“Ha! A woman?!”
Lomio actually burst out laughing this time.
I’ve sealed my heart, locked away love, and am scheming for grand ambitions, yet my brother suspects I want to be a bootlicker?!
Wait, that’s not right!
He’s warning me—I’m at risk of becoming one!
Thinking of this, Lomio felt an immense warmth in his heart.
So noble! Sigma men truly understand!
“I, Lomio, would rather die—jump off the Academy’s Astral Tower—than ever live off a woman, let alone spend a single coin on one!”
“……”
Karlenina pressed her lips, barely holding back a laugh.
“Hmm?” Lomio rapped lightly on the table. “Hey, brother, I’m being serious!”
“Ahem, my mistake.”
Realizing she had almost lost her composure, Karlenina suddenly came to her senses!
He clearly knows my secret, and yet he still says such things!
Not only does he have superb acting skills, but he’s also probing my disguise without leaving a trace!
I almost fell for it!
Too inexperienced, Karlenina!
“So, what approach do you plan to take? What are you going to do next?”
“I want to start by making a few cards.” Lomio collected his thoughts and answered seriously.
“Alchemy?!”
Even with Karlenina’s deep schemes, hearing those three words made her expression shift ever so slightly.
Where her fingers touched the warm cup, a barely visible layer of frost quietly condensed—only to melt in an instant.
“Hmph, as expected of an elite profession!”
Lomio watched her reaction, feeling that familiar thrill—like drawing an SSR card in front of your buddies!
In this world, alchemy is as close as one can get to the fundamental code of reality.
Those born with the gift of alchemy are perhaps one in a hundred.
And that’s just talent—to truly master it is another matter entirely.
Just mentioning it made this suspected royal friend of his visibly shaken!
For royalty, what they value most is potential and worth!
As long as he can successfully craft an experience card before him, their partnership would only grow stronger from here on!
“I only know the basics, for now I can just make the most basic function cards.”
“That’s why I need a thousand magic crystals, to buy materials and practice—just in case.”
Knows only the basics?
Practice a little?
A term surfaced in Karlenina’s mind.
Auxiliary profession!
That’s a field you can only dabble in once your main class reaches a very high tier!
And the one he’s unlocked is the most prestigious, most expensive, and most powerful of all auxiliary professions—alchemy!
You have to know, the very core of today’s card cultivation system comes from alchemy!
A newly awakened assassin, yet he’s already mastered alchemy?
How is that possible!
That sign language…
The secretive way he enrolled…
And now, the “alchemy” ability he just let slip, as if by accident, that’s enough to upend common sense.
“Interesting…”
Karlenina suddenly smiled, a fighting spirit flaring in her icy blue eyes.
She looked at Lomio, her voice calm and earnest once more.
“I’m interested in alchemy too. If I could observe the process up close…”
“A mere thousand magic crystals—I’ll consider it my first investment.”
Huh? A future alchemy master? First investment?
Lomio was stunned.
This guy is truly something else!
Not only is he willing to lend money, he’s calling it an “investment” instead of a loan?
Is this what it means to have the vision and generosity of a future crown prince?
Being friends with the wealthy really is a different experience!
“Of course!” Without hesitation, Lomio picked up the card on the table and stood up. “Wait here, I’m off to buy materials. I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll head to the alchemy workshop ahead of you. Looking forward to your performance.”
Karlenina watched Lomio’s slightly hurried figure until he completely disappeared at the edge of the courtyard.
Beneath the shadow of a pillar, the air wavered faintly.
A girl with an indistinct presence, as if she might melt into the darkness at any moment, silently appeared, kneeling on one knee at Karlenina’s side.
“Your Highness, it’s been confirmed—he’s just the only son of Luosa, the border count.”
The girl’s voice was utterly emotionless.
“And… his reputation among the commoners, and even in his own manor, is extremely poor.”
Karlenina lifted her teacup, gently blowing away the swirling steam, without turning her head.
“Annie, what do you think of him?”
“Impetuous, deceitful, frivolous.” Annie bowed her head even lower, her voice laced with icy killing intent. “He shows no respect toward Your Highness. He deserves death.”
“Oh, my dear Annie, your loyalty is always so blunt.” Karlenina chuckled softly, shaking her head.
“Luosa… Is that the ‘Wandering Knight’ Count Luosa?”
“Yes, Your Highness. A war hero of the last great battle, yet always kept at the border as the cavalry commander.”
Karlenina’s fingertips stilled.
A noble with great military merit.
A notorious wastrel.
That’s a huge discrepancy from her earlier assumptions.
Whether it’s his precise sign language, his airtight academic plan, or the “alchemy” he just revealed…
No matter how you look at him, Lomio has nothing in common with the word “wastrel.”
But what if…
What if she looked at it from another angle?
A man everyone regards as trash is the perfect mask.
Who would care what a border count’s wastrel son is truly like?
The answer was now so clear it was frightening.
“He is not the real ‘Lomio Arcadi.’”
Karlenina murmured, a bold theory forming in her mind.
“He’s borrowed this identity—a perfect identity no one would ever pay attention to.”
“An assassin who seems to have just ‘awakened,’ yet can also practice alchemy…”
“This means his main class has already reached Tier Six, maybe even higher.”
“Tier Six?!”
For the first time, Annie’s voice was shaken—shocked and incredulous from a peer’s perspective.
“Your Highness, the assassin’s path to promotion… you know how hard that is!”
“It takes hunting how many high-tier stealth beasts! That road is basically cursed!”
As a victim of her own class, Annie knew better than anyone—it’s a dead-end you can see at a glance!
And the cap is low!
Always hiding in the shadows, spying and eavesdropping, but if a real fight breaks out, all you can do is run!
If she had the choice, she’d have chosen a magician or some flashy, low-cost class with a good growth curve!
“That’s what makes him even more terrifying.”
Karlenina slowly put down her teacup, her eyes sparkling with clarity.
“Maybe he’s found a promotion path unknown to others, or perhaps his perseverance and willpower are far above the norm.”
She stood up, gazing in the direction Lomio had left, her eyes icy calm.
“Annie, put away all your hostility.”
“Until we figure out how he plans to handle the current situation, and which targets he’s watching, don’t act rashly.”
“Maybe…”
Karlenina’s voice sank, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly.
“He was sent by Mother.”
“Her Majesty the Empress?” Annie was puzzled. “But we…”
“That’s exactly why, because we’re far from the center, she needs a touchstone no one will notice.”
A trace of gloom flickered in Karlenina’s eyes.
“She doesn’t have much time left, Annie. She’s searching for someone she can entrust everything to.”
“And Lomio will be my examiner—or perhaps, my executioner.”
“We either find a way to break Mother’s curse before graduation, to extend the empire’s destiny.”
“Or we grow stronger, return to the empire, and prepare for battle.”
“There is no third path.”
Annie trembled, all her killing intent vanishing in an instant, replaced by absolute obedience.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
With her loyal subordinate’s reply, Karlenina drained the last sip of tea.
Warmth slid down her throat, yet her heart felt cold as ice.
Time to head to the workshop.