“Lord Demon?” That was the first thing I said when I woke up. Yesterday was too unreal. While sleeping, I didn’t have a single dream, and after waking, it left me wondering if the whole thing happened while I was asleep.

  It was silly, but good things didn’t happen to me outside of dreams.

  I panicked before chuckling. The system had a bit of a temper; hadn't it done this before? “Gideon?”

  [Jal.]

  “I just wanted to make sure you were there.” It seemed silly to call him for such a reason, but his answer caused something in my chest to unfurl. Or was the system an ‘it’? wanted to know, but wasn't sure I was allowed to ask.

  The response was dry, and even when said in that cold, lifeless voice, I heard the censure.

  Was it alive? I wondered. Was the floating blue window its body?

  When Gideon spoke, it sometimes sounded automatic, like a pre-prepared speech, but at other times, it was like talking to another human.

  I didn’t know why I didn’t just ask.

  I’d wanted to explore the system more, but as I was about to check on the storage, quest, and other tabs, Catherine came in. I looked out the window, realizing she was on time, and I'd been lost in thought.

  "Morning," I said. My state was odd—I was well rested, but couldn't shake a sense of tiredness.

  "Good morning, young dy. I'll leave the water here for you to tidy up and go fetch breakfast."

  Flopping on the bed with my arms spread and the smell of mildew tickling my nose, I organized what I needed to do.

  1. Figure out a way to stop my Mana…, Qi from dispersing.

  I should call it Qi from now on.

  It was impossible to depend on others. More and more, I was experiencing and understanding the nuances of others' actions after living my life as a straightforward/dumb person. They could calcute against me and use me as a piece in their game because I was too weak.

  My best bet was the apothecary, but I feared they would report it to the Duke. In the Duchy, I was the only one who saw that family coming and thought they were the pgue. The citizens respected the Duke’s family for their generous and gracious conduct, which was admittedly hard to find in nobles. The taxes were fair, the security good, and there was enough food, or so I'd heard.

  I lifted a hand to my face. I’d been eager to use the Remedy Pill but didn’t. There were still eyes watching me, and I needed to show some outward improvement in my health before I took the pill. It would be obvious if I went from gaunt with bruises all over to healthy.

  The burns on my face healed, and there was a noticeable lightening of the bruise on my cheek. I knew the potion the Duchess gave me had nothing to do with healing, which meant she must have mixed something in with the tea she threw at me.

  It was a clever little trick. Without the system, like my st life, I would have seen the burn heal and not suspected a thing and only cursed the Duchess for not giving me a better potion when all my injuries didn’t heal.

  2. Find out why they switched my marriage candidate.

  If I could figure it out, I would be better able to stop it from happening. There was little chance of me cultivating to a level where I could defeat the Duke, all the mages, and the soldiers living in the Duchy in such a short time frame. I didn't even know how to cultivate and couldn't until I reversed the poison.

  3. Find out what Viscountess Rintour was up to.

  I expected her to get rid of her lover and the maid who knew, but I didn’t expect her to convince the Duchess to send me to magic csses. I didn’t know her and couldn’t guess her motives. It seemed like she was helping me, but I hesitated, suspecting she had other motives.

  4. Find out what Madeline wanted and if she was working for someone.

  The easiest way to do that was through Catherine. She was fourteen and talented since she had at least one magic circle formed, but she was still a child. With coercion and incentives, I could use her to figure out what her aunt was up to. It helped that she had her own agenda.

  5. Develop a respectful but distant retionship with Baron Smolt.

  6. Avoid the Crown Prince.

  7. Find out why they gave me mana--Qi dispersing potion, why my mother sold me, and what the Duke pnned.

  It was the least important thing on the list, but the most important to me. I wanted a reason for the life I’d lived. Hating the Duke and my mother was easy, but I needed to stop. My anger was the same as drinking poison and expecting others to die. Time and time again, I was the one to get hurt.

  Apart from being the least important, it was also the hardest to investigate.

  Who was I kidding? Most items on this list bordered on impossible.

  The door burst open, and Catherine came storming in. I turned my head to look at her, wondering what made her so angry this morning.

  “Miss, can you believe it?”

  I blinked, waiting for her to continue, but she stared at me with owlish eyes. “Helga,” she said, stomping her foot.

  That was a name I hadn’t heard in a while. The thought made me chuckle. It was only a few days, but it seemed longer. “That doesn’t tell me anything. Didn’t Madeline say she would take care of it?”

  “Don’t bring my aunt into this. If it wasn’t for that shameless creature.” Catherine stamped her foot. It was my first time seeing her act like a young girl. “Can you believe it? That nasty thing tricked Young Master Bastian.”

  Oh, wow. Was the answer that simple? It happened the same way. Helga allowed Madeline to pce Catherine at my side, and then Helga started having a retionship with my brother. Either Madeline was more capable than I thought, Helga more alluring than a blood-sucking leech, or Bastian pnned this.

  I knew little about my eldest brother. The first and st time we met was at my wedding, and even then, we only saw each other from across the room. Bastian was said to be capable, sufficiently powerful, and well-liked by his peers. His only fault was being lusty, a trait most noblemen share.

  “Is he someone that Helga can trick?”

  Catherine screeched, her eyes turning red. “What else could it be?”

  “She’s not the first maid he’s taken to his bed. I doubt she will be the st. Even I know that, and I'm the st to know anything around here.”

  She marched towards me, and I felt the urge to back away. Instead, I forced myself to stay still. "Catherine ?" I asked, tilting my head to the side, widening my eyes, and tentatively reaching out my hand before letting it fall.

  She stopped and fidgeted before sighing. “Don’t talk about him that way.” Her eyes burned, and I was sure Catherine would attack me if I continued.

  I held up my hand in surrender, trying to keep the amusement off my face. This dispy of young love and obsession pying out in front of me was interesting. Catherine was an odd creature—a doll whose parts were exquisite, but when the doll-maker started putting her together, they noticed the pieces didn’t fit but continued, anyway. Or the doll-maker knew and did it on purpose. A defective product could be useful. Look at me. It wasn't a stretch to assume that Catherine's pns involved my brother, which was the worst possible action she could take.

  “Would you like me to ask him for you?” I asked, lifting my arms so she could finish tightening my dress. I gnced at the table. Catherine hadn't brought breakfast when she stormed in.

  I was tired of oats, bread, cheese, and soup even if it was fresh, and tasted, okay all things considered, but I'd have to go to the dining room for anything else, and I didn't want to deal with the Duke's family. I didn't know how I didn't get colic in my past life.

  She tugged, pinching the dress so tight I wheezed.

  I turned to face her. There was a blush on her cheeks, and her chest heaved. “Could you?”

  It was supposed to be a joke, but the idea had merit. I was in a passive position, stuck reacting to the things happening to me. There wasn’t too much danger in taking a few calcuted risks. “When would I get the chance to meet with him? I guess it may be interesting to talk to him. Oh, I never get to spend time with them.” I thought of my longing for a family, and my voice turned wistful. I looked at Catherine and smiled. My eyes only briefly gnced at the door. I couldn’t approach Bastian myself.

  “Yes, speaking to him would be so nice,” she said, her voice wistful as she helped me finish getting dressed. Where she used too much strength before, her fingers were clumsy now. Catherine tied the gaudy bow at my waist into a sloppy mess. "You might not know my dy, but young master Bastien is polite, poised, and eloquent. He listens to you. Makes you feel special."

  I didn’t answer, and she was content to chatter about my brother.

  I gnced at the door.

  Madeline was listening and if she worked for Bastian, then he'd get the message and arrange a meeting if he wanted. If she worked for more than one person…, well, so be it.

  There was a familiar cng as Madeline came into the room. I looked at the chateine hanging at her waist. It carried a wand, scissors, a notepad, a magnifying gss, and a quill, everything a capable Head Maid needed. Funny, it didn’t make a sound until she entered the room.

  I put the matter to the back of my mind. It was best to behave as usual since I was only testing the waters. “Good Morning, Madeline," I said with a smile.

  Madeline was carrying a tray of food. “Good Morning, Young Lady.” She looked at me before shaking her head. “Catherine, you will need to help the Young Lady change. That dress isn’t suitable to wear to town.” She moved to the cupboard and pulled out a mud-brown dress. "You'll have to forgive Catherine, my dy. She's not as steady as an older, more experienced maid would be. Catherine needs to learn patience and to control her temper. It's the only way for her to advance and achieve her goals." Madeline's gaze at her niece was a blend of chastising, censure, and love.

  Maybe? Madeline controlled and nurtured Catherine's unreasonable expectations and goals. She might even know of Catherine's resentment, but let it continue because it motivated Catherine and wasn't a threat.

  I was happy about going out, but everything I learned made me uneasy. It seemed impossible to enjoy the outing. They also gave me only a short time to prepare, but I knew it was my only opportunity. The duchess never changed her mind, and I needed to accomplish several things on this trip.

  “Who will accompany me?” I asked. I was reevaluating Catherine's usefulness, gd I'd put off approaching her.

  “Typhon, his son Zagan, and Catherine," Madeline said.

  Typhon, I remembered him from my father's office. He was scary in a way I hadn't experienced before. I'd never met anyone who appeared so harmless. I'd only caught a glimpse as I was rushed out of the room, but he was distant and wore a benign smile. He looked how I thought a pope should, watching the world with endless kindness and patience.

  I stood with my arms stretched, lost in thought as Madeline helped me change. I looked like a commoner—not the good kind either. It was a new dress, the material better than any they'd given me before, but I looked like a refugee.

  They weren't done, painting my face, cramming my feet into too-small shoes, and bundling my hair atop my head before shoving it beneath a bonnet. Nothing they did or added helped the outfit, instead making it worse. It was a family talent Cathrine inherited from her aunt, styling clothes to be as hideous as possible.

  “You won’t be using your identity when you leave the castle. It is for your safety and to allow you to walk unhindered.” Madeline stepped back, looking me up and down before nodding with satisfaction.

  I nodded along to the lie. It didn't bother me—I'd worn worse. Mud and dried blood didn't cake the dress, and, as ugly as it was, the material was soft and smelt good. “I didn’t have an identity to begin with.”

  Madeline paused. She knew what I was talking about. 'Princess Selena.' 'Princess Tracy.' While I was called Jal, or Young Miss and Young Lady, to those who wanted something. I was legally adopted and legitimized--it should be Princess Jal, as ridiculous as that sounded.

  “Will I get to meet Typhon and Zagan before we leave?” I'd met Typhon briefly, but he'd terrified me more than anything.

  Madeline shook her head. “There isn't the time. They'll be introduced to you when you get on the carriage, but that's it. Catherine, be a dear and go change your dress.”

  Catherine bobbed her head and happily smiled before rushing out of the room.

  “Such a kind child,” she said before cold eyes turned to look at me. The kind persona was gone, melting off her face.

  I blinked at her, not prepared for the change in demeanor. “You're not kind at all.” Madeline's hands gripped my cheeks, turning my face this way and that. “You might be of some use to, Bastien.”