Like all innovation and progress, results were incremental. Issues started cropping up around the Kingdom related to Iridescent. Many of the problems were cleverly engineered and camouflaged as a lure for Sol.

Such events were futile. Sol was no longer as naive as she was initially. Rather than head to the locations herself, she sent representatives with authority to mediate on site. Of course, Sol would never distribute her authority randomly and all individuals selected were trusted aids with precompiled solutions.

Her delegates only had the authority to implement the correct fix and adjust it slightly. Anything that fell outside their power was unfortunate as Sol required them to notify her by letter. Although it was a suboptimal choice, she had little choice since her safety was the highest priority.

Luckily, the irritations that cropped up passed rather smoothly. It was easy to see the opponent moved onto other designs after the bait failed to lure their prey. Although she won the battle, Sol remained alert and proactive. She sent notices to all managers to take extra precautions and narrow their scope of work to public venues.

Another three weeks passed without incident when Duke Reviarra summoned Sol and An to his office. His calm visage appeared in Sol’s eyes as soon as she entered the room. She could see strands of gray in his hair. Although she remained calm, Sol knew her father was under immense stress.

The man was forced to comply and work with an enemy of stronger standing without revealing anything after all. Despite that pressure, Duke Reviarra never let it hamper his home life. After the two took their seats, Duke Reviarra kicked off their meeting.

“I was admonished mid session today by King Blonsall and Prince Elric. Accusations of raising an army to rebel were thrown my way, however there was no evidence to back up the claims.” Duke Reviarra’s gazes drifted to Sol before continuing.

“It was a good move to bring the corpses and equipment of your fallen Knights back with you. If Prince Elric had evidence, today might have ended differently. Regardless, King Blonsall has started making his moves to undermine my authority.”

Sol rubbed her hands in deep thought. She only took a moment before returning her father’s gaze. “It’s time we start making our moves. Iridescent will start corning the market and consuming products at an accelerated pace. Since Prince Elric is so eager to ruin father’s reputation, let’s target his reputation first.”

Up to this stage, Iridescent was limited to marketing expansion and business takeovers. The company kept its claws hidden and its reach obscure. Duke Reviarra considered her words for only a moment before agreeing.

“Good. I’ll need material to deflect Prince Elric’s accusations and distract the other ministers. If possible, provide me with an internal feud or mismanagement that can call into question his moral character or leadership.”

Sol laughed at the request. “Your daughter won’t even need to invent such things. If I recall, Prince Elric somehow lost a maid servant last time he kidnapped me and was forced to cut down his own servant to ‘uphold justice’. Somehow, I doubt Prince Elric managed to clean his house well. No worries, father. I’ll run interference and buy you time until I have something concrete. Mother should also be able to help through rumors in the social circle.”

Devious eyes glowed in excitement now that the troops were moving. A tinge of bloodthirst leaked from Sol after she recalled the slander she was nearly forced to accept and the attempted assault on her innocence. Duke Reviarra’s eyes squinted slightly after catching Sol’s hint of bloodlust.

His gaze drifted to An who only shrugged his shoulders. There was both a time and place for such discussions and this wasn’t it. The group discussed the details of their plans for another hour or two before Sol left the room to bring her mother up to speed.

After her figure disappeared behind the closed office door, Duke Reviarra changed topics. “Why is my daughter showing signs of bloodthirst?” Although not a military man, he worked around plenty and Sol shared a similar presence as them. An chuckled somewhat before explaining.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that Sol’s body has become healthier since I arrived. She’s cultivating a special method that strengthens the body but has a few minor side effects. That being said, Duke Reviarra, I’m not the one who should tell you this, but I don’t think you truly understand your daughter. If you did, you would know that bloodthirst and smile before she left was her natural disposition.”

“Are you calling my daughter a bloodthirsty beast?” He nearly snarled the query from anger. An’s statement was the same as telling him his daughter was a monster. Since when do 10 year olds exude bloodlust? Despite the threatening tone, An remained calm.

“Of course she is. You know nothing about your daughter. Her entire life up to now was spent coddled, spoiled, and weak. Now that her body is finally recovering, it just so happened to overlap with such terrible experiences. How did you expect her to develop? Rather than question me, you should get to know your new daughter. She will only change from here on. I think you would be surprised by how much she keeps herself in check just because you’re her family.”

Unwilling to hear the Duke’s response, An lifted himself from the chair and brushed off a few specks of dust before exiting the office. Left alone, Duke Reviarra took An’s words to heart as he considered the past and future.

Sol arrived in front of her mother’s office and knocked on the door. The Duchess opened the door herself and smiled after seeing it was Sol. Grabbing her hand, Duchess Reviarra led Sol into the room and sat her down on a bench.

“How is your training going?” Words of care slipped from the Duchess’ mouth as she adjusted Sol to sit between her legs. From her sleeves, a small brush reached her hands and she started to comb Sol’s hair.

The unexpected care left Sol baffled for a moment. Her original purpose was lost to her and she just chose to enjoy the comfort. Small talk proceeded as Sol explained her frustrations about magic to her mother and complained about the Princes and their small tricks.

Although Duchess Reviarra may not understand the topic entirely, she still listened and provided feedback where she could while enjoying her daughter’s warmth. The two had few intimate moments ever since Sol started her training.

Nearly a month and a half, Sol was outside training with the Knights on her magic. It wasn’t that Duchess Reviarra didn’t understand the importance of preparation and practice, she was just sad at how much time it consumed. Part of her missed the days when Sol was weaker and under her umbrella.

Like all mothers, she felt as if her daughter was growing distant as she grew. As such, she cherished the small moments like now whenever she could. Sol could feel her hair being patted down after her mother finished combing it.

Her mind gradually brought her back to the future and she recalled why she visited. From her pocket, Sol pulled out a series of rolled documents. Each was thick in writing, yet all were about the same subject. “Mother, I’ve come to ask a favor.”

“Mmhmm. Ask away.”

“I’d like you to spread rumors through your socialite activities. If possible, I want you to spread it in a way that’s hard to determine the origin.”

“That’s a simple matter. Social circles have their own way of passing rumors. Is this very important?”

“Yes. Prince Elric and King Blonsall have started making moves against father. He needs our help to expand his options and offer distractions. While I can affect the commoners, my reach in the aristocracy is limited to business. I was hoping mother could fill in that gap.”

“Don’t worry Sol. What do you need this Duchess to spread?”

Sol unrolled the documents and held them up. Duchess Reviarra extended her arm under Sol’s and unwrapped each one. Her head rested on Sol’s shoulder as she read each document. Her occasional questions drew a giggle from Sol.

Though nonchalant in her questions, Duchess Reviarra’s expression remained solemn where Sol couldn’t see. Her gaze would drift to the side of her daughter’s face occasionally in thought after reading the contents of the documents.

There were hints of admiration, pride, and sorrow mixed into the gaze, yet her lips were always curved into a subtle smile. She knew her daughter was growing up and was aware of the dirt and grime littering the adult world.

Even so, she felt it was far too quick. In a way, she wished her son had gone through the many events Sol had. Although she loved them both, it was, perhaps, a mother’s bias towards her daughter that led to such a thought.

Such things would always remain a thought though as Duchess Reviarra was clear on how terrible a thought it was. She brought herself back into the task assigned to her and started thinking about the approaching social events and which rumors should be dropped where.