She also wanted to be mischievous, to make her father worry, to make him pay more attention to her. But she held herself back, because it "shouldn't" be that way. And she always secretly blamed Mera for her mischief, which added a bit more to the dark circles under their father's eyes.

And this jealousy even extended to... Kain.

Yes, she was jealous of Mera, but not in a romantic way.

She was clearly the one who met Kain first.

She was clearly the one who brought Kain to them.

But then, Mera was the one who got closest to Kain.

She stood there, watching them side-by-side from behind, like a shadow gradually left behind.

Kain was a very strange, very independent person. She didn't have that kind of emotional attachment to him either, only admiration and a desire to cooperate to achieve her goals. And she thought Kain would be the same, which made Myra feel a little balanced.

But then, Myra recognized that look in Kain's eyes—it was love, love for Mera. And this shattered that balance within Myra.

After that, she tried to treat Kain like a contractual partner, exploiting his value. And that's when Mera stood up to criticize her, not with emotion, but with logic, something Myra thought Mera would never be able to match—Myra, the sensible one.

And that's when Myra realized that the only thing she was "proud" of herself, the only thing Myra always clung to, was that very rationality. It was what forced her to suppress herself and made her believe that the pressure to distance herself from others, making her father care less about her than Mera, was the price to pay for rationality.

It turned out it meant nothing at all.

Myra slowly fractured, from within, from the moment she realized her sacrifice had been meaningless.

Why... always Mera?

Why not her, Myra?

But she didn't realize it.

The younger sister she always considered a nuisance to their father, in reality, helped him live day by day. Only during meals when Mera sat at the table would their father eat properly.

But Myra was rarely there, even though she always checked in on him whenever she returned.

The younger sister she always thought of as a child who never grew up was, in fact, a profound and romantic young woman. Mera approached Kain with her heart, not her mind. And that was why Kain reciprocated.

But Myra didn't; she approached Kain only because he was her ticket to enter the Tower of Magus. It wasn't that she was insincere, but it was too ordinary for Kain.

And finally, the younger sister she had always envied from the bottom of her heart, the younger sister who always made Myra feel complicated when facing her, simply regarded her as her older sister.

What had she done?

"Don't space out like that; we're here." Myra regained her composure as Faith's voice roused her.

Now, before them stood a rather large and ancient manor. Myra immediately noticed the exquisitely carved stone statues at the entrance, in the garden, even inlaid with precious stones.

However, there were no guards here, nor any servants to greet them; it was as empty as an abandoned estate.

"This is... the Sword Family?" Myra asked, bewildered. Faith responded with a faint smile.

"Just my private residence. But if this has surprised you, you'd best prepare yourself for when we arrive at the Sword Family Manor tomorrow."

The Sword Family Manor was, of course, the central hub of the Sword Family.

Hearing that, Myra couldn't help but feel tense.

The entire group entered the mansion within the manor. Only then did an elderly maid with silvering hair and a wrinkled face come out to greet them.

"Young Master Faith, it's good to see you've returned."

"That academy was quite enjoyable, and I met a very interesting fellow." Faith smiled and replied. Then he suddenly asked, "Aunt Lucia, has my father died yet?"

It seemed like a callous question, but the maid, Lucia, answered as if it were an everyday matter.

"The young master's father is still alive, but he's probably deep asleep in his room right now..."

"Still as pathetic as ever, huh? Truly a failure who only knows how to rely on alcohol," Faith said nonchalantly, almost coldly. The maid Lucia's eyes seemed to flicker with something, but she said nothing, only a faint sigh.

"It's almost evening now, Young Master Faith, and your friends must be tired. Let me prepare dinner." The maid bowed slightly, and Faith nodded.

"I appreciate it, Aunt Lucia."

…

In the living room, Faith sat at the center of a large sofa, leaning back with his legs crossed and his arms clasped in front of his knees.

His subordinates were spread out on either side, while Myra sat on a small chair facing Faith.

Myra leaned forward, her hands on her lap. She appeared a bit tense and didn't dare to meet Faith's gaze.

Kain and Faith were of the same type of person, yet also distinctly different. Compared to Kain, facing Faith made Myra more uncomfortable, as if she were being publicly stripped bare.

Faith's gaze was too aggressive. Kain usually concealed this, while Faith almost never held back.

Indeed, this was also related to Faith's unique style of reading people.

Unlike Kain, who read psychology and behavior based on observing micro-expressions combined with relevant knowledge and interpretation, Faith's ability to read people was far more intuitive.

But being intuitive didn't mean it lacked a basis.

In reality, most people use sight to observe others and form their own judgments about them. This is also why a good appearance is often perceived as a good person, and this "goodness" will "gradually decrease" with physical attractiveness.

Faith's intuitive reading ability was similar, but he had developed it to its maximum, to the point where errors were almost nonexistent.

To date, only Kain had successfully tricked Faith, and even then, this deception had to use truth to trick the true purpose. Therefore, Faith hadn't misread anything.