The three of them stayed at the Illuminators' church and volunteered to help with quite a few tasks. The whole process was actually pretty enjoyable.
By around evening, they left the Illuminators' church.
Needless to say, the moment Miss Crownguard got home—with a little turtle sitting proudly on her face—she ran straight into Lady Augatha's dark expression… and promptly experienced what "motherly love" truly meant.
Less than two minutes later, a furious, miserable scream rang out from the Crownguard estate, filled to the brim with resentment toward a certain prince.
Meanwhile, Luke was walking home alone when he suddenly sneezed for no reason.
"It feels like… I've been targeted by a vengeful spirit."
With his sixth sense greatly enhanced, Luke's expression turned serious.
Demacia really wasn't as peaceful as it looked on the surface. This country had plenty of hidden threats.
Ferocious beasts, demons—things like that existed in all sorts of regions.
But then he remembered he was in the capital, so he didn't dwell on it.
When he was close to home, he saw the white-clad bodyguard standing quietly at the door, waiting. He'd clearly been there all afternoon.
"Your Highness, these are the keys."
When Luke approached, the bodyguard handed him the keys to the mansion behind him.
"Thanks for your hard work," Luke said as he took them, genuinely feeling how tough their job was.
"This is my duty," the bodyguard replied, lowering his head. "Considering you'll be living alone, the palace has been selecting several outstanding stewards from across the capital. If all goes as expected, there will be results by tomorrow morning."
"Oh. Then let me know when it's decided," Luke nodded. He'd been feeling like something was missing.
Of course—he was a prince, yet he had no one at his side to handle daily service.
"Yes. I'll take my leave." The bodyguard gave a slight bow and departed.
Luke opened his front door and stepped inside. Once in, he found the furniture already fully arranged. The house no longer felt so empty.
He lounged on the sofa. The warm dusk light spilled through the window, and he couldn't help stretching lazily.
So this was what living alone would be like. The thought put a smile on Luke's face.
Originally, he'd been thinking maybe he'd go mooch dinner at the Crownguard estate.
But the moment the idea surfaced, an aggrieved face flashed through his mind, and Luke immediately killed the thought.
"Never mind. I'll figure something out myself."
The next day, Luke woke up hungry. When he opened his eyes, it was already late morning.
Sunlight poured in through the window and spread across the floor, making the whole room feel pleasantly warm.
He sat up and stared into space for a bit.
No one would bother him anymore, sure—but it really did seem like he needed someone around to make breakfast.
"Daily check-in."
After thinking it over, Luke did his daily check-in first.
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained skill: Prestidigitation.]
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained Fearless (Early-Stage) Power Trial Card (1 hour).]
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained rare exotic fruit: Crimson Jewel Grape.]
[Skill detected — Prestidigitation. Learn it?]
"Learn it."
Seeing he'd gotten another skill, Luke glanced at it and chose to learn it.
At once, a strange, wonderful sensation rose up. Luke lifted his hand, feeling a subtle difference. Whether it was his imagination or not, his hands seemed… better-looking.
When the sensation faded, information about Prestidigitation appeared in his mind.
Just as the name suggested, it was a magician-like skill, enhancing hand coordination. It sounded pretty ordinary, but Luke's dexterity and speed had clearly increased by a lot.
He took out a silver coin. With a flick of his thumb, it leapt into the air—then, as it fell, Luke caught it again. The coin rolled deftly across his fingertips, and in the blink of an eye, it vanished.
With normal eyesight, you wouldn't be able to track it at all.
Luke played around for a bit, then quickly got bored. After that, he took out the rare exotic fruit: the Crimson Jewel Grape.
The Crimson Jewel Grape was bright red. It looked like a pear, crystal-clear, and when you examined it closely, it was as dazzling as a gemstone.
It looked incredible—like a work of art. Any girl who saw it would probably hesitate to eat it.
Luke glanced at it once, then took a big bite and started crunching away.
He was hungry in the morning anyway.
No wonder it was called a grape—the flavor really was grape, sweet and fragrant.
[Congratulations, Host. Aptitude +1]
[Congratulations, Host. Aptitude has advanced to: Promising]
Two notifications popped up in a row. Luke looked, and sure enough—his aptitude had advanced.
It had reached "Promising," and it looked like there were five more tiers after that.
The moment he thought about it, Luke instantly lost interest.
After feeling it out, he didn't notice much of anything from the breakthrough, so he couldn't be bothered to care.
The last reward was the Fearless (Early-Stage) Power Trial Card, lasting one hour.
After using it, for one hour Luke would possess early-stage Fearless strength. It could serve as a self-defense trump card.
Not bad, but he'd keep it for later.
He finished the Crimson Jewel Grape in a few bites and leisurely went to wash up.
Right after he finished, he heard someone outside ringing the bell.
Of course, Demacia wasn't at that level of technology yet. Calling it a "doorbell" was just a figure of speech—there was actually a small bell at the entrance. If a household didn't have servants waiting at the door, visitors would use a small hammer prepared nearby to strike the bell.
So Luke went outside and saw quite a few people standing there, with the white-clad bodyguard in front.
Thinking of what the bodyguard had said yesterday, the people behind him were probably the high-quality stewards the palace had screened.
Luke opened the door and led everyone into the living room.
"Your Highness, these are the candidates selected by the palace," the white-clad bodyguard said beside him. "You may choose whichever you find satisfactory. From today onward, that person will be responsible for your household affairs."
Luke sat on the sofa while the stewards stood in a line in front of him. He scanned from left to right.
There were both men and women.
There was an old man with white hair slicked back, dressed in a proper suit, wearing glasses, standing ramrod straight—one glance and you could tell he was a veteran steward.
There were also younger ones, sharp and efficient, full of vigor, like newcomers who'd only just entered the profession.
Overall, each had their own strengths—but none of that truly grabbed Luke.
Looks were definitely a priority. And beyond that, the men could leave.
Very quickly, Luke filtered out a large portion in his mind.
The ones left were all pretty girls.
They wore standard maid outfits and were dressed up neatly and attractively.
And among them, one stood out in particular: waterfall-like black hair, violet eyes as beautiful as gemstones, about 170 centimeters tall. With the oversized maid outfit, it was hard to tell her figure.
Most importantly, her expressionless, delicate face paired with that maid outfit so perfectly it felt uncanny.
Luke couldn't deny he'd always been a looks guy, but the reason this maid caught his attention wasn't just her appearance.
More than anything, it was the unique aura she carried.
As if she had been born to be a maid.
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