"Ann, l-long time no see..."

After much internal struggle, Moen forced himself to step into the carriage, facing the meaningful gaze of his personal maid.

Ann still looked as composed and graceful as ever. Dressed in her snug maid uniform, she sat with her back perfectly straight, hands resting neatly on her lap. Every movement of hers seemed elegant and precise, as if measured by a ruler.

"Long? Not really. Didn't we just meet a few days ago? But, Young Master..."

Ann's gaze fell upon Moen, her lips curving into a faint, enigmatic smile.

"Why is the Young Master completely soaked?"

"Ah, this... uh..."

There's no way I can tell her I jumped into a river myself just to cover up certain things...

Moen forced a weak smile and said, "Maybe I got a little too excited about seeing you, Ann. So, I decided to take a bath beforehand!"

"Oh? But why... are you wet, clothes and all?"

"Well, I figured washing my clothes together makes it... even more formal!"

"Is that so? But then why..."

Ann sniffed delicately, her petite nose twitching slightly. Her gaze flicked briefly downward, then toward the distant scenery outside the window, before she smiled and said, "I can't help but feel there's... a strange scent on you, Young Master~"

"Wha—"

Moen shuddered, almost leaping out of his seat in fright.

I mean, I went as far as completely ruining my image by leaping into the river under the scrutinizing, confused gazes of those Silencers. Yet she can still smell it? Ann, is your nose sharper than a Serpentine’s?!

Still, he forced himself to remain calm.

Experience had taught him this: the more flustered you got in moments like these, the faster you'd dig your own grave.

"It’s... probably perfume," Moen said with feigned seriousness, desperate and inventing wildly. "The scent you’ve noticed must be some perfume lingering on my clothes."

"This perfume of yours... what a truly unique fragrance."

"All-natural. Unique is normal. Haha, totally normal."

"..."

Ann narrowed her eyes and stared at Moen for a long while, plunging the carriage into a suffocatingly tense silence.

Under this heavy pressure, Moen could feel his heartbeat growing faster and his composure beginning to crack, but just as he was about to lose his nerve, Ann suddenly broke into a radiant smile.

"Why’s the Young Master has to be nervous? As your personal maid, do you think I’d ever doubt your words?"

"N-no, of course not! I trust you completely as well, Ann. You're one of my closest friends." Moen wiped at the water droplets on his forehead as he spoke.

"To hear such words from the Young Master makes me incredibly happy."

Ann's smile deepened, and on her dignified yet delicate face appeared a rare hint of shyness.

However, she quickly regained her serious demeanor.

"Alright, no more teasing, Young Master. I came today for an important matter."

"An important matter?"

"Two things, actually. First, earlier today, the palace and several nobles sent over quite a number of gifts."

"Gifts... Why now of all times?"

"The palace explained that the gifts are to commend the Campbell family for its outstanding contribution during the recent crisis. It’s a reward personally bestowed by His Majesty.

As for the nobles, well, they’ve always been sending gifts. But this time, there was an increase in volume. We handled it in the usual way, though—all were returned immediately."

"Outstanding contribution?"

Moen raised an eyebrow in surprise, puzzled.

Outstanding contribution?

During this crisis, the Duke was commanding troops in the field, and the Duchess was in the countryside resting for her pregnancy. You couldn’t just say their contributions were minimal—it was more like they had nothing to do with it whatsoever.

If anything, I was the one who dove headfirst into the midst of the chaos to save Senior.

But I didn’t even utilize any resources from the dukedom.

And besides, just from the moment I saw the horde of Silencers surrounding the area, I instantly realized what I’d done in this massive ordeal wasn’t some grand, tide-turning act. At best, it was just a cherry on top.

Even if I hadn’t intervened, the Dark God’s plan probably wouldn’t have succeeded.

Nothing would’ve fundamentally changed... except that senior sister might’ve truly died.

Oh, and maybe the moon would’ve gotten a few more seconds to struggle.

But no matter how I think about it, what I did couldn’t possibly be labeled as an "outstanding contribution."

What’s more...

I’ve only just returned from the Mist of the Dark Moon. The palace's gifts got home before me? The timelines don’t even line up.

"I heard many aristocrats in the capital suffered significant losses as a result of the recent crisis," Ann added with a meaningful tone.

"Is that... so?"

Moen was momentarily stunned but quickly pieced it together.

Thanks to His Majesty’s masterful maneuvering, the noble factions tied to Belland suffered heavy blows in this crisis. It’s likely they’ll be unable to make any significant moves for quite some time.

Meanwhile, the Campbell family, being staunch allies of the royal faction, didn’t lose anything during the chaos. In fact, they’ve come out of it with unexpected gains due to the royal authority’s consolidation.

Though... this will probably make us even more of a target of resentment.

"Looks like having a sparse family tree has its perks after all," Moen sighed, with complex emotions.

Generally speaking, the higher a noble’s status, the more they’d wish for a weakening of royal authority.

Yet among the high aristocracy, there existed this heresy: the Campbell family.

Generation after generation of single heirs, devoid of a bustling household, naturally rendered them incapable of forming the usual intermarital political bonds among nobles.

After all, the Duke of Campbell only had one heir, and the Duke’s son also had no siblings. You couldn’t expect the two of them to marry dozens of noblewomen.

As a result, the Campbell family could only rally a group of small and mid-tier nobles under the Duke’s commanding presence, subsequently positioning themselves as the leader of the royalist faction.

"Now that I think about it, in the original story, after that certain incident, Moen Campbell was stripped of his nobility and reduced to a commoner, ending tragically. Even the Duke was forbidden from intervening. There must’ve been more going on than meets the eye, likely spurred on by other nobles."

Moen mused to himself.

After all, many people wouldn’t want to see a powerful duke so closely aligned with the monarchy, let alone one poised to form an alliance through royal marriage.

But for me to cause such a scandal—doing *that* to the princess, and in such a public way—yet in the original story, the punishment was limited to that Moen being demoted to a commoner without jeopardizing the Duchy itself... That alone shows just how much trust His Majesty placed in the Campbell family.

"Wait a minute. Something’s off here," Moen suddenly realized, lifting his head in confusion.

"The palace sending gifts now makes no sense. Isn't this basically throwing fuel on the fire and inviting more resentment toward us?"

"Regarding that point, the palace messengers did leave a message when they delivered the gifts," Ann replied.

For some reason, Moen sensed an odd undertone in her voice—was that... a hint of sourness?

"What did they say?" Moen asked curiously.

"They said..."

Ann paused briefly, then spoke with a sour, almost resentful tone:

"...The Duke’s household should begin preparations... for Young Master’s engagement ceremony with Her Highness, Princess Celicia, in a few months later."