Chapter 10: Setting Off Again

Mann walked along the path of the temporary camp, pondering his next move.

‘The thought of still having to go to Viscount Campbell’s territory left him feeling a bit resentful. Even though it was his own choice.’

‘Helpless, a cooperation where only one side gives doesn’t exist. Besides, since his position was weak, he might as well take the initiative to handle tasks suited for him.’

‘His status as a political marriage partner was the best excuse to cover his investigation.’

‘In short, as long as he could uncover the relationship between his fiancée and the Cult of Evil Gods, the crisis might not be completely resolved, but at least he could prepare in advance and not be so passive.’

No choice. Combining the plot of the original novel and the events that had unfolded so far, she was most likely the mastermind.

‘Laila Campbell. In the original novel, she only turned hostile toward Princess Sophien after swallowing Viscount Matthews’ territory.’

‘But the reason she obtained the territory was truly thought-provoking.’

“The great meritorious official who annihilated the Cult of Evil Gods.” Mann muttered to himself, sneering at the statement.

“Meritorious official? I’m afraid the reality is exactly the opposite?”

From the fact that she wasn’t retaliated against by the Cult of Evil Gods later, one could see some clues. Moreover, after her success, the Cult of Evil Gods vanished without a trace, never appearing again.

Regarding this, Mann had two conjectures.

‘First, the real Laila had long been secretly replaced by someone from the Cult of Evil Gods. After her plan succeeded, she gathered the various branches of the Cult and granted them new identities under the viscount’s name.’

‘Second, she wasn’t replaced at all, but instead used the Cult of Evil Gods and then discarded them afterward…’

Either way, the first possibility seemed highest, because if it were the second, she would be practically superhuman.

A bastard like himself, rising to a level where she could compete with the next Empress through her cunning—even a novel wouldn’t dare to write that!

“But it’s fine. One of my goals is to find out her secrets. Even if she detects me, the trump cards I have are enough for me to escape.”

“Alright, I’ll take it step by step.”

As for the Cult of Evil Gods… in the original novel, they wanted to revive the divided God of Destruction. The reason they sought descendants of heroes as sacrifices was to unseal that thing, although they ultimately failed…

If he remembered correctly, the head of that thing was sealed in Matthews Territory, but he couldn’t disclose this information to Sophien now, lest it arouse her suspicion.

‘After investigating Viscount Campbell’s territory, I’ll mix it into the report and hand it over to her.’

Mann organized his thoughts and tentatively set his next course of action.

“There’s one more thing.”

With a thought from Mann, the translucent panel appeared out of thin air again.

Mann looked at it and sighed helplessly.

Only the level of “Time Manipulation: Fake” had increased to LV2. The effect was merely a slight reduction in mana consumption, and the maximum number of uses remained three.

Although Sophien provided mana, he had used the skill over a dozen times, yet it only rose by one level.

It seemed that for this skill to undergo a qualitative change, he would have to break through to Level 10.

‘I still need to find a way to improve my hard power as quickly as possible. This skill is powerful, but its consumption is too high. Given my current situation, it’s wiser to keep it as a last resort trump card.’

“Young Master! Young Master Mann!”

As he walked, a familiar voice came from ahead.

Looking up, it was his maid, Mei.

She looked spirited, waving at him. But she was still wrapped in bandages. Although she had received treatment, her injuries were clearly not healed, making Mann’s heart ache.

For some reason, he felt an inexplicable sense of belonging.

Like a ship that had weathered a storm, always wanting to dock in a calm harbor.

He was glad he could still see Mei, and glad he hadn’t broken his promise.

He walked toward her, his pace quickening.

Finally, Mann gently pulled Mei into his embrace.

The two just smiled, tacitly silent.

Not caring about the mercenaries passing by, they greedily felt each other’s presence.

“Mei… I’m back.”

“Mm, welcome back.”

Even though there were thousands of words in their hearts, they couldn’t say them when they reached their lips.

But that was enough. As long as Young Master Mann was back, that was enough.

At that moment, Dan Luo, who had received a task from Sophien, happened to arrive. Just as he was about to say something, he felt a force pulling him backward.

Turning around, it was Du Lufu.

“What are you doing, Lord Du Lufu? We’re leaving for Duke Campbell’s place tomorrow morning. Shouldn’t we make plans in advance?”

Du Lufu looked at Dan Luo, speechless.

Having worked together for so long, he knew the other man too well. That was just an excuse; his real goal was to demand payment.

This guy really couldn’t read the atmosphere.

“Ah, forget it…”

Du Lufu looked at the embracing pair and just smiled slightly.

“Let’s leave it at that today. We’ll talk about business tomorrow.”

Then, Du Lufu pulled Dan Luo away as well.

After all, the mood had reached that point, what else was there to say?

Mann released Mei and slowly took her hand.

“It’s getting late. Let’s go into the tent first.”

“Eh… Eh?”

Faced with Mann’s sudden action, Mei seemed to realize something.

She didn’t dare look at Mann’s face. After being pulled into the tent, she quickly walked to a corner, turned her back to him, her cheeks flushed.

“Young Master Mann, at least… at least let Mei prepare a bit.”

“What do you mean? Prepare what?”

Mann was very puzzled, looking confused.

‘What’s with this girl today? Why is she so shy?’

“We’re setting off tomorrow. Who knows what we’ll face later. We finally have a little time to ourselves. It would be a waste to squander it.”

Mann said as he lay down on the bedroll.

“But Mei’s current state… isn’t suitable. However, if you want, I can do it!”

Facing a corner of the tent, she tried to sneak a glance at Mann, but always averted her eyes halfway.

Her two index fingers curled, repeatedly touching each other. It was clear she was conflicted.

“Um… even though this is my first time too, Mei will do her best!”

She finally made up her mind and abruptly turned around.

As if she saw something unbelievable, her smile froze on her face.

Following her gaze, it was Mann, already fast asleep.

An inexplicable feeling of shame and anger welled up in her heart.

‘He… fell asleep…’

‘So he meant to hurry and rest!’

“That’s right. After all, the Young Master is exhausted too.”

‘But still, this is so infuriating!’

Mei huffily walked over to her side of the bedroll.

“Hmph! What an idiot!”

…

The next morning.

Du Lufu had already arrived in front of Mann’s temporary tent. He gently rang the bell outside a few times.

“Lord Mann, are you ready? We need to set off.”

“No problem.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the curtain of the tent was slowly pulled open.

After a night’s rest, Mann felt full of energy.

“We’re leaving now, Mei.”

“Okay, coming. Young Master Mann.”

Mei’s tone remained flat, devoid of any emotion.

She followed closely behind Mann, still in her flawless maid demeanor.

But the way she looked at Mann… seemed a bit resentful.

Du Lufu saw Mei’s reaction and, being experienced, immediately understood what was going on.

He occasionally glanced at Mann, showing a meaningful smile.

“Lord Mann, how did you rest last night?”

Mann was stunned for a moment upon hearing this.

‘He sounds like he’s concerned about me, but why do I feel like there’s something behind his words?’

Considering they still had to work together, ignoring him would be too rude. He would just give a random answer to brush it off.

“Pretty good. I was exhausted, so the moment I lay down, I fell asleep.”

snort

Du Lufu still couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud.

“What are you laughing at?”

“I thought of something happy. Please don’t mind.”

“Is that so?”

Faced with Mann’s skepticism, Du Lufu also became a bit hesitant.

“Y-yes. Ah, right, Dan Luo! Quickly call someone to drive the carriage. We’re setting off!”

This evasive behavior made Mann even more suspicious of this guy, and he felt somewhat offended.

But he had no evidence!