Starting the Strategy from Frieren

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Lady Tulip had just celebrated her thirtieth birthday last week with an incredibly

luxurious banquet, enjoying the envious gazes of many in the noble circle and even

flirting with a handsome lover.

Just a few days later, she received news of her husband's death. In truth, it didn't

matter much; after all, her son could inherit his father's title and lands, so her lavish

lifestyle wouldn't change significantly.

However, the problem arose when a hero appeared out of nowhere, demanding the

city of Shattered Leaf as his territory after being appointed the new viscount. Absurdly,

that foolish king actually agreed and even instructed her and her son to move to the

capital.

Oh my!

To come and seize her husband's estate right after his death—was that something a

person could do?!

Naturally, Lady Tulip was filled with resentment. She immediately contacted her

father, an earl, hoping he would stand up for her. However, the only reply she received

was a single sentence: she must personally hand over all assets to the hero to express

goodwill and then return home.

The moment Lady Tulip read that line, her well-maintained beautiful face twisted in

anger. She didn't understand politics or military matters; she simply felt abandoned

by her father and smashed several plates in frustration.

All for a stranger? Why should she?!

That money was hers! All of it—hers!

Therefore, this time Lady Tulip did not heed her father's advice. While she left behind

food and statues that couldn't be taken, everything else that could be packed up—

including land deeds, gold, silver jewelry, and artworks—was taken away.

It filled several carts.

As for safety on the road, she had brought twenty fully armed knights with her when

she married; they were trustworthy, especially the strongest knight captain among

them, who was the biological father of her child and would never harm them.

"Hmm? Why did the carts suddenly stop? Could there be highway robbers?"

What robber would dare stop a group of fully armed knights in broad daylight?

She leaned out to look out the window.

To her surprise, the knight captain she had high hopes for was being held at sword-

point by a glowing blade several meters long; his spear was reduced to half its length.

Following the glowing blade back, she saw that the one controlling the knight

captain's life was a seemingly delicate-looking elven mage.

No wait! Not delicate; just looking into those eyes made it clear she was terrifyingly

strong—

A slight tremor in her hand could mean instant death for the knight captain; as for the

other knights, while they were in slightly better condition than him, they were

completely restrained by the city guards.

Lady Tulip had meticulously planned everything but had not anticipated how

unprincipled the new lord would be; before they had even traveled one-tenth of the

journey, they were intercepted by this group.

"Lady Tulip! Your husband, Viscount Hicks, has been harboring demons in his castle

and is suspected of treason; please return with me for questioning."

Lady Tulip watched as a young man on horseback approached her cart; he stood tall

and handsome with a slightly thin yet distinctly defined face, clear eyes, and a smile

that was friendly without being frivolous.

"Hero Ivan?"

"That's me."

"Let my people go; I am willing to return to Shattered Leaf."

Had she known beforehand that the hero looked like this, perhaps Lady Tulip would

have stayed in Shattered Leaf to negotiate with him; if they could end up in bed

together in the end, accepting half her assets would have been bearable—it would be

like finding a new protector.

Unfortunately... now the conflict had escalated.

Outside the cart, Ivan was unaware of her thoughts; otherwise, he would definitely

scoff at how naive she was to think he would settle for just half of her assets!

All this was his money!

Ivan glanced at the contents packed into these carts and nearly got blinded by the

glint of gold coins—this was more than enough as startup capital.

On their way back to Shattered Leaf, Lady Tulip opened the curtains; compared to

when they first met, she had clearly applied light makeup and smiled at Ivan outside:

"With all this jostling on horseback, Hero Ivan should come inside for a chat to avoid

tiring yourself."

"Thank you for your kind offer, but recently demons have been increasingly rampant in

my territory; they even killed the last lord here; I must stay outside to scout and ensure

your safety."

Tsk! The art of language.

Since Ivan said that, Lady Tulip didn't insist further; after thanking him again, she

closed the curtains once more.

Upon returning to Shattered Leaf's viscount castle, Ivan directed servants to unload

their goods—these treasures that rightfully belonged here had returned within just

one day.

Lady Tulip's eyelids twitched at this sight but managed to compose herself as she

approached Ivan gracefully.

"Hero Ivan! Didn't you say I should cooperate with your investigation? Why are you

removing these trivial belongings? Could these items possibly relate to demons?"

"You misunderstand, madam," Ivan replied seriously: "The methods of demons are

exceedingly cunning; anything related should undergo thorough scrutiny—otherwise

there could be large-scale destructive weapons hidden among them that might

explode one day and cause tragedy."

"But did my husband really keep demons in his castle? Could there be some

misunderstanding?"

Even now Lady Tulip believed Ivan used demons as an excuse—what large-scale

destructive weapon? If such a thing existed, she would have used it long ago on her

lover knight captain.

"If my husband kept demons in his castle, I would be the first to stop him."

Hearing this from her made Ivan glance at Flamme beside him.

Flamme shook her head.

It seemed there was no lie; Lady Tulip truly did not know about her husband's dealings

with demons.

"Then please follow me madam; I will show you evidence."

Ivan led Lady Tulip into his study where a large hole in the wall immediately caught her

attention.

Peering through it revealed a secret chamber she had never known about—the

demon-restraining stone had been taken by Ivan but chains still hung visibly on the

wall.

"Hero Ivan! Where is that demon now?"

"Of course we killed it; after all, demons are inherently evil and full of lies—so as not

to tarnish other innocent people's reputations we must kill them upon discovery," he 

said with a gentle smile while meeting Lady Tulip's gaze.

"Naturally I also ensured everyone kept this matter confidential because... madam

you wouldn't want your child to bear the stigma of colluding with demons now would

you?"

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