CHAPTER 190: THE NAME IS ISHTAR...

(Red District, Second Oil Site)

"Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea who I am? Who the hell put you in charge?"

Duke Valerie yelled, his face contorted in anger. Behind him was an entourage of well-armored soldiers, standing there to defend him in case anything were to go wrong.

At a far distance were the workers who were dismantling the makeshift, crude infrastructures built around the oil mining ground.

But it wasn’t just that.

While Emily and her assistant Nancy stood in front of the Duke, addressing him, soldiers from both the Yins and the Aurelian army had surrounded the place, their presence serving as a silent intimidation to the Duke himself.

Emily had chosen not to speak, as Ishtar had advised.

However, seeing as Ishtar was simply seated on a rock further away, drinking her coffee without any plans to intervene, Emily could no longer ignore the noble.

With a slight frown on her face, she began. "Lord Dorian did. Right after the former Governor transferred everything to my name."

"He did what?" Valerie’s eyes sparked with anger.

Two things, of course, caused his reaction.

The first was that Dorian was behind this, just as he had suspected. And the second was the fact Emily had the nerve to tell him a transfer was made. Like it mattered in any way.

"You must be very stupid if you think whatever crap you signed makes you the owner of this land."

As he shouted, Emily frowned even more, watching as the Duke soon pointed towards the crude oil.

"And why am I seeing random people touching my oil?!" he shouted. "Who gave you the right to touch my stuff!"

Nancy spoke up this time, using her body to block his view of the oil grounds.

"It was all in the contract. If you have any complaints, then I suggest you take it to Her Majesty, since she also approved of this as well."

Valerie shook with anger; he could not even hide it. It was boldly written on his face.

"Why you—" he continued after the pause, "I own this land! If you think you can just come here and—"

"Then why didn’t you do anything when the bandits took over the entire place and killed people all in the name of this very oil? Or are you saying you had no idea about what was going on?"

Emily threw a quick question at him. Valerie was taken aback by what she asked, his anger melting into a bit of nervousness.

"How dare you question me? I am a Duke, the Second Duke of Lumberg! I do not need to answer to the likes of you. No, now that I think about it, you don’t seem to have a single shred of respect for my status. Yes, insubordination to the crown... I do believe that calls for execution."

Emily immediately reached for the blade at her waist.

All the soldiers under the Yins acted as well—all except the Aurelian army, who were rather calm. For as long as they had known, the Yins never viewed those in power as anything special. As such, Emily and her people would not think twice before drawing their blades at the Duke and his army.

At the same time, Emily could see the soldiers behind the Duke already whipping out their weapons, more than ready to fight.

The grin on the Duke’s face grew even wider, waiting for Emily to make the first move.

"You must not know who I am. Understandable, since you have been rotting in this city for a very long time. Tends to happen when animals get isolated for a long period of time," Valerie grinned even more.

"No worries, I’ll make it quick. Once I kill you, the rest will surrender. Then I move to the villagers and do the same to them."

"..."

"Since that bastard Alabaster could not do a good job, I’ll handle it myself. Why? Well, because I feel threatened. A random girl pointed her blade at a Duke."

Emily grinned.

Though she could not put her finger on it, a part of her was telling her she had gotten scammed in some way. Not that she cared anyway.

At this point, it was obvious the Duke was working alongside the bandits that had made their lives a living hell. This was the best way to take her revenge.

She had them outnumbered; it was as good a time as any.

Just before she was about to lift her leg up—

"Don’t be stupid. Can’t you see he is baiting you to make the first move?"

Finally, Ishtar looked in their direction.

Not only did Emily pause to look at her, but even the Duke glanced in Ishtar’s direction, his frown reappearing on his face.

"Or maybe you are stupid, and you just don’t care what happens." Ishtar gently placed her coffee on the ground.

Emily looked struck, obviously knowing Ishtar was throwing a jab at her.

"Either way, I don’t care what you do. Just don’t make things harder for my husband, will you?" Ishtar crossed her legs, her jaw resting on her palm.

"If you lay your hands on the Duke right now, he would have all the excuses in the world to turn the entire story to his favor. Such an old tactic. I am surprised you are still falling for it."

"Bastard!" Emily shot the Duke an angered glare.

Meanwhile, the Duke was still looking at Ishtar. "And who the hell are you?"

"My apologies, I should have introduced myself." She stood to her feet, slightly lifted her gown, and bowed her head.

"The name is Ishtar, daughter of Viscount Umbre, also wife to the soon-to-be Duke, Dorian Aurelain. I do hope you are not too surprised to see me here."

Duke Valerie stood there thinking for a while. If he remembered correctly, the Umbre Viscounty was in Duke Selviana’s territory. Still—

"Are you also here to oppose me? Your father is only a Viscount. Who are you to address yourself here?"

"Oh, me? I do not intend to participate in this. Not at all." Ishtar raised her head with a chilling smile. "I am simply keeping the seat warm for my husband to sit on. A King must always be welcomed, don’t you agree, Duke Valerie?"