Chapter 4: Since It’s Come to This, Let the Tears 💧 Fall First

Kane used to feel like he was a pig, caught in the sights of a female butcher—watched constantly, like she was just waiting to choose the juiciest cut.

Now Kane had to set the record straight.

This wasn’t “like.” He was a pig!

Guan Erye raised his blade and laughed toward the heavens, shouting at Kane:

“Big bro! When do we cross the border?”

“Erye, calm yourself!”

As Kane shouted in response, Guan Erye’s face turned red, veins bulging in his neck, foaming at the mouth—it was a tragic sight.

But in the final moment, the great Guan Erye still relied on sheer willpower to slash through the enemy’s encirclement and strike down Hua Xiong beneath his horse.

Sweat-drenched golden hair clung to Kane’s forehead.

Through his blurry vision, he saw sunlight shining in through the window.

He straightened his back, puffed out his chest, and did his best to look like he could fight for another five hundred years.

He gave Enya’s flat belly a light slap.

“The sun’s already up. I really should open the shop today.”

“Nooo~ Young Master, it’s just one day. I still want more~”

Enya’s long, flexible legs slid off the bedsheets, straddling Kane on both sides.

Her soft hands wrapped behind his neck, fingers lacing together, her generous curves hanging right above him.

Kane inhaled the fragrance from the girl’s hair, listening to her sweet, teasing tone.

And the more time passed, the more complicated his emotions became.

She could hold her own in the hall, cook in the kitchen, completely devoted with eyes only for him and the best part? 

She didn’t even ask for a dowry!

No dowry! No dowry! She doesn’t want a dowry!!!

By all standards, Enya was the perfect girl to marry.

But why did she have to be a yandere?

Even now, Kane still couldn’t reconcile the soft, sweet girl in his arms with that crazed version of her from the dungeon—eyes full of hearts, galloping wildly without a care.

“But I’m hungry.”

Before she could exert any force, Kane quickly used her moment of distraction to gently push her aside as he spoke.

The little move left Enya pouty and annoyed.

She puffed her cheeks and grumbled:

“Didn’t I just feed you enough, Young Master?”

Kane looked at the sulky beauty and gave a wry smile as he pinched her cheek, shifting to pull her gently into his arms.

“You ate more than I did. Who was feeding who, huh?”

“You’re the worst, Young Master~”

Enya’s face turned red with shyness.

“Why don’t you rest a bit while I go make breakfast.”

She smiled gently, reluctantly pulling herself out of Kane’s embrace.

Her long, pale legs stepped lightly onto the floor as she picked up her clothes and sat by the bed to get dressed.

Soon, her long legs were wrapped in white lace garter stockings.

The lacy bands hugged her thighs, leaving faint impressions on her flawless skin.

A maid has to wear white garter stockings. No exceptions!

Noticing Kane’s gaze, Enya playfully lifted her skirt a little, revealing a glimpse of that oh-so-perfect absolute territory, tilting her head coquettishly:

“Wanna go again?”

“Mm-hmm. I’d like some Italian pineapple pizza.”

Kane quickly looked away.

Again? Even if Brother Hou Yi himself showed up, he wouldn’t last!

“Italian pineapple pizza? If I start now, it might be too late for breakfast,” Enya said with a cute frown. “Can it wait until dinner, Young Master?”

“Then I’ll prepare a good bottle of red wine for tonight.”

“Mm, I’ll get going then. You rest a bit, Young Master.”

Enya gave him a sweet smile, leaned forward for a kissy smooch, and finally, reluctantly, left.

Kane waved cheerfully until his cute maid was out of sight.

He glanced out at the clear, sunny sky, the long shadows stretching across the ground.

He clutched his forehead with a sigh.

“Beauty is my downfall…”

Honestly, Enya really was the perfect woman for the maid role.

How many women out there would stick by your side after you’d fallen from grace, serving you selflessly, without complaint?

But why did this kind of woman have to be a yandere?

And a succubus, no less.

Yandere + succubus = juice extractor.

This combo? Even Brother Cheng would have to admit—it’s insane.

Kane looked wearily at the time.

It was already ten o’clock.

Less than ten hours before his yandere maid would pounce again.

He had to race against the clock to make up for all the time he’d lost.

Kane got out of bed in a flash and washed up and dressed at top speed.

While doing so, he also searched the house thoroughly, but he didn’t find the Ten Thousand Demon Banner.

Enya only had the maid outfit on her—he’d seen her put it on with his own eyes.

That meant she must’ve obtained the banner not long before using it.

“Looks like I’ll have to make a trip to the black market.”

Kane opened his wardrobe and dug out a small gold case from a hidden corner.

Inside were some self-defense tools and money, secretly slipped to him by a bribed guard—courtesy of his Duke father, just before his exile.

This was the last thing his doting parents could do for him.

“Invisibility cloak, illusion-disrupting mask, flash scroll… and a hundred thousand credits… Tch, a fallen noble really is worse off than a stray dog.”

To an ordinary person, this would be a fortune. But for Kane, back in his glory days, this wasn’t even enough for a single day’s allowance.

“It’s all defensive and survival gear. No offensive scrolls at all. Looks like this was already the best Dad could manage for a son demoted to a commoner.”

In the black market, the only law that mattered was strength.

The harder your fists, the more right you had to speak.

And this was the border, far from the capital—across the sea was demon territory.

The black market here was several times more dangerous and terrifying than the one in the capital.

Having life-saving measures was absolutely critical.

Even someone like Feng Aotian would be decked out with escape gear in a place like this.

If his freedom weren’t at stake, Kane would never dream of going to a place like that unprepared.

“I thought the death flag arc was over and I could finally relax… but it turns out there’s an even bigger danger.”

“Just as I thought—no matter when or where, strength is the foundation of a good life.”

That was the truest lesson Kane had learned after failing the Beta Test Mode.

As a villainous rich brat, his strength was just as stereotypically pathetic.

The moment his memories returned, he was already knee-deep in a death event.

There hadn’t even been time to train.

Once he made it through this crisis, he’d have to focus on leveling up no matter what.

“The question now is how I’m supposed to improve. I’m no longer the duke’s heir, and I’m not some protagonist who trips over opportunities on a morning stroll. I want to work hard, but there’s nothing to work with.”

Kane rubbed his aching temples and looked at the now-blackened text: [Beta Test Mode Ended (1/1).]

The only thing that even resembled a cheat—was already used up.

Did he really have no chance at turning things around?

Just as Kane was lost in frustration, something caught his eye.

“[Training Mode]? I don’t remember seeing that before.”

He blinked in confusion, but in the next second, his eyes lit up.

He remembered—just before Beta Test Mode ended, he had heard something.

If he recalled correctly, it was:

“Sacred Relic.”

[Ding-dong!]

As Kane muttered to himself, the previously blacked-out [Training Mode] suddenly lit up.

And then…