Renard bolted through the trees as soon as he heard Aria's scream. His heart raced and his mind started to fill with the worst possibilities.
'Please be okay, please be okay,' he kept thinking as he rushed through the trees.
'Did they ambush us here? Did I change nothing by stopping early?'
His thoughts didn't stop until when he finally burst into the campsite and stopped dead in his tracks.
There was Aria, jumping around like a startled rabbit, while one of the maids knelt beside her and the other tried to calm her down.
"Young miss, it's just a tiny leech... nothing to worry about," the maid was saying as Aria continued her little hopping dance.
Renard stood there for a moment, catching his breath.
All that panic, all that running... for a leech?
"Really, Aria?" he muttered under his breath, feeling silly for getting worked up.
But just as he was about to relax, something strange happened. Words appeared in front of his eyes, the same blue words of Providence.
[Name: Aria Grim]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 10]
[Blood Crest: Unawakened]
Renard blinked several times and rubbed his eyes in confusion, but the words stayed right where they were.
'Wait... what?'
This shouldn't be possible!
Everyone knew that you could only see your own Providence State - it was like a personal secret that even family couldn't peek at. Yet here he was, looking at Aria's information as clear as day.
Then it hit him. The new ability he had gotten - what was it called? Prajna?
Curious now, Renard quickly checked its description:
[Prajna]
[Rank: F]
[Eyes that pierce through the Providence's Veil]
The description was shorter than his other ability, but Renard didn't need more words to understand how incredible this power was.
A huge grin spread across his face as the possibilities raced through his mind.
'What a cheat!' he thought, almost wanting to laugh out loud.
This wasn't just some simple trick – he could see what was supposed to be completely hidden from everyone! It was like having a secret window into people's strength and capability.
No, it was even better than that.
There is a saying that goes like this: 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.'
And that's exactly what this ability gave him – knowledge!
Pure, invaluable knowledge about anyone he looked at. In a world where everyone kept their abilities secret, he could see right through their cards!
Excited to test it out, Renard looked at the nearest knight. Sure enough, more floating words appeared.
[Name: Gerald Steel]
[Age: 42]
[Gender: Male]
[Zone: Essence Zone]
[Title: None]
[Blood Crest: Iron Body]
[Crest-Rank: Uncommon]
[Crest Abilities: ?? | ??]
Renard could hardly believe his luck.
Even though he couldn't see everything - just knowing someone's blood crest and Zone was huge! It was like being able to peek at the other player's cards in poker .
Then a thought struck him that made his smile wider and Renard gazed at everyone at the campsite - one by one.
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Tiara's Castle.
One of the many subsidiary lands under the House Grim.
Victor had served House Grim faithfully for seven years.
For seven years, he has stood guard in cold nights against the border of great green forest, for seven years he had trained the young soldiers and also for seven years, he had watched others climb the ranks while he remained stagnant.
'And what do I have to show for it?' he thought bitterly. 'A salary with barely enough coins to feed myself.'
If it wasn't for his financial situation, he would have long quit the Tiara's personal army, but what can he do? The debt he had taken for his marriage was on his head.
This horrible life didn't seem to improve at all but that was until last week.
He was just sitting in the old Tavern of Tiara, drinking with his buddies and complaining about the beasts of the great forest when that 'man' approached him.
He wore a hooded that covered his face in darkness. But that man had come with a deal for him, speaking of riches beyond his wildest dreams.
The offer was simply to spread a colorless tracking scent in the carriage carrying the young master and miss.
And the reward? Three Alpha Beast Cores.
Victor's hands had trembled when he heard those words.
'With just one Alpha Beast Core, I could buy a small piece of land. With three...' He could hardly breathe thinking about it.
That kind of wealth could change everything – no more bowing and scraping, no more "Yes, my lord" and "As you command."
And he had ended up accepting the request.
'It's just a simple tracking scent,' he told himself each night as guilt gnawed at his conscience. 'I'm not even the one who'll...'
Victor knew that this trip was meant to be secret.
The Tiara Castle couldn't afford strong warriors these days, not with most of their forces tied up defending against the beasts of the Great Green Forest.
To be honest, the hooded man was only preparing this scent for the worst case of the young master or miss escaping, they already had enough power to crush the whole escort.
'They're already weak,' he reasoned with himself. 'Someone else will eventually take advantage. I'm just... being practical.'
Everything had been perfect.
After the deed, he'd planned to receive his reward and cross the Northern barrens to start a new life.
The young master and miss would probably die, but wasn't that how the world worked? The strong took what they wanted, while the weak...they died!
'They're just children,' sometimes he would even feel guilty.
'Children of nobles,' but he would snap back at himself. 'How many common folk's children die because of noble games?'
This time, the nobles would die for the common man's plan. It was just the way the world worked.
Anyway, everything was going smoothly, that is until the young master Renard had thrown everything into chaos by ordering them to stop and make camp.
Victor's heart had nearly stopped.
'Why now? Why here?'
He was frustrated thinking if he was discovered but he forced himself to stay calm.
'This is still manageable. Wait until they're asleep. Simple. Just stay calm.'
The evening passed with agonizing slowness. Every bite of the simple meal the maids prepared tasted like ash in his mouth. When it came time to arrange the night watch, he volunteered for the first shift.
'Just a few more hours,' he told himself. 'Then I'll never have to serve anyone again.'
He waited, counting his breaths, listening as the camp grew quiet. Finally, when he was sure enough time had passed, he rose to check on his targets.
There was a reason why he had agreed with the deal.
It was because of his Blood Crest.
Night Scout.
It wasn't a combat oriented blood crest but one that gave him some useful abilities like Silent Step and Night Vision. That's why the knights hadn't hesitated to assign him the night watch in the first place.
'Now,' he clutched the vial in his pocket.
Plenty of time had passed, now he just had to spread this scent around both the young master and young miss, and his job would be done.
Thinking so, he activated both his abilities at once.
His eyes glowed in the moonlight, and his steps grew as light as a feather.
The young lord's tent was his destination, but he needed to be certain they were truly asleep before doing anything.
So he carefully peered inside.
Aria Grim lay peacefully on her bedroll, breathing softly.
He didn't waste time, he took out the vial of colorless liquid, and was about to open its lid when it happened.
He noticed something wrong.
Where was young master Renard?
Usually he would stick with his younger sister and they would sleep not much distance away, but now he couldn't see young master Renard.
The realization came with a burst of terror, but it was too late.
Before he could do anything, cold steel pierced through his neck from behind.
A sword pierced clean through his throat, silencing him before a scream could escape.
Victor helplessly collapsed to the ground and as life drained from his body, he managed to turn his head.
There stood young master Renard, his eyes as cold as winter frost, looking nothing like the noble heir Victor had known for seven years.
"..."
Victor's eyes widened as he tried to speak, but only blood came out.
'How did he know?'
That was the last thought he had as life completely drained from him.
The fortune had been too good for him to be true.
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