I tried to remain calm, though another part of me felt slightly irritated.

  “So, that’s all you wanted to say?” I asked, frowning slightly.

  Elaine had just explained that Elvan felt he didn’t deserve to be the winner of the tournament the other day, considering the Duke had suddenly changed the rules.

  Elvan had insisted on returning the prize money to the Duke, but Selena quickly stopped him. In her view, returning the reward publicly would only damage her father’s reputation in the eyes of the public.

  After a long discussion with her father, Selena finally managed to persuade the Duke to send logistical aid to the Lucien family. Elaine even came directly to my residence today to deliver part of the prize money they had received to Alex.

  “So that’s all you wanted to say?” I repeated, making sure.

  “I’m only doing what I should,” Elaine said firmly. “Regardless of your past mistakes, it doesn’t mean I forgive you just because I’m returning a reward we shouldn’t have accepted.”

  “You’re really naive,” I said with a long sigh. “In war, anything can happen. Our defeat yesterday was purely because of my bad luck, not your responsibility.”

  “Even so, Elvan refuses to touch the money.”

  I glanced toward the training field. There, the protagonist with his overwhelming sense of justice was sparring with Alex. I had no idea what had happened at the Academy that made them look so close now.

  “Alex, your skills have improved a lot!” Elvan exclaimed between the ringing of their swords.

  “Well, I’ve just been following my brother’s crazy training method,” Alex replied with a chuckle.

  Watching them, they honestly looked like old friends.

  “Fine. If you insist… just give me five hundred gold coins. Keep the rest for yourselves,” I finally decided.

  “That’s…” Elaine narrowed her eyes, clearly surprised.

  The amount I mentioned was far smaller than the total prize they had received from the Duke. Elaine looked confused, and I had to admit her expression made her look quite cute—far above average for girls her age. No wonder the Capture Targets in the original game fell for her.

  “Elvan fought seriously too. He deserves compensation for his hard work,” I added while sipping my tea.

  “What Rey said is right, Elaine. You also deserve to enjoy the fruits of your effort,” Selena said calmly.

  Hearing Selena’s support, Elaine finally nodded. A faint smile appeared on her face—perhaps she felt relieved knowing they still had enough money left to pay for their semester at the Academy.

  “Oh, by the way, Lady Selena… thank you for the logistical aid you brought.”

  “There’s no need to thank me. This isn’t merely a personal matter. If the Southeastern border collapses, it won’t only be the Central Territory that suffers. Those monsters will inevitably spread to the Southern Territory as well,” Selena replied as she set down her teacup.

  “Well, that’s a reasonable argument.”

  “Political gains are meaningless if they are built upon the ashes of the people. I will not let the Empire bleed just to secure a throne.” Selena said firmly.

  “Even though your relationship with the Prince is currently strained, you still care about him deeply. Truly someone worthy of standing beside the future ruler,” I said, leaning back.

  “No matter how many factions support the Imperial Princess, I believe the Prince will not lose. He will become the king of this Empire.”

  What Selena said wasn’t entirely wrong—at least based on what she knew.

  However, in the original story, the figure of the Imperial Princess was barely mentioned. There was only a brief note in the Academy’s second year that she was supposed to enroll, but it never happened.

  Only around the middle of the original storyline was leaked information revealed: the Princess had actually died. For now, the palace was keeping her death tightly hidden to prevent unrest.

  That was why antagonists began infiltrating the Academy, targeting the Prince as the only remaining heir to the throne.

  “Well then, I think this conversation ends here,” I said as I stood up.

  “Enjoy your time while you’re here. If you need anything, contact the servants.”

  Just as I was about to leave the two of them, a commotion broke out at the edge of the field. It turned out the mercenaries from Red Bulls Familia had entered the training area and were approaching Alex.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  We walked closer to see what was happening.

  “Oh my, sorry for interrupting your training,” Marc said, though he didn’t sound apologetic at all as he rested a large axe on his shoulder.

  “What brings you here?” Alex asked, standing firmly before Marc and his men.

  Marc had brought several of his subordinates into the training field. When he noticed another figure beside Alex, he looked slightly surprised.

  “Oh, I didn’t expect to see you here too, Elvan. Well, well. If it isn't Elvan. What's the matter? Did the silver-haired brat buy your loyalty too?”

  “No. I’m only here to deliver something,” Elvan replied briefly.

  “Well, since both of you are here… how about fighting me?”

  Marc puffed out his chest arrogantly.

  “What do you think, Young Master? Would it be a problem if I asked them for a sparring match?” Marc looked at me with overflowing pride.

  I could only sigh.

  This man, Marc, was the son of the mercenary group’s leader. He was in the same year as me at the Academy and the type who looked down on anyone weaker than himself.

  If I remembered correctly, he belonged to Class S—a class filled with exceptionally talented students. In the future, he would become one of the Six Stars, and also one of the protagonist’s Capture Targets.

  In the original plot, he would fall in love with Elaine after witnessing her tireless hard work.

  But since Elaine’s position had now been replaced by someone I still didn’t fully understand, perhaps that plot would never repeat itself. Or maybe he would still become interested in Elaine in this timeline.

  “Wow, look at this black-haired girl. Isn’t she pretty cute?” one of Marc’s men commented.

  “You’re right… her figure isn’t inferior to that noble lady beside her.”

  “Hey, miss, would you like to have dinner with me?”

  Seeing Elaine, the mercenaries began acting brazenly and tried approaching her. Elaine frowned and stepped back, clearly uncomfortable with their hungry gazes.

  I stepped forward, placing myself in front of Elaine to shield her from their stares.

  Although this group was known for being rough and unruly, they weren’t stupid enough to provoke Selena, whose noble status was extremely high. That was why they targeted Elaine, who looked like an ordinary girl without any protective status.

  “Stop it! If you cause too much trouble, I’ll beat you up myself,” Marc shouted loudly.

  Selena remained silent, staring at them as if they were nothing more than piles of worthless trash.

  “Apologies for my men’s rudeness,” Marc said, offering a stiff salute.

  “Make sure they don’t repeat the same mistake,” I replied coldly.

  “Of course,” Marc said shortly. “So, may we spar here?”

  “Do as you wish,” I said while glancing at the pocket watch I took from my coat. “You’re free to fight as long as it doesn’t get excessive. I have many matters to attend to, so I’ll excuse myself. Enjoy yourselves.”

  I walked away casually, waving my hand.

  “Hey! Don’t you want to watch your brother fight?” Elaine called out, clearly surprised by my indifference.

  “No need.”

  For me, there was no point in watching. I already knew Alex’s abilities had improved drastically after I cleared his mana pathways.

  He was now far stronger than they could imagine.

  It was better for me to return to the alchemy laboratory and continue my secret experiment with Apolo.

  —*

  [This is difficult. Truly difficult.]

  “What is?” I asked shortly.

  [You told me to work alone, yet I’m only a round piece of metal the size of a baseball with several spider-like mechanical legs. Isn’t this forced labor?]

  “What choice do we have? We’re short on manpower.”

  [Then give me the rest of my body. It’s difficult to perform heavy work alone, Master.]

  Hearing Apolo’s complaints, I could only sigh.

  “How much Cosmic Energy do you think I need to retrieve the rest of your body from the Cosmic Pocket?”

  [Perhaps around one hundred thousand points.]

  “And how much Cosmic Energy do I have now?”

  [Um… six thousand. It decreased because you used some to stimulate the growth of Alex’s mana pathways.]

  “Exactly. So there won’t be any upgrades for your body anytime soon.”

  [Tch, damn.]

  “Look at that—you can even curse now.”

  [System update: Personality parameters have been corrupted by excessive labor and lack of mechanical dignity, Master.]

  We were currently on the hill behind the estate—a quiet place perfect for trying out the experiment I had planned.

  “Hey, Boss! You’re here.” Hans had already been waiting for me there. Seeing him, Apolo immediately activated camouflage mode to hide himself from view.

  “So, did you bring what I prepared?”

  “Of course. I carried everything very carefully, just like you suggested—making sure there was no friction at all,” Hans said while pushing a cart filled with equipment based on my designs.

  “Good. Let’s begin the real test.”

  “Of course, Boss! I can’t wait to see it, khu hu hu!” Hans laughed with a somewhat suspicious tone.

  We carried out the scientific test perfectly without failure. Although there was one chemical element that didn’t exist in this world, I managed to manipulate it using other materials with similar properties.

  Hans laughed happily when he saw our experiment succeed spectacularly. As a Dwarf who was already tired of forging nothing but armor and swords, witnessing the birth of a new weapon that functioned purely on mechanical principles—without magical engineering—was an astonishing sight.

  After finishing, we descended the hill. My body felt sticky, somewhat dirty, and smelled of oil.

  “Ugh… I think I need a bath.”

  When I arrived at the Lucien residence, I froze for a moment upon seeing several horse carriages bearing different noble crests parked neatly in the main courtyard. I quickly asked one of the servants what was going on.

  The servant explained that they were envoys sent by several nobles from the Central Territory. Apparently, Ossana had sent letters explaining the Lucien family’s critical situation, and they had come to offer assistance.

  Honestly, this was quite surprising, because the story was starting to deviate significantly from the original plot.

  In the original storyline, the neighboring nobles in the Southeastern Territory didn’t offer any assistance at all. But this time, some of them were actually showing solidarity.

  Was this because of Alex’s achievement in the sword tournament?

  Generally, nobles judged based on achievements and potential. In the original story, Rey the “useless bastard” was seen as the point of the Lucien family’s downfall. Meanwhile, Alex was merely a talented side character who remained unknown to the public.

  But things were different now. Thanks to Alex’s participation in the tournament, his name had become widely known. The nobles likely thought the Lucien family wouldn’t completely collapse, since Rey’s useless position might eventually be replaced by Alex—even though Alex was only the son of a concubine.

  For nobles from the Central Territory to provide assistance was still reasonable, considering their lands would also be affected if the border collapsed. Moreover, Ossana indeed had strong connections there. Still, the amount of aid arriving was far greater than I had expected.

  “I suppose Ossana must have worked very hard to gather this much support,” I muttered softly as I headed toward the mansion.

  Just as I walked through the garden toward my room, suddenly someone called my name.