With the path to Yarriw now clearly visible, I pressed forward. My advance was slow—Ice Dance had an annoyingly long cooldown, and I wasn’t about to get caught without it. And most importantly… “Mud is demon’s spawricity surged forth the ground.

  [To unlock a lightning, practice it: 1000/1000][gratutions! You unlocked the lightning spell. You know how to cast it.]I could not hide my grin. Finally, something going my way. Then I got too excited and ran toward a hill and my heel got stu the… mud. “You have to be…”

  Despite my irritation, I made det progress, cresting a hill just as the famous dungeon came into view. There it was.

  Yarriw.

  Its broken spires rose into the sky like brokeh, its crumbling walls draped in moss and ivy, all implying glory long since faded. The wind whistled sadly through the ruins, carrying with it a strange sense of foreboding.

  “Not sure if I should keep walking on the road…” I muttered, eyeing the a path ahead. Guardians—big ones—defended uncleared dungeorances, and Yarriw didn’t look particurly weling.

  Nah, I take them down! My inner bravaded, though it didn’t stop me from slowing my pace. Let’s drink before a little though…

  I took a swing of wine ahat sweet alpower me.

  I moved cautiously, sing the surroundings with every step. The strange guardians that had dotted the way here had stopped appeariirely, whily made the silence more disturbing.

  Something’s up.

  As I approached the sixth decrepit gate, its arch barely holding together uhe weight of time, a sharp voices rang out from both sides of the path.

  “Halt!”

  I froze mid-step, my heart skipping a beat. The voices were anding, deep, and perfectly synized. My eyes darted to the left, then the right, but whoever—or whatever—had spoken hid in the shadows of the ruined walls.

  “Identify yourself!” the voice from the left anded authoritative.

  “Princess Charlie?” I respohough it sounded more like a question than an answer.

  “P-Princess?” The surprise alpable as both figures stepped into the light.

  They wore the armor of provincial imperial guards—funal but clearly suffering from a tight budget. As usual. They also paid me badly. The ptes were sturdy but patched ihe wear and tear speaking of tless repairs.

  Their ons pristihough, as they should, the steel gleaming even ied light.

  Both guards were men, their faces obscured by closed helmets that had signs of their elven race—elegant curves ingrained into the design.

  “Yes, I came back to…” I hesitated briefly, testing my luck. “Eeleim.” Huh. Still not sored. “Is this the capital city of Yarriw?”

  Both guards exged awkward gheir postures stiffening. They were elves, yet clearly in service to the empire, not the elven kingdom.

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” the left one finally replied. “But… they told us to stop anyone ing in.”

  “We have to fight?” I asked, already reag to unfasten my whip. “I’d rather not.” My gaze flicked over their armor—solid, hard to pee. And besides, they’re people, not monsters.

  “If you turn around, we don’t have to, Your Majesty,” the left guard suggested hesitantly.

  “Yes, exactly,” echoed the right one, nodding vigorously.

  I hesitated, weighing my options. System, what’s my Right to Rule

  [gratutions! You unlocked the Right To Rule stat.][Right To Rule: 44]What? That high? My mind spun. How?! But it didn’t matter—this ged everything.

  “Soldiers!” I barked, letting my tone shift into one of imperial authority. Days as sergeant showing. “I am also an Empire Baroess! Is that how you treat a noble of the Empire?” I demanded, raising my hand with a flourish to show them my ring.

  While running around the imperial court, I’d learned a thing or two about dramatid Riker reminded me how important that was, and now was the time to use them.

  The guards froze, then dropped to their kheir movements stiff aant but undeniable.

  “Good,” I ented coolly, slipping my whip bato pce as I stepped forward. Now we’re getting somewhere.

  “By w, I could have you executed,” I said, letting the weight of the words settle on them for a moment. Their bodies teheir hands twitg slightly toward their ons. “But that would be a silly notion.”

  Their shoulders sed slightly, fusion flickering in their postures.

  I pressed on before they could recover. “Instead,” I tinued, my tone shifting to something almost gracious, “I end you for your dedication and duty. We need good men like you. There’s a war on the horizon.” I allowed the weight of my words to sink in before delivering the hat would stir any elve. “Mother Irwen is rising.”

  That did it.

  Their stiff kneeling forms practically vibrated with emotion, and if my Right to Rule had been any lower, they might have stood to challenge me. But as it was, they remained on their knees, hanging on my every word.

  “Do you know what that means?” I asked sharply, my voice ringing with authority.

  “It’s time to get our kingdom back,” they answered in unison, their voices brimming with a mix of pride and resolve. But then the left guard hesitated, gng at me nervously. “But… you are an empire noble, Your Majesty?”

  I took a moment before answering, deliberately waiting with my respohe empress did that a lot, and it was infuriating. And effective. “Mother has to decre war into the hands of someone,” I expined. “To soften the impact of the God of War. I’m that someone. And I’ll give her a fight she won’t fet—a fight worthy of a princess.”

  Their eyes widened, and I motiooward the looming ruins. “But for that, I need something from our homend.”

  The right guard straightened slightly, his voice hesitant but filled with hope. “As you and, Baroess… are we dismissed from our posts? we return and fight alongside… forces in the war?” His words faltered, barely masking the fact that he was asking for permission to desert.

  I gave him a sharp nod. “Yes. You are relieved from your posts. Report to Vilge Number Seventeen.”

  Their reas were immediate. “Yes, Baroess! Right away!” they said, snapping to attention before marg briskly toward the gate without so much as a backward gnce.

  I blinked, surprised by their abrupt departure. “What?” I muttered under my breath, watg them disappear into the distance.

  Well, that happened.

  Lucas’ apartment, day before…

  When Lucas finally got home, the exhaustion of the day hit him like a Charlie’s sp. Dropping his jacket carelessly over the back of a chair, he sank onto the worn cou his living room, pig up the half-drank of energy drink.

  His fingers moved quickly over his holo-s, sending all the io Pearl. Aask dumped oe, another debt added to the growing ledger of favors he owed.

  Maybe Charlie’s right, he thought, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

  “Speaking of Charlie…” he muttered, reag into his pocket to retrieve his .

  The device flickered to life in his hand, and he shook his head with a smirk. After the meeting with Riker, he’d fotten to turn it off. The battery, against all odds, hadn’t run out. He stared at the device for a moment, debating.

  Finally, he issued the and: “AI, analyze my dialogue with Charlie. Analyze what I did wrong.”

  The hummed in response, his local AI lighting up with streams of data as it began parsing his request.

  “Analysis plete,” a crisp, formal British female voinounced. “plimenting Charlie’s appearance while she was clearly upset came across as dismissive. While it deflected the immediate tension, it failed to address her s. Statements like ‘the money’s just a bonus’ undermined her efforts and the risks she took.”

  Lucas winced, running a hand through his hair as the weight of the words settled over him.

  “Charlie waransparenot sharing—”

  “Stop,” Lucas interrupted, frustratioaking him as he kicked the table. “Tell me what to do!”

  “Reendation,” the AI replied, its tone as dispassionate as ever: “Aowledge her tributions, share details openly, and prioritize the retionship when it matters.”

  The fell silent, leaving Lucas aloh his thoughts, staring at the glowing s.

  “Ruthless,” he muttered, shaking his head. But he couldn’t argue with it—because it wasn’t the first time this had happened.

  I screwed up.

  He’d set his arm ter than usual, enjoying the ce to sleep off the chaos of the previous night—and maybe to dey fag Charlie. Maybe. The arm eventually woke him, and he y in bed, staring at the golden-ced ceiling above.

  I actually pulled it off, he thought, a small smirk tugging at his lips. His crazy pn, against all odds, had succeeded.

  But then, like an unwele guest, ahought crept in: Maybe it e Charlie.

  He frowrying to shake it off, dismissing the weight in his chest as a leftover from the stress of the night. With a grunt, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, pushing himself upright.

  There was no time fret—not yet.

  Sure, there had beebacks. Losing all his money initially wasn’t ideal, but that was just a temporary inveniehe results mattered, and they spoke for themselves. He now had the intel he needed—info owo people who were on his tail.

  Ag alone.

  That detail had been crucial. They weren’t operating under orders from higher-ups. They were rogue, just two loose ends. That he could handle.

  But first…

  He grabbed his holo-keyboard, quickly opening the Riker’s Rimelion Ranking. Scrolling through the interface, he navigated to Charlie’s page.

  “Yesterday?!” he blurted out as a new video caught his attention. Riker’s Tower.

  His pulse quied as he clicked on it. Was he in it? Did they catch him? He held his breath as the video began, but exhaled in relief as the camera focused squarely on Charlie.

  She was… breathtaking.

  Dressed in an insanely elegant blue-and-white dress, she gave off a raw fidence as she strode toward the side entrance.

  The dress g to her in all the right ways, almost glowing subtly in the dim light. Where did she evehat dress? He wondered, equal parts impressed and curious. And how did she look more stunning every day?

  Then there was the tohat frosty, domineering tone she used when dealing with the guards. It sent a chill down his spine. “Hah,” Lucas chuckled softly to himself, shaking his head. “What am I doing? He… She may alk to me again…”

  But he couldn’t stop watg. The video tinued, and his amusement quickly turo wide-eyed amazement.

  After a brief exge with the guards, Charlie moved—fast. In one fluid motion, she closed the distao the guard a his head crashing into the wall with a precise strike. The impact was brutal; the guard crumpling under her attack.

  Lucas’s jaw dropped.

  “Has John beely learning martial arts or something?” he muttered to himself, repying the moment. That wasn’t just a lucky move; it was trolled, decisive. “This wasn’t something they covered in basic army CQC…”

  He leaned back against the headboard, still staring at the video. There was so much about Charlie—about John—he didn’t know anymore.

  And somehow, that only made him admire her more, so he checked all the photos and videos.

  A chime alerted Lucas that Pearl had hacked into his system.

  Again.

  “Hi, Pearl,” he said casually, addressing the surrounding air.

  “Hi, Lucky Lucas!” she chirped, her voice bright and cheerful, maybe too cheerful. “I got the info. Amazing work—how did you pull it off? Riker’s ly the sharing type, especially with something this big.”

  “All it took was inviting Charlie there…” Lucas grinned, leaning ba his chair. “She chatted with him, and he ha over. I just love her.”

  There ause. A small one, but it lingered just enough for Lucas to notice.

  “Yeah…” Pearl’s tone dipped, losing some of its earlier enthusiasm. “Well, what matters is that you succeeded. Now we move into phase two of the pn. When’s Charlie ing?”

  “She isn’t,” Lucas admitted, his tone heavier now. “I’ve already burdened her more than I should. I… I o stop relying on her and just hahis myself. Be a man. up my own mess.”

  “You also cutti?” she asked quickly, her voice ft.

  Lucas let out a surprised ugh, shaking his head as he stood. “You? You came up with the idea! How could I do that to you?” His grin widehe usual fideurning. “We’re a team—you and me—and we’re the best damn hackers iy. Two morons ’t stop us.”

  Pearl ughed, though it sourained. “Yeah. You and me.”

  “So, Pearl, what’s the first step?” Lucas asked as he walked to his puter, only to notice immediately her handiwork. How she hacked him.

  No point leaving that in.

  “So, the first—” she started, but he quickly patched the code aarted the router, cutting off Pearl’s eid-sentence.

  She wasn’t out for long.

  “That was rude!” she ughed as her voice returned, amused rather than angry. Lucas, meanwhile, was sing faps in his defenses.

  “Damn, yood,” he admitted begrudgingly, narrowing his eyes at the logs.

  “Of course I am,” she replied smugly. “The only one who could do it, mind you. Now, as I was saying—step one is scouting out the pce. It’s in the slums, pretty dangerous, s a gun. Acc to the intel, you’re not the only one—”

  “Got you!” Lucas interrupted, grinning triumphantly as he located a permissions exploit in his firewall and patched it.

  Pearl’s voice cut out for ten seds—a new personal record.

  “Lucas!” she returned, her tone pyfully furious. “That was just uncalled for. Don’t force me to use a 0-day exploits! Anyway, that’s all you o know for now. I’ll tell you the rest on site.”

  “Thanks… And Pearl? Personal question?” Lucas hesitated.

  The line was silent for a few seds, then her voice came back, a little wary. “What is it?”

  “Am I… selfish? The AI told me I’m not sharing enough, or that I deflect bme—”

  “Lucas!” Her frustration burst through. “How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t ask an AI how to live your life! Soulless maes know nothing about being human. You’ve got to feel it for yourself!”

  Then she added quietly, “but you are the de human alive…” Her voice softened slightly, carrying a sound of something deeper. “That’s why I wanted us to meet in person, you know… before her.”

  Lucas leaned ba his chair. He was fused, but her answer firmed his screw up, so he was happy—until Pearl’s words hit him like a cold sp.

  “By the way,” she added casually, though her tone wasn’t, “have you told her yet?”

  “Told her what?” Lucas froze mid-motion.

  “That she isn’t the first Charlie,” Pearl said, her voice turning deadly serious.

  His grin vanished, repced by a deep furrow in his brow. “No. Not yet… The time wasn’t right.”

  “Lucas,” Pearl sighed heavily, and for the first time, her usual fidence cracked. “The time never will be right. If you don’t tell her soon, I will.”