Elara, who marched with the northern troop to Tyrol, encountered numerous bandit camps, robbers' dens and looters who made the abandoned towns unsafe. There were many arrests and also deaths that night. As Margravine, she could not accept that an entire county had degenerated into a nest for riffraff.
Early in the morning she continued her march, this time towards Ulm. The smell of wickedness hung heavy in the air. With her spear surrounded by lightning, she pointed to the large camp outside Ulm. Her troops, equally excited for the coming battle, charged ahead without hesitation or showing fear.
The battle erupted with loud roars and anticipation of battle. The outlaws relied on cunning, smoke and poisons, but they stood no chance against Elara's troops. The bandits were overwhelmed and defeated in no time.
No sooner were more prisoners collected than they began to look to see if there were any prisoners here as well, or women who had been made docile by drugs. Unfortunately, they found victims of these terrible crimes here as well. Elara, who had to bear these terrible images with anger, suddenly heard her name called. Behind a small hill, the women who had cleared the dungeon of the lizards appeared. Elara was visibly relieved to see the women alive and well. But as they drew nearer, she immediately engaged with Elysia again.
"I see it took you a long time to make this dungeon on your own, huh?" remarked Elysia mockingly. Elysia was about to retort a reply when Helga interjected and said, "We missed you too, Elysia. She was even worried. It seems you've come a long way here. Very well, tell us where we can help."
Elara became aware of where she was and showed the women how they could help. She distributed tasks, including taking care of the prisoners and victims, collecting all the valuables the robbers had taken, and more.
After everything was done, the women would temporarily separate. Elysia and Elara would take care of the victims and prisoners and bring them safely to Venice. There they could receive the necessary support and care.
Marina and the other women, on the other hand, would join forces with the troops from the north and head for the mines and forests that were rich in resources. Their goal was to mine these resources to supply both the soldiers and the nobles from the north. This was crucial to provide the counties of Eisenach and Erfurt with much needed supplies.
The women had a clear division of tasks to ensure that all necessary measures were taken to rebuild and stabilize the region.
In Rome, Shiva had woken up early and had had enough of politics for now. She grabbed Leonie, Jasmin and Valeria to go shopping with them. After all, the wedding was coming up soon, and there were still a lot of things to get. The wedding dress excluded, because she would take that from her mother, one of the few mementos of her. Jasmine would only have to adjust it a little in the evening, which she would do joyfully.
Shopping bought a lot of fabrics for Jasmin and her work. They also purchased many small items to decorate the castle and prepare small gifts for the guests. In the middle of the city they met Count Nikolai's wife, Natasha, a petite but graceful woman. It seemed that she, too, was caught up in the shopping frenzy. Quickly, the shopaholic woman was drawn into their plans and involved in the wedding preparations. Natasha didn't mind and let her imagination run wild, which led to heated debates, if only over napkins and table decorations.
Valeria, meanwhile, wondered all the while why she hadn't gone to Tyrol with the other women. She was terribly bored, because she couldn't do anything with shopping. Then she was also persuaded by Jasmin and Shiva to slip into many dresses to decide what the sisters should wear to the wedding. However, she endured it with a smile and vowed to go on a little outing in the evening to further improve her skills and not get out of practice. Even if it meant sneaking after a drunken bully just to brighten up that awful day.
Late that evening, all the family members arrived back in Rome, while they had substitutes do the chores. For that night there were still some tasks to be done, such as taking care of the victims and deciding what to do with the prisoners. Tomorrow the castle would be prepared for the upcoming wedding, and duties would be completed to better focus on the finer things in life. Only Valeria found no peace that night. She crept out of the castle and moved through the darkness of the city.