By eleven o'clock, the lesson had ended—not because the day's curriculum was complete, but because it was around this time that Valred might wake up, and Maya needed to be there to attend to him. Shortly after, Lady Winsor would leave the castle for her duties, and the banshee instructor would follow, leaving Maya to study on her own for the rest of the day.
If Valred had nothing to do, it would be fine. But if he needed her, she wouldn't be able to study, and she would face punishment the next day when the instructor checked her progress. This conflict sometimes forced Maya to get up in the middle of the night, light a candle, and review her lessons in secret.
"Maya! Maya?! Where are my clothes?!"
When Maya hurried back to the room, Valred had already been awake for a while. The first thing the young master did upon opening his eyes was to call for her. It seemed that years of noble life had pushed him further toward becoming a spoiled aristocrat who couldn't even find his own clothes without Maya's help.
"Coming, coming, Master!" Hearing Valred's shout, Maya quickly pushed the door open and rushed in. Seeing the clothes Valred had carelessly thrown on the floor the night before, she bent down to pick them up but lost her balance and began to fall toward the ground…
Maya closed her eyes, bracing herself for the pain of the fall. She resolved to get up immediately, continue quickly gathering the clothes, and run toward the wardrobe while repeatedly apologizing to Valred in the most sincere tone—even though she hadn't done anything wrong.
In such situations, one might expect a man to reach out and catch the girl or even throw himself down as a cushion. But the perfect and elegant young nobleman would never do something so undignified. He simply let the little maid fall with a thud.
That was how it usually went. Similar incidents had happened before, and Valred would only mutter, "Clumsy," without doing anything else. But this time, things were different.
Just as Maya was about to hit the ground, she heard a snap of fingers, and suddenly, her body floated in mid-air. This frightened her, but her submissive nature kept her from struggling. She was gently lifted by an invisible current of magical wind and set back on her feet.
"Uh, um…" Though she didn't fully understand what had happened, it seemed that Valred had saved her. This unexpected kindness left Maya flustered. She timidly looked at Valred, her hands clasped nervously in front of her chest, her mind in disarray. It wasn't until Valred impatiently shouted again that she snapped out of it.
"—Where are my clothes?!"
"—Sorry, sorry, sorry… I'll get them for you right away, Master." Hearing Valred's shout, Maya quickly became flustered again. However, having learned from her earlier mistake, she moved more carefully this time and didn't fall.
Maya picked up the clothes from the floor and tossed them into the basket she had brought in, planning to send them for washing later. Then she ran to Valred's wardrobe, took out a full set of formal attire—shirt, socks, and all—and brought them to the bed to help Valred dress. While Valred sat on the bed, still groggy, Maya ran out to fetch a basin of hot water. She helped him wash his face and hands, combed his hair…
At first, Valred wasn't used to such meticulous care and thought it was excessive. But it didn't take long for him to grow fond of this lifestyle. He no longer had to do anything himself—clothes were handed to him, and food was brought to his mouth. The once-skilled pilot of the spiritual mecha was gradually turning into a spoiled noble.
Of course, Valred remained oblivious to this. All he noticed was that his magical power was increasing, and his ability to control the winds of magic had improved significantly—evidenced by how he had effortlessly used magic to float Maya earlier, rather than accidentally tearing her apart. Though his physical strength had diminished due to his smaller size, his combat prowess had increased several times over. In such a state, he had no interest in worrying about basic life skills.
Despite going to bed late the previous night, Valred had slept well, comforted by the presence of The Knight's Codex under his arm. As a result, he woke up a bit earlier than usual, which not only threw Maya into a frenzy but also surprised his sister.
"You lazybones, you stayed up so late last night, yet you're up this early today? Did the sun rise from the west?"
Seeing Valred push open the door and step out of his room, Isabella, who was about to head downstairs, was slightly taken aback. Normally, Valred would have slept in much later, especially after the previous night's festivities. Unlike his sister, who had classes, or his mother, who had work, Valred had no obligations, so Isabella had assumed she wouldn't see him until much later in the day.
"That's neither here nor there," Valred replied, yawning. He was already considering going back to bed for a nap.
Seeing the tears in his eyes from yawning, Isabella knew exactly what he was thinking. She raised an eyebrow and preemptively said, "Since you're already up, don't go back to sleep. Mother is about to leave. Come down with me to say goodbye."
Valred was about to refuse, but Isabella glared at him, leaned forward slightly, placed her left hand on her hip, and pointed at him with her right hand, cutting him off:
"Don't you dare say no!"
Well, that was that. Being the older sister had its privileges. Valred shrugged and let Isabella drag him downstairs to bid farewell to Lady Winsor, who was about to leave.
Seeing her two children running down the stairs, Lady Winsor hurried over, saying anxiously, "Don't run so fast; you might fall!" When Isabella and Valred reached her, she gave Isabella a reproachful look. She first hugged Valred affectionately, then carefully checked him for any injuries—as if someone who could navigate ancient tombs and secret chambers could possibly get hurt going down a flight of stairs.
After confirming that he was unharmed, Lady Winsor sighed in relief and scolded Isabella, "Don't drag your brother around like that in the future. He's still young. If he gets hurt, it'll be a big problem."
The way Lady Winsor treated her two children made it clear just how much she favored her son over her daughter. Her tone was so severe that it almost seemed as if Isabella were an adopted child, leaving her on the verge of tears.
After her husband's death, Lady Winsor's only reasons for living were her two children. But since Isabella was a girl, it was inevitable that Valred would inherit the family title and become the Count of Carstein. Lady Winsor's affection for Valred had reached an almost pathological level. For this widowed noblewoman, Valred was everything.
This excessive affection weighed heavily on Valred. As mentioned before, he felt somewhat alienated from his parents and was often overwhelmed by his mother's love. Sometimes, when Lady Winsor stared at him with that intense, almost manic gaze, Valred couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
He didn't like it. He didn't like being loved too much. He didn't like being given too much. In short, he just didn't like it.
By the time Lady Winsor finished her lecture, a significant amount of time had passed. Isabella had mentioned that she was bringing Valred to say goodbye to their mother. Under the watchful eyes of both his mother and sister, Valred reluctantly muttered in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's:
"...Mother."
Only then did Lady Winsor leave, satisfied, accompanied by her entourage of vampires, banshees, and Blood Grail Knights.
In truth, Valred had wanted to call her "Lady Winsor." But he remembered the last time he had done so—the look of utter despair on his mother's face and the way Isabella had pinched the tender flesh of his waist so hard it hurt. He had no desire to experience that again.
After seeing their mother off, Valred had breakfast with Isabella. Once they finished, Isabella left for school, and Valred returned to his bedroom, shooing away Maya, who was about to tidy up the bed. He then climbed back under the covers, fully dressed, and slept until noon, vowing never to wake up early again.