That night, amid the lively festival in the Southern Duke’s territory, Elaine and Elvan attended a grand banquet held to welcome the new year.

  Inside the glittering hall, Elvan was seen conversing with several nobles. His talent in the arena had drawn considerable attention; some had even openly offered him positions under their family’s banner. However, Elvan politely declined. He had far greater ambitions—to become a true warrior, like the legendary heroes of old.

  On the other side of the hall, Elaine was enthusiastically picking snacks from the banquet table. Her eyes sparkled as she admired the beautifully arranged cakes.

  “Wow! I should’ve brought Asteria here. Or… maybe I should wrap some of these up as souvenirs later,” she murmured cheerfully.

  As an honored guest personally invited by Selena, Elaine’s presence alone discouraged the other nobles from causing trouble. To disturb Elaine would be the same as insulting the Duke’s authority. A few young nobles tried asking her for a dance, but she declined politely.

  So far, Elaine had only ever danced with Elvan or Asteria. To her, romance was a tedious complication—a bitter lesson learned after watching Rey’s suffocating obsession with Asteria.

  She had no desire to become entangled in emotional complications like that.

  “Are you enjoying yourselves?” Selena’s sudden voice made Elaine flinch slightly.

  “Hehe, Lady Selena! You look absolutely stunning tonight,” Elaine said sincerely. The beautiful gown Selena wore perfectly accentuated her figure, radiating the elegance of a high-ranking noble.

  “Hm. Yes, thank you.”

  “By the way, my lady… aren’t you going to dance?”

  “No. I am betrothed to the Crown Prince. It would be inappropriate for me to dance with anyone else,” Selena replied flatly.

  Elaine fell silent for a moment. Even though Selena’s relationship with Crown Prince Arthurian had grown distant, she still maintained her dignity and commitment to avoid rumors that could harm either side.

  “I’m sorry. I suppose that was unnecessary to ask,” Elaine said guiltily.

  “It’s fine.”

  For Selena, casually chatting with someone her own age like Elaine was a new experience. Usually, the people around her were nothing but political “hyenas” seeking favor for personal gain. Elaine’s sincerity felt refreshingly genuine.

  “So, has Elvan submitted his request?” Selena asked afterward.

  On that warm evening, they talked about their primary reason for entering the tournament. Elaine explained the financial difficulties they faced in paying for their education at the Academy.

  “That was the right decision,” Selena praised. “Life at the Academy is difficult, especially for commoners. Even scholarship students still have many expenses to cover.”

  However, in the midst of their conversation, Elaine faintly caught fragments of discussion from a group of nobles nearby.

  “Have you heard? A monster wave far worse than the last one will soon strike the Lucien territory.”

  “Of course. I heard there’s a strong chance the territory will be flattened.”

  Hearing the gossip about the Lucien family’s grim fate, Elaine froze. She recalled her conversation with Len the other day—that Rey was trying to handle a massive problem alone, even with destruction looming over him.

  The memory of Rey sincerely apologizing at the marketplace resurfaced vividly. Elaine remembered how coldly she had treated him. She hated Rey, yes—but she was not cruel. She felt no joy at the thought of someone she knew facing the destruction of his family. Moreover, if the southeastern border collapsed, thousands of innocent lives would be lost as well.

  Elaine’s thoughts grew more chaotic as the nobles continued.

  “You know? Rey told his younger brother to join the tournament so he could request military aid from the Duke if he won. But the plan completely failed when the Duke suddenly changed the rules—and that Elvan boy ended up winning.”

  “You’re right. If the rules hadn’t changed, Alex would’ve won for sure. In pure swordsmanship, Alex clearly surpassed him.”

  The realization hit her like a physical blow, knocking the wind from her lungs.

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  She remembered how the tournament rules changed right before the final. She remembered the devastated look on Alex’s face after his defeat—like his world had crumbled. If Alex had won, the Lucien family might have had hope. But Elvan’s victory had shut that door. Elvan only asked for money for school, while Alex fought for his family’s survival.

  An overwhelming sense of guilt began creeping into Elaine’s heart. On top of that, she remembered how harshly she had rejected Rey’s apology simply because she couldn’t control her emotions.

  “I…”

  “Elaine? What’s wrong? You’ve gone pale,” Selena said anxiously, noticing the drastic change in her expression.

  If only she hadn’t pushed Elvan to enter the tournament for money, perhaps Alex would have won. Perhaps the Duke’s military aid would have been dispatched. Perhaps the Lucien family wouldn’t have to face destruction alone.

  Regret piled up inside her, suffocating her chest.

  Amid the joyous celebration, she felt like the only person attending a funeral.

  —*

  I slowly opened my eyes. The ceiling of a luxurious room adorned with elegant decorations greeted my sight.

  [Master, you’re awake?] Apolo’s voice echoed inside my head.

  “Uh, yeah… what happened to me?”

  [You collapsed on the way here from excessive use of Familiar magic.]

  “Ah, right. I remember now.”

  Before entering Lucien territory, I had practiced using Tamer-class magic for instant summoning. I ordered Chorma to go to a distant hill, then activated the summoning spell so he would appear instantly before me. The first attempt went smoothly. On the second, however, my nose suddenly bled—and I blacked out.

  No wonder Eggar said a mage must reach at least the Second Circle to form a Familiar contract. A First Circle mage like me has extremely limited mana capacity—perhaps equivalent to a small 100-milliliter glass.

  “But at least it satisfied my curiosity,” I muttered as I stood up.

  [Not bad. For a ‘useless bastard,’ this can be considered an achievement,] Apolo mocked.

  “Oh, thank you for the compliment.”

  Now I understood my limits. If I used basic magic like Fireball, I could cast it only ten times before completely exhausting my mana. As for Tamer-category spells like instant summoning, I could use them only once per day.

  [There is no need to be discouraged, Master. Even if this body lacks talent in mana or aura, your true strength lies elsewhere.]

  “Yeah. If this body lacks talent, then I just need to work harder.” That’s what I said—though honestly, I wasn’t too eager to push myself like in my previous life.

  “By the way, Apolo, how much Cosmic Energy have we accumulated so far?”

  [6,000 points.]

  “Seriously? That’s so little.”

  I’d been too busy lately to ‘sunbathe’ and absorb cosmic energy. On top of that, most of the points had been spent retrieving items from the Cosmic Pocket. Still, the expense was worth it.

  I bought various equipment to fortify the southeastern territory and hired mercenaries through Salia’s connections.

  The monster wave was estimated to strike in ten days. The mercenary troops would arrive in two. I immediately left the room, and a servant rushed toward me with a relieved expression.

  “Young Master! You’re awake?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. Where are Alex and Darius?”

  “They’re at the training grounds. And… um…”

  “What is it? Just say it.”

  “Well, Young Master… there’s a suspicious-looking Dwarf at the front gate. He brought a large amount of goods and insists on meeting you.”

  I headed straight to the gate to meet Hans. He had worked faster than I expected.

  “So, Boss… are you planning to make fertilizer by having me buy this much Wyvern dung?” Hans asked after we finished moving the alchemy equipment into the back warehouse.

  “I just want to extract potassium nitrate,” I replied shortly.

  “Potass-what? Look, Boss, I’m a smith, not a scholar. You want me to buy bird sht, I buy bird sht. Just don't ask me to spell it.” Hans tilted his head in confusion.

  “Forget it. Here, take this,” I said, handing him a pouch of gold coins as payment.

  “When can you start working on the item from yesterday’s blueprint?”

  “Don’t rush me… I’m still securing the main material. For now, make these in large quantities. Hire other craftsmen if you need to.”

  With a sour expression, Hans left the warehouse—which had now become my personal alchemy laboratory.

  [So, shall we begin the experiment?]

  “Of course. Let’s just hope we don’t blow up the entire room.”

  We conducted our secret experiment for several hours until late afternoon. When I stepped out of the warehouse, my body carried a strange odor from the chemical reactions.

  “Ugh, I need a bath. Apolo, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

  Fortunately, I had Apolo. With his small mechanical hands, he mixed the materials with high precision. His scanning ability was crucial in a world that didn’t even recognize the periodic table. Moreover, he could work all day without rest as long as I supplied Cosmic Energy.

  After bathing, I headed to the dining hall. My stepmother, Ossana, was already there along with Alex and Alyra. The little girl enthusiastically recounted her daily adventures playing with Chorma.

  “Rey, you’ve worked hard. And Alex, congratulations on your achievement in the tournament,” Ossana said gently.

  “Thank you, Mother,” Alex replied.

  “But most importantly, I’m glad you’ve all returned safely. Our family can be together again, even though your father is still at the border frontlines.”

  “How are things over there?”

  Ossana explained that assistance from distant relatives in the central territory would likely arrive within a few days, though winter conditions made travel difficult.

  After dinner, Alex returned to his training. After losing to that black-haired bastard, he had become even more diligent.

  Alyra was taken away by a servant for her lessons, leaving only Ossana and me in the room.

  “Rey, come here. Come with Mother.”

  I followed Ossana down the quiet mansion corridor toward her private chamber. For some reason, the silence in the hallway felt more oppressive than usual.

  “Come in. There’s something important I need to tell you, and no one else must hear it,” she said seriously once we reached her door.

  Hearing that, my heartbeat quickened slightly. I had no idea what could be so important that she needed to bring me into her private room and close the door behind us.

  To be honest, she’s my stepmother—not a single drop of shared blood between us. In this silent corridor, with her bedroom door now tightly shut behind me, my thoughts immediately wandered somewhere they absolutely shouldn’t.

  Oh God, don’t tell me this is going to turn into one of those cliché scenes from those trashy novels I secretly read? The stepmother suddenly…

  The silence was deafening. My mindI hissed mentally