Guest Room
Benden's furious shouting echoed off the walls.
"Why didn't you follow my instructions?! Are you trying to betray me? Do you want to die, you useless woman?!"
He slapped Tabitha hard. A red mark blossomed across her cheek.
But Tabitha barely reacted. She had endured far worse in her life; a slap meant nothing.
"If I die, you die too," she said coldly, spitting out a trace of blood. She straightened with calm arrogance, walked to the table, sat down like a noblewoman, and sipped the tea placed there.
"Look at my life now. Whatever I want is delivered to me. No one touches me with dirty hands, no one humiliates me. Everyone treats me with respect. Why should I risk everything following your madness?"
Benden's face twisted.
"Don't forget your identity! I forged it for you! The Lord can grant you a title—and he can strip it away just as easily."
His voice grew low and grim.
"Don't fool yourself. You and I are nothing but tools in his hands. If he wants us dead, we die."
Then, seeing her wavering expression, he softened.
"He promised us far more than this once everything is done. Don't cling to scraps when great rewards are within reach."
Tabitha fell silent.
Benden exhaled in relief. She was greedy, but she wasn't stupid.
"…Where's that kid?" Benden muttered. "I haven't seen him all day. He'd better not be causing trouble."
He finally noticed Jonah's absence.
Ron's Arrangements
Hadley returned to his workshop after delivering the greatsword.
Ron instructed a servant:
"When Captain Abel returns, bring the sword to the Training Ground."
Then he headed for the study.
As he entered, everything was spotless—and every single document had already been handled.
"So fast…?"
Ron sat down and reread the paperwork. Joyce's work was flawless.
"Hm. Not bad at all."
He nodded with satisfaction. "From now on, once she completes the documents, send them directly to the official office. No need to keep them here."
Joyce's efficiency had surprised him.
Most lords handled affairs in the business office, but Ron preferred the comfort of his study.
Now, freed of paperwork, he had more time to brush modifier entries on the Red Diamond Ring.
Hadley's Drinking Debacle
Night fell.
Abel visited Hadley with fine wine.
An hour later, Sig and two knights carried Abel back—completely drunk.
Hadley clicked his tongue.
"That's all he can handle?"
The knights were unconvinced.
So the next night, and the next, and the next—one knight after another challenged Hadley.
All lost.
Hadley, emboldened and smug, declared:
"If any of you can outdrink me, I'll forge custom armor for every knight in your squad!"
Morale skyrocketed.
And this challenge eventually became a tradition of the knight squad.
Joyce, Melitoya, and… the "Princess's Biography"
After finishing her shift and her patrol, Joyce returned to the dormitory.
At the door, she spotted a small shadow crouched quietly.
She stiffened—was it a thief?
No.
It was Melitoya.
"Looking for Irene? She'll be back soon," Joyce said gently.
Melitoya trembled.
"Thank you, Sister Joyce… I'll wait here."
Joyce paused, then held the door open.
"Come inside. I'll tell you a story. What kind do you like?"
A short while later—
When Irene returned, she froze.
Melitoya was tucked into Joyce's quilt, listening to Joyce read from a book.
"Sister Irene!"
Melitoya's eyes brightened instantly.
Joyce's kindness was comforting, but somehow, she always ended up wrapped in a quilt listening to stories she didn't fully understand.
Irene stroked her head.
"What story is Sister Joyce telling? I want to listen too."
"The Princess's Biography," Joyce replied.
Irene frowned.
"That sounds familiar…"
"Did Princess Olivia become queen in the end?" Melitoya asked eagerly. "Did all the bad people get punished?"
Irene stiffened.
"Olivia…? Wait—that book! The one from Hadley's shop!"
Joyce nodded.
"Yes. But the content is nonsense."
Melitoya blinked in confusion.
Joyce began explaining:
"The book claims to reveal secrets of the Olivia Empire, but its protagonist—the emperor's neglected ninth princess, Amelia—never existed. And if a duke's daughter had really been abducted by an emperor, every kingdom would know. But Hadley traveled abroad for years, and he never heard of such a thing."
Irene clapped in admiration.
Melitoya clapped just because Irene did.
Joyce, embarrassed, resumed storytelling from the beginning.
As the tale continued, Melitoya slowly fell asleep. Joyce stopped reading.
"Why did you stop?" Irene whispered anxiously. "Keep going."
Joyce tucked Melitoya in.
"It's late."
Irene gazed at the sleeping girl.
"Melitoya is even more pitiful than the princess. She cries every night calling for her mother… She pretends to be brave, but she's scared."
Joyce said nothing.
After a long moment, she sighed.
"Sleep. You have morning duties."
"I'll take Melitoya to her room—"
"No. You sleep. I'll manage."
And so, night after night, Melitoya came to hear Joyce's bedtime stories.
But after she drifted off, Irene would always carry her back.
If Head Maid Diana found out, they'd both be scolded for letting a guest sleep in the maid dormitory.
A Balcony in the Manor
Egbert handed Ron a report.
"These are their recent movements."
Ron scanned it quickly.
Benden repeatedly tried to leave the manor—likely to send word to someone. Ron had barred them from leaving to cut off communication.
If their mastermind—suspected to be the Black Crow Organization—felt the silence, they might make a move.
But nothing had happened.
Could he have guessed wrong?
Tabitha, meanwhile, was simply acting more like a noblewoman…
But Jonah—
"Jonah has been going to the Training Ground to learn swordsmanship?" Ron frowned.
Suspicious.
Were they drawing attention on purpose?
Had someone instructed him to?
Ron wished he could brush a Detective or Genius Mind modifier.
There is always only one truth…
He exhaled, waved the attendant away, sipped his tea, and headed toward the Training Ground.
Training Ground — Sig's Breakthrough
Long before he arrived, Ron heard the commotion.
"The Lord is here!"
The knights crowded around him with energetic salutes.
"So loud," Ron joked. "Careful, or I'll become the first deaf Lord in the kingdom."
Laughter rippled through the group.
"What's the excitement about?" he asked.
"Lord!" Brolofen beamed. "Sig broke through to Second-Order Knight today!"
"Oh? So soon?"
Sig scratched his head shyly.
Ron touched Sig's shoulder—
A familiar screen appeared.
[Silver Two Stars]
[Sig]
Affection: 91 (Heart of Loyalty)
[Modifier 1: A Blessing in Disguise (White)]
[Modifier 2: (None)]
Ron nodded inwardly.
Breaking through unlocked a second modifier slot, but Sig didn't gain a new one.
Had he reached his potential limit?
Hard to say.
Brolofen thumped Sig's back.
"This brat broke through younger than Captain Abel! You're only twenty-one! Five years younger than me!"
Sig puffed his chest.
"Keep hitting me and I'll beat you up! I'm a Second-Order Knight now!"
Thomas, the oldest knight, stroked his chin.
"It's strange… Sig's battle-qi wasn't near breakthrough stage. How did he advance so suddenly?"
All eyes turned to Sig.
Sig blinked.
"I don't know. I haven't been doing anything except chopping trees like the Lord ordered. I was chopping when I broke through. Scared myself, honestly."
"…So chopping trees is the secret to advancing?" Victor gasped.
SLAP.
"You idiot," Brolofen said. "If it were that easy, Captain Abel would've told us!"
Ron, however, remembered Sig's first modifier:
[A Blessing in Disguise]
Lose something → gain something of similar value.
Ron asked casually,
"Sig, have you lost anything lately?"
Sig stiffened.
"L-Lost? No, Lord! I didn't lose anything! Not the axe! I swear!"
SLAP.
"Answer properly," Brolofen scolded.
Sig glared.
He would definitely pick a fight later.
Ron tried another angle.
"Any discomfort? Pain? Strange feelings?"
Sig paled.
"Discomfort…? Uh… no. Except… I seem to be losing a bit more hair lately…"
He touched his head nervously.
Ron paused.
Then stared quietly at Sig's thinning scalp.
Ah.
So that's where the "lost value" went.
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