The Villainess Is My Cute Daughter

"I need a direct connection to Marquis Draven’s territory," Adrian said, walking up to the desk. "Specifically the northern capital branch."

The receptionist pulled out a fresh form. "Of course, sir. Before we begin, allow me to explain the standard operating procedures and the mana usage-"

"I already know how it works, so please skip the tutorial." Adrian interrupted her calmly.

She blinked twice and gave him a quick nod.

"Understood, sir. Connecting to the northern border requires a flat fee of ten gold coins."

Adrian put a hand in his pocket and pulled out some gold coins before placing them right on the counter.

"And the call itself costs ten silver coins per minute." she added politely.

Adrian just raised an eyebrow. He had money to burn but that was an absolute scam for a simple phone call. But he knew that this was a sort of a premium service in this world since it used mana to function.

He just let out a heavy sigh, fished out five more gold coins and tossed them onto the counter.

"There is your ten gold for connection fee," Adrian pointed at the first stack. "And here is five gold for fifty minutes of talk time. Connect me to the Marquis, and if my conversation ends before fifty minutes, you keep the rest of the gold as a personal tip."

Her eyes instantly went wide. This could potentially be more money than she made in six months.

"Y-Yes, sir!" she stammered but couldn’t help but grin widely She dropped most of her professional composure in the process but she still bowed at a perfect ninety degree angle. "Please follow me!"

She escorted him down a silent hallway and shoved a heavy wooden door open.

The private room was tiny but packed with expensive furniture. A soft leather couch sat right in the middle and right in front of it was a thick metal desk with a weird box covered in bright blue magic symbols on top.

"If you have mana, sir," the receptionist smiled eagerly. "You can power the device yourself and get a discount of five gold coins on the connection fee."

"Sure, I will just use my own mana." Adrian said.

He sat on the leather couch and looked at her.

"But keep the extra money anyway."

Her eyes literally watered up from pure happiness. "Thank you so much, my lord! I will leave you alone now!"

She bowed super low and basically ran out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Adrian stared at the glowing box. The staff had already calibrated the complex runic coordinates. He didn’t have to fiddle with dials or cast a spell. There was just a small, smooth indentation on the top of the metal box designed for a finger.

He pressed his index finger into the slot and pushed a tiny fraction of his mana into the artifact.

The runes glowed brightly and Adrian waited.

Total silence filled the room for a few seconds. Then, a soft static hum came out from the metal box, followed by a crisp, clear voice.

"Northern Capital Communication Branch," the voice crackled slightly. "How may I direct your call?"

"Connect me to Marquis Draven Voss," Adrian said. "Tell him Baron Adrian Sterling is calling."

"Yes, my lord. Please wait for a few minutes." The person on the other side said before adding, "The waiting time will not be charged."

The line went quiet after that.

Adrian sat back in the leather chair and stared at the ceiling for ten minutes. Then twenty minutes.

Almost thirty minutes passed before the device made another sound.

"Lord Sterling." a deep, gruff voice rumbled through the speaker.

Draven sounded tired.

"Why did you suddenly decide to call me?"

"I have a question, Marquis." Adrian got straight to the point. "How did you know my allies were turning against me? How did you know Alexander sent the mercenaries?"

Draven chuckled softly while his deep, gruff voice echoed through the small room.

"I am a border Lord, Adrian," Draven said. "My primary enemy is the Deadlands, yes. But you do not survive decades of political warfare without keeping your eyes open. I have spies planted in multiple territories.... especially in foreign kingdoms."

"Ironhold." Adrian muttered.

"Exactly." Draven confirmed. "My network inside the Ironhold Kingdom learned about the whole thing. They heard about a Crestfall Viscount feeding them intel on a newly rising threat. Dungeons, Sterling, Oresfall, Viscount... with those words, it was not hard to piece together the rest."

Draven paused for a second.

"Since you are asking me this question," Draven continued. "I assume your own intelligence network finally caught up, so you know it was Alexander."

"I do." Adrian said and chuckled. "And I am currently sitting inside his territory."

Draven let out a massive, booming laugh. "You are calling me from a public communication branch right inside the traitor’s city? You are a very brave man, Baron."

"Brave... or just practical?" Adrian smirked.

"Brave and smart, yes. Practical is debatable." Draven added, his tone shifting to pure respect. "So, what is your plan? Are you going to march your knights straight to his gates?"

"I am still thinking." Adrian leaned forward. "I have my own people who intercepted the messages and I have solid proof of his treason. I could legally wage war against him right now... but I want to cripple him first. I want to weaken him entirely before I strike. I refuse to take too many casualties in a direct siege when I can bleed him dry first."

Draven went completely silent for a few seconds.

"Your people are incredibly lucky to have you as a leader, Adrian." Draven said softly. "Most nobles would throw a thousand peasants into a war just to satisfy their own bruised egos. You actually care about your soldiers’ lives."

Adrian actually felt his face turn warm.

Getting raw and honest praise from a totally ruthless war general was not something he expected today. It caught him completely off guard.

"Thank you, Marquis." Adrian coughed to clear his throat. "Once I wipe Alexander out, I will march my army up north. I will help you defend your walls."