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Chapter 20
But my hopes were quickly crushed.
[Your skill level is too low to perform detoxification.]
Again.
[Your skill level is too low to perform detoxification.]
Again.
[Your skill level is too low to perform detoxification.]
Again.
The skill proficiency kept increasing. It was proof that Dania was still working hard. And I was burning through money just as desperately.
[Your skill level is too low to perform detoxification.]
Again!
I kept pressing the button, feeling like I was about to cry. Please, let it work. Please.
If Tybern dies like this, Hider will be deeply hurt. And the truth about Amy’s death may never come to light.
For Hider’s sake, that can’t happen.
To all the herbs I’ve processed so far—
Please, just once, show me your power!
Again!
Hider couldn’t sleep late into the night. He kept staring at the sword.
It was the sword Tybern had prepared for him.
“It’s only this for now, but one day you’ll wield my sword. But as you are now, you lack the ability. You must become stronger.”
Because he wasn’t strong enough…
This time, it was Tybern. But next time, it might be Lani. If he were to lose Lani too, what would he do?
Hider clenched his fists and collapsed to the ground, tormented by his own helplessness.
“Please… Mother.”
Before she died, Amy had promised Hider she would always be by his side—even in death. That he would never be alone.
If she truly was watching over him, then just this once—
“Please save Grandfather, Mother…”
Hider bowed his head. It felt like he could feel Tybern’s hand on the back of his head.
“Tomorrow, I’ll teach you a new sword technique. But don’t be dazzled by the flashy moves—never neglect the basics. Remember that.”
The thought that the tomorrow Tybern had promised might never come made Hider’s chest feel hollow.
“Please don’t die… Grandfather…”
His murmuring echoed through the room.
Cold sweat trickled down.
I couldn’t breathe. No matter how many times I pressed the button, all I got was that red error message.
This is just too cruel. Please, help me—just this once.
Then, the moment I pressed the skill button one more time—
A white light spread across the system window.
What—what is this!!
Did it break?! No, that would be the worst!
As I frantically wiped the screen, a welcome message popped up:
[Skill level has increased.]
[Skill now activates according to user intent.]
[Apply Detoxification Skill v.max to target?
Target: Tybern Hugo Katieron
Y/N?]
“…Ha.”
I really felt like crying. It was such a dramatic moment. All of this was thanks to Dania, who was still working hard on her own.
I gritted my teeth and pressed YES. A bright white light slowly enveloped Tybern.
I stared at it, dazed.
[Target’s status abnormality has been removed.]
…Tybern opened his eyes. Even in the darkness, his sharp, glowing eyes locked directly onto mine.
Oh my god. He just… woke up?! Just like that?!
I told you to give me a warning!!
I quickly turned to run—but he grabbed my wrist. My face went pale as I turned my gaze to Tybern.
He was sitting up. In a cold voice, he asked:
“What are you?”
I gulped.
What could I even say? Honestly, I couldn’t explain what I was either. Everything I did relied on skills, and I didn’t even know what the system was or who created it.
I just possessed Lani’s body, found the system window, and started using it.
As I stood there silently, Tybern spoke slowly again:
“So you’re the one who’s been teaching Hider swordsmanship.”
Oh no.
His sharp eyes were dissecting me like a blade. I felt a chill.
“And you’re the one who’s changed Hider, aren’t you?”
He looked like he could kill me at any moment for daring to overstep as a mere maid.
Kiara and Herden’s conversation came to mind. They said he killed Amy. If that was true, then Tybern could definitely kill me too.
Then he said one last thing:
“What’s your objective? Depending on your answer, I might kill you.”
I swallowed hard and replied in a trembling voice:
Honestly, there was only one way I could introduce myself.
“My name is Lani and… I… I’m a maid… Just a hardworking maid…”
Tybern stared at Lani with conflicted eyes. The young face held in his grip looked like it was about to cry at any moment.
“Just a maid,” huh.
But a regular maid couldn’t possibly have this kind of power. He could feel it—his body, which had been on the brink of death, was completely healed. If he had just recovered naturally, there should have been lingering aches or stiffness. But he felt light and refreshed.
It was clear that this maid, Lani, had done something.
As he expected, she must be one of those legendary beings. There had to be a reason she was hiding her identity like this. Tybern decided to pretend not to know.
He let out a soft sigh.
“…You healed me, didn’t you?”
“Ah, no. I just…”
“If you lie again, I’ll have you flogged and thrown out.”
Tybern threatened her, though he didn’t actually mean it. Lani opened her eyes wide in shock. Her pupils shook.
She shouted in a shrill voice:
“You can’t treat your savior like that!”
“You just said you weren’t, didn’t you?”
Lani’s wide eyes darted around, clearly searching for a way out of this mess.
Tybern looked at her calmly. Her very existence was nothing short of a miracle. For her to appear in Katieron and save him at the brink of death—it must have been fate.
He spoke quietly. This was what he should have said first.
She was, after all, his savior.
“Thank you.”
Lani pouted her lips slightly.
‘That scared the crap out of me.’
She studied Tybern’s expression.
‘Still, I saved his life.’
Now that it had come to this, she figured she might as well get some answers to her questions.
She cleared her throat and spoke.
“So, just to confirm, I saved you, and you’re thankful, right?”
“…That seems to be the case.”
“Then, would you be willing to do anything for your savior?”
Oh? Interesting.
Maybe it was because she was some kind of legendary being, but she didn’t seem scared of Tybern at all. In fact, she seemed perfectly at ease.
Lani looked around, pulled up a chair beside the bed, and sat down, her eyes sparkling.
“I’ll grant you one wish. Whatever it is.”
What the—just one?
Lani frowned at that.
“Before that, can I ask you something? That won’t count as the wish, right?”
She asked seriously.
She might ask for money, noble status, or maybe even a house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms—her lifelong dream.
Right now, every word she said needed to be chosen carefully.
Tybern chuckled.
“It’d be a little petty if I counted that, wouldn’t it?”
Lani nodded. She hesitated, then held up two slender fingers.
She asked seriously:
“Actually, I have two questions. If you answer them, I’ll tell you the real reason you collapsed.”
Tybern couldn’t help but laugh. He’d never met anyone so bold with him before. No, not just among women—among anyone.
‘She’s definitely not an ordinary human.’
That thought kept returning. Tybern was now certain:
Lani’s true identity was something far more than just a maid.
