Chapter 8: Persona

Dominic's face was livid as he stared fixedly at Kaios.

Kaios stared right back. However, his expression was much calmer. He even felt a slight urge to laugh and had to try his hardest to hold it in.

Just a moment ago, he had been looking at the halo behind Dominic's head. The purple section, which originally made up less than a tenth of the halo, had rapidly encroached upon the gray area like the classic game of Snake, swiftly claiming nearly half of it.

Yet, as soon as Kaios finished speaking, that encroaching purple light began to recede. It flickered on and off, looking comically like a gluttonous purple snake that had eaten too much and was now being forced to regurgitate its meal.

When it finally stabilized, the purple portion took up less than a quarter of the halo. Combined with the faint sense of nervousness Kaios could feel coming from him, he concluded that this Great Mage was nothing more than a paper tiger—fierce on the outside but cowardly on the inside.

After the two stared each other down for a moment, Dominic let out a cold snort. He quickly scrawled a few words onto the form in his hand and handed it to the Punishment Knight beside him to be sealed. Then, he spun on his heel and stormed off, his sleeves sweeping through the air. If Kaios hadn't been on guard and taken a timely step back, the fabric would have smacked him right in the face.

It was clear that despite his displeasure, Dominic had chosen to sign off on the review. In fact, out of fear that Kaios might misunderstand and escalate the matter to the Holy City or Chief Judge Pande, he had deliberately signed and sealed it right there in front of him.

Watching Dominic exit the hall and board his carriage, Kaios narrowed his eyes. He fixed his gaze on the Punishment Knight riding on the left side of the carriage and asked, "Do you know who was whispering to Dominic just now?"

"Judging by his chest badge, he's a vice-captain. I'll have someone look into it later," Pete replied in a low voice, though his face was etched with worry.

Knowing exactly what the man was worried about, Kaios offered some comfort. "It's fine. Dominic the Great Mage never had a good impression of us to begin with."

Pete offered a bitter smile and shook his head. "It didn't have to come to this."

Lu Hao was even more exasperated. "You were foolish, Master! Dominic might only be an advisor, but he's already a Great Mage before the age of forty. Chief Judge Pande Bocano of Yulang City, whom he serves under, has a boundless future and is highly likely to hold a prominent position in the Holy City one day. When that happens, it's very possible that Dominic will be exceptionally appointed to a formal position in the Holy Office! Even if we don't try to curry favor with a man like that, we certainly shouldn't be making an enemy out of him!"

He thought, "Bro... that's not what you were saying a minute ago..."

Kaios shook his head. "According to him, he wanted your life."

Lu Hao's tone grew even more urgent. "Master! You shouldn't have let Dominic bring it up himself. You should have taken the initiative to offer this old servant's life to appease his anger before he even had the chance."

Pete nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Kaios frowned. "Use the life of my own Guard Commander to curry favor with him? No way."

Lu Hao was taken aback, seemingly surprised by this answer, but he quickly let out a bitter smile. "Master, you've forgotten. This old servant has already contracted the terminal illness of Spiritual Energy Devouring Heart. I have half a year left to live at most. I made my identity perfectly clear from the start—I am the Guard Commander of this estate and the Chief Guard of the Li Family. Combined with the fact that I verbally confronted him, offering me up to appease his fury would have been completely sufficient and perfectly justifiable.

"If you had directly ordered me to undergo a Spirit Burst-Devouring Body, Dominic absolutely wouldn't have been able to bring up the matter of the will again, let alone the review... If my death could have helped you smooth this matter over, Master, then it would have been a worthy end. Sigh... but looking at it now, my stepping forward earlier has only ended up harming you instead..."

"No, you did me a huge favor." Kaios patted Lu Hao on the shoulder, then turned back to Pete and asked, "Is there really no cure for this 'Spiritual Energy Devouring Heart'?"

Pete shook his head. "For Old Lu, there is no way."

Lu Hao hurriedly chimed in, "Master! I'm already seventy-six years old—every day I've lived until now is a bonus. If the Old Baron hadn't saved me back then, I would have died a long time ago. Living an extra thirty years is enough for me. It's more than enough!"

At this moment, Great Mage Juan, the manager—who had remained completely silent since Dominic's arrival, save for the initial greetings—suddenly spoke up to Kaios. "Master, you seem much more talkative today than usual. Your spirit has recovered remarkably well. It truly is something to celebrate!"

Kaios picked up on the hesitation and scrutiny in Juan's emotional state. He also noticed that the purple section of the halo behind Juan's head was faintly squirming and growing. He immediately realized that this guy was probing him.

"My spirit is quite good today, unlike yours, Manager Juan. Were you falling asleep just now?" Kaios narrowed his eyes at Juan, his tone openly sarcastic and mocking.

Since Juan was already suspicious, there was no point in Kaios trying to alter his outward personality traits now. Because he wasn't exactly sure how the real Kaios was supposed to act and hadn't prepared a simulation beforehand, he figured it was better to just lean into his current performance and reinforce this new "persona."

Moreover, he wanted to turn the tables and probe Juan to see just how much this Contracted Servant—who possessed a half-purple halo—was involved in the original owner's bizarre coma.

Hearing the displeasure in Kaios's voice, Juan quickly dropped to his knees. "Master, I was watching everything unfold just now, and I was burning with anxiety on the inside! But at the time... what Old Lu said was truly the logical approach. You couldn't just force the issue..."

Kaios patted him on the head. "You make a good point. Next time I see Dominic, I'll bring you along with me."

With that said, he ignored the stunned Juan and walked straight out of the hall, heading toward Sharvella, who was waiting at the door.

He obviously had no real intention of taking Juan to see Dominic, but he knew they all understood the underlying message he was trying to convey.

He had actually picked up on the hints from both Lu Hao and Old Pete and generally understood what they meant. But in that moment, he simply hadn't been willing to handle things their way. He wasn't even willing to compromise by merely punishing Lu Hao. When he had confronted Dominic directly, he had done so with a burst of anger—it was somewhat rebellious and entirely deliberate.

At first, he hadn't really understood why he had acted that way. But when he saw the regret on Lu Hao's face over not having his life sacrificed to settle the matter, and the way the others deeply agreed with that sentiment, it slowly began to dawn on him.

Conversely, he wasn't too worried about Dominic. Judging from the man's emotional state, the changes in his halo, and his overall behavior, it was obvious that he was a very "pragmatic" person.

People like that prioritized profits above all else. As long as their interests aligned, they could work together even if they despised each other. But if their interests clashed, no amount of concession would stop them from being ruthless.

Shortly after Kaios returned to his study and sat down, the old Housekeeper, Pete, came asking to see him.

"Has Juan left?"

"Yes. Things are busy over at the Chengluo Factory, so he couldn't stay for long. Before he left, he said he would come back in a couple of days to beg for your forgiveness, Master."

"How was my relationship with him in the past?"

Pete thought for a moment before answering. "You used to interact quite a bit with Juan, Huang Cheng, and Beinam, Master. As for who you were closest to, this old servant isn't entirely sure. Oh, right—I'll compile the information on Huang Cheng and Beinam, as well as the managers of the other factories and the commanders leading teams outside, and bring it over to you."

Kaios nodded and added, "You haven't told anyone else about my amnesia, have you?"

"No, I haven't. Without your explicit orders, Master, this old servant wouldn't dare leak a word of it to anyone else," Pete replied respectfully.

"Good. For now, it's enough that just you, me, Harvey, and Sharvella know about it. Don't let a fifth person find out," Kaios instructed. He noticed that the yellow portion of the halo behind Pete's head had expanded a little more, growing from about two-thirds to nearly seven-tenths.

Based on the situation as he understood it so far, if news of his amnesia became public knowledge, a tidal wave of endless trouble would surely follow. Until he had full grasp of the information regarding himself and the Li Family and managed to sort out his thoughts, he needed to keep it a secret for as long as possible.

From what he had gathered so far, the original owner of this body had been a massive shut-in anyway. He had spent the vast majority of his time painting within the confines of his own manor, had very few friends, and hardly ever attended social gatherings.

"Understood," Pete said, pulling a small box from the inner pocket of his robe and handing it over. "This old servant heard that you've promoted Sharvella to a Personal Guard, Master? This is a Personal Guard Badge I retrieved from the storehouse this morning. You can activate it yourself in a moment before giving it to her."