''Bingo,'' Theos said to himself as he recognized the lone girl standing apart from the other young m.


    She was about his age, with hair aspletely ck as his own, but her eyes were as blue as the sky—so clear and beautiful that any boy would be mesmerized. The problem with those eyes was the bags beath them, making them droop and appear weak and tired, robbing them of their natural light.


    Her skin was as  as snow, seeming soft and almost gtinous to the touch—practically wless. Her face was absolutely beautiful, featuring red lips, a small nose, thin eyebrows, and long eyshes. Though her figure couldn''t be fully judged while seated, it was clear she was beautiful.


    With Alice''s hands still sped in his, Theos approached the young woman, who remained seated at the table. "Hi, it''s nice to meet you," Theos greeted her with a slight smile.


    As she raised her head, the girl''s gaze met Theos'' handsome face and half-smile. She looked both bored and captivated at the same time—a strange juxtaposition. She seemed naturally indiffert, as if she didn''t care about anything; however, an outstanding appearance was always appreciated and, in some cases, ev admired.


    "Who are you?" she asked directly, bypassing any niceties after assessing his face. She had to admit that the man in front of her was extremely handsome, but so what? She couldn''t judge someone based solely on looks.


    "Oh, me? You can call me Ark. Nice to meet you," Theos introduced himself, using his name from the past. His half-smile vanished in an instant, reced by a colder expression. "And the politess? Where did that go?" he asked, his tone revealing his annoyance at herck of courtesy.


    The girl frowned, somewhat rmed. ''His expression haspletely changed. It''s kind of creepy...'' she thought, a shiver running down her spine, but she still held her g. "I''m Luna. Nice to meet you, Ark."


    "Luna, huh? Nice name," Theosplimted honestly.


    "Thank you," Luna replied, her response terse.


    ''Luna... Luna Roy,'' Theos remembered the full name of the person in front of him. ''She is the sister of the protagonist and one of the viins in the novel, a powerful mid-level mage in the Path of Shadows. She is one of the most important characters in the story.''


    ''She was jealous of her brother, who always stole the atttion of their family and loved ones. As if that wer''t ough, hepletely ignored her and barely spoke to her. This caused deep restmt and jealousy, leading her to attack the protagonist at every opportunity.''


    ''In the d, she joined Theos of the novel to gain more power, which she did, and with that, she challged her brother, whom she ultimately defeated. It was the second time the protagonist was defeated in the tire story, but the harem attacked Luna afterward, killing her before she could do anything.


    She didn''t ev want to kill her brother; she merely wanted to prove that she could be better than him... But they misunderstood her, and n, who had no feelings for her, didn''t stop her from dying.''


    Thinking about this, Theos felt a pang of guilt. ''She could be considered my subordinate... I couldn''t save her, unfortunately,'' he thought, but soon withdrew those thoughts, changing his mind.


    ''I can''t feel guilt! I''m a viin. Besides, it was her fault, but since she was my first subordinate and extremely talted, I''ll save her from this tragic future,'' Theos concluded inwardly.


    He had nned many things, but not how he would approach her. After all, it was something extremely awkward and strange.


    "Hi, I''m Alice." Fortunately, Alice''s sweet, pretty voice eased the tse atmosphere. As Theos'' partner for this gathering, she felt it was her duty to introduce herself properly. She had refrained from doing so with n, whose contemptuous voice had displeased her, so she decided to extd her courtesy to Luna instead.


    Although Luna didn''t seem particrly polite, at least she was better than n. If she thought about it, Luna had her reasons for her bluntness; after all, no one knew that Theos was the young Master Fall, and it was unusual for him to approach her.


    "Um, hi, I''m Luna. Nice to meet you too," Luna replied politely, unlike Theos. Alice felt much nicer and more innoct, so she didn''t let her guard downpletely.


    "Thank you, Alice," Theos said, contemting his next move.


    ''I need to ask for her shadows'' help in locating the cult that, in the original novel, attacked the king and princes right at the trance, just after the dukes arrived...'' Thinking about it made Theos a little ufortable.


    His fiancée was the daughter of some of the leading dukes of the Kingdom of Hydronia, rowned giuses of thest geration.


    ''Tsk, forget it,'' he pushed those thoughts aside and refocused on Luna. "I''m going to be honest with you: I want you to do something for me. Don''t worry; there will be befits for you. If you want to talk, please signal me to sit next to you," Theos said directly, locking his gaze on her.


    She considered his words for a momt. ''No doubt, the other party is not ordinary. With his elegance, appearance, and aura, it''s clear he''s a high-ranking noble. I can''t afford to insult him. Besides, he said he would offer me befits,'' she thought. After weighing her options for a second, she stepped aside to allow Theos and hispanions to sit down.


    "Great," he said, sitting down next to her.


    ~