The fluorescent lights of the accounting firm faded, replaced by the suffocating scent of expensive incense and old blood. Lucienne Farrell opened her eyes to a world where gender roles were flipped and cruelty was her currency. Once a corporate slave driven by spreadsheets and stock margins, she was now the Second Princess of the Aethelgard Empire—a notorious tyrant who had squandered her fortune and abused her four "beast husbands." She looked at her reflection in the gilded mirror and saw a face of peerless beauty, but her pockets were empty and her reputation was in tatters.
The transition was jarring, but the chime in her mind was familiar. The "Godly System" flickered to life, displaying a translucent interface that only she could see. It didn't offer magic spells; it offered financial leverage and strategic insight. Lucienne smirked as she realized the First Princess, Henrieta, had already drained the palace treasury to frame her for embezzlement. In this matriarchal society, a woman without wealth was a woman without a soul. But Henrieta had forgotten one thing: Lucienne was a master of the hostile takeover, and she was about to buy back her destiny.
Her first obstacle was Cecil Windsor, the Commander of the Wolfdog Legion and one of her supposed husbands. He lay in the cold dungeon, his silver wolf ears tattered and his body broken by the "previous" Lucienne’s guards. The guards expected her to finish him off, but Lucienne stepped forward with a heavy chest of gold coins she had liquidated from her secret jewelry stash using System-boosted trade routes. She didn't offer an apology; she offered a contract. "Ten million gold pieces to rebuild your legion, Cecil. In exchange, your sword belongs to me, not the crown."
Cecil looked up, his amber eyes filled with a mixture of hatred and confusion. He had expected the lash, not a fortune. The Godly System pulsed, confirming his loyalty was shifting from negative one hundred to a cautious zero. Lucienne leaned in, her voice a sharp contrast to the shrill screams he was used to. "I don't want your love, Commander. I want your efficiency. Buy your men the best armor, heal their wounds, and remember who signed the check." With a flick of her wrist, she left the dungeon, leaving the stunned wolf-commander staring at a sea of glimmering gold.
The news of Lucienne’s "charity" spread like wildfire, reaching the ears of General Xavier Hampton. Unlike Cecil, Xavier was a lion-beastman whose Spirit Sea was collapsing into madness—a common fate for high-ranking warriors in this world. Henrieta had arranged a public execution under the guise of a "mercy killing" to humiliate Lucienne further. A massive crowd gathered in the Imperial Square, watching as the berserk General roared, his golden mane bristling with lethal energy. He was an S-rank threat, and Lucienne was supposed to be an F-rank failure who couldn't even wield a brush.
As the executioners stepped forward, Lucienne bypassed the guards, her silk robes fluttering in the wind generated by Xavier's mana. Henrieta laughed from the high balcony, expecting her sister to be torn apart. Instead, Lucienne activated the "S-rank Spirit Calming Technique" purchased through the Godly System’s high-frequency trading points. She placed a delicate hand on Xavier’s burning forehead. A cool, sapphire light erupted from her palms, weaving through the General’s chaotic aura like a master weaver repairing a broken tapestry. The violence vanished, replaced by a profound, rhythmic silence.
The empire watched in stunned disbelief as the "failure" princess brought the strongest man in the realm to his knees—not through chains, but through sheer, overwhelming power. Xavier’s eyes cleared, the madness receding to reveal a gaze of intense, burning devotion. He realized that this woman had done what no healer in the empire could. Lucienne didn't wait for his gratitude. She turned to the crowd, her voice amplified by the System. "The Farrell treasury is no longer empty. My reign is not built on blood, but on the absolute control of resources. If you want prosperity, follow me."
Henrieta’s face turned a bruised shade of purple as she watched her sister’s popularity skyrocket. The sabotages began to fail; every trap Henrieta set was met with a counter-investment or a strategic buyout. Lucienne used her modern savvy to monopolize the Spirit Stone trade, effectively putting the entire military on her payroll. The elite men who once looked at her with disgust—the stoic scholar, the shadowy assassin, the proud commander, and the fierce general—found themselves drawn into her orbit. They weren't just her husbands anymore; they were the pillars of her rising corporate-imperial throne.
The climax arrived during the Winter Solstice Gala, where Henrieta attempted a coup. But as the First Princess signaled her guards, no one moved. Cecil stood at the door, his legion fully healed and loyal to the gold in their pockets. Xavier stood by Lucienne’s side, his spirit sea more stable than ever. "You spent your time playing at politics, sister," Lucienne whispered, sipping her wine as the Godly System confirmed her total dominance. "I spent mine buying the world you thought you owned." Henrieta was led away in the very chains she had forged for her younger sibling.
In the aftermath, the four beastmen gathered in Lucienne’s private chambers, the air thick with a new kind of tension. They were no longer victims, but they were no longer free—they were captivated by the brilliance of a woman who played the world like a game of chess. Cecil knelt to adjust her hem, while Xavier stood guard like a mountain of muscle. Lucienne looked out over her empire, the Godly System humming a satisfied tune. She had started with nothing, but now, the world was her ledger, and she was the only one who could balance the books.
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