Negotiations

District 011's nobles wielded power above the government. There were surely quite a few of them, including many families that had gradually fallen to the margins after losing their strongest fighters one after another. But these families were still raising new Players; they simply seemed weaker than families with blood ties binding their members together.

Lady Lily's birth family had been fairly ordinary in strength. As she'd said, many of her parents and siblings had died in their prime, before the family could rise. She married into the Duke's family, and the two became relatives by marriage. Their combined strength increased, and they gained a greater voice. But her husband had just died, no new Duke had yet been appointed, and her younger brother was suspected of being a "traitor." Now the leaders of the new generation of Players had come directly to surround the estate with their people. It looked a little like bullying the weak.

This was, after all, the Duke's Mansion—the face of District 011 and home to one of its leading figures. This behavior seemed to be sending another signal as well: without strength, even a Duke could be pulled down.

If even a Duke could be treated this way, what about the other nobles?

Lady Lily had first shown weakness and then challenged them, which was also a warning to nobles in a similar position.

"Women really shouldn't be underestimated," Serin murmured admiringly. "This is a battlefield entirely different from the one Players know."

In fact, the internal power struggle in District 011 had begun as early as the Rongxin Group's purchase of weapons. The assassination aboard the ship had been an open clash. The newly established New Wheel Cult being forced out meant that the faction hoping to promote the new religion had lost.