The scent of fresh ink and aged paper filled the Duke Volkov's study, a stark contrast to the cloying perfume of Madea's boudoir. Lin Yi, now fully inhabiting Madea, sat behind the massive oak desk, a formidable array of ledgers, land deeds, and trade manifests spread before her. Her delicate fingers, still adorned with those ridiculous rings, moved with surprising speed, flicking through pages, making quick mental calculations. Maeve, Madea's maid, stood nervously by the door, occasionally glancing at her mistress with a mixture of awe and trepidation. Madea had transformed.
"Maeve," Lin Yi commanded, her voice crisp, devoid of the usual Madea's whine. "Send word to the head stableman. I require a detailed inventory of all our livestock. Not just the count, but their lineage, their feeding costs, their market value, and their projected offspring production. I want to see the profit margins, not just the raw numbers."
Maeve gulped. "My Lady, the stableman… he's never provided such detailed reports to anyone but the Duke himself."
"Then he will learn to do so for me," Lin Yi stated, her gaze sharp. "Tell him that a new era of efficiency has dawned upon the Volkov estate. And that anyone who resists the flow of information will find themselves resisting the flow of silver. Do you understand?"
Maeve bowed low, a shiver running down her spine. "Y-yes, My Lady. Immediately." She hurried out, leaving Lin Yi alone with her charts and figures.
This was the true nature of wealth: data, analysis, and control over the flow. The Volkov family was rich, yes, but their wealth was stagnant, tied to antiquated practices. They had gold, land, and prestige, but they lacked liquidity, diversification, and aggressive growth strategies. They were sitting on a vast, inefficient fortune, like a dragon hoarding gold that could be leveraged to build an empire.
Lin Yi spent the next week in a feverish state of analysis. She dug through decades of Volkov family records, cross-referencing them with the fragmented memories of the otome novel's economic background. The Imperial Bank, House Laurent, the Merchant Guilds – all had their weaknesses, their unexploited niches, their outdated practices.
The most glaring inefficiency was the mana crystal market. Mana crystals were the lifeblood of this world, powering magic, enchanting items, and even forming the basis of certain high-level alchemical concoctions. Yet, their mining and distribution were chaotic, controlled by a handful of traditional mining families and a disorganized network of adventurers. Prices fluctuated wildly, supply chains were unreliable, and most importantly, there was no centralized exchange, no futures market, no way to truly monopolize the resource.
"Amateurs," Lin Yi scoffed, tapping a ledger with her manicured nail. "This is like trading oil without a stock market. Pure, unadulterated waste."
She began to draw up new, complex diagrams in her mind, mapping out potential supply routes, identifying key mines, and calculating the optimal pricing strategies. Her goal wasn't just to make the Volkovs richer; it was to control the entire mana economy. And through that control, to control the very power structure of the Imperium.
Meanwhile, her "philanthropic" venture with The Obsidian Blades was yielding impressive, albeit silent, results. Every few days, Sir Gareth would send a detailed report of their quest activities: number of monsters slain, dungeons cleared, materials acquired, and importantly, the EXP gained by his knights.
Lin Yi would nod approvingly at the reports, praising Gareth's efficiency. He saw a generous noble funding his guild's noble pursuits. He had no idea that for every point of experience his knights earned, 90% of it vanished into the ethereal "System" and reappeared in Madea Volkov's hidden profile.
Madea Volkov (Level 12)
Mana: 75/75
Strength: 28
Dexterity: 25
Intelligence: 34
Her raw stats were climbing steadily, passively. She could feel a subtle shift in her body: a newfound lightness in her step, a sharper clarity in her vision, a faint hum of mana coursing beneath her skin. She was still far from a powerful mage or knight, but her base was rapidly improving, laying the groundwork for true power. The beauty of it was that no one could detect this. The System kept her level and stats hidden, a silent testament to her ruthless exploitation.
This passive growth allowed her to focus entirely on her financial schemes. She needed an intermediary, someone she could trust to execute her plans without understanding their true depth. Someone who was ambitious but lacked the financial genius to be a threat.
Her eyes landed on Lord Cedric, a minor noble from a declining house, a distant cousin to the Volkovs. He was ambitious, but his family lacked capital and influence. He was known for his sharp mind in managing minor trade routes, but he operated within the established, inefficient framework. He was a perfect pawn.
Lin Yi summoned Cedric to her private sitting room, a space she had already begun to redecorate in a starker, more modern style, much to Maeve's quiet dismay. The room was now designed for function, not frivolous display.
Cedric entered, bowing respectfully. "Lady Madea, you summoned me?" He looked surprised; Madea rarely bothered with minor relatives
Lin Yi smiled, a practiced, almost enchanting smile that belied the steel in her eyes. "Lord Cedric. Please, sit. I have been observing your aptitude for trade. Your family, while respectable, has perhaps not fully utilized its potential. I believe... we can change that."
Cedric's eyes widened slightly. "My Lady, I... I do my best.
"Your best, within a limited framework," Lin Yi corrected gently. "But what if I told you there is a way to transcend those limits? To forge a new path for your house, and for the Volkovs, by revolutionizing how we approach wealth?"
She began to speak of markets, not just of goods, but of information. Of leveraging small investments to gain disproportionate returns. Of creating new financial instruments, like a "mana futures contract" – a concept unheard of in this world. She used terms that were both tantalizing and just beyond Cedric's immediate grasp, making him feel as if he was on the precipice of a profound discovery.
"Imagine, Lord Cedric," she purred, leaning forward. "Imagine if the Volkovs, with your keen eye for detail, could control the price of every mana crystal in the Imperium. Not through force, but through superior market intelligence. Through predictable supply, efficient distribution, and... strategic speculation."
Cedric was mesmerized. His eyes shone with a mixture of ambition and awe. "My Lady, that sounds... revolutionary. But also, quite impossible. The Guild of Merchants would never allow such a monopoly."
"Monopoly is an ugly word, Lord Cedric," Lin Yi chuckled softly. "We simply seek efficiency. We seek stability. And the Guild of Merchants... they are slow. Predictable. They cling to the old ways. We shall simply move faster, with greater foresight. We shall offer them a more profitable alternative they cannot refuse, or we shall make their current methods obsolete."
She offered him a directorship in a newly proposed "Mana Resource Bureau" – ostensibly a department within the Volkov estate, but secretly, it would be Lin Yi's financial proxy. He would receive a significant salary, a percentage of the profits, and the promise of elevating his family's status. The contract she presented was ironclad, written by her own hand using archaic legal terms to conceal the truly binding clauses that ensured her ultimate control and priority in all decision-making.
Cedric, blinded by the promise of wealth and prestige, signed without truly understanding the depth of the cage he was entering. He thought he was becoming a partner; he was becoming a sophisticated, willing pawn.
Meanwhile, the existence of Kang Minji, inhabiting Lady Elara Roseline, continued to be a fascinating variable. Lin Yi secretly dispatched her newly formed, nascent intelligence network (comprised of loyal, highly paid servants and disgruntled low-level spies) to monitor Elara's movements.
Minji, just as Lin Yi expected, was trying to "fix" the otome novel's plot. She was charming the male leads with her kindness and genuine spirit, trying to help the less fortunate, and inadvertently, undermining Madea's old, superficial attempts at being the villainess.
Lin Yi observed Minji's interactions with Prince Kaelen. Minji was introducing him to the plight of commoners, pushing for social reforms, urging him to see beyond the palace walls. This was a direct threat to the established power structures, which Lin Yi, in her new guise, was beginning to exploit.
"Naivety," Lin Yi murmured, watching from a distance through a hidden spyglass as Elara (Minji) distributed food to the poor. "Such a volatile asset. She appeals to the masses, but she lacks the strategic mind to truly reshape power. She merely wants to re-distribute existing wealth, rather than create and control its source."
Lin Yi saw an opportunity. Minji's "good deeds" would generate goodwill, a form of social capital. Lin Yi could manipulate this. She could subtly steer Minji towards projects that, while seemingly benevolent, would inadvertently serve Lin Yi's long-term financial goals. Perhaps a new orphanage would require building materials from a Volkov-controlled timber company. Or a reform for farmers would create a new dependency on Volkov-backed seed suppliers.
She also noted Minji's budding relationship with Duke Alaric. Alaric was known for his vast landholdings and his influence over the agricultural sector. If Minji managed to get Alaric on her side, pushing for agricultural reforms, Lin Yi could position herself to be the sole supplier of the new, improved seeds, or control the logistics of the new harvest distribution, rendering traditional landowners reliant on her.
Lin Yi smiled. Minji was building castles in the air, while Lin Yi was laying the foundations for an entirely new economic infrastructure beneath her feet.
Her next target for EXP harvesting was a well-known, albeit arrogant, knight order, The Silver Lions. They were famed for their prowess in clearing dangerous, high-level dungeons, but their funding was sporadic, reliant on Imperial patronage and random bounties.
Lin Yi, through Madea, extended an invitation to their Commander, Sir Valerius, a man known for his pride and short temper. She offered an incredibly lucrative, seemingly simple contract: continuous funding for their dungeon-clearing expeditions, in exchange for a detailed log of their activities, the precise location of the dungeons they cleared, and samples of the monsters they defeated. The contract was worded to imply a desire for "scientific research" into monster behavior and mana residue, a plausible cover for a Duke's daughter with eccentric interests.
Valerius, intrigued by the unprecedented steady income and Madea's newfound allure, initially scoffed at the "research" part but readily agreed to the funding. "Lady Madea, you are too kind! These dungeons are dangerous, but with consistent backing, my knights will bring glory to the Imperium!"
Lin Yi merely gave a serene smile. Glory was subjective. Power was not.
With The Silver Lions now under her hidden patronage, the flow of EXP accelerated dramatically. High-level monsters and difficult quests meant massive EXP gains. Madea's "Level" continued to climb silently, her physical prowess and mana reserves growing with frightening speed.
Madea Volkov (Level 25)
Mana: 180/180
Strength: 72
Dexterity: 68
Intelligence: 85
She was no longer just intellectually powerful; she was becoming physically formidable, too. Her body adapted, becoming more agile, stronger. The magic she'd once only dreamed of was now a subtle hum beneath her skin, ready to be wielded. She began to discreetly practice small mana manipulations in private, forming faint glows, tracing intricate symbols in the air, testing the limits of her growing power.
The path to immortality felt less like a myth and more like a solvable equation. Wealth was the initial capital. The System was the exponential growth engine. And her unyielding will was the driving force.
Lin Yi, the Empress of Fiat, was weaving a complex web of financial dependencies and silent power accumulation. The nobles, the merchants, the knights – they all danced to her tune, unaware of the invisible strings made of gold, mana, and exploited EXP that were slowly but surely tightening around their world. The stage was set for her to rewrite the otome novel's ending, not with romance, but with absolute dominion. And no one, not even the well-meaning Demon king, would stop her.