In the office of Mandrake Fortress, Hel sat idly playing with the catgirl, Niv.
She held a long cat-tail grass stem and kept tickling Niv's nose with it.
The catgirl swatted at it over and over with her tiny paws, but every time she was about to catch it, Hel would quickly lift the grass high into the air, leaving Niv pouncing at nothing.
At that moment, another Niv—the succubus one—flew over from a nearby desk. She was dressed smartly in a professional office outfit, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and holding a small notebook in her hand.
"Master, I've gathered intelligence on how those nobles reacted after returning home."
Succubus Niv opened her notebook, her expression serious as she leaned close to Hel and reported:
"Out of the 2,943 titled nobles within the city, 2,333 attended a meeting at the Marquis of Northhill's mansion.
The remaining 610 nobles were not invited. The highest-ranked among them is only a viscount. Most of these are impoverished families—fallen houses that never managed to join the Marquis's circle.
As for the more than twenty thousand baronets and honorary knights in the city, they will simply follow the orders of their immediate lords.
According to what was discussed at the meeting, they plan to suppress you on multiple fronts.
In the territories outside Mandrake City, they intend to use the prestige they've built up over the years to psychologically intimidate the serfs.
They want to make it clear that you, Master, are merely a passing dragon—while they are the local snakes.
Even if your laws are enforced, the serfs' lives won't change. Once a serf, always a serf. You can't protect them forever.
The moment your forces leave their domains, those nobles will retaliate against the serfs a hundredfold—no, a thousandfold."
"And within the city," she continued, "they plan to bribe your knights. If that fails, they'll frame them instead."
"Bribe them? Frame them?"
Hel couldn't help but smile faintly. Since all the knights she brought were puppets, the idea was amusing to her.
"So, what method do they intend to use for that?"
"It seems they want to coerce a few common girls into falsely claiming that your knights violated them," Succubus Niv replied with a rather strange expression.
She could already imagine the looks on their faces once they realized all of Hel's knights were emotionless puppets.
"And then?" Hel asked lazily, scratching the catgirl Niv's chin as if waiting for the next part.
"And then… well, that's all they've got for now," Succubus Niv admitted. "If both plans fail, they'll probably give up for the moment—and then run to the capital of Selefis to call for reinforcements."
"Tch."
Hel clicked her tongue dismissively.
"I thought these nobles would be braver than this. So all they can do is resort to such petty tricks?
Not one of them thought of sending assassins after me, or trying to stage a coup?"
"Uh… apparently not," Niv replied helplessly. "After all, Master, you're already an Imperial Count. Your status is no lower than that of their own fathers. Even these brainless second-generation nobles aren't stupid enough to do something so suicidal."
"That's true."
Hel nodded thoughtfully. She hadn't expected that her change in rank would make her enemies act so cautiously.
"Well, since they're being so disappointingly timid, I suppose I'll have to help them along a bit."
Hel rubbed her chin with one hand and continued to scratch the catgirl's chin with the other.
After pondering for a moment, she said slowly:
"There are still some nobles scattered in their own territories who haven't gathered in Mandrake yet.
Send some puppets to invite them here. Three days from now, I'll give another public speech in the square."
Hel gently tapped the catgirl Niv's nose, making the little one wrinkle her nose and sneeze cutely before continuing:
"Also, spread word that Mandrake City is rebuilding and recruiting capable individuals to assist in managing government affairs.
If any nobles come in good faith, don't stop them. If they're truly willing to stand by my side, I don't mind granting them honorary titles.
But as for those who insist on following the Marquis of Northhill down his doomed path—" she smiled coldly, "it's time they learned that the weak always believe their schemes are flawless, forgetting that the strong never even bother to look at them."
Time flew by like a fleeting shadow, and in just three days, the appointed day arrived.
During those three days, only a little over three hundred nobles (excluding baronets) came to see Hel.
After realizing that Hel was truly determined to implement her reforms, fewer than a hundred chose to stay and pledge their loyalty.
Most of these were destitute nobles whose family fortunes had long been sold off. Apart from their titles, their lives were hardly better than commoners'.
Perhaps they came seeking a better future—or perhaps they were genuinely inspired by Hel's words.
Whatever their reasons, Hel didn't drive them away.
She understood one truth well: never test human nature.
That was the most painful lesson the nobles of Heim City had taught her.
She knew it was impossible to make everyone in Mandrake one hundred percent loyal to her. What she needed was merely enough people to ensure the duchy's healthy and stable development.
As for whether they would remain loyal over time—that would be proven only through experience.
After all, human nature is inherently selfish. Only through proper education and guidance could people learn self-restraint and understand the meaning of morality and law.
Thus, after dealing with the noble class—the biggest obstacle to her reform—Hel turned her focus to her next priority: the spread of education throughout the Heim territory.
And that, among other things, was what she announced in her speech that day.