Prodia discreetly lifted her teacup to check the bottom.

But this time too, Ed’s words were true.

Then Prodia let her guard down.

She had been careful to keep the relic out of Ed’s sight.

But now, while observing Irtis, she had carelessly set the cup down on the table before the light of the relic went out.

Luca was also not paying attention to the relic, consoling Irtis.

He gently tapped Irtis’ shoulder.

“At least your parents didn’t sell you for money to the tower. There must have been a reason.”

In the meantime, the light emitted from the relic was conveyed directly beyond Ed’s glasses.

‘Huh…?’

Why is a green light coming from the bottom of the teacup?

Is this rare item trendy among nobles these days?

Then Ed realized it.

All this time, Prodia had not put down her teacup.

Ed’s brain started to work fast.

And he finally found a piece of information he had forgotten.

There’s a relic that detects lies.

Now all the puzzles were solved.

What was Prodia’s network of information?

It was Ed himself.

“Ha…!”

The document that the butler had brought earlier must also have been magically created by Irtis.

So how did he guess the inheritance?

‘Did he… make a wild guess?’

For some reason, Prodia seemed to have watched my reaction strangely that day.

I was completely fooled.

Even so… I wasn’t mad for some reason.

Just a wry smile leaked out.

It was the first time since the landlord that someone had played with me so easily.

That fact strangely made my heart race.

And that audacity to gamble against me was also not false.

At that moment, the strong gaze Prodia had been giving me came to mind.

Ed mumbled to himself without realizing it.

“…Impressive.”

Then, a green light blinked again from the teacup placed opposite him.

“!”

Ed was genuinely surprised.

What did I just mumble?

It could be a trivial matter easily overlooked.

Besides, the other three people were also talking beside the relic.

But the moment the relic emitted a green light, Ed became aware that a switch had turned on in his heart.

Am I crazy? Falling for a woman who deceived me?

But there was no denying it.

This was the first time I had encountered someone who danced over my head.

‘I’m screwed.’
Meeting someone jumping over my head was a first for me.

“Darn.”

Ed placed his hand over his tightly closed eyes.

For the first time in his life, he found himself restrained by someone without even a contract.

Prodia had no way of knowing Ed’s feelings.

She immediately launched into intensive training as soon as she recruited Ed.

The training room had been fully transformed through Ertis’s magic.

A wooden floor refitted for various exercises. Walls entirely made of mirrors.

Furthermore, Prodia had even prepared team uniforms.

The uniform, composed of blue tops and bottoms, featured a bizarre design with white stripes on both sides.

Ertis, holding the uniform, scrunched up his face.

“Why do we have to wear the same clothes as these guys?”

“It’s to cultivate unity and teamwork.”

Ed’s face was also seriously wrinkled.

“I believe the alliance we’ve formed is sufficient already.”

“The uniform is comfortable for activity, so it’ll help with training.”

Luca also seemed full of complaints.

“I want to wear matching clothes with my sister.”

“I’m not the one receiving the training.”

In the end, the three men reluctantly donned the uniforms, their faces full of displeasure.

However, as soon as they finished putting them on, their expressions brightened instantly.

They lifted their legs and rotated their bodies to check the feel.

Ultimately, all showed satisfied expressions.

“This is really… comfortable.”

“Ah, an interesting design. Have you applied for a patent?”

“Sister, there’s really nothing you can’t do.”

To the three men showering her with compliments, Prodia handed out one sheet of paper each.

It was a plan filled with a dense training schedule.

“We’ll start with basic skills to prepare for the first competition.”

The first competition.

In this event, commonly called the preliminary round, knowledge, etiquette, and physical strength were comprehensively assessed.

“First of all, all three of you must absolutely score full marks in the written test.”

As everyone was taken aback, Prodia continued her explanation.

“The total score is important for this test. You absolutely must secure points in the written part.”

Because the other two subjects were relatively weak points.

Firstly, physical strength.

Of course, Ertis would have no problem.

But it seemed unlikely that Papyier, who had only read books in the imperial library his entire life, would have good physical strength.

The same went for Ed.

And then, etiquette.

All three were not of noble birth, making it difficult to instill etiquette in them in a short period.

Especially Ertis, who had lived as an outlaw, wouldn’t likely know the royal court’s etiquette.

Therefore, Prodia’s idea was to prepare just enough to pass in etiquette and physical strength, and secure a perfect score in the written test.

Fortunately, all three were intelligent and had read a large volume of books.

After all, it’s not easy to become the best in their respective fields.

Thanks to that, teaching them wouldn’t be difficult.

“From today, we’ll be on a death march schedule. And one more thing. All three of you must share a room until the preliminary round is over.”

Voices of opposition burst out at this statement.

“Why?”

“Because you all need to get to know each other better.”

The three vehemently protested but to no avail.

And the next day. Intensive training finally began.