Anna Ipadis was born into a wealthy Wallachian merchant family. As an only child, she had lived in luxury from a young age, with twelve servants and three private tutors.
Anna Ipadis was well versed in literature, mathematics, and natural history. She could ride horses, shoot arrows, wield a Wallachian saber, and fire a musket.
But all that happiness ended when she was fifteen. A young nobleman who had returned from Russia entered her life, and the two soon fell in love.
Though her parents were reluctant to part with Anna, the union would benefit both families. And after the young girl wore them down with her pleading, Anna's parents finally decided to formally ask for the young man's hand.
It should have been a story with a happy ending. But the day before their engagement, the young nobleman suddenly sought out Anna, handed her a ledger, and urged her:
"If I can't come back, you must take this to Bucharest and give it to Archduke Bibescu. The future of Wallachia depends on us!"
The next day, the bodies of Anna's fiancé and several of his friends were found in a river. They were naked, and even their skin had been peeled off.
Yet somehow, this major crime was swept under the rug. Even her fiancé's family gave up on investigating further.
Only then did Anna remember the ledger. When she read its contents, only four words came to mind: "Absolutely horrifying."
The ledger recorded so many crimes committed in that country that they were beyond recounting.
Afterward, Anna used her father's connections and her own wits to reach Bucharest. She evaded the officials and nobles who tried to stop her, and finally handed the ledger to Archduke Bibescu in person.
Archduke Bibescu immediately declared that he would punish the