Xian opened his eyes and felt renewed.
He had regressed.
'I knew you could do it, Miri.' He silently cheered.
He rose from the bed and dressed the same way as before. This time he did not wait for Moris to come fetch him. Instead, he waited for him in the corridor outside his room.
When Moris appeared, Xian greeted him immediately.
"What are we going to do today, Sir Moris?"
"Hm. Follow me."
Moris gave a brief nod of acknowledgment before turning around. Xian followed behind him with brisk steps and quiet confidence, knowing that he had grown stronger from the past two regressions.
He briefly checked his character sheet.
[Shackled One (Sealed Traits: ??? Lvl 18, ??? Lvl 28, 78/100, ??? Lvl 38)]
It seemed that his scuffle with the chief maid had granted slight progress. Xian estimated that by the third day, he could show results worthy of what Carmillia required of him.
Soon they entered the training grounds.
The moment he stepped inside, his eyes scanned the room, searching for an unassuming maid witha bob cut black hair.
'There she is.'
Miri stood near the side of the training grounds like before, holding a small box filled with healing supplies and potions.
Xian decided he would observe her later. He needed to know when and where the chief maid would distribute the poison, and how it would be done.
"Today you will be sparring with her."
Moris had apparently finished the introduction while Xian was lost in thought.
The frown on Serika's face told him she was already annoyed.
The familiarity Xian felt toward her remained even after regression, and it only grew stronger each time they met. But those memories belonged to him alone.
'Is this why some regressors become insane in the end?'
Xian did not know the answer. Perhaps the moment he regressed and transmigrated into the game, he had already crossed that line.
He had done unthinkable things already.
He had murdered someone. He had stabbed a man in the neck. He had taken advantage of another person's feelings.
Yet he felt neither pity nor remorse.
It was no different from playing the game behind a screen. The only difference now was that the physical sensations and visuals were indistinguishable from reality.
"This guy… Hey! Pay attention to your opponent!"
Serika snarled impatiently, just as hot-tempered as ever.
After the spar, Serika shared her assessment with Carmillia.
"Just passable. He lacks stamina, but everything else… is alright."
Xian could last around fifteen minutes before fatigue set in. After that, his movements slowed, his breathing grew rough, and openings began to appear in his defense.
"Do you think he'll manage to hit you within a week?"
"If I gave my all, he wouldn't. But that would mean unfairly using aura."
Serika had already noticed that Xian's physical abilities were close to her own in terms of strength and speed. The problem is, he can't use it efficiently, hence the vast difference between them. Although she still held the advantage, proper training would allow him to catch up.
'Maybe it's because he's quite tall and well built.'
Serika's thoughts wandered for a moment as she recalled the firm outline of Xian's muscles.
"Young miss, I think he can be of use," Lucinelle said.
Watching Xian wield a longsword so roughly had irritated her. He swung it more like a brute than a trained swordsman.
"Of use, you say? He's a lapdog sent by my father. You would still trust him?"
"…Yes. He looks villainous, but he doesn't give off the same feeling as those men."
Serika perked up when she heard Lucinelle's words.
'Really? I thought he looked kind of cool… and his expressions when hit are funny.'
"Huh. The two of you seem interested in that man."
The villainess spoke with a faint, teasing smile.
If Xian had been there to witness it, his eyes would have bulged out of their sockets. A normal and friendly conversation between Carmillia and her swordmaidens was something never seen anywhere before.
"W-what?! No way!" Serika denied it vehemently, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Only moments ago she had been thinking about Xian's sharp eyes, his defined jawline, and the aloof expression that suited his crimson hair. His height and physique made him quite an imposing figure.
But the moment Carmillia spoke, those thoughts scattered.
"He needs to be taught properly in the way of the sword," Meanwhile, Lucinelle had a different reason. She wanted her own turn at teaching Xian how to handle a longsword.
Most of Lucinelle's time was spent refining her techniques, practicing how to deliver the most efficient strikes. Whether it was a swift and painless execution, or the opposite, making an enemy writhe in agony.
Xian, whom she had already begun to consider a potential comrade, would need his skills refined if he wished to survive.
The two of them, each a precious child of their families, had been together since childhood. Lucinelle debuted as a swordmaiden at a young age due to the nature of her family, loyal knights who once pledged their service to a single master.
Serika, however, was a rather special case. She was discovered to possess exceptional martial talent and was taught how to best utilize her massive amount of aura.
"Let's wait a bit longer. The academy's entrance exam is just around the corner. We need to make sure he won't hold me back." Today's matter was to investigate the students enrolling in the academy.
The two swordmaidens nodded seriously, aware of why Carmillia was so careful about bringing Xian with her.
'Who can be an ally and who are the enemies.' Carmillia was well aware of the many threats against her life. It had all begun because of an incident that claimed multiple lives across the kingdom.
The massacre of the kingdom's 'Exemplars' under the order of the old king, executed by her very own father and his pro-imperial faction that, to this day, still stood strong and continued to deepen the rift within the kingdom.
'Or so they say.' Carmillia did not believe those people were truly role models in their own right. One of those Exemplars had been her own mother, the Benevolent Mistress of the Montagne Dukedom.
The very woman who once restrained all the evil Carmillia might have become.
***
Xian was waiting for Serika to come back. But she didn't. Miri waited with him awkwardly, fiddling with her fingers.
'Surely it's because I've grown stronger.' He could take this as a good thing. It meant that Carmillia wasn't simply scheming to get rid of him. Now that he had reached an acceptable level of strength, he was going to be used.
That was the way Carmillia had always been. Many players found this aspect of her twisted, as no one ever truly entered her sight besides her two guards.
It was also Xian's greatest curiosity and goal to understand. In the academy, he would be in a new position never seen before. But he didn't need to worry. With his regression, investigations and trials could be done beforehand.
Besides, even if he couldn't witness the events surrounding the protagonist, there would always be signs. And he could simply stalk him if he really had to.
'As always, just like in the game.' He had always done things this way, and it had proven effective. If he hadn't been like this, then who knew whether he would have transmigrated here or simply died and become nothingness.
Affairs of the academy were drawing near, and Xian felt a surge of anticipation. Meeting the characters he liked was something he had always enjoyed. The first time he laid eyes on Carmillia felt like a blessing, though she quickly dampened that feeling with her villainous tendencies.
There was no doubt that Carmillia and the swordmaiden duo would be admitted. However, in the game, Serika and Lucinelle did not attend as students, making them largely unknown to the players. Instead, they served as guards, always standing at Carmillia's side.
The illustrious academy of Rozenfall had three known methods of admission.
First was passing the entrance exam. The difficulty changed every year. Some even said it was one of the most anticipated events of the academy, because the devilish professors took great care in designing ordeals meant to make the entrants suffer as much as possible.
Even in the game, the devilish developers created random types of entrance exams and events, thoroughly disrupting the players' plans whenever they restarted a run. Only if the player was lucky would their build match the exam and allow them to breeze through it.
Second was possessing a background of special talent or lineage. This required someone to be a confirmed inheritor of a lineage's traits and talents, often nurtured by the power they came from, whether it be a household, a clan, or an independent authority like the academy itself.
The academy, as a center for nurturing these specialized individuals, would take every measure to ensure that the budding talent grew into a full-fledged flower. Often, it was these very students who caused the most troublesome problems for the headmaster and chancellor to handle.
And finally, the lifeblood of the academy.
Money.
An immense amount of money could 'fix' one's admission, but whether the student could remain was entirely up to them.
'There's one more.' However, it was the most discreet method the academy used.
Xian thought about it as he headed to his room, with Miri quietly following behind him.
Having the backing of a high-ranking official could grant admission, or even allow a student to transfer in the middle of a semester. This was especially true when the recommendation came from someone like the headmaster himself, the duke of the academy city.
'Like that heir who will appear sometime in the academy.'
This particular person was someone Xian would have to be wary of if she ever appeared. She was one of the heroines he had looked into out of curiosity, though in the game her appearance required a very specific condition to be triggered, something he didn't believe would happen here. Still,
the events that had already unfolded proved that the game's scenarios would not always play out exactly the same in reality.
Reality brought too many variables to the table. The only things he could rely on were what he knew about their character, nature, and background. Those were things he could take advantage of.
"S-sir Xian? W-what are we going to do in y-your room?…" They had arrived at his room, and Miri, whom he had only met yesterday, had been dragged away by his request.
"There's something I need your help with. Come in."
Miri, who was supposed to report after Xian's spar ended early, carefully followed him. Xian insisted they had to talk inside his room, but strange thoughts continued to make their way through her small head.
"Has the chief maid given you anything these days?"
"Eh?" Miri, surprised by the strange question, recovered and seemed to think. "No, she didn't." The chief maid was an aloof and scary woman, but Miri believed she was kind. Whenever the other maids bullied her, the chief maid would make them stop once she noticed.
"Is that so?"
'Then when did she give her the potion? I should've paid attention to which day her affection shot up.' He touched his chin, deep in thought.
What he wanted from this regression was to reveal the mole and obtain those potions without exposing their existence.
He couldn't let Carmillia or Moris know, because they would surely demand proof. Those potions would be useful in the long run.
Meanwhile, Miri was simply too weak. He could tell she had received some training, but her potential must have been rather ordinary.
'No wait… There's someone.' Xian smirked. Someone he might be able to manipulate.
She was impulsive, often got herself into trouble, and in the game she frequently died first because of reckless attacks.
'Serika!' Most importantly, she was strong and had free time during the next few days.
They could also avoid Carmillia's attention, because after a few rounds she usually left them to spar on their own.
'Then it's decided.'
Xian could simply confront the chief maid himself, but the problem was that he wasn't trusted enough in this household.
But if it was Serika?
'Even if she kills her, no one would bat an eye.' And she was the type who wouldn't care either.
"Alright. When she gives you something, whether it's food or drink, discreetly discard it."
"W-what? But… why?" The maid tilted her head. She could do that, but it felt rude.
"Because I'm a special butler from the dukedom, Miri. Didn't you know?" He stepped toward her, and Miri instinctively stepped back, intimidated by his imposing figure. To the servants and the chief maid alike, that title carried weight.
"I'm dispatched to protect the young miss. I need the cooperation of an excellent and trustworthy maid." Once she was cornered against the wall of the room, she tried to slip away, but Xian's hand struck the wall beside her head.
"Kya! W-what!" Her voice rose slightly, but remained low enough that only the two of them could hear it.
Now their faces were only inches apart. She could feel his breath against her forehead, heat spreading across her cheeks. The special butler was attractive in her eyes, and his wild yet regal appearance suited the butler's uniform well.
'What's going on? What is he going to do to me?' She had heard Xian's request, but something more pressing demanded her attention.
Xian's face moved closer as Miri closed her eyes, her lips slightly parted. Only for Xian to turn aside and whisper into her ear.
"If you do that, I will be very pleased, Miri. I will give you a reward you won't be able to resist."
'Did I do it right?' Xian saw her affection meter shoot upward.
[BLUE HEART: 20]
'Still absurdly fast. She must really like me.' No one in his past life had ever fallen for him this quickly. Seeing her flushed face, the sweat sliding down her neck, and her uneven breathing stirred familiar sensations in his inexperienced self, but he suppressed them.
Just because he could regress didn't mean he wanted to act impulsively. It was a faint remnant of morality left within him, even after living a life where nothing mattered except shallow pleasure and self-pity.
For now, he had no intention of touching anyone during the tutorial.
'At least until I'm sure she won't accidentally bear a child.' Xian would have to wait until he reached the academy to obtain some means for safe 'practice'.
The thought that he could actually experience such things in this life, in a world that had once been just a game, made him laugh inwardly. Feeling foolish, he found it strangely amusing as a smile crept onto his lips and his eyes softened for a moment.
"Ah."
Seeing his smile, Miri's legs gave out, and Xian caught her in his arms.