As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of amber and crimson, Ravenna sat iudy, gazing out of the wide, arched window. The tranquil view of the darkening sea calmed her restless mind, but only slightly. The dimming light cast long shadows across the room, dang over the polished wood of her desk, the scattered parts, and the flickering dlelight.

  Even now, a month after she had awoken in this world as Ravenna, it still felt surreal at times. The faint memory of her previous life lingered like a half-remembered dream, refusing to pletely fade. She had e to accept this reality but the odd dissoween who she was and who she had bee up on her in quiet moments like this.

  Shaking her head, she drew her attention back to the glowing blue interface of the reputation system h before her. With a few mental ands, she opehe website where she read Light's quest. Acc to its timeline, Prince William and Eugene were currently deep in the Ana Empire’s underground, dealing with a ring of sve traders. This arc was one of the novel's pivotal moments, solidifying William's reputation as a righteous tender for the throne and garnering him widespread public support.

  “They must be pletely focused on that mess right now,” Ravenna muttered to herself, her lips curling into a faint smirk. “With any lueither William nor the Eugene will waste a sed thought on an exiled princess with no money or power.”

  The idea brought a small sense of relief, though it did little to quell the nagging unease in the back of her mind. For now, she was tent to remain unnoticed. All Ravenna wanted was to turn Jo into a self-suffit dukedom where she could live out the rest of her life peacefully, far away from the chaos of the novel’s tral plot. Given that she was supposed to be dead by now iory, steering clear of the main storyline seemed the most logical and safest course of a.

  Her gaze shifted to the dots scattered on her desk, filled with notes, sketches, and half-formed pns. She sighed deeply, running a hand through her dark hair. “I really o figure out how to stabilize the ey,” she muttered, her brow furrowing. “The steel produ idea isn’t as simple as I thought.”

  Initially, Ravenna had hoped to kickstart Jo’s ey by building bst furnaces and introdug steam eo mass-produce steel. The pn had seemed sound—steel would bring steady ine aablish Jo as a valuable trade partner. But after meeting with he chief bcksmith, she learned just how impractical it was. The anpower and iron ore were insurmountable hurdles for now.

  “Manpower and iron,” Ravened softly, her fiapping idly on the edge of her desk. Most of Jo’s residents were either jobless or scraping by with odd jobs to survive. The eic colpse that followed the nobles’ departure had left the isnd in ruins. And with no ships from the mainnd visiting anymore, trade was ent.

  Still, she couldn’t just divert all the idle hands to the bcksmiths. Farming had to take prece. Ohe soil extra project was plete, she would least oo two thousand people w the fields to ehe isnd’s self-sufficy. Besides, bcksmithing required skill—skills that would take years to cultivate, even with training.

  “It’s not like I snap my fingers and make people into expert bcksmiths ht,” Ravenna muttered, her voice tinged with frustration. Leaning ba her chair, she closed her eyes for a moment. “I should stop thinking about this for now... maybe even rex.” But the thought of rexi almost fn to her, there was always something that needed her attention, some crisis to manage.

  Her moment of solitude was interrupted by a firm knock at the door. Ravenna’s sharp eyes flicked toward it, her expression already shifting back to her calm, authoritative mask.

  “Yhness, it’s Hughes,” came the familiar voice from beyond the door.

  “e in,” Ravenna called, her toeady but ced with a hint of curiosity. Straightening in her chair, she prepared herself to dispense orders to her Knight Captain, her sharp gaze fixed on the heavy oak door.

  The door creaked open, and Hughes stepped inside, his polished boots tapping softly against the stone floor. Bowing deeply, he greeted her with the deference she had e to expect. Ravenna wasted no time.

  “Report. What have you found regarding the spies?” she demanded in a anding voice, her posture rigid and her eyes glinting with authority.

  Hughes straightened and nodded. “Thanks to Miss Sarah’s list of Citizens, we’ve identified a few prime targets—those who arrived on the isnd shortly before us. Many of the knights and I have been gathering information on them while assisting Richard with the soil extra project.” His tone was careful, measured, as though he were treading on thin ice.

  “And?” Ravenna prompted, her pierg gre log onto him. Her patience, as always, was in short supply.

  Hughes gulped under her intense scrutiny before tinuing, “We discovered several bunches of Alyssum flowers with engravings on them. We are almost certain they were meant to be sent to her than His Highness, Prince William... and His Majesty, Emperor Andrew.”

  Ravenna arched a brow, her lips curving into a sardonic smile. “Oh, how amusing,” she said with a faint chuckle. “So, not only does my dear brother want to firm whether I’m still alive, but even my father feels pelled to take an i?”

  Her tone was deceptively light, but Hughes stiffened, visibly unfortable. He couldn’t possibly know what storm of thoughts was brewing in Ravenna’s mind.

  “Why the hell is the Emperor involved in this? Why are so many people suddenly fixated on me, a minor character iory?“ she fumed inwardly, though outwardly, she maintained an intimidating smile that sent a chill down Hughes’s spine.

  “A-And,” Hughes stammered, clearly scrambling food o alleviate the tension, “we also found Broadleaf Arrowhead flrowihe eastern coastline. Richard and his team have started iigating them.”

  Ravenna’s eyes lit up with i. “Broadleaf Arrowhead? How many? they be cultivated?” she asked, her voice quick with curiosity. Her mind was already rag, sidering the implications. These uer flowers, though not particurly remarkable on their own, were often used as pos in rge-scale magic rituals when paired with other rare flora.

  Hughes seemed to rex slightly, enced by her i. “The flowers appear to be growing in clusters. Richard and his team are assessing the extent of their growth as we speak. I’ll have their findings by tomorrow.”

  “Good,” Ravenna replied, her voice calmer now. “Dismissed.”

  Hughes bowed deeply once more before retreating from the room, his boots clig against the floor as he left. The heavy door shut behind him with a dull thud, leaving Ravenna aloh her thoughts once more.

  She leaned ba her chair, her fingers drumming lightly against the armrest. Magi this world was heavily reliant on flowers, each type possessing unique properties that could be harnessed for spells and rituals. Alyssum flowers, for example, were only used to send she magical messages. They weren’t particurly expensive or secure, which made it all the more curious that spies supposedly w for her brother and father were relying on such low-grade magic.

  “Either they don’t care about being caught, assuming I’m too powerless to act, or someone deliberately wants me to suspect William and the Emperor, she mused, her brow furrowing. Whatever the truth is, these spies don’t seem well-equipped to cause arouble—at least not yet.”

  Setting the spy issue aside for now, Ravenna turned her focus to the discovery of the Broadleaf Arrowhead. These uer flowers weren’t ily valuable, but their utility in rge-scale spells held potential, potential that could trao mueeded eiefits for Jo.

  Her knowledge of magic, however, was still rudimentary. She had learhe basics from the memories, but advanced spellcraft remained beyond her grasp. Thankfully, the Reputation System provided her with tools te that gap.

  With a thought, she summohe interface of the system, its blue glow casting a faint light over her desk. The familiar menu appeared before her:

  [Reputation System v0.1]User: Ravenna Sorius / Joy Cha KimReputation Level: 60 (4894/8200)Curreation Points: 9,046Titles: Raven of Sun Pace, Unruly Princess{Reputation Points Log} {Speation Points}

  Her eyes flicked to the “Speation Points” menu. Thanks to her earlier antics earlier today, she had accumuted a signifit amount of points—nearly 3,000 more thaerday. A small smile crept across her face. At least her fir for drama had its advantages.

  She selected the menu and sed the options:

  [Speation Points]

  Access to the I: 100 Points per HourAccess to Magic Spell Library: 100 Points per Hraphical Ss: 5 Points per 1 KilometerNullify Minor Poison Damage on Self: 250 PointsNullify Minor Poison Damage on Others: 350 Points per EntityMinor Heal: 1,000 Points per EntityMajor Heal: (Locked)Lie Detector: (Locked)Without hesitation, she activated the Magic Spell Library. A flood of knowledge filled her field of view as she began searg for spells involving Broadleaf Arrowhead. If these flowers could be used to create something of eic value, be it potions, charms, or even pos for trade. it might be the key to stabilizing Jo’s crumbling ey.

  Read 12+ Advance Chapters by being a Patron : 10. Saintess