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237. Steam Ships [The Villainess's Reputation]
🕑 Added 2025-10-18 13:38:46 +0000 UTC“Ah~ finally, I can breathe again!” Ravenna sighed in delight as she shed the layers of travel clothing, standing before the tall mirror in her chambers. The maids scurried around her, their practiced hands working in silent coordination while Alice oversaw the process with her usual calm precision.
The thick winter garments fell away, replaced by something far more her. The open-backed gown clung to her form like a shadow, the fabric a deep violet threaded with glimmers of gold. The slit on her right leg ran high, up to her hip, revealing the Apostle’s Mark etched like living fire upon her skin. Even the faintest turn of her body made the mark glint under the light. The dress was scandalous by imperial standards, divine by Herptian ones as usual.
Kim Island’s warm desert winds seeped through the carved window lattice, carrying the faint fragrance of sea brine and flowering cactus. Though it was the dead of winter across the Eastern Continent, Kim City remained as it always was: warm, golden, and alive.
“Perfect,” Ravenna murmured, examining her reflection one last time before flicking her hair over her shoulder. “Honestly, how did I tolerate those ridiculous coats in Otto City? The Empire’s fashion is a conspiracy to suffocate people.”
“Or to make sure no one gets distracted, Ravenna,” Alice replied dryly as she adjusted the ribbons at Ravenna’s back. “Though that would be difficult in your case, regardless of attire.”
Ravenna smirked, resting her hand on her hip. “Flattery from you, Alice? You must be in a good mood. Now, tell me what chaos unfolded while I was gone.”
Alice picked up a thick ledger from the nearby desk, her tone professional as she flipped through its pages. “Just as you predicted, the moment word spread to the mainland about Lady Marie’s revelation as the Saintess, we’ve been flooded with requests for an audience. Nobles, priests, foreign emissaries, half the continent wants to see you or her.”
“Of course they do,” Ravenna said, lounging against the edge of the vanity. “Saintess this, Saintess that. If I stayed in the city during that storm of letters, I’d have to build a second castle just to store them.”
“Leaving immediately after the announcement was a brilliant move,” Alice admitted, still scanning the ledger. “You’ve been unreachable for nearly two weeks. It gave everyone time to panic and argue among themselves before we even needed to answer.”
Ravenna chuckled. “A little silence is the most effective reply in politics. It drives them mad trying to interpret it.”
Alice adjusted her glasses, clearing her throat. “Speaking of letters, we received one from the Imperial Court itself, sealed with the Emperor’s crest.”
Ravenna arched a brow, taking the ledger and flipping it open. “Oh? Even Father sent one? Personally, no less. Must be desperate if he’s finally pretending I exist again.” She read the letter’s neat script before tossing it aside onto the table with a grin. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t here, so I can’t possibly be blamed for ignoring him. How tragic.”
Alice’s mouth twitched into a small smile. “That’s what I told the courier. Politely, of course.” She hesitated for a moment, then pulled out another sealed envelope from the ledger. “However… there was one letter that stood out. It wasn’t a request for an audience, it was a request for entry into Southern Port.”
Ravenna frowned slightly, her tone sharp. “I thought I made it clear, no outside vessels are to dock without my approval. If they try, you sink them.”
Alice’s lips curved. “Oh, I don’t think you’ll want to sink this particular ship, ‘Your Highness’. Unless you wish to start a family feud.”
Ravenna blinked, then snatched the letter from Alice’s hand. Her eyes skimmed the words quickly, and her expression softened. “...Gracie and Benric.”
“Your niece and nephew,” Alice confirmed. “They’ve requested permission to stay in Kim City during their academy’s winter recess. Apparently, Lady Gracie wishes to personally thank Lady Marie for saving her during the magical beast incident.”
Ravenna let out a quiet laugh. “That girl… she has her mother’s courtesy and her father’s stubbornness.” She folded the letter neatly and handed it back. “Very well. Approve their entry. But send them the standard requirement sheet: only their personal guards are allowed. No attendants, no hidden courtiers, no surprises.”
Alice nodded, writing it down in her notes. “Understood, Ravenna.”
Ravenna began walking toward the door, her gown flowing behind her like violet fire. The faint hum of the castle and the rhythmic beat of life in Kim City, seemed to follow her.
“Now then,” she said, glancing over her shoulder with a smile that was both amused and dangerous. “Let’s see if my dear niece and nephew are ready to experience how their ‘unhinged aunt’ runs a dukedom.” walking towards her study.
Her heels clicked softly against the marble floor as she entered her private study, the familiarity of ink, glass, and subtle chaos. The tall windows framed the vast horizon of Kim Island’s southern sea, its sun-soaked waves gleaming gold under the desert’s hazy sky.
With a flick of her fingers, she summoned the faintly glowing interface of the reputation system.
[ Reputation System v1.0 ]
User: Ravenna Solarius / Joy Cha Kim
Reputation Level: 78 — (300,001 / 380,400 EXP)↑
Current Reputation Points: 670,044 RP↓
Titles Unlocked: Raven of the Sun Palace, Unruly Princess, Beast Slayer
{ View Reputation Log } { Spend Reputation Points }
Ravenna let out a long sigh, leaning back in her chair as the pale-blue holographic panels floated before her eyes. “Six hundred seventy thousand left,” she muttered under her breath. “Down from nearly two million. That’s almost one and a half million gone overnight.”
Her fingers drummed against the desk in irritation. “Eight hundred thousand just to store those forty ships in the Origin Domain… and another eight hundred thousand to bring them back.”
Her jaw tightened slightly, though her tone stayed cool and deliberate. “Still… it couldn’t be helped. There was no other way. Kim Island doesn’t have the manpower or the expertise for shipbuilding, and I needed those vessels immediately.”
Outside, a gull cried over the port, and the sound of distant factory echoed faintly, a rhythmic reminder of her city’s pulse, alive and unceasing.
Ravenna stood and walked toward the window, the thin silk of her dress fluttering around her ankles in the warm breeze. Beyond the dunes, the faint outlines of the shipyards shimmered under the afternoon sun. Rows of workers moved like ants, hauling timbers, steel sheets, and conduits for the steam engines she was building.
“I’ll retrofit the ships with steam engines first,” she mused aloud, tracing the rim of her wineglass along the ring. “Half of them will return to Otto City as defense vessels… the other half, I’ll station here.”
She paused mid-thought, her reflection catching her own sharp, raven-black eyes in the glass. Then, slowly, her lips curved.
“Wait… what if—” she whispered, turning from the window with a glint of excitement sparking in her gaze.
Her hand brushed aside a stack of maps and sketches, revealing a paper of schematics, the steam engine blueprints drawn by her own hand. The detailed renderings of pistons, coils, and pressure chambers stared back at her, filled with annotations written in both her past life’s language and the Empire’s.
“What if I build a factory, an entire production line designed for minimal manpower?” she murmured, the idea taking shape as she spoke. “Automated bellows, conveyor belt, molds… a fully self-sustaining manufacturing line that only needs a few people to run?”
She tapped the paper with a finger, her grin widening. “Then I store that inside the Origin Domain.”
The possibilities spiraled in her mind, intoxicating and sharp. “With the time dilation inside the domain,” she continued, pacing slowly, “a day out here could be months, years in there. I could build thousands of engines in hours… even prototype cannons, refine artillery, create my own fleet—”
She stopped by the tall window again, looking out at the endless expanse of blue that framed Kim Island. Her expression softened into something dangerously serene.
“Just like that,” she whispered, “Kim Dukedom will become untouchable.”
The faint shimmer of light from the Reputation System panel reflected in her eyes, the numbers dancing across her irises like constellations.
“All I need,” Ravenna said softly, the corner of her lips curving into a satisfied smile, “are more Reputation Points.”
