The next few requests were about beasts harming their produce. Or some petty theft. Althea dispatched soldiers to deal with it. Diery really was a quiet little place. Not much seemed to happen here, huh?

The requests after were similar. So were the ones after lunch. Althea could see why the court was so lethargic, the answers were literally rote memorized. Not even kidding, she had caught herself saying the wrong name once.

Thankfully, no one seemed to notice. Or they just didn't dare question her. The Steward was glowering next to her.

And then it was time for the last request of the day. The city lord of Marile. A fool could see the current administration had something planned. And Althea wasn’t a fool.

The city lord entered, giving the customary greeting.

"Please state your request." Althea gave her usual reply.

"I would like to speak of Marile's fortress. The fortress is a drain on the city's resources-"

"The city made three hundred thousand gold last month." Althea stated. "The fortress takes barely five thousand to maintain from the city. The county gives the rest. If the city lord wishes to revisit the fortress, we can revisit that too."

The city lord looked a bit shocked that she knew his stats. Oh, she knew so much more.

"The city also pays more tribute than other cities-"

"And benefits the most from being the point of trade between Diery and the Empire." Althea said. "Marile needs the county, but the county can do well enough without the city. The merchants have been complaining about profits in Marile for a while now."

The city lord paled.

"I think it is time the city revisited its entrance policies, or I will be forced to allow merchants to circumvent it." Althea continued. The city was not necessarily a stop point on the shortest route.

But it was the only place merchants could legally leave the country after paying tax. The city lord had cleverly placed the point inside the city and charged the merchants entry and exit fees. The city's revenue came mostly from that. The city charged fees by kilo of luggage.

"I think that would be a terrible decision, your grace. The county has made a lot of money from the fees and the merchants can't afford to leave." the city lord said.

Althea raised an eyebrow. That was a good counter, she had trouble thinking of an answer. For all of ten seconds. Then she had one.

"I own most of the merchant companies." Althea said. "And I don't like your exploitative fees. Reduce them. And do it well. "

The court sniggered at that. The Diery family was most of the county's economy. Not really the most ideal situation, but it was what it was.

"I see." the city lord said, retreating out. Well, this guy was going to be a problem. Althea made a point to get whoever she appointed at the fortress to spy on him. Perhaps she could use him to train her own spy corp.

"The court is adjourned for the day." she announced, slamming the staff as a soldier rushed into the court.

"I-I ask for audience, your grace." the soldier stammered among heavy breaths. Just how far he had run. The court grumbled, the people upset that they had to wait some more. Althea saw a few of the Ministers, even the Minister of Justice looked worried.

"Please state your request." she said.

"I am one of those assigned to check the farmer's complaint regarding the rabbits, your grace." he said, calmer now.

"I am aware." she said. “Please continue.” The rabbit fur on his armor was a giveaway.

"The rabbits have multiplied greatly, your grace." the soldier said. "The signs indicate that a predator has moved into the area, scaring rabbits from deeper in the forests out of the wild."

Althea settled into her seat. "Please continue."

"The rabbits, largely Novice level beasts, mated with the wild rabbits with unprecedented speeds." he stated ALthea had a bad feeling about where this was going. And a feeling, she knew why that was happening.

"The result is a lot of rabbits, your grace. A lot of rabbits with a cultivation. The rabbits attacking right now are still lacking a cultivation, but we detected hundreds of novice level rabbits in the burrows."

The court was sent into chaos at the proclamation. And then the soldier continued.

"I am sorry to report this, your grace. But it would seem we have a beast horde just two hours from Deadre." the soldier bowed. The court was in chaos. A few people even ran away. Althea shook her head.

"The Diery county hasn't dealt with a beast horde in over a century!" the Minister of Justice yelled, probably for comedic effect. Althea just watched them panic for a second. A lot of them were panicking, the ones that were more powerful ones.

The idiots were scared they would have to go fight against the scary horde of rabbits. A beast horde was rare in the county, not in the Empire. The Bern march had at least one a month. And they were usually more scary than Novice rabbits.

But the march also had one of the most powerful armies in the Empire. The Diery county…barely had people in the Apprentice rank. Althea was the most powerful person in the court right now.

Althea slammed her staff, pouring her mana out and calling to mana outside, asking the earth to shake. The earth did, it was more of a sudden vibration, but it got their attention.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"The court will maintain decorum." she ordered, and then turned to the soldier.

"The coronation court is on hold. I will personally lead a company of soldiers to slay the horde." she said. "Does any member of the court have any problems they wish to bring?"

The court was silent.

"No?" she asked again. "Well then, I call the court to an end for now."

Althea returned to her room and settled down on the sofa with a huff.

"Not a good first day?" Pulsie asked.

"The day was good enough," Althea replied, trying to remove these shoes off her feet. The shoes had to be magic, they were very stuck.

A knock sounded on the door.

"Come in." she said. Anthony entered the room.

"The thief leader, Corrora wants to meet you, your grace." he said

Althea's forehead crease. What did she want now?

"Tell her to come in." she replied. Well, she hadn't even taken off her shoes yet.

"That bad, huh." Pulsie said. Althea knew what was going on, the plant was curious about how it went. The maids probably didn't think of clue him in, she should have thought of that.

Althea sighed." How about I tell you later?"

The thief entered the room, and she took on her most graceful seating position. The eloquent Countess could not afford to falter. Not before one of the few people in the county that was more powerful than her.

sc

Corrora

Corrora entered the Countess's bedroom. A private garden inside a bedroom. The things nobles did…

The Countess was sitting on the sofa, the picture of grace. The green eyes looked like they were glowing, judging her as she walked. Corrora was sure she walked like a poor person. The lack of etiquette lessons would do that to a person.

"Anthony tells me that you wanted to see me." the Countess said. Yes, that was why she was here in the first place. But repeating obvious things was the noble way of starting a conversation. Not giving anything to the opponent. Treating a conversation as a debate.

"Yes, your grace." Corrora replied, giving her the only bow she knew. The Elaran kind. The Countess would have to make do. Not that it would cost her much. That tiara seemed to glow on her head.

Was it entirely made of jewels or something? A tiara made of amber with a little emerald to make it seem like two waves were meeting at the top, curving in a delicate edge that, once again, had amber in the middle of it. The craftsmanship had to be magic.

"Are you going to say it?" the Countess asked, her tone more curiosity than irritation.

"Yes, your grace." Corrora replied. The Countess' eyebrow arched as she stopped again. Well, she didn't really have anything to say, she just wanted to find out what her jailer was like.

"I just wanted to find out if there was anything I could help you with." she finally said.

"Oh? Why would you want to help me?"

"Well…" Corrora really should have planned an answer to that question. Planning was more Feli's thing, though. "The manual has a cipher."

"Yes, I am aware." the Countess said. Now, she was curious. The Countess had read that bloody thing?

"Have you read it?" she asked, unable to help herself.

"Yes, it was quite…a thing." the Countess said. Yes, it was a ‘thing’.

"The whole thing?" she asked again. The manual was the stuff of legends. So boring it made you sleep.

"Yes, well, it is the musings of a manual writer." the Countess replied. Corrora just stared at her. Well, she was right. But reading that manual. And understanding it. And to do it without someone forcing you to… How did one even begin to enjoy elemental theory.

"Did you find it hard, your grace?"

The Countess nodded. "The part regarding the mana revolution of Shadow as in relation to the general cycle of natural elements was difficult to understand."

The what now? How was she sure the writer wasn't just pulling her leg? The guy literally wrote this stuff instead of a decent manual.

The Countess looked pensive for a second, apparently thinking about something.

"But I think I understand it more now." the Countess said.

Wait what. What do you mean, you understand it more now? Are you sure this is something that humans can understand?

Corrora looked towards the supposedly naive eighteen-year-old in front of her. What part of her looked naive and stupid? The Zun agents must have been drinking something really special to give her that report.

An eighteen-year-old that understood what that idiot had written in the manual. Corrora still couldn't believe her eyes.

"Do you actually have a reason to be here?" the Countess asked. Was she being that apparent? Well…yes. Looking back, she hadn’t been very good at hiding her emotions.

"Perhaps you should get some sleep. The army will take you to your new home tomorrow." the Countess said, her mana flexing as she looked at Corrora.

Corrora looked at her closely. Why exactly was she five small stages more than she had been before? What had she been drinking? Mana potions? Corrora suppress a laugh at her own joke, the art of alchemy was lost millennia ago.

And then she stopped. The Diery family was more than a few millennia old.

The Countess looked at her expectantly as she walked out, giving her a slight smile. But she knew one thing. The Diery county would be her home for the next twenty-five years. The Countess was scarier than the Shadow Count. That old man was nearly dead, but this one…was just beginning.

An eighteen-year-old that could understand elemental theory from a ten thousand-year-old dynasty. Queen Elara dropping by made sense now. That woman did love making bets like this.

sc

Althea groaned as she got up. Pulsie was, weirdly, already awake, his leaves reaching for the light of the sun.

"How are you waking so early?" she asked.

"The soil is very nutritious here." he answered, shaking his leaves as if to show her. Althea shook her head at that. Pulsie had told her a few worrying things about yesterday's events. The chance of it being her trait was high.

A 170% boost to wildlife was apparently more dangerous than it sounded. Althea should have figured that out.

Now she had to go on an expedition to solve it. The entire thing was supposed to be over in a day, but she was secretly planning to pack for a night. If her years of reading free books on the internet had taught her anything, then it was that things could easily go wrong.

Mira came in sometime later, yelping in surprise at seeing Althea stuff folded dresses into a bag that was for some reason just lying around in the wardrobe. Why there were bags in the wardrobe she did not know, but the bloody thing was as big as a bedroom. Of course, it was, she just needed a tiara to be a princess now. Oh wait, she had that too.

Althea called the soldier that had informed her to ride in her carriage along with Anthony. The two hunters could hopefully explain what she needed to do. The carriage rode through the city, followed by an army. The army got a lot of fearful glances from the people, clearly, news of the beast horde had spread. Althea turned to her guests.

"So, what can you tell me about this beast horde?" she asked, looking the awkward soldier in the eye.

"Well, it would be better to just show you." the soldier stammered. Well, this was going to be a long ride, wasn't it.

Hmm, how much faster would it be if she could just invent cars. But first she would need to know how an engine worked. Althea had a feeling it was more than ‘fuel come in, electricity come out’.