Two years have passed since the lands of the De Rush marquisate welcomed the new agricultural technique. The seasons have danced their eternal waltz, and at last, the harvest breathes with a fuller, broader life.
Of course, the crops still likely aren't enough to feed the entire population — but yields have increased again this year.
And that, in itself, is a victory.
A living testament that the path they chose was the right one.
Business too has taken flight. Bricks. Stoves. All kinds of clay products. They're shaped by an automated system, powered by cranks and a few assistance circles. Nothing is done by hand. Everything is standardized.
And now, these products flow across nearly the entire country. Production is streamlined. Optimized. The Rush family even owns their own shops in the capital.
A quiet revolution.
And as gold steadily pours in, Diamond decides to try something new: to finally implement the progressive taxation system proposed by Anna… or rather, whispered by Rias.
That morning, Diamond mobilizes several female soldiers.
Each unit is made up of trained women — sober, efficient — tasked with overseeing the early phases of the fiscal audit. It looked as though she were preparing to survey an entire province.
She gazes at the map of the territory, eyes fixed on the latest hemispheres dispatched.
The wind is dry, the sky cloudless.
And just after the last round of distributions, Yelo approaches her — hands behind his back, a sly smile tugging at his lips.
Diamond sighs, as usual, and murmurs:
— "I always wanted to distribute taxes more fairly... You know that. Too heavy for the poor. Too meaningless for the rich. But I never knew how to go about it."
— "So your big idea was to lower everything for everyone?" Yelo teases gently. "You're incredible, my heart."
— "Anna humiliates me without meaning to. She gives me a complex, Yelo. Taxing based on the real situation of each household... It's so obvious. Why didn't I think of it? Something so simple?"
She pauses.
One of those silences that don't speak of hesitation — but of raw, lucid awareness.
— "Thanks to this, we can justify the tax audits. Fraud becomes visible. And by my estimates, we're already bringing in at least 50% more revenue than the previous harvests. And then the inventory, Yelo... The inventory gives us real statistics about our population. It's a spine. A way to read the world."
— "Easy now, don't faint from all that wonder.", Yelo chuckles.
He then hands his wife a letter, sealed with the red and gold insignia of the Empire.
The paper is thick.
Heavy.
Something weighs inside — more than just words.
In the silence that follows, Diamond's gaze drifts toward the horizon. She thinks of Anna. Of the future her daughter sketches, often without even realizing it. And without needing to say it aloud, she feels it — that an era is ending.
And another one, uncertain, is beginning.
It's time to talk about Elisabeth.
Over the past two years, Eli has continued her activities within the sorority and has become an undisputed master among the apprentices. In fact, she only trains with her Aunt Rubi — who visits the marquisate annually — or with the few knightesses who reside in their territory, especially her mentor, who finds it increasingly difficult to contain her. But still, Elisabeth pushes through with her extreme training — and that worries everyone in the camp.
— "Look, Eli's already training at the start of the year. She's terrifying."
— "Yeah, the new girls completely lose motivation when they see her."
— "I have to talk to her. She can't keep going like this."
— "Please. It's Eli. She's stubborn as a mule."
— "Still, I've got to try."
And so, after this discussion, she slowly approaches Eli.
— "Eli! You've got to stop burning yourself out like this in the camp. Come have fun with us. You're scaring everyone."
— "I don't have a choice. I need to stand out if I want my mother to look at me the way she looks at Anna. If I want her to talk to me the way she talks to Anna."
— "Still the Anna story. Come on, Eli. Anna left the camp two years ago. She's not coming back. She's not even in the race anymore."
This last remark makes Eli pause mid-swing with her sword.
Then she looks Isidore straight in the eyes.
— "And what do you think… if Anna's just too strong… if she has nothing left to learn here — then we just get rid of her, is that it?"
Young Isidore stops to think for a moment before replying to Eli.
— "I still don't get why it affects you this much. Don't grow up too fast, Eli."
— "You know what? Mind your own business."
Isidore walks away at Eli's request. She's 13 now. In a year, she'll be heading out on expedition like everyone else. So she's trying to hold on to the last bit of her childhood while she still can.
You might be thinking that the girls in this story act and speak way too mature for their age, right? Well, you're right. that's just how girls are. It's in their nature. You'll see the same in our own world. Girls often mature earlier than boys. Maybe it's because they hit puberty sooner — I don't know. But they always seem to want to grow up a little too fast. To be a little too grown for their own good.
And so, in this matriarchal world, the age of maturity is fifteen for girls. Their basic education starts at the age of five and ends at thirteen. After that, the academy — accessible from the age of fourteen — provides higher education. But even so, only a handful of girls manage to enter the academy before turning sixteen.
Now, let's talk about Anna.
For the past two years, Anna has spent all her time studying. She's been diving deep into various subjects — politics, foundational economics, advanced mathematics, the physics of incantations, and the geometry of magic…
She chose this path to grow closer to Rias.
But the closer she seems to get, the wider the distance between them feels.
And today, once again, Anna is focused on a project — another one of Rias's ideas. As always, the papers in her hands are incredibly detailed and thorough. And as always, they're hard to interpret, hard to grasp. But lately, she's made herself a promise: to stop waiting for his explanations. Now it's her turn to isolate herself in the library.
Then her mother, returning from the camps, comes to visit her. It's become a bit of a habit lately.
— "Still here studying? You're starting to seriously worry me."
— "No, I'm working on a project these days."
— "Oh really, again? What's it about this time?", says Diamond, out of breath.
She never handles Anna's projects well, because she always ends up mechanically leading them — unaware that Anna struggles just as much as she does.
— "… I'll tell you once it's done. I'm exhausted myself. Tell me instead about the tax collection."
Diamond pulls up a chair. She looks Anna straight in the eyes, then starts to speak with wonder:
— "… It's incredible. The expeditions haven't even covered half our territory yet, and we're already making more than last season. It's insane."
— "That's because some people got richer during the tax cuts you imposed earlier. Of course, there are probably tax frauds. Some estates are paying less than they should. Some of their revenues are outdated."
Diamond says nothing. She just stares at Anna. From the look in her eyes, you'd think she was trying to read the girl's mind. Then Anna looks back, and both of them simply smile.
Finally, Diamond speaks again, her tone more serious:
— "What would you think if I sent you to take the academy entrance exam this year?"
— "But Mother, that's impossible."
— "It's possible for you and Eli only. You're both exceptions."
Anna could feel the sincerity in Diamond's voice.
So she answered:
— "In that case, I want to try."
Diamond sank into silence for a moment.
She already knew the answer, but it was still hard to accept.
Anna would most likely pass that exam, and her future was probably assured… she was just too young.
Diamond is a mother.
Society may have changed form, but she's still a woman — and it's in her nature to worry for her child.
— "…Alright. I'll prepare the documents right away."
— "Thank you, Mom."
Then Anna dives back into her papers.
Of course, she feels Diamond's distress — but Anna is doing all this for the greater good.