In Gritnia City...

Audrey stood before the tall mirror in her chamber, readjusting the cuff of her sleeve, and packing down her hair nicely.

She suddenly for a second, no longer checking her appearance, but staring past it.

And in that silence, Ethan’s voice returned to her.

"Tell me, Ms. Audrey... why are you so obsessed with this throne? The obsession has gone beyond cynical..."

Her expression hadn’t changed but her thoughts had been pulled towards in a period in the past.

-

[Flashback — Two Hundred Years Ago]

A young lady moved hastily through the palace corridors. Her head was lowered and her hands were trembling as she struggled to steady a tray that was too heavy, considering the amount of things it lifted.

Mocking laughter echoed behind her and it came from a group of royal children in that same corridor.

"Look at her." one of them said

Another snorted. "Ugh! Peasants Irritate me!"

"Ew she stinks."

They enjoyed making fun of the new maid that had been brought to replace their former Nanny. The one they actually preferred.

This new maid was no more than twenty, and even though she wasn’t looking at the kids, she was listening to their every word.

And this split her focus, pulling it away from noticing the approaching figure until it was too late.

A young man, her age, maybe even younger, stepped into her path at the same moment she turned the corner.

The impact between them, caused the tray to slip from her grip.

The ceramic plates and cups shattered on floor in sharp, chaotic bursts.

Her breath caught. "I—I’m so sorry, my prince—"

The apology barely left her mouth when his right hand flew forward, delivering a slap that sent her to the ground.

Her cheek burned, and her vision blurred briefly as she fell among the broken pieces.

-

Later that night, she returned to a dim corner of the servant quarters where her four year old daughter was waiting.

Little Audrey had been a product of an unwanted pregnancy. Although, such occurrences were not uncommon in this medieval age, where wealth was often measured by the horses and farmland a man owned.

"Mother..." the little girl said softly, stepping closer into the open arms of the extremely battered lady.

She lifted her child and smiled, briefly forgetting the searing pain from the cane marks across her body for breaking the plates.

The child noticed the marks on her face, as well as the tears still gathering in her eyes.

"Mother... why are they so cruel?"

The woman kept smiling as she sat down with Audrey in her arms. "My child, this world is always going to be the same," she said.

Then gently, she brushed the child’s hair back.

"It doesn’t change for people like us."

-

A few more years passed, and illness eventually took her mother, earlier than it should have. Audrey was left alone to learn what it meant to survive.

She was taken into another household later in her life, belonging to a powerful man who had four wives and six concubines.

This was Lord Desdemona, and she was meant to be his seventh concubine.

One evening, when laughter from two men filled the room. One was from the Lord Of the House and the other was his friend.

"Women," his friend scoffed, lifting his drink, "they are shit and should never be anything more."

That brought more laughter. They were joking about something concerning their wives.

"But we still can’t do without them ey?" The Lord Desdemona added.

At this point, Audrey, now slightly over twenty, had come to serve them more ale from the tray she held.

Lord Desdemona then moved his palm to slap her bum.

Her body jerked slightly. But instead, she bowed and continued on her way without speaking.

This was a normal occurrence for her now. After all, the man owned her.

Both he and his friend continued laughing in the background.

——

That night, something changed.

She sat up in bed, staring downward as tears fell from her cheeks and dropped to the ground.

She was overwhelmed by everything at once, suddenly missing her mother all over, and the weight of a life she did not want to endure.

She wanted and desire better.

Then, suddenly, the tears stopped falling.

Not because she had stopped crying, but because they froze in air the moment they left her eyes.

Her eyes widened at the sight.

She had always known she possessed mana. Her mother had been a caster too, but like her, she had only ever been rated E-tier—too weak to be considered for proper training, and too insignificant for anyone to care.

Life had never given them the chance to even attempt magic. No one would have offered it to them either.

But in a single night, she changed. From an E-tier caster...To the only Grand Class of that Era.

——

The trip down memory lane ended when Esmeray stepped into the room and said. "My lady."

Audrey was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts as she blinked a few times before turning her head slightly. "What is it?"

Esmeray, her head still inclined, replied, "The house is being observed, my lady."

She was referring to the men she had sensed watching from different angles around the estate.

"It doesn’t matter," Audrey said flatly. "Let them."

Her servant bowed.

Audrey then turned and walked past her, heading into the corridor that led down the stairs into a large living room.

Anton, seated to one side, turned his head to watch the approaching woman.

Alistair, positioned on the opposite side, also looked up, observing Audrey as she approached with Esmeray a step behind her.

Audrey barely acknowledged the sights around her as she glanced down at her buzzing Arcphone.

It was a message from an unknown number:

[I’ve done as you asked. Please spare my family.]

There was no doubt it came from one of the men from earlier that day in the private meeting room. The security attendants had ensured each of them left with her contact card as they departed.

Audrey’s lips curved into a smile, then she moved into the living room and gestured lazily toward the television.

"Turn it on."

Without question it, Alistair reached for the remote and powered the screen.

[LIVE NEWS — GRITNIA CITY BROADCAST]

The anchor seated at the desk tried her best to conceal the tension in her voice as she delivered the report.

"Breaking developments continue across Gritnia City," she said. "Multiple high-profile noble houses and corporate entities have issued formal statements within the past hour, distancing themselves from House Tudor and the King."