Late at night, Richard had long since fallen asleep.

  It was a dreamless night, the deepest slumber allowing his nearly exhausted body to slowly recover. Potent mana and stamina recovery potions condensed this process several times over.

  An old proverb popular among the Gray Dwarf tribes states: Time is gold coins. But that refers to the time of ordinary people or beings from lesser planes. For individuals like Richard, or even Helen Su, their time—especially their time on the primary plane—could no longer be measured solely in gold coins.

  Richard knew he had taken the most crucial step, and thus slept exceptionally deeply and peacefully. The accumulated frustrations of many days seemed to have been vented through the Ironclad Horse's wild rampage. However, at this moment, he still hadn't fully grasped the magnitude of the impact his Rune Construct had on others, or even on Deepblue as a whole.

  Stevenson's residential area was even larger than Richard's, and located a full three floors higher. To outsiders, this not only signified Her Highness's favor and importance placed upon him but also served as a mark of his prominent status as the scion of a major noble house. Only Stevenson himself knew the immense cost required to maintain this facade.

  Richard's residence was entirely free, whereas Stevenson had to pay the full rent for his larger, more functional quarters.

  Even for Stevenson, nominally backed by the full support of the Solam family, the monthly rent approaching 300,000 imperial gold coins was a very heavy burden. Moreover, he needed to pay tuition fees double that amount. Although Duke Solam had prepaid his tuition for the next few years, the cost of his studies at Deepblue wasn't calculated that simply. Even without professional monthly amortization, the interest this huge sum should have generated was itself a considerable figure.

  Naturally, the resources of the vast Solam family couldn't possibly be invested solely in Stevenson. A significant reason he had managed to persuade the family council was the family's intense desire for a Grand Construct Master entirely of their own bloodline—a desire shared by every even slightly ambitious family on the continent. Randolph was initially meant for this role, but his foolishness led to his failure before he even began. Stevenson seized the opportunity, convincing the council that he, a Dragon Blooded Sorcerer, also possessed the potential for Construct Mastery, had greater personal resources than Randolph, and had already begun participating in family affairs in recent years, demonstrating remarkable talent.

  However, family investments demanded returns. Especially after the Randolph incident, the family's patience grew increasingly thin. Duke Solam had already ascended to Legendary status. After consolidating his realm over the next two or three years at most, it would be time for large-scale expansion.

  Furthermore, Stevenson was also shouldering Minnie's tuition fees. Since their engagement contract was finalized, Marquis Neo had eagerly ceased all payments for his own daughter.

  The front lines were indeed strained, and Marquis Neo's financial situation was nearing collapse. Moreover, with the fires of war burning primarily within the Marquis's own territory, it was highly questionable whether he could even hold out until the end of next year. Ultimately, it boiled down to the incompetence of the Marquis's subordinates—though, in Stevenson's mind, the list of incompetents also included the uncle leading the Solam reinforcements.

  The combined Neo and Solam forces held an absolute advantage in numbers and were fighting on familiar terrain, yet they had made no progress against Elyse's campaign after prolonged efforts. Forget encircling or crushing her relatively small army; they hadn't even achieved a decisive victory in a frontal engagement.

  This woman possessed an incredibly keen sense for the battlefield, her troop movements erratic and unpredictable. Yet, when she found an opponent's weak point and attacked, her strikes were like lightning, ruthless and unparalleled. With less than a third of her opponents' forces, fighting on terrain that wasn't particularly vast or complex, she dragged the combined Neo and Solam armies into exhausting, frantic pursuits. Moreover, she systematically destroyed farmlands, mines, forests, and towns within Neo territory, plundering all resources and destroying what couldn't be moved. Every place she visited left the Marquis sleepless with heartache.

  Neo's overwhelming disadvantage also stirred ambitions among several neighboring great nobles whose lands bordered his, forcing Solam to pay a corresponding price for their forceful intervention. As the war bogged down into a stalemate, the profits Solam had gained from Marquis Neo had mostly evaporated. If Elyse was allowed to continue her rampage, it would soon turn into a net loss.

  The latest news Stevenson received was that the Solam family had decided: if they couldn't deal with this woman within a week, they would negotiate peace with her. As for war reparations, that would be Neo's headache.

  Over the past half-year, Stevenson had managed and decorated his residential area with considerable taste. But now, the sounds of shattering vessels echoed continuously from his bedroom suite. One exquisite, elegant art piece after another was violently smashed against the walls and floor by Stevenson. Shards flew everywhere, a few even grazing Stevenson's face, leaving faint bloody lines. The crushing weight of burdens, both tangible and intangible, left him barely able to breathe. Smashing things offered a brief release, but it was only temporary solace. Right now, however, release was all he sought; otherwise, he would surely go mad.

  "Akmond again! Always Akmond! They're all a bunch of lunatics! Devils! Damned souls fit for hell! Why must they always stand in my way?!" Stevenson roared madly, cursing, yet even this wasn't enough to vent the fury pent up inside him.

  However, there was nothing left to smash in the bedroom except for an ancient vase made of adamantite inlaid with crystal, which remained intact. It was once the most cherished treasure of an emperor from another plane. Setting aside its immeasurable artistic and temporal value, simply cutting up the adamantite and top-grade amethyst for scrap would fetch more than a million gold coins. Stevenson himself couldn't possibly afford such a top-tier art treasure; it was actually one of Duke Solam's private collection pieces, placed here to bolster Stevenson's image.

  Stevenson's rage had its limits. Decorative items worth a few thousand each could be smashed, but this piece—even if Richard publicly stomped on his face, he wouldn't dare touch it.

  Minnie stood quietly in a corner, solitary and beautiful. She was at the age where a flower first blooms, her maturing, lovely figure and cold, proud temperament enhancing her vibrant youth. Yet, her face and arms also bore several thin, red cut marks; Stevenson's fury had implicated her too. Flying shards didn't discriminate.

  Seeing Minnie, Stevenson's anger flared anew. In his eyes at this moment, Minnie wasn't a beautiful young woman or a talented mage, but a colossal gold coin black hole. Minnie's tuition was only a fifth of his, but the absolute amount was still significant. And while her residential area wasn't as large as Stevenson's or Richard's, it was no smaller than that of an average Archmage, meaning the rent paid for her quarters even exceeded her tuition fees. And these two costs didn't even include the expenses for her magic studies.

  For the Solam family, supporting an additional Minnie wasn't particularly difficult. But Stevenson's own expenditures had already reached an astonishing figure, and adding Minnie's portion made it exceptionally suffocating.

  On a sinking ship, even adding the weight of a small stone can make those aboard feel choked.

  Stevenson knew very well that after leveraging such enormous investments from Duke Solam, he had absolutely no room for failure. Legendary figures enjoyed greatly extended lifespans; throughout Duke Solam's still-long life, there would be no shortage of sons and daughters, nor would talented ones be scarce.

  Stevenson's first tutor had told him long ago: before becoming truly strong, genius means nothing. Countless geniuses were born across the continent each year; only those who received sufficient resources could grow. Those denied resources could only bear a seemingly brilliant but hollow title, and only before adulthood. Because once they grew up, they truly became nothing, perhaps even worse off than ordinary people, their former halo casting a shadow over the rest of their lives.

  Randolph was the most recent example.

  Stevenson craved success as intensely as he feared failure, because the path he had walked had entirely transformed into an abyss leading straight to hell. Even a single step back meant being utterly crushed.

  Merely being a Dragon Blooded Sorcerer didn't warrant such massive funding. A reputation for social grace wasn't worth that many gold coins. As for talent in managing family affairs, an ancient family spanning over a hundred generations possessed countless capable managers. In reality, to secure this chance to become Helen Su's successor as a Construct Master, besides the resources from his family and Duke Solam personally, he had also invested significant manpower and material wealth from his maternal lineage. Once the family decided to abandon him, his fate wouldn't be much better than those mages bustling around outside Deepblue's inner ring, solely focused on earning money.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  But on the narrow bridge leading to Construct Mastery, Richard's newly matured figure loomed like the 'Divine Chasm'—the Augustine Mountains—blocking Stevenson's path, immovable.

  And the marriage contract he had arbitrarily arranged with Minnie added another substantial sum to the bills Duke Solam had to pay. This wasn't entirely Stevenson's fault; he had merely acted according to the rules of noble society, making a decision most beneficial to his future development under the circumstances. Besides the paternal family, maternal and marital connections were also crucial resources. But who could have predicted Marquis Neo would be so shameless and heartless, directly dumping his most outstanding daughter onto the Solam family?

  Thus, Stevenson roared, his face almost touching Minnie's: "You! Tell me, what use are you now? Besides paying a huge sum for your tuition every month, how else can you help me! Help me progress in construct studies? Help me gain the Master's favor?! Tell me! Now that Richard has left me far behind, what am I supposed to do?"

  Seeing Minnie's silence, Stevenson found it even harder to suppress his emotions. He sneered, "I almost forgot you're still a woman, at least good for bedding. Now, strip naked and get into bed!"

  Minnie didn't argue, didn't resist. She silently removed all her clothes, lay down on the bed, and parted her legs. Throughout this, her expression remained calm. But once lying down, she turned her face aside, hiding the tears that flowed uncontrollably.

  Minnie shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the expected violent assault, but it never came. After a moment, still nothing happened. She couldn't help but open her eyes to see Stevenson standing by the bed, clutching the neck of a liquor bottle, taking fierce swigs from time to time. His gaze passed over Minnie's body, staring out at Floe Bay beyond the window. The harbor at night wasn't completely dark; ubiquitous ice formations refracted eerie, faint light. There was no sign of any living creature, making it seem exceptionally desolate and cold.

  He looked at Minnie and said coldly, "You are an intelligent woman. Now is not the time for willfulness or petty tantrums. If I cannot become a Construct Master, then everything is over. Status, honor, money, power—there will be nothing. You should understand this clearly. Marquis Neo abandoned you long ago, and your fate is now completely tied to mine. You should feel fortunate because great noble families like ours, with history, still hold formal marriage contracts in high regard. So, for now, I have no intention of annulling the contract. But, you need to fight for your future now, prove you are useful to me, useful to the Solam family, prove you are worth the monthly expenditure of half a million gold coins. If you can't, or don't want to, I won't force you. You can get out of Deepblue next month! I believe no one would be willing to pay half a million gold coins—monthly!—for the daughter of a ruined Marquis, a woman who has been used." The last few words were roared out by Stevenson in a slightly drunken haze.

  Minnie stared blankly at the ceiling, motionless.

  Stevenson spoke the truth, and she absolutely could not lose the Solam family's support. Without money, not only would her status plummet, but her situation would be even worse than Eileen's. Because of her formerly noble status, far more men would desire to leave their mark within her body. Her magical talent, at this point, was an utterly insignificant factor.

  One of Helen Su's famous sayings was: "Gold coins are limited, but geniuses are many."

  This marriage contract, fairly speaking, had thus far been funded by Stevenson.

  After a moment, Minnie's eyes finally moved. She slowly sat up. Her expression remained iceberg-like, but the pride and mockery in her eyes were gone, replaced by pallor and deep grey. A mocking smile touched Minnie's lips, but this time it was directed at herself. She swung her feet to the floor and stood beside Stevenson, naked just like him, gazing out the window as well. "I indeed have no capital for pride, nor can I truly abandon everything I have now. So I choose to stand with you. Whether you see me as a woman, a partner, a friend, or even just a subordinate, that's fine. But I will not be a plaything."

  Stevenson didn't answer, merely squinted, his dangerous gaze fixed on the harsh winter scene outside.

  Minnie sighed and continued, "Don't you find this matter somewhat strange? Richard never studied how to inscribe a complete Rune Construct before. You had Saint Kruse's guidance, used the finest materials, and still spent over half a month, failing forty-one times in total, just to create a construct with 20% completion. How could Richard possibly create a usable construct plugin directly?"

  Minnie's words calmed Stevenson down as well, prompting him to think. "You mean that Rune Construct wasn't made by Richard? No, impossible! Master Phil wouldn't lie; there's no point. He doesn't need to favor either Solam or Akmond. The Rune Construct must have been made by Richard himself. But you're right, the whole thing is strange. We obtained Richard's course schedule long ago; according to the curriculum design, the boy wouldn't even start learning construct creation for at least another year. There must be a crucial factor behind the scenes, enabling Richard to instantly overcome obstacles that countless people struggle with their entire lives, making such a leap. What we need to know now is precisely what that key factor is. Even if I can't use it myself, it might offer some inspiration."

  Minnie frowned. "That's difficult."

  "It is very difficult. Richard has almost no friends and rarely interacts with unrelated people. The ones he interacts with most are the Archmages teaching his courses, and those old fellows are mostly aloof. This is Deepblue; I can't possibly trail Richard to see who he's associating with. Even if I could buy information on his movements, it would cause too much commotion." Stevenson frowned involuntarily. Randolph's example was still fresh in his mind; showing direct malice towards another of Her Highness's students would definitely displease the masters.

  "Eileen! Perhaps we should ask her. Maybe she can get an answer!" Minnie suggested. "After all, she's the only woman who was ever that close to Richard."

  Stevenson shook his head. "Eileen? What use could she be? I initially thought she was the woman Richard liked; otherwise, why would the Enforcement Mage Corps specifically issue an order forbidding her from sleeping with Richard? I made a preemptive move and slept with her, hoping to drive Richard into a rage or complete despair under the blow. If it could provoke him into using some drastic measures against me, even better. But as you saw, it had absolutely no effect. Richard's study and life routines didn't change one bit; you couldn't even see an emotional reaction. You call that liking someone? Besides, so much time has passed; Richard must have lost interest in her long ago. How could he possibly tell such an important secret to a completely unreliable woman? Things are different now than they were then. If Richard found out about what happened between Eileen and me, it might just backfire. After all, those old masters are clearly on his side now! Don't think those old fellows are fools!"

  Minnie disagreed. "There's no harm in trying. And you don't understand a woman's mind. It's clear, at least from Eileen's side, that she has some minor feelings. So, what happened between you two, she would never tell Richard, at least not the details. But she must also know she has no future with Richard, especially after being used by you. Since there's no hope, why not trade past affection for a large sum of money, as long as the amount exceeds her psychological expectations? Women in the fringe districts are all the same. If she could truly hold out, you wouldn't have gotten her so easily."

  Stevenson hesitated, then finally nodded. But he immediately sighed again, saying somewhat dejectedly, "Even if we uncover the secret behind it, the gap that's already formed will be hard to close. His overall evaluation is only 'excellent,' far inferior to mine. But evaluation isn't everything. At least the talent he's displaying now isn't much worse than mine. What's more..."

  Stevenson gave a bitter smile before continuing, "The resources he can now use for cultivation far exceed mine."

  Minnie fell silent.

  It was true. The income Richard received monthly wasn't a major secret; anyone with some status could find out if they wished. Richard's total income wasn't absurdly high, but his expenses were far lower than Stevenson's. Most of Stevenson's bills went towards paying rent and tuition for himself and Minnie, plus miscellaneous social expenses. After deducting these, the money available for course studies, magic experiment materials, and recovery potions was less than half of Richard's. These were the expenditures that directly impacted the progress of magical cultivation. And the creation of that Basic Strength Rune Construct had depleted almost all his reserve resources.

  Stevenson took another large gulp of strong liquor, letting the burning liquid sear its way from his throat to his chest. He vaguely sensed that his efforts since arriving in Deepblue had suffered from a directional bias. He had thought he perfectly employed both overt and covert schemes: using Eileen to strike at his rival psychologically, rallying potential allies to isolate his opponent, pouring all resources into displaying his talent and potential as a Construct Master. But the result dealt him an almost devastating blow; Richard had won this undeclared war with progress exceeding his by two entire major levels.

  Stevenson couldn't help but reflect: had he made too many unnecessary moves? If he had poured all his energy and resources directly into studying Construct Mastery from the beginning, would the outcome have been different?

  Deepblue was unlike the outside world. Here, there was no need for the fig leaf of public opinion, no need for righteous justification—only Helen Su's pleasure and absolute strength mattered.

  Seeing the ambitious man beside her reveal an expression of frustration and despair, Minnie suddenly felt a chill run through her naked body, her heart tightening along with it. Her fingers lightly brushed her own smooth, tender skin. What she felt now wasn't humiliation, but a profound coldness. If Stevenson gave up, he still had his Dragon Blooded lineage, his powerful maternal family—what would she have left?

  Minnie hesitated for a long time before slowly saying, "Perhaps there is one last shortcut, though the chances aren't high."

  "What way?" Stevenson's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly, like a drowning man spotting driftwood.

  "Find a way to get close to the Master, gain her favor. I've had a gut feeling recently that the Master's mood is becoming increasingly unstable. This is a good opportunity. Although the Master is a Legendary Mage, she is also a woman..."

  Stevenson was stunned for a moment, then understood Minnie's implication. His eyes gradually brightened. Yes, the Legendary Mage was also a woman; how hadn't he thought of that before? Indeed, women understood women best.

  "You mean, I should find a way to make Helen Su my woman?" Stevenson mused, his expression slowly regaining vitality, the impeccable smile of a noble scion returning. Although he had been utterly defeated in Rune Constructs, at least in this domain, his advantage over Richard was overwhelming. In noble society, such affairs were hardly uncommon, not even requiring the slightest blush. While it was an unconventional battlefield, its significance and impact could sometimes rival those of a real one.

  A flicker of determination crossed Stevenson's eyes. "That's one way, but the chances of success are also slim. We can't pin all our hopes on that! I still have a few people I can use in Deepblue. When it becomes truly necessary, we'll just make that boy disappear for good!"