Episode 3
People say the most important thing in building stamina is consistency. You can’t expect big changes just from sweating for a few days.
I was a good example. A week had passed, and I was still running the same distance, lifting the same weights—and my body was still screaming.
I thought I’d be used to it by now, but it was still hard.
“Huff!”
Up ahead, Jericho was running far faster than me. We had only spoken on the first day. After that, even if we ran into each other, he just ignored me.
Jericho glanced back at me, then picked up speed even more, like he was showing off. He was already running fast, and now he was basically flying.
Soon, he disappeared from sight and ran a full circle around the training ground—only to pass me again. He snorted as he passed, as if he wasn’t even out of breath. Sure, he was impressive. But he’s him, and I’m me.
I gave him a silent round of applause in my head and stopped running to catch my breath. Jericho looked like he thought this was some kind of race and gave me a smug grin. He looked so proud of “winning,” it was almost funny.
I ignored him and left the training ground.
After a few days of working out, I was starting to understand my limits. I could tell when to stop so I wouldn’t be too sore the next day.
This was enough for today. I headed back home to wash up.
—
“You’re working hard lately! I like it,” Coromang said.
“Right?” someone else added.
“It would’ve been great if you started earlier. But keep it up from now on, okay?” she said, holding her fist up in a cute way that made me laugh.
Coromang used to be a maid who served Raphael’s late mother, Dimone. She started out as a servant but worked her way up to be the housekeeper of the Isaac family.
She was smart and capable. Despite her small size, she had a strong presence. Even senior maids listened when she gave orders.
“Go ahead and wash up. Then come out and eat. You must be hungry.”
“I’ll take a long shower, so take your time preparing it. I’ll eat something light.”
“You sure that’s enough? You need energy.”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“You say that, but food is power,” she muttered.
Coromang treasured everything Dimone had left behind—not just Raphael, but the family, the house, the furniture, the staff—everything.
She was a reliable ally in that sense, but I still had to be careful around her.
In the future, she would end up betraying Raphael and side with his younger brother. You could say she was like a ticking time bomb.
Still, I didn’t blame her. Raphael was terrible. It was no surprise she would betray him.
The Raphael I read about in the novel was petty, short-tempered, and totally unfit to lead the family. Instead of staying out of the way, he actively ruined things.
—
“I’ll make a simple meal but in large portions, okay? Eat as much as you want,” Coromang said. “By the way, did you shower early this morning? Or were you training?”
“Huh? Why?”
“You never take off your rings unless you’re washing, right?”
“Oh, right.”
As she said, I had taken off all the jewelry I usually wore and stuffed it in my pocket.
I opened it to show her the collection.
Raphael used to wear way too much jewelry—rings, brooches, pendants, necklaces—you name it. It didn’t look good; it was just uncomfortable.
Even my joints ached from wearing all that stuff.
“They’re annoying now, so I’m not going to wear them anymore,” I said.
I glanced at Coromang’s reaction. Her eyes locked onto a single, small, worn-out ring I’d barely been able to wear on my pinky.
It had a cheap-looking blue stone—definitely not sapphire. Probably fake.
“You took off that ring too?” she asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Oh, no reason.”
She tried to hide her expression quickly, but it was obvious she was interested in the ring. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at it.
“You want it? If you want it, I’ll give it to you.”
She bit her lower lip and flared her nostrils a little, as if holding something back. Then she said,
“Can I really have it?”
“Sure. I’m not wearing it anymore. Better to give it to someone than let it collect dust. Want the rest too?”
“No, no. Just the ring is enough.”
She bowed her head so I couldn’t see her face and said quietly, “Thank you for the gift. I’ll treasure it.”
I didn’t know all the details of how things worked inside the house, but I figured Coromang was paid well. She wouldn’t have stayed this long otherwise.
So it was strange she seemed so touched by such a cheap ring. But maybe she was just being polite.
—
After Coromang left, I quickly washed up and returned to my room.
Since I had asked her to take her time with the food, I had some free time.
Let’s try again.
I closed my eyes and tossed some mana stones across the room.
My stamina hadn’t improved much, but my skill in finding mana stones with my eyes closed had improved a lot.
If I ever went back to the modern world, I could be a pro “blind rock finder.”
The most sensitive part of the body to mana is the hands. The least sensitive? The feet.
And now, I could even sense mana stones with my toes.
I moved my feet across the floor and found the stones one by one.
To make it harder, I sorted the stones by size. Bigger stones gave off more mana, so I tried to find them in that order.
Everything was going well… except one thing.
“By now, I should’ve been able to use mana.”
I could sense the stones easily, but I still couldn’t *use* mana. It was a problem of practice.
I had great talent—strong mana sense and lots of mana—but my body wasn’t ready to handle it yet.
In short, I was a late bloomer.
It would take a lot of training to bring out my full potential.
Even I, who knew the correct methods, was annoyed. Imagine how frustrated the original Raphael must have been.
After finding two more stones, I went to eat.
“Smells good. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Thanks.”
“Did you already eat, Coromang?”
“Yes, in the morning.”
She seemed distracted, but I figured she had her reasons.
I quickly finished my meal, thinking about getting back to training.
—
When Coromang was a teenager, she had been wild and feisty—completely different from now.
No noble lady would have hired her as a maid back then.
She had a fiery temper, cried easily, and shouted all the time.
But when she thought back on those days, she still smiled. Maybe Dimone saw her as a little sister?
Why did Dimone protect her so much?
‘She was a good person,’ Coromang thought.
Without Dimone, Coromang wouldn’t have grown up to be who she was. She owed it all to her.
That’s why, when Dimone was cursed by a dark mage and bedridden, Coromang stayed by her side day and night.
Even after Dimone’s death, Coromang tried to repay that kindness by keeping the family together.
One of her ways to help was to influence the family head.
It had been almost a year since Raphael became the head of the Isaac family. And in that time, he had accomplished nothing.
In fact, it would be faster to list all the trouble he had caused.
All he did was chase after women.
People in the family started whispering that the house would fall apart at this rate.
Coromang heard everything. She started to seriously think about whether Raphael should be removed.
She hadn’t made a decision yet. But if things didn’t change soon, she would have to turn her back on him.
“…But maybe he’s not totally clueless.”
Coromang looked down at the ring Raphael had given her.
The metal was rusted, the band bent, but the small blue stone still gave off a soft glow. It looked fake at first, but anyone with a good eye would know it was real—*Cheonggwangseok*, a rare gem.
This ring had belonged to Dimone. Raphael had loved it and worn it for a long time.
Now he had given it to her without hesitation.
He wouldn’t give it away easily. So why?
Raphael must’ve realized that the people in the family were turning against him.
How?
Coromang tilted her head.
She usually knew all the gossip in the house. So who had told Raphael?
‘He must’ve gained a secret ally.’
By giving her the ring, he showed he knew what was going on and that he wanted to change.
Coromang felt slightly relieved.
That evening, she went to see *Evelyn Isaac*—Raphael’s other sibling. Recently, Evelyn had been saying more and more that Raphael should be removed.
Evelyn loved jewelry even more than Raphael. She wore so many accessories she looked like a walking jewelry shop.
Despite that, she was the smartest of the three siblings. Coromang often thought, *If only she had been born a man, I would’ve supported her as head.*
“What is it?” Evelyn asked.
Coromang pulled out the ring Raphael had given her. It was too much for her to keep, even if it was a gift.
“How did you get that?”
“Raphael gave it to me. I think… he’s figured it out.”
“That idiot?”
“…Maybe he’s not such an idiot after all.”
