In the evening of the Royal Capital, smoke was rising from the chimneys of each house.

The winter sun is short. The clock pointed to 6 o’clock, but complete darkness had swallowed the sky and earth. The four-wheeled carriage carrying Theodora rumbled across the evening streets. Her brow furrowed at the bumpy ride that couldn’t be called comfortable, even in a polite way.

Sarah, Theodora’s dedicated maid from the main house, sat across from her. She must have come from the main house to the Royal Capital following Count Bening. Sarah had a broad smile, seemingly happy to see her master after a long time.

“You’re uncomfortable, aren’t you, My Lady?”

Theodora nodded, pressing down on the seat with her hand.

“It’s only a short ride, so please bear with it.”
“Aren’t you uncomfortable?”

Sarah shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m already used to it. My Lady rides horses daily, so how are you uncomfortable with this?”
“It’s different from a horse.”

Sarah gave a slight smile as she looked at Theodora.

“What is it, Sarah?”
“Nothing, just… I can feel that you’ve changed a lot, Lady.”

At those words, the first thing that came to Theodora’s mind was Maxim.

“Is it thanks to Young Master Maxim?”

Theodora blushed slightly and glared at Sarah. Apart from Maxim, Sarah was the only one to whom she could reveal her emotions like this.

“Don’t mention that at the villa.”

At Theodora’s warning, Sarah answered with a smile.

“I know very well, too.”

The carriage ran for about 20 more minutes and reached a mansion inside the Royal Capital. It wasn’t very large in scale, but it was close to the Royal Palace. Count Bening used this villa when he came and went from the Royal Capital. Theodora got off the carriage and looked at the villa with the lights on. The coachman received the tip Sarah had separately prepared and drove away with a delighted expression.

“It’s always awkward here.”

Theodora muttered in front of the villa’s door. When Sarah looked at her with concern beside her, Theodora faintly smiled, telling her not to worry.

“My Lady…”
“It’s okay, Sarah.”

Theodora’s expression hardened, turning into her usual cold one. The front door of the villa opened. A neatly dressed servant walked out and bowed deeply towards Theodora.

“Welcome to the villa, Lady Theodora. I will escort you.”

Theodora gave a sideways glance at the servant. He straightened up from his bow and walked into the mansion.

“The Count is waiting for you.”

The reception room was not far from the corridor. Treading on the soft rug covering the floor, Theodora and Sarah carefully entered the reception room.

Carefully.

In fact, it wasn’t an expression a daughter would use when meeting her father. If it wasn’t the Bening family, that is. Theodora had lost her mother at a young age and grew up with the family’s retainers as her mother figures.

Theodora’s memories of her mother are very faint. She could only recall those memories in front of her mother’s portrait. She could hear stories about her mother and father from the retainers and nanny then, but none were testimonies that could be properly trusted.

Father was strict but gave affection. She rarely saw his smile. Perhaps only when Theodora showed achievements in swordsmanship. But for some reason, young Theodora felt fear whenever she saw that smile.

In the middle of the reception room, Leon Bening was seated with black hair and gray eyes similar to Theodora’s. But unlike her eyes, which seemed to swirl with rain clouds, his eyes were inorganic and cold, like cut gray crystal. Those eyes looked at her and creased into a smile.

“I pay my respects to the Head.”

The fireplace was burning here as well. Count Leon Bening tapped the armrest and opened his mouth.

“It’s been a while, my daughter.”

Father. Count Leon Bening.

He was still a fearsome existence to Theodora.

“I hope you have been well.”

Leon picked up a cup of tea and sipped it.

“Have a seat first, and speak comfortably. You’re in front of your father, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Father.”

Theodora hesitantly sat on the sofa. The texture was extremely soft, but she didn’t find that feeling comfortable. Theodora turned her head and looked at the other person sitting beside Leon.

“It’s been a while, Lady.”
“Viscount Bordin.”

For some reason, Emil Bordin, the head of the branch family, was sitting in the Bening family’s villa. Viscount Bordin showed a good-natured smile and slightly bowed his head. Theodora frowned slightly, her brows inconspicuously.

“I called Viscount Bordin here because I had something to discuss with him. Don’t mind it.”

Leon spoke in a flat voice.

“By the way, have you eaten?”
“Not yet…”

Theodora shook her head. Leon nodded as if it was good.

“Then, let’s talk over a meal.”

Leon put his hand on the armrest and stood up. Theodora followed him to the villa’s dining room.

As if he knew Theodora wouldn’t have eaten, a meal prepared for her was already steaming in the dining room. Leon, who sat at the head of the table, picked up a piece of sliced meat with a fork. Red meat juices dripped from the meat and the fork onto the plate.

“I heard that the final exam at the academy is coming up soon.”

Leon twirled the fork and brought the meat to his mouth. Leon Bening slowly chewed and swallowed the meat.

“Are you preparing properly?”

Leon’s eyes sharpened as he stared at Theodora.

“As always, I’m preparing well.”

Theodora answered, pretending to be nonchalant.

“I’m sure you are. Theodora, I have no doubt that you will do well.”

Leon said so, picked up another piece of meat with his fork, and brought it to his mouth.

“But you can never let your guard down with the academy’s exams. Especially the final exam.”

Leon had a meaningful look in his eyes.

“The final exam will be quite difficult. Theodora. More than you imagine.” “I will keep that in mind,”

Leon seemed to know something. Theodora didn’t bother to ask what he knew. The conversation ended there. There was almost no conversation at the dining table, except for Leon and Emil occasionally discussing politics at the Royal Palace. Theodora didn’t speak up and silently emptied her plate.

“Sarah.”
“Yes, Master.”

After finishing the meal, Leon, who was wiping his mouth with a napkin, called Sarah, standing behind Theodora.

“Could you bring that? The item I received today.”
“Understood.”

Theodora’s eyes followed Sarah’s back as she left the dining room to run the Count’s errand.

“What item?”

Theodora asked, but Leon didn’t answer as if he was going to keep it to himself.

When Sarah reappeared in the dining room, she was holding a small bag in her hand. The bag made a small clinking sound as if it contained a glass bottle. Leon opened the bag Sarah brought and placed it on the dining table. Then he took out the bag’s contents and showed them to Theodora.

“This is…?”

As expected, Leon took out a glass bottle. The bottle, with a thin neck and a plump body, was filled with a blood-red liquid. Theodora could hardly recognize what it was.

“Could it be a potion?”

Leon nodded.

“A very powerful one. Unless used on a dead person, it can save someone from almost any situation.”

Leon slightly swirled the bottle.

“Take it. Use it if an emergency arises during the exam.”

Theodora received the glass bottle Leon handed over with a dumbfounded expression.

“Th-thank you.”

If the potion’s efficacy was as Leon said, obtaining this potion was by no means an easy task. It required a connection to the Magic Tower, at the very least. It’s not a mediocre connection, but a solid one. Did that mean her father was paying attention to her exam to that extent? Theodora stroked the glass bottle containing the potion.

“Then, let’s get up, Emil. Theodora, stay and relax before you go.”

Leon stood up from his seat with Emil. Theodora blankly stared at the potion even after they left the dining room.

“You’ll have to use it well.”

Sarah was looking at the potion with a smiling face. Theodora preciously grasped the potion in her hand. She gained one more means to protect Maxim in the final exam where anything could happen.

==

Villa 2nd floor, Head’s study.

Leon Bening looked down at the window with his hands behind his back. A carriage carrying Theodora and Sarah was disappearing into the dark streets. The ‘potion’ was now in Theodora’s hands. All that was left was to wait for the academy’s final exam to end as planned.

“The Magic Tower matter is settled, right? Everything is prepared, as you said?”

Behind Leon stood Emil.

“Of course. The dungeon for the exam has been remodeled exactly as you requested, Count. When Lady Theodora and that person enter together, the dungeon will change on its own.”
“To drop a single insect, we have to go through all sorts of trouble.”

Leon clicked his tongue. Emil spoke as if to comfort the Count.

“Didn’t this opportunity also strengthen our ties with the Magic Tower?”
“The unnecessary expenditure was large. I told her so many times not to get distracted by anything and focus only on the sword.”

Leon sighed.

“Tsk, thanks to this, the arrangement with His Highness the Second Prince has been delayed. I only gave a hint.”

Leon Bening’s expression frowned. Silence hung in the study.

“…Head.”
“What is it, Emil?”
“But is it really okay to set the dungeon’s final guardian to target only Lady Theodora, not that person?”

Emil Bordin asked.

“Of course it’s okay, that Maxim fellow will definitely try to protect Theodora until the end.”

Leon Bening showed a bitter smile.

“Imagine if the dungeon’s final guardian relentlessly targets not Theodora but Theodora’s lover, Theodora will surely try to protect him without regard for her own body… Then the person who needs the ‘potion’ will change, won’t they?”
“You seem to trust the Lady.”
“Yes. I didn’t expect her to change this much, though.”

Leon Bening turned his gaze far into the night sky. It wasn’t a very clear sky.

“Remember the grand plan. Only the grand plan, the day we seize this kingdom, is not far off.”

Leon Bening muttered to himself.

==

The final exam began. The content of the exam that the graduating class cadets would take was finally revealed, causing quite a stir.

[Real Combat: 2-person team, Underground Dungeon Conquest.]

“Is there anyone these days who goes out of their way to find a dungeon?”
“If one is found, it would need to be subjugated… But did knights do this kind of work?”
“This must be what it means when they say anything can happen.”

The graduating class cadets were puzzled by the exam content, but overall, they could understand it. There was even a strange sense of anticipation among the cadets who took the theory exam. It was an exam to conquer a dungeon they had never experienced before and only heard about in someone’s adventure stories. It was natural for the hearts of the inexperienced cadets to flutter.

“Attention, everyone!”

The bald instructor’s shout was heard through the cadets’ flustered hearts. It was an unusually cold day for early winter. It seemed like the time had come for the cold wave from the north to truly rush in. Maxim focused on the instructor with a mixture of excitement and worry. His neck felt empty. The scarf wrapped around his neck was already given to Theodora.

“As you all received the notice, the final practical exam you will be taking from now on will be held in a dungeon provided by the Magic Tower.”

The instructor pointed behind his back with his thumb. Behind the lush forest shade, a huge cave stood, gaping its mouth open in pitch black.

“Your goal is to break through all the elements guarding that dungeon, go down to the deepest floor of the dungeon, and defeat the guardian protecting the core.”

The instructor gave a sideways glance towards the dungeon.

“That dungeon will test your everything. Situation handling ability, instant judgment, strategy, and tactics… And if you fight recklessly with your Aura Blade activated, the dungeon will collapse, so the use of Aura Blade will also be quite limited.”

The instructor lastly emphasized to boost the cadets’ courage.

“Do your best to conquer it and come back. I will grade you based on your method and time. Don’t forget to call the instructor in case of an emergency.”

Maxim glanced at Theodora, who was a short distance away. Just then, their eyes met as Theodora turned her head towards him. Theodora carefully mouthed the words.

Fighting today.

Maxim gave her a bright smile. If she was on the same team as him, it felt like they could overcome anything that happened.

Really, it felt like they could.