It seemed like the one who initially forced her into a desperate situation wasn't Gene, but this guy Lance.

Tiffany finally seized this opportunity, and today she had to squeeze Lance a bit.

Compared to her aggressive stance, Lance appeared somewhat at a disadvantage, even starting to change the subject.

"I'm no good at keeping accounts, you're no good at fighting. Now Hamlet wants to make a breakthrough, this battle must be fought..."

"The accounts are empty, and if you keep messing around, I'm not going to do this anymore. Find someone else." Tiffany had followed him for so long; she was no longer as naive as before, allowing herself to be manipulated while counting his money.

She's not leaving without getting the money today!

Upon hearing that Tiffany was about to quit, Lance realized there was no way to dodge the issue and had to calm her down.

"If we win the battle, we'll have money! Bastia's ransom of eighteen thousand gold coins is on the way, and when the Romani fleet returns, that batch of equipment, jewelry, and Ascension Potions should be worth tens of thousands of gold coins."

Lance's dealings with the Romani weren't that simple; some things he acquired were hard to sell, but the Romani had the channels.

With the Empire at war, the prices of jewelry and antiques had decreased, but outside the Empire, their price remained high.

Similarly, the price of Extraordinary Equipment was rising due to the chaos. Lance had plenty of equipment with too many negative effects to use.

If they couldn't be used, they were worthless to Lance, so it was the perfect time to sell them off.

"You should put it in writing." Tiffany directly pulled a paper from the documents in her hands and slapped it onto the table.

Seeing the paper that had obviously been prepared in advance, Lance finally understood.

Damn, you were waiting for me here!

She definitely came to ask for money, her goal very clear, which explained why she had no reaction when she saw Gene's body earlier.

"Sign it~" Tiffany gestured with the pen and paper, but her expression was non-negotiable.

"This... that's unnecessary, didn't I promise you already."

"You said the same thing last time, but the money wasn't retrieved, and we had to cover the shortfall from the budget." Tiffany remained unmoved.

Upon witnessing this, Lance felt heartbroken!

Just think how innocent and lovely Tiffany once was, what has turned you into this...

The heavy workload had taught Tiffany many lessons, mostly from Lance, that some things couldn't be taken at face value; no matter how nice the words, a piece of paper was more trustworthy.

Lance took the pen Tiffany handed over, his face full of helpless and bitter smiles.

He had just finished dealing with Gene's debt, and now it was his turn.

In the end, Lance signed it; the hand that wielded a giant sword to slay countless enemies now couldn't even hold a pen steady and let it drop.

Tiffany took the paper, but her face didn't show any signs of triumph. Instead, there seemed to be a strong resentment in her eyes as she left.

Lance could only chuckle apologetically, afraid of provoking her.

Once she was out of sight, Lance let out a sigh.

"The world is truly becoming more degenerate..."

......

"Come to think of it, it's kind of funny. Originally, I wanted Gene to confess how he persecuted her back then, but Gene showed no reaction and instead just cut ties with the old man, so it was clear nothing more could be gleaned from him.

I was busy for her all day, and Margaret scolded me the whole time. You know how Tiffany treats me?"

As Lance spoke, he couldn't help but glance over at Grendel, who was lying beside him. After everything was done, he naturally started talking about today's interesting events.

"Don't give me that. I can't even bear to call you out on it. Were you really doing it for her? No, you had your eye on Gene's convoy."

Grendel didn't respond directly but laughed, exposing Lance's rhetoric. She could tell Lance was joking, with no negativity in his words.

"Partly, partly..." Lance chuckled awkwardly and continued talking about Tiffany's performance.

"She actually just glanced at the corpse and immediately turned to demand money from me. You should have seen how quick her expression changed, I almost felt sorry for Gene."

Lance's words suddenly became impassioned, as if he were Gene exclaiming, "I've died right in front of you, at least spare me one more glance."

The performance made Grendel burst into laughter.

"And after I promised her that the money would be credited as soon as it arrived, she still didn't believe me, whipping out a document for me to sign before she was satisfied. She must have been well-prepared."

"Did you sign it?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to come to your place tonight." Lance said as he embraced Grendel, pressing his face against hers.

"Our Lord had even this time of being at a disadvantage~" Grendel took the opportunity to cuddle Lance, lightly teasing, her eyes curving into crescents, almost unable to hide her smile.

"You're still the best~" Lance just nestled closer, saying nothing, the soft warmth around his face greatly comforting his "wounded" heart.

Grendel lifted her hand to gently massage his temple, teasing, "She's still too young, getting completely spun around by you and still thinking she's won."

This remark, however, made Lance stop his antics, looking up with a smile to explain.

"She's set it up this far; playing along with her won't hurt. Letting her blow off steam on me is better than her losing her temper on someone else. Besides, I've got thick skin; a few words won't hurt me."

"You just like to tease her, not worried that something might actually go wrong." Grendel knew Lance too well; there was no way he'd be easily fooled. It could only be him teasing Tiffany a little.

"How could I not be aware of the account's status? I'm indeed putting her in a tough spot. Watching the account's money continuously dwindle with no incoming funds — that kind of anxiety can destroy a person's mindset."

"Even if the ransom and payment come in, it's only a temporary fix. If there's still a need to expand the army and research firearms, we'll have to think of a solution." Getting to this point made Grendel serious, since she was familiar with these concerns and understood that Hamlet was currently burning through money. Without it, the consequences were imaginable.

The people's sentiments could change swiftly in a moment of thought.

"Hamlet's upcoming activities' funding isn't on that amount; how much money is that really."

Lance was nonchalant. Tens of thousands of gold coins was something an ordinary person wouldn't dare imagine, but for Lance, it wasn't much.

Now with nothing to hide from Grendel, Lance made a remark.

"The real funding for the future is in Ovando City. The tensions there are increasingly intense. The wealth accumulated over years by those noble and wealthy families must amount to a few million gold coins, right?"

Upon hearing this, Grendel understood that Lance was planning to make a move against Ovando.

"Why don't you tell Tiffany then? She would surely agree to your campaign and might even help with strategies. After all, she grew up in Ovando City and surely knows who has the money."

"Our main forces are tasked with operations in the wildlands, the operations in Ovando are handled by the team Walter and Vick established. At most, I'll just go over to collect the money.

Besides, the reason a surprise is a surprise is because the expectations are low enough. If I tell her about the money, what happens if something unexpected happens with the operation in Ovando?

If I can't produce the funds, she might tear me apart, whereas if she doesn't know, and I do get the money, she'll be happier instead of constantly worrying about money she can't be sure of and doesn't belong to her."

"You're still worried Tiffany will find an excuse to cling to you, right?" Grendel boldly teased with a few quips, "Serves you right; you keep avoiding her, so it's no wonder Tiffany seizes every opportunity she can."

"You're not acting right." Lance seemed to sense something; such bluntness made him feel pressured.

Grendel, however, didn't push, instead saying openly, "Can't you see?"

"No, she's just an ordinary person." Lance knew perfectly well what she meant with those words and straightway denied it. "After seeing Barin's mother, I understood that a Transcendent and an ordinary person aren't suitable together, so why should I ruin someone else's life for my own sake?"