Austin swiftly grabbed her gently by the arm. "It’s fine, Nora. There’s no need for you to do that. Besides, they’re in a worse condition than I am." Austin said softly, but this caused Nora to blink in surprise.

"Huh? Young Master, what do you mean? Are you saying you fought against them and won?" Nora asked in a surprising tone that was so obvious for Austin to even notice it.

"Wait a minute, you sound surprised about me winning a fight. Wow, that’s so mean, Nora. So you really do not believe I’m strong enough to win a fight, huh." Austin uttered in a soft and sad tone.

Strangely enough, since his soul had transmigrated into this world, Austin couldn’t help but feel like this new body of his had always been his till now.

Yes, the memories clearly belonged to that of the previous host, but the more time he spent in his new body, the more he began to believe that he had truly been living in this world for over two decades, hence why he felt relaxed enough to tease his beautiful attendant.

Of course, what he had said earlier was just his own little way of teasing her because he noticed the opportunity had presented itself, so he didn’t want to miss it.

But this instantly caused Nora’s ears to perk up in surprise. "No, Young Master. Of course I believe in you. It’s just that...." Nora replied but instantly stopped mid-sentence when she sensed the flow of mana in Austin’s body.

Actually, she was still unsure if she had sensed it correctly.

"Huh? Young Master, are you....?" She paused mid-sentence again, but this time her eyes widened in surprise because she was certain of what she had sensed in him. "Oh my goodness, Young Master. You’ve awakened your mana core? But how?"

"Hehehe..... I am amazing, aren’t I....ow ow ow." Austin grinned and then winced in pain right after. "Please don’t make me laugh, cause it is so hard to breathe and move right now."

Nora could see how hurt he was, but she could also see how he was struggling to laugh despite his ribs hurting so bad, and she couldn’t help but smile at how hard he was trying not to wince in pain. "I’m sorry, Young Master. Let’s find the closest inn for you to rest for the night."

Austin noticed her smile and nodded in response.

He watched as she stepped close to him before carefully lifting his arm to drape it over her shoulders.

Then she wrapped her arms around his waist.

Nora adjusted her grip gently as she tried to make sure not to press anywhere that would hurt him, and then she began to walk slowly so as to match his pace.

Noticing all of this really touched Austin’s heart.

But the more he felt touched by her presence, the more he became annoyed by what the previous Austin had been planning to do with her.

If the previous host’s initial plan regarding the Chan Household had come to fruition, the previous host was ready to let her go, or worse, sell her to any noble in need of her.

In other words, all the previous host cared about was having enough money to engage in gambling or drinking.

Nothing else mattered to him.

And this made Austin pissed off right now, because Nora had been found on the streets by his parents when she had no one and nowhere else to go.

They had taken her in to raise her alongside Austin as his personal attendant, and this allowed Nora to develop a strong feeling of making sure he was always protected.

She had even told him once in the past that the only reason why she pushed herself and trained really hard was so that she could be strong enough to protect him.

At the time, she had even unwittingly confessed her feelings to him as well.

But when the previous host failed to awaken his mana core while she awakened hers, something in him had changed.

He began to see his parents smiling more at her than at him.

In other words, he began to build a sense of jealousy that pulled him away from her, and this was why the previous host felt nothing in discarding her the moment he had gotten what he wanted.

Realising this, Austin slowly shook his head as they walked through the dark street in the night.

But unlike the previous host, Austin was prepared not to make the same mistake, because he knew that now that he had arrived in a world he knew little to nothing about, it would be better to surround himself with people who would want to protect him rather than kill him.

And right now, the only person who fit that description was the beautiful wolfkin walking beside him.

Acknowledging this, Austin grinned as the lights of the nearest inn came into view ahead, and the two steadily approached it.

Meanwhile, back at the Chan Household, Boateng stood at the window of his upper quarters, watching with his arms folded across his chest as Austin walked away in the dark with his attendant close to him.

His eyes followed the two figures as he gritted his teeth in disbelief at what had happened earlier.

"That little piece of shit. How dare he disgrace me in my own home." He cussed, but then heard footsteps coming from behind him.

It was both Eric and Shawn, still looking shocked by what Austin had done to them.

"Father, we can’t just let that idiot walk away. We have to....." Eric stated, but his father interrupted him.

"Don’t worry about it, my boy. Your father will handle it. What I need from you two right now is to focus on tonight’s ball." Boateng stated as he turned around to face his son and nephew.

However, Eric frowned upon hearing what his father had just said. "The ball? What? Really? You’re worried about the ball right now? Father, that fool just..."

"I said focus on the ball. There will be important people at that party tonight. People like aristocrats and potential clients. These are people whose connections are worth more than whatever satisfaction you’d get from chasing after a broke nobody in the dark. So get your shit together and do as your daddy asks you to. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Father."

"Good. Now get out and go get ready. Both of you." Boateng instructed before returning his gaze to the window as he stared at the empty street below him with a slow grin spreading across his face.

"Run along, little Austin Rin, for tonight will be your last."