"Three years."

Budot laid down his demand.

His intention was that the Sword Family would grant Faith and Cecilia three years of freedom if Faith could fulfill his end of the bargain. He realized that using three years as bait could force Faith to return every three years to help the Sword Family, otherwise their freedom would end.

Compared to the vast, fertile resources of Adia, what was Cecilia worth? Giving her to Faith was fine. Besides, Cecilia had already been nearly brainwashed; even if Faith took her away, she would still remain loyal to the Sword Family.

Budot even considered using Cecilia to bind Faith even deeper. For the glory of the Sword Family, Cecilia herself would be tasked with coercing Faith to acquire resources, not through force, as Faith could not be subdued, but through familial affection.

"Isn't he desperate to reclaim Cecilia? Just give her to him," Budot thought to himself, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

Then he spoke. "We'll give you two three years of freedom. I know it sounds unfair, but this is the only condition I can offer. What do you say, Faith?"

"Don't refuse too quickly. While you have grounds to bargain with the Sword Family, we can still drive a hard bargain. If you don't consider this a family matter, then consider it a business deal."

"Three years for the Sword Family, in exchange for three years of freedom for you and your sister."

Faith slightly lowered his face, as if deep in thought. This made Budot's smirk deepen.

Though Faith constantly called him foolish, how could Budot, or the Sword Family for that matter, truly be fools?

As nobles, power was only half of their foundation for existence. Bloodline, political acumen, and the ability to navigate the political arena were necessities for nobles to stand firm through generations. This was the true root of this class's long-term prosperity.

There were cases of noble offspring being wastrels, but in reality, these were only a few. In fact, many of these "bad lineage" cases were intentionally created by the noble families themselves to lower the guard of other political rivals, making their enemies believe they were in decline.

Therefore, the nobles, or Budot here, knew exactly what Faith's decision would be.

But he had no idea that as Faith lowered his face out of Budot's sight, Faith also let a smirk bloom.

He thought he had grasped Faith's thoughts, but Faith had already anticipated it, and what Budot had guessed was precisely what Faith had intentionally allowed him to know.

Faith understands the nature of the Sword Family and nobles perfectly: controlling, complacent, and overbearing. And he knows exactly what he needs to do: rebel, be even more complacent, and be even more overbearing.

In fact, this began the moment Faith returned to Adia, right before the resource distribution game among Adia's nobility. He knew Budot would come, because the Sword Family needed him.

So, from the start, Faith continuously provoked, mocked, and ridiculed Budot and the Sword Family, weakening Budot's "controlling, complacent, and overbearing" nature by undermining it.

Budot was in a weak position, completely suppressed by Faith.

When this moment arrived, Faith would offer to help the Sword Family in exchange for his and Cecilia's freedom. This was the crucial point, because Faith's goal wasn't to free Cecilia from the Sword Family this way. Instead, he wanted to "subtly remind" Budot:

"Hey, I still have a weakness!"

This reminder allowed Budot to realize he still held a "hostage" against Faith, causing Budot's "controlling, complacent, and overbearing" tendencies to surge back. Thus, he bargained down to three years—a perfect move from a political player within the family, both controlling Faith and gaining profit.

But it was all meticulously arranged by Faith, like individual chess pieces set into a position where the opponent couldn't reverse the tide, not even realizing they were about to be checkmated.

Faith never believed, nor did he think, that he and his sister could escape the Sword Family this way. So, he was merely fabricating a plausible excuse for Budot to devise a plan, making Budot and the Sword Family "believe" they had him under control. Only then would they feel secure enough to grant Faith authority in the upcoming game, and he would wield the very sword the Sword Family had handed him. Just like his moniker, "The Invisible Sword."

Faith needs no sword; his enemies will hand him one, even building fear from a weapon that doesn't even exist.

So, if he now has the authority to lead the Sword Family in the upcoming game, what will Faith do? Will he sabotage it so the Sword Family gets nothing? No, no, Faith isn't that foolish. He wants to bring down the Sword Family, but their wrath can't be directed at him, because Faith will have "tried his best."

But if Faith tries his best in a battle of wits, won't the Sword Family win? Who could possibly defeat Faith?

Well, there already is someone, isn't there?

The young man with silver hair and golden pupils, the only one Faith admits is his equal, and the only one who has truly defeated Faith: Kain.

But what does Kain have to do with the intellectual battles of Adia's nobility?

Of course, Kain has nothing to do with it. But... isn't Myra here?

Kain will surely come to the rescue if Myra "could be in danger." This is what Faith planned from the very beginning of his days at Kanzax Academy. He was looking for someone strong enough, intelligent enough, to draw them into the resource struggle in Adia. And Kain is Faith's perfect "chess piece," regardless of whether Kain defeated him or not.

"To bring down the Sword Family, I need stronger chess pieces."

Faith once muttered these words, but their true meaning was far deeper than their surface. "Chess pieces" here don't refer to power, because if the Sword Family sensed a threat from him, Faith would absolutely be killed before he could gather enough strength to resist. "Stronger chess pieces" here refers to intellect—someone who could collaborate with Faith to orchestrate the Sword Family's downfall.

"Alright, it's a deal then."

With his usual smile, Faith shook hands with Budot. Budot's expression relaxed as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

Budot was like a hunter entering the forest, fully equipped, believing he could handle any situation. But he didn't know that the entire forest was hunting him in return. Every word, every provocation, every expression, every demand... all meticulously laid out by Faith to trap Budot, yet allowing Budot to maintain the illusion of his own power.

Budot had no idea what he was truly up against.