** At Olivia's Home**
The moment Olivia returned home, she dismissed her guards with a curt gesture.
Frederick tried to follow her inside, but she waved him off too.
"I need to be alone with Victoria. We'll debrief tomorrow."
He nodded in understanding and retreated.
Olivia entered the house quietly, her footsteps soft on hardwood floors. She knew exactly where Victoria would be—in the bedroom, where Victoria spent most of her days.
The room was dark, curtains drawn against afternoon light that would have hurt Victoria's sensitive eyes. Olivia's sister lay in bed, her face pale and drawn, dark circles under her eyes from years of sleepless nights battling agony that never ended.
"Victoria," Olivia whispered, kneeling beside the bed and gently shaking her sister's shoulder.
Victoria's eyes fluttered open. They were gray like Olivia's, but dulled by constant suffering. "Olivia? What time is it?"
"Afternoon. Don't move—" Olivia caught her sister's arm as Victoria tried to sit up, her face immediately twisting in pain.
"Just stay still. I have something for you."
"Another healer?" Victoria's voice was tired, resigned. "Olivia, we've tried everything. Please, I can't handle another charlatan telling me about miracle cures that don't work. I can't."
Tears were streaming down Olivia's face now, unchecked. She never cried. She was the Iron Rose of the Crimson Ravens, the woman who'd do anything to achieve her goal, who'd built an organization through ruthless competence and calculated violence.
But watching her sister suffer for nine years had worn cracks in that iron.
"Not a healer," Olivia managed, her voice breaking. "Victoria, I found it. I finally found a cure."
Victoria stared at her sister, not comprehending at first. Then her eyes focused on the small vial Olivia held—glowing faintly azure.
"That's... that's not possible," Victoria whispered. "There is no cure. Every healer in all the kingdoms has examined me. The best magical physicians, the royal healers, even that mad alchemist from Kael-Var. They all said the same thing—mana reflux has no cure. It's permanent. Progressive. I'll just keep getting worse until..."
She didn't finish the sentence. They both knew how it ended.
"Drink it," Olivia commanded, her voice fierce despite the tears. "Victoria, please. Just drink it. Trust me one more time."
Victoria looked at the vial, then at her sister's face—seeing the hope there, the desperation, the absolute conviction. Slowly, with trembling hands, she took the vial.
"If this doesn't work—"
"It will work. I've tested it. Five people with mana reflux, all cured within twelve hours. Completely cured, Victoria. No pain, no loss of magical ability. Everything restored."
Victoria uncorked the vial. The liquid inside smelled faintly of spring flowers. She hesitated one more moment, then lifted it to her lips and drank.
The taste was cool and sweet. For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
Warmth exploded in her chest.
Victoria gasped, her back arching as the sensation spread outward from her core. It wasn't painful, but it was overwhelming—like being submerged in warm water after years in ice, like feeling sunshine after living in darkness.
The constant ache that had been her companion for nine years began to fade. Not fast, but gradually—the burning in her mana channels cooled. The grinding pain in her joints eased. The exhaustion that had weighed on every breath lifted.
"Oh gods," Victoria sobbed, tears pouring down her face. "Oh gods, Olivia, I can feel it working. I can—" She pressed her hands to her chest, feeling her mana circulating properly for the first time in years. "My mana, it's flowing again. It doesn't hurt. It doesn't HURT."
Olivia climbed onto the bed and pulled her sister into a fierce embrace, both of them crying now.
"Will I really get cured?" Victoria asked between sobs, her voice desperate and disbelieving. "I won't suffer anymore? I won't wake up screaming every night? I won't be a burden to you anymore?"
"You were NEVER a burden," Olivia said fiercely, cupping Victoria's face in her hands. "Never. Do you hear me? You're my sister. You're the only family I have left, the only person in this world I truly care about. Everything I've done, every decision I've made since you got sick—it was all for you. To find this, to save you."
Olivia hugged her tightly.
"I thought I was going to die," Victoria admitted, her voice barely a whisper. "Every day, I thought... today might be the day I tell you I can't do this anymore. Today might be the day I beg you to... to end it."
Olivia's grip tightened. "Don't. Don't even say that. You're not dying. Not today, not ever. This cure—" she gestured to the empty vial "—it's real. By tomorrow morning, you'll be healthy. Truly healthy."
Victoria laughed through her tears—a sound Olivia hadn't heard in years. Real laughter, not the brittle, pain-filled attempt at humor her sister had forced for so long.
"Who found it?" Victoria asked. "Who created this miracle?"
"A baron. Edward Brown. Young—maybe nineteen or twenty. He contacted us through secret channels, offered to sell us the exclusive distribution rights."
"And you agreed?"
"I would have agreed to anything," Olivia said honestly. "But it turned out to be legitimate. The contract is fair, the product works, and..." She paused, thinking about the young baron who'd made her wait, who'd negotiated like he held all the cards, who seemed to see three moves ahead in every conversation.
"And I think he might be the most dangerous person I've ever met."
Victoria's eyebrows rose. "Dangerous? More than you?"
"Not dangerous like that. Dangerous like... like he knows things he shouldn't know. Like he's playing a game no one else can see. When he looked at me, it felt like he was reading my entire life story in my eyes." Olivia shook her head. "He knew about you. Not just that you existed, but specifics—how long you've been sick, how much I've spent trying to cure you, what motivates me."
Victoria felt anxious and said, "That's terrifying. There's no way anyone knows about us?"
"Yes. But he also saved your life. So I'm going to honor our contract, support his goals, and hope I'm making the right choice trusting him."
"Can you stay with me?" Victoria asked suddenly, her voice small. "Just for today? I know you have work, I know the guild needs you, but—"
"I'll stay with you always," Olivia interrupted. "The guild can wait. Frederick can handle things for one day. You're more important."
Victoria nodded, understanding flooding her tear-filled eyes. Suddenly her eyes burned with rage. "Now we can only focus on our revenge," she said angrily.
"Of course." Olivia smoothed her sister's hair back from her face, the gesture achingly gentle from a woman known for her cruelty to enemies. A thought crossed Olivia's mind. "We have to take our revenge."
They both remembered the humiliation they had faced and how their parents had died protecting them. Especially Olivia—she wanted to take her revenge more than anyone.
"Once I've recovered, we can start making preparations for our revenge," Victoria said. "We can't delay it anymore."
Olivia cupped her sister's face. "I know. Now please, can you rest?"
Victoria nodded.
Olivia laid down beside her sister, holding her hand as they'd done when they were children, before their parents died, before the world became cruel.
Victoria's breathing gradually evened out as the medicine worked through her system. The lines of pain that had been etched into her face for years smoothed away. Color returned to her cheeks. Her grip on Olivia's hand remained strong but relaxed—no longer the desperate clutch of someone in constant agony.
As Victoria drifted into the first peaceful sleep she'd had in nine years, Olivia stayed awake, watching her sister's chest rise and fall with easy breaths.
She thought about Edward Brown—the young baron who'd just fundamentally altered her world. He'd given her back her sister. For that gift, she would move heaven and earth to uphold their contract, to support his ambitions, to help him build whatever empire he was planning.
But she also noted mentally: if he ever, EVER threatened Victoria again, if he tried to use this cure as leverage, if he attempted to manipulate Olivia through her sister's dependence...
She would kill him. Slowly. Painfully. Contract be damned—she'd let her heart explode rather than let someone harm Victoria.
That was the nature of their new partnership. Bound by magic and mutual benefit, but ultimately held together by Olivia's absolute devotion to the one person she loved.
Edward Brown had saved Victoria's life.
Now he'd better pray he never made Olivia regret trusting him.
**NEXT MORNING**
I woke at dawn to find a message had been delivered during the night. Alfred stood in my doorway, looking apologetic for the interruption.
"My lord, Guild Master Olivia sent word. The cure worked perfectly. Her sister made a complete recovery overnight."
I nodded, unsurprised. "Good. That secures our partnership more firmly than any contract clause could."
"Indeed, my lord. Also—Cecil has completed the arrests. All named individuals from the corruption documents are now in custody. Five hundred thirty-seven people total, including the old staff."
I felt the weight of that number. Over five hundred corrupt officials, guards, and collaborators. The rot had run deeper than I'd anticipated.
"I've reviewed each case," I said. "One hundred seventy-three will face execution—those guilty of murder, severe embezzlement, and crimes that destroyed lives. The remaining three hundred sixty-four will receive punishments fitting their offenses: fines proportionate to what they stole, and public beatings for those who abused their positions."
"And did you finished the preparation for executions?"
"Yes, my lord. The village square is being prepared. We've posted notices in all five villages that attendance is mandatory for all adults. Those who don't appear will be fined."
"Good. And the people in the crowd?"
"Twenty people strategically positioned. They know exactly when to begin the chanting."
I stood and stretched, feeling the weight of what was coming. One hundred seventy-three executions in one day. It was brutal, excessive by modern standards.
But necessary. To break the old power structure, to establish my authority, to send a message that corruption would not be tolerated.
After Alfred left, I stood at the window looking out over the territory that was now mine. Villages in the distance, forests beyond, the port visible on the horizon where the morning sun caught the water.
All of it's mine. To build, to protect, to transform.
The execution this afternoon would be necessary brutal theater. But after the blood dried and the bodies were buried, the real work would begin.
Building something worth building.
Creating a territory where corruption wasn't the norm, where people could live without constant fear, where talent was rewarded instead of suppressed.
It was ambitious. Probably impossible.
But I'd done impossible things before.
I turned from the window and began preparing for the day ahead.
The game was just beginning.
And I intended to win.
**To be continued**