Both Lucian and Renelle had a frown on their faces as they looked at Adrian after he dipped his hand in the black sea’s water.

Yes, his mana was quite dark, but there was no sign of corruption within, instead, he just seemed a bit more talkative then usual.

Aqua had a frown on her face as she walked closer to Adrian, only to stop a short distance away when she noticed a glare directed at her.

Despite Renelle being a class lower, Aqua had gotten first row seat of how dangerous Renelle truly was, so no,she wouldn’t risk offending her.

Instead, she looked at the liquid in the glass before turning back to Adrian, "how interesting..."

"That’s impossible," Cassian said with a dark frown on his face.

"Could it be some kind of mutation?" Aqua said again, completely ignoring Cassian.

"No," Lucian immediately shook his head, "if it were a mutation, his mana would already showed traces of the corrupted mana."

In his mind, a plan was already forming.

The prince didn’t like this butler in the least bit, especially after what happened during their first meet, but right now, he was their only way out of here.

"Then we can try confirming whether or not the core rests within the center of the black sea," he then muttered as he looked at Adrian, "since you’re able to resist the corruption."

"No," before Adrian could respond, Renelle suddenly cut in with a frown on her face as she looked at the prince, "my Butler is not leaving my side anymore."

"I understand your concern, lady Renelle," Lucian answered, "but this might be our only chance to get out of this dungeon."

He was right,

The corrupted mana within the dungeon was increasing by the second and the black sea was drawing closer by the second, something they had gotten first hand view of it during the past month.

And if the center truly housed the core of the dungeon, then eventually they would have to confront it whether they wanted to or not.

Still, Renelle’s grip around Adrian’s hand tightened slightly as her icy blue eyes remained fixed on Lucian.

"And if something happens to him?"

Lucian stayed silent for a moment before answering honestly, "then our chances of escaping this place disappear with him."

"..." Renelle was silent for a while and Adrian kept his eyes on her, as she seemed to be lost in thought for a while.

"Then I’ll be going with him," she spoke up after a while, and from the look in her eyes, there was no changing her mind.

"We’ll need you to help —"

"My Butler takes priority over anyone else," Renelle cut the prince off, "and if you recall correctly, I only joined your band of ’saviors’ because you promised to help search for him."

Lucian went silent after her words.

He recalled that the butler had told him something similar when the capital was under attack, and he knew there was no changing her mind.

She was an important asset to keeping the people here safe,

Losing her, even temporarily, would weaken the city considerably.

But,

Lucian also knew that trying to force Renelle into staying would only make things worse.

Because unlike the others gathered here, she had never truly cared about this kingdom.

To her, this entire arrangement had always been transactional. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Find Adrian.

That was their agreement.

And now that Adrian was back, her priorities had immediately shifted.

Lucian exhaled softly before rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Fine."

Adrian didn’t bother objecting because he very much preferred her by his side, even if that meant they’d be venturing into the black sea together.

Besides, if she got corrupted, he’d just absorb the corrupted mana from within her, the worst that would happen was that he’d get drunk again.

Still,

"There’s one problem," Adrian muttered with a serious expression on his face as he looked at Lucian.

The group, fo some reason, was certain that he’d deny their request of being sent back to the black sea.

And Lucian had prepared a response for that, after all, even if the butler didn’t care about the people here, he cared enough about his Lady to want to get her out of this place.

But Adrian’s next words caused them to become dumbfounded.

"I can’t swim."

"...."

The group was left speechless after his words, even Renelle was surprised.

She recalled that they had entered the spirit lake before, but then again, they were sinking to the bottom, not swimming.

Renelle was the first to break the silence as she suddenly chuckled, for some reason, she felt relieved.

Her butler was so good at many things that it made her feel a bit.... Lacking.

But now, she was finding out that her butler wasn’t as perfect as she thought he was, made her feel a bit happy.

A small smile appeared on her face as she looked at him, "you can’t swim?"

Adrian looked entirely serious as he answered, "no, and it’s a lot harder fighting underwater whilst trying to stay afloat."

Renelle chuckled at his serious expression before she asked, "would my butler like me to teach him how to swim?"

The sudden change in mood made all the others feeling like lightbulbs between the two.

Caius slowly looked away with the expression of someone who had become bored again.

Noelle, meanwhile, had a small smile on her face.

Only Cassian looked like he was moments away from vomiting blood.

Adrian, completely oblivious to the atmosphere around him, looked at Renelle thoughtfully before answering seriously,

"If my lady is willing, then I would gladly learn."

Lucian cleared his throat lightly before things got even more unbearable.

"Right," he said while rubbing his temple slightly, "we’ll postpone the expedition discussion for now."

Everyone’s attention shifted back toward him.

"If we’re truly considering heading toward the center of the black sea, then we’ll need preparations first."

"Supplies, a proper vessel and more information."

Aqua nodded.

"I’ll continue analyzing the black water."

"Good," Lucian said before looking toward Adrian again "there’s also one more thing."

"The king wishes to meet you."

"Why?"

"You arrived from outside the walls and if word spreads that someone survived the black sea untouched, he’ll want answers."

Renelle’s expression suddenly turned ice cold as she said, "my butler is tired."

The prince looked at Adrian.

The butler looked perfectly fine.

In fact, he somehow looked more energetic after absorbing corrupted mana.

Still,

Lucian wisely chose not to argue.

"The meeting can wait until tomorrow morning," he conceded.

Without waiting for anyone else to say another word, Renelle turned around while still holding Adrian’s hand.

Meanwhile, Adrian followed without the slightest bit of shame.

"Goodbye everyone," he said politely, "it was unpleasant meeting some of you again."

Cassian immediately stood up.

"You—"

Before he could finish, Renelle’s icy gaze landed on him.

The temperature inside the tent instantly dropped several degrees and Cassian shut up immediately.

Satisfied, Renelle turned around and calmly walked toward the exit while pulling Adrian along with her.

Adrian followed without resistance.

Actually,

He looked quite pleased about it, the tent flap closed behind them shortly after, leaving the remaining group in silence.

Cassian then turned to the prince with a frown on his face as he said, "will you truly allow her to venture into the black sea with him?"

"Can you stop her?"

Was the reply that immediately caused him to go silent.

***

Meanwhile, in a smaller tent, Adrian lay on the bed with a small smile on his face.

Just above him, with her armor now removed and her face dangerously close to the Butler’s, was Renelle.

She had a small blush on her face as she looked directly into her eyes before muttering,

"This is your punishment."