Sometime during the growth of Ashmere County, and in the midst of fulfilling his obligations as the new count, Adrian noticed something he had overlooked throughout most of his childhood.

Erica was suffering from a rare sickness.

At first, everyone had simply assumed she had chosen not to speak of her own volition.

After all, there were times she did manage to say a few words. But it only grew worse as she got older.

While she was indeed capable of speaking with some fluency, she had also been burdened with something else entirely.

If she went an entire day without making contact with her brother, she would burn in agony for hours on end, and it would not stop until Adrian was close to her again.

Blood would leak from her nose, and her body would slowly begin to swell.

The cause was unknown. No physician could offer a satisfying explanation.

Well, none beyond a single conclusion.

She had been cursed.

Looking down at his sister, who was comfortably nestled against him, he spoke with a quiet but serious expression.

"I will find you a cure. Even if it is the last thing I do."

A brief silence settled between them.

Then Erica lifted her head to look at him directly, and a wide smile spread across her face.

"Even if you never do, I would not complain. You know that already. I love being in your arms."

Adrian let out a quiet chuckle.

"You are a grown woman now. It is strange enough as it is."

His response earned him a pout.

"You are no fun."

She leaned away from his chest and sat upright on her own.

"I feel better now. The burning has stopped."

"Good. You should be fine for a few days. I will not be home."

Erica’s gaze snapped toward him immediately.

"You are going somewhere? Where?"

Adrian could see the panic written plainly across her face.

And quite frankly, he understood it.

Despite everything he had accomplished for the county over the years, not once had he ever ventured beyond its borders. To Erica, his absence was not simply an inconvenience. It was a genuine threat to her wellbeing, and no amount of reasoning could make that fear feel smaller.

He rose to his feet before answering.

"Thorn County. I have a meeting with a few businessmen. I will be back within two days."

Still seated on the floor, Erica pouted even harder. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"What if the burning starts again tonight and you are not around?"

"Do not be dramatic. The necklace around your neck should be out of its cooldown by now. You will be fine for at least a week."

"Tsk. Fine. You had better come back soon."

"I will. Take care of yourself."

With that, he turned and walked out of the room.

The moment he was gone, Erica rose to her feet, crossed to the window, and parted the curtains just slightly.

There was a stillness behind her eyes, quiet and focused, the kind that made her look far older than she was.

And there he was. She caught sight of her brother stepping out of the mansion below, moving with the same unhurried composure he always carried wherever he went.

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Lucky them. They get to spend the entire day with you."

The smile faded almost as quickly as it had appeared.

...

Meanwhile, Adrian had made his way outside the mansion.

Standing at the top of the steps, he could see the carriage already packed and waiting. Both Kara and Valentina stood beside it, prepared to depart.

Liora would have joined them, but she had already been assigned a separate task elsewhere.

As he descended the stairs, both women bowed their heads in unison.

"Good morning, my lord."

Now standing before them, he cast a brief glance around the grounds and noticed a handful of maids stealing looks in his direction from a respectful distance.

"Where is my mother?" he asked calmly.

"She asked me to inform you that she had departed for the capital to meet with some businessmen," Valentina replied.

Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Of course she did," he muttered.

’She is always searching for some way to be of use to me. I suppose I can let it go for now. There are more pressing matters at hand.’

His gaze settled on the golden carriage.

"Forget I asked. Let us move."

Shortly after, the carriage was already rolling down the road.

His subordinates had pleaded with him more than once to bring along a soldier or two as escort, but Adrian had turned a deaf ear to all of it.

The last thing he wanted was for anyone outside Ashmere to form an accurate picture of the county’s military strength. Information like that, passed into the wrong hands, had a way of becoming its own kind of weapon.

Seated inside the moving carriage, he turned his attention to the system.

’I still have unfinished quests.’

[Total SP: 15,000.]

[Quest: Level Up the Game.

Description: Win a battle of your choosing, without resorting to tricks or outside interference.

Reward: Summoning Card.]

He studied the single entry for a long moment.

Ordinarily, a summoning card would not have held much appeal. But the last time he had accumulated enough points to purchase the summoner class, it had allowed him to call forth a sea serpent. That creature now patrolled the rivers of Ashmere, a silent and reliable deterrent against anyone foolish enough to approach from the water.

It had not been what he expected from the class when he first acquired it. But the results had more than justified the investment, and summoning had since become considerably more important to him than he had ever originally anticipated.

’That said, this should not be a difficult quest.’

He let the screen fade and shifted his gaze toward Kara.

"These demons we are going to meet. Tell me what you know about them."

Kara turned her full attention to him without hesitation.

"Are you trying to determine whether they are worth speaking to at all?"

"More or less. I would like to understand what kind of people they are before I sit across from them."

Kara smiled.

"I see. That is just like you, my lord." She settled into her seat across from him. "Very well. I will tell you what little I know about the Demon Council."