Hearing that they were about to leave, Vincent immediately turned to his adjutant.

"Adjutant, escort Sylas and the two ladies out."

"Yes, sir!"

The adjutant stepped forward at once, gesturing for them to proceed.

As Yilan followed beside Bree, she kept glancing back over her shoulder, again and again—her gaze lingering on Vincent with undisguised reluctance.

It was enough to make Vincent feel faintly nauseated.

The moment they left, Xarion emerged from the lounge.

His eyes fell on the six spatial rings resting on the table. Without hesitation, he picked one up and slipped it onto his finger.

Then he turned to Vincent.

"I helped you out quite a bit this time. One of these belongs to me, right?"

Vincent nodded. "You do deserve a share."

Then he extended his hand. "The one you’re wearing—that’s yours. Hand it over."

Xarion stared at Vincent, utterly speechless.

"You just said it’s mine. Why should I give it back to you?"

That was what he had earned.

Vincent replied calmly, "It is yours. But everything you have belongs to Rory. Give it to me. When we return, I’ll hand both your share and mine over to her together."

Xarion frowned.

Seeing him hesitate, Vincent raised a brow, his tone turning faintly dangerous.

"What? Planning to stash away some secret savings?"

The moment those words—secret savings—were spoken, Xarion stiffened.

Without another word, he yanked off the spatial ring and tossed it to Vincent.

"I’m not hiding anything! Female Master already said she’s not angry with me anymore."

This guy is unbelievable...

Using that against him—utterly shameless.

Vincent caught the ring smoothly and set it aside with his own.

When the adjutant returned, Vincent tossed him two spatial rings.

"One is yours. The other—distribute it among the men."

Vincent had always been generous with those under his command.

"Yes, sir." The adjutant accepted them with visible delight and withdrew.

Once he was gone, Xarion looked at Vincent again.

"Sylas Ruan gave you ten rings in total, right? You kept one, gave me one, and two went to the adjutant. What about the remaining six? Don’t tell me you’re giving them all to Vangar?"

Vincent nodded. "Of course. He is my superior, after all."

Xarion snorted. "Why should he get them?"

He crossed his arms, clearly dissatisfied.

"Give the rest to me. I’ll take them back to Female Master. Vangar is already her match now—everything he owns belongs to her In this household, no one gets to keep private funds. Not even him."

Then, after a beat, his expression sharpened with anticipation.

"And in two days, we’ll be home."

"We agreed, remember? Once we’re back, we’ll call Vangar out and have a proper fight."

"Whoever wins—calls the shots."

Vincent inclined his head. "Don’t worry. I keep my word."

Truthfully, he was curious as well—whether he could defeat Vangar.

Without another word, he handed the remaining six spatial rings to Xarion.

"Take them. Give them to Rory when we get back."

After all, he had worked quite hard to wring those out of Sylas Ruan—there was no way he’d actually hand them over to Vangar.

Besides... they were, technically, family now.

***

Two days later, inside the villa.

Dawn had only just begun to break. Pale light filtered softly through the windows as Rory slept soundly, nestled in Yuel’s arms.

Then—

Bang!

A deafening crash exploded from downstairs.

The entire villa trembled violently, as if struck by a shockwave.

Rory jolted awake, sitting upright in an instant.

"What happened?"

Her heart pounded as she looked around, alarm flooding her senses.

"Did the insectoid attack?"

Yuel frowned and immediately swung out of bed. "It sounded like it came from the kitchen. I’ll go check."

"I’m coming with you." Rory quickly threw on her clothes and followed him out.

Downstairs, Jasper stood there, his face smeared pitch-black, glaring furiously at an equally soot-covered Vangar.

"Marshal Vangar, I told you—just wait outside and eat! Why didn’t you listen?!"

Vangar lowered his head. His short white hair was now completely blackened with soot. For the first time, that tall, imposing figure carried a trace of unmistakable guilt.

"I... I wanted to learn how to cook."

His voice was quieter than usual, almost defensive.

He had seen how every male in the house could cook—how each of them, whenever they had time, would prepare meals for their Female Master.

He wanted that too. He wanted to learn, to cook for her himself.

He just hadn’t expected... to blow up the kitchen in the process.

Jasper took a deep breath, clearly struggling to contain himself.

"Fine. You want to learn to cook—then learn. Why would you throw your ability into the fire?!"

He was Rank Twelve.

And he’d fed his power into the flames.

Jasper honestly felt lucky he’d reacted fast enough to escape—otherwise, today’s breakfast might have been roasted serpent.

Vangar frowned slightly, trying to explain.

"The fire was too small. I wanted to make it bigger."

Out in the wild, he had done the same thing countless times—fueling flames with his power. It had never exploded before.

He simply... didn’t know.

In a proper kitchen, that kind of "help" would turn into a disaster.

Jasper let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

"Well, congratulations. The fire’s definitely big enough now. It blew up."

He crossed his arms, staring at Vangar.

"So what now? The kitchen’s destroyed. When Rory wakes up, what exactly is she supposed to eat for breakfast?"

Vangar paused, then offered, somewhat stiffly, "...I could go out and buy something?"

Jasper rolled his eyes so hard it was almost audible. "You think she’d eat anything from outside?"

Vangar hesitated.

Fair point.

Nothing out there could compare.

Over the past few days, eating the dishes Rory had taught them to make had been nothing short of life-changing. For the first time, Vangar felt like all the years he’d lived before this had been... wasted.

"What happened?" Rory’s voice rang out from the staircase.

A second later, she appeared in front of them.

Hearing the commotion, Wen and Paros hurried over as well.

"Rory, did we wake you?" Jasper instinctively stepped back when he saw her, careful not to let his soot-covered self get too close.

Yuel glanced into the devastated kitchen—utterly wrecked—and asked, "What happened? Why did the kitchen explode?"

Vangar kept his head lowered, unable to meet Rory’s gaze.

"It’s my fault," he admitted. "I tried to learn cooking from Jasper, but I mishandled things... and caused the explosion."

He had only been here a few days and had already blown up the kitchen.

Would she... think poorly of him now?

For the first time in a long while, unease crept into Vangar’s chest.

Rory blinked, the corner of her lips twitching slightly. Then she stepped closer, her voice filled not with reproach—but concern.

"Are you two hurt?"

Jasper and Vangar shook their heads at the same time.

"No."

"Rory, don’t worry—we moved fast. We’re fine."

Then Jasper glanced back at the ruined kitchen, his tone turning a little dejected.

"It’s just... there’s no way to make breakfast now."

"As long as you’re alright, that’s what matters."

Relief softened Rory’s expression. She looked toward the kitchen—then smiled lightly.

"I can just have a nutrient drink this morning."