Raelis raised one of the 'objects' from the hidden compartment and tossed it on her bed.
And of course, those objects were none other than several pieces of candy.
"Y-Young master... I can explain," Lydia mumbled, flustered. "You see, what happened was... while the head maid was doing the cooking... I—I snuck into the kitchen and grabbed some candy!"
She bowed, her expression filled with guilt. "I never meant to steal, young master... but aside from this candy, there aren't any other sweets in the entire manor... but I will accept any punishment you might give me."
Raelis let out a sigh as he stuffed the candy back into the hidden compartment and closed the drawer.
"I don't really care whether you eat candy or not, Lydia. But hiding it in a secret compartment is a little... childish," he remarked before pausing.
"Tell me... did Auren Varekan ever try to get in contact with me?"
The moment he finished his words, Lydia's eyes darted to one section of the room, her bed.
"May I, young master?" she asked.
He nodded, and the moment he did, she straightened her posture and walked to her bed.
She lifted the sheets, then pulled out a single letter, which she handed to Raelis.
"Young master, that letter is addressed to you. Just like how you asked me to slide a note under Auren Varekan's door, this one was delivered a week later in the same way," Lydia said calmly. "And no, young master, I did not read it."
His brow rose, but after checking the edges of the letter as well as the seal, it was clear she wasn't lying in that regard.
He opened the letter with care and read through it.
—I understand it might take a while before this letter reaches you, but I just wanted to let you know I received your message. While I don't understand the intent behind it, I am open to having a chat whenever you're awake.—
It was a plain letter, but the message was simple enough to understand.
Or so it seemed on the surface. As he inspected the lettering, he stumbled upon something interesting.
"The A's are different. So are the U's," Raelis pointed out and crumpled the letter, putting it in his pocket.
It's definitely not Auren. That's for sure.
He turned to Lydia with a frown. "This won't do, Lydia. This won't do at all."
"Young master...?" She tilted her head. "Is something wrong?"
"Did you deliver the letter like I asked?"
"Yes...? I delivered it to Auren Varekan's room like you told me to," Lydia replied.
A moment of silence ensued, giving Raelis time to think.
Yes, he wanted to come to the simple conclusion that she had betrayed him yet again. But the circumstances were slightly different.
He had been asleep for the last 3 years, so the variables behind that fake letter, or Auren's reaction itself, were something he never had the chance to see.
Basically, his loyalty test was a dud, and putting the blame on her any further would be stupid.
That was why...
"It's nothing," Raelis said. "Did you happen to catch a glimpse of the person who delivered the letter?"
She shook her head. "I did not... When I opened the door to confront them, they were already gone."
So someone agile... that doesn't narrow it down at all, Raelis sighed and walked to the door.
Just as he was about to leave, he turned around, glancing at Lydia.
"Get back to work, and prepare yourself. I'll be giving you a mission very soon."
Her brow rose in curiosity, but instead of asking, she bowed. "Understood, young master."
He sent her one last nod, and with that he left her room and headed outside.
Since it was so early, his mother was likely still asleep, and as for the other maids, he had no reason to talk with them.
Raelis stepped through the front door, and his eyes widened in awe.
The entire front yard was littered with corpses of various Mana Beasts.
Most were Grade 10, like enhanced wolves. But he also spotted a few Grade 9 chimeras.
The Grade was determined by the color and size of the Mana Core in a beast's body. Grade 10 usually meant a pitch-black Mana Core, and Grade 9 was a dark red.
With each Grade, the monsters grew significantly stronger. Lizbeth, a 5th Circle swordsman, could probably handle a single Grade 6 Mana Beast. Maybe a Grade 5 if she got lucky.
He glanced to the side and saw her dicing up the Mana Beasts' bodies, storing the pieces in strange containers.
Raelis approached, causing her to pause for a moment.
"You're awake. You missed the whole show, you know?" Lizbeth remarked.
"I did, didn't I?" Raelis chuckled. "Maybe tonight then?"
"I was joking," Lizbeth replied flatly. "Lady Sophia would kill me if I let you have a shot at Mana Beasts. Even if they're just Grade 10 Mana Beasts, they're still too strong for you to handle."
He tilted his head. "Even if you're right beside me?"
Lizbeth nodded. "Even if I'm beside you."
Noticing his dejected expression, she sighed and continued. "Though for some reason, the manor doesn't lock the doors past midnight. Probably because the maids think I'm going to head back in."
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "I see..."
I'll keep that in mind.
"Do you need any help with the corpses?" Raelis asked.
She turned to him with a puzzled look. "You're pretty strange for an imperial, you know that? But sure, use that fire of yours to burn the corpses. Oh, I already collected their Mana Cores, so go all out, yeah?"
Raelis hummed and got to work, mentally preparing himself.
After all...
Tonight, he'd kill his first Mana Beast.