Reflections on the past and the future...

As you slowly ascend the creaky wooden staircase of the old, dilapidated house that serves as both your aunt's home and her shop, you ponder the events of the past.

Today’s "incident" with the female guard was an unsettling affair—one that urges you to be more cautious in the future.

Your magic managed to get you out of a tight spot this time...

But what will the consequences be?

The magical effect on the female guard's mind - which drove her to fuck you like an insatiable, depraved slut - will clearly be short-lived. Consequently, once some time has passed, she might reflect on what happened and realize her mind had been magically tampered with. She could then fly into a rage and scour the city looking for you to exact revenge...

An enraged city guard thirsting for vengeance...

That is certainly not something you need...

And so, the thought of leaving this quarter - or even the city itself - crosses your mind.

This city...

Granveith.

The capital of the small human kingdom of Morthem.

For centuries, Morthem was a weak confederation of several earldoms, with the king-power serving as a merely nominal, elected position. Local earls held the real power; they traded, formed alliances, and occasionally waged war against one another.

Everything changed three years ago when the forces of the hegemon of western part of continent - the human Sacred Kingdom of Orlania - occupied Morthem and installed a member of their own dynasty on the throne.

This marked the establishment of a strong, centralized monarchy; some defiant local aristocrats were subdued by force of arms, while others were bought off or intimidated. Military force completed what had been prepared over decades by economic influence and religious proselytism...

One way or another, a new order was established.

For the majority of the plebs, however, there was no discernible difference regarding exactly where their taxes went—whether to the royal treasury or the coffers of a local, greedy earl.

And what of your kin who lived here?

Your family had long resided in the Kingdom of Morthem.

They were all ordinary, impoverished plebs, with but a single exception.

That exception was your great-grandfather, Arstein, who managed to amass a substantial fortune through certain... "questionable" deeds (about which little is actually known).

Arstein was able to purchase the status of "honorable citizen of capital", granting him the right to bear a surname (ordinary peasant-plebs do not even have surnames), as well as privileges regarding real estate purchases and the establishment of a trading business in the capital.

Mercer...

The surname you bear serves as a constant reminder of your great-grandfather's achievements...

Alas, after your great-grandfather's death, his numerous relatives failed to maintain their social standing.

They gradually squandered the inherited property and wealth...

Consequently, by the time you were born, most of your relatives had once again become ordinary, poor peasant-plebs living in the countryside, with no prospects beyond grueling, low-wage labor.

Only Auntie Sophia managed to preserve some remnants of that old legacy - yet even her financial situation worsens year by year. Small-scale trade in fruits and vegetables is hardly a lucrative endeavor...

In an effort to keep her shop afloat, Auntie Sophia lives in an old, two-story wooden house built back in Arstein's day.

Now, you live in that house as well...

But for how long?

You ended up here because of your impetuous nature - a temperament that would not allow you to resign yourself to the wretched lot of an impoverished, downtrodden peasant. Three years ago, seeking a promising life in the capital, you left the small, impoverished village where your large family toiled at backbreaking farm work.

Brothers, sisters, mother and father…

None of them grieved at all over your departure.

The harsh life of destitute peasants - filled with grueling daily toil, your father’s drinking, and your mother’s exhaustion—made your departure for the capital a positive development for your family (one less mouth to feed meant more food for those who remained).

You arrived in the capital to stay with your aunt...

She took you in, hoping for your help with her business.

However, she underestimated your youthful, fickle nature...

You often shirked your work, fell in with a dubious crowd, and quickly became addicted to gambling.

A couple of years ago, after a night of heavy drinking with "friends", you found that very book lying in the filthy streets of the slums...

A magical grimoire...

It was very strange...

Why would such a valuable book be lying in the mud of a roadside ditch?

The reason clearly held a hidden danger...

As you approach the door, you shudder slightly at another moan drifting from your aunt's room.

A step forward across the creaking wooden floor...

Your hand tugs at the doorknob.

Locked from the inside!

"Auntie? Are you all right?" you call out, feeling a rising sense of alarm.

Instead of an answer, you hear only the moaning grow louder...