Late at night, on the main seat.
Willis looked at Ophelia and Winnie Kanasha kneeling on the floor, while Annie Donald beside them remained silent.
“Annie, what exactly is going on?”
Hill Yu asked worriedly.
“This… I can’t really say…”
Although she really wanted to use this opportunity to drive away these two foxes, Annie understood that Willis wouldn’t let go.
Even if they tried to escape, Willis couldn’t bear to let them go.
Annie didn’t want to be the bad guy who tattled and lose points in front of Willis.
But at that moment, Ophelia stood up on her own, a look of resolve on her face.
“It’s me! So what!?”
Since she’d been discovered, Ophelia stopped pretending.
In fact, deep down, she wanted Willis to find out.
A kind of revengeful thrill and a desperate, head-on stubbornness made her act this way.
“I want to take them away, to get them out from under your demonic grip, Willis!”
As she spoke, tears glimmered at the corners of Ophelia’s eyes.
“Even if you threaten me with the family this time, it’s useless. They never saw me as a family member or a daughter anyway. I’m done with it all!”
Willis, sitting on the main seat, just looked at her coldly without saying a word.
This made Ophelia, who was ready to go head-to-head with Willis for once, slowly lower her head.
Under the silent pressure of the other party, Ophelia finally couldn’t stand the suffocating silence in the room.
That stifling sense of an impending storm, like a mountain pressing down.
Suffocating, painful, terrifying.
The courage she had just summoned quickly vanished, replaced by regret and fear.
It was her first time experiencing the oppressive force of an Empire Princess.
In the end, she still knelt down.
“M… Master… I was wrong.”
Willis tapped her finger on the chair, looking toward Annie Donald.
“Annie, do me a favor. You’re good at light magic, right?”
Hearing Willis’s words, Annie nodded excitedly.
“Yes, Your Highness! What do you need!?”
Willis said,
“Whether you use magic or something else, create a Little Black Room for me that’s lightproof on all sides.”
“Little Black Room?”
Annie Donald had never heard of such a thing.
“Mm, that’s right,”
Willis nodded.
“I want to lock the two of them inside.”
As she spoke, Willis looked at the two girls again.
“Winnie Kanasha, Ophelia, from now on, as long as you can endure 7 days in this Little Black Room…”
“After 7 days, you’ll be free.”
Willis declared a number that was already quite high.
After all, both were mages with high mental strength—it couldn’t be judged by common sense.
“But for these 7 days, you have to wear this Magic Suppression Collar and cannot use any magic!”
“After 7 days, Ophelia, you’ll be free. The Contract regarding your family’s mine remains valid.”
“As for you, Winnie Kanasha, I’ll remove your Collar, and you and your people will also be free.”
“On the other hand, if you can’t last, you’ll both be enslaved by me for the rest of your lives. If you dare to disobey again, I’ll lock you in there.”
“How about it?”
The two girls who had never experienced the Little Black Room exchanged glances and both saw hope in each other’s eyes.
Wasn’t it just staying in a room for 7 days without coming out?
When they practiced, they could go a whole month without leaving their rooms!
“Fine! You said it, so don’t regret it later!”
Winnie gritted her teeth and agreed.
Ophelia felt things wouldn’t be that simple, but she agreed too.
She and Winnie thought the same—wasn’t it just staying in a room for 7 days without using magic?
Was Willis so angry she’d gone mad?
As long as she kept her word, they’d be free after 7 days!
For this, she looked to Hill Yu beside her.
“Her Highness the Princess, could you be our witness?”
Hearing Ophelia’s words, Hill Yu naturally understood their concerns.
She nodded helplessly.
“Fine. After 7 days, if you hold out, I’ll personally send you off.”
With the promise, joy appeared on both girls’ faces.
Not long after, the dark chamber was prepared.
No, it was found, actually.
And it satisfied Willis greatly.
They were two cellars used for storing items—already prepared!
They also blocked sound and light.
Willis ordered them cleaned thoroughly, not even leaving a speck of mud for the two.
They didn’t even need Annie’s magic—these two cellar Little Black Rooms were already perfect.
“Remember, 7 days. Ophelia, wear your Collar!”
“During this time, only those delivering food and water will come. If you want to give up, you can only tell her.”
“The guards around here won’t care about any of your shouting, even if you’re dying.”
The two girls pouted.
“Alright, got it, naggy.”
Winnie and Ophelia, full of confidence, entered their respective Little Black Rooms, and Willis ordered guards to keep watch outside.
No matter how they begged or screamed, no one was to respond.
Only with the meal deliverer’s consent could they be released.
And that meal deliverer was, of course, Annie Donald.
“With pleasure.”
Annie smiled, lifting her skirt in a curtsy, already scheming about how to make the two miss ten meals in seven days.
Though both were foxes she disliked and wished gone quickly, the thought of them betraying someone she loved made Annie even more upset.
If she didn’t teach them a lesson, she wouldn’t be a Donald!
Watching Annie Donald’s retreating figure as she went to rest, Willis felt a twinge of sorrow.
This person willing to help her liked someone else, and it hurt a little.
Maybe… she should just steal her royal sister away?
Willis was thinking this when Hill Yu beside her interrupted.
“Are you going back now?”
Willis shook her head.
“I’ll go back before dawn.”
“In these two days, people from the Laiensi Family and Rawal Family will come to visit. The transaction between us will officially begin when I arrive in Ushi City.”
“I’ll explain the details and conditions to you first, so you can handle the negotiations and contracts for me when the time comes.”
Last time, the Contract was signed by Willis and the Laiensi Family.
This time, since it involved specific ore veins, it needed to be signed again as the Lord of Ushi City.
“Next is the promised return to the Church of Judicature: Gold Dragon, Equipment, Ore, and other supplies. I’ll trouble you, royal sister, to have someone deliver them.”
She couldn’t trust others with these matters, and Annie Donald lacked experience and status.
So having Hill Yu do it was the best choice.
Hill Yu didn’t refuse, only saying she wasn’t good at such things.
“That’s why I’m explaining it to you… When the time comes, let Annie go with you, and let her watch over things.”
“Uh, no need.”
Hill Yu wasn’t keen to trouble Annie.
Seeing this, Willis didn’t expect her royal sister to be so concerned about face.
“Alright!”
“But you don’t need to worry too much, royal sister. We’ve already settled the main terms. The rest are just details.”
“Whether it’s the Rawal Family or Laiensi, neither dares offend us—they’ll act very humble.”
Looking at Willis, who was planning confidently and full of poise, Hill Yu couldn’t help but sigh.
“Little sister, you’ve really changed a lot.”
These words startled Willis, who thought she’d been seen through as not the original Willis.
Fortunately, Hill Yu happily hugged her, dispelling her fears.
“Seeing you like this now, I’m really happy for you, royal sister!”
Willis stiffened for a few seconds, then hugged Hill Yu back.
In this world, only Hill Yu truly loved her now.
But the next second, the emotion vanished.
“You stink, Willis! What’s that smell on you? It’s awful!”
Hill Yu pushed her away in disgust.
Willis sighed.
“Alright, royal sister, let’s go. Let’s check the City Lord’s Treasury.”
All plans and actions needed funding.
And the expenses and losses of the Empire Army’s campaign this time had to be paid by Willis herself—without money, nothing would work.
The wealth Ushi City had accumulated over these two years, aside from what was handed over to the Empire, given to officials, and used for territory governance…
***
The majority remained in the City Lord’s Treasury.
However, seeing it for herself, Willis nearly grabbed a knife to cut down the Vice City Lord in anger.
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