Chapter 63: Black

“Your sister has been lying to you, from start to finish.”

As Will uttered those words, Treya visibly flinched.

She raised her head, her watery yet emotionless eyes locking onto Will.

“Sir, you shouldn’t say such things.”

“As expected… that’s how you’d respond,” Will said, brushing the dust off his suit from handling the old training dummies.

“You don’t understand my sister. She would never lie to me. She’s raised me since I was little, and every sword technique I know, she demonstrated and taught me herself.”

Treya’s tone was serious, but her reasoning made Will want to laugh.

“You trust her too easily. Precisely because all your swordsmanship comes from her, and you’ve had no external sources to compare it to, you’ve been led astray.”

He easily pointed out the flaw in her logic.

“That’s impossible. She has no reason to deceive me.”

“Because it benefits her.”

“…Benefits?”

Treya tilted her head in confusion, clearly not grasping the implication.

Will sighed.

But…

That was fine. He had already prepared himself for this moment.

Treya’s clear, trusting gaze rested on him, waiting silently for his explanation. Her eyes were so pure that they seemed to reflect nothing but trust.

Will recalled the countless drafts he had written, brainstorming how to approach this situation with the premise that “Eugenie is the mastermind.” None of them satisfied him; he had scrapped them all.

Then, a flash of inspiration struck him—

Make Treya trust him?

Avoid canceling the engagement?

Form an alliance with Treya?

Wrong, wrong, wrong!

He had been asking the wrong questions from the start!

Whether or not those outcomes were possible didn’t matter. After all, Treya was the kind of innocent girl who could be easily misled with a few words.

But he had forgotten his original goal.

Corruption!

If there was ever a character for whom the word “corruption” was perfectly suited, it was Treya, the pure white half-elf!

[Task 86 (Revised): Make Treya doubt her sister, doubt her father, and even doubt her past self. Change her perspective forever.]

[Task Reward: Eugenie’s Furious Failure x1]

He needed to make the silver-haired half-elf see her sister’s true nature, the royal family’s true nature, and realize she had been drowning in a swamp all along!

He needed her to take matters into her own hands and confront her sister.

That was the true goal.

As for how she viewed him…

It didn’t matter.

After all, there was no way he was actually going to become her future husband. Why should he care what she thought of him? (tln : F L A G )

“You trust your sister far too much. Think about it: in the royal family, out of your eight sisters and twelve brothers, the only ones making a name for themselves in dungeon exploration are Eugenie and you—though you haven’t started yet.”

Will clasped his hands behind his back and began circling her.

“Now consider this: in her unique field of expertise, she has a younger sister whose career path and future plans align closely with hers, who’s more talented than her, and… who’s even more beautiful.”

Will stopped behind Treya as he spoke.

“She’s already missed the prime age to secure a strategic marriage with a prominent family, while you, at such a young age, have effortlessly landed an engagement with the thriving Hysterm family.”

Using the tone of a villain weaving a web of deceit, he continued:

“For someone vying for the throne, you’re the number one threat that needs to be eliminated, aren’t you?”

Treya’s train of thought came to a screeching halt.

Her mind went blank.

She knew Will’s words made sense, but…

Could her sister Eugenie really be someone who had been laying the groundwork for this day all along?

Was the Entark royal family truly a place where siblings turned on each other? Was her father the kind of man who would allow such things to happen?

Her sister, as warm and red as the sun…

Her father, as steady and blue as the sky…

Could those colors really be false?

It couldn’t be… it couldn’t be like this… it shouldn’t be like this!

That left only one conclusion…

Treya looked up.

In her eyes, Will—who had so brazenly judged her family and tried to make her think this way—had become the only black figure in her otherwise colorful world.

“You…”

Treya muttered, and in a flash, her sword gleamed.

Will felt a cold sensation on his neck.

Looking down, he saw the shining silver blade pressed against his throat.

But Treya hadn’t used the edge of the blade; she had placed the flat side against his neck. Despite the speed of her draw, she hadn’t nicked his skin or damaged his clothing.

“No matter who you are, you’re not allowed to make baseless accusations about my sister.”

“You must be an outsider who doesn’t understand her.”

“If you say such things again, next time, it’ll be your neck that bleeds.”

Treya flicked her sword, cutting off a few strands of Will’s brown hair as a warning.

Will remained calm. He didn’t flinch, didn’t surrender. Instead, he chuckled.

“It’s fine. I’m not angry.”

Because Treya was flustered.

As a princess known for her calm demeanor and high composure, she only resorted to drawing her sword when she was truly troubled and desperate.

This proved…

Treya was beginning to question her sister’s intentions, enough to use Will as a scapegoat to stabilize her crumbling worldview.

“That said, sir, I acknowledge your sharp observation of my swordsmanship flaws. If you have other advice related to swordsmanship, I’m willing to listen.”

“You’re surprisingly clear-headed about this…” Will began, glancing at his watch. “But you’re about to meet your fiancé, aren’t you?”

“Hmm? How do you know—”

“If you go change and prepare now, you might not be too late.”

Hearing this, Treya quickly glanced at the clock hanging in the training grounds.

“You’re right. In that case, sir, I must excuse myself for today. I hope you’ll leave me a way to contact you so I can learn the true reason for my failure next time…”

“No need. You’ll find out tonight.”

“Hmm?”

Will waved her off.

“Oh, and one more thing…”

He pointed at the lone training dummy left standing on the field, the only one Treya hadn’t destroyed.

“Remember this: if someone sets up dummies like this and asks you to demonstrate your swordsmanship…”

He paused, smiling as if anticipating something.

“Make sure you refuse. Don’t foolishly play along.”

“Thank you… for your advice.”

Though reluctant, Treya still thanked Will.

“Then… see you tonight.”

Watching Treya’s hurried figure in her training clothes, Will felt confident that his plan was already halfway complete.

—

At the banquet that evening…

Will arrived early and looked around, but Treya was nowhere to be seen.

He regretted talking to her for so long earlier. She was probably still caught up in the royal family’s elaborate preparations and hadn’t made her entrance yet.

Feeling out of place, he leaned against the dessert table.

The crowd was overwhelming.

Not only were there too many people, but everyone wore masks of civility, exchanging pleasantries regardless of their true identities.

For Will, it was utterly exhausting.

Come to think of it, his father—or rather, “Young Master Will’s” father—had probably never intended for him to take over the Hysterm family’s business.

As a merchant, he should’ve been exposed to social settings like this early on. But clearly, Carver had no plans to train him. He had never invited Will to such events before.

“Hmm, isn’t this Will? What a rare sight. It’s truly unusual to see Young Master Will at a banquet.”

Will turned to see who had spoken…

It was a man in a deep blue suit, his blonde hair slicked back.

The second son of the Branton family.

The very man who might have been working under Eugenie’s orders—the true mastermind behind the bullying!