Three days had passed since I was officially appointed as Rene's escort by Crete.

During this time, which felt both long and short, I was able to explore the mansion freely. Crete didn't restrict my movements.

'He must be overconfident in the Gu poison.'

I glanced at the viper sleeping on my hand. It was none other than the Gu poison that Crete had implanted in my chest.

- ………….

It showed no signs of waking up yet, but occasionally, it would stir. Every lunchtime, it would open its eyelids slightly and stare at me.

Whenever that happened, I would give it mana infused with the Darkness trait.

Just like now.

- …….

Lick.

Yawn.

After consuming the mana, the Gu yawned contentedly and fell back asleep. Feeding it had become a routine, so it wasn't inconvenient.

I wasn't sure how long I could keep this up...

But for now, since it wasn't showing any adverse reactions, I could breathe a sigh of relief.

...And there was a bigger problem than the Gu.

“……!!”

The black-haired girl with whom I made eye contact tensed up.

Rene, the youngest daughter of the Bares family and the one I was supposed to protect.

However,

'She's too fierce...'

The problem was Rene's attitude.

She didn't seem to doubt my identity as an escort, but it was clear that she didn't like me.

I wish I knew why.

...No, I think I might know.

During my three days at the Bares mansion, I had overheard conversations among the servants.

There was a common theme in their discussions.

"She used to be so bright when she was young."

"If only that incident hadn't happened, Lady Rene..."

Rene's mother.

It was a topic that came up whenever the servants talked about Rene.

Rene's mother was killed by humans during the Human-Demon War.

I still had my parents alive, so I couldn't fully understand her grief.

However, I had seen my close friend go through his parents' funeral.

'That friend lived like a recluse for years after that.'

He skipped more meals than he ate and cut off most of his relationships, avoiding interaction with the world.

Seeing him unresponsive to any comfort, I realized that the feeling of loss when losing a loved one couldn't be filled by anything else.

That's why I felt so guilty.

It was none other than me, the author, who had killed Rene's mother.

To be exact, it was the humans at the time of the Great War…….

No matter how hard I tried to comfort myself, the guilt did not diminish.

I looked at Rene with compassionate eyes.

“…….”

“…….”

Tears welled up.

Soon, Rene's tightly pursed lips parted,

“……I feel sick.”

She uttered in a terrible voice.

Swoosh.

As I watched Rene distance herself from me, I swallowed my tears.

“Sir Adel, Lady Rene.”

The servant I had seen before spoke to Rene and me.

“The Lord is calling for you.”

* * *

Crete was sitting in a chair, staring at Rene and me.

As Rene and I approached, Crete spoke.

“Rene, you must have guessed what I'm going to say.”

“……!”

At Crete's words, Rene's eyes lit up with anticipation.

I wondered why Rene was reacting that way, knowing what Crete was going to say.

I was very curious, but I waited for Crete to speak, as I didn't want to arouse any suspicion.

Soon, Crete uttered a single sentence.

“The entrance exam date for Sytan has been set.”

“Wow……!”

Rene exclaimed in admiration as if she were genuinely happy.

But I couldn't bring myself to listen to Crete's words.

There was an uncomfortable word in it.

'If it's Sytan…….'

The Imperial Academy.

A place where promising commoners or children of high-ranking nobles gather to hone their talents like precious stones or build connections.

It was also the setting for the novel I had written.

...And the counterpart of the Imperial Academy was the Demon Training Institute, 'Sytan.'

In fact, it was embarrassing to even call it an antithesis.

Sytan also wields tremendous power within the Demon Realm, but among them, those who could defeat the main characters of the Imperial Academy, the main characters of the novel, were extremely rare.

I looked at Rene blankly.

'Is that why Rene died?'

As the story progressed, Sytan and the Imperial Academy were constantly at odds.

Sytan inflicted great damage on the students of the Imperial Academy every time.

Rene must have been one of the demons who was killed by the students of the Imperial Academy.

That's why I hated Sytan.

Sytan is a place that holds a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment...

It's hard to understand why Rene would be so eager to enroll in such a place.

...If I were her, I'd rather be prepared to die.

'Judging by the atmosphere, it seems that her conquest of the Secret Realm was also an attempt to claim the right to enroll in Sytan.'

Is there any reason to go to such lengths?

I had no intention of dissuading Rene, so I just stared at her with a look of mixed emotions.

"However, it's difficult to grant permission."

Crete said, raising one hand.

Rene's expression hardened at this.