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Even the emperor himself keeps a close eye on the land, coveting it.

Meanwhile, a carriage, filled with sobs, crossed through the front gates of a mansion famous for having the most scenic view in the estate.

The coachman glanced back at the sobbing girl in the carriage and sighed deeply.

The girl, Melin, had already exhausted her tear ducts, as though squeezing them like a dry rag, drenching her cheeks.

“Mom…”

When she heard what had happened after returning to her hometown, it felt like her entire life collapsed.

According to an old local woman who sold fish nearby, it went like this:

Her mother, who worked herself to the bone to earn money, realized she had disappeared and searched high and low for her, only to return empty-handed.

She ended up waiting endlessly in front of the orphanage.

Even after autumn passed and during the harsh winter, she continued to wait, ultimately succumbing to the cold.

The outcome of such foolish love filled the heart of the still-young girl with complex emotions.

The carriage came to a stop, and the coachman opened the door.

Though he wanted to give the dazed girl, lost in human emotions, more time to gather herself, this was the mansion of a great noble family.

He couldn’t keep the carriage idling forever, so he slid his hand under Melin’s arm and lifted her.

“Child, if you’ve come here because you have nowhere else to go, you’d better steel yourself.”

The coachman knew all too well what the people in the mansion were like.

The servants and soldiers were people who had either amassed an immense amount of experience or managed to get in through family ties or connections.

There was no way they would treat a sudden orphan arrival with kindness.

At that moment, the head maid, Elma, approached.

The coachman was startled and bowed his head.

“I’m back, Head Maid.”

“Hmm, so it’s you. You’re from Belam, aren’t you?”

“Ah, yes…”

“I wasn’t asking you.”

At the head maid’s sharp rebuke, the coachman patted Melin on the shoulder.

“Child, you should answer properly.”

The coachman was worried that the child wouldn’t speak properly.

She was already on thin ice, and if she didn’t answer the head maid correctly, she might face even worse.

But Melin, who had been crying sorrowfully just moments ago, wiped away her tears and introduced herself calmly.

“I’m Melin Arisil. Please take care of me.”

The coachman was momentarily surprised.

The rigid posture and the mature, intent look in her eyes were far beyond what one would expect from a girl her age.

The head maid shot a sharp glance at Melin, then turned away.

The coachman hurriedly asked her.

“Uh, excuse me, Head Maid? What should we do with this child?”

Without responding, the head maid left.

The coachman sighed deeply as he watched her go.

After such a long journey, it was standard to clean the child up and give her new clothes.

The fact that they didn’t even bother to do that meant she was truly out of favor.

‘Well… she was brought here by the eldest young master, so it’s no wonder they don’t like her.’

Having no other choice, the coachman secretly asked a maid he knew to take care of Melin.

***

After taking a bath, Melin changed into new clothes.

Having always worn shabby clothes, she struggled, and the maid sighed as she buttoned up Melin’s clothes for her.

Then she smiled warmly.

“Is the eldest young master doing well these days?”

Melin didn’t know how to answer.

Her memories of him mostly involved getting thrown to the ground and tied up during magic training.

And that he ruled the academy like a king?

Ah, then he must be doing well.

“Yes… At the academy, everyone reveres him.”

“Is that so? That’s good to hear.”

Melin found the maid’s smile a bit unsettling.

The rumors she had heard about Hersel since arriving here were all terrible.

“You seem to think highly of the eldest young master.”

“Oh, of course. He saved my life, after all.”

“Savior?”

When Melin asked, the maid smiled softly and began to explain.

“You see, there was once a monster sealed in this mansion that broke free.”

Melin vaguely remembered hearing the instructors talk about it.

Rumors about the awakening of the black swan of vengeance.

It was said that the master of the house quickly dealt with it.

“If it weren’t for the eldest young master, we’d all be dead.”

The maid gazed into the distance as if recalling the events of that day.

“Ah, all done. Now, how about you sleep in this sister’s room for tonight? I’ll figure out your own room later.”

“Thank you…”

Melin left the dressing room.

In the hallway, a towering man and a middle-aged man were chatting and waving.

Judging by their armor, they seemed to be soldiers of the mansion.

“Are you the child that the eldest young master took under his wing?” the middle-aged man asked, and Melin nodded.

After that, there was a brief introduction.

Through this, Melin learned that the middle-aged man’s name was Jack, and the man beside him was Rodel.

“Uncle Jack, there are rumors that Sir Coulro will be in charge of training. Is that true?”

“Let’s hope not.”

It sounded a bit ominous.

Melin decided that if things seemed too dangerous, she would run away.

Just then, as if remembering his business, Jack cleared his throat and said, “Ahem. The twin young master and young lady have summoned you. Since the eldest young master sent you, they’re probably curious about a lot of things.”

Leaving behind the maid who waved goodbye, Melin followed the two men.

As they walked down the corridor, she became lost in thought, mostly about Hersel ben Tenest.

‘If he has people this loyal to him, maybe he’s not as bad as I thought?’

The only image she had of him from the dormitory was his fierce face, constantly hurling insults and calling people vermin.

She had thought that the reputation she’d heard of here wasn’t too far off from what she had seen, but after seeing these people, she wondered if perhaps he was different inside than he seemed on the surface—in a good way.

‘Come to think of it, he didn’t kill us but instead accepted us as residents of his estate…’

Melin cautiously asked Jack and Rodel, “What kind of person is the eldest young master?”

Both Jack and Rodel stopped in their tracks and widened their eyes.

Jack folded his arms and groaned before turning to Rodel.

“Rodel, what do you think?”

“Hmm, you couldn’t really call him a good person, could you?”

“Of course not. He was an absolute scoundrel.”

Jack rubbed his forehead, frowning.

“In the past, I truly thought he was a devil reincarnated. The only reason we stuck around him was to pick up whatever scraps we could.”

Jack said this, then suddenly smirked.

“But now…”

Grumbling, Jack turned his back again.

“Well, I guess you could say he’s become a decent person.”

Melin pursed her lips and blinked.

Just as she was beginning to form a clearer opinion of him, they arrived in front of the door where the twin children were said to be.

“Alright, Melin. We’ll be going now. Make sure you don’t make any mistakes.”

“Yes, thank you, Uncle Jack. And Rodel, big brother.”

“Big brother… I guess I do look a bit young, don’t I?”

Jack chuckled as he led Rodel away.

Now left alone in front of the door, Melin suddenly grew nervous and gulped.

She was terrified of what might happen if she made a mistake in front of the noble children.

“Whew.”

Melin took a deep breath to calm herself, then knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

It was the voice of a young boy.

As Melin stepped into the living room, her eyes widened in surprise.

A boy and girl, both a head shorter than her, approached with curiosity in their eyes.

“Are you the one our eldest brother sent?”

While the boy spoke, the young lady smiled and held up a piece of paper.

[Nice to meet you. I am Niasel ben Tenest.]

It seemed she couldn’t speak.

“I’m Melin Arisil. It’s an honor to serve you, young master and young lady.”

Thanks to the etiquette lessons the maid had given her during her bath, Melin was able to maintain basic manners.

“Take a seat for now,” the young master said, gesturing to the leather sofa.

As soon as Melin sat down, questions began pouring in.

Starting with “How is Frost Heart?” to [Is our big brother doing well?].

“I was told not to speak of Frost Heart, so… I’m sorry, young master,” Melin replied nervously.

“As for the eldest young master, I believe he is doing very well, as everyone there reveres him.”

The twins, having never been to a foreign land, were full of curiosity about many other things as well.

They asked about the Kingdom of Belam, where Melin was from, and what the people there ate.

“Well, the people there eat lobsters. Nobles don’t like it because they consider it a sea insect, so it’s usually given to prisoners. But of course, people like us, who don’t have much, also eat it.”

While answering their endless questions, Melin found her sorrowful thoughts being pushed to the back of her mind.

That was until Mircel innocently asked, “But if you went to see your mother, why did you come back alone? We could’ve made another seat if she came with you.”

Melin’s eyes trembled.

“Well, that’s…”

It was as if the bathwater had seeped back into her tear ducts.

She struggled to speak, but her sobbing throat and the tears streaming down her cheeks were unstoppable.

Not wanting to show such a pathetic sight, Melin buried her face in her knees.

“I-I’m so, so sorry for showing such a disgraceful sight… I’m really sorry…”

As her shoulders trembled with sobs, Niasel looked at her with a pitying expression.

Mircel, looking uncomfortable, wiped the sweat from his forehead and scratched his temple.

“Uh… Why is she like this? Did I say something wrong?”

Niasel frowned and gave Mircel a push.

“Hey, don’t push me, Niasel.”

[Get out.]

“Alright, alright. Stop pushing me already.”

In the end, Mircel was shoved out of the living room by Niasel.

Once they were alone, Niasel approached Melin and gently patted her back.

Feeling the touch of her small hand, Melin cried even harder.

***

[…This is what happened.]

As Donatan read the illustrated journal Niasel had sent, he sighed in admiration.

‘Such a kind-hearted child. Unlike some people.’

“Yes, definitely different from Deisel and Erucel.”

‘I was talking about you, actually.’

“Oh dear, I’m too kind-hearted for my own good. It’s a burden, really. Life must be hard for me.”

‘…You shameless fool.’

I carefully placed the letter into a drawer.

Though I was worried Melin might face some discrimination for being under my wing, it seemed my concerns were unnecessary.

With the twins around, and Jack and Rodel looking out for her, she should adapt quickly.

‘By the way, how long are you going to keep holding that?’ Donatan asked, making me glance to the side.

A floating bed.

It had been floating for about 30 minutes now, suspended by mana worth several gold coins.

“I think I can keep it going a bit longer.”

My mana reserves had significantly increased compared to the early days.

Thanks to the recent blessing from Ricks, I had accumulated an immense amount of mana during the magic training and the battle at Ruon.

And then there was Felia’s staff, mounted in the holster.

[Whispers of Mist

Attribute: Camouflage.

A magic staff crafted by a great mage from otherworldly wood for his apprentice.

Completely conceals the magic circle until the spell is cast.

The mana can only be perceived by the wielder.

Increases the accuracy of spell formulas by 30%.

Improves mana efficiency by 10%.]

The staff’s options were incredible, as expected of an S-rank artifact.

The accuracy bonus stacked with the one on my gloves, totaling 40%, and the mana efficiency boost greatly reduced the amount of mana consumed.

But the best feature was how perfectly the concealment option worked with the bed.

It completely hid the spell formula…

From the enemy’s perspective, even if I drew a spell circle right in front of them, they wouldn’t have a clue where or when the magic would strike.

The magic circle would be invisible, and no matter how sensitive their perception was, the mana would only be detectable by me.

‘It’s amazing every time I see it. You can’t even feel the mana. It’s like wielding a power that’s completely unseen and unfelt.’

“Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”

Wait.

If it’s unseen and undetectable, that means…

An idea suddenly struck me like lightning, and I gently set the bed down before coating my arm with the bed’s mana.

Then, when I lifted the bed, something astonishing happened.

It felt as light as an empty box.

Sensing the shift in my muscle usage, Donatan exclaimed in surprise.

“Try drawing your sword, Hersel.”

“Alright…”

Almost as if possessed, I drew my sword in one swift motion.

As I handed control over to Donatan, the sword sliced through the air.

Swish!

The speed was incomparable to my usual swings.

It was similar to the rapid strikes that could be performed with aura manipulation.

“This, this is…!”

While Donatan shouted in astonishment, a shiver ran down my spine, and I let out a soft, twisted chuckle.

“Heh heh heh.”

This would work perfectly as an exoskeleton suit.

As long as I cast the concealment magic properly, no one would even notice.

“Looks like things just got even more fun.”

Now, I could even pretend to use aura.

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