Steward Ven was waiting for her just outside the hall, his walking stick clicking against the polished marble floor as the other guards stood in attention.

"The Emperor's guards greet the Countess Guarding Diery!" one of the guards said as the entire squad, except Steward Val, bowed in unison.

Steward Val gave me his own, much shallower bow.

"There is no time for pleasantries. The Empress wishes to speak to you." Steward Val said, taking out a miniature version of the communication orb from his robes.

"If the Empress can wait a few moments, there is something we need the Countess' help with." the Marchioness said.

Steward Ven's eyes flashed as he looked at her, something invisible passing between them.

"I fear that I must insist. The Empress does not like waiting." the Steward said.

"I will wait then." the Marchioness said as the Steward led Althea into one of the rooms. An empty guest room from the looks of it.

The image of the Empress soon appeared, more hazy than usual given the lack of proper facilities in the area.

"Althea." she said. "I will keep this short, you still need to leave soon."

"Why is it so urgent that I leave at noon?" Althea interrupted. The Empress waved her concern away.

"Steward Ven will explain later." the Empress said.

"Now for the important part. Steward Ven is an experienced administrator and an extremely powerful Mage. I ask that you listen to his advice while running your county. I know you are capable, but there are things that you may not know, and having Steward Ven there could stop disaster. Steward Ven can also teach you a lot. "

"Ok." Althea replied. The truth was that she barely knew how to run a county. Oh sure, she had read books about it in her last life, and the old Althea had spent a few months researching the subject. But she wasn't foolish enough to think that it suddenly made her an expert on the subject.

The Empress nodded, and Althea noticed that she seemed to have relaxed a bit.

"Oh, and I need you to get an army running by the end of the year. The stronger it is, the better. I need something I can appoint Steward Ven, General of, it is the only way you will survive the royal council meeting next year."

Althea opened her mouth to ask more, but was stopped by the Emperor entering the room.

"Countess Diery, please show me your class information so I may confirm that you have not lost the trait." the Emperor ordered.

Althea nodded, a bit unsure what to do.

System, show the Emperor my class information.

The System did not oblige.

System, make my class information appear physically in front of me.

The System still remained silent. Althea tried her final idea, hoping that it worked.

System, display my information publicly.

The System answered, glowing blue words that Althea had read before appearing in front of her. Steward Ven's eyes flickered as he read the info, telling her that the information was indeed public.

"I see." the Emperor said, gesturing a scribe in with a pen and paper, just like before. "I find the Countess Guarding Diery to be sufficient post her class evolution."

The scribe noted it down, writing down far more words than the Emperor said. A few minutes later, he left, presumably to file it somewhere.

"I will leave you for now. Use the orb to contact me anytime you wish. The orb will connect to me, and only me." the Empress said as the call cut off.

Althea turned to Steward Ven, who was looking at her with the same expression on his face as before. In fact, his expression hadn't changed once since he got here. Did the expression get stuck in his face or something?

Althea opened her mouth to talk to him, but was prevented by the door opening, allowing Mira in.

"The luggage is packed, your grace, but there is a problem." she said.

"What is it?" Althea asked, now worried.

"The horse your grace, the one Lord Neil gifted you, is not cooperating." Mira answered. Althea was hardly surprised, the horse had killed several of its riders. Why exactly did it have to cooperate?

"I would presume so. Why is that important?" she asked.

"Well your grace, you don't own any other horses in the area." Mira said. "And with your current relationship with the Marquis, I do not think asking for a carriage would be possible."

Althea sighed, of course she did not own a horse here. If she owned any, they were in Diery county, not here where the Marquis was supposed to provide for her.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"I will see what I can do." Steward Ven said. "But I would recommend not breaking relations with the Bern march, the family already has one Adept and the Marquis-"

"Is half a step into the stage already." Althea finished. "I am aware, Steward Ven, and I have already taken steps to mend our relationship."

Mira's eyes widened as she stared at the two of them. Althea could sympathize. To her poor maid, the Adept stage was the stage of dukes and emperors, not the level of the man she had met just a few hours ago. The Emperor himself was just at peak Adept stage after all.

"What stage are you at, Steward Ven?" Althea asked.

"The third stage of Adept." Steward Ven said as if it was a completely normal thing to say. The man was as strong as a duke! No, he was stronger than some dukes. A duke didn't need to be Adept himself after all, he just needed the support of one.

Steward Ven opened the door and let himself out, leaving the shocked pair behind.

"I- uh, think we should tend to the horse." Mira suggested.

"Yes, we should." Althea said, walking towards the stable. After five years living here, her previous self had long since memorized the mansion's layout. Three storeys down and across the old foyer. The family, with Althea, lived on the third floor. The second floor was closed off during normal times, only when there were guests or some event.

The ground floor, which was also the first floor, was grand if little else. The height of the floor spanned over twenty feet, holding ball rooms and dining rooms that were too large to use daily. At least that was what Althea thought. The family still ate there, though the old Althea had taken to just eating in her bedroom after a month of the family's sneers.

The Marquis was waiting for her at the stables, along with the fifth, sixth and seventh young marquis.

"I think it is a magical beast, father." the fifth young marquis, Jin, said.

"The stablemaster has already checked." the Marquis said, and the n, after a pause, continued. "But in this case I agree. A normal horse simply does not have the capability to humiliate a squad of our stablehands like this."

Althea now wanted the horse to be very normal. So normal that the Marquis was humiliated. The Marquis' words had a finality to it that she did not like. Why was it that a normal horse could not be a bit much to handle for a bunch of stablehands? Yes they were experienced, but so was the horse. At running at least

"Where did the Countess get this horse from?" the seventh young Marquis, Bel, asked.

"The ninth young marquis gifted it to me." Althea said, drawing attention to herself. " I think he wanted it to kill me." she continued, looking towards the horse.

"Did little brother really send you those gifts?" Jin asked.

"Yes." Althea replied.

"Mira, could you give the Marquis the letter?" she said. Mira handed it over, the Marquis frowning at the thick envelope.

"The letter is the reason the Emperor decided that I was better without marriage after all." Althea said, holding the Marquis' gaze.

The Marquis opened the envelope and began reading, a frown appearing on his face as he read. Althea turned around, just in time to watch one of the stableboys trip and fall to the ground as the horse changed direction mid galop turning towards.

The horse seemed to hold her gaze for a second before turning around just as a stableboy was about to catch its tail. The stableboy barely caught himself as the horse jumped into the air, crossing to the other side of the yard.

Perhaps she imagined it, but the horse seemed to be laughing at them as it taunted the stableboys. In fact, she had a wierd feeling about the horse. Like there was power surrounding it that attrated her.

A thought flashed through her mind, but she silenced it. No, the old Althea wasn;t powerful enough to sense magic in the Novice stage. The stableboys dusted themselves off, walking towards the horse menacingly , taking advantage of their numbers to surround it.

The horse jumped up and down, its feet moving faster than Althea could follow. The horse feinted in several directions, confusing the stableboys, and then while they were distracted, it jumped.

The stableboy the horse jumped over let out a girlish scream as he saw the horse's feet head towards him. And then the horse stepped on the air, and took another jump, propelling itself to the other side of the stableboys.

The horse neighed, laughing at the stable boys as it moved its head from side to side. Now, she was sure that the bloody thing was enjoying itself. The horse turned towards Althea and raised its head, letting out a neigh at the sky.

Althea felt the Marquis tense beside her, the mana in the region fluctuating as the horse began running towards her jumping over the fence. The Marquis got ready to defend her, the fluctuation of mana getting stronger as he exited his power. The horse got closer, the mana fluctuation got stronger. And then Althea stepped forward.

The horse stopped at once, just a breath away from her. The Marquis' spell fizzled out as the horse neighed, lifting its fore feet into the sky as it threw its head and neighed. As if telling the world something. Althea had no idea why she had stepped forward, it had just felt right.

The horse nuzzled her face as she extended her hand and touched its mane. And in that moment, they connected. As it turned out, she was wrong. Perhaps it was the change in class, or the transmigration. But either way, she had abilities she did not have before.

Althea closed her eyes as she felt the connection to the horse's mind. The horse was happy, and proud of itself. The image of games it played with its fellows in the grassland played through her head as they communicated. The poor thing was just trying to play a bit after being cooped up for so long.

The stableboys on the other hand, were a lot more delicate than magical horses that could walk on wind. The horse had to understand that.

Althea brushed the horse's mane, touching her forehead to its, trying to communicate her feelings. A feeling of sadness came back telling her that the horse had received it. The horse just wanted to be free. Althea transmitted her intention to it, feeling understanding radiate from the horse.

And then it bowed. Althea looked at it with surprise, not sure what to do. Thankfully, her two lives had given her plenty of expression at hiding what she felt. The horse quickly got back up, turning around and taking to the air as it ran away.

The fifth young marquis suddenly had a bow in his hand, ready to shoot it. Althea shook her head, saying, "No, let it be. That horse does not belong here."

"I see that you have things in control, Countess Diery." the Marquis said, a complex expression in his face. Perhaps Althea was dreaming it, but it seemed to be...a painful memory?

"Now you're without a horse." the seventh young marquis said with a frown.

"No, she is not." the Marquis said, giving the seventh young marquis a long look. Althea was confused, the truth was that she was indeed without a horse now. But this was probably not the best time to mention that.A Guarding Countess shouldn’t embarrass herself.

"The Marchioness must have found your weapon by now." the Marquis said. "If you would please follow me, it is nearly noon. The Emperor will not be pleased if you are late."

Althea nodded, following the Marquis in.

"Is it really okay, my lady? Will they come back?" Mira asked, worried.

"I don't know, Mira." Althea replied." But sometimes, we need to let people make their own presumptions and let them keep them, even if they are false, especially if they are more knowledgeable than you. Perhaps it might even come true"

Althea ratted off a quote she had read somewhere, hoping to sound profound. The truth was that she had no idea what to do.