"Reason? It's very simple. I, Elara, want to keep enjoying this great power and wealth! I want to enjoy handsome men around me! Also, only I and my brother really rule the Plumera Kingdom! But Yang Shu and Lord Gregory are blocking my way and bothering my eyes. Why wouldn't I want to kill them?"
Damon looked at those beautiful eyes so close to him. The words were very suggestive, but Damon did not see lust in those delicate eyes. Instead, he saw a strong desire for power and control hidden beneath the beautiful gaze.
"You…" Even though he was taller, Damon suddenly felt a strong pressure from her.
Damon instinctively leaned back, trying to escape that pressure. Inside, he started carefully looking at the noble woman sitting before him.
She was young, more like a girl just entering adulthood than a mature woman.
But her strong presence made people forget her youthful face. They only saw her high status and power.
Elara let go of his jaw as he leaned back. She softened her expression and added calmly,
"But don't worry. My only pleasure is my love for handsome men. As long as I have beautiful men by my side, I have no interest in doing bad things or mixing with beasts."
While saying this, Elara squeezed a small light ball in her mind, making System 92 cry for mercy before she let go.
Elara: [In short, I, Elara, will always be known as someone who loves handsome men, right? Huh? Silly system!]
System 92: [Ow ow ow, please be gentle, master. Sorry, but I can't help it. This is the biggest trait of this body, so I can't change it, at least for the next year or two.]
System 92 felt Elara's grip tighten again, quickly adding, [But! Once time passes and your smart and brave image covers the old one, people will forget your past. You won't be bound by that label anymore!]
Elara grunted and ignored the begging light ball. She focused back on Damon.
Damon's face showed little emotion after she "teased" him by touching his face.
He seriously looked at Elara and asked hesitantly,
"You… really won't do anything bad except loving handsome men?"
"I only like to give back when attacked first. So if no one attacks me, I'm just a harmless princess who loves handsome men."
To prove her sincerity, Elara spread her hands to the sides.
Damon thought about the word "harmless" for a moment. Then, he clenched his fist and slowly stood up, his eyes fixed on Elara, his chest rising and falling.
"Alright! If you help me take revenge, then whatever you ask me to do later, I will not refuse!"
Elara saw the strong will in his eyes to devote himself to revenge. She couldn't help but smile slightly.
All this effort was for this moment, wasn't it?
After all, this man survived years in prison and could shoot arrows perfectly with a simple bow!
He had a strong will and a basic sense of right and wrong. Once tamed, he was unlikely to betray, and very capable. This would make future tasks much easier.
Today was a rare chance.
Now, he was hers!
"Good. Uno, untie him."
Uno stepped forward. Seeing Damon's anger had gone, and he was calmly looking at Elara, Uno untied the ropes and stepped back outside the carriage.
Elara handed Damon the teacup she had poured first. Luckily, the tea was still warm.
"Let this cup be the proof. May we both fulfill our wishes."
Damon looked at the teacup held gently by her pale fingers. He reached out, took it, and lightly touched his cup to hers.
"Thank you, princess, for saving my life today."
"You're welcome." Elara smiled, drinking the tea with Damon, then looked again toward the curtain at Uno.
"Uno."
"Yes, princess."
"Go to the prison and bring back a prisoner about the same size as Damon. Make sure the prisoner is truly guilty with solid evidence."
"Yes."
Elara dealt with Damon and let the carriage continue to the second destination of the day—Princess's villa.
The refugees from the west city gate had been brought to her villa, but she hadn't visited yet.
Though Izekiel was there, making the chance of an epidemic low, Elara still wanted to check. She also planned to use the villa as cover to change her identity before going elsewhere.
Damon and Mathias, two big men, still squeezed with her in the small carriage. Damon couldn't get off because of his status, and Mathias because of his weak health.
Elara ignored the handsome men on either side, lifted the curtain, and glanced out at the slowly passing view of Plumera City.
System 92 paused before replying, thinking of the captive Damon. "Do you want to change Damon's face?"
Elara glanced at Damon's sharp profile. "No need to change his face. Just search if there's a way to change someone's appearance in this world."
System 92 didn't ask more and obediently searched for all methods allowed in this world.
"I found something, master! There is a secret sect called 'Thousand Faces.'"
"This sect has been around for almost a thousand years, longer than some countries! Their members can change their looks perfectly, especially copying others, almost exactly."
System 92 sounded surprised, clearly interested in these secret arts of the world.
"When they copy someone, they match appearance, personality, micro-expressions, and movements perfectly. If not warned in advance, even standing next to the real person, it's hard to tell the difference."
"Hundreds of years ago, 'Thousand Faces' was very powerful. But some members became greedy and used this power to sneak into palaces of several second-tier countries."
"They killed the princesses and princes and took their places."
"Even more amazing, no one noticed the fake princesses or princes for over ten years. One fake prince almost inherited the throne!"
"After tasting success, their greed grew. They tried to enter a top-tier country, now still a major power called the Great Yao."
"But the country's national master saw through their plan. 'Thousand Faces' angered Great Yao, who sent troops to nearly wipe them out."
"They killed over five hundred disciples hiding in many countries and martial forces, almost reshuffling the entire martial world. All secret roots of 'Thousand Faces' were uprooted!"
"Since then, the once-powerful sect fell silent, turning into a nearly forgotten secret group. Remaining members made strict rules forbidding copying powerful people."
"Other martial sects and the court agreed to kill any 'Thousand Faces' member caught impersonating others on the spot."
"'Thousand Faces' was badly damaged and rarely took new students. Sometimes decades passed before they accepted one."
"Now, the sect is almost unknown. Only a few disciples live hidden away from the world and the court."
Elara was a bit surprised. She thought old disguises could only be close copies. She didn't expect this world's secret arts to fool others for over ten years.
Honestly, she felt tempted to have such a skill.
Still, since this group exists here, Elara decided to be cautious about it later.
She thought for a moment. "Where is 'Thousand Faces' located?"
System 92's small light orb flickered with data streams. "Found it. Outside the northern border of Great Yao, near the border of second-tier countries Chu and Han and the third-tier country Stone."
Elara frowned. She had not yet learned much about Plumera Kingdom's details, much less the whole continent.
"Is there a world map?"
She had only seen two blurry maps of Plumera Kingdom in the original memories.
The times were very primitive, and maps were rough, only showing large mountains and big cities, with no small towns or paths clearly marked and often inaccurate.
"There is, master, but only a rough distribution of countries and big sects. Locations and sizes are proportionate but only general shapes. Details inside other countries cannot be zoomed in, unless you visit or conquer them, then I can update more accurately!"
"Okay, show me this rough world map first."
"Got it!"
At System 92's command, a transparent floating map appeared in Elara's sight.
The familiar high-tech transparent screen made her feel like she was back in the 21st century, touching advanced tech again.
Elara glanced at Damon and Mathias. They sat quietly, showing no sign of seeing the map.
The floating map looked like a shrunken version of a map app on her old phone, but for the world's countries.
Countries were outlined in black light, martial sects in blue.
Elara scanned it briefly. With a thought, the map moved automatically to the country she wanted and showed a brief intro beside it.
This was Elara's first time seeing the whole continent's layout.
Overall, the landmasses were very different from Earth. Most lands were connected, with small islands only on the edges.
The ratio of land to sea was higher than Earth, about one to three.
The continent was divided into many territories held by various sized countries.
Three largest countries were top-tier powers.
Then came twelve second-tier countries, each about one-fifth to one-third the size of a top-tier country.
Below them were smaller third-tier countries, scattered like small stones or beans on the map.