Duke Morgen leaned back in his chair, his sharp gaze fixed on Ravenna. The sunlight casting shifting shadows across the ornately furnished chamber. His expression remained unreadable as he finally spoke.

  "Hmm… so you have intel that the wedding will be attacked, with the primary targets being the high-ranking nobles attending the ceremony," he mused, swirling the tea in his cup. "And you intend to use this event as an opportunity to re-enter the succession race."

  Ravenna nodded, her fingers drumming lightly on the polished wooden table between them.

  Duke Morgen exhaled slowly, setting down his cup. "It does seem like the perfect chance, but…" He trailed off, tapping his fingers against the armrest. "I need more details. Who are the perpetrators? What kind of attack are we dealing with? I can’t act on mere fragments of information, Your Highness."

  Ravenna let out a quiet sigh, mentally weighing her options. She hesitated, but only briefly. Among all the people in the empire, Duke Morgen was one of the few who had remained unwaveringly loyal—not out of personal gain, but because of the promise he had made to Ravenna’s mother, the late Empress.

  Even so, trust was a dangerous thing. She couldn’t reveal everything. If she wanted to keep events at least somewhat aligned with the original timeline from the novel, she had to be careful with what she shared.

  "I don’t know the exact identity of the perpetrators," Ravenna said smoothly, keeping her voice steady as she lied. "But I do know what their plan entails."

  Duke Morgen narrowed his eyes, listening intently.

  "They have hundreds of caged magical beasts hidden throughout the capital," she continued. "On the day of the wedding, they plan to release them all at once, turning the city into a bloodbath."

  For the first time in their conversation, Duke Morgen’s composed demeanor cracked. His eyes widened in disbelief.

  "That’s an absurdly reckless method," he muttered, shaking his head. "If their goal is simply to eliminate a few high-ranking nobles, a group of trained assassins or even a handful of expendable slaves would have sufficed since they know the location of the wedding. This? This will throw the entire capital into chaos. Innocent civilians will be slaughtered."

  Ravenna nodded grimly. "Exactly, Uncle. And that’s why I need your help." She leaned forward, her voice firm. "I can’t let this opportunity slip away, but at the same time, I refuse to allow the Imperial Palace to take credit for stopping the attack. And more importantly, I won’t let the citizens of the capital suffer needlessly."

  Duke Morgen was caught off guard by her last statement. The Ravenna he had known in the past would never have concerned herself with the safety of the common people. Just as that thought crossed his mind, Ravenna smirked and added with a casual wave of her hand,

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  "I will be Empress one day, Uncle. Everything in this empire will belong to me. How can I allow my own property to be damaged?"

  Duke Morgen let out a heavy sigh, a small chuckle escaping him. "There she is," he muttered. "That sounds more like the Ravenna I know."

  Still, he studied her carefully. "You also don’t want to simply prevent the attack and report it after the fact, because that would lessen the danger the nobles experience," he said shrewdly. "You want them to feel the threat, to realize their own vulnerability—so that when you emerge as their savior, they’ll rally behind you."

  Ravenna’s smirk deepened. "Precisely, Uncle."

  Duke Morgen rubbed his chin, sinking into thought.

  Unlike what she had told him, Ravenna did know exactly who was behind the attack. The Hercule Crime Syndicate. Their goal wasn’t just to eliminate a few nobles; this attack was part of a much larger scheme to destabilize the Ancorna Empire itself.

  Of course, she would deal with the broader conspiracy in due time. For now, her priority was controlling this specific event to her advantage.

  After a moment, Duke Morgen looked up. "You said there are hundreds of magical beasts hidden in the capital. Do you know which direction the attack will come from?"

  Ravenna clapped her hands, and within seconds, a maid entered the room carrying a large, detailed map of the imperial capital. She carefully unrolled it onto the table.

  Ravenna pointed at four marked locations near the Imperial Palace.

  "These," she said, tapping each point, "are the underground storage sites where the magical beasts are being kept."

  After a long pause, he finally spoke.

  "We can use expendable slaves to our advantage," he said, tapping his finger against the four regions where the magical beasts were being kept. "If we spread rumors that these areas have been infested with slaves carrying Hilon Pox, the Imperial Guard will prioritize evacuating the surrounding civilians."

  He leaned back, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Once the beasts are released, their primal instincts will drive them toward the nearest sources of human presence. With the citizens already removed from the vicinity, the only place left teeming with people will be—"

  "The Imperial Palace," Ravenna finished, her mind already racing ahead.

  Duke Morgen nodded. "Exactly. We’ll station my knights and yours at key defensive positions—east, west, and north of the palace—to intercept the beasts from those directions. But the southern region?" He dragged his finger along the map, stopping at the large, ornate depiction of the palace grounds. "We leave it completely unguarded."

  Ravenna’s eyes narrowed as she followed his logic. "That way, the beasts will naturally be funneled toward the wedding venue, entering through the southern gate."

  "Precisely." Duke Morgen’s voice held a note of satisfaction. "Once the beasts breach the venue and get dangerously close to the high-ranking nobles, that’s when we make our move. You and I will take command, cutting down the creatures and leading the nobles to safety through the eastern, western, and northern wings of the palace."

  Ravenna tapped her chin thoughtfully. "And by that time, the Imperial Knights, the Imperial Mage Tower, and the Imperial Guard will be mobilized. They’ll be the ones to finish off the remaining beasts, allowing us to recall our forces before they get caught up in the battle."

  Duke Morgen inclined his head. "With minimal manpower, we will appear as the first line of defense—the heroes of the night. And when the dust settles, the stronger imperial forces will swoop in to clean up the rest, ensuring we walk away with the recognition while taking minimal losses."

  It was a sound plan—on the surface, at least.

  But Ravenna frowned. A jarring flaw. She folded her arms, her gaze darkening. "There’s a problem."