Isabella returned to headquarters energized.

I looked up from supply manifests. "How'd it go?"

"He offered me everything. Markets. Connections. Resources." She sat down, started pulling out papers. "It was almost insulting how little he understood about what I actually want."

"Which is?"

"A partner, not a patron." She spread out her analysis. "I ran projections and If we execute this correctly, we can force Adrian to either abandon his price war or bankrupt himself within three months."

"Three months? I thought you said six?"

"That's if we played defensively. Offensively?" She smiled. "Three months."

"Show me."

She laid out the strategy and it was brilliant.

Adrian was hemorrhaging money on fifteen contracts. Isabella proposed targeting five of those, not to compete on price, but to compete on value.

"Enhanced service packages," she explained. "Same price as his offerings, but we include delivery insurance, quality guarantees, and flexible scheduling. Students pay the same, but get more."

"He can't match that without raising prices?"

"Correct. His profit margins are already negative. Adding services would make the losses catastrophic."

"What if he just eats the cost?"

"Then he loses money even faster. Three months instead of six."

I grinned. "You're devious."

"I prefer 'strategically creative.'" She pulled out another document. "Phase two, we selectively raise prices on our non-competitive contracts."

"Raise prices? Won't that lose customers?"

"Ten percent increase on luxury goods. Our wealthy clients won't care. That additional revenue funds our competitive pricing elsewhere. We stay profitable while he bleeds."

"Beautiful."

"Phase three is my favorite." She looked genuinely excited. "We start a student co-op."

"A what?"

"Cooperative purchasing. Students pool orders, get bulk discounts. We facilitate, take a small admin fee. They save money, we increase volume, and..." She smiled. "Adrian can't compete because his model requires individual contracts."

I sat back. "That's not just beating him economically. That's creating a better system."

"Exactly. We're not just winning. We're innovating."

"How long to implement?"

"Phase one in Two days. Phase two in One week. Phase three in Two weeks."

"Do it."

She gathered her papers, then paused. "Hadeon?"

"Yeah?"

"Adrian offered me markets I don't need. Resources I already have. Prestige I don't care about." She met my eyes. "You offered me respect. Partnership and the freedom to be myself while doing what I love."

"That's what you deserve." My face twitched.

"I know. But thank you for seeing it." She stood. "I won't let you down."

"Isabella, you've never let me down."

After she left, the system chimed.

```

[RELATIONSHIP UPDATE: ISABELLA FROSTVALE]

[STATUS: Fully Committed Ally]

[LOYALTY: 65% → 80%]

[ROMANTIC INTEREST: 15% → 25%]

[PROFESSIONAL RESPECT: MAXIMUM]

[ACHIEVEMENT: Second Heroine Chooses you Over Adrian]

[BONUS: +1,200 Villain Score]

[ADRIAN'S FATE POINTS: -800]

[ECONOMIC WARFARE: Advantage Shifting]

[CURRENT POSITION: Defensive → Offensive]

[PROJECTED OUTCOME: Victory in 3 months]

```

Marcus poked his head in. "She's terrifying when she's in business mode."

"She's terrifying all the time. That's why we have her."

"Fair point." He sat down. "Lucille's ready for tonight's infiltration. Says the security isn't as tight as she expected."

"Adrian's overconfident?"

"Adrian thinks no one would dare steal from him." Marcus grinned. "He's about to learn otherwise."

☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆

That Night....Adrian's Dormitory.

From Lucille's post-mission report.

The S-Class dorms were ridiculous. Private suites with magical amenities, security enchantments that cost more than most students' yearly tuition.

Adrian's room was the most ridiculous of all.

I approached from the roof with Kira while Mira disabled the ground-level wards. The twins were artists at this, Kira specialized in magical locks, Mira in physical ones.

Together, they could break into anywhere.

"Wards are down," Mira's voice came through the communication crystal. "You've got ten minutes before the reset."

"More than enough."

I dropped to Adrian's balcony. The window lock was laughable, basic enchantment, easily bypassed. Inside in thirty seconds.

His room was exactly what I expected. Immaculate wiverything perfectly placed. Awards and trophies displayed prominently. Holy symbols arranged artistically.

It was like a shrine to himself.

"Kira, I'm in. Where would he keep financial records?"

"Desk drawer, locked. Right side."

I moved to the desk. Found the drawer. The lock was better than the window and required a blood sample to open.

Fortunate that I'd collected a sample from Adrian during our duel months ago.

The lock clicked open and are ledgers, contracts, correspondence.

I photographed everything. Marcus had designed a crystal specifically for this, perfect copies with magical signature included.

Fifteen minutes of work. Every financial record Adrian had kept.

"Done," I reported. "Extracting."

☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆

Isabella reviewed the financial records with the intensity of a predator spotting wounded prey.

"Oh, this is better than I hoped."

I leaned over her shoulder. "How bad is it?"

"For him? Catastrophic." She pointed at entries. "Look. He's not just pricing below cost. He's using different suppliers for different contracts to hide the losses. Each supplier thinks they're getting a normal order. But combined..."

"He's losing how much?"

"Thirty thousand gold per month. Not twenty. He's been lying to his own backers about the losses."

Marcus whistled. "That's fraud."

"That's just desperation." Isabella kept scanning. "And look at this. He signed personal guarantees. If the contracts fail, he's personally liable."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning if we tank his monopoly attempt, Adrian personally owes approximately one hundred and fifty thousand gold to various merchants."

"Does he have that?"

"Absolutely not. His wealth is tied up in property and investments. Liquid assets?" She checked the numbers. "Maybe forty thousand gold. He's bankrupting himself."

I sat back. This was worse than I thought. Adrian was risking everything on this strategy.

"He needs to win," I said slowly. "This isn't just about beating me. If he loses this economic war, he's financially ruined."

"Which makes him more dangerous," Lucille said. She'd been quiet, but now spoke up. "Desperate people take risks."

"Agreed."

In his mind, heroes didn't lose. Couldn't lose.

So if he was losing...

He'd do anything to change that.

"Isabella," I said. "Submit the evidence to the merchant guild. Let them investigate."

"That'll take weeks."

"I know. But it's legitimate, legal and clean." I stood. "We do this right. No shortcuts."

"Even though it's slower?"

"Especially because it's slower. We're not Adrian. We don't need to win immediately. We just need to win."

She nodded. "I'll file tomorrow."

As everyone dispersed, I stayed in the room, thinking.

Adrian was drowning. And soon he'd realize it.

The question was. What would he do when he did?

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