Miss Christine's private estate.
In the study, Christine sat in her wheelchair, the desk in front of her piled high with various docunts that concerned the happiness and stability of many in the family.
She read each one carefully and earnestly, making decisions, sotis spending a long ti consulting with others over issues in a docunt.
Day turned to night, and night turned to day, as Christine remained busy.
Just then, soone knocked at the door.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
"Co in."
No sooner had Christine spoken than she realized it was Andre who had co in. She paused, having forgotten when exactly Andre had left earlier.
"Weren't you in the study all this ti?"
Andre looked slightly startled and said,
"I just stepped out to get sothing, don't you rember? Do you need to take a break?"
Christine fell silent for a mont, then shook her head and said, "There's still so much work to do, I can't stop now. Maybe you could bring so energy dicine later."
The energy dicine that Uncle Byrne had invented decades ago was widely used as a food additive in many products and had beco a best-seller throughout Cyart.
Christine preferred to chew the energy dicine directly, rather than consu it in the less effective food products that contained it.
"Miss Christine, I have so envelopes here with the latest information about the family and the Church. It's necessary to report to you."
"Go ahead."
Andre's chosen Path of Consecution was the Path of World Order; he had now successfully reached the 2nd Rank.
"First, it's about the Dagger Brotherhood..."
Christine listened silently while Andre calmly reported the many situations that had occurred recently. Suddenly he said,
"Right, Lord Darren feels that his 'Black Tide' has been making one-sided contributions to the family. He is hoping to defer the loan he borrowed for another year."
Christine on the wheelchair displayed an indifferent face, without any hesitation she shook her head and calmly said,
"No, tell that Darren to pay back on ti, not a penny less. As the Fischer family grows larger, its mbers need to abide more strictly by family rules. If he truly can't afford the paynt, I'll deduct it directly from his family dividends."
Andre nodded and continued to speak in a calm and indifferent manner,
Experience more on empire
"One of Uncle Archibald's grandsons has impulsively killed an innocent person in a tavern in Nasir City, causing quite a stir. He hopes to settle the matter with a monetary fine."
Uncle Archibald, hmm?
Christine pondered for a mont. Publicly murdering an innocent citizen in Nasir City was quite a serious issue, which could easily lead to public outrage.
So, she shook her head firmly and said,
"That cannot be allowed. This matter must be dealt with according to the rules; arrest that person for trial."
Andre looked at his princess again and nodded.
"Understood."
Christine sighed.
Deep inside, she knew all too well the consequences of her decisions.
That sowhat ignorant man, Uncle Archibald, who had always watched her grow up and always treated her own father as his own brother, would from now on no longer have the sa good relationship with her as before.
But Christine felt that she had to enforce the rules that had been set not long ago.
Otherwise, what was the point of their existence?
Andre was silent for a while before he continued to speak.
"There's one more thing, Lord Darren's third child was born the day before yesterday, his na is Archer. But he didn't invite you to the celebration..."
Christine froze, then nodded her head.
"Darren didn't invite ? It seems he anticipated that I wouldn't allow him to defer his loan repaynt. That's fine; I don't have the ti for such troubleso matters anyway.
"Now, Uncle Byrne must master the Power of Consecution of the 4th Rank as quickly as possible, and I'll take care of the tedious matters of the Fischer family."
Recently, Uncle Byrne had handed many responsibilities over to Christine, almost freeing himself completely to focus solely on the Path of Knowledge.
That was what she had actively requested.
Having said that, Christine took a deep breath and picked up the next docunt to read, but sowhere deep inside, a sense of grievance began to swell up.
Damn it, why am I feeling these unnecessary emotions?
She shook her head, trying her best to cast away distracting thoughts, when suddenly she felt darkness envelop her vision, and then she fainted.
When Christine woke up, she found herself in bed, with Andre, who looked at her with a gentle expression, and Lilian, who watched her with concern, at her sides.
Lilian quickly frowned and spoke in a reproachful tone,
"You haven't eaten for many days, and you haven't slept, have you? It's quite unheard of for soone of your caliber, an Extraordinary Exponent, to faint due to physical weakness and emotional stress. Honestly, it's my first ti seeing this in decades."
Christine said with a wry smile,
"Sorry, I forgot. There's just been too much lately, and it's never-ending... it's literally never-ending..."
"I didn't expect to be so weak, even as an Extraordinary Exponent."
She faintly realized a truth, that the curse on her legs seed to affect her overall physical condition.
Although she and the old butler Theo were both Court Attendants of the 3rd Rank, his physical condition was far superior to her own.
Lilian looked at the nurous docunts on the desk and rembered what she had heard. In fact, after that family eting, her father had handed over most of the family's daily affairs to Christine to handle.
And Christine took many things more seriously than others, even digging up old matters, sotis creating several tis more work for herself out of thin air.
Hard work is a good thing, but is this really for the best?
Lilian thought for a while and then decided to speak so truths.
"Christine, there's sothing I have to tell you. Actually, more and more people in the family have co to dislike you, not just because of the 'Purgers' that you established, but also because of so of your own actions that have led to widespread aversion..."
"Recently, many people have been saying behind your back that you are cold-blooded and unsympathetic."
Christine nodded and said, "Well, they are quite right, and these are all things I had agreed upon with Uncle Byrne beforehand."
Lilian was stunned; she hadn't expected that her father had actually made such an agreent with Christine.
Christine continued, "Those punishnts and stern decisions could slightly tarnish Uncle Byrne's image in the eyes of the family mbers. There's no need for him to do them; I can take on that role."
"I think of the family as a machine, a precisely operating machine..."
"The priests from the Reforging Church have said that for a machine to run smoothly, it needs to consu lubricant, and the family is just like a finely-tuned machine. Sotis I think, why not let myself be that lubricant."
She paused, then calmly recounted the reality.
"I have very little talent, and I'm afraid I'll never reach the 5th Rank in my lifeti, so my individual extraordinary power is completely insignificant to the whole."
"I truly believe that the most important thing is to keep the entire family operating smoothly."
"Everyone has their most suitable place."
Lilian sighed with relief and said, "Christine, you really have been working hard."
"I won't try to persuade you any further, since everyone has their own beliefs."
"If only Karno could be a bit more like you and care more about the family..."
When the twin brother she had not seen for several years was ntioned, Christine's face also showed a hint of nostalgia as she shook her head and said,
"He and I are completely different. I understand this better than anyone in the world. The concept of collectivism does not exist in his heart; nor is he like , a realist. He does not agree with the various rules and constraints of the world."
"But deep down, I still don't dislike Karno, not only because we are twins, but also because I know that in the end, Karno will be of help to the Fischer family."
——
Cyart's largest province, Glenborough Province.
In recent months, rainfall in Glenborough Province had significantly decreased, leading to a severe drought. Large swathes of land started to crack, crops in the fields withered, and livestock lacked sufficient water and food.
People's lives were severely affected, facing shortages of drinking water and food. Many families had to rely on a limited daily supply of reserve water, starting to dig deep wells in an attempt to find more underground sources.
In an unremarkable small village, the village chief gathered everyone to collectively brainstorm how to solve the problem of survival.
"If it doesn't rain again, I'm afraid many of us will die this year."
"What a pity, the old lord passed away suddenly two years ago. The new lord is a child, and there's no one to take care of us."
"What shall we do?"
As everyone was discussing fervently, a determined-looking middle-aged man raised his hand and said with deep eyes, "I think for this matter, we still need to seek help from the church."
He was Ebner, the hunter of the village, also considered by many to be the most mature and collected man there.
The village beauty, the village chief's daughter Alice, also nodded her head continuously, agreeing:
"Extraordinary Exponents have the ability to create sothing out of nothing, to conjure water out of thin air. I think if we just ask the Great Priest of the church for help, the situation of the village can be quickly resolved!"
After pondering for a while, the village chief at last said, "Well, it seems this is the only thing we can do now. Although I feel that the church might not send anyone to save us... we have to try anyway."
"So, who is willing to leave the village and seek help from the church?"
"I am willing."
The steady Ebner nodded, raising his hand to volunteer, and the villagers cheered him on. Then Alice said she really wanted to go too, but was imdiately scolded and refused by the village chief.
"Alice, what on earth are you thinking? How could I possibly let you leave the village?"
The hunter Ebner also spoke frankly, stating that it would be indeed difficult to navigate through mountains and valleys with a normal girl, and Alice, after hearing this, could only leave helplessly.
Recently, due to the drought, the number of bandits in Glenborough Province had increased, and traversing mountains and valleys to reach a place they had never been was inherently dangerous. The villagers were all a bit scared.
For a mont, no one spoke.
The old village chief was a bit disappointed.
Just then, a young man in his twenties slowly raised his hand.
"I'll go as well."
The old village chief looked at the particularly handso young man and fell into thought.
He had arrived in the village a year ago, claiming to be a refugee who had fled from a nearby area. He had used his last money to buy a piece of barren land and began to toil day after day.
What made the villagers most curious, though, was the presence of a woman alongside the man when he first arrived. She was an extraordinarily beautiful woman who seed out of place among them, always persuading the man to leave.
But after about half a year, the beautiful woman suddenly left the village without a trace, leaving the man to stay behind alone.
After hesitating for a mont, the old village chief still smiled and said, "Alright, Karno, then you can go as well. It's ti for you to contribute to the village."
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