She scanned the board again, searching for anyone else from Kendru.

"M-mine it is 1702..." Miho said meekly

And then Lily found some more.

"Hm? One at 701… another at 902."

"T-that's maste—" Miho stopped abruptly when Lily shot her a sharp glare.

"A-A-Alric," Miho corrected herself, awkwardly unused to calling him by name.

"Hm. Good," Lily replied flatly. "That fucker doesn't deserve to be called master."

Her mood had already been ruined the moment she hadn't been beside him on the scoreboard, not to mention it declared him dead even.

"When are you going to come, my baby…"

She said it with a pout, crossing her arms over her chest. Almost instantly, the memory surged back—vivid and shameless. Leo sucking on her breasts like a greedy child, his arms wrapped around her as she held his head tightly, pressing him deeper while nuzzling her nose into his hair.

Just recalling it sent sharp jolts racing through her body.

Lily visibly shivered.

Miho watched her from the side, eyes widening slightly.

She's thinking about him again…

Even Miho had been dumbstruck when she first saw the top score. Even more so when she realized it came from the same city as hers. And the final nail—Lily ranked third, while her man stood at first.

But he was declared dead.

Yet Lily didn't even entertain the thought.

She doesn't believe it. Not even for a moment…Is this what real love looks like?

Lily suddenly slapped her own cheeks—smack, smack—and Miho was jolted out of her daze as well.

Over the past few days, Miho had observed Lily closely, noticing her occasional strange behavior whenever her thoughts drifted to Leo. Since Leo had given Lily fifteen silver—half of what he had left after purchasing his dagger—they were, in a sense, wealthy. Enough to stay in a comfortable inn without worry.

Lily had practically adopted Miho.

With just fifteen silver, they were already among the top five percent of the candidates, excluding instructors and professors. But after Lily officially updated her nobility status to Baron, they leapt straight into the top one percent.

It was impossible not to rank up after people saw Lily's beast firsthand in the city square. Still, Lily played it smart. She first collected her pending five-silver stipend from the Beast Hall after the trial, then applied for the rank-up. That immediately granted her one gold coin as part of the Baron's monthly stipend.

At present, Lily held a balance of one gold and twenty silver.

She was convinced this was far higher than Leo's current funds—and once again felt the urge to flaunt it in front of him. Let him beg for some money in exchange for some special 'services' like she had to do for him... more like she wanted to do, but whatever.

Lily hadn't sold the beast cores she had collected. In fact, most candidates didn't. Beast cores were precious, comparable to soul crystals. Everyone hoarded them to strengthen their own beasts. The only ones who sold cores were those without tamed beasts—the people with other talents—and even then, they preferred trading for soul crystals rather than raw currency.

Lily took full advantage of this.

Since Leo's beasts were always starving for cores, she exchanged aggressively. She had noticed she could no longer absorb soul crystals herself—it felt as if she were already full. She suspected Leo suffered from the same limitation.

So after keeping a portion of mana and soul crystals for herself and Miho, she sold the remaining soul crystals and excess mana crystals, trading them directly for beast cores. She and Miho even rented a small stall for the exchanges.

By the end of the day, everything was gone.

Soul crystals were always hot commodities.

And with that, Lily gathered a massive stockpile of beast cores—for Leo.

"I wonder if he tamed any new beasts…" she murmured softly.

Her thoughts drifted to Shyra—how the beast once curled up on her lap or shoulder, only to later carry her proudly upon its back.

"Leo's power is… unusual," Lily admitted quietly. "I didn't see anyone like him in the whole trial."

But she didn't dwell on it.

The only thing that mattered was that she loved him—and that he loved her.

That was enough.

Let the rest of the world burn, and she wouldn't bat an eye. All in the while, she failed to notice the tiny flicker of her eyes that glowed pink.

"Unusual?" a voice asked suddenly. "Like how, exactly?"

The words cut in without warning.

Lily and Miho both jolted. Lily reacted instantly, feet sliding apart as she took a battle stance, fingers wrapping around the hilt of her new sword. The faint scrape of leather and metal echoed as the blade shifted in its sheath.

"Easy," the man said calmly. "Keep calm, little girl. I'm not here to harm you."

It was Brant.

Given that the first time Lily had encountered him she'd been unconscious—and the last time he'd interacted with Leo, Leo had been alone—it was only natural for her guard to be raised.

Still, recognition flickered in her eyes.

"The Academy instructor…" Lily said cautiously.

Brant smiled faintly. "Professor, to be exact. A small detail, but an important one. You can call me Professor Brant." His expression sobered almost immediately. "Now, to the real matter. Is the boy alive?"

The question was blunt.

Lily's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"The boy. Your man," Brant clarified without hesitation. "Is he alive? The metal plate declares him dead—but I believe otherwise."

"Why should I tell you that?" Lily shot back coldly.

At that, Brant lifted a finger and pointed toward her neck.

"That necklace," he said. "I gave it to him. It protects against mental attacks." His gaze sharpened slightly. "Looks like he cared more about you than himself. Rest assured, I'm not your enemy."

Lily fell silent, fingers rising instinctively to the necklace Leo had placed around her neck.

This old man gave something that protects against mental attacks…And Leo gave it to me instead…

Her thoughts churned.

Are people targeting us?

After a moment, she exhaled slowly.

"He's alive," Lily said at last, certain that revealing this much wouldn't place Leo in danger.

Brant's posture relaxed instantly, a visible spark of relief lighting his face.

"That's great," he said sincerely. "Really—if he had truly been done for—"

Lily's gaze turned icy.

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