Scarlett wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, looking out across the training grounds. Some of the items she used for her training were lined up next to the wooden shed towards the edge, but the grounds themselves had been mostly cleaned up since the Fynn incident. The shed’s roof still had to be replaced though, as well as some of the ruined stonework. But the focus amongst the staff was currently on the wrecked courtyard, so things like these would have to wait. That included finding replacements for the enchanted training dummies that had been destroyed by the incident. That’d probably cost a buck.

Thankfully, she didn’t need those things to carry out her training. She’d mostly been practicing her hydrokinesis lately, with Garside not being in a good state to instruct her in his methods at the moment. Her proficiency with the skill was still far off from what she would call ‘combat ready’—other than the occasional Aqua Mine and controlling alchemy bombs as she’d done in the Howling Gale’s Haunt—but she was making progress. Just the other day, she’d been able to cut through a sheet of metal with just her hydrokinesis. Though it had been a relatively thin sheet, and taken some time. It had also looked more like she’d been pushing down a blunt knife through a piece of hard butter.

Still, it was better than what she’d been able to do when she first started.

And while the past week had been a flurry of things happening, she’d finally spent those skill points she had been saving up.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Greater Mana Control]

[Greater Pyromancy]

[Greater Pyrokinesis]

[Hydromancy]

[Greater Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 456/4537]

[Points: 9]

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Superior Pyromancy] (25 points)

[Superior Pyrokinesis] (25 points)

[Greater Hydromancy] (10 points)

[Superior Hydrokinesis] (25 points)

[Superior Mana Control] (25 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

Her [Minor Hydromancy] had been upgraded to [Hydromancy], [Pyromancy] to [Greater Pyromancy], and [Mana Control] to [Greater Mana Control]. She had performed the upgrades some time from each other, to ascertain for certain what each skill actually did.

As expected—as far as she could tell—upgrading mana control had lessened her total mana costs, as well as made it easier to work and control her magic in general. Meanwhile, neither [Greater Pyromancy] nor [Hydromancy] seemed to have had any effect on the ‘control’ or ‘power’ front. They did, however, lessen her mana costs for the respective element, or perhaps it was better to say they made her mana use more efficient.

As for how they did that, she wasn’t completely sure. With [Greater Mana Control], she’d quite clearly felt the change in how she used her magic, and her connection with it. With [Greater Pyromancy] and [Hydromancy], however, it wasn’t as clear-cut.

The best way to put it was perhaps in how she actually interacted with her magic. She would simply focus on wanting to create a ball of fire, and through some unconscious process, the flames would just appear. She could pull on and adjust the connection to those flames, to either increase the intensity or shape them however she wished. Like she was drawing from a well somewhere.

Now, after upgrading those two skills, it was still very much the same thing, but maybe the ‘well’ was closer? It was hard to put the abstract sensation into words. All she knew for certain was that it lowered her mana costs, though exactly how much was hard to tell. It seemed to at least have been more effective for the respective element than just upgrading [Mana Control] to [Greater Mana Control].

How she was conceptualizing it in her mind at the moment was that her magic was the water flow to a kitchen sink in a normal residential apartment. [Mana Control] affected the size of the faucet head and how much she could move it. Continuing with the analogy, the [Hydromancy] and [Pyromancy] skills affected which floor she was on, with lower pressure on the higher floors being equivalent to the lower skill levels.

There were a couple of issues with the analogy, but it didn’t really matter much. It was just a way of structuring things in her mind as she tried to figure matters out. What was most important with this was actually just that it was another way of increasing how much magic she could do, other than just increasing her mana pool. It meant more time for her to spend practicing as well.

Though her limit still didn’t go much further than maybe a dozen minutes before needing to rest, even when being frugal with her mana use.

But progress was progress. She was all about taking things step by step where she could.

Although she wasn’t sure how long she could continue like that.

The Gentleman’s visit a couple days earlier signaled the start of things. Many of her plans were being brought into motion. Soon, she would be up to her neck with things that needed doing. Just the day before, they’d cleared the last—or, well, almost the last—of the dungeons Scarlett thought she had any chance of finding near Freybrook. Now she would have to set her sights on new horizons for further loot and skill points. Clearing more of these low-level dungeons wouldn’t be enough to keep up with what was going to happen from now on.

That was not to mention the arrangement she’d made with Adalicia or the Hallowed Cabal. And they still had to rebuild the courtyard and parts of the mansion that had been damaged.

Evelyne had been in contact regarding that last part. The younger woman had seemed to think the account of an attack was a bad joke of some kind, and it hadn’t been entirely clear whether she was livid over the news or worried. The letter Scarlett had written to the woman had only vaguely recounted the events, leaving out details about the Cabal and her deal with them. There was no point in telling Evelyne any of that at the moment. She might, in the future. When things were stabler in that regard.

That wasn’t the only correspondence she had received lately, though. Scarlett had received a letter from the Delmon family as well this morning. At first, it had taken her a moment to remember that was the name of Leon’s family, and that his father was the Marquis of Steepmond.

While their words had been courteous and flowery, the actual intent behind the letter was relatively straightforward. They were basically implying that they wanted the engagement between Scarlett and Leon to be dissolved.

Scarlett hadn’t been surprised. The only astonishing thing was that it’d taken this long after the Elysian Proclamation for them to contact her. Judging from what she’d heard from Leon, she had thought they couldn’t wait to rid themselves of any affiliations with her after that incident.

Maybe her showing during the Providing Ceremony had made them hesitate for a while? While she had put herself on the bad side of some of the empire’s nobles, she had also gained some favor with the Followers of Ittar. Maybe that counted for more than she’d thought?

Whatever the reason, it wasn’t as if it mattered much. She hadn’t been planning on marrying Leon anyway. She barely knew the man. And while she’d heard that the original Scarlett apparently made good use of her connections to the marquisate, that didn’t interest her much. She didn’t even know how to use those connections to begin with. She was far too ignorant about how these nobles did things to try and play their games.

After taking some time to cool down, Scarlett walked over to the corner of the training grounds, where a small table and a chair had been set up for her. There was a carafe of water on the table. She sat down and picked up an already-filled glass. Leaning back in the chair, she looked out at the trees jutting up above the estate walls. The branches were wafting in the wind, leaves having lost their green color as summer passed.

Other than practicing her magic as she had done now, she still took time to perform some traditional exercises now and then as well. The [Mark of the Staunch] had made these sessions a lot easier, with its stamina-boosting effect. Though she was starting to wonder whether it was a smart idea to use an item like that when exercising. Perhaps relying on enhancement magic was detrimental to her efforts. She would have to look into the matter when she had the time.

It shouldn’t be an issue keeping the ring on when training her magic, though. It didn’t appear to have any effect on how tired depleting her mana made her. Mana exhaustion made both body and mind tired, no matter what artifacts she wore. It seemed to work on some different principle than the exhaustion you got from physical exercise.

She was interrupted in her thoughts as Nichol—one of the younger female servants working at the mansion, with blonde hair—came walking up to her.

“My Lady, there is a visitor.”

Scarlett frowned. Another one?

It was starting to feel like the mansion’s gates were just one large revolving door. She was also expecting Gaven to visit again in a couple of days.

“Who is it?”

The woman’s eyes turned down a bit. “A Mister Cullen, my Lady.”

Cullen? That wasn’t a name she’d ever heard before.

“Was it important?”

Nichol hesitated slightly. “I-I’m not sure. He insisted on seeing you, saying you were acquainted. We didn’t want to disturb you during your training, so he’s been waiting for an hour. Shall we send him away?”

“No.” Scarlett shook her head. She had the time to spare, and it was best to not leave these kinds of things alone. You never knew who these people could be. “Inform him I will be with him shortly. I will return to my chambers first.”

“Understood, my Lady.” The woman performed a deep curtsy and started walking back towards the mansion.

Scarlett stayed for a moment longer, downing another glass of water before she rose and began returning as well.

Soon enough, Scarlett had taken a quick bath and made herself ready. She wore a dark-red dress as she walked down the mansion’s hallways towards the room where the visitor was.

As she reached her destination, she entered to see a man sitting on one of the couches. He was perhaps a few years her senior, with a thin beard and short black hair that was balding at some spots, and wore a brown vest over a white shirt. The getup looked a bit simple for someone paying a visit to a noble if she was going to be honest.

“Mister Cullen.” She walked over to the armchair opposite him. “What business do you have with me?”

The man met her eyes with a thinly veiled look of irritation. She let it go for now, considering how long he had waited.

“You should know, Lady Hartford. Mister Cheek sent me because you haven’t been in contact for a while.”

She raised a brow. Mister Cheek? The name sounded familiar. “I have been preoccupied these past months.”

Where had she had that name? Was it an NPC from the game? No, she couldn’t recall reading the name at any point. She was pretty sure she’d heard it somewhere.

“Busy with what, exactly?”

“That does not concern you.”

The man’s look turned even more annoyed. “Mister Cheek has been worried. He’s afraid you’re having second-thoughts about our cooperation.”

Scarlett studied him closely. This all felt very familiar.

Hadn’t she been visited by that slimy guy, the one from the Grey Dog Gang, in a similar manner when she first got here?

This man in front of her didn’t quite have the same feeling of ‘ickiness’ to him, but the situation still rang the same bells.

Ah. Now she remembered.

Vern Cheek.

It was one of the names Beldon Tyndall had mentioned when she met him. Vern Cheek had been mentioned in the same breath as the Grey Dog Gang, which most likely meant it was another one of the original’s criminal associates.

“Now,” the man continued. “Mister Cheek was sure you wouldn’t think of doing something as extreme as going back on your word with us, but he still wanted me to go just to make sure. In case you didn’t know, we wouldn’t be the only ones hurt from something like that.” He locked eyes with her. “We know a lot of things I’m sure you don’t want your other noble friends to learn of.”

A scowl grew on Scarlett’s face as the anger rose from inside. Why did she have to deal with more of this crap? Wasn’t the Grey Dog Gang enough?

“Mister Cullen,” she said in a firm voice. “Is your boss looking down on me?”

The man paused, apparently just now realizing where he was. “No, I was just—”

“Mister Cheek has deemed it right to send someone such as you to my estate. To question me, threaten me, in my own home. Someone who has the audacity to act with such disrespect, even while doing so.” She stared him down. “How am I to interpret this, if not as your boss looking down on me?”

“That’s not what he meant—”

“Is it not? Then are you saying he did not even realize the significance behind his actions, or yours?”

“That’s…” The man turned quiet as he took a moment to gather himself. “Look here, Lady Hartford. We heard about you helping the count here in Freybrook to deal with one of the local gangs. Anyone would get unsettled by you turning silent after that. I’m only here to make sure there aren’t any problems.”

“Did you have connections to the Grey Dog Gang?”

“No, but—”

“Then you have no reason to be concerned. The Grey Dog Gang proved to be an untrustworthy factor which caused several headaches for me, and so they paid the price for their actions. As long as you and your boss do not do the same, there is no issue.”

He turned silent.

Scarlett didn’t know who Vern Cheek actually was, or what business he’d done with the original, but she could wager a guess. Still, considering that the original had been a minor villain in the game, any associates of hers likely weren’t going to be the largest fish in the pond. But if this Cheek guy actually had knowledge of the original’s criminal activities—which he probably had—it could still cause serious trouble for her if he were to leak the information. It could literally ruin all of her plans and cost her life if it was serious enough.

“Of course, the boss doesn’t want any trouble as long as you don’t.” The man seemed to have gathered himself again. “We just had to know we’re on the same page, and that things can continue as usual in the future.”

She crossed her arms. “And what, perchance, do you consider ‘as usual’?”

“Well… I’m not exactly privy to the details.”

She glared at him. This Cheek guy didn’t even send a person who knew what their dealings were? Was he an idiot? Lazy? Or did he just not have anyone else to send?

She could tell that the man was growing uncomfortable under her gaze.

“…Very well.” She relaxed her gaze. “I will be in contact when I have concluded my current matters. We can discuss further details at that time. Until then, you can inform Mister Cheek he has nothing to be worried over. And that he should be more cautious about sending people to my home.”

“I’ll…tell him that.” The man gave a slow nod.

He remained where he was, sitting there quietly.

“…Do you intend to remain the whole day?”

His eyes widened, and he hurried out of his seat. “N-No, ‘course not. I’m glad we could get things straightened out. I’ll take my leave then. Excuse me.”

Scarlett eyed him as she left the room, spotting a servant waiting in the hallway, ready to guide the man out.

She clicked her tongue when the door closed behind him.

What would she do about this mess now? Last time she’d had knowledge from the game. Things had been easy to handle because of that. Now, she wasn’t that lucky. She barely knew anything at all about whatever happenings the original was involved with here, or what consequences it could have.

She gazed at one of the bookshelves lining the wall ahead of her.

Maybe Gaven could help somehow? But how? She barely knew more than these people’s names, so what could she expect from him?

Beldon Tyndall had information on the original Scarlett’s past associates, so perhaps she could get some information from Mirage? Beldon liked to be vague and all that, so she could probably write up a letter that was enigmatic enough that it wouldn’t be a problem even if someone else read it first. She knew enough hidden intel from the game that would be appealing to them—but essentially worthless to her—so she could probably convince them to help her out with minor things like this a few more times, at least.

The question would be how to handle things after getting information from them.

But that could be decided later. First, she needed to learn what she was dealing with. Whatever it was, she wouldn’t let herself be brought low easily.