'It's quiet.'

Max was close to becoming a transcendent being, so the mansion was easy to break into, especially in the absence of the duke. No one noticed him climb over the wall, walk through the garden, and approach the main building.

Max surveyed the exterior and noticed a large window with a balcony. 'There it is.' He quietly climbed to the third floor using the building's jagged exterior.

'Is it locked?' Max approached the transparent glass door on the balcony. When he pushed it open, the lace curtains fluttered. He smirked. 'This mansion is very defenseless. Master won't have an excuse even if she's murdered or robbed.'

When he entered the dark room, he could make out a woman's silhouette on the bed. Max approached the woman silently.

'She looks weak,' Max thought she would resemble his master, who was tall and strong. But the woman was slender and frail as if she could break at any moment. 'She won't be able to learn swordsmanship with a body like that. That means Master doesn't plan on making her his successor… So why on earth is he so obsessed with someone like her?'

Although Max didn't understand his master's intentions, he suddenly had an idea. The corner of his lips lifted. 'I wonder what he will do if she disappears.'

He silently observed Jubelian with a bloodthirsty gaze. Even in the dark, he could see the woman's slender neck; it looked like it could easily snap at his will.

At that moment, a voice broke the silence. "I don't know who you are, but I think you've come to the wrong house."

Max reeled back with surprise when he heard the woman's casual tone. 'She was awake this whole time?'

A person's usual reaction would be to beg for mercy or scream in fear, but she was behaving rather strangely. "This is Duke Floyen's mansion," she said lazily.

'What is wrong with this woman?' Max furrowed his eyebrows as an unfamiliar feeling washed over him for the first time. Countless people venerated and bowed to him in admiration. A few even dared to patronize him. But he never met anyone like this laid-back and carefree woman.

Duke Floyen would certainly be helpful at a time like this, but he wasn't in the mansion tonight. Max guessed that the woman was bluffing to hide her fear.

"I've come to the right house," Max said bluntly. The corner of his lips raised as he imagined Jubelian getting down to the ground and begging for her life, but her reaction continued to stupify him.

"Really? How about changing your mind now? I think you will regret coming to this house." The woman was now sitting up on her bed. The moonlight that filtered through the window outlined her ethereal face. Although she looked tired, her expression harmonized with her peculiar, laid-back aura. It was no wonder she was rumored to be the subject of envy of every young woman.

Even so, Max wasn't amused. No matter how much he thought about it, there was nothing useful about her, except for her outstanding appearance. 'She's nothing special,' he thought.

When the woman's mouth widened with laughter, he found himself staring at her. Her red lips parted. "I still have a year left before I die," she said with an extremely dry tone that didn't match her humorous appearance.

It seemed like she was talking to herself, but Max could clearly hear her confident voice.  'Is she not understanding the situation?' He was annoyed by her casual behavior as she fearlessly stretched her body in front of him. He frowned at this unpleasant sensation, then reminded himself that she was probably bluffing. When he remembered those who had dared to act arrogantly in front of him, his handsome face filled with bloodlust.

'This act will collapse the moment her life is threatened.' Max made up his mind to frighten the foolish woman, but she casually lit a candlestick on the bedside table.

'How dare you,' Max thought. He tried to extinguish the candle and knock the woman down but paused at the sight of her face, which was now brightly lit by the candle. She possessed the delicate appearance of a doll, but it was her terribly unconventional gaze that captured his full attention.

'You are…' Max stepped forward without realizing it. At that moment, the woman's doll-like face came to life.

"Oh, you are my father's disciple," she said with a smile.

Although Max had made up his mind to scare her, he forgot about this as soon as he saw her smiling face.

"Oh, um… I was looking for the thing you're buying right now."

The woman who had managed to annoy him during that brief meeting was now in front of him.

* * *

I woke up feeling very thirsty. It seemed like I had a cold because of my sore throat.

'I'll take some medicine in the morning,' I thought as I opened my eyes to drink some water.

'Wait, what is that?' When I became conscious of the black shadow looking down on me, I wondered if I was having a nightmare. A gust of chilly air coming through the open window of the balcony proved otherwise. There were only two explanations for a situation like this: this man was either a thief or… 'Is he an assassin?'