***

As I was walking through the school corridors, I could hear students talking about Arthur getting publicly rewarded by the duke in his estate.

'How reliable... this is why Sylvia should stick with Arthur at all times'

After all, she, Evelyn, and Eleanor were the only somewhat sensible members of Arthur's harem. 

However, Evelyn still had a long way before she fell in love with Arthur. And Eleanor, well, I didn't feel safe with her having too much power over Arthur. As such, Sylvia was the perfect choice, evident by the fact that no one was talking about me saving her.

'But what's with all this talks about me getting a compensation?'

I wasn't pleased to rumors of me getting some kind of 'compensation' from duke Ecertold.

'Evanos isn't the type that can apologize easily... something must be wrong...'

I wasn't worried about him basically telling me to go to him or else he'd kill me since I was fairly certain that was how he normally talked. Thinking about for a bit it more, I could get why Evanos would spread rumors about him compensating me.

'Does he want his public image to improve...? No, that's not right'

Compensating someone you wrongfully accused wasn't a smart choice, especially when you're a noble.

Although doing so would help alleviate Evanos' cruel and cold-blooded reputation in the eyes of the public by a barely noticeable margin, it would also make him appear as weak in the eyes of other nobles.

However, I had no more time to think about his motives as I had just arrived at the Gate station where Arthur... and Sylvia was waiting for me.

'Of course she's there...'

As soon as Sylvia saw me, she bowed down and apologized.

"Theodore, I apologize"

"Huh? What for?", I said as I made her stop bowing.

'Stop doing that already! Everyone is looking!'

Seemingly aware of my inner turmoil, Sylvia hurriedly stopped bowing and apologized again. "Sorry, I forgot you didn't like attention"

"..."

"As for your earlier question... I- I'm sorry for not keeping my promise. F- Father forced me to tell him what happened..."

Hearing this, I instantly knew what was going on.

Although it might look like a 'compensation' for putting me on the wanted list to the public, he was actually going to reward me.

'How admirable... and also stupid at the same time'

Despite his cold demeanors, the duke absolutely adored Sylvia - his daughter. So much so that he probably agreed to her pleas to keep the fact that I saved her a secret.

'That's probably why he insisted on awarding me... but why do I feel like there's another motive?'

However, that didn't matter to me at the moment, as I was already thinking of how to squeeze the most benefit out of this situation.

"A- Are you not mad that I- I told my father about you?", Sylvia suddenly said, snapping out of my thoughts.

Briefly glancing at her, I replied. "It can't be helped. Even I can't lie in front of the duke"

"Huh?", Arthur suddenly interjected in our conversation. "You even tricked a <B> ranked cultist and us. Why wouldn't you be able to lie to the duke?"

I stared at him in shock. "You don't know about his Eyes?"

"His what?"

I heaved a sigh of irritation and glared at him. "There's a limit to how clueless you can be. He's literally known for his magic Eyes. Forget it, I don't think I can stay sane if I keep talking to you"
...

After an hour of me deliberately ignoring Arthur's and Sylvia's attempts to start a conversation, someone from the Ecertold duchy came to pick us up and guided us to Evanos' office.

Staring at the ominous wooden door before me, I couldn't help but to gulp a mouthful of saliva.

'L- Let's hope he won't squash me to death when he hears of my request'

"Enter"

An imposing voice came out from beyond the door.

Briefly glancing at us, Sylvia stepped forwards and opened the door.

Creak—!

The door creaked open.

I put the duke's presence aside for now and scanned the room.

It was a lavishly decorated office with expensive-looking furniture. However, what caught my attention was 6 paintings, 2 on each sides of the duke and 2 right behind him.

'Something's off about them...'

However, I couldn't quite put the finger on what was wrong.

As I was staring at the paintings, trying to make sense of them, however, Evanos' cold voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"You like what you're seeing?"

I shifted my eyes around, only to see Arthur and Sylvia both greeting the duke with utmost respect.

'SHIT! I FORGOT!'

Before I could apologize for my insolence, however, Evanos continued his speech.

"The ones in the painting are my ancestors"

'Now that I think about it...'

The dragons in the paintings did look similar to each other, up to the 5th one that was.

'How do I describe it...? Every dragons in the paintings before the 5th one looks more... wild and... dragon-like?'

"So you noticed?", Evanos said, as if reading my mind. "The figure in the 5rd painting is dragonlord Azzaert - my father. He was the one who convinced the 14th Emperor to recognize dragons not as wild beasts that need to be slain, but as citizens of the Empire"

'This wasn't in the novel nor is it in any history books I've read!', I stared at Evanos in shock.

I briefly glanced at Sylvia and Arthur to see their reactions, thinking that I was the uneducated one here.

However, they seemed as shocked as I were.

"Of course, he couldn't speak for all dragons. Some wanted to embrace their barbaric 'tradition' and continued to bring down castles and kidnap princesses. However, he slayed all of them along with the 14th Emperor"

Realizing something, Evanos cleared his throat before continuing to speak.

"Keum! I've gotten side-tracked for a bit. My point is that—", he then lightly tapped the [Soundproof sphere] on his desk. "—You shall be rewarded appropriately for saving one of the descendants of wild-dragon slayer Azzaert"

"..."

"But before that, let me ask you a question"

His eyes then glowed a deep-purple hue.

"How did you know where my daughter was?"

'Ah... he activated his Eyes of Truth...'

Normally, I'd have panicked at this sight. However, I had been expecting him to ask me this question with his Eyes activated from the beginning.

"I tracked her using a piece of her Tail scale"

<Eyes of Truth>'s weakness was that they cannot tell truths from half-truths, or even truths from half-lies. As such, providing just enough information to him would suffice.

'There's no way I'm telling him about the novel'

Seeing that Evanos was still waiting for me to continue, I sighed. "I'm afraid that I cannot provide any more exact details regarding how I could find her using her scale. You should know how important keeping unique techniques hidden from other people is"

Although I could have told him the truth about how I found her using her scale, I'd rather not, at least not with Sylvia in the same room as me.

'And I'm pretty sure he'd turn me into a bloody mush if he knew that I sniffed his daughter's tail scale'

"Are you done?", Evanos asked.

"Yes."

"I see...", Evanos nodded his head. 

Then, an intense pressure bore down on my shoulders.

"Kurghhh!", I lets out a short groan of pain as I was caught off-guard by the duke using his mana to pressure me.

Rhythmically tapping his fingers on the table, Evanos spoke with a trace of anger in his voice.

"Care to tell me how you had her tail scale in your possession?"

Before I could even answer, Sylvia rushed to put herself between me and her father. She then shouted loudly.

"STOP! I'M THE ONE WHO GAVE HIM IT!"

"What?", Evanos suddenly stopped crushing me with his pressure.

His voice then trembled slightly with shock and... pride? 

"But you said that the torturers ripped your scale off. If that Halfling over there isn't guilty, d- does that mean that you... you lied to me?"

"Y- Yes! Theodore's not at fault!"

Eventually, Evanos calmed his emotions down a bit and spoke. "Why would you lie to me about that? You've never gone against me before"

Sylvia bit her lower lips hard and stuttered. "B- Because I'm afraid y- you'll harm Theodore i- if you k- know"

"Good call", Evanos sighed. "I'd have sent assassins after him if I knew about it"

"..."

"However", his tone then turned serious. "Do you know why I'd have killed him?"

"N- No"

Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, Evanos sighed. "Do you even know what giving your scales to another dragon... or half-dragon I suppose, means?"

"I- I don't"

"THEN WHY DID YOU GIVE HIM IT?"

Shaking in fear, Sylvia slowly answered. "B- Because grandpa Semier needed a- a strong yet mana-conductive material to... make a certain item... a- and since I accidently ripped off 2 scales when grandpa only needed 1, I gave t- the remaining one to Theodore"

"So Semier's involved in this?", Evanos muttered under his breath.

'Huh?'

I could have sworn I saw his expression turned into that of fear for a split second but I must have been mistaken.

Before long, Evanos turned his attention to me again.

"Forget about it. Now, tell me, Halfling. What do you want in return for saving my foolish daughter?"

'Here goes nothing...'

Gathering my courage, I replied. "I want a drop of Wyrm blood from your treasury"

Instantly, a great amount of pressure bore down on my shoulders again. This time, however, I've gotten somewhat used to it. As such, I could stand my ground for a few more minutes.

"Do you even know what you're asking of me?", Evanos said with a cold glint in his eyes.

Still struggling to stand, I gave him a smirk. "H- Heh! D- Does your daughter's life worth less than the blood you only keep for the sake of collecting rare things"

Evanos glared at me, before glancing at Sylvia, who was already trying to rush to help me.

Eventually, he sighed and released his pressure.

'Holy fucking shit that was extremely risky!'

Even if I knew how much he loved his daughter in the novel, I wasn't sure if that was enough to prevent him from killing me on the spot. As such, I capitalized on Sylvia's temporary fondness of me.

'I'm glad that worked out...'

I would have liked to give him a provocative grin and demand for more rewards right now, but I knew better than to push my luck.

'Just having a drop of Wyrm blood is more than enough'

Looking around the room for a bit, Evanos spoke. "Sylvia... and Arthur, get out of the office for a bit and follow the butler"

Sylvia stared at Evanos for a split second before shakily speaking. "N- No!"

"Are you refusing my orders?", Evanos glared at Sylvia.

"Y- Yes, I am! What if you hurt him while I'm gone?"

Staring at Sylvia with even more shock now, Evanos sighed. "I vow to the Origin Dragon that I won't lay a finger on this Halfling over here. Happy?"

Sylvia looked at Evanos with surprise before letting herself be pulled out of the room by Arthur.

CLANK—!

Being the only one left in the room with Evanos, I stared awkwardly at him, who was returning my stare with another stare of his own.

After a few minutes, a device on Evanos' table suddenly lit up. It was then that he finally spoke to me.

"You know, Sylvia has never disobeyed me before"

"..."

"Ever since she's little, she had always listened to me"

"..."

His gaze then turned cold. "So what do you suppose I would do when the source of her sudden disobedience is right in front of me?"

GULP—!

I gulped a mouthful of saliva, unsure on how to answer his question.

"Nothing—", Evanos said. "—Is what I'd do. I had just vowed to the Origin Dragon after all, and I value my own life"

"..."

"Now, Theodore Gray, tell me. Why did you even save my daughter? From what I've been informed of, she did nothing but annoy you everyday for a spar, and you practically didn't even know her before the incident in <Ant's nest>"

I was caught-off guard by Evanos' question, which I had never expected he would ask. However, I soon calmed down and fell into thoughts.

'Why DID I save her?'

Although Evanos would have definitely torture me for information regardless of whether I was innocent or not, I would only be suffering for a day or two. And I could even use [F - Emotionless] to get through it without even feeling any pain.

Furthermore, Semier was with me when Sylvia was kidnapped, so he could have testified for me. Or I could have at least sought refuge in his smithy-cum-tavern until Arthur rescued her.

'Was I just using it as an excuse to... save her from her suffering for even just a second sooner?'

Before I could think about it any further, however, I suddenly noticed that Evanos' Eyes had stopped glowing.

'His Eyes of Truth deactivated? This is my chance!'

As such, I hurriedly activated [F- Emotionless] to erase any chances of my lies getting exposed and answered.

"I did it only to avoid getting tortured by you and... get the rewards"

"Hm...", Evanos tapped his desk with his fingers. "...To be honest, you're right. I would definitely torture you to near-death if you hadn't ran to find Sylvia... but... are you sure that those are the only reasons?"

"Yes. I'm completely sure. Your daughter is just a tool for my gain, so I don't want any ties with you after this"

"I see...", Evanos muttered.

He then pointed towards the door to his office.

"You can go now. There will be a butler waiting for you outside to guide you inside the treasury. And remember, only take the Wyrm blood"

I nodded my head and walked out of his office.

CLANK—!
***

Instantly after Theodore had left his office, Evanos re-activated his [Soundproof sphere] and calmly spoke to apparently no one.

"Did you catch all that?"

After a while, a painting to the left of him shook for a few seconds. Eventually, it came off the wall, revealing a secret passageway.

And having just walked out of the passageway and into Evanos' office was Sylvia, whose tail was trembling and drooping down low.

Seeing his daughter's state, Evanos sighed. "Look, now you see his true fac—"

"Of course I caught all that! I'm not that old to not be able to hear him from this close"

Evanos snapped his head to the source of the sudden voice, only to find an old-looking dragon walking out of the same passageway Sylvia had just got out of.

Instantly, he knew that the reason why Sylvia was trembling wasn't because of her delusion of Theodore was shattered. Rather, it was because of the repulsive aura of the dragon.

"Father, what are you doing here?", Evanos lowered his eyes.

Evanos' father - Azzaert, whose Eyes were glowing the same purple hue that Evanos' Eyes did before, chuckled.

"Why shouldn't I be here? I'm just visiting my granddaughter that had just returned from being kidnapped. And I happened to stumble upon her hiding behind the painting"

"..."

"Isn't that right, Sylvia?"

Hearing the mention of her name, Sylvia shook in extreme fear. Her face was white as sheet, and she looked like she was only seconds away from fainting.

Evanos glared at Azzaert. "Get out now! Your dragonslaying aura is scaring her!"

Azzaert scoffed. "It's not my fault that merely killing a thousand weaklings that dared to call themselves dragon give me this aura that scares everything with draconic blood, you know?"

"..."

Evanos frowned, unsure how to deal with his father.

Before he could think about it any further, however, Sylvia suddenly spoke up.

"G- Grandfather... y- you have the same E- Eyes as f- father, r- right? W- Was Theo t- telling the truth earlier?"

Despite her immense and almost primal fear, Sylvia still pushed through it and asked Azzaert.

Now looking at his granddaughter with intrigue, Azzaert chuckled. "Ah, that half-dragon brat was lying earlier, so don't worry"

"R- Really, grandpa?"

"Yes"

Hearing this, Sylvia heaved a sigh of relief, before looking down at the ground in fear again.

In contrast to her, however, Evanos frowned at Azzaert. "You didn't have to tell her that!"

"As a matter of fact, I did have to. Do you think I don't know what you're trying to do?"

Evanos could only keep his mouth shut at this.

In fact, he deliberately deactivated his Eyes so that Sylvia could hear Theodore's lies and his hurtful words and distance herself from him.

'He's not worthy of my daughter affection!', he thought. 

After all, unlike Arthur, he couldn't even withstand the puny little pressure that Evanos released.

After a while, Azzaert spoke up again. "Don't be too harsh on that Halfling"

"What?"

"He's just like you", the old dragon chuckled. "Hiding his true feelings for the person he loves"

"What do you mean by 'just like me'?", Evanos frowned.

"Come on, you may feign ignorance but I still remember you acting all fidgety and nervous around Melissa, who was as dense as a rock"

"..."

"What a shame though, if you had gathered enough courage sooner, you might have been able to take her as your wife, or concubine, instead of a Knight captain"

"...Let's just say that's the truth", Evanos sighed. "You're saying that the brat that had just left is like that?"

"Yes. I can never be mistaken"

"Alright then", Evanos muttered to himself with a cold glint in his eyes. "Try seducing my daughter, Theodore Gray, and I will show you what true hell looks like"

Azzaert just shook his head bitterly, praying for Theodore Gray's safety.
***

After getting the Wyrm blood from Evanos' treasury, I hurriedly got back to Avaron.

Since the meeting with the duke was relatively short, it was only around early afternoon when I got back.

Before I could enter my dorm, however, I stared at my mailbox again with a frown.

"Really, again? 2 letters in the same days?"

Sighing, I took out the envelope from my mailbox and inspected it.

It was also the type used for invitation. This time, however, Evanos' seal wasn't on it. Instead—

"Th- The princess' seal?"

—Eleanor's seal was on the envelope.

I hurriedly tore the envelope open and read the letter's content.

And, after reading it, I couldn't help but to let out a curse.

"Fuck you! 'Tea ceremony' my ass!"

Although she used flowery words typical of a noble to invite me to have a tea with her in her dorm, I was sure that she sent me this letter not as a princess, but as a transmigrator.

'Did she finally have enough of me? Did I interfere with the plot too much this time?'

Whatever the case was, I must prepare myself for the 'tea ceremony'.
***

<<Dorm room F1- 2>>

Eleanor was arranging the tea set to prepare for her meeting with Theodore. However, there was something out of the ordinary.

Instead of snacks being on the table, there was a chessboard instead.

Walking away from the table for a bit and staring at it, Eleanor nodded in satisfaction.

"Yep, it looks cool alright"

It was then that Kasumi suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Your highness, Theodore Gray has arrived"

"Let him in", Eleanor commanded.

Bowing, Kasumi melted into the darkness once more and the door to her dorm room opened.

Theodore walked in, closed the door behind him and gave her a royal greeting, which she returned it a nod.

"Come sit at the table, will you?"

"It's my pleasure to be invited to this tea ceremony, your highness. But I'm afraid that I'm not worthy of being in your presence—"

He then briefly glanced around the room. "—Especially alone"

'He really doesn't want to meet me' 

However, Eleanor had already expected this from the start. "Don't speak such nonsense! How could the one that saved my cousin be unworthy of merely having a tea with me?"

Theodore stiffened for a bit, which didn't escape Eleanor's eyes.

'So it was really you!'

Eleanor had heard reports from Kasumi that Theodore was seen wandering around the Kaiera range, holding Sylvia's tail scale. However, she never expected him to be so stupid as to rescue Sylvia himself and disrupt the timeline.

'Regressor or not, I have to rein him in today to prevent him from messing up the timeline any further!'

Having convinced Theodore to sit down at the table, Eleanor poured tea for Theodore.

"Would you like to have a game of chess with me?"
...

"Checkmate!", Eleanor exclaimed as she finally managed to kill Theodore's king piece.

"Congratulation, your highness"

"You flatter me!"

In contrast to her tone of speech, however, Eleanor was extreme confused.

'Is he stupid?'

She just wanted to have a game of chess with Theodore, but what he did during the game confused her.

While she was playing chess like how one normally would, you know, sacrificing even important pieces to win the game, Theodore refused to sacrifice any pieces but his pawns. And thus led to his inevitable defeat.

'Does he not know how to play chess?'

Although she was still confused about his actions, she decided to put such thoughts away. After all—

'It's time to put a leash on this variable...'

—A hunting dog doesn't need to be smart.

"Now, let's get to the main topic, shall we?"

"Certainly"

Hearing this, Eleanor smirked.

"Theodore Gray, age 16. Your grandfather, Marcos Dervit was a famous novelist, inventor, and business owner that came into contact with various dark and curse mages"

"..."

"Your mother, Karin Gray ran away from home and she lived with you in a small town. She then abandoned you and made Viscount Irene Nightshade your guardian"

"..."

"You then spent 2 months being adventurers with her daughter, Krista Nightshade. During that time, you protected a caravan from bandits, raided a bandit base, and suddenly adopted a girl with no background just a month before enrollment"

"..."

"You acted strangely during the Keras forest incident, and you somehow miraculously found where Sylvia Ecertold was being held at and rescued her"

"..."

"Did I miss something?", Eleanor said as she sipped the tea from her cup.

"...Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because, Theodore Gray—"

Her eyes then turned cold.

"—You're also a regressor, aren't you?"

//////////////////////////////////////////

The Empire:

The Republic and the Kingdom (for now):