"Ah, damn it," I muttered as the sun's rays flooded the bedroom.

My annoyance was two-fold. I had hoped the weather might finally turn for the worse, but unfortunately, that was not the case. The day was bright and sunny like the one before it.

So much for going to see my favorite information broker.

My conversation with Chase last night was enlightening, but with each insight, two more questions appeared, the answers to which I trusted only Frieda Stran to be able to unearth.

Then, there was the issue of my tired state. I squinted with irritation toward Remlend, who had opened the curtains and let the evil daylight in. I didn't even hear him knock and come in.

"Young master Luca, I apologize, but it is already well past breakfast time," he said in his ever-calm voice. "Your siblings have already all finished eating."

"It's fine, thank you." I lied.

A yawn escaped my lips, and I groggily sat up in bed. I rubbed my aching eyes, having been left open late into the night, staring at the ceiling and pondering the new potential obstacles that had unceremoniously appeared before me. I didn't even know when I had managed to fall asleep.

There was, of course, the issue of Claude Noire and his syndicate's meddling in my family's business. The more I thought on the matter, the more troubling I realized it was.

When I inquired the System about him for additional insight, it had no information beyond what I already knew.

[ That is a negative, Luca. Unfortunately, as no Player had interacted with this individual, I do not have any information regarding him. ]

Somehow, Claude had managed to evade the detection of any of the Players, while spinning his web of influence across the continent.

And unfortunately for me, his syndicate was overly involved in my family's matters. They had planted Denise to poison me, had tormented Fin in my original life and nearly sold him off to a psycho in this round, and in the previous round, had killed my younger brother Jarvis. This last point gave me the most pause. If my brother's research into curing the lands of its infection was the catalyst to him being killed, and Claude had a way of transferring information between loops, it was possible that his syndicate would attempt to kill Jarvis again in this round.

I sighed.

My only glimmer of hope was that given the Spider Syndicate's size, it was highly plausible that the order was limited to that of Duke Hatis Maudel, and Claude had no insight into the matter.

Then, there was the additional concerning detail that Claude Noire was far from the only one who was aware of the loops and capable of benefiting from them. I didn't recognize any of the names on the list that Chase provided, but that had been the case with Claude as well. Just because I didn't recognize their names didn't mean that their meddling in world affairs wasn't already impacting me and those I cared about in some way.

Thus, I spent the night evaluating the situation and failing to get any proper rest. However, as far as Chase's request for my death, I had decided against it. I thought about it and concluded it wasn't my problem. The returned favor from the warlock was enticing, but restarting now was hardly worth the trouble. I had too much to lose. This was the first round where most things were going the way I wanted, and knowing what I knew now, I wasn't confident about events playing out as intended in future loops.

"Remlend, do you know where my bird is?" I asked.

I gazed about the room, realizing Leona was nowhere to be seen. I felt a wave of alertness rush through me.

"Yes. She was pecking on the door and had flown out when I first came by," Remlend replied and poured me a cup of tea. "However, she didn't fly far—she joined your siblings for breakfast. She should be with your sister now."

"Of course she did," I muttered, accepting the white porcelain tea cup from Remlend's hand.

Now that I thought about it, I did vaguely recall having what at the time seemed to be a dream of Leona poking my face with her wings, beak, and feet. She was probably hungry and trying to wake me up.

Thankfully, she was kind enough not to yell into my mind. That would have certainly woken me up.

The tea's dark, robust fragrance filled my nose, and I gulped down the black tea as quickly as my mouth could handle its temperature. I was counting on its energizing properties to shake me awake and get me through the day.

"Remlend, is my brother home?" I asked.

I pooled water from the basin in my hands and splashed it over my face, washing up. The cool water helped my aching eyes.

"Yes, but he appears to be occupied for the whole day," Remlend replied, handing me a towel and gesturing towards the courtyard. "I spoke with Louis, and his schedule is packed with meetings with visiting foreigners."

I walked over to my window and noted two unfamiliar carriages sitting in the courtyard. "Busy as always."

I had hoped to loop Micah in on this new insight regarding the identity of the Spiders' head and his ability to predict the future—or rather, that was the way I was planning to spin it. Even if I had no intention of restarting the round, it didn't mean that I could go through it without taking certain precautions.

But I suppose it can wait until later today.

"And Jasper?" I turned toward Remlend. It had been quite some time since I'd been away from my poisoned needles and Whispering Necklace.

"He arrived at dawn," Remlend replied. "He appeared rather intoxicated and is currently sleeping in his quarters."

I nodded.

This was hardly anything out of the ordinary for Jasper. However, I needed my items back, so perhaps this was one of the rare occasions that I would wake him with the sound of pots and pans instead of the other way around.

I couldn't help but smile, imagining his inevitable groggy reaction.

But apparently, Jasper was smarter than that.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I gazed displeased at a brown, inconspicuous, tied sack on the floor in front of his room and a hastily written note attached to his door.

For the gracious and most divine young master Luca. Find your articles inside.

I glanced about the corridor of the servant quarters. I was mildly surprised no one had brought the items over to me. Or perhaps they thought it was one of our usual pranks, which no doubt no one wished to get entangled in.

Shame. I was looking forward to being the one dollying out the rude awakening for once.

With a sigh, I set down the metal pot and pan, borrowed from Fiona's kitchen, and picked up the rough sack.

I had to admit, it was a tad childish of me, given my actual mental age and having done no such things in the future. But something about being a teenager again made me want to act out.

I untied the sack, and sure enough, my necklace and needles were inside. I quickly donned the necklace and concealed the needles in hidden pockets of my attire for easy access.

Well then, I might as well go find Leona.

I wandered outside and called out to one of the servants, asking if they knew where my sister was. I expected Leona was likely still in her company.

"She went up with Fin and Leo to the tower workshop," the servant relayed.

"Thank you," I replied.

Glancing up at the towering structure that held Leo's and Sarka's workshop, I couldn't help but exhale in anticipated fatigue. I did not look forward to the strenuous climb. My thighs were still aching from having climbed it last night.

BANG!

The sound of an explosion sounded from its peak, causing the whole tower to shake.

Just what is going on up there?

I moved quickly toward the tower, or as quickly as I could muster my tired legs.

Unlike Elda's workshop, the tower workshop wasn't set up with the same level of safeguards against explosions, primarily because the inventions that Sarka and her son were supposed to be working on were hardly as combustible.

"Hah… hah."

I leaned against the stone wall of the tower, taking a much-needed break. As concerned as I was about the explosion, my physique didn't allow me to move at the pace I wished. Luckily, there were no more turbulences after that initial bang.

I looked out of one of the small windows. New carriages had arrived while others left.

Micah certainly has a busy day if all these guests are for him.

I pushed myself off the wall and willed myself to go up the final round of steps.

"Luca?" Elda's voice sounded. "What are you doing up here?"

I gazed up and saw her, Leo, and Fin walking down the stone steps. Looking at Elda's disheveled red curls, I saw Leona had made a relatively comfortable nest within her hair.

"What was that explosion?" I asked.

Elda glanced at Leo, and I noticed the fishy looks that Fin and Leo exchanged. The three stood awkwardly, feet pointing away from me and all of their hands behind their backs.

Suspicious.

"It's the Wobbly Pebble," Leo explained. "I had Elda look at it because the amount of energy built up inside could be explosive if cut into."

"Uh-huh," I nodded, not connecting why they were acting so weird based on this insight.

Did they accidentally set the whole workshop on fire while looking into it?

"Did you discover anything?" I asked Elda instead.

"Yes, based on what Leo showed me, it would be dangerous to cut into the rock. It would need to be done from a safe distance," Elda replied.

I nodded. "That makes sense."

What didn't make sense was why they were all so fidgety—in the past, Elda had blown up several rooms in the manor before our parents had her workshop set up. It wasn't a big deal if she had set anything else on fire.

"It would need to be a considerable distance," Leo added.

Just what were they getting at? Had they tried to cut into it and faced the repercussions?

And if so, Leo had told me earlier that he'd need a powerful mage to cut into it.

I looked at Fin, who appeared the most suspicious of all, with his large bunny eyes wandering around as if looking elsewhere would somehow prevent me from noticing him.

"And how will you cut it?" I asked. However, I had a feeling the answer was standing right in front of me.

"Peep!"

They plan on heading out into the desert and have Fin cut it open from a safe distance.

I arched a brow.

<< Is he able to cut it open? >>

From what Leo had told me, the Wobbly Pebble was the hardest material in existence, and Fin was still a new mage.

"Peep!"

He was able to nick off a small part from the rock. That was just a moment ago—you should see the mess the workshop is in. The rock went haywire.

Impressive.

Sarka Jarbez might have a different opinion of the mess upstairs when she returns, but I was proud of Fin's rapid growth into the mage that I knew he could become.

That said, I had an obvious issue with their plan. The capital was swarming with foreigners and members of the Spider's Syndicate that would pounce at the chance to take a free Grade A mage home. Until Fin could protect himself, I agreed with Ridley's assessment that he was not to leave the manor.

"If you plan on going outside the capital to cut it open, that's fine. But Fin needs to stay here," I stated.

"We're going to be careful," Elda said. "He would remain inside the carriage the whole time, so no one would even see him, and in the desert, we'll be alone. And we'll have guards."

The closest desert to us was the Desolated Expanse Desert, which stretched across the entire continent, cutting through Adovoria and other nations. It was one of the few places that the land's infection never spread to, mainly because it was already dead and desolate as is. There wasn't anything to infect. It didn't fall under any nation's jurisdiction. Only monks and now, The Ogre, lived in the area, but even they lived near the edges, as they still needed reasonable access to material goods for survival.

"I understand, but that's a hard no." I turned to Leo, confused. "Didn't you say yesterday that you'll ask Ridley to help?"

Leo's golden eyes turned down at his feet. "Ridley will be out of town for the next two weeks."

"Then I'll get you another mage," I replied. "I'll check to see if he can be spared today. And if so, we can head out to the desert together—and yes, I will come along."

Given how easily and on short notice Julius was provided for Fin's rescue, I suspected that Princess Evelyn would oblige my request.

Leo looked up, wide-eyed.

"Next time, just ask. Don't go doing anything overtly dangerous," I scolded the children, knowing full well the irony of my words. These kids were already tinkering with and creating explosive and deadly inventions.

"You know another mage as powerful as Ridley or Fin?" Leo asked.

"Yes," I replied.

I did not add that the mage I had in mind was also probably the stupidest person in existence.

But hey, no one's perfect.

I rubbed my temples, sensing that I was forgetting something important, however.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Archie stifled a yawn.

"Long night of partying, eh?" his partner guard commented. "Try to look alive."

"Shut it. It's not my usual shift," Archie replied, working through his hangover.

It was most unlucky. The usual gate guard had called in sick with food poisoning. Archie knew the fellow to be one that never missed work and to possess a stomach of steel, able to eat meat that's been laying out all day in the sun without issues.

And yet here I am.

"Next! Traveling documents," his partner requested.

A black carriage rolled forward, unmistakably one of the Freys. Their carriages moved in and out of the capital frequently, usually without ever needing to be stopped.

However, policy indicated that during festivals and times when a lot of foreigners were coming in and out, official checks were in place. The purpose of them was to catch any criminals attempting to sneak in or out of Genise. However, in the fifteen years that Archie worked this gate, there had never been a case of a criminal attempting to escape Genise. If anyone wanted to evade the law, there was no better place than the depths of East Genise to hide within and make a lucrative living.

But policy was policy, and Archie was not one to argue with rules.

He bent down and did the honors of inspecting beneath the carriage, the sides, and up top. He leaned against the glass window and peered inside, making note of the two young men and two children.

"Clear!" Archie called out to his partner.

"Move along. Next!" His partner ushered in the next carriage.

However, Archie paused before beginning the next inspection, pulling out a stack of miniature wanted posters from his back pocket. He shuffled through them before coming across the picture he was looking for.

A wide grin spread across his face as he stared at the sketch of a curly-haired boy.

Leonardo Ashfallow: 300 Duex gold for capturing, 30 Duex gold for information

Archie scratched the back of his shoulder blade, where the spider promise tattoo sat.

He was too old to capture anyone, but 30 gold was a decent chunk of change nonetheless to spill a few words.

Perhaps it was lucky the other guard fell ill.