As soon as Malakai left the dining room, he made his way through the forest, reaching his manor.

It was already late at night, but instead of turning in to sleep, Malakai headed toward the training course, where he continued his intense training sessions without pause.

At the top of a high tree, a pair of crimson gazes watched as Malakai trained silently. Nyx's gaze was expressionless, and her aura remained hidden.

Even as Malakai struggled and pushed himself, sweat and blood pooling, her expression didn't change once.

After a few minutes of watching the grueling scene, she turned and suddenly disappeared, appearing at the backside of the manor.

Nyx didn't stop as she walked inside, her steps silent. Soon, she heard the sounds of maids whispering.

"I don't even know why we're still here," one maid muttered. "He can't even evolve. He's nothing but a waste of time."

"Exactly," another agreed. "We were placed here to watch him, but there's nothing to report. He doesn't do anything important. Just trains endlessly like it'll somehow change the fact that he's useless."

"How long do you think we'll have to stay here? I can't wait to get reassigned."

The sound of Nyx's intentional footsteps suddenly echoed, and the maids froze before quickly turning toward the kitchen entrance.

"N-Nyx…" one of them stammered.

Nyx didn't utter a word, but the coldness in her stare was enough to freeze an ocean.

In the next instant, the maids exchanged panicked glances before scurrying away.

Nyx stared silently at where the maids had stood before, unmoving.

She hadn't been surprised. In the entire manor, there were only three maids, her and the two who had just run away.

The two maids were spies sent by the Pulses to spy on Malakai. Even though he was unevolved, neither side was willing to take any chances.

But Nyx couldn't even complain.

Because she, herself, was a spy.

…

Malakai Von Sanguine had no one he could confidently say he trusted. That much was true, as even he knew that the three maids living with him in the manor were spies.

Yet, he had never mentioned anything about it. First, they were stronger than him, and he had no way to get proof.

So, he didn't even complain. To him, it didn't matter. What did he have to hide? It was better to have people who could clean and tend to the manor than not.

Nyx could guess his thought process, and she knew he had made his peace with the situation. However, her mind rapidly played different scenes that made her blood boil.

The brutal missions. His beaten and battered body after surviving numerous near-death experiences. The tears when he woke up after experiencing the usual nightmare.

And despite all of these setbacks, the scene of him struggling while training, trying so hard to become strong.

As those scenes flashed in her mind, Nyx could feel her heartbeat quicken. Her hands clenched hard by her sides as though she was currently engaged in an internal battle.

'What's wrong with me?' she thought.

She was finding it hard to understand what was happening. She had been Malakai's maid for years now, and coming here had purely been for the mission.

'Am I getting attached? No, it can't be.'

She couldn't make that sort of rookie mistake. She always made sure to keep an emotional distance from Malakai precisely because she was trying to avoid this from happening. But…

Her hands clenched harder. Hearing those maids say those things about Malakai had made her angry.

Nyx took a deep breath, calming her nerves. 'The mission. The mission,' she repeated in her head before turning and walking toward the bathhouse, intending to draw Malakai a bath.

…

Malakai trained for most of the night, but eventually, his unevolved body reached its limit, forcing him to stop. At that point, his entire body was wrecked, and he could barely walk.

Regardless, Malakai forced his aching body through the forest and back to the manor, where he took a bath that Nyx had already drawn before immediately heading to sleep.

The night was short, and morning soon arrived.

The next day, Malakai woke up at the exact same time he always did, 5 a.m. At this time, most of the warriors of the Sanguine Clan were still asleep.

Putting on loose clothing, he headed straight toward the training course and began training after a few stretches. His body was aching, but Malakai was all too used to the pain.

Since he had been given the manor, Malakai rarely ever had guests visit. However, today, that streak was broken.

A Sanguine guard, clad in light red armor signifying the Blood Guardians, walked out from the foliage of trees and entered the manor.

The Blood Guardians were a group of people who maintained order in the west, and they were also used as guards and protectors for people of importance in the Sanguine Clan.

He was greeted by Nyx standing at the entrance.

"I request to see the 9th Vein. The mistress sends him a message."

Nyx's gaze was cold. She recognized who that guard was. He wasn't anything special other than the fact that he was one of the closest aides of Khana.

"He's currently busy. Training."

The guard's gaze narrowed slightly, a cold aura slipping out. Malakai might be a direct descendant, but his standing in the family was the lowest of the low.

For his maid to claim he was training when the wife of a Pulse sent a messenger was out of line. However, he quickly regained his composure.

Somehow, his instincts were telling him to be wary of this maid.

The guard nodded before handing Nyx a letter and turning to leave. After he left, Nyx stared at the letter silently for a few seconds, her mind spinning.

Somehow, she just knew that this was bad news.

Nyx didn't open the letter. Her standing as a maid made her unable to do something as audacious as opening a letter sent to a direct descendant, much less one from the wife of a Pulse.

She stopped the routine cleaning she had been doing and headed to the training ground to deliver the letter to Malakai.

"Who's it from?"