At that moment, Lily, who had been chewing her lips, blurted out.

“The person Lord Ingrion came to meet is that child? Why?”

“I don’t understand your question, Lady Dahlia. Is it strange that I came to meet this person?”

“But that child, do you know her?”

“Vasquez is one of the sacred eight families, Lady Dahlia.”

Unlike you.

He politely returned the mockery. Lily’s face soon turned red as she realized the meaning.

Ingrion naturally escorted Cordelia’s left arm and said.

“May I ask for a tour of the castle, Lady Cordelia?”

“…Yes. Of course.”

There were many things she wanted to ask, like when did we meet for you to call me by name, why did you come to see me, but she hid her sour expression and moved her steps pretending to be calm.

The intense gazes of those left behind stung the back of her head.

They passed through the courtyard and entered the castle. When the occasional passing servants were no longer visible, Cordelia stopped first.

“Let’s sort this out here. Who did you come to see?”

“I told you. You. The note said to find Cordelia Vasquez with the white snake. Didn’t you send it?”

“Me?”

“If it’s an act of pretending not to know, it’s quite convincing.”

If he was the guest Leonard had called, she could roughly understand the situation.

Probably unable to directly reveal that Leonard was here, it seemed he had borrowed her name.

“The one you’re looking for is not me, but the head of the family, I think.”

“The head of the family? You mean your husband?”

“No. Leonard Atilei. Our s-, ack!”

It happened in an instant. His eyes, which had been friendly just moments ago, turned cold, and he grabbed her throat tightly without hesitation.

“This is not a person whose name you can casually speak.”

“Ugh, let… go.”

“If this is an unfunny trap using that person’s name, you should be prepared. I’ll cut off your limbs and scatter them in the fields as dog food.”

Her breath was choked to the brim. She desperately struck his fist, but it was of no use.

Just before the sky turned dark, he seemed to lose interest and dropped Cordelia with a thud. She collapsed to the floor like a scarecrow made of straw.

“Hack, cough.”

“What are you doing lying down? Guide me.”

He urged, forcibly lifting Cordelia who couldn’t properly control her body. Cordelia wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes with her sleeve.

Her throat, which had been unexpectedly choked, hurt badly.

She felt wronged, angry, and her insides were boiling, but she suppressed it. Patience had never betrayed her.

There would surely be an opportunity to repay this humiliation soon.

Cordelia composed her face as if nothing had happened and took the lead. Leonard’s room was not far. She arrived at the door and knocked lightly.

“A guest has arrived.”

“Come in.”

As Cordelia was about to open the door, Ingrion blocked her. He grabbed the doorknob himself. From the corner of her eye, she saw his face filled with some expectation or hope.

Ingrion took a short deep breath and opened the door. And he was disappointed.

“Are you playing with me?”

Seeing ‘Craig Abrams’ instead of the person he had been anticipating, Ingrion immediately glared at Cordelia and growled.

Frightened by his fierce demeanor, Cordelia instinctively stepped back.

“Whatever scheme you two are up to, this trash…”

“Beluce.”

“You shut up. I’ll kill you right after this woman.”

“Your fiery temper is still the same. And your foolishness of believing only what you see hasn’t changed either.”

Beluce’s head naturally turned at the all-too-familiar tone. Leonard stretched out his hand towards him as if beckoning him to come closer.

“You still don’t know who I am?”

Beluce, still with eyes full of doubt, approached Leonard very cautiously.

“Is it really you? But how?”

“I transferred my soul just before my last breath. Unfortunately, it transferred to this trash of a body.”

“Transferred your soul? Is that even possible?”

“What do you think I am?”

Leonard made a short clicking sound with his tongue and lightly waved his arm. In the blink of an eye, the room changed into a forest. Cordelia, who had been pressed against the wall, was startled by the miracle Leonard had performed and looked around.

The scent of earth tickled her nose. Cordelia rubbed the ground with wide eyes. Dew dripped from her hand.

Beluce was not surprised by the suddenly changed environment. He just stared intently at Leonard’s eyes with a suspicious look.

He seemed to be trying hard to discern the truth, but it didn’t look easy.

“Anyone can do illusion magic to some extent if they reach a certain level. Of course, the master would have done it with just one finger.”

“Hmph. You don’t know even the basics of magic, yet you’ve been following me around with your expectations too high.”

Leonard snorted, but he didn’t deny it. Rather, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.

“To think the day would come when I have to prove my existence to you.”

“Answer me. Where did I first meet the master?”

“I don’t know. How can I remember such trivial things?”

“Then where did I swear my loyalty to the master?”

“Do you think I would still remember that?”

Every answer was without sincerity. He showed no intention of wanting to prove his existence. Rather, Cordelia, who was listening from behind, felt frustrated and beat her chest.

‘No, how can you answer like that? You should at least pretend to be recalling memories.’

Despite the insincere answers, Beluce said nothing. Then, as if finally remembering something, Leonard raised his head slightly.

“Ah, there is one thing I remember.”

“What is it?”

“You grabbed my ankle and cried, begging me to accept you as my subordinate, didn’t you?”

“…”

“Didn’t you say you would kill yourself if I didn’t accept you?”

“…I don’t have such a memory.”

“No way. Your memory is bad. Shall I say more? When you were fifteen and I beat you up and you fell into the river.”

Leonard chuckled and recounted quite detailed and one-sided memories. Even to Cordelia, who knew nothing, it sounded quite plausible.

She slightly raised her head to look at Beluce’s face, and his expression had softened considerably. It seems he finally realized that this was Leonard.

The black-haired knight took a step towards Leonard.

“You…”

“Yes. I am Leonard Atilei.”

It’s quite a talent to make saying one’s own name sound so unpleasant, Cordelia thought.

Beluce smiled the same smile he had first shown Cordelia and drew the sword at his waist.

“If you’re really my master, you should be able to block this much.”

“Huh?”

The situation unfolded in an instant. Beluce, without a moment’s hesitation, raised the drawn sword and swung it. Cordelia forgot to even scream and opened her mouth wide.

“Are you crazy?”

“You’re dodging?”

“Beluce. What have you been listening to all this time?”

“Will you dodge this too?”

Without further explanation, it was chaos from then on. The surrounding forest scenery returned to the castle, and only the savage sound of blades cutting through the air and the shouts of the two men filled the room.

“Kyaa!”

A dagger flew and stuck in the wall near Cordelia. She screamed in fright. Leonard’s gaze briefly turned in that direction.

“Right. It’s been a while since you’ve been hit. Let’s revive some memories.”

Leonard raised his clenched fist with an eerie smile. At the same time, thick plant stems sprouted from the floor and began to wrap around Beluce’s legs.

There was no time to be amazed at the wonder of magic.

Beluce cut them off with his dagger without blinking an eye and distanced himself from Leonard. Then, lowering his eyes mournfully, he said:

“If it were our master, he would have knocked me down in ten seconds. It’s been over twenty seconds now, so you’re clearly not the master.”

She had seen many people in her life, but this was the first time she had seen someone so uniquely insane. Cordelia momentarily forgot the situation and stared at Beluce.

It seemed Leonard felt the same way. He chuckled and created another sharp ice sword.

“I had forgotten how crazy you are for a moment.”

That was the end of the conversation. Another fierce battle ensued.

Fireballs flew around, various fixtures were destroyed, and furniture was incinerated or shattered.

Cordelia trembled, wanting to escape this chaos quickly. But every time she tried to go towards the door, something flew at her, and she was too scared to move.

‘Surely they won’t fight all day?’

Fortunately, the fight didn’t last as long as she had anticipated. At some point, the Baron appeared, pale-faced, and intervened between the two.

“Beluce! How can you point your sword at the master without recognizing him!”

“You, step aside.”

“I vouch for him. This is indeed Lord Leonard Atilei. Although the body is not the master’s, the soul is…”

“Didn’t you hear me say step aside?”

It happened in an instant. Without a moment’s hesitation, Beluce extended his sword and precisely split the Baron in half.

Although it was in water form, Cordelia had heard that if a summoned being is hit, the main body also receives a similar impact.

“Beluce!”

Leonard shouted for the first time. He spread his palm wide and shot a huge ball of light at Beluce. Beluce staggered violently and then fell to his knees on the floor.

The split form of the Baron became very faint, but barely maintained its shape. Cordelia, who had been stuck right behind, quickly approached the Baron.

“Are you alright, Baron?”

“Ugh… Yes. I’m, I’m fine.”

Usually as solid as wood despite being water, now it was so unstable that Cordelia’s hand would pass through if she tried to touch it.

Leonard looked down at Beluce kneeling on the floor with very stern and cold eyes.

“How many times have I told you? Don’t point swords at each other.”

“Why him?”

Beluce trembled finely, clutching his abdomen as if in pain. Blood dripped from his ears and nose. Still, he didn’t forget to glare at the Baron.

“What?”

“Why was that old, sick dog the first to know that the master was alive?”

“…Haa.”

“After all the searching I’ve done for the master, why didn’t you give me even a hint? What makes me worse than that mangy dog?”

In Beluce’s eyes, undisguised jealousy overflowed like a river.