"Ahh that was exhausting." Si-eun exhaled, "At least I got something out of it."
He tossed the bag of coins in the air, caught it, then smiled.
His smile however, grew a bit dim as he felt a warm liquid trickle down his nose.
His hand instinctively reached for it, even though there was no need to.
It was blood, that much he could tell.
He could already feel the headache building up and his body getting heavier, it was getting worse by the second.
He checked once again to see if anyone was nearby and when he didn't notice anyone, he deactivated his build.
The fatigue on his body became worse, his eyes felt like sandbags while his body temperature rose a few degrees.
"F-Fuck!" He cursed under his breath.
He couldn't even walk in this state.
'What a pathetic tolerance.' He thought .
His innate affinity was broken, his class was equally as devastating if not more, yet his stamina was nothing to speak about.
It wasn't like he didn't have a fairly decent stamina, it was his class.
Overpowered classes were rare but not to a degree where it was impossible to obtain.
The price however, was dire.
That aside it was a natural rule anywhere, more power equaled more consumption and more consumption triggered the backlash.
Spams of pain ran amuck within his body.
His vision spun while he stifled a groan.
Using the last bit of strength, he willed the mana within his body then tethered it to the coin he'd left on his seat inside the carriage.
"Inversion."
In a blink, he was inside the comfortable interior of the carriage once again.
His gaze settled on Lily who had already begun to move before he could utter a word.
She took out an elixir from her luggage, then rushed towards Si-eun.
As soon as Si-eun laid eyes on it, he shook his head with all the strength he could muster.
His mouth clamped shut, his eyes full of dark resentment and disgust.
"Young Master, stop being so stubborn, you're burning up." She urged.
Si-eun grimaced.
"D-Don't! Get… Get that thing away from my sight."
His vision was a bit blurry but he could still make out the curvaceous silhouette of his maid and one thought came to mind.
"How dare this audacious maid, didn't I ask you to get that thing away from ughh—"
Lily 'accidentally' stepped on his foot causing Si-eun to yelp and halt whatever gibberish speech he was speaking earlier.
His lips parted slightly and Lily didn't waste the opportunity.
She emptied the contents of the elixir into his mouth, her eyes were twitching in annoyance but she restrained herself.
After all, she had to keep the façade of a maid in front of him.
Leona merely spared Si-eun a glance, her gaze still wandered outside the carriage which continued their voyage granted it was at a much slower pace.
But she looked… lost.
Her eyes held a deep fatigue, not one created by sleepless nights but one accumulated over the years.
Si-eun breathing steadied, the subtle rise and fall of his chest told her all she needed to know.
The lout was sleeping.
She'd been watching him for the past few days and he seemed different, he wasn't the same dead beat who acted out before thinking.
He'd even spent time with their younger siblings, he listened to their parents, he stopped drinking, partying and sullying the name of the Astavore family.
He'd become somewhat responsible, almost like when they were kids, before he became a regal hooligan.
Just thinking about their time as kids made her blood boil, perhaps he was finally being the son the house had always expected him to be, but they didn't know the truth, they didn't know the real him, only she did… only she knew his vile nature and the crime he committed.
'How dare he laugh like everything's ok, how dare he live so normally! He's supposed to pay for what he did.'
Her gaze turned towards his sleeping form, her eyes dark with resentment.
'Why… how come he's having it so easy, why am I the only one being tormented by the dreams.'
She gritted her teeth.
'I hate him… I hate him so much, I hate him, Azazel, return what you stole from me, y…you owe me a life, you can't be happy.'
"Young mistress, I have to politely ask you to remove your hands from the young master." A cold voice warned.
Leona flinched, her face was filled with confusion.
It wasn't until she looked at her hand that she realized that she'd almost strangled her brother.
Her eyes widened slightly.
No matter how much she wanted him dead, he was undeniably useful; especially with his awakened class, not to mention if anything ever happened to him their mother would be devastated beyond repair.
Her gaze flickered to the side where Lily sat dangerously with a smile
She regarded the maid with a small smile then asked.
"Why pretend to be a frightened cur when you're stronger than him, aren't you supposed to be his shadow?"
Lily didn't say anything, instead her gaze lingered on Si-eun for far longer than she expected.
Without taking her eyes off him, she answered.
"I dislike blood, young mistress. I'm not exactly fond of the color red."
"I see." Was the last thing Leona said before falling into a deep thought.
Something was wrong somewhere, and she knew it.
She'd never lost herself like that before.
She'd almost killed her brother for apparently no legitimate reason.
And for the first time, she wasn't so confident if her body belonged to her alone.
"It's that damned dream…" she muttered. "I can't continue like this, I need to see a psychic."
****
[Lily's mind realm]
The scenery was as eccentric as ever, the tall hills still stood proud and tall against the crimson sky above while pink dots illuminated the sky like stars.
Lily scowled.
"I still can't get used to this place no matter how many times I visit."
Liliana chuckled.
"You make it sound like it doesn't belong to you as well, although you could always try claiming another's dreamscape, say our devilishly handsome young master."
Lily hissed, her voice was filled with annoyance.
"I'm sure you didn't just abduct my mind from the real world just to annoy me."
Liliana faked a sad sobbing face, yet her smile said the complete opposite.
"Well now that you mentioned it, I think I'll be doing so, starting now perhaps, but anyway that's not why I called you."
"Then why?"
Liliana exhaled, the seductive smile on her lips disappeared as well.
"You have to watch Leona as well as Azazel, it seems like the other demons were planning ahead already."
Lily frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"The eldest daughter of the Astavore house… has a devil heart, and for some reason, the catalyst is none other than our little prey, Azazel."