Reincarnated in a novel: I am the villain!

[Timeline: Time skip (Years 5–14)]

Time was a cruel master. To the slave, it crawled. To the dying, it sprinted.

But to the Spider sitting in the center of the web, time was simply a resource to be spent.

Seasons turned into years. Kings died and were replaced by their sons. Wars were fought over borders that shifted like sand dunes in a storm.

But underneath the surface noise of history, a new current was flowing. It was a current of gold, steel, and blood, guided by invisible hands.

..........

[Year 6: The Golden Coin Guild – The Public Launch]

ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fıre·net

The main square of the Trade Capital was packed. Thousands of nobles, merchants, and commoners pushed against the velvet ropes.

In the center of the square, covered by a silk tarp, sat a machine.

Isabelle stood on the podium. At thirty-six, she was already known as the "Iron Mistress" of the East.

Due to her demon blood, she still looked in to be in her late twenties, and now standing in full view, she wore a suit of midnight blue, cut sharp and practical.

On her finger, a golden Abacus ring glinted in the sun.