Baron Hviral’s family was naturally happy to hear that Grace and I weren’t just evicting them before taking everything. 

In fact, becoming the assistant to a Duke’s child, regardless of their position in the family, was far better than their current situation. So long as I was as open as I showed myself to be, they would be able to prosper much more. 

The name of a Duke wasn’t to be taken lightly. Even a Duke’s bastard child needed to be treated well, let alone a legitimate child who hadn’t disgraced his family name. So my mere image was worth something to anybody who might deal with the city. 

Grace and I were set up within two of the largest bedrooms of the Hviral manor. It was a nice place, not very luxurious, but that was to be expected from a Baron. 

We ate every morning, afternoon, and evening. The few maids of the household cooked nice dishes, though they obviously splurged since we were here. Even the children of the baron were surprised by the amount of food. 

We were comfortable in the place, and the subsequent day after our arrival was taken to relax. 

After that though, my days of rule began. 

I invited Grace for a walk around the city. To which she happily obliged. After putting on modest clothing, we slipped out of the manor and took a stroll. 

There were many thoughts going through my mind, thoughts about how I should rule this place, and what steps I should take. 

More than that though, I thought about my goal in all this. 

I didn’t simply want to rule the world. But it was impossible for me to settle for being a mere city lord. I was a man of ambition, and for years I had dreamed of building an empire. I had in fact formed something similar to one back at Tool Corporation, an Empire of the greatest minds I ever knew, or would ever know. That little Empire was the only reason I was here today, founded not on stone, but on the minds of extraordinary people.

I was here because that dream continued to persist. I had fought for so long in order to get my hands on a tool that would help me escape the influence of the Council. Now, I could finally begin to build something. Something that I wouldn’t have to sacrifice for some old man in a black room.

But, this world also had its curiosities. Sorcerers, and the great mysteries of their power. The hidden dangers that I only had a vague idea about, ones heard from legends and stories. 

It was a whole other realm that I wanted to investigate, and I couldn’t do that without power. 

So I had to start marching my way to that height from the humble beginnings of this small city. 

It was hard to know where to start, especially since my Tool wasn’t fully operational. I couldn't just start generating advanced technology and take the world by storm. 

So assessing that would be a top priority. But first, I needed to survey this city. 

Which was why I went on a walk with my sister. 

Grace and I both inherited the purple hair of our mother, something neither of us were too fond of. Either way, it made us stand out, especially considering we had driven through here on a fancy carriage only two days ago. 

Not that either of us minded. Our gazes drifted between the buildings and the people as we walked by, and I scouted all kinds of small technologies that helped me reaffirm my estimation of this world’s tech level. 

My conclusion was that they really were about to enter an industrial revolution. If anything, at the very least, they were in what could be described as a Victorian Era, a time where science was beginning to boom and people moved away from religious and mystical explanations of various arts. 

Of course, this was all being hampered by the concept of Sorcerers and the hunt against them. People’s fixation on the mystical was slowing scientific progress. 

Grace and I walked from the inner city to its outer bounds. Since we could walk the distance in no significant amount of time, it meant that the city wasn’t large and there weren’t many people here. 

And while I did see the signs of a slum zone, the city maintained a good standard across the board. 

There was only one thing that surprised me. 

“Oh? Is that a gallows?”

I stopped in my tracks as I entered a wide plaza. In the center of the place was a wooden structure with beams and ropes, several tied into nooses. It was obvious what they were. 

In the corner of my eye, I could see Grace’s face darken. 

“The Order’s influence is great. City lords are required to hang any Sorcerers they find, or they face persecution. These are standard just about everywhere.”

“I see… But why are they preparing them?”

I asked while watching a few men tie the ropes and bring out stools. 

“There must be an execution later today…”

“...What should we do?”

My question caused Grace to look toward me with a conflicted gaze. 

As a sorcerer herself, she naturally hated the idea that she would be turned on and executed by all those around her if she were found out. It made her want to save sorcerers. She likely felt a form of hypocritical guilt since she was able to live lavishly while they suffered atrocities. 

But she also didn’t want to take the risk. She would risk me and her family if she got caught. And she would die herself. 

I also knew all this of course, and yet I still asked the question. 

She asked back.

“...What can we do?”

“We can just delay the hanging indefinitely. The sorcerer disappears, and over time everybody forgets. Nobody has the mind to remain fixated on it for long.”

“...Can we?”

She asked hopefully. I answered by turning and walking back in the direction of the city center. 

“Let’s go ask.”

……

“This is the only prison and it’s not large as we don’t get many criminals. Any sorcerers we find are also taken here, though this is the first one we’ve ever caught.”

I listened silently as Baron Hviral led us into an underground basement of the City Hall. It was basically a dungeon, and when we entered, I saw several small holding cells. 

It was run down and the air was stuffy. It obviously wasn’t touched or entered very often, thankfully because of low crime rates. 

Within the dungeon was a single person. 

Grace and I stopped in front of the cell. I observed the girl inside, the person who was to be executed only a few hours from now. 

It looked like she was curled up in the corner, but having heard us, she sat straighter, her eyes glancing between us with fear and anger.

She couldn’t have been older than Grace. She was a petite black haired girl and her eyes flashed a bright blue even in the dark dungeon. 

There were several moments of silence before I spoke. 

“What’s your name?”

“...Tiya.”

She spoke with a raspy voice. As she was about to be executed, they probably hadn’t fed her since she was found. That could’ve been a day or two ago. 

“How old are you?”

“17.”

“Do you have a family?”

“Yes…”

“Who turned you in?”

“...”

She went silent for a moment, her throat choking up with emotion.

“My… mother…”

“She saw when you awakened?”

“Mm…”

She nodded with tears in her eyes. And I could see the conflict. She hated her mother for dooming her to death, but hated that she couldn’t love her family. The betrayal tore at her. 

Glancing to my side, I could see Grace hugging herself, almost as if clutching her stomach. This kind of emotion and stress often made her stomach hurt. She threw up whenever it was unbearable, something I remembered from a few years ago when she had awakened herself. 

Back then, she had been so scared that I would tell our parents that she threw up whenever I wasn’t around her in sheer anxiousness. I remember the maids speaking about it, how they would always have to clean it up. 

It only went away after a year or so, when she had finally realized that I wasn’t going to rat her out. 

But it was now a reflex of hers, surfacing once more. I pat her shoulder before turning toward the Baron. 

“Baron Hviral, this girl is set to be executed?”

“That’s right.”

“I see. Draw your sword.”

“Sorry?”

The man looked at me confusedly. When I didn’t respond, he finally drew his sword. 

I had the prison keys in my hand, so I went and unlocked the cell door. I then waved. 

“Go ahead and behead her.”

“...Young lord.”

“There’s no need to waste everyone’s time. Your citizens have jobs that needn’t be interrupted by a hanging. I’m sure their time is more valuable than the sight of a worthless spawn of the devil. Isn’t that right?”

I faced the Baron with a neutral face. And his hesitation was obvious. He looked between me and the girl. 

He saw the girl and her pitiful appearance, and he heard how she was betrayed by her own mother. A mere 17 year old girl, and she was being hanged. Her death would be celebrated by the city. 

Or, it would on the outside. 

Just how many people couldn’t bear to watch these events? Although the church’s influence was strong, how many hesitated when they saw young girls being murdered and rethought just how just it was?

They may hate sorcerers, but the image of a girl like Tiya didn’t overlap with that of a devil’s spawn. 

How many fathers and mothers lost their beloved children this way? How many were forced to watch as their child was brutally killed?

In front of blood, what did the opinions of strangers matter?

In front of blood, creeds fell apart, and principles crumbled. 

After many seconds of watching the Baron hesitate, I lowered my hand. 

“Baron, could you kill your child?”

“...I would rather die.”

“So how evil must someone be to sentence their own daughter to death?”

“...”

The baron was silent, his sword dropping, and his grip tightening. 

“To have so much hate in your heart that it blinds your eyes and twists your mind. Priests that these people don’t even know have filled their heads with so much fear that they turn on their own children in blinding hatred. They would allow strangers to manipulate them so thoroughly. Just think, if your child suddenly awakened one day, that all your citizens that praise their benevolent city lord would flip like a coin and call for the death of your blood.”

“...”

“If you understand what I’m saying, then I want you to do something for me.”

I turned away from the cell, standing before Grace and placing my hand on her head. 

“Have Tiya take up residence in your manor, and do it quietly. Don’t acknowledge or say anything about the hanging, and let the citizens forget there was ever a sorcerer that awakened. Consider this your first assignment. Or, you can kill her yourself.”

With that, I nudged Grace along, taking her out of the dungeon. 

Baron Hviral remained standing in the doorway of the cell, facing the girl who, only an few minutes ago, was going to publicly executed by his authority. 

For the first time, he was directly faced with the reality of his actions. 

……

…

After leaving the dungeon, Grace moved off to the side and fell to her knees. 

“Hugh..!”

She gagged before vomiting. I moved and grabbed her hair, pulling it back behind her head as she buckled. 

After a few minutse of that and coughing, she finally recovered enough to breath steadily. 

I took out a handkerchief, one that nobles customarily carried with them, and handed it to her.

After she wiped her face, she stood and turned before lunging toward me. 

I was surprised by the sudden embrace. 

“I don’t know what happened to you that made you change so much… but I can’t say I don’t like it.”

She backed away, and I could see her smiling with streaks of tears down her cheeks. 

I smiled back. 

“I guess it was my ambition that finally awakened.”

“Heh, and your tongue. Since when could you talk so well?”

She chuckled while straightening her purple hair. 

Then, she became somber. 

“But that’s just one…”

“We can only go one at a time. Besides, until we’re prepared, we can’t make any big moves. The church is powerful because they don’t hesitate to enforce their ideals with swords. We can’t handle that yet.”

“...Yet. What ideas do you have?”

“Many, and that girl may very well be the start of them. Come on, let’s get you a drink. Your breath stinks.”

“Blegh.”

She stuck out her tongue before striding ahead of me. I followed with a soft grin.