Kares Territory.
The seven-day invited martial arts competition held during the Giant Strength Potion sales event officially came to a close.
Luwei took advantage of this momentum to offer favorable conditions to the outstanding participants, striving to recruit them to the Kares Territory.
After all, just days earlier, Luwei had carried out a major purge within the Caris family.
In one fell swoop, she had uprooted too many small nobles who flocked to the powerful, leaving the family in a state of lacking available personnel.
This sales event not only made a name for the Caris family, but the generous rewards offered in the arena matches also left a very good impression on the hearts of these young geniuses.
Thus, Luwei acted on the opportunity, hoping to secure these younger-generation talents.
On the list submitted by her subordinates, one-tenth of the participants chose to accept the hiring terms of the Kares Territory.
“These are the ones. Call them individually to Carris Manor. I have additional contract terms to discuss with them.”
Luwei circled several names with her pen.
These were the beautiful girls she had scouted in advance.
The light above their heads was at least blue or higher.
That meant they could not only serve the Caris family but could go a step further and sign a contract with her.
The subordinate took the list, a strange expression on their face as they left, perhaps misunderstanding something.
After all, these “special participants” Luwei had singled out didn’t seem particularly outstanding to outsiders.
Except—they were all young maidens.
Luwei rubbed her forehead; she was almost getting used to these odd looks.
In the past, these negative rumors had been Luwei’s protective coloring.
A vaseheiress with peculiar habits?
Anyone would think she wasn’t worth worrying about.
But now, with the Caris family becoming famous, these bad reputations would be magnified infinitely.
Luwei had long pondered the issue of reputation.
Should she stand at the forefront and face this spotlight?
The benefits were clear.
Appearing in public and proudly showcasing her abilities would undoubtedly win the support of the people and leave her detractors with nothing to question.
Not only that, but once Luwei stood on stage and actively proclaimed her achievements, her authority would undoubtedly rise accordingly, and she could completely shed the label of “vase heiress.”
As for the downsides…
First, there was the issue of her own reputation.
Luwei grimaced, finding it truly hard to let go.
Choosing to appear before the public meant bearing the backlash of her reputation.
Her past was practically notorious.
As the Caris family’s fame grew, these bad reputations would naturally spread as well.
If Luwei chose to polish her image, she would have to behave with utmost propriety.
She could no longer do things like picking on others or throwing a tantrum.
This simply went against her trademark as the “villainess Luwei.”
No matter how she thought about it, it was wrong!
Besides, Luwei quite enjoyed her current feeling of staying behind the scenes, not being constantly watched.
Just days ago, she had purged the informants within the Caris family, finally escaping the days of being monitored daily, no longer having to be cautious and watch her every word and action.
Now she was going to be pushed to the front, facing those scrutinizing gazes again?
A flicker passed through Luwei’s eyes.
She really didn’t like being famous.
So, what she had to do was clear—lower her profile, know when to quit, and bide her time.
“Spread the word that the Caris family will not hold a public awards ceremony. Participants who earned rewards in the martial arts competition must come to claim them personally.”
This move would be enough to show that the sales event had achieved unexpected success, and the Caris family had no confidence left to attract more attention.
“Prepare a group of people to spread rumors: the Caris family is planning to disclose some technical details of the Giant Strength Potion.”
As the Kares Territory grew stronger, there were bound to be people who couldn’t hold back and would try to strike.
Once they discovered that the refining process of the Giant Strength Potion could not be cracked by alchemists, they would undoubtedly resort to more extreme measures.
But proactively spreading such news could both mediate and stabilize the various forces.
More importantly, it would eliminate the terrifying premium on the Giant Strength Potion.
One had to know that with the Caris family’s limited supply, the price of the Giant Strength Potion had been driven from 50 Gold Coins to nearly a thousand.
And all of this stemmed from the unique alchemy process of the potion.
“Give this letter to the Third Princess.”
Luwei pressed the family wax seal onto the envelope.
The letter’s content was essentially urging the Imperial Family to quickly begin the succession ceremony.
The Imperial Family’s silence made Luwei uneasy.
On the other hand, she had been busy handling the Caris family’s affairs, and too many of her cards had already been revealed.
She didn’t want to give Fina any more preparation time.
If that scheming wretch got hold of enough information, the result was a foregone conclusion—Fina’s specialty was setting one trap after another, so casually that you’d never notice.
A chill rose in Luwei’s heart.
By the time she realized it, she would already be tangled in chains, unable to escape Fina’s grasp.
And what Fina coveted was her game panel, bound to her for good.
Once Fina succeeded, Luwei wouldn’t even be able to get away.
She’d be locked in a dark underground room, completely reduced to her tool!
Within the Princess’s room.
Aisha hesitantly watched Fina.
The latter’s eyes were slightly bloodshot as she stared obsessively at the letter in her hands.
“This is Luwei’s handwritten letter!”
Seeing her like this, a flicker of worry passed through Aisha’s eyes.
Ever since Luwei had rooted out Princess Fina’s informants, the princess had seemed… out of sorts.
She locked herself in her room all day, keeping company with her “collection.”
She no longer cared about political affairs, couldn’t sleep or eat.
And all of this was simply because—
Fina could no longer spy on Luwei through her informants.
But in Aisha’s view, Fina’s surveillance had never stopped for a moment.
By gathering intelligence and analyzing the Caris family’s activities, investigating the personnel around Luwei, and mapping out the Caris family’s building structure, Aisha had even seen drafted orders in Fina’s bedroom.
Treason Charge—Caris family members suspected of colluding with the Kingdom of Loka.
Demanding Head Luwei’s full cooperation in the investigation.
Tax Audit—Large sums of property from unknown sources, unclear tax structure.
Detain Luwei before further investigation.
Decapitation Operation—Deploy a Great Archmage strike team.
Arrest Luwei within two hours.
“She used honorifics~ How polite!”
“Her tone is so stern… Even when she’s angry, she’s so cute!”
“…Oh, so she’s impatient about the succession ceremony? What a greedy little thing~”
“She made a mistake writing my name… Is she flustered? Could she be secretly in love with me??”
Watching Fina savoring every single punctuation mark, practically burying her head in the envelope.
Aisha’s pupils shook.
Your Highness the Third Princess, th-this… this is just a letter!