In the early morning, Victor leaned boredly against the carriage, waiting for Gwen to come out of her house.

Gwen just pushed open the door, holding a slender silver sword in her hand.

She was going for her morning training.

As soon as she stepped out, she looked up and saw Victor's carriage.

Gwen paused for a moment.

At the same time, the Victor leaning against the carriage nodded at her.

Gwen, "...So early?"

Feeling that it was impolite to have him standing outside, Gwen thought for a moment and said to Victor.

"Training?"

"I'm a mage."

Victor stared at the long thin silver sword in her hand and replied calmly.

Gwen's face flushed red, she turned her head away and let out an "Oh."

"Come in first."

With that, she ran to the training ground to begin her morning practice.

Victor felt a bit bored, so he stood by the training ground, staring at her the whole time.

A knight's morning training was nothing more than swinging the sword, hacking and slashing to exercise the body.

And also practicing various combat techniques, repeating again and again.

Gwen swung her sword for a while, feeling a bit self-conscious under his gaze, and couldn't help but explain,

"Knights have to train every day, day after day."

"I didn't ask you."

Gwen, "......"

So one watched and the other practiced, in silence.

After the morning training, Gwen wiped the sweat from her forehead, just about to pick up the water bag beside her to take a drink and replenish the fluids.

A slow voice came from the side.

"It's not good for the body to drink water directly after intense exercise."

"..."

Gwen put down the water bag, feeling that if she drank it, Victor might just nag about it again.

What's wrong with him today, is he sick?

After the morning training, it was time for breakfast.

Gwen glanced at Victor and hesitantly asked,

"Have you eaten yet?"

"No."

Victor answered her very concisely.

Gwen, "...Then let's go together."

Hearing her invitation, Victor immediately set off, walking into the manor ahead of her without so much as a blush.

Gwen, "..."

She tried to examine Victor with a sense of righteousness, but all his actions and words were honest.

"Strange."

Gwen muttered, shaking her head and shaking those unfounded thoughts out of her mind.

In the dining room, Victor elegantly cut the food with his knife and slowly fed it into his mouth with a fork.

Gwen ate while watching Victor eat.

Although she didn't want to admit it, Victor was really easy on the eyes, even just sitting next to him and watching him eat would make one's appetite open up.

His manners and bearing were extremely elegant.

If Victor couldn't be considered a nobleman, then perhaps there were no true noblemen in this world.

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Comparing to herself, though a girl, her eating seemed a bit rough.

Gwen felt a little depressed, but also puzzled.

Such a dignified and elegant nobleman, why would he do such a thoughtless and stupid thing - she was referring to his confession to the underage daughter of the duke, of course.

"...Well, it has nothing to do with me anyway."

Victor said he would handle these matters.

After finishing breakfast, Gwen put on her knight's armor.

The silver-white armor made her skin even more snow-white and delicate, with a cold and aloof air about her perfect, refined face, like a female warrior goddess emerging from the icy frost.

It was Victor who asked a question while looking at the white horse she was leading.

"Do I need to ride a horse too?"

Gwen suddenly remembered that Victor was a mage, and couldn't possibly walk long distances.

How careless of her! She hadn't even considered that.

As far as Gwen could remember, Victor had never ridden a horse before.

What to do, should she share a horse with him?

Gwen was conflicted for a while, but in that short time, Victor had already called one of Gwen's servants to go to the stables and pick out a suitable horse for long journeys.

A knight's family would never lack excellent horses.

Gwen saw him preparing to mount the other horse, just about to speak up, but she saw Victor skillfully swing himself up and sit firmly on the horse's back.

"So you know how to ride a horse, you don't look like a novice."

Victor didn't respond, after all, Gwen could discern the truthfulness of his words.

Less talk, more action.

But Gwen was right, Victor was not a novice.

He was a professional rider.

In the game, he had even ridden dragons.

On the road, the two set off, with Gwen in the lead and Victor following behind.

They didn't say a word on the way, but Gwen always felt it wasn't quite natural.

She glanced back at Victor, who still had a flat poker face, and when he felt Gwen's gaze, he turned his eyes to meet hers.

Gwen quickly turned her head back.

Victor saw her avert her gaze, and continued to enjoy the scenery along the way.

After arriving at the knight's camp, the knights who had gone on this expedition were already prepared and on standby.

Dozens of them stood in a row, waiting for Gwen's instructions. At the front stood Gwen, who was reminiscent of the powerful and perfect Grand Knight she had seen in the game - the same heroic and imposing bearing.

As usual, Gwen first had the knights go through their drills. After the training was over, Gwen stood on the platform and addressed the knights, "The mage we requested to accompany us has been found, and I'm sure some of you are already familiar with him."

Gwen stepped back, signaling for Victor to come forward. Victor, summoned by the invitation, unhurriedly walked up onto the platform.

Victor Klevena! At the mention of this name, the minds of nearly all the knights were filled with recognition. His notorious reputation preceded him, and not a single knight claiming justice was unaware of him.

They all deeply hated this villain, and if possible, they would have loved to challenge him to a grand duel. But upon seeing him in person, the knights became flustered. They had to reel back their arrogant words - this was a Third-Tier Mage! If he were to suddenly attack, who could stop him? Perhaps the Grand Knight Gwen could try, but there were rumors that she was betrothed to him...

The knights regarded Victor with even greater reverence now. Though his face remained expressionless, Victor felt a slight displeasure inside. He had expected some backlash, with the knights protesting his presence, allowing him to then demonstrate his power and establish his authority by disciplining them. But it seems he had overthought things. As an infamous villain, his mere existence already commanded respect.

Vega, standing by Victor's side, was silent for a moment before making a sardonic remark, "Were you hoping for such a ridiculous turn of events?"

"I just wanted a bit of entertainment, otherwise it would be too dull," Victor replied.

Gwen recounted the numbers one more time, and with no issues, prepared to announce their departure. Suddenly, a young, childish voice rang out, and a small, armored boy carrying a sword came running up.

"Gwen sis! You forgot your sword!" he yelled as he ran, the sword nearly as big as him, obscuring his vision. As a result, he tripped over a rock and fell with a crash, the silver sword flying out of his hands and pointing straight at Victor.

The knights were all startled - that blade was lethal if it hit! Just as they were about to warn him, they saw Victor extend his hand. Was he going to use magic?

"No, it has strong magic resistance!" Gwen shouted urgently.

However, Victor remained still. To everyone's amazement, Victor's agile hand swiftly grasped the end of the sword, effortlessly pulling it back. The smooth, fluid motion left the watching knights stunned.

Victor casually twirled the sword, mesmerizing the knights.

What?

Gwen's precious sword was being toyed with so casually in Victor's hands? Was he really just a mage???

Gwen herself was frozen, her hand still outstretched to stop the sword. She blinked, staring at Victor, speechless for a long moment.

After playing with the sword for a bit, Victor respectfully handed it back to Gwen. "Sorry, it's been a while since I've held one of these."

Gwen, recalling their earlier conversation, looked at him bitterly. "You know how to use a sword."

Victor shrugged, expressionless. "I'm a mage." Silently, he added, "A full-time mage."

Seeing the knights' collective shock, Vega glanced at Victor, understanding his intent. Showing off can be quite satisfying.

Gwen grabbed the sword and sheathed it, no longer acknowledging Victor. Addressing the knights, she commanded, "All knights, mount up! We're moving out!"

...

Today was the grand opening of Leah's prop shop, and she was eagerly manning the store, having invited many "industry insiders" to help with the promotion.

However, the results were not great. Leah sat in the shop, watching mage after mage pass by. Some eyed the bottles of magical potions on the shelves with interest, but upon seeing the prices, they invariably balked.

"Too expensive," the mages muttered as they walked by.

Leah was not in a hurry - as long as someone recognized the value of these potions, everything would be fine. But things did not go as smoothly as she had hoped.

Instead, she attracted some unwelcome visitors.

"Is this the shop?" a gruff voice called out. Leah looked up to see several burly men with various tattoos standing at the entrance.

She stifled a yawn. Here we go again, troublemakers.

Leah absently touched the Mage's Hand that Victor had given her. Somehow, at times like these, she found herself thinking Victor wasn't so bad after all. At least on his turf, no one dared to mess with Klevena's business.

Behind her, a cold female voice spoke, "Shall I have them removed, Miss Leah?"

"No need," Leah said, eyeing the approaching thugs with a hint of amusement. "Who else will help us make a splash?"

Sounds came from outside. "Let's trash the place!"