Suburbs.

Jessica? Hahn lay on the stone steps of a watchtower, staring boredly at the clear sky. A tall woman in red stood aside, her expression full of helplessness.

"Jessica," she said in a low voice, "this is the barracks. You won't say anything—but, I hope you'll pay attention—"

This watchtower is decades old. Nearly twenty years ago, after Emperor Dietford III succeeded to the throne, it became a recruit camp in the imperial capital. Almost the entire imperial capital's young soldiers were trained here and then sent to nearby areas. Those who perform well are eligible to be selected as the city guards of the imperial capital. And when the soldiers have served for two years, only a few will stay in the army, get a military position that is neither high nor low, and start their own path to promotion.

Jessica's slightly sassy appearance attracted a lot of recruits' sideways glances. As a recruiter, the woman in red felt the need to remind her.

"Got it, sister." Jessica pouted, but sat up straight honestly.

Jane, the woman in red? Hahn is several years older than Jessica. She is not the child of her wife, and she is not eligible to inherit the Hahn family.

Male nobles above the imperial baron had the power to marry more than one wife. It was only recently that the emperors had only one wife, the empress, and they reconciled with the church, that the monogamous atmosphere spread among the aristocratic circles. But there are aristocrats who have married more than one wife after all.

Count Hahn is one of them.

Simple? Hahn was a hardworking man, joining the army at an early age and later becoming a conscription officer for the Empire, where he remained faithful.

"Jessica," Jane couldn't help but say, "we ......"

"Sister, you've recruited so many soldiers," Jessica laughed, "and it's just one more new recruit to be trained...... No problem. ”

"But they're not recruits!" Jane said, unable to hide her worry, "Let these eldest ladies ...... here."

At first, it was just a few old aristocratic friends of Count Hahn, asking Count Hahn, the leader of the city guard, to help them find some reliable martial arts instructors for their beloved daughter.

As a result, Jessica heard about it out of nowhere, and pestered her father to ask everyone to go to the barracks for training. The Earl of Hahn was suffering from a shortage of manpower, so he happily pushed the boat and handed over the matter to his daughter, but unexpectedly Jessica was "deceived and deceived" (Jane?). Hahn's impression), stunned to send the eldest ladies he knew to the boot camp......

These pampered eldest ladies either rely on their family's connections or financial resources, or have a marriage contract that has been prepared early, and they never dreamed that they would also go to the military camp to receive training in person.

Originally, young women in the empire, if they did not marry or become spellcasters, had to pay huge sums of money to avoid the obligation of military service. Through her father's connections, Jessica offered three months of training instead of one year of military service, and even those nobles who were originally going to pay money for their daughters agreed to Jessica's request in order to save gold coins in their pockets.

At present, the people of the imperial capital are panicking, and most of the noble ladies who have marriage contracts are willing to learn some self-defense skills. The poor ladies were either confused or semi-forced by their elders to sign an agreement to train with the real recruits......

"We're not children anymore." Jessica said optimistically, looking like the boat was naturally straight to the bridge.

"Whatever you want." Jane could only sigh and remain silent.

In a few hours, the ladies will report to the barracks. But there is a special case......

"Ah, Victoria!" Looking at the girl who was walking in the distance, Jessica jumped up and waved to the girl again and again. Of the aristocratic girls Jessica knew, only the girl herself had a knighthood. The girl has no guardian to "fool" Jessica, and for Jessica, if she wants the girl to participate in her plan, she has to get the girl's consent.

In Jessica's mind, it was easy to convince Victoria, who had "nothing to do" all day. Even when she invited the girl over, she didn't specifically talk about what she was invited to do.

"Jessica." Looking at Jessica, who greeted her warmly, the girl had a bad premonition in her heart.

……

Five minutes later.

"So?" Shao ** said with a calm face, "That's why you called me?" ”

"I didn't make it clear in advance, I didn't count it." Jessica stroked her flaxen hair and grinned.

The girl glanced at Jane next to her. This black-haired woman in red was the recruiter who had embarrassed her with Margaret at the salon. Unexpectedly, she and Jessica were sisters...... Obviously, there is not much similarity in both appearance and personality.

"I see." The girl said.

"I'm sure you'll be a good soldier," Jessica said happily, "and you're different—"

"I'm sorry," the girl said, looking embarrassed, "and I beg your pardon for refusing." ”

The smile on Jessica's face froze.

"Why!" Jane, who was silent, shouted, "Victoria - I'm sorry, Lord Baroness - this is Jessica's kindness, you ......"

In Jane's opinion, a noble woman like Victoria, who had no marriage contract and was unwilling to hand over large sums of money, should be relieved of the responsibility of serving the army through a simple intensive training.

"Linna—I mean Princess Caterina—has agreed to accompany me in practicing her fighting skills." The girl bowed to the two of them.

The girl's basic training is coming to an end, and the targeted training of the Mystic Warrior has begun. So the girl said this to Jessica, and it wasn't a lie.

"This ......" Sure enough, the girl's words frightened Jessica and Jane. The girl now lives in the palace, and the two of them know. Looking at the girl's "sincere" expression, the two didn't know what to say for a while.

The girl's heart is different.

To know...... The girl was originally a secret warrior, and once it was made public, she would have almost natural authority and status in the emperor's ** team! Even the supreme person in charge of this camp is just a Qingkong-level secret ritual warrior, barely on par with a girl.

[Actually, compared to the cold barracks,] Xiaowei sighed in the girl's heart, [For the time being, it is safer for them to stay in the walls of the imperial capital. 】

But we should not stop anyone's willingness to become stronger. The girl replied softly.

Jessica scratched her head in annoyance. She had already seen the girl's sharp reflexes. If she can find a better "coach" in the palace, then she really has no reason to let her come to her side.

"I see," Jessica smiled reluctantly, "Victoria, I'm sorry. ”

On the contrary, the girl felt a little guilty in her heart. After all, Jessica doesn't know anything......

"You're in a good idea...... said the girl, and suddenly she had an idea, "you said you would report for duty in the afternoon—so you plan to go back to the city for the evening?" Or ......"

Maybe it's a good idea to take the time to "condole" the eldest ladies, the girl said. It would be so much better if we could kidnap Linna, Dimi, or Victor to boost their morale—the girl doesn't think the enthusiasm of these ladies would last long—so much the better.

"We're not going back to town," Jessica said, "and at first I was going to let people live here." However, Angel told me that her second uncle was willing to provide you with some suitable 'bunks' at Ngor Manor......"

---------------------

Engor Manor.

William? Engor's room.

The owner of the room, the second son of the old Marquis of Engor, William Engor, knelt on the ground. On the opposite side of the room, a hooded black-robed man let out a strange laugh.

"Big ...... Your Excellency......" William's head was covered with beads of sweat, "may I ask me...... Am I doing something wrong? ”

"No, you're just acting on the opportunity," the burly black-robed man said softly, his voice cold, "you're doing a good job." ”

"The time has come."