Chapter 7: The Artemisia List
Memories flashed like a revolving lantern, stopping on the day of the Falmouth family’s downfall.
The Falmouth family, known as the “Hand of the Empire,” was impeached by the imperial family for treason.
That night, flames lit up the sky, countless dazzling spells blooming like fireworks above the Falmouth family’s territory.
Screams, the clash of weapons, wails… echoed throughout the streets, throughout the imperial city.
The fire burned for six days and five nights.
During that time, greedy citizens rushed into the flames to loot and plunder, and the imperial soldiers tacitly allowed it. Perhaps they also wanted to take advantage of the fire to line their own pockets, but due to their status as soldiers and the Empress’s order not to touch anything belonging to the Falmouth family, not even a single inch of land or a brick…
They were afraid of losing their jobs, so they could only watch as the crowds emptied the Falmouth estate…
Until a sudden downpour extinguished the fire.
Revealing crumbling walls, charred corpses, and a devastated land…
Lena witnessed both destruction and rebirth.
Her home was gone, but like a whale fall nourishing new life, the Falmouth family’s assets were devoured by greedy nobles and commoners.
“Everyone will pay the price.”
Lena sat on the carved balcony at the top of the Gothic spire, gazing out.
The night sky was beautiful, the moon full.
A scene of peace and prosperity.
But who knew that this glamorous First Empire had already been gnawed to pieces by countless parasites.
It was all a facade…
The hero’s appearance couldn’t resolve the empire’s crisis.
There was still famine, plague, riots, civil war, foreign enemies… waiting for the aging empire to collapse…
Just like the whale fall, the Falmouth family was killed by the empire, not the hero.
The hero only indirectly contributed to the Falmouths’ demise, like a deadly firearm used by someone with ulterior motives, aimed precisely where they wanted, then smugly believing they had only killed the bad guys.
“Look, I’m the hero.”
“A hero should save the world, right? All villains meet a bad end, even those who turn over a new leaf, they still pose a threat to the world.”
Lena mimicked the hero’s tone, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Sometimes laughing maniacally, sometimes sobbing, tears streaming down her face.
She hated everything about the hero equally.
And the empire beneath her feet.
That unworthy First Empire.
Trash, weak and fragile.
Ready to crumble with a single stomp.
…
While waiting for Ling Ling to finish her bath, Lena thought a lot.
There were less than three months until the hero transferred to the Saint Lorenzo Magic Academy. During this time, she had to clear the obstacles in advance and find a way to establish herself within the academy.
Although she was already famous, it was mostly for her notoriety. Others weren’t afraid of her, they were afraid of the Falmouth family behind her.
Besides, she would eventually tire of the stigma constantly hanging over her head.
What Lena wanted was to be admired and adored like Angel, or feared and dreaded like the Dean of the Necromancy Department, the old hag Witch.
There were many benefits to doing so.
Avoiding idiotic harassment was one.
Harvesting the beautiful girls around the hero was another.
Showing the imperial family that the Falmouth family had another genius-level mage, achieving the goal of shaking the tiger in the mountains, was a third.
As for the fourth…
When the hero learned of such a powerful and renowned senior, he would definitely come to visit and spar. At that time, if she held all the women who originally belonged to him in her hands, she would have leverage and confidence in front of the hero.
Just imagining having several beauties while the hero could only stand there awkwardly watching her, she…
“Hahahaha.”
Lena leaned against the bed, slapping her thigh, unable to contain her laughter.
This was what a villain should be like!
She had been too cowardly in her past life, not daring to do anything, only focusing on flattering the hero. In the end, she was still caught off guard, stabbed in the back by the empire, drenched in dirty water that couldn’t be washed clean, her and her family’s reputation ruined.
Therefore, the hero wasn’t scary.
Death was just death.
She had already died once.
This time, she had to enjoy herself before dying, right?
Go all out! Just go all out!
But before openly revealing her intentions, she had to be more subtle.
“The hero’s fiancée…hmm, his childhood sweetheart, if I remember correctly, she’s Angel’s older sister, right? The sisters don’t get along very well…”
Lena flipped through the list of potential targets, stacks of information, mostly about important figures who had risen to prominence in her past life.
The hero’s sister-in-law was already under her control.
She could set her sights further.
For example, the hero’s childhood sweetheart and fiancée—Angel’s older sister, Vanessa Cavendish.
And the Empress, who reigned supreme over the empire.
Half of the suffering in her past life was caused by that damned old woman!
The most threatening individuals always appeared last.
The Flower of the Empire, the Imperial Princess, who secretly plotted to usurp the throne. She had immense power and influence, and the Eye of the Empire intelligence agency was her personal creation. After the devastating foreign war, she was the one who initiated the civil war, the one who made the first move.
The next one was even more significant.
General Euphemia, commander of the Northern Expeditionary Army stationed in the snowy lands of Ilalaba.
Her power was comparable to the current Empress. She commanded millions of Northern Expeditionary soldiers, each one brave and skilled in battle, capable of fighting ten enemies at once. The pampered imperial soldiers were no match for the Northern Expeditionary veterans who lived in extremely harsh environments. If she could establish contact with General Euphemia, it would be ideal.
Oh, she almost forgot about the most unreliable Demon King!
He had never appeared, and she didn’t know where he was.
If the Demon King hadn’t been born, the hero would be invincible.
In short, sooner or later, the hero would grow to a point where people looked up to him. This was the will of the world, the mission of the Child of Destiny, an undeniable fact.
“So, can I find the Demon King and let him deal with the hero?”
If she joined the Demon King’s side, could she avoid the fate of death?
Lena shook her head, quickly suppressing the thought of survival.
She turned to look at the little fox girl who was still dawdling in the bathroom. She had been washing for almost an hour, wasn’t she afraid of scrubbing her skin raw?
Splash—
The bathroom door opened.
The petite fox girl, dressed in a black silk slip dress, walked out shyly, padding softly on all fours to Lena’s lap. Her golden eyes, still misty from the bath, looked up at Lena as she murmured, “Can we start now, Miss…?”
She looked as if she was about to cry.
It was hard to imagine what she was feeling.
“Where’s my medicine?” Lena turned and rummaged through the drawers. She had just applied it this morning…
“Miss.”
Ling Ling produced a prepared potion, but the bottle was heart-shaped, and the pink liquid inside was thick and viscous.
“Please…please use it on Ling Ling’s body.”
Leave a Reply