“Huuu…that was stressful.”, I smile.

I slump down on my chair, relaxing for a moment.

However, I just recalled that mother was poisoned, and hurried to check on her.

I knock on the door, “Mother, may I enter?”

“Come in.”, I hear a raspy voice.

I push open the door, to see her face looking pale but sitting upright in her bed.

She beckons over with a slight smile.

I approach closer quickly.

She says softly, “How have you been, Qiu Xue?”

“I’ve been fine, mother.”, I reply instinctually.

I can’t bring myself to express emotion and care for her, I’m not her son. I would like to think that I’m good at acting, but I’m not. The only reason why I’ve been able to maintain this facade for so long was that I’ve relied on my lost memories and the fact that the previous owner was an introvert.

In that way, my stoic behaviour isn’t too huge a change from the introverted Qiu Xue. As for the missing parts, I supplemented with the useful ‘lost memories’ excuse. As such, unknowingly I was glad that she didn’t visit me, since she is the one that could come closest to exposing me.

“Mother, you don’t look too well.”, I say concernedly.

“I’m doing great, I just haven’t slept well.”, she answers.

“I-Is that so…”, I mutter at her obvious lie.

She suddenly laughs.

“Son, you wouldn’t come to visit me if someone didn’t visit you. Let me guess, that old witch did?”, she says cuttingly

It’s not weird for her to call the 2nd wife an old witch, mother is younger than her in any case. However, it is rather surprising for the gentle mother to speak such crude words. I wonder if it’s because she thinks she doesn’t have long to live.

In response to my silence, she continues, “She probably threatened you to give up whatever you’re doing I presume. You’ve been acting weird ever since that head injury of yours anyway.”, she says lightly before letting out a soft sigh.

“I’m not feeling well recently as you’ve guessed. Seeing that you’ve come, she’s almost definitely the culprit…”

She looks up with a hint of melancholy.

Then, she shifts her gaze at me. Simply staring at me for 5 minutes in silence.

The rims of her eyes turn slightly watery.

“Q-Qi-”, she seemingly wants to say something, but seems to stop herself.

She lifts her left arm to caress my right cheek lovingly.

As she continues to do so, before long she bites her lips, breathing in some air.

“Qiu Xue, you’ve become more mature lately. It was such a big change I almost thought that you were being possessed. However, that doesn’t matter now. I’m not going to be here to… protect you for… much longer…”

She says slowly, regretfully saying each word.

She then firms up, looking more resolute.

“To become the first wife of a Duke isn’t simple… not just anyone can do it.”, she says, hinting to me.

I want to respond, but she starts just as I open my mouth.

“My background... Our background isn’t that ordinary.”

“We have ties to a foreign power. Do you know of Wind Manor?”, she says with a hint of pride.

I nod.

Wind Manor can’t be said to be well known, but it’s not considered unknown as well. Wind Manor’s famous for being located on the largest mountain near the kingdom, with just the Feng family residing within.

The manor is said to be exceedingly strong, with an army of over 200 Rogues (Thieves and Assassins.”. They remain neutral to the affairs of the world, however, they do lend their help for a hefty price to some Kingdoms during wartime. As such, every Kingdom wants to maintain a cordial relationship with them, as offending them could mean certain defeat in the next war.

This small army of over 200 Rogues may be small, but definitely an effective elite strike squad in war. They can easily penetrate the frontlines to destroy enemy equipment and assassinate commanders. Wind Manor remains the holy ground for Rogues with their vast collection of skill books for the class, as such they have stood proud for centuries.

Having a connection to this 'holy ground' could solve my problem of having guards against assassination, but I doubt it's this simple. If we really had their support, mother wouldn't have been poisoned and my previous self most certainly would not have died.