284. The Duchess Awakened
“Her Highness! Her Highness is awake!” one of the younger maids shrieked.
[The Reputation System has increased attunement of the user to the Universal Origin.]
The shriek of the young maid shattered the morning stillness of the Lord’s Castle, followed immediately by the frantic clatter of a dropped basin. Ravenna’s world, which had been a sea of sterile white and existential debates just moments ago, was suddenly flooded with the sensory cacophony of the living.
[The Reputation System has been tailored to the new level of attuning to Universal Origin.]
The heavy oak doors of her chambers were flung open with a violence that suggested the person entering had no time for etiquette. Alice burst into the room, her hair a frazzled nest and her face etched with a fatigue that went bone-deep. She wasn't even wearing her spectacles; she had clearly forgotten them in her haste to reach the bedside, her eyes red-rimmed and squinting through tears of pure, unadulterated relief.
“You... you are really awake!” Alice choked out, a sob hitching in her throat even as a weary smile broke across her face.
Ravenna looked at her, her mind still sluggish as it tried to reconcile with opening her eyes. She didn't quite understand how she had transitioned from The Witch’s lair back to the Kim Estate, but the warmth of the sunlight on her skin felt real enough.
“Alice...” Ravenna rasped, her voice cracking. She tried to sit up, feeling the phantom weight of the an explosion in her chest. “W... what did I miss?”
Alice wiped her eyes with her sleeve, letting out a sharp, watery laugh as she fumbled for her glasses in a pocket. “A lot, Your Highness. For starters, you slept through a mountain of paperwork. And worse... we both missed Mina’s first birthday.”
An hour later, Ravenna’s bedroom, Lord’s Castle, Kim City, Kim Dukedom, Ancorna Empire
The room had been cleared of the frantic servants, leaving only Alice and a recovering Ravenna. The Princess leaned against a mountain of silk pillows, sipping slowly from a cup of lukewarm water as she listened to the summary of the chaos she had slept through.
“So... let me clarify,” Ravenna said, her logical mind beginning to re-stitch the timeline. “As the divine light from the Third Odyssey Ring engulfed the chamber, the Witch and her cultists were immobilized. Marie, acting on instinct, used that window to drag me through the door and back into the dungeon’s corridor?”
“Yes,” Alice confirmed, nodding solemnly as she held out a small, pouch filled with glittering purple glass dust. “And not only you. The explosion shattered the Witch’s mental hold on everyone else. Under Ser Eugene’s command, the entire group retreated through the Broadleaf Arrowhead door you had initially used.”
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Alice paused, a look of profound gratitude crossing her face. “Thank the Goddess for the timing. Blacksmith Nille’s apprentice, Ryan, managed to complete the first batch of the 'Violet Glass' . It allowed our Kim Knights to breach the dungeon’s entrance and provide a secure corridor for everyone’s return. Without that powder, the magical beasts would have swarmed the party before you reached the surface.”
Ravenna looked out the window. The sky was a clear, brilliant blue, but the silhouette of some clouds in the distance remained a jagged scar on the horizon. “How many days has it been, Alice?”
“It has been ten days since the initial explosion at the harbor,” Alice replied. “Ten days since we were first trapped in that dungeon.”
“And I’ve been unconscious for...?”
“Three days. Since the moment Marie brought your body across the threshold of the door, you didn't move. The physicians and priests said it was a mana-induced coma similar to the one you had when we fended off the imperial navy .”
Ravenna took another sip of water, the cool liquid soothing her parched throat. “And the others? Marie, Hughes, John, Aurora, Kenric... are they all accounted for?”
It wasn't just a question; it was a confirmation she needed for her own sanity. The image of them appearing in the Witch’s lair, exposed and vulnerable, had haunted her even in the void.
“They are safe, Ravenna,” Alice assured her. “Marie is currently under observation by the Junior Priests, though she seems more concerned about you than her own health. Captain Hughes and Kenric are recovering in the infirmary. Everyone else like Prince Landon, Princesses Serena, etc made it here to Kim City.”
Ravenna leaned her head back against the pillows, a wave of relief washing over her so intense it made her feel dizzy. She had referred to them as her "possessions" in her thoughts, but the raw ache in her chest told a different story.
Then, the image of High Priest James’ mangled body in the dungeon rubble flickered across her mind. She choked slightly on her water, the morning sun suddenly feeling too bright, too indifferent.
“It seems High Priests who care about me are always fated for unfortunate deaths,” she muttered, her voice devoid of emotion. First Caldus, now James. The path of her living was paved with the bodies of those who had offered her genuine faith.
She looked to the corner of her eye, where the familiar blue panel was pulsing with a new, sophisticated light.
[Reputation System Activated]
[ Reputation System v2.0 ] (New)
User: Ravenna Solarius / Joy Cha Kim
Reputation Level: 90 — (100,478 / 1,00,900 EXP)↑
Current Reputation Points: 20 RP↑
Titles Unlocked: Raven of the Sun Palace, Unruly Princess, Beast Slayer
{ View Reputation Log } { Spend Reputation Points }
“It updated... just like last time,” Ravenna whispered.
The interface was cleaner, sharper, and felt inherently more connected to her thoughts. But the sight of her nearly empty RP balance made her heart sink. She had spent almost everything to survive, and the cost of preparations for the next stage of the world’s events would be astronomical.
“Alice,” Ravenna said, her eyes turning toward her aide with a cold, renewed focus. “Tell everyone to gather in my study in two hours. The Witch of the West isn't going to wait for us to finish our preparations. We need to start discussing what is to come next"