Ready to Rule: The Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 723

Rosie’s team always seemed to have it easy, breezing through every task like someone was secretly rooting for them behind the scenes.

Lydia glanced over. “Let’s start with the puzzle and look for the clue.”

The puzzle with high difficulty in front of her team had more than two hundred pieces. Rosie's group only had a little over a hundred. The gap was enough to make anyone mad.

Jules checked the other table. “They’re already a fifth done.”

Rosie’s squad moved at lightning speed, as if they’d solved this puzzle a hundred times before.

Lydia rolled up her sleeves and got to work. “Flip all the pieces right side up. I’ll do the rest.”

Her teammates jumped into action, flipping pieces as fast as they could.

Both teams crowded around their puzzle tables, racing to see who would finish first and grab the clue. Lydia’s hands moved so fast it was almost hypnotic. She barely had to look; pieces just fell into place under her fingertips.

Monica stared in disbelief. “Lydia, you’re amazing!”

From the beginning, Monica had wanted to drop to her knees and beg Lydia to teach her everything she knew. Lydia just made everything look easy. If only the rest of them weren’t slowing her down, she probably would have finished every challenge solo by now.

Rosie knew Lydia was good, but she never imagined Lydia’s team would actually finish the harder puzzle before them.

“Are you kidding me? They’re done!” one of Rosie’s teammates blurted out as Lydia picked up the completed puzzle and started scanning for the next clue.

Rosie felt the pressure mounting, but she kept her cool. “Come on, hurry up!”

Lydia’s eyes ran over the puzzle. She found a string of letters almost immediately.

Southeast. Climb.

She smiled, just a hint of confidence tugging at her lips. “Let’s go.”

They broke through a patch of trees, and Lydia spotted it—a rock climbing wall, at least twenty meters high.

Safety ropes hung at the top. The soldier in charge looked up, surprised to see someone get here this quickly—and a girl, no less.

Lydia stepped forward, grabbed a safety rope without a word, and started securing it. She didn’t even need it, but rules were rules.

Seb arrived, picked up a rope, and hurried to buckle in. But before he’d even finished, Lydia was already halfway up, moving with quick, practiced motions.

The soldier called out, “Careful! Safety first!” He couldn’t help but be impressed. How was she this strong? How had she gotten here so fast?

Seb scrambled after her, but Lydia was just too quick. He gritted his teeth, forced himself faster, and finally caught up enough to grab her ankle, yanking hard to pull her down. He didn’t care about the rules or the consequences—he just knew he couldn’t let Lydia’s team win.

Jules, Monica, and Fiona raced over, just in time to see Seb grabbing Lydia’s ankle and trying to drag her down. Their hearts all leapt into their throats.

“Lydia, look out!”