A gentle breeze rustled through the lush forest, softly carrying fallen leaves along the flowing river.

Beneath the verdant canopy, elves frolicked joyfully, their laughter echoing through the trees as they reveled in the vibrant land.

But in an instant, the elves froze in place.

Shock etched across every face as their minds went blank.

An incredibly dense wave of natural energy seemed to emanate from somewhere in the forest, quickly engulfing them all.

Sturdy trees suddenly bent precariously, yet the elves perched on the branches remained oblivious to the cracks forming beneath their feet.

Under this overwhelming pressure, hundreds of elves turned in unison towards Viktor's location.

The entrance to the "Forest Paradise" was now completely engulfed in a fierce inferno, crackling as it burned.

Yet these flames that appeared from nowhere seemed fantastically surreal.

As if possessing a mind of their own, they clung to the forest but did not spread outward even an inch.

Aurelianne glanced anxiously between Cassandra and Viktor, her expression filled with panic.

Before her stood her teacher and her aunt.

Cassandra was now surrounded by the sea of fire, her gaze vacant and lost.

Aurelianne recalled that Viktor had merely uttered a single sentence.

In the blink of an eye, her aunt had fallen into this terrifying predicament.

Aurelianne hurriedly tried to explain to Viktor:

"Teacher! This must be a misunderstanding!"

"Aunt and the others haven't harmed any elves..."

Viktor simply stood there, motionless, while the jet-black crow perched on his shoulder had one eye glowing with an eerie sapphire light.

As if preparing for something ominous.

He turned to look at Aurelianne and said calmly:

"I taught you how to use your own power, but I failed to teach you how to judge situations."

"That was my negligence."

Aurelianne was taken aback, unable to grasp the meaning behind her teacher's words.

"Let me ask you, why does the Reiser family need elves?"

Aurelianne quickly repeated what Aunt Cassandra had just told her:

"For energy, to make life more convenient for ordinary people."

"And then? Have they actually made life more convenient for ordinary people?"

Aurelianne froze at Viktor's follow-up question, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

"But... Aunt said it was just a lack of energy."

"The lack of energy is merely an excuse, a fact that Cassandra is unwilling to admit."

Viktor looked down at Aurelianne and posed another question:

"If this technology were to spread throughout the empire, even to those remote villages, what do you think would happen?"

"Well..."

Images flashed through Aurelianne's mind.

Tedious and dangerous jobs replaced by self-moving automatons, streets devoid of horse-drawn carriages, instead filled with magical floating cars.

"Isn't that... better?"

Viktor replied flatly:

"That would only widen the gap between rich and poor, causing the empire to become polarized."

When machines replace manual labor, landowners no longer need to pay wages to laborers.

They only need to invest in these automatons that can work tirelessly for them.

The nobles no longer require human workers, only paying the Reiser family annual maintenance fees for the machines.

As laborers lose their jobs, the wages once meant for them now flow directly into the Reiser family's coffers.

But eventually, even the landowners will find themselves growing poorer.

The food they produce goes unsold,and piles of clothes from textile factories remain unsold.

Because no commoners can afford to buy them anymore.

The commoners, now jobless, struggle even to put food on the table.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Eighty percent of the empire's wealth would flow to the Reiser family and the nobles who had established early partnerships with them.

And this change would be almost imperceptible at first.

As Viktor painted this bleak picture, Aurelianne's imagination ran wild with the implications.

She couldn't accept it, a look of fear crossing her face as she glanced towards Cassandra.

"How could this be..."

Vast numbers of commoners would face hunger, poverty, and homelessness, forced to mortgage their last possessions just to survive.

After exhausting their last coin, they could only await a slow death.

"Of course, you needn't worry about this just yet," Viktor added.

"Such a situation won't occur for a long time."

The Reiser family lacked sufficient energy; they were still in the trial phase, working towards that goal.

"You must have seen the 'people' living in Tiyebo," Viktor continued, his voice low.

"This place is called the 'City of Progress', boasting advanced medical techniques."

"Those residents you saw with various prosthetic limbs? Most are wealthy individuals from other countries or cities."

"Seeking a semblance of normal life despite their disabilities, they must reside in Tiyebo, undergoing annual examinations and constant prosthetic replacements."

"Do you know the minimum daily expense for each of them?"

It was a sum beyond Aurelianne's wildest imagination.

"Ten thousand Gios."

In the capital, ten thousand Gios could purchase ten thousand loaves of bread.

But in Tiyebo, this mechanical marvel, it barely covered one person's daily expenses.

"So you see, not a single commoner walks these streets. They simply cannot afford to enter this city."

"Now, do you still believe all this truly serves the ordinary people?"

Viktor's words sent a chill down Aurelianne's spine.

She had been blinded by Aunt Cassandra's few choice words and the city's superficial prosperity.

She had completely overlooked the cruel reality lurking beneath this gilded facade.

Tiyebo was not the wonderful, carefree technological utopia it appeared to be.

It was a voracious, money-devouring monster wrapped in a beautiful exterior.

"I don't deny that your Aunt Cassandra may have once cared for the empire's common folk. She was, after all, once an imperial princess."

"But the Reiser family was never destined to be hers alone."

Viktor's indifferent gaze swept towards the depths of the distant forest.

Many elves had cautiously peeked out, drawn by the traces of natural energy, watching Viktor from afar.

The moment they caught sight of him, each would startle and quickly curl back into the lush foliage.

"So you must understand why they bend over backwards to please the elves."

"Elves can bring them wealth to rival nations, so they exploit the elves' power to amass even more value for themselves."

When elves lose their natural energy, it's akin to a tiger having its fangs and claws forcibly removed.

Their wild nature ground away, they no longer possess the ability to protect themselves. Instead, they self-anesthetize in this manufactured "paradise", living a seemingly carefree life.

All the while, they continue supplying fresh energy to the Reiser family, deluding themselves into believing that humans truly care for them.

"Of course, I won't outright condemn this behavior. These elves are, technically, willing participants. Though they were coaxed here, they haven't actively opposed the Reiser family's actions."

Viktor's words sank into Aurelianne's mind one by one.

Her body trembled slightly as she lowered her head, utterly bewildered.

At this point, she could no longer distinguish right from wrong.

Aunt Cassandra had indeed painted a beautiful future for Aurelianne.

Combined with the sight of this advanced city, it had filled her with fantasies about the future.

But these beautiful illusions were now shattered to pieces by Teacher Viktor.

The harsh reality hidden behind the glittering facade lay bare before her.

"But... why does the Reiser family need so much money?" she asked, her voice small.

Viktor looked at the confused Aurelianne, about to respond when Vega's voice suddenly whispered in his ear.

"Viktor, we can leave now."

The crow's single eye no longer glowed, while Cassandra seemed utterly drained, kneeling limply on the ground.

Viktor spared Cassandra a brief, indifferent glance, taking in her dispirited state.

Finally, his gaze shifted towards the entrance.

"Although I'd like to tell you more, but..."

The doors of the research institute burst open with a thunderous rumble. Elsa charged in, leading a contingent of warriors.

The guards' eyes immediately fell upon Cassandra's crumpled form. Elsa's face contorted with shock and rage.

Her gaze snapped up, locking onto Viktor.

Elsa's expression darkened dangerously. Her hand flew to the hilt of her sword as she barked out orders:

"Alert all high-level combat forces of the family!"

"Designate the intruder Viktor as the highest threat!"

"Attack immediately! No need to take him alive!"

The warriors drew their weapons in unison, faces grim as they formed a tight circle around Viktor.

Yet Viktor remained motionless, utterly calm in the face of imminent danger.

Seeing this, Aurelianne gathered her skirts and planted herself firmly between Viktor and the warriors.

She faced down the armed force, chin raised defiantly.

"I am Aurelianne Sol. You know who I am."

"Now, tell me: what do you intend to do to my teacher?"

Elsa's eyes narrowed as she regarded the princess, but her grip on her weapon didn't loosen.

"Your Highness, please don't make this more difficult than it needs to be."

"What? You'd dare attack me as well?!" Aurelianne's voice rang out, sharp and commanding.

She fixed Elsa with a stare that belied her years, filled with a maturity and authority that gave the warriors pause.

They hesitated, taking a few steps back. None present dared risk the severe consequences of raising a hand against the imperial princess.

Suddenly, an eerie green glow pulsed through the air. Countless vines erupted from all directions, ensnaring the warriors in their tendrils.

The vines suspended their captives, rendering their struggles futile.

Aurelianne, startled by this display, began to turn.

But before she could, she felt a warm, large hand gently rest atop her head. With a light touch, Viktor shifted her slightly to one side.

His voice, slow and confident, sounded from just behind her.

"Aurelianne."

"I'm not so fragile that I need a student to protect her teacher."