“…We’re just letting him rest, aren’t we?”
“Same difference.”
Felix shrugged as he sat down on the bed. Meytal let out a long sigh and shook his head.
“But Angelro has become much more peaceful, hasn’t it?”
At that, Felix scoffed.
“You didn’t see I almost got assassinated earlier?”
“That level of trouble is just petty criminals. Compared to how it used to be, things are much better now.”
Proud was an unrivaled underworld within the Empire. And the most infamous district within it was Angelro.
A place where you had to be prepared to lose an arm the moment you stepped inside. The fact that he’d only faced one assassination attempt since coming here already proved how much things had improved compared to six months ago.
“Before, it was complete lawlessness. If there hadn’t been a purge, it’d still be a dump.”
“Instead, now we’ve got small-time trash running around causing trouble.”
After cutting off the head of the beast, the leftover scraps were now crawling out into the open.
“Annoying.”
Meytal scratched his cheek with a bright smile.
It had already been five years since he began serving the young lord. From what he’d seen all this time, Felix disliked anything messy and hated chaos.
Now petty criminals were stirring up trouble in the streets? Of course he’d be in a bad mood.
Wistanz was the type to stay out of things as long as boundaries weren’t crossed, but Felix was not like that.
If he had the power to fight like Wistanz…
‘He’d be even worse.’
Yes. He’d probably cause even more chaos than he already did.
Meytal shivered without realizing it. A young master causing more trouble than this?
“Report’s done? Then get out. I’m resting.”
“Yes, of course. Have a good night.”
Meytal bowed his head after finishing his thoughts.
Felix gave a light wave. It wasn’t a gesture of farewell—it was clearly telling him to get lost.
‘So prickly.’
Still, after being drenched in blood earlier, it made sense.
Instead of mana, his senses had become abnormally heightened.
‘He usually controls it well enough.’
But when he saw too much blood, or when a fight got intense, he became extremely sensitive for the entire day.
Meytal knew better than to leave him alone at times like this.
Quietly closing the door behind him, his subordinate left. Felix let out a low sigh.
‘Damn it.’
His heart had been beating irregularly for a while now. It wasn’t just a reaction to the smell of blood.
He stood up immediately and opened the bag he had prepared in advance, pulling out a small bottle.
He removed the cap and gulped down the blue liquid inside.
Even after emptying a high-grade potion, the discomfort remained.
‘Useless body.’
Up until now, potions had been enough to keep him going. But even that was reaching its limit. Their effectiveness was clearly fading.
At this rate, no matter how many high-quality potions he forced down, even maintaining his body would become difficult.
‘Then dying might be better.’
Felix let out a cold, mocking laugh.
He wouldn’t live long in a body like this anyway. Ending it early didn’t sound so bad.
‘If I say that, the old man will lose his mind again.’
He’d already run off his estate just to save him. The reaction was obvious.
Putting the empty bottle back into his bag, Felix returned to the bed and sat down heavily on the soft blankets, crossing his long legs.
And so, until dawn broke the next day, Felix spent the night awake after a long time.
Chirp, chirp.
As soon as morning came, I sipped a cold iced tea and glanced around the room.
It had already been three days since I hired Grandpa Wiz. I thought it would feel awkward at first, but…
“How is it? This old man’s skills.”
I was honestly beyond satisfied.
“I’m not sure if I should say this, but…”
“Cough!”
“You’re insane, Grandpa.”
How is he this good at cleaning?
This old man was suspiciously competent. I looked down at the floor so clean a fly could probably skate on it.
It was an old wooden floor, mostly cracked and worn down.
But the moment Grandpa ran his hand over it—
The entire thing? Sparkling.
‘This is a revolution!’
I couldn’t help but clap. Did he use wax? How was there such a shine? Even the furniture looked brand new.
“Hmph! I told you, didn’t I? I’m good for more than just bodyguard work.”
“Seriously!”
He was good at cleaning, good at cooking, and his combat skills as a bodyguard were obvious without saying.
On top of that, since he said he was new to Proud, he even kindly explained the streets to me.
‘I can’t let this grandpa go!’
And all of it… unpaid labor. Honestly, with this level of skill, I wouldn’t even mind paying him.
But he refused, saying what would he even do with pocket change.
‘That makes him even cooler!’
Thank you, sir. I’ll be making use of your labor!
Grinning, I grabbed my bag.
Today I was heading to the merchant guild run by Gilbert. He had called me in after seeing the quality of my potions, saying he wanted to discuss things in detail.
It felt a little awkward leaving Grandpa alone at home, but—
‘It’s not like it’s the first time.’
I’d already gone out a few times over the past few days.
Nothing had happened at home during those times either. And the contract specifically stated that I wouldn’t be harmed.
And one more thing.
“Take care on your way.”
Respecting each other’s privacy!
Since I’d be going out often from now on, explaining every destination would get inconvenient.
Luckily, Grandpa seemed quite satisfied with that condition too.
“I’m off!”
I waved my hand energetically. The old man chuckled and gestured me away.
The potion I made was a complete hit with Gilbert.
Well, it had to be.
It was the medicine that brought a man on the brink of death back to life. Its effectiveness was already proven.
So when I sent the sample, I knew it would work.
‘Money! Now money is mine!’
With the guild master’s approval, supplying them was only a matter of time now.
Even though I’d been making potions secretly thanks to Grandpa, I’d still done it a few times before. What once took me an entire day now only took a few hours.
‘Maybe… I actually have talent?’
Good. If I increase my speed, I’ll only get faster from here. And money will come pouring in.
‘This is the best!’
I just had to save up and get out of here quickly. I pressed down the excitement swelling in my chest.
“Lady, 10 silver!”
“Here!”
I hopped down from the carriage and handed the driver the money. Honestly, he had tried to take me for a fool at first—
‘Huh. The person before me paid 10 silver, but you’re charging me 1 gold?’
‘Th-that’s—!’
‘Sir. I’m only fifteen. Taking money from a child is a heinous crime. A real moral failure. Charging a delicate young lady 1 gold is not something a decent adult should do!’
‘W-what the—!’
‘See? It’s important to say what needs to be said.’
