Soon after, a carriage arrived on the plains, and Nigel boarded it to return to the mansion. By the time he lay down on the wide, plush seat, his body began to ache all over like he was coming down with something. Every joint throbbed with pain.
“Are you okay?”
He wanted to snap back—not to act so familiar after that terrifying glare just a while ago—but Kay, unaware of Nigel’s inner thoughts, simply looked after him with genuine concern.
Nigel nodded, meaning, you don’t need to worry, but Kay seemed not to catch the nuance. His worried expression didn’t waver.
With difficulty, Nigel blinked and turned to stare out the small window of the carriage. The mansion wasn’t far, yet the carriage moved painfully slow. Noticing Nigel’s unease, Kay let out a sheepish laugh.
“You know how they said a terrifying presence was detected earlier? I think it scared the animals. They say animals are more sensitive to that kind of energy than humans. Apparently, the animals in the capital all went wild at once and threw the place into chaos. That’s why the roads are a mess too.”
“…”
Nigel glanced at Inas. The man responsible for the massive uproar in the capital looked as unbothered as ever, showing not the slightest hint of guilt.
“Once we get past the marketplace district, things should go more smoothly. Just hang in there.”
That’s not why I looked at you. But there was no point in saying so. The man was shameless as ever. Nigel sighed, and while Inas didn’t even flinch, Lana, who had hitched a ride in the carriage, winced slightly. She hesitated a moment, then cautiously moved closer to Nigel.
“Um, let me try healing you. I don’t know how much it’ll help, but…”
“Sure, go ahead.”
With his permission, Lana scooted over and reached out. A soft white light glowed from her hands, and Nigel found it a bit easier to breathe.
She’s not even high-level…
Still, it felt far more effective than receiving magic from most high-ranking priests. Considering how most magic barely worked on his mysterious illness, this was an impressive result.
“Thank you.”
He offered a faint smile, and Lana gave one back. With his strength returning, Nigel sat up straighter and casually opened Lana’s Skill Window.
Skill Window
Combat Skills
Light Heal – Lv. 28
Heal – Lv. 14
Heal Wind – Lv. 3
Cure – Lv. 7
Blessing – Lv. 11
Resurrection – Lv. 2
Special Skills
Divine Grace – Lv. 33
Radiant Blessing – Lv. 2
Even Nigel, who wasn’t deeply familiar with magic, could tell that Divine Grace and Radiant Blessing were incredibly powerful.
Divine Grace scaled all healing effects based on remaining MP, while Radiant Blessing gave a chance to cast a one-time Shield that perfectly blocked an attack whenever a skill was used on an ally.
Most people didn’t have Special Skills at all. So far, only Kay’s party had any—which made sense, since they were the Protagonists. Even Inas didn’t have one.
…Or did he?
Nigel, curious, reopened Inas’s Skill Window—one he’d seen many times before. It was still impossibly long, a seemingly endless list of skills that made it feel like Inas had every ability in existence.
There were common combat techniques any soldier might have, unfamiliar skills Nigel didn’t recognize, and magic from every class: wizard, priest, shaman, even summoner…
Even without Special Skills, our Inas is amazing…
Sure, he’d been scared earlier, but that didn’t mean he wanted Inas to fall behind anyone.
There were too many to look through one by one, so Nigel just kept scrolling down… and scrolling… until something strange caught his eye.
■■■■■■ – Lv. 1 [MASTER]
A skill with glitched-out text. It was marked [MASTER] despite only being Level 1.
Nigel tried to open its details, but unlike the others, no description window appeared. He frowned, waving his hand again to force it open—nothing.
“…Your Grace?”
“Thought I saw a bug.”
He answered Lana’s puzzled look with practiced nonchalance and lowered his hand.
Definitely a System Error…
That word error felt oddly familiar. Not something he’d just now learned, but something he instinctively understood.
It’s like… a bug. A glitch.
This game has always been full of errors, Nigel thought. Inas said from the start that even him ending up inside the game was a critical error.
Everything was so broken that nothing made sense anymore. He leaned back with another sigh. Just thinking about it exhausted him.
“Apologies. Are you feeling unwell?”
Inas, sitting across from him, asked in a low voice. He must have felt guilty—Nigel was only in this condition because of the overwhelming energy Inas had released.
Nigel didn’t respond verbally. He simply nodded.
“…I’m just tired. I’ll try to sleep for a bit…”
“Nigel.”
“Sorry…”
Why does that sound like a death flag…
With that ominous thought lingering, Nigel closed his eyes.
He slumped over almost instantly, like a puppet with its strings cut. Before Kay could react, Inas caught him and checked his condition. After a moment of examination, he frowned and gently laid Nigel down.
“He’s asleep.”
“You’re not a healer—how can you be sure?”
“I know Nigel better than anyone.”
Kay scowled. The arrogance in Inas’s tone grated on him. It was infuriating to see the man clutching the Duke like something he owned.
But Kay had no power to stop Inas. All he could do was clench his fists and endure.
“You’re full of yourself. What do you even know about His Grace—”
“Kay!”
Lana poked his side in a panic.
Kay knew he’d overstepped. Still, it was hard to hold back. But seeing how flustered Lana was, he sighed and offered a reluctant apology.
Inas didn’t even acknowledge it. He stayed focused entirely on Nigel.
Eventually, the carriage came to a stop. They had arrived at the Montstein estate.
The mansion, visible through the open door, was as large and opulent as any noble’s castle.
“Whoa, this place is insane.”
Axel, who’d been riding up front, walked over with a grin. Kay gave a distracted nod while Inas, still carrying Nigel, stepped down and entered the mansion. He was probably heading straight for the Duke’s chambers.
A servant approached Kay’s group.
“You’re guests of the Duke of Magnus, yes? Please, follow me.”
His manners were impeccable. Word was the Magnus Duchy didn’t treat commoners poorly, and it seemed even their servants reflected that philosophy.
The guest rooms they were shown to were quite lavish.
“Nice. Are all duke’s rooms like this?”
“This is probably one of the nicer guest rooms,” Kay said while looking around. The luxurious paintings on the wall, the expensive ceramics on the table, the polished furniture, the call rope beside the bed—it all screamed nobility.
There was no way this was a servant’s quarters, even for a duke’s household.
“How do you even know that?”
Kay froze.
Yeah… how do I know that?
He’d never even seen a noble before leaving his village. So how could he tell? The question nagged at him, unsettling.
Meanwhile, Axel had already moved on, admiring the room with casual delight.
“Anyway, this is a nice spot to rest up. Right?”
“Yeah.”
“You looked tired earlier. Get some sleep.”
He wasn’t actually tired. But Axel seemed to believe Kay’s earlier attitude was just fatigue.
Instead of resting, Kay unpacked his things.
Axel popped back in after visiting Lana next door.
“Hey, Kay. I asked the coachman—apparently the baths here are fancy as hell. Lana’s already heading in. Want to join?”
“Sure.”
There was a lot on his mind, but getting clean came first.
Luckily—or unluckily—most of the knights had been dispatched after the earlier commotion, so the bathhouse was empty.
The Magnus Duchy had the largest knight order in the kingdom, but only a limited number could be stationed in the capital. So the bath itself wasn’t enormous—but more than spacious enough for two people.
Kay sank into the warm water, feeling his tension melt away.
“Hey, Kay.”
Axel, now closer, wore a more serious expression than usual.
“Did something happen between you and Idenbach?”
“No. Nothing.”
“Then why do you keep picking fights with him?”
“I did?”
“Yeah. Lana said you were glaring at him the whole carriage ride.”
Was he? Kay had found him irritating.
When Kay stayed silent, Axel sighed.
“Don’t do that, man. Sir Idenbach’s kind of a big deal.”
“Big deal…”
“You know that, right? He basically runs the Magnus Duchy. Remember when he saved us? Took out that monster we were struggling with in one blow?”
Of course he remembered. It was a powerful monster, way out of Kay’s current league, and Inas had killed it effortlessly. His movements had been sharp, precise—and his face bored.
Like it was too easy.
Kay gritted his teeth.
It wasn’t that hard. He could’ve taken it down too.
…No. That’s not true.
He forced himself to be objective. With his current stats, even three of them wouldn’t have stood a chance.
So why had he thought it was nothing?
He didn’t know. His head throbbed. He rubbed his temple.
“You okay? You look pale.”
“Maybe it’s the heat. Making me dizzy.”
“It’s not even that hot… Honestly, what would you do without me? If you’re dizzy, go lie down before you pass out.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. I’ll take my time here.”
Axel smiled warmly. He stayed leaning back, watching Kay leave just to make sure he didn’t collapse.
Axel’s a good guy.
So why did Kay feel so heavy-hearted today?
Like he’d dragged Axel into something awful.
Why am I even thinking this…?
After changing into clean clothes, Kay didn’t go straight back to his room. Instead, he stepped outside into the garden.
No one stopped him. Apparently, it wasn’t restricted.
He wandered aimlessly until he heard footsteps and ducked behind a bush.
Why am I hiding…?
He couldn’t answer, but he held his breath and listened.
“…So Sir Idenbach got summoned to the royal capital? Why?”
“Just the king picking a fight. His Majesty doesn’t like the Duke.”
“It’s ridiculous. What does the king even gain from keeping the Duke in check? It’s not like he’s vying for central power. The Magnus family’s been guarding the north since before the kingdom even existed.”
“Exactly. At least it’s good the Duke’s already sick. Better than meeting the king and collapsing afterward.”
“Blasphemous… But yeah, better for him to stay in bed. Sir Idenbach can handle things just fine.”
“Right. But about what happened earlier—”
The servants’ voices faded as they walked off.
Kay remained in place, lost in thought.
So the Duke and the King didn’t get along. And every time they met, the Duke ended up bedridden.
Which meant… Inas was away right now. And Nigel was alone, asleep.
That realization hit him hard.
He looked up at the mansion. Four floors.
The Duke’s room must be at the top…
He imagined Nigel’s room. It probably didn’t have hunting trophies or gaudy furs. Nigel would keep it clean and neat.
The image formed vividly in his mind—like he’d already seen it.
Maybe I should go.
He wouldn’t normally. But today, Kay moved on impulse.
With most guards dispatched, sneaking through was easy. His footsteps were strangely sure.
He avoided every patrol with ease.
By the time he reached the fourth floor, he hadn’t encountered a single soul.
He walked to the farthest room, then, without hesitation, opened the fourth door.
“…”
Just as he’d imagined—an immaculate room.
Its decorations were minimal: a few elegant landscapes, some sculptures by renowned artists.
Everything spotless. Not a speck of dust. A perfect reflection of its owner.
At the far end, on a massive bed that could fit ten people, Nigel lay sleeping.
Kay approached without pause.
Nigel, unaware, remained deep in sleep.
Kay felt the sudden urge to smooth the crease in his brow—but stopped himself.
If he touched Nigel now, he’d definitely be… killed.
It was an absurd thought—but Kay was certain of it.
He absolutely could not lay a hand on him.
“…Nigel.”
Instead, he said his name.
Nigel—a high noble, the highest of the high.
If he was caught, it’d be a criminal offense. But Kay didn’t hesitate.
His name rolled off Kay’s tongue like it belonged there, like he’d said it a hundred times. And slowly, Nigel opened his eyes.
