was bound by her responsibility. For example, a woman who, despite being declared the Empress, was trying to achieve something else instead of taking her responsibility seriously.
“Miss Adanyl, can’t you hire some assassins to kill those people?” Count Eric, tired, looked at the woman who possessed a large amount of money, equivalent to half the assets of the once-existing Selvius Kingdom.
“Hm, it won’t do,” Adanyl kept mumbling while her fingers tapped on the desk, the other hand supporting her cheek as she added, “Duke Silvester is backing the monastery for the awakening of a demon.”
‘?!’
“Wh-what!?” Suddenly hearing her words, Count Eric was taken aback, his eyes trembling as he looked towards the seated figure before glancing towards Vivian, standing beside her, for confirmation if this information was correct.
“Here,” Vivian moved towards a drawer, taking out a document and handing it to the Count.
“No.” Eric looked at the document, his eyes widening and hands trembling. As he read, his eyes slowly lifted towards the woman seated on the chair. “S-slavery?”
Of course, slavery was not new to the Heindal Continent, given the previous link of the Silvester family to an auction house that sold slaves. However, the problem was that the slaves purchased from Heindal were being sent somewhere else.
“Heindal is not as safe as it appears,” Adanyl repeated herself, aware that the presence of a single strong person couldn’t improve the fate of each individual on this continent.
Even though there were several strong individuals and the Reinguards protecting its border, the real issue was the people inside this place, who were engaged in secret slave trades with other nearby continents.
Given the fact that it was none other than the Silvester family.
“Wait, Miss Adanyl, what are you saying? How is it possible?!” Eric couldn’t believe it. Seeing how several individuals of the north, who were sold as slaves due to hunger and to protect their families, vanished after reaching the royal city?
Indeed, the reports in his hand mentioned how several of the slaves were regularly purchased, many of them vanishing without a trace.
“Do you really think it is impossible, Count Eric?” Adanyl took a fork and pulled a plate of pastries closer, poking one with the sharp edge of the fork while keeping her eyes fixed on the man. “Tell me, Count Eric, how did you arrive here from the north so soon?”
Adanyl inquired about the way Count Eric had arrived in such a far place in the night without the presence of any carriage or several servants, evidence of a long journey.
“…N-no, Miss, does it mean?” It didn’t take much time for Count Eric to realize the hidden meaning behind Adanyl’s words. His eyes trembled as he realized the severity of the whole situation.
“Indeed, it’s none other than the Teleportation grids made by Empress Olivia,” Adanyl revealed. This was the reason for the slaves being transported from Heindal without being noticed by the knights of the Reinguards, who protected the borders. The major role in this was played by the artifact system established by Olivia Silvester.
“Miss Adanyl, shouldn’t we inform the Reinguard family?” Count Eric realized the seriousness of the situation and suggested urgently informing the family of the sword maiden, considering her connection to Adanyl’s sister.
“Sigh, it’s not that simple, Count Eric.” Vivian stepped forward, moving towards a pile of documents stacked haphazardly in the corner of the room.
The papers seemed to be arranged as if thrown around in bulk, forming a makeshift mountain.
Approaching the papers, Vivian grabbed a cloth on which they were placed, revealing that the cloth concealed something beneath, with the papers acting as a cover, before sweeping the whole bundle aside in one motion.
‘?!’
Count Eric’s eyes widened as he saw several men in black assassin attire lying dead on the floor. Each body had multiple broken bones and bloodied mouths, and from his experience, he could tell these corpses were no older than half an hour.
“What happened here!” Even before Count Eric could react, Johan appeared instantly, demanding an explanation for the situation that had occurred in the room without his knowledge, despite the mercenary group apparently failing to notice.
“Nothing, dear. Just some flies roaming around Her Highness’s sweets, so she took care of them,” Vivian said dismissively, folding her arms with a smirk, seeming to belittle Johan’s efforts, who had arranged several men to protect them, only to find them ineffective against Adanyl alone.
“Huh?”
“Sorry?”
Not only Johan, even Count Eric was taken aback, glancing towards the woman casually eating pastries, unable to comprehend how such a delicate-looking woman could handle a dozen professional assassins.
“Mm, it’s not like this is my first time, Count Eric.” Adanyl looked up, addressing Eric with a proud smile, recalling the day she had thwarted a previous assassination attempt when she was a child, declared Crown Princess of the kingdom. Few maids had tried to poison her with candies or cakes.
“B-but?” Johan struggled to accept that Adanyl was not only astute enough to detect assassination attempts but also capable of dispatching twelve professional assassins to their deaths. His body trembled at the thought of the truth in Lady Adanyl’s words.
Indeed, she had mentioned possessing an ability that allowed her to convert every edible item into her own strength, be it energy or physical prowess.
But now, after seeing this combination: a woman who enjoyed eating + possessed an ability that synthesized everything she consumed into strength : Johan was left speechless.
