Siderius lay down inside the wooden bathtub. The hot and aromatic water filled the room.

"Ah. I haven't had a good bath for a while." Siderius muttered.

The hunter had been wandering on the road for a few weeks. He didn't have that much time to take care of his personal hygiene.

The Arist had welcomed him into their humble estate and treated him like a king. After all, Siderius did rescue their 'princess'.

But that noble, Ruben, seemed to look at him differently. Siderius noticed some cunning lurking between those eyes. All politicians had that kind of look. It made Siderius wonder what Ruben was planning to do.

"He is probably suspecting of what happened. Everything sounds too much of a coincidence."

A lady escaped her own territory for adventure and was captured by 'bandits'. Then Siderius appeared just in time to save her. Everything aligned too nicely together.

"There is someone pulling the strings here. I did see the strand of fate pulling at her back in the woods..."

Siderius stood up from the bathtub. Water ran down on his smooth skin, reflecting under the moonlight shining from the window.

The hunter took out the Vagrant Ring that he received from Eli. Previously, he was unable to see anything wrong with it. No Aether. No Magic. But now, with Spirit Eyes, he could see its aura.

The Vagrant Ring had a very dense aura inside it. A karmic aura of pure silver. Whatever this thing was, it held a lot of Light-Aether.

"Unknowingly, I start to get myself more and more entangled with this Outsider."

The door creaked open and a beautiful maid with blonde hair walked inside the room.

"Master Nyx. How is the water?"

Siderius turned back and raised an eyebrow. He was currently naked. He also remembered that he told the maids to not disturb him while he's bathing.

The blonde maid licked her lips and observed Siderius shamelessly.

"I remember to say that I don't want anyone bothering me." Siderius said.

"Of course, Master Nyx. But I am not here to bother you." The blonde maid got closer. "I am here to 'service' you, Master Nyx.

I heard that you saved Lady Nina. Such a brave warrior like you needs proper reward."

"I really need to make that mask now."

The blonde maid went down on her knees but Siderius caught her. "I don't need it. Thank you. Please get out and tell everyone to not disturb me."

"But... Master Nyx. Am I not pretty enough?"

"It's not about that. I... My heart is already taken."

The blonde maid gasped. "I see. Please accept my apology, Master Nyx."

Siderius nodded. The maid quickly went away and closed the door.

On her way out, she stopped at the corner of the hallway where Ruben was standing.

"So soon? Did he decline your offer or is he that quick?" Ruben said.

The blonde blushed heavily. Thinking back to the image she just witnessed made her entire body sing but she tried to calm down.

"That man declined. He really is one of a kind."

Ruben's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"He's just a different kind of man, my lord. I don't think he has any bad intentions toward the lady."

"..."

Ruben didn't know what to say. She sent this maid over to test Siderius. But for some reason, the maid also fell in love with him. Is he some kind of Eromancer or something?

The Arist had prepared a different set of clothes for Siderius. His uniform was taken away for laundry.

"This outfit is uncomfortable."

A high-quality black tunic with gold patterns on top. It looked looser than Siderius' uniform but was twice as tight and restricted. He could hardly swing the sword in these clothes.

"I'm just going to endure it for now."

The Arist had invited him to dinner so Siderius found his way to the dining room.

Now that he had removed his scarf, everyone was able to see his true facade.

"Oh, mine!" Nina covered her mouth. She still hadn't seen Siderius' true face after two days of travelling together. He was that secretive.

She was afraid that Siderius had some kind of scar or disfiguration underneath. But no, under that scarf was simply a face that no woman could refuse.

Ruben's eyebrows jumped chaotically. He didn't need to be a genius to know that his daughter's heart was already snatched. Hell, if he was a woman, he would surely fall in love as well.

Nina's mother was also there. A middle-aged woman with long dark hair.

"You must be Nyx. I am Dolores Arist, Nina's mother."

Snow put a hand on his chest and gently lowered his head. It was a formal greeting of this world to the elders. Siderius was older than everyone in this room. But his body was still only sixteen.

"Your etiquette is exquisite, my dear." Dolores said. She stood up from the table and grabbed Siderius by the arm. The woman pulled him to sit down next to Nina.

"Sit here with Nina. I bet you guys have a lot to talk about."

"Dolores..." Ruben groaned.

"It's alright, dear. Trust me." Dolores winked at Ruben.

Nina blushed heavily because of the blatant attempt of her parents. Ruben was very suspicious of Siderius. But Dolores already planned on how to give their daughter away already.

Siderius ignored everything and acted like he didn't understand anything.

The dinner continued in peace with laughter here and there. They mostly talked about what had happened with Nina.

"So you were in Fogdale. How did you find yourself in the Foglight Forest?" Ruben asked Nina.

"It was a long story..." Nina said. She still remembered that Siderius told her to not mention the knights.

"It's alright, Nina. You can tell him." Siderius said.

"But you said..."

"You can't tell at the gate because other people may listen in. But no one else is here now. After all, they wouldn't push their daughter into danger."

"What is he talking about, Nina?" Ruben's brow furrowed further.

"There are these two knights..."

Nina told Ruben and Dolores about what happened. Their expression darkened after they learned the truth. Ruben finally understood Siderius' behavior.

"That kid hid everything so that he won't get in trouble. But he told Nina to tell us. Nina is directly connected to the death of those knights. Whatever happens, she will also suffer the same consequence.

This Nyx is not an ordinary warrior. He has experience in politics."

Ruben thought deeply.

"This is not good, Nina." Dolores said. "The Royal Court has ways to find out what happened."

"You don't need to worry, my lady. I have taken care of that problem. The souls of those deceased knights can't be resurrected by Necromancy."

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