A neon-blue screen exploded into Evelina’s vision. It flickered with golden sparks, accompanied by a sound like a shower of coins hitting a marble floor.

[DING! DING! DING!]

[Notification: Psychological Strike Confirmed!]

[Target: Ace Alvarez]

[Emotional Breakdown: 25% Confusion, 10% Irritation, 15% Vulnerability.]

[Status Modifier: 100% Ignored.]

[Calculated Impact: Extreme Ego Abrasion.]

[Reward: +100 Heart-Wrecker Points!]

Evelina leaned back in her chair, a sharp-edged smile finally touching her lips. She set down the Aurelia Gazette and watched as the ’Current Balance’ in the corner of her eye ticked upward.

In her first life, she had spent every waking hour obsessing over how to make that man happy.

She had curated her personality to suit his tastes, worn the colors he preferred, and censored her own intelligence so as not to bruise his fragile male ego.

She had worked herself into a feverish exhaustion just to earn a fleeting nod of approval; a mission that she had failed for years.

Now, she had done absolutely nothing. She had simply eaten her breakfast and asked for the salt.

"One hundred points for an egg," she whispered, her voice low and amused, "If I had known it was this easy, I would have stopped caring about him a decade ago."

She realized then that the System’s name; The Villainess Vengeance System was perhaps a bit of a misnomer. It wasn’t just about revenge in the sense of blood and daggers. It was about the redistribution of power.

Every time Ace felt ignored, she gained capital. Every time his arrogance hit the wall of her indifference, she gained the means to change the world.

In a twisted way, Ace Alvarez was no longer her husband. He was her most reliable asset. He was a passive income stream.

"System," she thought,"Show me the current balance."

[Current Gold Total: 1100]

[Current Heart-Wrecker Points Total: 450]

Evelina paused, frowning for a moment, "System, how are the points different from the Gold?"

Evelina noticed that these Heart-Wrecker Points only showed up around Ace. While she had seen and used gold before, she wasn’t fully sure how these points operated.

[VILLAINESS VENGEANCE SYSTEM CLARIFICATION: CURRENCY DIFFERENTIATION] Heart-Wrecker Points (Emotional Power); Generated by causing significant emotional shifts in designated ’Targets,’ primarily Ace. These trigger during moments of jealousy, confusion etc.

Note: This is your ’Cheat Code’ for surviving the Duke’s world and the Heart-Wrecker Points can be used to buy anything in the system.

Gold (Economic Power); Awarded for major or hidden mission completions or earned through real-world business ventures.

Gold can be used to buy anything inside or outside the system.

As Evelina went through the information, she finally understood it.

It looked like Gold could be used not just to buy things inside the system but also outside the system which made it more important compared to Heart-Wrecker Points that was limited to the system only.

’Hmm, but I can save the Gold and use the points for the things that I need from the system," With that thought, Evelina spoke up, "Open the shop. Filter for ’Industrial Development’."

The screen shifted, the blue light cooling into a deep teal.

The list of items available was staggering. She saw [Chemical Fertilization Basics: 500 Points], [Advanced Crop Rotation Analytics: 300 Points], and [Hydraulic Pump Blueprints: 1,200 Points].

[Current Heart-Wrecker Points Total: 450]

Evelina: "_"

The System made it sound easy and she actually believed it.

With the amount of money and points she had, she should actually consider selling her organs to afford something inside this System.

She sighed, letting her eyes roam over the options.

To the rest of the world, she was a woman whose only value was her lineage or her beauty.

But with these points, she could introduce technologies that would leapfrog the Empire’s current capabilities by decades.

She looked at the [Hydraulic Pump]. With the drought coming, being able to pump water from deep underground will decide who lives and who dies.

But she wanted more than just survival.

She scrolled deeper into the ’Locked’ section of the shop, her eyes landing on a shimmering gold icon that made her heart skip a beat.

[Item: Prototype Steam Engine Blueprints (Early Stage)]

[Cost: 2,500 Points]

[Description: The heart of the machine age. Provides the fundamental physics and mechanical engineering required to build the first functional steam-powered piston.]

[Warning: Requires high-grade steel and a ’Master’ level engineer.]

Two thousand five hundred points. It was a fortune to her right now. It was more points than she had earned in the entire first month of her rebirth.

She leaned forward, her fingers twitching with the desire to tap the icon.

A steam engine. If she could build even a steam-powered mill, the Snow family would be nothing more than a footnote in her history.

She would be able to transport the grain she was currently hoarding in Oakhaven across the entire North in days, not weeks. She would own the veins of the Empire’s commerce.

A muffled sound from the hallway interrupted her thoughts. It was the sound of Ace’s voice, raised in a frustrated bark.

He was likely scolding a servant for the way his boots had been polished or complaining that the hallway was too drafty.

Evelina stood up and walked toward the door, peeking through the crack.

Ace was pacing. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back, and his jaw was set so hard she could see the tension in his neck.

He kept glancing toward the dining room door, his eyes darting with a restless energy. He was waiting for her to come out.

Evelina realized that he was probably waiting for the second round of the fight, for the moment she would realize she had gone too far and come to soothe his ruffled feathers.

He looked ridiculous. He looked like a man who had been told he was the sun, only to find out that the world had found a different star to orbit.

Evelina didn’t step out. She didn’t offer him the very ’climax’ he was looking for.

Instead, she slowly pulled the door shut, the latch clicking with a quiet, final sound.

She turned back to the golden icon of the steam engine on her screen. Her eyes were calculating and filled with a terrifyingly bright ambition.

"Pace all you want, Ace," she whispered to the empty room, her voice barely a breath. "The more you stew in that confusion, the closer I get to my goal."

She watched the ’Confusion’ bar on his target profile flicker.

[Target ’Ace’ is wondering if you are actually sick. Confusion +55%]

[DING! +550 Points]

[Current Heart wrecker points: 1000]

Evelina felt a thrill of cold joy. She didn’t need his love nor did she need anything else from him. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

She just needed him to stay exactly as he was: arrogant, confused, and utterly obsessed with the fact that she no longer cared about him.

"Keep it up, Ace," she murmured, a dark smirk playing on her lips as she tapped the ’Wishlist’ button on the blueprints, "I need another quite some points for a steam engine, and you’re the one of the banks I intend to rob."

She sat back down, picked up a cold piece of toast, and began to plan her next move.