"The Imperial King of Cards Tournament Finals! Let the final match begin!!!"

The announcer’s booming declaration ignited another wave of thunderous cheers from the crowd, shaking the entire Colosseum.

But inside the Duel Room, William and Ada couldn’t hear the roar of the audience or the announcer’s voice.

The Duel Room was completely soundproof.

Additionally, while the audience could see into the Duel Room, the participants inside could only see their opponent.

“Wow, mister, you’re really good!”

“The duel just started, and you’re already praising me?”

“Yep! Ada can tell just by looking.”

Ada’s praise wasn’t meant to flatter; it was an earnest compliment directed at William.

‘No nervous twitches, no changes in expression or movement. He’s completely composed.’

Ada had grown adept at spotting her opponents’ tells—physical reactions when they drew cards or prepared strategies.

But William, her opponent in the finals, was an entirely different case. His face betrayed no emotion, and even his eyes, the hardest feature to control, gave nothing away.

On the other side, William found himself revising his opinion of Ada.

‘And this is supposed to be a child?’

Though he had resolved not to underestimate her after observing her earlier matches, facing her directly in the arena left him in awe.

Ada exuded an aura reminiscent of the Empire’s hidden elite duelists William had encountered before.

“I’ll set this card face-down and end my turn.”

There was no room for overconfidence.

William chose to treat Ada as though she were the head of one of the Empire’s Seven Great Noble Houses, rather than a mere child.

“That brat! How could he go so far against a kid?!”

“Calm yourself, Your Highness.”

“Calm myself? Look at William—he’s going all out against Ada like his life depends on it!”

Crown Prince Alex had secretly joined the audience to watch the finals.

If the Emperor knew, Alex would be in serious trouble.

‘You must start understanding the duties of an Emperor.’

The Emperor had begun entrusting Alex with some of his responsibilities, gradually teaching him the significance of ruling.

Though Alex wasn’t supposed to leave the palace while his father attended the tournament, he had donned a disguise—one he hadn’t used since his wild youth—to slip out unnoticed.

‘Ada’s competing in the tournament. Of course, I have to cheer her on!’

Now, watching from the stands, Alex fumed at his younger brother William.

The source of his ire was the trap card Demon’s Gift, which William had set on his own field.

“Spell card, Crossing Souls!”

Ada activated the spell to take control of one of William’s monsters.

But the monster had been marked with Demon’s Gift.

• Implant the heart of a demon into a beast on the field. If the beast is used as a tribute or attacks, its attack points are inflicted directly on its controller.

“No! Ada, if you take that…!”

If Ada continued, her defeat was assured. Alex shouted in desperation, but his cries were futile—the soundproof Duel Room rendered him unheard.

“With the monsters taken using Crossing Souls, I’ll summon Thousand Illusionist Beast!”

Ada summoned one of the most powerful creatures, Thousand Illusionist, using the monsters she had taken from William’s field.

As Ada ended her turn, William focused all his energy on maintaining a calm expression.

‘The moment she attacks, victory is mine.’

The combined attack power of the sacrificed monsters embedded in Thousand Illusionist would strike Ada directly, ending the duel.

“I’ll place two cards face-down and end my turn.”

Feigning weakness, William deliberately left his field open to bait Ada into attacking.

“I’ll attack directly with Thousand Illusionist….”

As Ada’s turn began and she prepared to attack, a strange unease crept over her.

‘Something feels off.’

William, who had been so formidable earlier, now seemed almost too easy to defeat.

Not attacking would be a mistake—even a beginner knew that. Yet, something about the situation gave Ada pause.

‘This is the card Rupert made for me. I have to use it wisely, right?’

Her eyes fell on a card in her hand—a special card Rupert had designed for her, inspired by the time she had gleefully danced in an ice-blue dress.

“I’ll sacrifice Thousand Illusionist and Steel Knight to summon Winter Princess!”

Trusting her instincts, Ada summoned the card her brother had made for her.

“And with the spell card First Strike, I’ll use Winter Princess to attack the opposing player directly!”

The illustration of an older Ada, depicted as the Winter Princess, appeared on the Duel Room’s screen. The animated figure delivered a spinning kick toward William.

“The winner of the finals is Ada Somerset!!!!”

The intense match ended with Ada’s victory.

“Hah… I didn’t expect to lose,” William admitted, still dazed by Ada’s quick thinking and unexpected combo.

“Congratulations are in order. Well done on your victory.”

“Thanks, mister!”

William approached Ada for a handshake, which she accepted with a bright smile.

Ada had hoped for a challenging opponent and an exciting duel, and William had delivered on both counts.

“One question, though,” William asked. “Why didn’t you attack with Thousand Illusionist at the end?”

He couldn’t fathom how she had anticipated his trap.

Ada’s answer was as surprising as her victory.

“Because I forge my own path to the future!”

She held the Winter Princess card tightly, cherishing her brother’s gift.

After the successful conclusion of the Imperial Somerset Card Tournament, public interest was entirely focused on The King of Cards.

• To the victor, Ada Somerset, I present this card as a special prize.

The scene of the Emperor personally handing over the special prize card to the tournament winner, Ada Somerset, was recorded on video stones and distributed throughout the Empire via Uren Trading Company branches.

“This is insane! When are those Guardians of the Imperial Line cards being released?!”
“They said those were special editions only given to the winner, but there’s supposed to be a general release too, right?”
“Did you see those cards? Gold-trimmed borders and actual gemstones embedded in the illustrations!”

The Guardians of the Imperial Line prize cards consisted of three uniquely crafted cards.

Each was a masterpiece, far surpassing even Ultimate Rare cards in decoration and artwork, making them a must-have for every card enthusiast.

The moment the tournament ended, collectors from all over the Empire flocked to the Somerset estate, begging for a glimpse of the cards—even if they couldn’t purchase them.

“Ada, is it okay if we show your cards to the public?”
“Sure!”

Ada, who cared more about winning the tournament than the prizes, readily agreed.

Rupert decided to display the cards at the Somerset Goods Store in the capital, but this led to such an influx of visitors that the area around the store was paralyzed for days.

“I never realized a card tournament could have such a massive impact!”

The aftermath of the tournament wasn’t limited to cards alone.

Merchants who had witnessed Somerset and Uren Trading Company’s strategic use of advertisements during the event were stunned.

Despite their best efforts to promote their own goods or trading companies, none had achieved the level of success that Somerset and Uren had so effortlessly demonstrated.

Now, it was common to hear people humming the catchy tune, “Happy, happy, happy Somerset!” as they walked through the streets.

“Should we start using Uren Trading Company? I hear they’re really good these days.”

A significant number of regular customers shifted their business to Uren, forcing competitors to take action.

“Iron Trading Company announces the launch of its own Duel Tournament!”
“Harvest Trading Company is recruiting the next generation of manga artists! Apply now!”

Other trading companies began organizing card game tournaments to replicate Somerset’s success or ventured into cultural industries like manga and children’s literature, areas they had previously only dabbled in.

But catching up to the established dominance of Somerset and Uren Trading Company proved to be an uphill battle.

“What do you mean they didn’t prepare Duel Tables for the tournament?”
“And no guards to resolve disputes during duels? Are they serious?”
“Ugh! At the Somerset tournament, there were commentators and announcers explaining the matches. It was so much better!”

Without imperial support, even Somerset and Uren had faced challenges organizing their tournament. Other trading companies, lacking experience and infrastructure, made glaring mistakes.

“Why won’t you publish your work through our company?!”
“Apologies, but my goal is to publish through Manafia.”

The situation was no different in the fields of manga and children’s literature.

Trading companies tried to recruit talented artists and storytellers through contests, only to face disappointing participation rates.

“If I’m going to publish, I want to do it through Manafia!”

Aspiring creators admired Rupert, who had introduced the concept of manga to the Empire.

Many of these artists had been inspired by Rupert’s works, leading them to prioritize publishing with Manafia, where Rupert serialized his stories.

Uren Trading Company capitalized on this by securing contracts with these rising talents, ensuring that their works were either serialized immediately or prepared for future releases.

By offering contracts that prioritized new projects and supported completed works, Uren positioned itself as the premier platform for manga artists, further solidifying its dominance in the cultural industry.