“Steward?”
“Renovations?”
The thread of reason in Lilia’s mind snapped with an audible snap.
She had just trampled those arrogant nobles into the dirt.
She had just carved a bloody, dripping chunk of flesh from that old fox, Valian.
This room full of clinking gold coins was her prize—won by staking her life and her dignity!
And now, this twisted woman, with one light, casual sentence,
was making her use her own money to repair the city?!
How was that any different from slaving away at a job,
only to have the boss run off with all her wages?!
“I won’t do it! Meow!”
Lilia, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, exploded in an instant.
She spread her arms wide, protecting the money bags behind her, puffed out her cheeks, and screamed at Lucia.
“This is my money! I earned it fair and square! Why should I have to use it to fix your stupid city? Meow!”
“Oh?”
Lucia’s voice had no ripple of emotion.
“Your money?”
She didn’t even make an extra move—just glanced at the treasure.
The heavy money bag that Lilia was clutching suddenly felt lighter.
Clatter—the cold, hard sensation vanished.
Black powder slipped through her fingers, forming a thin layer on the ground.
Then, every gold coin, gem, and shiny thing in the room
lost its color and shape in silent an instant.
They turned into piles of worthless black ash.
Lilia froze.
She looked down at her empty hands, at the ashes on the floor.
The paradise of wealth that had been jingling moments ago
had turned into a silent graveyard in the blink of an eye.
A chill shot from the base of her tail to the back of her skull, turning her limbs ice-cold.
She had forgotten.
In front of this woman, her so-called “possession” was a joke from the start.
Everything she had was built on the other’s charity.
What was given could be taken back in the very next second.
“Now, do you still think it’s your money?”
Lilia’s body trembled.
She slowly lifted her head to meet those blood-red eyes looking down at her.
There was no anger, no disdain in them.
Only an absolute, all-seeing control.
“Uu…”
Lilia’s nose stung, and she couldn’t hold it together anymore.
She didn’t burst into loud sobs—instead, like a child suffering an immense but unexpressable grievance, she plopped down into that pile of black ash.
Big teardrops fell, each one making a small wet pit in the dust.
“You’re a bully! You’re just a twisted jerk! Meow!”
She wiped her tears randomly with the back of her hand, smearing ash all over her face like a little stray cat.
She kicked at the ash with her little leather boot,
but the light powder offered no resistance,
only rising in a cloud that made her cough.
“Cough… cough… you… give me back my money! Meow!”
Lucia just stood there.
She didn’t speak, didn’t move.
Her very presence was an invisible pressure,
making the air in the room heavy enough to choke on.
She just watched, watched as this little thing vented her impotent rage in the most childish way possible.
Until Lilia had cried herself out of strength.
She had run out of swear words.
Now she was only lying in the ash, shoulders heaving as she hiccupped from crying.
Only then did Lucia slowly crouch down.
Her cold fingertips pinched Lilia’s chin, which was covered in tears and dust, forcing her to look up.
“Done crying?”
Lilia, with eyes red as a rabbit’s, glared at her viciously, making a defiant “heh… heh” sound from her throat.
“If you’re done crying, let’s talk business.”
Lucia let go and stood up.
She raised her hand, and a crisp snap of her fingers rang out.
The black dust on the floor moved as if someone had hit rewind.
It swirled, gathered, and reshaped itself.
Jingle, jingle—
The crisp sound of collision returned.
In the blink of an eye, the mountain of gold coins and treasure was back.
Even more than before, shining even brighter.
Lilia’s crying hiccups caught in her throat.
She stared stupidly at the scene, her brain completely short-circuited.
“Tomorrow morning, go to the Central Administrative Hall.”
Lucia’s voice had returned to that emotionless, commanding tone.
“Lilith will give you the complete list of all projects requiring renovation in Yasra City.”
She paused for a moment.
“As for how to repair them, what shape to make them, and how much to spend…”
“…It’s all up to you.”
“I only care about the results.”
With that, her figure vanished into thin air.
Only the dazzling treasure remained,
and Lilia, sitting amid the gold coins, completely dumbfounded.
‘All… up to me?’
Lilia slowly climbed to her feet, her tear streaks still fresh.
She walked over to the pile of gold, reached out, and touched it cautiously.
It was real, with that cold, hard feel.
Her mind, after going through a storm, began to spin at unprecedented speed.
‘That twisted woman…‘
She threw such a huge mess at me—she definitely doesn’t mean well!
She just wants to see me make a fool of myself!
‘She wants to see me get tangled up in tedious administrative work and troublesome bureaucrats,‘harassed until I’m a wreck, and then obediently become her tame little foreman!‘
If I honestly take that list and repair those broken sewers and crumbling walls…
‘Wouldn’t that be playing right into her hands?!‘
No way!
‘Absolutely not!’
A spark of light blazed in Lilia’s heterochromatic eyes—one gold, one blue!
‘She said it herself: how to repair, what shape to make it—all up to me…’
‘In that case…’
An idea, incredibly bold and almost insane, sprouted roots and grew wildly in her heart!
‘Who wants to fix those boring, broken pieces of junk!’
‘I’ll use this money to build myself the most luxurious, most comfortable, most fun… giant amusement park in the whole world!’
‘No! I’ll call it “Lilia’s Revenge Park”!’
‘I’ll turn Yasra City’s tallest Mage Tower into a spiral slide that shoots from the clouds to the ground!’
‘I’ll fill the Fountain of Mana in Central Square with sweet wine brewed from Elf Fruit!’
‘I’ll catch all those cowardly nobles and make them the park’s NPCs!’
‘Let those fat, pig-headed counts play goblins that get beaten up by tourists!’
‘Let those coy, simpering ladies play delicate princesses who can only scream!’
‘I’ll make that old fox Valian wear a ridiculous clown suit every day and perform walking on his hands at the park entrance!’
‘If anyone doesn’t come to play, I’ll whip them with a lash!’
This thought made Lilia’s blood boil.
Her tear streaks were still there, but a twisted, brilliant grin had already spread from ear to ear.
She stood with her hands on her hips, right in the middle of the treasure that represented power and wealth.
She shouted toward the spot where Lucia had disappeared, the most arrogant declaration she’d made since crossing over.
“Lucia! You just wait and see! Meow!”
“You wanted to see me be a steward, didn’t you?”
“Well, I’ll let you see for yourself what real ‘bankruptcy’ looks like! Meow!”
“I’m going to use your money to build a Happy Castle that belongs only to me!”
“And when it’s done, you won’t even get through the front gate! Meow!”