Seraphina sat behind the table by the window, reading through the documents piled on top of it. Just then, she heard a knock on the door, and the voice of her personal maid, Colette, came right after.

"My Lady, one of our knights is here, and he wishes to speak with you. I believe he is the knight whom you had assigned to protect Young Master Adrian in the city."

Seraphina put down the documents in her hands.

"Let him in."

The door opened, and a lean man wearing a military outfit stepped inside. He gave her a light bow and remained standing since she hadn’t permitted him to sit.

She pointed at the chair across from her, signaling him to sit. He complied instantly and sat down.

"Now then, it is time you report everything you observed about their outing. Do not leave anything out."

The knight calmly nodded and began reciting all that he had observed. He spoke continuously, and Seraphina nodded along.

He finished and went silent after about ten minutes.

"I see, so Adi didn’t visit anywhere aside from that district. He seemed to be thinking about something the whole time and was looking around from time to time, as if searching for something, is it?"

"Um," the knight added. "I believe he was trying to spot me. But again, that is something I believe and have no proof or basis for this claim."

She thought for a bit, then nodded.

"I see. Is there anything else that you wish to add?"

The knight paused, then opened his mouth hesitantly.

"Actually, there is something, but it’s not related to Young Master Adrian."

"Go on."

"By the end," he began. "Something strange occurred. Everyone in the area suddenly... froze, like statues. It was sudden and lasted only a moment or two. More than that, Young Master Adrian and that young lady were completely unaffected by this phenomenon. I searched diligently but couldn’t find the cause."

She fell into deep thought.

"Frozen like statues? Hmm... what are your thoughts? What do you think was the cause?"

"I am unsure." The knight sighed. "It shouldn’t be possible with elemental spells, and although I lack understanding in the subject, I don’t believe there is a branch of neutral spells that can create such a phenomenon."

As he stopped speaking, Seraphina added her own conclusions.

"The cause wasn’t an Origin ability either, most likely. Otherwise, it would’ve been a topic of discussion among the nobles at one point in time. Which means... the cause was most likely a Fragment Relic, and quite a powerful one at that."

There were quite a few other methods to cause such a phenomenon, but a Fragment Relic being the cause made the most sense.

Her tone became more serious and authoritative.

"The owner of that Fragment Relic must still be in the area, and their objective was most likely to abduct those two children. The Imperial faction is probably behind this. I will assign you some soldiers, so search the entire city thoroughly."

They must have acted believing the children were alone, which is also probably why they chose to leave the children unaffected. But they must’ve sensed the knight’s existence and stopped midway.

The knight hurriedly stood up and left after offering her a light bow.

Seraphina sighed.

’Tch, another headache. Let’s hope it doesn’t spiral further and ruin things.’

She then called out towards the door.

"Colette."

The door opened, and her personal maid elegantly stepped inside, offering her a deep bow.

"How may I help you, My Lady?"

"I want Adi to meet me here, the sooner the better."

That much was enough as the maid turned around and left without asking more.

***

Adrian navigated through the large hallways of the mansion and reached his mother’s chamber after some time. The elegant maid standing by the door smiled politely, opened the door for him, and entered ‌along with him.

As he entered the room and scanned it for his mother. She was sitting behind the small round table near the window.

When their eyes met, she smiled softly and gestured for him to sit on a chair across from her. He quietly complied and sat down.

She spoke while maintaining her soft smile.

"Do you remember what we were talking about during breakfast today?"

He nodded.

They had talked about a few things, but he could easily guess what she was referring to.

"Then are you prepared for the test I am about to give you?"

This time, he did not nod like before. He remained quiet and still, not giving her an answer. After all, his answer could come back to bite him later. If he nodded and performed poorly on the test, then he would have no excuse.

Her smile deepened.

"So you aren’t going to answer?"

The next moment, she tossed him something which he caught instinctively. As he unfolded his fist, there was a shiny gold coin in his palm with the crest of the imperial family clearly visible on it.

He looked back at his mother. She pointed at the gold coin now in his palm.

"I want you to go into the city and earn that before the sun goes down. You aren’t allowed to use your personal belongings or status as a noble to fulfil this goal."

Adrian glanced back at the coin and thought for a while, then placed it on the table and nodded.

"I understand. I would like to start immediately."

It would be about an hour before the sun climbed high above their heads, so he didn’t have much time on his hands.

His mother signaled the maid standing behind him, and the maid suddenly stepped closer and began checking his clothes as if trying to find something hidden. She checked thoroughly for about a minute or two and then turned to his mother.

"My Lady, he does not seem to be carrying anything of value."

His mother nodded, and the maid stepped back.

Just then, he heard the sound of the door opening, and all three people in the room turned to it.

The door was half open, and a young boy around Adrian’s age, with light chestnut-colored hair and amber eyes, was holding the doorknob and looking at them in confusion.

Moments later, his confusion turned into embarrassment.

"Oh, I wasn’t trying to intrude. Forgive me, Duchess, no servant was standing by the door, so I assumed it wasn’t an important room, and I had seen Adrian come in this direction, so I followed him."

The boy turned around and hurriedly tried to leave, but the voice of Adrian’s mother stopped him.

"You can come in, Ravian. I understand that it was a mistake and don’t hold it against you. You are young, after all."

The boy hesitated as he looked back, but soon gave in and entered. As he approached, he flashed Adrian a charming smile while Adrian only stared back expressionlessly.

’So it’s gotten to the point that nobody even announces his arrival when he comes to the mansion?’

Ravian Aurel Graveshroud, the only child of House Graveshroud, which is one of House Ravenshade’s closest vassals. Adrian was introduced to this boy two years ago, and their families pushed for them to be friends.

Adrian knew the reason why their families wished for their friendship. It was to solidify the future of their alliance by making the next generation bond together and become closer. He had no interest in this boy whatsoever, but he still needed to behave like the boy’s friend since his family wished for it.

"So, you said that you came here because of Adi? Unfortunately, he needs to do something in the city, so you would have to play with El for now."

Hearing her words, the boy fell into thought for a while before he asked hesitantly.

"Can’t I... go with him too?"

Both the maid and Adrian paused as they heard that question, then both of them turned to the one with the authority to make decisions. She paused and pondered for a bit before smiling softly at Ravian.

"Sure, I see no problem with that."

Adrian narrowed his eyes.

’What’s going through her head?’

Wasn’t this supposed to be a test? She was acting as though Adrian was going out for a stroll. Her actions and behavior made no sense. Well, among all the people he had to deal with after his reincarnation, his mother had been the hardest one for him to read.

Just then, her voice addressing him pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Adi, why are you still here? Aren’t you in a hurry?"

Instead of replying to her question, he turned to the boy beside him.

"Ravian, could you wait outside? I will come out within moments."

Despite being young, Ravian seemed to have read the room and understood what he was really trying to ask. He turned around and left after giving Adrian a brief nod.

As the sound of the door being shut entered his ears, Adrian turned to his mother.

"I have a question: what if I used Ravian to help me achieve the goal of the test? Would that be a violation of the rules you have set?"

She shook her head.

"You aren’t really using your status, nor is he your belonging. You are using your connections, so I see no problem. But keep in mind that he is also not allowed to use his noble status or his belongings either. He can only help you as an individual."

She paused for a bit, then added.

"Connections like friends and comrades are valuable tools to help one succeed in life; you simply need to learn the proper way to use them. It is time you learn that lesson, Adi."