For the next few days, I ate stew three times a day and worked out all the other times. Justin seemed quite stunned at my sudden change, but my stew supply didn't stop.
I still wasn't allowed to leave my room, sadly, so I had to be limited to calisthenics. This place didn't have a gym, but it did have a training group, there were swords and also some weights available there. I wish I could go there, but for three days I had to spend my time locked away in my room.
After three days, my punishment came to an end.
"You're allowed to leave your room now, young master," Justin looked at me and said. "And, uhm… the Lord wishes to meet you."
"Oh," my happy mood dulled. What did he want from me now? "Sure, I'll go see him."
I was about to walk out of the door right away, unwilling to spend a second more locked in this room, but Justin stopped me. "Young master, not in that clothing. You need to dress suitably, the Lord has invited some, erm, guests over…"
"Hmm," I wonder what that was about. Were the guests waiting for me? I didn't recall having any friends who could be sitting in the same room as the Count and waiting for me. Was it the Count's friends, instead? Was he going to introduce me to someone?
After adorning myself with the clothes Justin brought—a white royal top and white pants that contrasted my skin well—he led me to the Lord's chamber and backed off when I knocked on the door.
"Come in," the Count's voice said, and I gently pushed the door open.
I entered and bowed. "Greetings, father," I said, and the Count nodded.
"This is my friend," he pointed at the silver-haired middle-aged man sitting opposite him, beside a silver-haired young girl. "You might have heard of him, Baron Carlstein."
Carlstein…?
Lord Alistair Carlstein, the One Man Wall.
"Greetings," I suppressed my surprise and bowed.
The man laughed, "Raise your head, boy. Come and take a seat."
I raised my head and approached my father. He gestured with his chin, and I sat down beside him. It felt awkward sitting beside him, but my surprise was more awkward than the awkwardness.
My eyes were locked on the girl sitting beside the Baron, who kept her head low. She hadn't looked at me when I was greeting her father earlier.
Am I remembering things wrong? I was indeed quite sleepy when I played the game. What was she doing here?
Nebula Carlstein.
A Heroine candidate, one with the highest chance of being chosen as the wife at the end of the game.
"Ah, this is my Nebula," the Baron introduced her, and she had no other choice but to raise her head and look at me. Our eyes met. She did not appear shy. She wasn't keeping her head low because she was shy. No, she looked enraged. "Don't mind her, she's a little shy. You two are both of the same age, 19 years old. Both of you will enroll in the Waybound Academy together next year."
"Oh, hello," I greeted the girl and she scowled. When her father looked at her, her scowl melted and she nodded. She did not greet me back.
My father ignored it, he didn't seem surprised that a noble lady was treating me like this. Not that I blamed either of them, my reputation was trash.
"He's not enrolling in the Academy, Carlstein," my father the Count sipped tea and said.
The baron blinked, "Why not? You told me he awakened his Mana Core."
…Huh?
I looked at my old man. How the fuck did he know?
"He did," my father said. "You can check for yourself."
"Ah, in that case, Iskandaar, please show me your wrist," he asked, and I reached out a hand. He gently held my wrist, and I felt his mana enter my system. He smiled. "Indeed, it's unbelievable. To think he would awaken his Mana by reaching enlightenment after nearly dying by falling on a street. Quite the feat," he chuckled, which embarrassed me slightly.
So that was what Father and everyone assumed when I started eating magical beast food and put it to good use? My new core gave them the idea that I gained it from life-or-death enlightenment after hitting my head on the street.
At the same time, my eyes flashed with a prompt.
[You have come into contact with another person's Mana.]
[Basic Skill "Insight" has been attained.]
Oh.
Light blurred above the faces of the three people around me, and numbers popped up.
[Level 22]
[Level 61]
[Level 58]
The lowest was the girl, and the highest was her father. My father, despite being a Count, was weaker than the Baron. Ah, now that I think about it, the Carlstein Barony was located near the border, the Baron ought to be strong since he had to fight off monsters on a daily basis.
Still, damn.
That girl's Level 22?
Despite being the same age, I was just Level 5… How embarrassing. I hope none of them had something like the Insight skill. Especially her.
"But indeed," the Baron pulled back his hand and hummed. "He's not nearly good enough to roll into the Academy. Even if I were to train him, it'll be hard to reach that threshold in less than a year."
"Sadly yes," my father sighed.
"Come on, Romani, don't give me that look. The Academy isn't everything. Plus, we're not here to talk about the Academy anyway. It's about the engagement." He suddenly said, making me blink.
"Father?" I looked at the man, stunned. This old bastard was not joking when he said he'd get me engaged?! Are you serious, I'm 19! "Father, I-"
He shot me a look that said there was no room for argument. I shut my lips.
Speaking here, now, would ruin his reputation in front of a fellow noble. Plus he had a good reason for it, while I lacked any reason why I couldn't accept it. I had no choice but to be quiet.
Unsurprisingly, I was suffering from Iskandaar's issues. I guess that was a given in these types of scenarios. Such a luxurious life came with luxurious problems to boot.
"Well then," my father smiled at Baron Alistair. "We should talk about the details. How about we let the kids take a walk to get themselves familiar with each other, in the meantime?"
My soon-to-be fiancé held back a sigh while her father nodded. Soon, both of us walked out of the room.