what did you just say?

Marcus lay back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had sent Alice to her room, thinking he'd rest for a bit after his intense training session with Lucian. To his surprise, Lucian had ended the session early, giving him the entire day free. Finally he can relax, especially given how rigorous his schedule had been lately.

As he stretched out, a thought crossed his mind. It had been a while since he checked his stats.

"System," he said lazily, "show me my stats."

A familiar notification sound echoed in his mind, and the system interface appeared before his eyes.

---

[Status Window]

Name: Marcus Ravenscroft

Job: Young Master of Ravenscroft House

Strength: 54 → 134

Endurance: 88 → 158 → 159

Agility: 87 → 157 → 160

Intelligence: 120 → 620

Mana: 1,200 (2-Star Mage) → 6,200 (2-Star Mage)

[Demon Points: 72,000 → 0]

---

Marcus stared at the numbers, his lips curling into a satisfied smile. He had spent all of his 72,000 Demon Points, but he wasn't upset about it. In fact, he was proud of how wisely he had used them. The past week had been particularly productive, especially thanks to the help he'd received from Lucian and Erza. Combining with the last 3000 points he had amassed a total of 72,000 Demon Points.

He'd used every last point to boost his stats. Strength, endurance, agility, intelligence—everything had seen a massive increase. His mana had skyrocketed, now sitting at an impressive 6,200. Yet, despite his growth, a nagging thought lingered in his mind.

I'm still not strong enough.

Marcus frowned. He had spent the entire raising his demon points and invested all of them on his stats, but even with all his stat increases, he still felt as though he was lacking. There was a gap between his power and where he wanted to be. He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it gnawed at him.

If Lucian knew what he was thinking, she would probably collapse from sheer disbelief. After all, the dummies he had been fighting were ones even 3-star mages found challenging to defeat. Yet here he was, feeling like it wasn't enough. His sense of inadequacy drove him forward, pushing him to continue refining his abilities.

With over 6,000 mana at his disposal, Marcus had a solid grasp over his dark aura, but he was aware of his limits. He could control his aura to a degree, but larger, more destructive attacks were still beyond his reach. In his fight with the dummies, he had relied more on his agility and strategic slashing, rather than overwhelming power.

A part of him wondered just how much mana he needed to break through to the next level. Before, he had thought 5,000 mana would be enough to reach the rank of a 3-star mage. But now, with 6,200 mana and still stuck as a 2-star mage, he realized he had underestimated the requirements.

How much more do I need? he mused silently.

His thoughts began to drift, and soon, exhaustion crept in. The intense training, coupled with his mental calculations, pulled him into a light sleep. Time passed, and when Marcus eventually stirred awake, he found that he wasn't alone.

Charlotte was sitting on the sofa across the room, quietly watching him. The moment she noticed him wake up, she stood and walked over to the bed, leaning down to kiss him softly on the lips. Her actions had become a daily habit—something they both indulged in without much thought.

Marcus returned the kiss, feeling her warmth. "When did you get here?" he asked, his voice still groggy from sleep.

"I just got here a little while ago," Charlotte replied with a gentle smile. "I didn't want to wake you, so I let you sleep."

Marcus gave her a look that said he didn't quite believe her. "Alice," he called, knowing his ever-loyal maid was nearby.

Alice stepped forward from behind the sofa, her usual composed demeanor intact. "Lady Charlotte arrived an hour ago, Young Master."

Marcus raised an eyebrow and turned his attention back to Charlotte, who flushed under his gaze. "You could've just woken me up, you know."

Charlotte's face reddened slightly as she fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. "I didn't want to disturb you. You've been sleeping less lately, and I figured you needed the rest." She paused for a moment, then added with a small blush, "Besides, I kind of like watching your sleepy face."

Hearing her confession, Marcus couldn't help but chuckle softly. He reached out and patted her head gently. "Next time just wake me up, Charlotte." He paused for a moment before asking, "So, what brings you here?"

Charlotte hesitated, biting her lip as if unsure whether to continue. After a moment, she gathered her resolve. "I came because I need your help," she admitted, her voice soft. "My magic control… it's not improving the way I want it to, no matter how much I practice. I was hoping you could help me."

Marcus leaned back against the headboard, thinking for a moment. In the novel, Charlotte had trained under Lucian to perfect her magic and become strong. But that had been because of Leo's intervention—he had been the one to bring her to Lucian's attention. However, with the changes Marcus had made to the storyline, that event would never happen. Lucian would never take Charlotte as her disciple now, not after Marcus had altered so many key elements of the original plot.

Marcus sighed inwardly. He had set these events in motion, and now Charlotte was seeking his help instead. Not that he minded—it was simply one more deviation from the original story.

"I'll help you," Marcus said after a brief pause. "We can start tomorrow."

Charlotte's eyes lit up, and without warning, she threw her arms around him in a tight hug. "Thank you, Marcus! I knew I could count on you!"

Marcus returned her embrace, feeling her warmth against him. It was strange how their relationship had shifted in such a short period of time. Charlotte, who once kept her distance and acted with cold indifference, now clung to him with affection and trust. it was the charm ability working its magic at first, but now it was change to pure love.

Marcus and Charlotte's embrace was cut short by a knock at the door. Marcus didn't need to speak, he simply glanced at Alice, and she silently made her way to answer.

Moments later, Erza stepped into the room, her usual confident demeanor softened by a playful smile as her gaze landed on the two of them.

"Well, well, I see you two are getting cozy," Erza teased lightly as she stepped further inside. "I was going to ask if you wanted to grab dinner. It's already evening."

Marcus shook his head. "It'd be too much, Erza. I'm just a student here, and you're a professor. If we're seen together like that, people will start talking. I don't care about rumors, but I don't want your career to be jeopardized because of me."

Erza raised an eyebrow, looking slightly amused. "You think I care about a few whispers in the academy? Besides, the principal already knows about us."

Marcus didn't react, but Charlotte visibly stiffened, her eyes widening in shock. "What did you just say?" she asked, turning toward Marcus, but he remained silent. Her attention quickly shifted to Erza, demanding more explanation.

Erza, never one to shy away from confrontation, smiled. "Marcus told the principal about our relationship last week." Her tone was casual, but the impact of her words hung in the air.

Charlotte was taken aback. "Wait… you told her?" She looked back at Marcus, searching for answers in his eyes, but he simply gave a slight nod, confirming what Erza had just revealed.

"And," Erza continued, smirking at Marcus's discomfort, "there's a bit more that happened during that conversation."

Marcus shot her a pointed look, silently pleading for her to stop, but Erza ignored it entirely. "Don't worry, Marcus," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I think Charlotte deserves to know, and honestly, she will have to be fully aware of everything eventually.if you still haven't given up on principal."

Marcus sighed, knowing that there was no stopping her now. He leaned back against the headboard, resigned to whatever Erza was about to say next.

Charlotte stood in stunned silence, her eyes wide as she processed what Erza had just said. "What do you mean 'proposed to the principal'?" she asked, her voice trembling with disbelief.

Erza's grin widened, clearly enjoying the situation. "Yes, Charlotte," she said, leaning casually against the doorframe. "Last week, Marcus here proposed to Principal Lucian."

Charlotte's eyes darted to Marcus, searching for confirmation, and when she saw him avoid her gaze, she knew it was true. She wasn't crying, but the look of surprise on her face spoke volumes. Her eyes silently questioned how he could still be standing here after proposing to someone so powerful.

Marcus sighed, knowing this moment was inevitable. He had hoped to explain things to Charlotte when the time was right, but that moment had clearly been taken from him. "I didn't want to hide it from you," Marcus said gently. "I thought I would tell you when you felt more comfortable with everything."

Charlotte, slowly coming back to her senses, gave a small, bitter laugh. "Are we both not enough for you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, yet filled with hurt.

Marcus's heart ached at her words. "No, it's not like that, Charlotte," he replied, reaching out for her. "I just... I also love her."

He struggled to find the right words. In the novel, everything seemed so simple. Loving multiple characters was almost a given, but now, in real life, he was realizing just how complicated it truly was.

"I didn't think it would be this hard,"he thought to himself. "Why don't I have some sort of protagonist aura to smooth this over?"

Seeing Charlotte's internal conflict, Marcus stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry," he whispered into her ear. "I'll still love you. That will never change."

Charlotte didn't push him away, but the tension in her body remained. She rested her head against his chest, her mind still racing with thoughts of Marcus's proposal to Lucian. She didn't know what to feel—hurt, confused or Betrayed .