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The carriage was a confined space.
Under the supernatural power system of this world of swords and magic.
Whether it was a carriage frame that could be pulverized by a single low-level attack magic, or a carriage body that a ten-year-old red-haired tsundere brat could cleave in two with one strike.
Both implied that the carriage itself had no connection whatsoever to safety.
But in Sylphy's perception.
It was already 'safe enough.'
The carriage she was sitting in was the same crystal-ceilinged carriage she had ridden every day during the month-long journey to the capital.
The people inside the carriage were also the same 'adventurer' team as when they set out.
The warm figure she yearned to entrust her heart and soul to was beside her, within arm's reach.
Her friend, with whom she learned magic, was opposite her, looking typically exasperated.
And her little sister-in-law, full of tsundere charm and trusting her implicitly, was drowsily asleep, pinning her shoe soles to her friend's foot.
Sylphy blinked.
Finally.
She glanced sideways.
Beside her, the black-haired girl, pleased that Allen still remembered his promise to let her cook dinner that night and that he had completely ignored the Princess, now wore a smile.
This person, who a month ago was a hypothetical love rival, had, through their journey together and the unforeseen events...
...long since become a 'bosom friend' who enjoyed teasing her wickedly.
All these facts before her made her feel 'safe.'
But logically, everyone else should also be beside her outside the carriage, shouldn't they? Why did it feel different from now?
It was simple.
The chaos, unfamiliarity, unexpectedness, and helplessness brought by change.
These emotions, layered together, constantly made her worried, often uneasy.
This was particularly evident in the original storyline—Sylphy, after becoming Ariel's guard, despite gaining power and prestige, still strained to maintain a cold shell, keeping others at arm's length to protect herself.
All stemmed from this inherent sense of unease.
She was inwardly thoughtful and slow to warm up.
In Roa, it was only after gaining the trust of the lady of the house, in a completely harmless environment, after adapting to Boreas and already feeling a sense of belonging to the Boreas family...
...that she would display a serene confidence utterly different from her original self.
But this was merely an illusion of 'worthiness.'
After leaving Roa, the illusion was scattered by the wind like fleeting clouds.
The Second Princess, more beautiful than herself; the junior dojo, filled with Advanced Water God Style swordsmen; the Water God, whose strength was impossibly distant; the head of one of the Four Great Noble families, who was a synonym for power itself.
Various strangers were seen by her own eyes and interacted with.
What remained was the dismay brought by a 'sense of unworthiness.'
However, fortunately, Allen intervened earlier in this loop. This made Sylphy, the small weed growing by the roadside in Buena Village, more resilient and adaptable. It was foreseeable that as their time in the royal capital lengthened, this 'sense of unworthiness' would gradually fade.
Just as Allen had brought her from Buena Village to Roa.
She had been similarly uneasy on that journey to Roa.
It was also after an assassination, also in a carriage.
Just like now.
And also...
Sylphy lowered her head, blinking at her own legs.
As the carriage swayed, her legs swung left and right.
And she was counting.
The one thousand three hundred and fourteenth time.
Just like the action she took when heading to Roa.
She was trying to find a sense of security.
But this time, Allen's leg didn't brush against hers.
Sylphy quietly watched her knees.
It swayed once more.
She glanced sideways.
—Allen's leg was firmly planted on the carriage floor, not swaying with the carriage's movement at all.
Her reddish-brown eyelashes trembled slightly.
Her gaze shifted.
It passed over the swordsman's uniform on his leg, moved to his shirt at his waist, and then to the familiar necklace on a rope hanging from his collarbone.
Finally, to Allen's face.
Her beloved, with dark gray eyes, was turning to look at the street scene outside the window, where light and shadow stretched, in silence.
His gaze was somewhat unfocused.
Their bodies were clearly very close; with just a slight turn of her knee, she could touch his body.
But...
Sylphy felt Allen was somewhat 'distant.'
At this moment, even when she looked at him, Allen didn't turn his gaze, or look at her with his usual slightly raised eyebrow and smiling, questioning expression.
She looked at Allen's face. After a long moment, her gaze moved down again, looking at his tightly clenched fist on the seat.
Subconsciously, inexplicably, involuntarily, naturally.
She placed her small hand over his.
Thus, skin touched skin, her palm resting on the back of his hand.
The warmth she had yearned for throughout the journey finally brought a reassuring sense of solidity.
In just a blink of an eye. In her line of sight, the fist she had covered opened.
His long, but thickly calloused hand, reflected in her reddish-brown eyes, subtly flipped over.
Enveloping her entire hand in his palm.
Her unease melted away like spring snow.
Sylphy blinked, raising her gaze.
What met her eyes was a smiling face, very familiar.
She shrank her neck.
First, she looked down shyly, then felt the warmth of her hand being enveloped.
Then she chuckled softly.
It seemed it was just her imagination...
Allen's hand...
...was still very warm.
---
The night wind was a bit chilly.
The carriage curtains fluttered, flapping continuously by Allen's ear.
He looked at Sylphy, seeing her grow shy again. He bypassed her, exchanged a glance with Isolte, who was looking at him, and smiled.
Then he turned back to look out the carriage window.
The sensation of the slender fingers held in his palm, along with his renewed efforts to mask his thoughts with 'desire,' and to mentally review and plan again, gradually faded from his senses.
Individual nouns flashed like fragmented thoughts in his mind.
Reida, Sinos, gaining fame.
Pilemon, *James*, persuasion.
Ariel, First Prince, cultivating influence.
Killing, inducement, Great Teleportation.
At this moment, the nighttime street scene outside the window rapidly swept past his eyes. The rumbling sound of wheels came from not far away.
A carriage approached from the opposite direction.
The two carriages passed each other, each heading in the opposite direction.
Leaving behind only a faint scent of red wine.
The wheels rolled away, and with just one turn, they quickly disappeared into the gloomy eyes.
---
Darius lowered the carriage curtain, smiling silently.
"*Allen Boreas Greyrat*..."
"I've finally been waiting for you..."
"Finally..."
Amidst his murmuring, the two 'maids' kneeling before him, massaging his feet, reacted differently.
The black-haired maid, who had just been offered to the First Prince Gravell but dismissed after only one oral service, cautiously spoke.
"Master... is that your old acquaintance?"
Darius narrowed his eyes, which were squeezed into the fleshy folds of his face. He looked down at the maid, the smile on his face turning cold.
The female slave's face stiffened, and she said in extreme fear.
"My apologies, Master, I shouldn't have..."
"He is an old acquaintance of mine."
The maid looked up in surprise and saw Darius pinching her chin.
"What a pity. I know him, but he doesn't know me."
The black-haired girl's face was aghast; her body involuntarily began to tremble, and she could no longer speak.
Darius chuckled meaninglessly at the sight.
Then he turned to look aside.
In his line of sight, Doristeena Papelhors, with her smooth, short golden hair, had an expressionless face, merely focusing on massaging Darius's feet, saying nothing.
Just then, the carriage stopped.
"We're here, Master."
Darius nodded. "Get out."
The black-haired slave girl sniffled and quickly got out of the carriage. She was about to use her body as a footrest in front of the house as usual, but as she reached out to open the carriage door, she froze.
Splash, splash.
The water's surface rippled in the moonlight and night wind.
What met her eyes was not the mansion gate she had imagined.
But a river.
Beside the carriage, stood several people dressed in black.
Immediately after, before she could even turn to the coachman to ask if they had stopped in the wrong place.
She was kicked out of the carriage.
Then, Darius dragged Doristeena Papelhors down from the carriage by her hair, and tossed her onto the riverbank at the intersection of the Upper Noble District and the Free Zone.
The men in black before him respectfully bowed.
"Master."
Darius waved his hand.
"These two heard too much today. Deal with them."
"Yes!"
The black-haired girl's face was filled with horror. She twisted, intending to plead, "Ma—!" But Darius's slap shattered the unuttered words in her mouth.
"Useless! You volunteered to go to the First Prince's mansion this time. You couldn't seize the opportunity. Whose fault is that?"
The black-haired girl's teeth shattered from the battle aura-infused slap, but she dared not cry out in pain. She just desperately clung to Darius's pant leg.
Then she was kicked aside.
"Take them away!"
"Yes!"
With that, Darius twisted, intending to return to the carriage. But after stepping one leg in, he suddenly remembered something and stepped back out.
He turned to look at the servants, who were covering the mouths of the two female slaves and showing looks of delight. He narrowed his eyes.
"When I said 'deal with them,' I meant kill them. Do you understand?"
The men in black all froze, then immediately assented.
"Understood!"
Darius, however, quietly watched them and smiled.
He turned back into the carriage and retrieved something, then turned again and stepped out.
He grabbed Doristeena's hair and plunged the dagger in his hand into her throat.
"Ho-hoh..."
He pulled out the dagger, blood gushed like a fountain.
It splattered on the servants and the black-haired slave girl. All three bodies stiffened simultaneously, unable to move a muscle.
They could only watch with wide eyes as the golden-haired girl clutched her neck, then dropped to the ground with a thump. Before long, the light in her eyes extinguished.
Darius bent down and meticulously examined Doristeena's corpse, confirming she was thoroughly dead. He then casually used the knife to mangle her face, his mouth not idle.
"Did you see how that's done? I wasn't telling you to sell them to slave traders."
As his words fell, the black-haired girl, who had just managed to break free from the stiffened black-clad servant behind her, turned to jump into the river. But Darius stood up and snatched her back, pulling her into his embrace.
Then he casually tossed the trembling, convulsing slave to the servants, patting their necks.
"Don't let it happen again. Go."
The two servants stepped into the carriage, and with a neigh, the carriage drove away before them.
The two servants remained dazed for a while, then exchanged a knowing glance.
They looked down. The black-haired girl had a dagger plunged into her chest.
She was already lifeless.
In the distant carriage, Darius casually wiped the blood from his clothes and comfortably leaned back against the carriage seat.
He was in a very pleasant mood.
God was indeed God; His every word and action was truth.
These servants, who usually helped him deal with the identity-sensitive female slaves he had grown tired of, had actually resold them to slave traders.
This wouldn't do.
Doristeena, this girl, was indeed enjoyable, but now that the struggle for the succession had begun, she needed to be dealt with.
Otherwise, in the future.
She would be another 'hidden danger.'
"Hahaha!"
His laughter, along with the carriage, disappeared into the night.
---
"Senior Brother is going back to the Boreas mansion???"
Isolte's house was on the edge of the Free Zone and the Upper Noble District. It was a two-story, small, garden-style mansion.
The house layout seemed a bit old, but it exuded a simple and neat feel. The chandeliers overhead were not ornate crystal multi-candlestick types, nor were candles painstakingly lit. Instead, the lighting came from wall-mounted candle lamps on the dining table and beside the living room.
The dining table was a rustic, dark wooden square table, on which Isolte's homemade, still steaming mushroom-meat broth and fried fish were laid out on a thick cotton tablecloth with dark tassels.
—These were ingredients Dantolis had delivered this evening. Of course, he had also brought his wife. His wife was a gentle-looking young lady with drooping eyelids, a refined family background... um, if she hadn't secretly flirted with Allen during their greetings and clearly been overly enthusiastic towards him.
Then she would have been even more like a refined young lady.
It had scared Allen so much that he quickly shooed Dantolis away.
At this moment, Isolte wore a white apron cinched at her waist. Because her Water God Style swordsman's outer robe was quite plain, the addition of the apron actually made her figure appear more graceful and well-proportioned.
She was looking at Allen with a bewildered expression.
Beside the dining table, Rudy and Sylphy, holding spoonfuls of soup, also stared blankly at Allen.
Eris was gulping down her soup, showing no reaction to his words.
—It didn't matter; wherever Big Brother went, she would go.
"Yes. Tomorrow, or the day after, I'm going back to stay there for a while, until May 10th."
Allen replied. He then spooned some soup, squinting his eyes.
"You marinated and fried the meat with spices beforehand, instead of just stewing it directly and letting us add spices at the table. Oh, and putting imported spices on the table to show off status is completely missing the point. It seems Isolte, you still remember my taste, hmm... delicious! Your cooking has improved!"
Isolte paused for a moment, uncharacteristically showing a hint of exasperation towards Allen.
"Senior Brother! Why are you going back to stay there?"
Allen picked up the bread Isolte had baked herself, from the table.
He tore off a piece of bread, smiling very shyly.
There was even a hint of inexplicable 'embarrassment.'
"Of course, it's to have a good chat with my nominal father."
"You know, visit home often~"
"After all."
"Such opportunities won't be many."
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if you want more updates == supports with power stones
Power Stones==Bonus Chapter