Cecilia Garothey, a descendant of a fallen noble family in the demon realm who had escaped to the desolate to survive, had stumbled upon this ruined palace by mistake.

When she reached here, this place was in disarray. People either died with nothing to eat or killed each other to survive.

Looking at the situation, Cecilia had decided to rule this place. She had chosen to make this place her empire; after all, it was hard to come by a place with no ruler.

The fact that Cecilia was strongest in this palace just helped her solidify her belief.

‘But wasn’t she supposed to arrive in the palace around this time? How is she already here and ruling this place?’ Wondered Alex as he settled into the worn seat across from Cecilia—the real boss of this ruined palace—his expression neutral.

In the story, Cecilia’s house, the barony of Garothey, was supposed to be declared a traitor around this time, and Cecilia, being the only surviving member—scared and distraught—was supposed to be helped by Keryu.

[And she’s stronger,] Sophie added in a serious tone.

Alex nodded, recalling how Cecilia was supposed to be a one-star, star-formation realm expert. A girl with a shy personality.

The one in front of him, however, was a peak star-formation realm expert. Alex wasn’t even sure if he would be able to defeat her as he was right now. She was stronger than him—by one full realm—and she was a heroine to boot.

Fighting her with his current powers—even with the help of destruction energy—he might lose to her.

The fact that she didn’t look anything like a girl of his age disturbed him more. She seemed to be a full-grown woman.

Alex sighed inwardly, nothing making sense to him.

The ruined hall felt different now. The tension from before had shifted, becoming sharper and more calculated.

The real boss of this city was now before him, and she was far more dangerous than he had thought of her to be.

From the Baldon had described who the boss was, Alex had known who she was, and he was prepared to deal with her, but he never thought she would be this strong.

‘Damn that bastard and his explanations,’ Alex cursed Baldon for not explaining things clearly.

But well, in a way, the guy did tell the truth. Cecilia, as she was right now, could easily defeat Baldon with a single slap.

[This makes things complicated,] Sophie commented, and Alex sighed, completely agreeing with her.

He had thought of just killing off this group since they were doing things in unorthodox ways, but with her being the leader, even if Alex wanted to, he couldn’t go against them.

Glancing at her as she sat across him, her expression as calm as a lake without ripples, Alex’s lips twitched. ‘It’s as if she is Cecilia’s mother or something—wait!’

Realization hit him suddenly, his eyes widening, causing his grip on the throne to tighten.

Cecilia, noticing that change in expression, frowned. “Is something the matter?”

Alex didn’t reply immediately, still wondering if his conjecture was right before he asked, “Can I get your name, miss?”

There was a hint of surprise in Cecilia’s eyes, her face still calm, as she stared at Alex. ‘Miss?’ She thought to herself.

“You can call me Barbara,” she replied, but then she frowned as she caught the shift in Alex’s expression again.

Alex had maintained a calm expression on the outside, but Barbara could tell that something was going on.

‘What the hell…?’ Alex, on the other hand, wasn’t focused on Barbara’s narrowed eyes. He was in disbelief.

She wasn’t Cecilia but Barabara?

‘Did we come too early? Is Cecilia still not here? And was this woman, who looks just like her, supposed to be here from before?’ Many such questions swirled in Alex’s head but answers didn’t.

‘Sophie? Anything?’ He asked Sophie, who replied in an uncertain tone.

[We are still a bit early in the plot. Cecilia was supposed to arrive here the same day as Keryu, who moved a few days later from today.] Sophie paused, trying to understand the situation herself, adding, [Let’s wait and see.]

They weren’t disturbed by Barabara being the leader of this place. She could be whatever she wanted. What disturbed them was the probability of things having gone completely wrong.

There was a chance that the Garothey family was destroyed earlier than it was supposed to be. The heroine, Cecilia, who was supposed to survive had died, and her mother/aunt, Barbara, was the only one who could survive.

If this were what had happened, then Alex would know that even if he didn’t kill them, the heroines could die, and if the heroines could die, then so could the heroes.

So, listening to Sophie’s advice, Alex nodded and decided to wait.

“I’m sorry.” He finally focused back on Barbara, his expression apologetic as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “I was enamored by your looks and couldn’t help but want to know more about you.”

Barbara didn’t even flinch at those words, simply staring deep into Alex’s eyes before she spoke. “If that is so, then why are you still wearing that mask?”

As soon as those words fell, the guards around her tensed, their weapons drawn.

Alex, hearing those words, paused for a second before sighed. His hand moved to tear apart the disguise mask he had brought from the system shop.

Alex had been wearing it from the moment he arrived in this ruined city. It wasn’t an actual disguise, but a mask that just made him look more ordinary.

However, when he removed his mask, the women warriors were stunned; even Barbara had momentarily paused.

Alex’s charm was on full display right now, and for the women in the room, after not having seen any good-looking man for a long time, Alex was like the best man they could ever dream of.

“I understand why you wore that mask,” Barbara muttered, finally having calmed down.

Her words broke the other women back to their senses as well, their expressions becoming serious again. It was as if nothing had happened.

But Alex could tell that the way they looked at him had changed a bit, and it was better for him.

Barbara leaned back on her throne, taking a deep breath, and with one leg crossed over the other, her emerald eyes curiously studied him. “I know you want information, so tell me: what do you have to offer in return?”

Seeing that the conversation was finally moving, Alex’s lips curled into a smirk. “That depends on what you want.”

The woman’s expression didn’t waver. “I assume the rumors are true, then. Do you have invigorating meat?”

Alex’s gaze flickered, but he didn’t respond immediately. The meat he gave others wasn’t anything special; it was normal meat.

But what Barbara was asking for, had healing and powering properties. It was something you would have a hard time getting from even the merchants.

Seeing his silence, she smiled slightly. “Of course, it’s not mandatory. But the more sincere the pay is, the better information you can get.” Pausing for a second, she added, “It’s not every day we see a stranger, such as you, come in, strong enough to kill a three-star archer like he’s swatting a fly, and yet only after some information that no one would have interest in.”

Alex chuckled. “I see.” He tapped a finger on the armrest. “Alright. I have the meat you want. Now, shall we go through what I gain from this again?”

He heard it when she said he would get information, but he had to check how much she knew about the information he wanted.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep