The Coastal Town of Ronin, Across the Sea from Jo Isnd, in the Mainnd Empire of Ana

  “My Lady, a letter with an imperial seal arrived a few ho,” the butler announced, bowing slightly as he hahe letter to Vistess Jessica Ronin.

  Jessica's brows furrowed at the sight of the seal. “An imperial seal? Did it e from the imperial pace?”

  The butler shook his head. “No, My Lady. It was delivered through the mert association, and they cimed it came from Jo Isnd.”

  The mention of Jo Isnd made Jessica stiffen, her heartbeat quiing. “Jo? From Princess Ravenna?” she murmured, her voice tinged with unease.

  Her thoughts spiraled into chaos. “Did she find out about the pn? But that’s impossible! Only the most loyal and trusted members of our house know about it.’

  Swallowing hard, Jessica broke the seal and unfolded the letter, her hands trembling ever so slightly.

  {“Hey, Lady Jessica,

  I know we’ve had our differences in the past, and I am well aware of your family’s loyalty to William. However, I believe we e to an agreement. Would you sider resuming trade with my isnd? My people are starving, and our supplies are rapidly depleting.

  As part of the deal, I am willing to offer cheap bor from my people, or perhaps just give me a small loan, that would suffice.

  Sincerely,Princess Ravenna Sorius”}

  Jessica sighed, her tensioing into a mix of irritation and disdain. “She doesn’t know about the attack,” she muttered, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. “Still the same haughty, spoiled princess, I see. And now she has the audacity to ask for money and offer cheap bor iurn?”

  She crumpled the letter in her hand and tossed it onto the desk with a scoff. “She’ll learn soon enough,” Jessica said coldly.

  Her fidence rekindled, she turned her attention back to her pns, ign the fleeting sense of uhat lingered in her chest.

  Lord’s Castle, Jo City, Jo Isnd

  [ Reputation System v0.1 ]User: Ravenna Sorius / Joy Cha KimReputation Level: 60 (8024/8200)Curreation Points: 2,621Titles: Raven of the Sun Pace, Unruly Princess{ View Reputation Log } { Speation Points }

  In the dim light of her study, Ravenna’s deep dark eyes glimmered with anticipation as she stared at the familiar translut panel before her. She leaned forward in her chair, her fingers drumming rhythmically against the wooden desk.

  [ Reputation Points System ]

  +2 Points: Vistess Jessica Ronin’s fear of you has haunted her.(Effect of Title: Raven of the Sun Paow for the moment of truth,” Ravenna murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. Her heart pounded as she navigated to the detailed log, her mind rag with possibilities.

  “Please let it reveal more this time,” she muttered, her gaze fixed ily on the s. With a deep breath, she selected the log, the words unfolding before her eyes.

  [ Reputation Log ]

  Title: VistessName: Jessica RoninReason: Jessica became nervous about her pn to attack Jo Isnd and dispose of 2,000 sves by disguising 500 knights and 300 meraries as pirates. Her fear was triggered upon receiving your letter, causio doubt herself and your knowledge of her scheme.Background:Jessica Ronin is an ambitious noblewoman who retly ied her father’s title. She is driven by an intense desire to elevate her family’s status, a trait instilled in her by her mother. However, the Ronin family’s prestige was severely tarnished years ago due to a sdal at a grand ball. The i left Jessica’s mother socially ruined and caused irreparable damage to their retionships with other noble houses. Sihat day, Jessica has carried the burden of rest her family’s reputation. Her fear ament torincess Ravenna have only deepened over time, fueled by her trauma and insecurities.

  Ravenna’s breath hitched as she read the log. She pushed herself out of her chair, her hands gripping the edge of her desk. “No… way this worked!” she excimed, a mix of disbelief and exhiration spreading across her face.

  The idea had been simple: send a letter to Vistess Jessica Ronin, who harbored a deep-seated fear of her. Ravenna had banked oion that Jessica’s apprehension alone would ear least a single reputation point—enough to unlock a glimpse into Jessica’s thoughts and pns.

  And it worked.

  Ravenna’s gaze flicked back to the glowing panel h before her. “So, a total force of 800 troops transp 2,000 sves,” she muttered, her voice tinged with both aermination. She reached for a detailed map of Jo Isnd, spreading it out across her desk. Her firaced the tours of the isnd’s coastline, her mind already calg the best deferategies.

  “Where would they nd? The harbor? Or perhaps the southern cliffs... No, that’s too risky for them,” she murmured to herself, cirg key points on the map with a piece of charcoal. Her mind raced, sidering every variable. If she could predict their nding point, she could devise a strategy to minimize the damage and protect her people.

  Meanwhile, in the Bcksmith’s Workshop

  The air in the workshop was thick with the smell of molteal, coal, and sweat. Nille, wiped his brow with a soot-streaked rag. His muscur frame, honed by years of hard bor, was coated in a thin sheen of perspiration as he stood before their test project: The Steam Engine.

  The traption domihe ter of the workshop, a testament to weeks of relentless effort and iy. It was an intricate assembly of iron and steel, every po fed with painstaking precision.

  The drical cauldron, crafted from cast iron, sat at the heart of the mae. Its base was insuted with yers of heat-resistant material, and a sturdy lid was bolted securely on top. ected to the cauldron was a smaller, intricately shaped iron chamber reinforced with thick metal walls. Seams and rivets were visible along its surface, bearing the marks of careful craftsmanship.

  Thick iron rods extended from the chamber, eg a piston to the kshaft. The kshaft itself was a marvel—a heavy, fed iron wheel with an off-ter axle desigo vert the linear motion of the piston into rotary motion.

  Beside it, a massive flywheel, fed from solid iron, was attached to the kshaft. Its purpose was to smooth out the jerky movements of the engine and store rotational energy.

  The firebox, built from firebricks a, ositioned nearby. Its sturdy iron grate held the r fire that heated the boiler, and the intense heat shimmered in the air as fmes crackled within.

  As Nille examihe mae, his apprentice adjusted the iron grate, feeding it more coal to stoke the fire. The boiler hissed, steam beginning to build inside.

  epped back, wiping the sweat from his brow again as he observed the pressure gauge. His deep voice broke the tense silence. “Hopefully, this one doesn’t blow up,” he muttered, his tone heavy with a mixture of anticipation and ay.

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