Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 3061: The Special Head Of The New Empire’s Disciplinary Dept.

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Five Regions, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Tower, Guild Meeting Hall

Seeing Aba cause an even bigger scene, begging and crying, instead of quietly accepting the inevitable, Corey clicked her tongue. A dangerous smile slowly spread across her face.

“So…” she said, her voice dripping with anticipation. “You chose the second option.”

“Neither,” Aba shot back without hesitation. She took a step forward as though throwing a pair of metaphorical gloves at Corey’s feet. “I choose the third option. Trial by combat!”

The meeting hall instantly fell silent. Yep, all that crying and pleading was an act. The moment the two girl’s eyes met, Corey’s sadistic grin widened into something far more unhinged, a manic smile.

“Ever since Wyatt handed out those Card Spirits,” she muttered, rolling her shoulders, “every Tom, Dick, and Harry thinks they can rule the world.”

She cracked her knuckles one by one. Her eyes gleamed with excitement. A low chuckle escaped her lips. “But you, you actually dare challenge me? Good. Today, I’ll make an example out of you.”

She slowly swept her gaze across the rest of the assembly. “And while I’m at it, I’ll remind every one of you wannabe rulers exactly why His Highness appointed me as the Head of the New Empire’s Disciplinary Department, instead of Field Marshal Lorn.”

Most people believed that someone as experienced and composed as Field Marshal Lorn would have been a far more suitable choice to lead the New Empire’s Disciplinary Department.

Corey’s strength was unquestionable. No one doubted that. What they questioned was everything else. She lacked experience. She was hot-headed. She lost her temper far too easily. More than once, she had openly envied the achievements of the very people she was supposed to supervise and keep in line.

As the head of the Disciplinary Department, she had done little to establish rules, train personnel, or build the department into a functioning institution. To most of the Empire’s leadership, she seemed to be improvising everything as she went.

Until today.

Before learning about Hive Spirit, everyone had assumed the so-called Disciplinary Department was little more than a joke. The Empire remained orderly because everyone respected, admired, or feared His Highness too much to step out of line.

Now they understood the truth. The department had never been operating on Corey’s efforts alone. It had been quietly supported by Hive Spirit all along. The artificial spirit coordinated information, monitored incidents, and connected reports through the VR Slime Card network, making it possible to oversee an empire that was expanding at an unprecedented pace.

The realization was both reassuring and unsettling. Reassuring because the system was far more organized than they had imagined. Unsettling because it meant Hive Spirit could potentially access information from every Grimoire equipped with a VR Slime Card throughout the Five Regions.

Fortunately, Hive Spirit had clearly stated that it would prioritize everyone’s privacy and only intervene when matters involved the security or interests of the New Empire. That promise did little to erase the lingering unease. But it was enough for most of them to breathe a little easier.

Aurelia and Jaya immediately glared at Corey, knowing full well that her words were aimed at them. At first, they had thought Corey was alright. But the more they got to know her, the more they realized that, aside from Susan, her family, and occasionally His Highness, she treated almost everyone like a nuisance. She was, for lack of a better word, a power-drunk bitch.

Honestly, I had chosen Corey for one simple reason: I could control her. As for actually managing the Disciplinary Department, I had Park’s experience and Hive Spirit to handle the heavy lifting. Part of me had also hoped that the responsibility would help her mature.

Instead…

Rather than following in the footsteps of the heroic Corey Park, she was turning into the spoiled daughter I never had. A second-generation rich kid born with all the money, power, and authority in the world, yet possessing neither the drive nor the vision to make good use of any of it.

“Your Highness, I don’t believe such an outdated system has any place in the New Empire,” Agatha immediately protested, knowing Aba was completely out of her depth.

Her concern wasn’t without reason. Back at the Southern Royal Palace, she had once been invited to high tea by Her Highness, the Southern Princess herself. Agatha had been honored by the invitation. It wasn’t until she arrived that she realized the tea was merely a pretext. The Southern Princess wanted to hear her thoughts on the so-called Fake Ruler of the enemy state and his ragtag followers.

Out of respect for her friendship with the Fake Ruler, Agatha kept her answers professional and carefully avoided revealing anything sensitive. One thing from that conversation, however, had stayed with her ever since.

The Southern Princess hadn’t seemed particularly concerned about losing her aunt to the New Empire. Instead, the person she worried about most was her daughter’s goddaughter, Corey Bright.

For reasons Agatha couldn’t understand at the time, the Southern Princess firmly believed Corey was the Fake Ruler’s greatest weapon.

Agatha had never figured out why. Even so, the Princess’s conviction lingered in her mind long after the meeting ended. Naturally, she reported the conversation to her master, Demigod Windsor. Only then did she learn the truth.

Demigod Windsor explained why, and under what circumstances, the only direct heir of the Southern Ruler had become the godmother of a newborn girl living in an unremarkable third-tier city thousands of miles from the Southern Capital.

The explanation stunned Agatha. What shocked her even more was Demigod Windsor’s final remark. Had the Southern Princess not reached Corey first, he himself would have adopted Corey as his eldest daughter.

Agatha didn’t understand what made Corey special to be coveted by both her master and the Southern Princess, but she knew if someone with the reputation of Demigod Windsor said she was special, then she was extraordinarily special.