Non was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling tired and somewhat worried.

  His mi cirg around what he had discovered about mana cores.

  The fact that such advanced and unventional teiques existed to manipute the flow of mana had opened up a whole new world of possibilities for him.

  As he watched the shadows on the ceiling, moving slowly with the light of the dles that were beginning to burn out, he couldn't help but feel tempted to experiment with these eiques.

  But the question that echoed in his mind over and ain was:

  'What will happen if I break my mana core?'

  The possibility of crossing that threshold was as tempting as it was terrifying.

  Although the mana core was the source of his power, the idea of pushing it to the limit and attempting something beyond the established rules deeply intrigued him.

  He could unlo entirely new potential, ohat no one else had explored before.

  But…

  'If I lose the ability to use magic… what am I then?' Non thought, feeling a pang of ay in his chest.

  No matter how much he tried to rationalize the situation, the fear of what would happen if things went wrong paralyzed him.

  He had always been someone who defied limits, someone who wasn't intimidated by what others sidered impossible.

  But this time was different.

  In the past, he had nothing to lose, but now, despite spending most of his time researg, he obviously enjoyed all the forts he lived with.

  And the reason for his fidence was his magic.

  If he could no longer use it…

  How would he be able to maintaihing he had achieved so far?

  Non sighed and turned over, trying to find a fortable position in bed.

  The physical exhaustion was there, but his mind remained awake, restless.

  Any attempt to close his eyes and rex was interrupted by a new wave of thoughts.

  What would happen if he tried those eiques?

  Could he enhance his magic, or would he end up uo use it ever again?

  And what if what he read was false?

  Maybe it was a joke?

  Non ched his fists uhe sheets, frustrated.

  He khat, as much as he wao keep pushing forward, the sensible thing to dht now was to rest.

  His core, though stable now, was still rec.

  F his body and his magic could cause irreparable damage, and that was the st thing he wanted.

  But despite that logic, the restlessness kept him trapped in an endless cycle of unanswered questions.

  The arked the hours, but time seemed to stret for Non.

  He could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the inability to make a deade him feel even more foolish.

  'What if I do nothing? Nowadays… I already live well.'

  The thought crossed his mind, but he immediately rejected it.

  Non wasn't oo give up.

  He never had been.

  However, that same determination now kept him trapped between fear and ambition.

  The hours passed slowly.

  Non tossed and turned in bed, adjusting the pillows, seeking relief in fort, but it was useless.

  As the night wore on, his frustration grew.

  The exhaustion piled up in his body, but his mind found no peace.

  Finally, just as the first rays of sun began to filter through the window, No his eyelids grow heavy.

  The physical aal fatigue finally overcame his worries, and slowly, sleep took him away.

  ◇◆◇

  Ever since Emily returned home, she struggled to adjust to the ge in her grandparents' attitude.

  They had rarely treated her with such kindness before, and the sudden flurry of pliments made her more unfortable than happy.

  As soon as they saw her enter with her new dress and the bags she carried, their faces lit up with smiles Emily didn't remember ever seeing before.

  Sweet words flowed from their mouths with surprising frequency, and though she should have felt fttered, something about the way they spoke seemed forced.

  It felt like a fa?ade, an i disguised as affe.

  "Look at you, so elegant," her grandmother said, looking her up and down with exaggerated admiration. "It seems things are going well with that noble. And you even brought food."

  Emily had brought some of the food from Non's mansion with her.

  However, when her grandmother saw what she had, she simply smiled in a nearly desding manner.

  "Save that for ter, dear. We'll have our usual dionight."

  The food they served her, although it was the usual, seemed to have ara touch of effort, as if they had tried to make it seem more special.

  The broth was thicker, the vegetables better cooked, and there was ara piece of bread, something rarely seen oable.

  However, it was still peasant food: a simple stew of roots and small ks of tough meat, apanied by stale bread.

  Although she noticed the extra effort, it didn't make the gesture any less unfortable.

  She k wasn't out of genuine affe but because her grandparents wao take advantage of her situation.

  After finishing dinner, her grandmother called Emily to the small living room, where her grandfather was already waiting, seated.

  The two of them looked at her ily, and she felt a growing pressure in her chest.

  "e, dear, we o talk," her grandmother said, her tone sugary but with a hint of something else.

  Her grandmother pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket.

  "Look what we found. You dropped this, didn't you?"

  Emily's eyes widened in surprise.

  It was the paper she thought she had lost.

  Her grandmother's tone was sweet, but the irony was not lost on Emily.

  "Oh… yes, thank you," Emily replied, trying to keep a ral expression.

  "gratutions on making it all the way to that noble's house, despite being so… absentminded," her grandmother said, maintaining a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

  Emily took a deep breath, trying to keep her posure.

  She sat down in front of her grandparents and began to talk about what had happehat day, carefully choosing what to say.

  She decided to focus on Non, on his kindness, and how impressive he had seemed to her.

  Her grandmother interrupted, leaning forward with i.

  "That's all very nice, dear, but tell me… how much money does he have?"

  Emily felt the blood rush to her face.

  Money?

  She hadn't even thought to ask something like that.

  Emily ughed nervously, trying to ge the subject, but her grandmother watched her with a gaze that pierced through her fa?ade.

  "I don't know, Grandma," she admitted, embarrassed.

  Her grandmother let out a dry ugh and clicked her tongue.

  "So… do you think you've mao catch his attention?"

  The question was loaded with iions that Emily couldn't ignore.

  Emily's cheeks flushed as she remembered how Non had treated her.

  Despite everything he did for her, it was impossible for her to believe that a man like him could be ied in someone like her.

  Although, deep down, she khere was something—a spark of e—that made her feel nervous and fused.

  However, she tried to vince herself that it wasn't important.

  'He's probably just pnning something bigger; he's not ied in me,' Emily thought, trying to calm the chaos inside her.

  "No… I don't think so, Grandma," she replied, but the look on her face said otherwise, and her grandmother noticed.

  "Yoing to see him again tomorrow, aren't you?" her grandmother asked, with a smile that hi some kind of victory.

  "Yes, tomorrow," Emily replied, without thinking much about the implications.

  Her grandmother was surprised, clearly having expected Emily to say she would see him in a few days or maybe once a week.

  But knowing that Non wao see her so soon, she khere was something more.

  "You're doing a good job, dear. But remember, when you have the ce, you o ask him for some money," her grandmother said, in a tone almost like giving instrus. "You know you have a debt to us, and it's time you start paying it back. And don't fet, no matter what happens, we are your family. If your romah that noble fails, we'll be here for you. Don't let it go to your head… you don't want to end up like Annelise."

  The name fell like a stone in Emily's stomach.

  Annelise.

  A girl she barely remembered, but whose fate she vaguely knew.

  "What… what happeo her?" she asked, curiosity and fear mingling in her voice.

  Her grandmhed dramatically before telling the story.

  Annelise had been a young woman who, like Emily, had the ce to win over a noble.

  Over time, she moved in with him, cutting ties with her family.

  She ignored her family's pleas for financial help, and in the end, when the noble grew tired of her, he threw her out oreet.

  With no home to return to, Annelise became a beggar.

  Emily swallowed, uneasy.

  It was as if her grandmother was telling her, without needing words, that the same fate could await her if she didn't hahe situation well.

  "Thank you for the warning, Grandma," she said in a whisper, trying not to show the fear the story had instilled in her.

  That night, after the versation, Emily went to bed with her mind full of fusing thoughts.

  The day, she followed the same routine, but this time she decided to wear the other new dress Non had given her.

  Her grandmother, seeing her, cpped with enthusiasm.

  "You look like a true noble!" she excimed, clearly excited.

  Her grandfather, for his part, said nothing.

  He just gave her a thumbs up in silence, a gesture that, rather than making her happy, made her feel strange.