"This is troubling."
Theo hesitated for a moment, then said nonchalantly to Rodwell.
It's the rumors about Zitri.
Rodwell bowed his head and reported.
"From what I've been able to gather, the rumor is that House Robilia has decided to disown Miss Zitri. Apparently, the plan to raise the Zitri family and expand the family name is unlikely."
"That is to be expected. What do you think is the right thing to do with Miss Zitri?"
"I'm afraid Master Nox would be looked down upon in Elysdain if he had a maid with no family name by his side, and I think it's best to keep things quiet on our end."
"I see."
It can't be helped.
That's why I brought Zitri along in the first place.
It's to take advantage of the knowledgeable heiress of the Robilia family, a fairly prestigious county, and use that power to my advantage.
At the slightest sign of ineptitude on the part of the Robilia family, the Reinhafers would step in and take the Zitri family back. The plan was to effectively subjugate them to House Reinharbour.
Sometimes you have to be cruel to survive.
Such was the world of aristocracy and the plan Theo and Rodwell had.
But what if Zitri was ousted at this moment before it was even underway?
It would mean that Zitri would no longer be of value to House Reinhafer.
They would have no choice but to discard her.
Rodwell was willing to discard even Nox for the sake of the family, as he did in Mia's Forest, so he's proposing it now.
He is suggesting that the Zitri be discarded as well.
She could be a poison, and she should be removed from here.
As the two were talking.
Boom!
"What are you doing without permission?"
Theo said in a heavy voice to the vassal who had suddenly opened the door to the lord's chamber.
If you don't uphold the prestige of your household in trivial matters like this, others will think you're ridiculous.
If you open the door of the lord's chamber without asking permission for a useless task, you will be severely punished.
However, the vassal's words in Theo's ear were not what he had expected.
"Master Nox… has just returned from carrying a maid who fell while hunting! It was a very dangerous situation… and he used a very expensive antidote… so I thought I'd report it to you...."
Theo sensed that something was going terribly wrong.
Had Nox suddenly opened his eyes in a fit of pity?
'Well, Zitri de Robilia… she was pretty enough. I see you haven't outgrown the habits of your youth.'
Theo had no reason to believe that his son would have sought a maid out of the goodness of his heart, and neither did Rodwell.
Rodwell was silent for a moment, then spoke in a surprised voice.
"…No way. Is the antidote that the Young Master used is the 'Mandrake's Purifier'?"
"…Yes."
"What!"
Mandrake's Purifying Potion.
It was the ultimate antidote for all sorts of ailments.
…Of course, it was also ridiculously expensive.
To put it simply, enough for a typical family to live on for almost two or three months?
Theo didn't even bother with such things, but Rodwell, who was directly involved in the family's finances, was different.
This time he would have to say something to Nox.
That was the thought that crystallized in his mind.
Meanwhile, that night. Zitri had gone to bed, and for the first time in her life, she dreamed of a happy childhood, not a nightmare.
When her parents were still alive, it was a memory that was now quite distant.
* * *
"'Zitri! Zitri…! Are you awake?"
Through blurry vision. Her dilated pupils finally stopped in one place.
There was a brown-haired girl with a cute appearance.
Rona.
Yes, she's the maid who's been assisting Master Nox with me.
Anyway… why was I lying on the ground like this?
As I thought about it, I remembered what had happened earlier.
Apparently, I went hunting with Master Nox and saw a strange beast along the way.
I didn't even get a good look at its form.
I ran at it and was attacked instead.
And now I'm lying on the ground after being brought back.
'…Why did I do that?
Even though I did, I couldn't understand it.
Why did I do it in that moment against someone who wasn't my family? Why did she sacrifice herself for the bastard of a man who wasn't her family?
I don't know, but I do know one thing.
Moments ago, I was dying, poisoned by a vile, deadly poison.
So why am I still breathing now?
"The Young Master used an antidote for you, Mandrake's… whatever it was, but it's a pretty good deal!
The doctor freaked out, ignored the no-no's, and told me to give it up if I didn't want to die. I guess he's still got his fucking instincts!"
"You used the 'Mandrake's Purgative' on me… for me?"
From the previous words alone, I quickly realized what kind of antidote Young Master Nox had used on me.
One of many, but one that was considered a masterpiece, one that the poor could only dream of.
He had used it on her.
"Why?
I wondered then.
I thought to myself.
Master Nox was constantly testing me.
From the very beginning, when he asked me who I served.
He knew what I was assigned to him for and what I was to do, yet he said it was only fair.
I still don't understand how that can be.
Wasn't I the enemy in his eyes?
Was there an ulterior motive?
"Where is the Young Master now?"
"Don't you know? Come to think of it, I didn't ask...."
"Uh… Senior. Do you mind if I go rest in my room for a while?"
"Ah, yes, of course, I'll take care of things, so you can rest as you please!"
Senior Rona happily confirmed my words.
After our conversation, I quickly returned to my room and pondered for a while.
From why Master Nox saved me, to why I saved him… to why he saved me.
It wasn't an easy transition. It would be more accurate to say that I couldn't figure out why. Why were we so self-sacrificing and helpful to each other?
I thought long and hard, but I couldn't come up with an answer.
At the same time, I finished a thought.
I knew I had to get out of this family.
"This is not where I belong."
Actually, I knew I wasn't anywhere.
I pulled out a small bag and stuffed my clothes into it in a disorganized fashion.
Then I pull out a small pendant and stare at it for a moment.
A tattered pendant with a picture of my mother and father inside.
Worn memories, just like their beautiful selves.
I removed the photograph, set it down on the desk, and wrote a note.
[I've been told that you used a cure for me, and this pendant would be a small price to pay for it. Thank you for taking care of me all these years].
She carefully placed the note down and stepped outside.
I walk down the empty, dark hallway.
I won't be coming back here anymore.
No more pranks with Rona, no more visits with Master Nox.
The moment I realized that.
"Where are you going?"
At that moment, I heard the voice I wanted to hear the most but shouldn't have.
Nox von Reinhafer.
His pure white hair stood on end, catching the waning moonlight that lit up the darkness at the back of the long hallway.
A pair of lavender eyes turn to me, their piercing clarity seeming to penetrate my every thought.
What I'm doing now.
What I'm thinking.
And....
Even the fact that I might be about to burst into tears.
* * *
About an hour ago.
I laid into the family doctor, sword drawn.
"A person is dying, and that medication is wasted?"
"Oh, no. It's not like that… it's just that I can't use this medicine unless I get permission from... The Patriarch or Rodwell… ...."
"The Patriarch… yes. As far as my father goes, yes, but is Rodwell higher in this family than I am? Tell me."
I continued, glaring at him with dead white eyes.
"Is it Reinhafer you serve. Or Rodwell."
"Sir, I apologize...."
"I will report this to my father. You will not be penalized."
Actually, as a doctor, I would be embarrassed.
If the family bastard had beaten someone up, I would have looked for him, but I wouldn't have expected him to show up with an injured person on his back.
But I can't help myself.
She was willing to die for me.
I can't leave her there, praying she dies.
I'm not going to let him get away with it.
I immediately threw on my black coat over my bloodstained white t-shirt and strode toward the Lord's Chambers.
No one stopped me from entering the room because of my gruesome appearance.
Appearances do matter, after all.
As I opened the door to the Lord's Chambers with useless thoughts, I immediately heard a voice.
"It's unusual for you to find me unannounced."
"One thing."
I say immediately, and I can feel Theo's eyes narrow.
His mischievous eyes, the kind of insight that penetrates the gifted, scan my entire body.
But I am not intimidated at all.
['Master of Smoke' is being activated].
"I thought you were going to grant me a wish."
"…I certainly did."
"'Zitri de Robilia, nay, give me her, who is now exiled."
I can feel Theo's expression subtly twist.
Perhaps he's thinking:
Just when I thought this madman had come to his senses…
Now he's crazy about women?
It's ridiculous.
To waste a chance to tell the lord of Reinhafer what he wants on such a trivial matter.
But there is no changing my mind.
Zithri is my recruit.
She is a [Genius of the Throne], a rare talent with genius traits.
She has a brilliant mind and a good understanding.
She's not involved in the main story, which means I can recruit her to my side and manipulate her to my liking.
The only problem is that she's a spy for Theo.
But when I saw her save me. I realized.
The answer she hadn't told me that day.
That Zitri had shown me by her actions.
[Young Master, I still don't have the answers....]
She was not serving my father.
Nor was she serving me, not yet.
But now she…
Will serve me.
I was confident that I would make it happen somehow.
"... I see. If that's what you want, I'll make it happen."
Finally, Theo's answer came. I turned to walk away, but paused, looking at him again.
A moment of breathless tension. I spoke to him as if declaring.
"I'm going to tell you one more thing, you unruly bastard."
"Speak."
"Even if you are my father, you cannot toy with my people."
His ears perked up—a disrespectful attitude to show in front of the Patriarch. But Theo still had the same misguided look in his eyes.
I put my hand on his throat.
"Enough."
As soon as I finished speaking, I left the Lord's chamber and headed back to where Zitri was. Rona had told me that she had already gone back to her room.
But somehow, I didn't think she'd be there.
So I ran.
The deceptively sprawling Reinhafer mansion has tons of storage space and countless guest rooms.
But among them, finding the place she was headed wasn't hard for me.
An empty hallway, the quietest way to get out of the house.
At the end of it, I was reunited with the girl with the green hair and golden eyes.
I asked her.
"Where are you going now?"