Little Pink Starfish

Pei Sen had a headache—bratty kids were always hard to appease.

“You want to betray me too, don’t you?” Eagle had already smashed everything breakable in the room. He didn’t even know why he was so furious. Technically, Pei Sen hadn’t done anything that bad. Even though Sadin was controlling things, it wasn’t exactly betrayal. Take Vargo, the steward who had secretly ordered Visi to assassinate Eagle—that was real betrayal, and he had already been dealt with.

Pei Sen knew this too—his actions hardly counted as betrayal. But Eagle wasn’t exactly reasonable. So he spoke gently, “Young master, are you upset that I’m getting too close to Lord Sadin?”

That phrasing left a lot of room to maneuver. If he had asked directly, “Are you mad I want to learn swordsmanship from Sadin?” and got a yes, it’d be hard to salvage. But the way he put it gave him some leeway—after all, no matter what, he was going to learn swordsmanship.

Eagle didn’t pick up on the subtle manipulation. He just roared, “It’s always like this! Every time someone listens to me, Sadin takes them away! Even Mary…”

In the past, Eagle hadn’t cared much. Mary had cared for him since he was small, always putting him first. But at some point, she started siding more with Sadin.

Even Eagle didn’t understand why this felt so different now—so much more infuriating.

He’d always known Sadin just wanted to keep him under control—not to hurt him.

Pei Sen suddenly understood. This is just a brat’s possessiveness—like someone stealing his favorite toy. He probably didn’t want Pei Sen getting close to Sadin.

“If it makes you unhappy, young master, then I’ll try to see the chief steward less often.”

Eagle sneered, “I saw Sadin holding your hand. And you even called him ‘teacher!’”

Pei Sen: “…” Damn, kid’s got sharp ears.

“Even if Lord Sadin becomes my teacher, you’ll still be my young master.”

Eagle turned away. “You’re always lying anyway.”

Pei Sen: “…”

“Young master, if I learn swordsmanship from Lord Sadin, I’ll be able to protect you better.”

That gave Eagle pause. He turned to look at Pei Sen’s gentle, handsome face. “To protect me?”

“Of course. For your sake, young master.”

Eagle remembered how Pei Sen had thrown himself in front of him when Visi attacked—how the dagger pierced him, and the blood poured out.

If Pei Sen had been stronger… maybe he wouldn’t have gotten hurt.

Eagle finally went quiet. Pei Sen took the opportunity to press on, “Not just me, young master—you can get stronger too.”

“Me?” Eagle looked at him. This boy, not yet fifteen, had always been the one protected. Everyone around him always told him he was noble, special, didn’t need to tire himself with the hardships of others. He was raised to enjoy the luxuries of aristocratic life.

No one had ever told him… that he needed to become strong.

He looked at his own pale, delicate hands. Besides the bejeweled ceremonial sword he wore as an accessory, he had never held a real weapon. His education had always centered around obscure noble literature, history, and rare manuscripts—things commoners could only dream of reading.

He knew even Ai Jin could ride horses well—but he himself had never been allowed to do anything remotely dangerous.

“I can’t,” Eagle said, uncharacteristically calm. Even his tone and expression felt strangely mature—almost too composed for his age. “Someone once said I had an extraordinary talent. I don’t know what it is, but I do know that if I try to become strong—some people will see it as a threat.” He let out a bitter laugh. “And then… I’ll really be killed.”

Pei Sen was stunned.

He looked at Eagle’s nearly perfect face. There was a kind of fragile beauty to him—like a delicate porcelain doll, ready to shatter at the slightest touch.

At that moment, Pei Sen realized Eagle wasn’t what he appeared to be.

“Young master, strength doesn’t only come from combat,” Pei Sen said softly. “You don’t need to learn to fight to be powerful. Don’t forget—you’re the lord of this vast land.”

There was something enchanting about Pei Sen’s tone.

Eagle stared into his gentle eyes. “This barren countryside?”

“Even if it’s empty, with nothing compared to the capital, we can still change it, young master.”

Eagle was the only child of Duke Burke Angre and Princess Carolina. Back then, when the king had exiled the princess to Bonfrese, he had to pay a price—though it was small and tied to the Lanno family.

Burke Angre had originally been just a count. At the time, the Lanno family’s territory included this barren land. Later, Burke pursued greater power in the capital and abandoned this land entirely.

When King Leiser came to power, he granted Burke the title of Marquis and gave him richer territories. Eventually, he was made a duke—and this land was long forgotten.

Before her marriage, the princess had begged the king to give her son a noble title and to send him to Burke’s fief. Leiser, ever cunning, agreed verbally… but ended up naming baby Eagle the Count of Thorned Rose, granting him a minor noble rank—and instead of sending him to Burke’s new domain, dumped him here, in the Lanno ancestral land.

Duke Burke knew all this—and had even suggested sending Eagle here himself.

They had deceived the princess, exiling Eagle thousands of miles away.

She had hoped Burke, as a father, would care for and raise her son—but she underestimated his hunger for power.

Eagle’s emerald eyes looked at Pei Sen. “Can I trust you, Pei Sen?”

“Of course, my young master.”

Don’t be afraid, young master. Soon you’ll see what players are truly capable of.

Once Eagle was convinced, everything else became easy. Sadin, as chief steward, wasn’t especially competent. If he were, the city lord of Casey City wouldn’t have dared ignore an assassination attempt on Eagle.

Sadin’s main role was to act as a deterrent—protecting Eagle and keeping him stuck in this remote land.

He didn’t care much beyond that.

Still, compared to the scheming Kesso, Sadin was far better.

Inside the manor, anything not too outrageous was under Eagle’s control. As long as Pei Sen had Eagle’s approval, he could do pretty much anything.

Sadin had a high tolerance for nonsense—so long as Eagle didn’t mention returning to the capital. Even if Pei Sen and Eagle wrecked the territory, Sadin might just look the other way.

As long as they didn’t cross that one line, Sadin would “respect” Eagle’s authority as lord.

“Let’s give it a try,” Eagle murmured. Then he looked at the new steward, Neil. “Go to Casey City and post this notice.”

Wearing a new steward’s uniform, Neil nodded respectfully, glancing gratefully at Pei Sen before leaving.

He knew full well that as a second-tier servant without background or connections, he’d never have climbed this high if not for Pei Sen’s help.

Neil had been in the manor for years without promotion. He bullied the weak, flattered the strong, and wasn’t particularly loyal—but he was smart enough to know his place.

That made him useful—he wasn’t too dumb to be tricked by players, but also not cunning enough to be dangerous. He could tolerate their eccentric behavior without screwing things up.

The perfect middleman for dealing with players.

“Young master, about the city lord of Casey City…”

Eagle sneered, “The Dragon Star Knights, huh!” He paused. “Tomorrow, I’ll order Kesso to kill Walis. Let’s see if he refuses!”

Kesso was a noble mage—normally far above the station of a personal steward, even for someone of Eagle’s status.

He had once been a royal court mage, following Eagle from the capital to this barren border.

A mage like Kesso, decked in flashy robes and obsessed with luxury, wouldn’t willingly obey the crown’s orders unless he had his own reasons.

As for Lord Walis, the city lord of Casey—he likely knew exactly how King Leiser felt about Eagle. Figuring the young master wouldn’t live long, he dared act so arrogantly.

He might already be one of Leiser’s people. After all, the leader of the Dragon Star Knights had once been a bodyguard for Leiser.

At that moment, Neil arrived in Casey City and posted the notice on the town bulletin board.

“Ding!”

Every player heard that familiar chime. Opening their quest menus, they saw a bold new entry in the Main Questline—with a dropdown menu indicating a long, continuous mission!

Faction Main Quest: Rebuild the Lanno Territory
(Casey City, Adrien City, Arzi Town, Starfall Plains)

1. Rebuild Casey City
– Go to the Golden Rose Manor to receive construction tasks

Note: Accepting this quest will automatically align you with the Thorned Rose faction. Completing quests increases Faction Reputation and Contribution Points. Contribution Points can be spent on faction-exclusive gear. Leaving the faction will reset Contribution Points to zero.

“Woah, a faction main quest?!”
Even Pei Sen hadn’t expected this. He thought triggering a long-timer quest would already be great—but this was on a whole new level.

His personal interface flashed:

Successfully triggered a Faction-Level Quest.
All Faction Rewards +100%.
Faction Contribution Points +10,000
Received: S-rank Story Chest x2

Key Faction NPC:
Count of Thorned Rose, Eagle Lanno
If this NPC dies, the faction main quest fails.

No doubt about it—this faction quest had never existed when Bix Magic Cube first launched.

Pei Sen looked at Eagle, his gaze growing ever more tender and intense.

Don’t worry, young master. From now on, I will protect you with my life.

Even if I have to die a hundred times—you can’t die.