Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

A stout middle-aged maid knocked lightly on the door. "Miss Catherine, please come downstairs for the meal."

"I know." Catherine turned over and replied lazily.

"Please come downstairs for the meal."

"I know."

The middle-aged maid, undeterred, repeated, "Please come downstairs for the meal."

Catherine jumped out of bed, yanked the door open angrily, and yelled, "I know!"

The middle-aged maid remained composed and unwavering: "Please come downstairs for the meal."

"I..." Catherine's breathing hitched. After a brief moment of speechlessness, she replied dejectedly, "I'm coming."

"I'll wait for you." The middle-aged maid bowed slightly.

Under the "escort" of the middle-aged maid, Catherine descended the stairs sluggishly.

Ever since she returned home, Lady Navarre had assigned her a new personal maid. This maid executed Lady Navarre's orders meticulously—never allowing Miss Catherine out of her sight for even a moment.

When Catherine arrived at the dining room, she did not see her mother. Seated at the table were only her younger sister Olivia and her grandfather.

For some reason, Catherine had always felt a bit intimidated by her grandfather since childhood. As soon as she entered the dining room, she went straight to her grandfather's side and greeted him respectfully.

Old Mr. Ora seemed to have just woken from a nap. Peering through the slits of his drooping eyelids, he gave Catherine a glance with his aging, blurry eyes and mumbled a nod.

Relieved, Catherine let out a breath, returned to her seat, and casually asked her sister, "Where's Mother?"

"Mother went out," Olivia replied in a somewhat childish voice.

"Out for what?"

"I don't know."

Just as Anna used to think Catherine was beneath her, Catherine felt the same about her sister. She let out a light snort. "Then what do you know?"

"I know—" Olivia intentionally dragged her tone, "That she forbade you from going out."

Just as Catherine was about to snap, she suddenly remembered her grandfather's presence. Clutching her fork tightly, she glared fiercely at her sister.

Olivia, meanwhile, celebrated her apparent victory. Tapping her glass triumphantly, she adopted the tone of a matron and ordered the maid in her childish voice, "Serve the meal, Miss Bethany."

Silver platters with food were brought to the table. Catherine absentmindedly stirred the pale red liquid in her plate with a spoon, not taking a single bite.

The chefs at Navarre Manor were unmatched in the remote, isolated Iron Peak County. The ingredients used at Navarre Manor were luxuries Catherine could never have in the impoverished home of Captain M.

In her days at Iron Peak County, Catherine often dreamt of the sumptuous dishes, exquisite meals, and the tea parties in the small parlor back home.

But when she truly left the detestable Paratu and returned to the manor in Sea Blue, she felt as though she had lost interest in everything.

She began to feel bored. The exquisite silver platters, the soft beds, the silk gowns… they were all wonderful, but equally dull.

Because she was confined to the estate, Catherine had not attended any balls since returning to Sea Blue, but she didn't feel a sense of loss—being the center of attention at a ball no longer seemed all that intriguing.

In the quiet of the night, Catherine occasionally discovered to her horror that she missed the thunderous cannon fire during the Siege of Revodan, missed the cool wind brushing her cheeks as she galloped across the open plains, missed the sense of accomplishment after tirelessly reorganizing countless accounts with Anna...

"Why aren't you eating?" Olivia asked, either innocently or provocatively. "Catherine?"

"I'm just thinking..." Catherine stirred the clear soup on her plate with her silver spoon, speaking with an air of melancholy, "Anna's probably still chewing on black bread."

Olivia instinctively shrank her neck back.

At Navarre Manor, "Anna" had become a forbidden name. Anyone who mentioned Anna Navarre risked invoking Lady Navarre's furious wrath and severe punishment.

"Y-you-you..." Olivia stammered, "What did you say?"

"I said Anna's still chewing on black bread!" Catherine shouted at everyone, as though venting all the pent-up frustration in her chest. "And you all pretend she doesn't exist! You treat her like a dead person!"

All the servants present remained silent. Olivia screamed, "I'm telling Mother!" and ran out of the dining room.

Only the drowsy old Mr. Ora lifted his drooping eyelids slightly. For the first time, he gazed at Catherine seriously, then lowered his head and continued sipping his soup.

"Don't worry," old Mr. Ora said.

At that moment, a servant knocked on the door and announced, "Miss Catherine, Lieutenant Tang Juan has come to visit."

"Quick, let him in!" Catherine stood up happily, ready to bolt out of the room.

But she remembered her grandfather's presence and hesitated, looking at him cautiously.

"Go ahead," old Mr. Ora said without looking up.

With permission granted, Catherine dashed excitedly out of the dining room like the wind.

Outside Navarre Manor, Lieutenant Tang Juan glanced up at the overcast sky and touched his cheek.

"It's going to rain," he murmured to himself.

...

[Inner Sea]

[Red Sulfur Harbor]

Red Sulfur Harbor had now replaced Haidong Port as the new homeport of Vineta's Inner Sea fleet.

Fresh from a secret negotiation, Rear Admiral Antonio Serviati stepped out of the cabin of the Inner Sea Fleet's flagship, The Glorious, and onto the deck.

He had made a decision that could affect the fates of many, yet what consequences this decision would bring could only be revealed in time.

"It's going to rain," said Admiral Nalesho, the second to step onto the deck.