Cassandra leaned back slightly, her weight shifting with casual grace. Her expression gave away nothing.

"Come."

I hesitated. Then I started forward, each step deliberate, measured, like approaching a sleeping predator you weren't entirely sure wouldn't wake.

"Sit," she said when I was a few feet away.

I moved toward the edge of the bed beside her, but—

"Where do you think you're going?"

Her voice cracked through the air like a whip, sharp enough to freeze me mid-motion.

"Sit."

Understanding settled over me like cold water.

You can't be serious.

But the look in her eyes left no room for argument.

I lowered myself to the floor in front of her, settled cross-legged, positioned directly below her line of sight. She sat above me on the bed, spine straight, posture perfect.

She studied my face.

"Where were you?" she asked again.

I kept my voice light, casual. "Just feeling suffocated. Needed to clear my head. Get some air."

"Where?"

I flinched, barely, just a twitch at the corner of my eye, but she caught it. Of course she did.

"The park," I said evenly. "In town. Nothing special. Just walked around."

Her perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched upward. "Is that so?"

I nodded, keeping my expression neutral.

Cassandra recrossed her legs, the movement slow and deliberate.

"Do you want a maid?"

I blinked. "What?"

"I've been hearing things from the servants." Her tone remained conversational, but her eyes never stopped watching, cataloging my every micro-expression. "You've been asking about your previous maid."

My jaw tightened before I could stop it.

"So why?" she continued smoothly. "Why are you searching for some common servant who left?"

"She was—" I started, scrambling for an excuse that wouldn't sound pathetic.

"I also heard about your Academy friends." She cut me off with surgical precision, her voice taking on an edge of contempt so sharp I could almost feel it. "Emma Vale and Kyle Stoneheart."

She pronounced their names like curse words, like something distasteful she'd rather spit out than say.

My eyes narrowed. "You better not—"

Anger flared hot in my chest and I started to rise.

But...

Her foot shot out and pressed firmly against my chest, forcing me back down.

Ice bloomed outward from where her sole touched my shirt, frost spreading across the fabric in delicate, crystalline patterns that crept outward like frozen spider webs. The cold bit through the cloth immediately, sharp enough to steal my breath.

"Don't you dare raise your voice to me, little brother."

Her tone dropped to something low and dangerous, that promised consequences if I pushed any further.

Then she pulled her foot back. The frost began to dissipate slowly, leaving dark, wet marks across my chest.

I clenched my teeth, swallowed the anger burning in my throat, and stayed seated.

"Yeah," I said, the word coming out harder than I intended. "They're my friends."

"Why?" She tilted her head slightly.

"Because they actually give a damn about me." The anger bled back into my voice despite my best efforts to contain it.

"Emma works herself to exhaustion just to afford tuition, studies harder than anyone I've ever met, and still somehow finds time to make sure I am okay, shares her lunch with me even when she barely has enough for herself."

"Kyle would stand besides us even when the odds are impossible, stand up to anyone, and he's more genuine than any anyone I've ever known."

I met her eyes directly, letting the underlying meaning bleed through every word.

"They're better than all the silver-blooded nobility in this gods-damned kingdom."

For just a fraction of a second, her eyes widened. Something flickered across her face, surprise, maybe, or hurt, or anger? Before the mask slammed back into place.

"First that stupid, useless bitch of a maid," she hissed, venom dripping from every word. "And now these... commoners."

She stood slowly, her chemise shifting as she rose to her full height, towering over me. Her shadow fell across my face.

"How far you've fallen, Jin Raith."

She stepped closer, her bare feet silent against the floor, and reached down to grip my chin.

Her fingers were cold as she tilted my face upward, forcing me to meet her gaze.

"You carry Raith blood," she said quietly, her voice soft and cutting all at once. "We may be Barons now because of some fool's mistakes, but don't you dare forget our lineage. Don't forget what we are."

She held my gaze for another long moment, her grey eyes boring into mine.

Then she released my chin and stepped back.

She moved to where she'd discarded her heels near the bed, slipping them on with practiced ease. The added height made her even more imposing.

"Come to dinner," she said, walking toward the door. "You'll be joining us at the table."

She paused at the threshold, glancing back over her shoulder.

"Don't be late."

Then she was gone. The door closed behind her with a soft click.

I sat there on the floor for a long moment, just breathing. Forcing the tension out of my shoulders.

Finally, I stood and brushed the melting frost from my shirt. The fabric was damp and cold against my skin, small ice crystals still clinging stubbornly to the fibers.

Welcome home, Jin.

This is going to be a very long month.

Crossing the room, I dropped onto the bed, and let the tension drain out of me with a long breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

Then I pulled my status window with a mental command.

[STATUS]

Name: Jin Raith

Age: 17

Class: Debugger

Level: 16

EXP: 2,120/2,350

Rank: E

MC (Mana Capacity): 58/100

HP: 499/500

MP: 134/134

STR: 28

VIT: 29

AGI: 22

INT: 69

WIS: 40

LUK: 16

Allocation Points: 0

Skills: Poison Resistance (69%), Social Engineering, Alchemy (Basic), Debug Vision, Mana Circulation (Basic), Iron Will (Passive), Light Orb

Combat: Unorthodox Fang (Proficiency: 64%)

Just two hundred and fifty EXP, then I will reach level 17.

I am getting stronger, not much but reaching there, slowly.

The wight I fought in dungeon was at level 18 and I had to give my all to win.

If I faced it again now...

I frowned and rolled onto my side.

No. That was a problem for later.

Right now, I had other things to worry about.

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