The night air was biting cold by the time Brandi Ratcliff dragged Cason to the towering stone gates of Clearwater City.

Two heavily armored guards crossed their pikes, blocking the entrance. The guard on the right sneered, his eyes raking over Brandi's torn, blood-stained linen shirt and Cason's mud-caked, half-dead state.

"No beggars after dark," the guard spat, waving his hand as if shooing away stray dogs.

Cason's eyes went dead. His jaw clenched, and his hand twitched toward his waist, a reflexive urge to slaughter his way through.

Brandi slammed her hand down on his shoulder, pinning him in place.

Without a word, she reached into her pocket. She pulled out a single, glowing High-Grade Mana Crystal and flicked it through the air.

The guard scrambled to catch it, nearly dropping his pike. When he opened his palm and saw the pure, concentrated magic radiating from the gem, his sneer vanished, replaced by a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Apologies, my lady! Please, come right in!" The guards practically bowed as they pulled the gates open.

Cason stared at Brandi, utterly bewildered. How did a woman who had to tear her own clothes for bandages possess a crystal that could buy a small estate?

Brandi caught his stare. She gave him a freezing side-eye. "Found it in the dirt. Keep moving."

She didn't give him a chance to ask questions. She hauled him through the bustling streets, ignoring the cheap, rowdy taverns. She walked straight to the center of the city, stopping in front of a massive building constructed of white marble and polished brass: The Golden Griffin Inn.

The lobby was a blinding display of wealth. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

The innkeeper, a fat man in a velvet vest, saw the two bloody figures tracking mud onto his imported rugs. He opened his mouth to shout for security.

Brandi walked right up to the mahogany front desk. She pulled a heavy leather pouch from her pocket and slammed it down onto the wood. The heavy, unmistakable clinking of dense crystals echoed in the quiet lobby.

The innkeeper froze. He untied the strings and peeked inside. The blood drained from his face.

He instantly plastered on a professional, groveling smile. "Welcome to the Golden Griffin! How may I serve you?"

"Your best double suite," Brandi demanded, her voice cutting through the air. "Send up a tub of boiling water, your highest-grade wound salves, and two sets of clean clothes."

Cason stood behind her, his eyes fixed on the back of her head. The confusion in his mind was snowballing into a massive, tangled knot.

Minutes later, they were standing inside a ridiculously lavish suite. Silk curtains framed massive floor-to-ceiling windows.

Brandi dropped Cason onto a plush velvet sofa. She walked over to the window, staring down at the busy street below, her arms crossed.

A team of nervous staff hurried into the room, setting up a large wooden tub behind a painted silk screen. They filled it with steaming water, left a pile of folded silk clothes and medicinal jars on the table, and practically ran out of the room.

Brandi pointed at the screen. "Go scrub the blood off. You smell like a slaughterhouse."

Cason looked down at his ruined clothes. He felt a flush of embarrassment, but he forced himself to stand. He limped behind the screen.

The moment the sound of splashing water filled the room, the system chimed.

[Investment task 'Improve living conditions' complete. Reward: Top-Tier Meditation Room access (Can be deployed in spatial inventory).]

Brandi's eyes lit up. A meditation room was exactly what she needed to stabilize her magic. The return on this investment was insane.

Half an hour later, Cason stepped out from behind the screen.

He was wearing a set of black silk loungewear. With the mud and blood washed away, his true features were fully visible. His sharp jawline, the straight bridge of his nose, and his deep, dark eyes were striking. The damp black hair clinging to his forehead softened his usual lethal edge, giving him a fragile, devastatingly handsome look.

Brandi turned her head. Her breath hitched slightly in her throat, a purely physical reaction to his looks. She immediately forced her face back into a mask of boredom.

She picked up a jar of expensive salve from the table and tossed it at his chest. He caught it instinctively.

"Fix your wounds," she ordered.

Cason sat on the edge of the massive bed. He unscrewed the lid and began rubbing the salve into the angry red skin around his chest wound. His movements were practiced, numb to the pain.

"Thank you," he said. His voice was low, barely a whisper, but it carried across the quiet room.

Brandi waved her hand dismissively. "I just need you able to walk tomorrow so you don't slow me down."

Cason didn't argue. He was starting to understand her language.

Brandi grabbed her own set of clothes and went behind the screen to wash. When she emerged, she was wearing a simple, elegant white dress. The grime was gone, revealing the cold, untouchable aura of a high-level mage.

They sat in the sitting area, a strange, heavy silence settling between them. The only sound was the crackle of the fireplace.

Suddenly, Brandi's stomach let out a loud, aggressive growl.

She didn't blush. She stood up, smoothing the front of her dress. "I'm starving. We're going to eat."

Brandi Ratcliff led Cason down the grand staircase into the Golden Griffin's luxurious dining hall.

Seeing their high-end silk loungewear, the maître d' practically tripped over his own feet rushing to seat them at a private VIP table by the window.

A waiter handed Brandi a menu embossed with gold lettering. She didn't even glance at the prices. She tapped her index finger against the heavy parchment, her eyes scanning the items.

"I'll take a large bowl of the snow feather chicken soup, heavily spiced," Brandi ordered smoothly. "And bring a basket of your freshest artisan bread."

Sitting across the table, Cason's body went completely rigid. His pupils contracted into tiny pinpricks. His fingers dug into the armrests of his chair so hard his knuckles turned white.

That specific soup. It was the exact dish his mother used to make for him when he was a child, the only comforting memory he had before his life turned into a bloodbath.

He stared dead into Brandi's eyes, his gaze sharp enough to cut glass. Was she investigating him? Did she know who he really was? The paranoia clawed at his throat, making it hard to breathe.

Brandi felt the sudden, murderous shift in his aura. Her stomach dropped. She had been so focused on triggering a system reward that she completely forgot to hide her future knowledge.

She didn't flinch. She kept her face perfectly blank, offering him her signature cold half-smile. She tossed the menu onto the table and pushed it toward him.

"I like my food heavy and spicy," Brandi said, her tone dripping with casual indifference. "Besides, you lost half your body weight in blood. That specific broth is pure, concentrated mana and iron. I'm not having you pass out on me tomorrow. Order whatever you want for yourself."

Cason studied her face for a long, agonizing moment. Her excuse was flawless. It was arrogant, self-centered, and perfectly in character. The logic was brutally practical. The tension slowly drained from his shoulders. It had to be a bizarre coincidence.

"That's enough food," Cason muttered, pushing the menu away. His stomach was still tied in knots.

The waiter quickly brought out the steaming dishes. The rich smell of roasted meat and savory broth filled the air.

Brandi picked up a silver ladle. She scooped a generous portion of the snow feather chicken soup into a porcelain bowl and shoved it across the table until it hit Cason's plate with a clink.

"Drink it," she commanded. "You need to replace the blood you lost."

Cason looked down at the golden broth. In his past life, he had survived on cold, stale rations while running from assassins. No one had ever pushed a bowl of hot soup toward him just to make sure he healed. A strange, tight feeling gripped his chest.

He picked up the silver spoon. He took a sip. The rich, familiar taste exploded on his tongue, a phantom warmth of a home he had long forgotten, and the hard line of his jaw finally relaxed.

The moment he swallowed, a deafening alarm went off inside Brandi's skull.

[Ding! Deep emotional resonance triggered! Investment rated as S-Class!]

[Congratulations, Host. Reward: Legendary Magical Artifact - 'Star's Eye' Necklace.]

[Passive Effect: Grants the wearer immunity to three fatal mental attacks and one instance of absolute concealment.]

Brandi's hand jerked. The silver fork in her hand clattered against her plate. Her heart hammered wildly against her ribs. A legendary artifact that could block mental attacks? Just for buying a bowl of soup?

To hide her violently shaking hands, she grabbed her knife and aggressively sawed off a massive chunk of the roast sheep, shoving it into her mouth and chewing with excessive force.

Cason watched her tear into the meat. She ate like a starving mercenary, not a noble lady. It was crude, but it was so fiercely alive that he couldn't look away.

The rest of the meal passed in a comfortable silence. The food worked its magic, bringing a healthy flush back to Cason's pale face.

When the bill came, Brandi tossed another high-grade crystal onto the table and walked away without waiting for change.

Back in the suite, Cason collapsed onto the velvet sofa, his exhausted body finally giving out. Within minutes, his breathing evened out into a deep sleep.

Brandi walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, turning her back to him.

She opened her system inventory. A heavy, silver chain materialized in her palm, holding a gemstone that swirled with the deep, dark blue of a midnight galaxy.

She quickly unclasped it and secured it around her neck, letting the heavy stone rest against her collarbone. She pulled the high collar of her dress up to hide the faint, magical glow.

The moment the metal touched her skin, a wave of absolute calm washed over her mind. The mental barrier locked into place, making her feel invincible.

She turned around and looked at Cason's sleeping face.

Basic salves and food weren't enough. If she wanted to milk this villain for everything he was worth, she needed to fix his broken magic core. Tomorrow, she was going to find the best healer in the city and dump a mountain of cash on him.

The next morning, Brandi Ratcliff didn't bother with a gentle wake-up call. She walked over to the sofa and kicked Cason's shin hard.

Cason's eyes snapped open. His body moved on pure instinct, his hand reaching for a dagger that wasn't there. When his blurry vision focused on Brandi standing over him, he froze, his chest heaving, a dark scowl of sleep-deprived anger on his face.

Brandi threw a heavy, dark wool cloak at his face.

"Put it on," she ordered. "We're going to the Elixir Emporium."

Cason pulled the cloak off his face, his brow furrowing. "My core is shattered. A standard apothecary can't fix it. You're wasting your money."

Brandi let out a sharp, mocking laugh. She crossed her arms, looking down at him. "It's my money. If I want to set it on fire, I will. Shut up and follow me."

Cason clenched his jaw, but he threw the cloak over his shoulders and followed her out the door.

The streets of Clearwater City were packed. Brandi walked with her head held high, her cold, untouchable aura parting the crowd, while Cason trailed behind her, his dark, brooding presence keeping anyone from getting too close.

They stepped into the Elixir Emporium. The air was thick with the sharp, earthy scent of crushed herbs and boiling mana. Glowing vials of liquid lined the mahogany shelves.

The shopkeeper, an older man with spectacles, was dozing behind the counter. He cracked an eye open, saw the Golden Griffin VIP pin attached to Brandi's dress, and instantly bolted upright, practically vibrating with customer service.

Brandi walked straight to the counter. She didn't waste time. "I need the highest-grade potion you have for repairing a shattered magic core."

The shopkeeper's smile faltered. He rubbed his hands together nervously. "Ah, my lady. You must mean the Soul-Mending Elixir. It is incredibly rare. We only have three vials in the entire vault."

He leaned in, lowering his voice to deliver the killing blow. "They are fifty thousand high-grade crystals. Each."

Cason's breath caught in his throat. His eyes widened in shock. He grabbed Brandi's sleeve, pulling her back slightly. "Are you insane? Let's go. That's extortion."

Brandi ripped her arm out of his grip. She reached under her cloak, pretending to access a hidden pocket, and pulled out three heavy, bulging leather sacks from her system inventory.

She slammed them onto the glass counter. The glass groaned under the weight.

"I'll take all three," Brandi said. Her voice was as casual as if she were buying an apple.

The shopkeeper's hands shook violently as he untied the sacks. The blinding light of pure, high-grade crystals spilled across the counter. He looked like he was going to pass out.

Cason stood frozen. One hundred and fifty thousand crystals. She was spending the wealth of a small kingdom on a broken stranger she had met in the mud. His brain couldn't process the magnitude of what she was doing.

The shopkeeper rushed to the back and returned carrying a velvet-lined wooden box. Inside rested three crystal vials filled with a thick, swirling liquid that looked like liquid gold.

Brandi picked up one of the vials. She popped the cork and turned to Cason. She shoved the glass right up to his lips.

"Drink."

Cason looked into her eyes. There was no pity, no expectation, just an iron will. The last wall of his paranoia crumbled into dust. He opened his mouth and swallowed the golden liquid.

The moment the elixir hit his stomach, a blinding light erupted from his chest. The agonizing pain of his shattered core vanished, replaced by a roaring surge of power as his magic circuits aggressively stitched themselves back together.

Simultaneously, the system alarm in Brandi's head screamed so loud it made her teeth ache.

[Ding! Epic Destiny-Altering Action Detected! Massive Investment Confirmed!]

[Congratulations, Host! Ultimate Reward: S-Class Magic Affinity (All Elements)!]

A terrifying, crushing weight of raw magic slammed into Brandi's body. Her veins felt like they were filled with liquid fire. The ambient mana in the shop swirled violently around her, treating her like a god.

To hide the violent physical transformation, Brandi grabbed the edge of the wooden counter. She squeezed the wood so hard her knuckles turned stark white, her nails biting into the polish. She locked her jaw, forcing her breathing to remain steady while her entire biological makeup was rewritten.

Cason absorbed the last of the elixir. He felt his core not only heal, but expand, pushing him right to the edge of a breakthrough.

He opened his eyes. He looked at Brandi, who was standing there, breathing slightly heavier than normal.

Without a word, Cason dropped to one knee. He placed his right fist over his newly healed heart, bowing his head in the ancient, sacred oath of a knight offering his life to his lord.

Brandi forced the lingering fire in her veins to settle. She looked down at the future butcher of the continent kneeling at her feet. She gave him a slow, arrogant nod, while internally, she was screaming with joy.

She owned him now.