That night, Leticia and Stano didn’t meet in that strange, mirror-like lake place.

That was normal, though. Their “encounters” didn’t happen on any regular schedule. They might see each other again the very next day, or go a whole month without meeting.

What was regular was that, around five every morning, she’d once again be connected to that arrogant, foul-tempered little brat.

Leticia woke up early.

She’d been roused by the sound of her uncle John getting ready, even though he’d tried his best to keep quiet.

“Uncle’s going to work again…”

Pretending she was still asleep, Leticia watched John leave, then slowly sat up. “I should get up and get ready, too.”

By sheer force of will, she got up, got dressed, and climbed out of bed barefoot. Then…

She started walking outside, completely against her will.

“???”

Leticia was startled for only a moment before she realized what was happening: some highborn brat was forcibly commandeering her body!

“What the hell are you doing, you little brat?! Stano, stop right now!”

Leticia shouted, “Do you even understand what you’re doing?!”

“…”

Stano didn’t answer. He focused on controlling Leticia’s body, walked straight out the door, and headed toward the village outskirts.

Only then did Leticia regret telling him during one of their earlier conversations where the village outskirts were and how to get to the main road!

“Hey! Stop right now!”

This was bad. This was really bad. The little brat had turned completely deaf and wasn’t going to listen to a word she said!

Faced with such an impossible situation, Leticia could only…

Could only…

Fuck, why couldn’t she think of a way out of this?!

“Hey, what exactly are you trying to do?!”

She was at a loss. She had no control over her body, and no way to threaten him, either. “What’s even in that Rhodes place you keep talking about?”

“It’s not like you’d listen anyway.”

Stano simply said that, perfectly calmly.

Huh, so they could still talk. That meant there was hope!

Leticia perked up and hurriedly told him that what she’d said yesterday had just been said in anger, and they could work something out—but only if Stano stopped moving around first.

“Do you have any idea that this impulsive stunt might not affect you much, but it could completely ruin my life?!”

“Shut up!”

Stano snarled under his breath. “Stop treating me like an idiot. I’m having my coming-of-age ceremony in three months. You can’t fool me!”

Kid, even if you come of age at fourteen, you’re still just a little brat!

Leticia was so mad she almost laughed. Still, she had to try to negotiate “calmly.” “So what exactly are you trying to do?”

“Do you have any idea how annoying you are?!”

Stano snapped, “You just need to do as you’re told! I’m going to save someone! Save someone! Do you understand? He’s going to die, and I have to save him! Can’t you just settle down and pretend you’re asleep?!”

Stano had planned to act the moment their connection was established. It was still early then, and Leticia would usually still be asleep, so he could do whatever he wanted.

As for what he’d done—hehehe, use your imagination.

He’d had similar experiences many times before. Who could’ve guessed that this time, the little girl would wake up so early?

“I get that you want to save someone, but what can I possibly do with a body like mine?!”

Leticia nearly screamed. “Are you trying to get two people killed for the price of one? By the time I get there, he’ll be long dead!”

What kind of screwed-up logic was this kid using? He actually expected a little girl like her to go save someone?!

Didn’t he know that kids like her—ordinary children—were nothing but deadweight in movies, TV shows, and novels, there to be used as hostages to threaten the protagonist?!

“What do you know?!”

Stano scolded her. “My uncle isn’t dead yet. There’s still a chance!”

Oh, so it was his uncle.

“Fine, I know you’re desperate to save him, but have you even thought about whether you’ll be able to find your uncle once you get to Rhodes?”

If he wasn’t dead yet, then either he was hiding somewhere, waiting to die, or he’d been captured and was waiting to die. Either way, there was no way an underage brat could rescue him while using the body of an even younger little girl!

“You think I haven’t thought about that?!”

Their argument had escalated into a shouting match. “I’ve read the secret scroll my father received, so of course I know how to make contact!”

“But you still don’t know how to save him, you little—[censored]!”

Why hadn’t your dad beaten you to death?!

“Tch…”

Stano was at a loss for words. He was just a kid, after all. He’d thought about a lot, but somehow missed a few things at the most crucial step.

Right. How was he supposed to save him?

Now that word had gotten out, things in Rhodes would definitely be tense. It probably wouldn’t be too hard for Leticia, this little Bamboo Pole, to get into the city. But getting back out with someone else would be much harder. And what if his uncle had already been captured?

He’d thought he’d considered everything last night. But now that he’d calmed down, he realized he’d still been too green.

And to make matters worse, all of this had been pointed out by a Bamboo Pole even younger than him…

That made him even angrier!