"Come in."

Maerie didn't bother to get up as her door opened. Raijin swiftly stepped inside, shutting the door quietly behind him. She heard the lock on the door click but only raised an eyebrow at it. He walked to the foot of her bed, his gaze lingering on her face as she refused to return his stare.

"I came in because it seemed like Miss Maerie had a few questions about Miss Winsley," Raijin explained, waiting for her to answer.

Maerie gave a wry smile at his words. "Could it be that you're able to read my thoughts?"

"Naturally as a high ranking Spirit, I can," he jested, giving a sly grin, "I don't do it as often, as it can get annoying from time to time."

"Then you already know what I'm going to ask you?"

"Of course."

She sighed, seeming annoyed by his attitude before flatly saying, "Alright, then out with it. Tell me the answers I want to know."

Raijin obliged. "As you know, Miss Winsley is the adopted daughter of Baron Winsley. Even though their status is lower than most nobles, it's still higher than commoners. This is contradictory, however, since Miss Winsley is currently working as your maid, a position supposedly filled by mostly commoners."

"Yes, I've figured that much out," scoffed Maerie, "I wondered why she would be so brave as to claim the name of Baron Winsley's when there was never any official introduction of a daughter from the Barons themselves."

"It's an etiquette you would assume a noble and most commoners would have, I understand. Then let's take away the assumption that she was raised under the etiquette of a noble." Raijin grabbed the chair from the desk inside Maerie's room and took a seat on it.

"Are you saying that the Winsley family was too lazy to educate a mere child?"

"Not lazy," hummed Raijin, "but perhaps they didn't bother with a noble education and simply gave her a basic one."

"What makes you think that?"

He continued to smile as he replied, "Well, isn't it obvious that most nobles don't bother giving a slave any form of education?"

Maerie paused at his words before frowning and turning her head to lock eyes with Raijin.

"She's a slave?"

"It would appear so. Do you remember at this time, the Royals were stressed about a territory within Atelia that had not been conquered yet?" He waited for her response.

Maerie scrunched her nose as she tried to recall memories of that, which were almost nonexistent because of her lack of empathy towards the matter. However, she does remember the Saintess going on trips to the territory in order to help the people there. Those were times where Maerie tried to expand her authority over the people on the Saintess' side while the Saintess herself was absent. That happened at the beginning of her second year at the Academy.

How the Saintess knew about it despite it being kept to utmost secrecy within the Royals and the officials of the palace, Maerie did not know.

After pondering a bit, she raised her eyebrows.

"Don't tell me, that servant girl—"

"She was the one who confided in the Saintess about the territory from which she was kidnapped and sold from," he finished.

Maerie gave a short laugh at his words.

"So that girl is from the territory and the Barons bought her. She must've been assigned to the Saintess from the start. Given the Saintess' personality, that girl would've opened up and told Lady Warren about her origins," Maerie theorized, clicking her tongue in disbelief as Raijin nodded his head in agreement.

"I was right, then. She's not a daughter of the Barons."

"To be fair, Miss Winsley didn't specify she was their daughter. She simply said the Winsley family adopted her."

"Because of her wording, I'm supposed to assume by 'adopting' she meant 'buying'?"

"Weren't you the one who said 'adopting' in the first place, Miss Maerie?"

Maerie scowled at Raijin's responses, which deliberately attacked her with every word.

"I'm simply pointing out, Miss Maerie, how narrow-minded you are at this moment. If you want to exact revenge on these people, you can't be as foolish as you were in your past life. You must learn and you must adapt, despite how unwilling you are," Raijin sighed, "You should be careful of your words and your behavior. A dog who continually barks isn't a dog that people want."

There was a silence after his words, in which Maerie was processing what he told her. Then, Maerie's face flushed angrily.

"How dare you call me a dog!"

Raijin wasn't phased by her yelling. "It's a metaphor."

At Raijin's face, which held no amount of his usual mocking, Maerie became even angrier.

"Why should I care about what people want?"

Raijin, at this point, put on a neutral expression.

"Are you an idiot, Miss Maerie? Your soul may have a strong conviction, but I think your brain doesn't have strong intelligence."

"You—"

"Listen."

Maerie, who was in the midst of yelling at him again, froze at his sudden tone. Her previous anger, which was blazing just moments before, seemed to be immediately doused by his cold and serious voice. The vivid blue eyes that stared at her seemed to be filled with slight annoyance and displeasure.

"I signed a contract with you for your soul. In order for that contract to be complete, I need you to fulfill your goal. If you get this riled over this tiny matter, I can only imagine how much of a blockhead you'll be later when trying to take down the Saintess and the rest of them," Raijin clicked his tongue at her, "You need to learn how to be three steps ahead while the others are trying to be one step ahead. You need to be able to be effortless when persuading others to be on your side, to think that you were wronged — that you were the victim of all this. Once you have that card, you need to use it wisely. People will sympathize, but only for a certain amount of time. Soon they will get tired and you will have to pull another card from your deck. So you need to show them your growth; that you are empathetic, sympathetic, virtuous, kind, and overall a pleasant person inside and out."

Raijin's tone then turned into a softer one, as if he was trying to appease a child that threw a tantrum.

"Once you let everyone see you in that light, only then will you be able to turn the tables. Of course, by no means am I saying you suddenly need to be an angel. Continue to act like you are, but slowly slip in those qualities that everyone falls for. Let them understand that they misunderstood you; that your intentions were good from the beginning and they were the ones that misinterpreted as malicious. Be calm and collective at times; at others, be bashful and shy. Pretend as if you're putting on a shield, only to be vulnerable behind it. Many are unable to resist to protect these kinds of people."

By this point, he had risen from the chair and walked over to Maerie, who was sitting up on her bed quietly. She made no notion that she acknowledged his movement, even as he took a seat beside her and stroked her hair.

"Remember, you are the Maerie von Doll who has come back to end those who caused her to suffer. Therefore, you need to be smarter and fight harder. I'm here to help you with your goal; I am on your side, Miss Maerie. That is why I will teach you how you can shine in this life."

He continued to pet Maerie's head, giving her a comforting feeling. As Maerie took in his words, which seemed to make sense, she slowly nodded her head. She sighed as she placed a hand to her head, waving off his hand.

"I understand," she answered, pushing him back as she got up, "It seems I still hang onto a childish mentality despite what happened. Go back now, I'm going to change for bed."

Raijin gave a small smile. "By yourself? Does Miss Maerie know how to do such a task?"

"Of course," Maerie retorted, though her cheeks were faintly red, "I'm fine. I don't want to call that servant girl in here just yet, and I despise asking you to help."

He chuckled. "Then, does my Lady know what she'll do with Miss Winsley?"

"Not yet. As you said, I'll need to be three steps ahead. I'm going to be sleeping on the matter tonight, so if you would leave." Maerie gestured to the door of her room.

Raijin stood and gave her a bow. "Whatever my Lady says."

Maerie only snorted at his response and turned away, listening as he opened the door and left.