"By the way, Osen," Lucius suddenly realized something. "Did you say there are third-tier fierce beasts in the nearby mountains and forests?"

"Yes," Osen also remembered. "In fact, one of the reasons I came to find you this time was to ask about this."

"Every year, Father, you used to organize the army to enter the mountains and forests to eliminate wild beasts. But even though that area is not far from the city of Antika, third-tier fierce beasts have appeared. I wonder if you are aware of this situation, Father?"

"I really don't know, it must have been overlooked..." Lucius said, patting his head, and then looked up at Osen. "So, Osen, tomorrow you will lead a group of soldiers into that area to exterminate them, you must eradicate them before they cause harm to the people."

After that, he handed Osen a token to call upon the army.

"Understood, I'll follow your command." Osen said, taking the token respectfully and bowing, then he left the room.

After leaving Lucius' room, Osen was approached by Mary's servant, Randall.

"Mr. Osen, the lady is looking for you." Randall said, pointing to Mary's study.

"Alright." Osen nodded, then he and Randall went to the door of the study together. Randall opened the door for Osen.

"Please come in, Mr. Osen. The lady has been waiting for a while."

"Okay." Osen nodded and then stepped into the study.

"Madam, did you call for me?" Osen looked at Mary, who was looking out the window with a distracted expression on her face, and asked.

"Yes, you came back quite late today. I heard you went out with Liter?"

"I took Liter to play in the nearby mountains and forests."

"I'm afraid it's not just playing, right?" Mary turned around and stared at Osen. "I saw Liter when he came back, he was covered in blood, his clothes torn. Do you consider that playing?"

"Besides, as a mother, is it wrong for me to care about my own child? Osen, why did you keep it from me?"

"..." Osen hung his head and remained silent for a while, then he slowly said, "I'm sorry, Liter is actually fine. I made up the story to avoid worrying Madam. Please punish me, Madam."

"Punish?" Mary smiled. "How can I bear to punish my beloved eldest son?"

"Furthermore, you think I am qualified to punish you now?" Mary turned around and walked towards Osen, staring at him.

She glanced at the token in Osen's hand.

"Now you have gained the trust of Duke Antika and hold the military power, while I am just a defenseless woman. If punishment is necessary, should I punish you or should you punish me?"

"Madam, please don't joke. After all, I am still your son."

"Now you remember you are my son at this moment?" Mary stared at Osen. "Osen, Osen, I thought you were a smart person. After talking to you that day, I thought I had misunderstood."

"Now it seems that I was ignorant. You are much smarter than I imagined."

"By gaining the trust of Father and Liter, gradually gaining control over the family's power, and finally turning Liter into your puppet, to manipulate as you please, is that all true?"

Mary started to laugh.

"Heh, it seems that I am not needed in the middle of all that. I wonder why you didn't want to cooperate with me."

"Madam, please calm down. I haven't deceived anyone. I really didn't want to inherit the position of the Duke, so I agreed to Father's request to help him train Liter..."

"Osen, don't you understand what I mean?" Mary stepped back a few steps, looking at Osen.

"I can help you achieve your goals as soon as possible, as long as you cooperate with me..."

"Madam, I have some other matters to attend to. Tomorrow, I have to lead a team to eliminate the wild beasts. I will take my leave now." Osen said, bowing his head and then bowed at the door.

At the door, he hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Mary and said, "Madam, if what you desire is that, why don't you consider helping Liter?"Then, he opened the door and walked out.

Leaving Mary standing alone in silence.

"Master Osen, please take care." At the door, Randall bowed to Osen as he came out.

"Well, Uncle Randall, my mother seems to be in a bad state of mind recently. Please take care of her." Osen said, returning to his own room.

Randall was also stunned, staring at Osen's figure in surprise for a few seconds before he went into Mary's study.

...

In the bathroom of Liter's room, mist filled the air.

Only here would Liter let down his guard and enjoy the leisurely time of bathing.

The part of his chest that had been wrapped in bandages was also freed, making him feel much more relaxed.

Liter sat in the bathroom, hugging his knees and burying half of his face in the water, lost in thought.

At this moment, his limbs still ached faintly. Although the healing potion could heal his wounds, it did not mean complete recovery.

Luckily, soaking in hot water could relieve this pain.

The power that he unleashed in the desperate situation today was something he had never mastered before, but upon closer examination, it seemed that all the techniques he used were taught by Osen.

Liter remembered everything about that incident. She didn't know why she had become so crazy and so powerful.

All she knew was that during that time, she just wanted to kill all the enemies within her sight.

Because they wanted to harm her.

And afterwards, in the conversation with Osen, Liter also remembered. She regretted how rude she had been to Osen.

Saying such hurtful things, Osen probably disliked her already. Even if not, there was probably already a rift between them.

Just at this moment, Liter felt a faint voice whispering in his heart.

"Liter, do you want to know what happened today?"

"Huh? Who are you?" Liter looked around in surprise, but there was no one to be seen.

"Don't worry, Liter, I am you, and you are me."

"I am the persona that has emerged from your subconscious, the one who wants to protect your personality."

"You can call me Dark Liter." The voice sounded just like Liter's own, only with a colder tone.

"Did you save me today?" Liter asked.

"Yes," Dark Liter said. "Actually, your talent has always been good, but deep down you have always wanted to continue this close teacher-student relationship, so the persona, which is you, appeared so powerless."

"And the techniques you learned, the improvements you gained, were all learned by me. That's why I appeared at that time and helped you defeat that monster."