Infighting

Seeing Ard lost in thought, the steward immediately pressed his advantage. “I see you’re a man of talent. Even if that fool atones for his crimes, what then? You’ve had a few days to understand the lord’s temperament. That man has crossed the lord’s biggest line; he has no future in this life. Do you want to follow him and be a bandit until you die?”

Ard feigned terror and asked quickly, “I beg Mr. Steward to show me a clearer path.”

The old steward smiled, stroking his beard. “Although I am old, I have the deepest seniority in this mansion. The lord often asks for my counsel when he is undecided. Recently, I’ve found myself in need of a capable person by my side. I was thinking that when I am too old to serve the lord, I could have him take my place.”

Hearing these words, which seemed to be an answer to a question he hadn’t asked, Ard immediately bowed in submission. “From now on, this humble one will follow only Mr. Steward’s orders. Your command is greater than any other.”

“Hahaha,” the steward laughed heartily. “There are so many capable people in this mansion. Why should I choose you? What can you give me?”

Ard said respectfully, “Whatever Mr. Steward wants, this humble one will give. I am willing to trade my life for what you need.”

The steward’s smile slowly faded. “Very good. And what if I said I wanted Sixth Master’s head?”

Ard was startled and lowered his head in silence. “Sixth Master has been kind to me…”

The steward’s voice turned sharp. “A small favor is not worth mentioning! And a great man does not concern himself with trivial matters. You must think clearly. Do you really intend to spend the rest of your life eating dirt with him?!”

Ard was silent for a long moment. Finally, he looked up at the ceiling with a long sigh. “Sixth Master, you were kind to this young one. But over the years, I have risked my life for you time and again, and I consider that debt repaid. From this day forward, we are finished! Mr. Steward, please rest assured. When the time is right, Sixth Master’s head will be delivered to you!”

“Good!” The steward clapped Ard heavily on the shoulder. “Good lad! You have vision! When this is done, I will first recommend you as the new chieftain of the stronghold. Then, I will find someone to take your place, and you will enter the mansion to take over my duties!”

Ard put on a look of overwhelming gratitude. “Thank you, Mr. Steward!”

“Alright, it’s getting late. I’ll be leaving now. Remember, I was never here tonight.”

Ard said with conviction, “I understand. Please, rest assured, Mr. Steward.”

Only then did the steward leave Ard’s room with a satisfied expression. On the way back, the steward’s attendant said with a hint of jealousy, “Mr. Steward, why do you value this boy so much?”

“Hmph!” The steward glanced back in the direction of Ard’s room. “Value that ungrateful stray? He betrays his master today; he’ll betray me tomorrow! I’m just using him to get control of the Sunstone Stronghold and secure another source of revenue for us. Don’t you worry. You’ve served me for so many years; if you haven’t earned merit, you’ve at least earned my loyalty. You are far more qualified than that stray.”

The attendant’s face lit up. “Of course, of course, sir.”

Back in his room, Ard said with equal contempt, “Take your place to serve a fat pig? You may have no shame, but I do. You can wait to enter the coffin together.” Ard felt he could pay another visit to that Sixth Master tomorrow. What interesting news! Sixth Master would surely be very moved to hear it, so moved that he might voluntarily leak some information.

Ard lay down on the bed. In his idleness, he suddenly remembered the mission the goddess had forced upon him. He took out the radar-like detector and then shot up. The previously blank screen now showed a glaring red dot on its edge.

“This is…!” Ard’s mouth fell open. He hadn’t expected to get a lead on that thing here. Without hesitation, he set off in the direction indicated by the radar. He was now a newly promoted favorite in the Baron’s mansion, and with the token the Baron had given him, he could move about freely without raising suspicion.

Ard discovered that the red dot on the radar was not stationary but was constantly changing position. Clearly, someone was carrying the Desire Gene Amplifier. This was, after all, the Baron’s mansion, with all its buildings and obstacles. Ard couldn’t just run in a straight line, and though he could leap over walls and run on rooftops, he would be done for if he dared to try it here. He was not Yexi; he didn’t have the ability to treat the Baron’s mansion as his own home.

Fortunately, the red dot was not moving too fast. But when he reached a small path, he was stopped.

“This is the Baron’s rear court! No unauthorized personnel allowed!”

Ard hadn’t expected to wander into someone’s private courtyard. This put him in a difficult position. He couldn’t go in. He retreated to a corner to check the radar and saw that the red dot had stopped moving. Based on the distance and direction, the object was in the Baron’s rear court. He gave the place a deep look, then decisively left to avoid arousing suspicion.

The next morning, Ard deliberately took a detour to the same spot and saw that the red dot’s position had not changed. He then went to the Baron as quickly as possible, resigned from his post, and rushed to the inn where Yexi was staying.

The moment he opened the door, he was hit head-on by a husky-shaped missile. The intimate contact with the dog’s head sent a stream of blood from his nose.

Ard picked up the fallen Pomelo and asked Yexi, who was squatting in the room, “What happened?”

Yexi, gathering the scattered blue pills from the floor, said calmly, “It took too many drugs and launched itself.”

Ard looked speechlessly at Pomelo, who was kicking its legs excitedly. “What do we do now? Just let it go crazy?”

Yexi glanced at Pomelo, took out a plate, and tossed it. It hit Pomelo squarely on the head. The kicking stopped, the eyes stopped blinking, the tongue stopped lolling, and its head drooped.

Ard tossed the physically unconscious Pomelo onto the bed and looked at Yexi, who had already finished packing. “It’s rare to see you make a mistake.”

For the first time, Yexi showed a hint of frustration. “Pomelo’s intelligence and appearance are too far apart. And it’s so mischievous. I only looked away for a moment, and it had already opened my bag.”

Ard said jokingly, “To bring such vitality back into a boring life, Pomelo is definitely worth having!”

Yexi gave Ard a cold look, snorted, and said no more.

“Yexi, can you do me a favor? It’s not within the scope of our bet. It’s about the mission that whimsical goddess forced on me.”

“I can.”

“I know you’re not obligated to help me… huh? You said you can?” Ard had prepared a long speech, but he hadn’t expected Yexi to agree so directly.

“Yes, I can,” Yexi explained. “I’ve been bored lately. And Pomelo’s antics have been getting on my nerves. I want to go out for a walk.”

Ard looked gratefully at the great hero who was currently unconscious on the bed. Pomelo, well done! I’ll bring you back a big bone!

He handed the detector to Yexi. “I found that thing in the Baron’s rear court. It seems to be carried around by someone. I can’t get in, so I was hoping you could help me take a look, and if you can, just bring it back.”

Yexi nodded, playing with the radar in her hand. “How do I use this?”

“The only function I’ve discovered so far is that when you get within a hundred meters of the target, a red dot will appear on it. That’s the target’s specific location. The closer you get, the clearer the red dot becomes. I don’t know about the other functions yet. That irresponsible goddess kicked me out before she could explain them.”

“I see.” Yexi put the radar away and turned to pack her things.

Ard, who had been planning on sitting down for a cup of tea, looked at the efficiently packing Yexi in surprise. “In such a hurry?”

“I don’t like to dawdle.”

“Aren’t you going to wait until night?”

“There’s no need. Day and night make no difference to me.”

Hearing her confident reply, Ard clicked his tongue. That’s the confidence that comes with power.

“What about Pomelo?”

Yexi retorted, “Are you not a person? Or have you devolved to the point where you can’t even take care of a single husky?”

“…” Ard scratched his head. “I have to go out on business later. It wouldn’t be convenient to bring a dog, would it?”

“It’s fine. Pomelo is very smart. There’s no reason it would cause you trouble if you can manage it.”

Ard said, exasperated, “Are you saying my intelligence is lower than Pomelo’s?”

“No, you’re the one who said that,” Yexi said, and then, before closing the door, added, “It’s about time you understood just how ‘lively’ Pomelo can be. I advise you not to think about leaving it here alone. I’d rather not come back to find the entire inn gone.”

“Huh?!”

Ard looked at the closed door, then at the still-unconscious Pomelo. Could this thing not only look like a husky but also have the destructive power of one?!

Suddenly, the tea didn’t taste so good anymore. He’d better make a run for it while this thing was still unconscious. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t be able to handle this sleeping king of destruction.

Meanwhile, Yexi, having applied a simple disguise, was already heading for the Baron’s mansion. Although the mansion was heavily guarded during the day, in Yexi’s eyes, it was full of holes. She easily slipped over the wall, taking advantage of blind spots. After knocking out a maid and changing into her clothes, she perfectly blended into the role, just as Hicks had done. She naturally integrated into the various circles of maids, getting closer and closer to her target’s location, and no one noticed this new, unfamiliar face.

And as time went on, with the behavioral habits and information she gathered from the other maids, Yexi’s disguise became even more flawless. The rear court, which had been an insurmountable obstacle for Ard, was easily infiltrated by Yexi, disguised as a maid cleaning the rooms. This made her feel a lack of challenge. The security here relied mostly on subjective human judgment and easily stolen and copied passes. It was nothing like her previous world, with its objective and various sensors and surveillance equipment to create a comprehensive, dead-angle-free monitoring system. Every time she broke through that kind of defense, she would feel an indescribable sense of accomplishment. Not like now. It was tasteless.