That's why Jamie had to seize the opportunity to help the Egretta Family win a fair share of resources in this year's game. If she could handle this well, she would gain more supporters within the family. More importantly, the position of future family head—the official heir—would fall to her.

Likewise, Jamie's siblings and direct competitors also wanted to seize this opportunity, as it was their chance to close the gap on Jamie, or even surpass her. Of course, this wasn't something any heir competitor could get involved in just because they wanted to.

The resource distribution game, a rule set by the Kanzax General-Commander, only allowed the younger generation—the mid-class Magus—to participate. And although the heads of the Egretta Family allowed the responsibility of managing the resource distribution game as a bargaining chip for the right of inheritance, if someone were to vie for this responsibility and fail, the family would absolutely not forgive them.

Jamie was the most advanced among her siblings, so she was personally entrusted with the responsibility of handling the game by the family heads. If she failed, she would be fine; at most, her standing would be lowered. However, if another competitor took this opportunity from Jamie and failed, their fate would be absolutely miserable.

Mera was already dazzled by the more than two million Cents, but the benefits gained from the resource distribution game were hundreds of times more than that. Not to mention the hidden benefits that money couldn't even quantify.

"Miss, should we warn them?" the old butler asked worriedly, referring to Kain and Mera.

Jamie shook her head, stroking her forehead. "No. If I did that, it would be the same as telling them I'm not capable. Besides, if those people intended to compete with me for this round of the game, they should have made their move from the very beginning."

It was clear that the recruitment of participants for the game, which Jamie had personally arranged, had been going on for a while. This was also normal; preparing for such an important event couldn't happen in just one or two days. And that was also the most suitable time for her competitors to interfere. However, nothing had happened.

Jamie thought that perhaps her other siblings didn't dare to take the risk this time.

However, she was completely unaware that she was being targeted with a different plan.

…

Up in their room, both Mera and Kain were engrossed in the documents, or rather, the book in front of them. Inside were the records of the ten most recent resource distribution games, spanning the last thirty years.

"Are you looking for a pattern in the games?" Mera asked, her eyes still fixed on the text.

Kain nodded in reply. "Yes, if we can figure out what the game organizers are thinking, we can at least prepare in advance." Kain felt they definitely needed to prepare. This was because the games used here didn't have clear winners and losers. Instead, they were about who could gain more benefits. This meant the games weren't designed to definitively declare a winner or loser like normal games, but to hold each other in check.

"Just as I thought..." Kain muttered.

Earlier, upon hearing that the nobles of Adia fought over resources through a game, Kain had vaguely guessed how power worked here. Now, seeing the structure of the games, his assumption was confirmed.

The amount of resources distributed among the families in the past games was remarkably even. Even the two families with superior strength, the Sword Family and the Bethel Family, only received a slightly larger share than the others. Logically, given their strength and status, they should have received much more. This was the result of the suppression by the Kanzax General-Commander and the mindset of the smaller families. Even if they "yielded" a certain amount to the Sword Family and the Bethel Family as a sign of respect, to maximize their own resources, they could only concede a small amount to the two great families.

To make it easier to understand, consider the following example.

Imagine a chest with only 100 gold coins, but it has to be split among ten people. It would be quite easy to give each person 10 gold coins.

However, add the condition that two of these ten people are stronger than the rest. This makes an even split problematic, as it could offend the two more powerful individuals.

Since there are only 100 gold coins, if the other eight people want to increase the amount given to the two strong ones, they can only do so by taking from their own share. Of course, they can't, and don't want to, give up too much.

So, among the eight, each person takes one gold coin from their original share. This gold will be split in half for the other two. This means the two stronger people will now have 14 gold coins each, while the other eight will have 9 gold coins each.

When comparing the strong to the average, the average person now has 9 gold coins, while the strong have 14. This is a 1.5x difference, which is enough to highlight their status and power gap.

But compared to the original 10 gold coins, the average person only lost 1 gold coin to avoid angering the stronger ones. This is a calculated and acceptable loss. At the same time, when you look at the total of 100 gold coins, both 14 and 9 coins are still around the 10-coin per person mark, which doesn't disrupt the overall order.

This is an example of how the resource distribution game works. Looking at the results, you can see that while the Sword Family and the Bethel Family should have taken half of Adia's resources, with the other eight families splitting the rest, the reality is completely different. The Sword Family and Bethel Family have barely advanced, while the other eight families are quietly and continuously developing with a surplus of resources.

If it weren't for the fact that a Magus's talent cannot be inherited, these eight families would surely dream of one day catching up to the two great families. And even if they can't match the number of high-class Magus—the core of a faction's strength—as long as their faction has enough power and wealth, they can still find a way to balance this out.

"The person who created this situation is certainly not simple." Kain had to admit.

However, the more balanced this situation was, the harder his goal would be to achieve. His goal was to rescue Myra from Faith's hands. To do that, Faith was forcing him to defeat him and the Sword Family in this game.

Defeat.

If it were a normal game, it would be easy. A game, after all, must have winners and losers.

But this game was different. It was a tool for the Kanzax General-Commander to contain the Adia nobility. The winner, the truly superior one, might not be accepted.

Kain didn't hesitate to share this worry with Mera, but she had a simpler thought.

"But I think... if you can win, you should just win, right?"

"If what you say is true, that this game is actually a tool for control, then this control also comes from the balance of the players' abilities and the rules. In other words, the game is balanced for the players, not just for its hidden purpose."

"It's like two people pulling a rope in opposite directions. The rope stays in place not because they aren't trying, but because they are both trying equally hard, and the forces neutralize each other, keeping the rope still."

"So, if someone with the ability to intervene comes in and wins, it's still within the rules of the game. Don't you think so, Kain?"

Kain was slightly stunned by Mera's explanation, and then he smiled. "You're right. I was overthinking it."

"Even though this game is truly a tool to contain the nobility, it's still a game. Containment is just its hidden purpose."

"A hidden purpose isn't something that can be brought to the surface. So as long as someone wins while following the rules, no one can say anything."

At this point, Kain suddenly thought of something.

"That's right, the balance."

"Mera, do you remember the content of that letter? Faith's letter?"

"Of course, I remember. Faith challenged us to defeat the Sword Family in this game..."

"There's another part. Before that, Faith mentioned that the Sword Family is a terrible thing. Even his way of addressing the Sword Family was separate."

"You mean Faith and the Sword Family are in conflict? Then why is he helping the Sword Family participate in the game?" Mera asked, confused.

Kain frowned and replied, "To destroy this inherent balance."

"I think I've figured out what Faith is planning."