After a long time, Leone slowly woke up, her arm had already healed.
"Was I thrown away? Did I faint? Oh no, Akame." Leone suddenly sat up, then felt a sharp ache again.
It was rumored that Ren was resourceful but weak in strength.
To assassinate him, all you needed was to take out his guards.
But now, looking at the situation, those rumors could go to hell.
The opponent's strength overwhelmed her, and he was holding one person in each arm.
"Phew, I have to go back to see the boss first."
Leone knew she couldn't save Akame, so she hurried toward the base.
...
The Anette family's social status rose because their daughter was sent to the palace and became the "Little Emperor's" woman.
Originally, as merchants, they were looked down on by the nobles.
But now, with the emperor's in-law status, most nobles would give them some respect.
As a merchant who had risen, he held one banquet after another to win over the nobles and fit in.
There was no shortage of alcohol, food, or women.
Chelsea sat quietly in the corner, tasting the food and listening to the nobles chat.
"That Anette guy, seriously, why did he invite Ren?"
"Heh, just someone who rose by relying on ministers." Another noble said coldly.
"But now he has the power to punish us." The noble man's face darkened.
Lately, he didn't even feel safe playing around with women.
"Should we send someone to assassinate him?"
"No, if we do that, the Inspection Bureau will be fully controlled by that man. We will pay a much bigger price." A fat man quickly objected.
"Heh, how did he get to this point?"
The quiet noble drinking wine looked at Ren, who showed no reaction and couldn't hear their conversation.
The banquet was very noisy, and they discussed far away from Ren.
The other nobles fell silent.
Three years ago, a minister recommended a man, Ren, to the Little Emperor.
That man spoke freely in the palace.
The Little Emperor couldn't understand, but they understood.
Ren was targeting them, and they had to oppose him.
But the minister waved his hand and laughed, "Haha, good. It will help strengthen the capital. Emperor, you should give this man a chance."
"Since the minister said so, then it's decided." The Little Emperor clapped his hands to confirm.
There was no chance for the nobles to speak.
Because once the emperor made his decision, it was clearly inappropriate to argue anymore.
They could only take action through Ren.
They thought Ren would try to flatter them.
But instead, he acted quickly and ruthlessly, catching them completely off guard.
The first noble to be judged was immediately accused of rebellion against the empire.
Then he was beaten without mercy, and the matter was settled like a thunderbolt.
Of course, that noble was one of those who opposed the ministers.
This was the version everyone knew—simple and brutal.
But some smarter nobles understood that things were happening behind the scenes they didn't know about.
Still, without a doubt, this was the work of that man.
"Enough about him. Anything interesting today?"
"Don't worry. That guy Arnett got a bunch of women from different tribes. They've already been brought back."
"Whoa—are you saying those women..."
"General Esdeath defeated the Ban Tribe and gave the spoils to her men. Arnett spent money to buy some. Even though the soldiers messed with them, they're still tribe women," another noble said excitedly.
These nobles didn't care.
When they kidnapped strong married women, they never thought about this kind of thing.
"General Esdeath defeated the Ban Tribe? So she's coming back soon?"
Chelsea wasn't interested in the others, and she didn't feel sorry for the tribes.
Although the empire was corrupt, she had her own position.
After getting the information she wanted, Chelsea went elsewhere.
She hadn't forgotten the mission Ren assigned her—gather intelligence and evidence.
But with Ren's status, getting more intelligence was difficult.
"Ren, aren't you staying longer?" Arnett asked, trying to keep her.
"No, my wife is still at home," Chelsea said apologetically.
"Alright then, I won't keep you. We'll need your help with things later."
Arnett didn't try to stop her again.
Chelsea went to the bathroom and immediately knocked out the person inside.
She used Teigu to disguise herself as that person, then returned to the banquet.
Without Ren, the banquet quickly descended into chaos.
There were country girls, chained foreign women, and strange people everywhere.
"Ren is gone, and my guards are around. As an ordinary person, Ren wouldn't notice what's happening here, but if his men were nearby… hehe," Arnett knew how to manipulate these nobles.
"As long as everyone joins in, it'll be fine," one noble laughed loudly.
What happened next completely shocked Chelsea.
Whether ignorant girls or prisoners, their only wish was to die.
Chelsea never imagined humans could be this cruel.
Before long, she left again under the pretense of using the bathroom.
There was already enough evidence.
As for any tails or clues, she easily avoided them with her Teigu's abilities.
Now, she had one question for Ren—can these people really be changed from within?
...
At Ren's villa.
"Back already?" Ren was sitting quietly on the sofa in the living room.
One long-haired girl was lying across his lap, while Kurome squatted in front of her, poking her face.
"Ren, can we really change them from the inside?" Chelsea asked, confused by what she had seen today.
The Inspection Bureau had destroyed many nobles, but the nobles had only become more hidden and continued their evil deeds.
"The upper class's blood has long turned black. Because the ministers want more power and the nobles don't care, I've come this far. I can say my current position is thanks to their corruption."
"Ren, you…" Chelsea's voice was low and sad.
She still held onto hope.
Could someone who built everything from nothing really be willing to give up their hard-earned power?
Obviously not.
"This is Akame of the night raid. You've probably seen her on wanted posters," Ren said without explanation, introducing the girl who was sleeping.
"Akame? And Kurome?"
"She's my sister," Kurome explained.
"You must have heard of the Teigu Murasame, a sword that kills with a single terrifying strike."
"What does this mean? I don't understand," Chelsea said, feeling frustrated. She was already upset, and now with riddles, it was even harder to bear.
"The point is, she's a powerful combatant of night raid and an important companion. Knowing this is enough. They will definitely come," Ren said with a smile.
"They're coming here?" Chelsea was shocked. She was strong in assassination and intelligence gathering, but in direct combat, she really wasn't good.
"Chelsea, tomorrow night, just confirm one more time and then decide, okay?" Ren naturally knew that words alone were hard to believe.
"This is intelligence from the banquet. You could say it's a complete disaster," Chelsea handed the information to Ren.
"That's normal. With this, we have a reason to act," he said.
"Act? Are you really going to do it?" Chelsea was stunned.
"Of course. Do you think I'm playing around? I want to change this world. I will never allow the stubbornness of the old era to survive," Ren showed a fierce expression.
Chelsea couldn't help but shiver. She had never seen him like this before.
"Chelsea, if I succeed, how about being my concubine?" Ren spoke frankly.
"You really dare to say that. If you really succeed, I will become your concubine." Chelsea replied defiantly.
"Ha ha, don't forget, now there's motivation," Ren said eagerly.
**********
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