Gideon reached into his storage and took something out. He had bought it before coming here specifically for Piggy, already deciding that he wouldn’t leave someone like her completely unchecked.

It was a monitoring anklet connected directly to the system. Once attached, it would track her location at all times, and according to the description, it could never be removed by force.

Not by blades, not by brute strength, not even by high-ranking aberrants. The thing was absurdly durable.

He walked toward her and held it out.

Piggy took it without asking questions. She simply stared at it for a moment, turning it lightly in her hands before letting out a small breath.

"Really?" she muttered. "I already know how isolated this place is even though you covered my eyes and ears on the way here."

Her tone still carried that sharp edge, but she continued avoiding eye contact completely.

"You know what the first thing Elaine did to me was?" she said after a pause. "She ordered me to strip naked and threw away all my belongings. She burned it all in front of my face and left me with these ugly things."

Even while saying that, she still bent down and locked the anklet around her leg without resistance.

"I know," Gideon replied calmly. "But that doesn’t mean I can trust you yet. For all I know, you could still have a way to contact Skull Fangs or pass information through the spy you planted in Freebound."

Piggy gave a quiet laugh at that. "That’s a sharp suspicion, but no." She slowly moved herself farther into the corner of the bed almost out of instinct.

"That redhead is terrifying. She remembers every single person tied to Freebound. Faces, names, habits, everything."

Her smile became thinner. "Even the Order of the West failed to plant spies inside her faction. No one is able to lie in front of her face without being busted immediately."

Despite her sarcastic tone, the fear in her body language was obvious. And the more Gideon watched her, the more he realized something.

She wasn’t actually the most afraid of him. She was afraid of men.

The memory resurfaced immediately. The very first thing Piggy asked after arriving at his house wasn’t whether she would be tortured or imprisoned.

It was:

"Are there any men here besides you?"

That alone said enough.

It was kinda ironic since she works with a lot of men, most of Skull Fang’s members he killed were all men. How did she survive all this time if she was scared of them?

’Maybe that’s why her tone is always defensive and arrogant. She created distance and probably acted like a tyrant when she was with her men.’

Or maybe she only dislikes men in general, but is terrified of Gideon.

Piggy sat with her knees slightly drawn in, shoulders tense, like she was waiting for something bad to happen simply because they were alone in the same room.

Gideon looked at her quietly before speaking again. "I just don’t believe you yet. Your work alone already tells me enough."

His gaze sharpened slightly. "And the fact that you managed to survive and become important inside a group like Skull Fangs means you’re not innocent either."

This time, she didn’t argue back. She just lowered her gaze further, silent and strangely small compared to how she usually acted.

After a long pause, she finally laughed weakly under her breath.

"...Forget it," she murmured. "You’re right. I’m a terrible person."

The smile on her face looked bitter and exhausted rather than defensive now.

Then she slowly lifted her head just enough to ask, "But... are they alright?"

Gideon understood immediately who she meant. He nodded once. "Probably."

Piggy relaxed slightly at that, though only slightly.

"You’ll help with the development of this territory from now on," Gideon continued. "Do your job properly and don’t try to deceive me. Because trust me, I can be crueler than anyone you’ve ever met."

Piggy slowly raised her eyes toward him for the first time. Then, unexpectedly, she laughed.

"No," she said quietly. "I know people worse than you. Way worse. More than one or two. There are a lot of them." She paused briefly before adding, "Especially the person who started all of this."

The room fell silent for a moment. Piggy took a slow breath and leaned her head back against the wall behind her.

"So don’t bother threatening me, Chief... my lord," she said with another faint laugh. "Believe me, I already know how ugly people can get."

Her eyes slowly closed. "And honestly... I’m tired." A weak smile crossed her lips. "So I guess the play is over now."

***

Gideon walked through the hallway while his mind stayed stuck on the conversation he had with Piggy earlier. Even now, he could still remember the look in her eyes when she mentioned the person who had "started it all."

But no matter how much pressure he applied, she refused to talk about that person at all.

’It must be the man who changed Victoria. I’m sure of it.’

The thought lingered heavily in his head, but he wasn’t in a hurry to dig deeper yet. There were already too many problems piled in front of him, too many things demanding his attention first. Elaine’s story could wait for now.

After settling Piggy into one of the empty rooms on the third floor, Gideon finally stepped back into the hallway. The third floor itself was newly added, something he had purchased from the system while continuously expanding the house over time.

Honestly, the whole thing still felt absurd to him.

The system could casually add entire floors to a building and even summon a massive defense tower out of nowhere, yet somehow it still refused to sell him a normal house directly.

’Fuck, this system gives me a headache.’

He rubbed his forehead lightly and let out a tired breath.

’Maybe I really do need a drink.’

With that thought in mind, Gideon turned toward the left side of the hallway where the bar was located. The moment he stepped closer, he could already hear voices inside.

’Of course.’

When he entered, he immediately saw Jade sitting comfortably at the counter while Kilian stood behind it playing bartender.

Honestly, extroverts were terrifying. How the hell do they still have energy to talk after a day like this?

"Ha! I knew you’d end up here eventually!" Kilian greeted him with a wide grin the moment he walked in. "I mean, come on, you literally own this bar."

Gideon sighed quietly and took the empty seat beside Jade, who was currently sipping a bright pink cocktail.

"So?" Kilian spread his arms dramatically. "What do you want? I’ll make you every recipe I still remember."

He scratched his cheek afterward. "Though don’t expect miracles. It’s been, what, ten years since I last drank alcohol? I barely remember what anything’s supposed to taste like anymore."

Before Gideon could answer, Jade spoke first.

"Don’t bother," she said while staring at the drink in her hand with disappointment. "This strawberry mojito tastes like absolute shit."

"Hey!" Kilian immediately snatched the glass from her. "Then give it back instead of insulting my craftsmanship."

He took a sip. Then his expression twisted instantly.

"...Yeah, alright, you’re right."

He stared at the drink in betrayal before placing it down with a sigh full of genuine disappointment. "Guess I really don’t have talent as a bartender. What a tragic discovery."

Then he casually moved around the counter and dropped himself onto the stool beside Gideon, trapping him in the middle between the two of them.

Jade snorted and suddenly stood up. "Let a professional handle this."

Kilian whistled teasingly as she stepped behind the counter. "I don’t know about that, boss. After seeing the things you eat, I don’t trust your taste buds at all. Just make me something simple."

Jade clicked her tongue immediately. "What’s wrong with my cooking? Food is food. Stop being picky and eat properly."

"You literally drank the liquid inside that crocodile aberrant!"

"And?" she shot back. "Delilah said it was basically aloe vera."

Kilian looked horrified all over again just remembering it. "That thing was thick! I almost choked trying to swallow it! What the hell kind of water can choke a person?! It smelled awful too!"

"You’re so dramatic."

"And you believed Delilah?! She didn’t even dare drink it herself!"

Watching the two of them bicker back and forth made Gideon chuckle quietly under his breath.

Honestly, he liked this side of Jade.

For someone leading a faction like Freebound, she didn’t build much distance between herself and her people. The way they talked felt less like subordinates speaking to a leader and more like old friends messing around after a long day.

"Just give me a simple whisky," Gideon finally said.

Jade immediately shook her head without even looking at him. "Nope. I’m deciding on your drink."

A confident grin spread across her face. "Trust me. You two are about to fall in love with this masterpiece."

Neither Gideon nor Kilian looked convinced, but they stayed quiet and watched her anyway.

Jade moved surprisingly smoothly behind the counter, mixing bottles together with ease before tossing the shaker into the air and catching it effortlessly behind her back.

Kilian immediately clapped loudly like an excited child while Gideon shook his head, unable to stop the amused smile tugging at his lips.

For a short moment, the tension from the day faded away.

All of the problems felt distant as the three of them sat there watching Jade show off behind the counter like the world outside didn’t exist for a while.

.

.

.

And of course, the next morning trouble came as fast as lightning when Gideon found himself sleeping beside Jade, naked...

"What the fuck happened last night?!"