Since Anna was new and unfamiliar with the manor's protocols, she hurried back to the kitchen to inform Rebecca.

Even the usually stoic Rebecca was startled by the news and immediately went to find the Head Butler.

The rest of the arrangements were out of Anna's hands; the Head Butler dispatched someone to fetch Priest Louis, a privilege reserved for the nobility in times of illness.

Anna watched from a distance as Priest Louis arrived. He was a slightly plump, middle-aged man with thinning hair—it seemed even the Goddess of Light could not save one from male-pattern baldness. He wore an expression of divine mercy that fit her image of a clergyman perfectly.

Lord Edgar Wilson had already arrived, anxiously guarding Patrick, as he was his only legitimate heir and he did not want anything to happen to him.

Anna waited outside, straining to hear any shouts like "Demon, I shall destroy you in the name of the Goddess!", but the room remained quiet until Lord Edgar finally saw the priest out with a smile.

Anna wondered if the demon had been vanquished. Thinking that perhaps this was a low-level demon that Priest Louis had eliminated without a fuss, Anna approached Waldo under the pretext of collecting the breakfast dishes.

"Is Lord Patrick alright? I was so scared," Anna asked, feigning concern. Waldo looked relieved. "He is fine. Priest Louis used Holy Healing to treat him, though he is still resting".

"What happened to him?" Anna whispered. Waldo shook his head. "Priest Louis said it had nothing to do with the food; it was a flare-up of Dark Power within his body. The Priest eliminated it with Holy Healing".

Anna was nearly overwhelmed with joy at the word "eliminated". Suppressing her excitement, she asked if she could see him. Waldo, knowing the master had been "infatuated" with the maid, led her to the bedroom door.

Through the gauzy curtains surrounding the bed, Anna's heart sank. While she could not see the host clearly, the demon's oppressive, tangible dark aura was still swirling around him, showing no sign of weakness or depletion.

Anna left the room in a foul mood. She realized then that the Priest had not even noticed the demon's presence. Based on Waldo's description, she suspected the Priest had simply used Holy Healing to treat something as mundane as appendicitis and called it "dark power".

She now knew that she could not rely on the Temple of Lumenia for an exorcism. As the saying goes, there is no savior; one can only rely on oneself.

Because the demon was "bedridden," Anna's duties expanded from delivering breakfast to providing lunch and dinner as well. While the kitchen prepared lunch, she stepped out for air and was met by Abigail, Kelly, and Fiona.

The trio, acting like triplets, were anxious about Lord Patrick's health. Once Anna reassured them that he was fine, their smiles returned.

Passing through the garden, Anna noticed a stranger with pale-gold hair. He was dressed in a black robe with gold trim that nearly swept the ground. She immediately wondered if this was the four-star mage residing at the manor.

Despite the etiquette rules, her curiosity about mages got the better of her. She approached and asked softly, "Noble Lord, is there anything I can do for you?".

The man turned slowly, his young, handsome face reflecting the arrogance of a genius mage. "I need you to leave," he said calmly. It wasn't that he looked down on her as a maid; it was the utter indifference of someone who didn't consider her worth his time at all. Anna wasn't surprised; the class divide in this world was strictly enforced. She quietly withdrew and met Waldo to bring up the lunch box.

Instead of finding the demon in bed, she found Rothgar Valemont sitting in the sunroom in loose pajamas. He was in an exceptionally bad mood. Patrick Wilson's human body was fragile, and Rothgar had not experienced physical pain in a very long time.

If not for the wager with Balian, he would have abandoned this vessel already—host possession can only be used once on a single body, and since he had not yet won against that human woman using Patrick Wilson's form, he could not leave.

In addition to the physical pain, enduring the "washing" of light elements was another source of irritation. Of course, the weak priest's Holy Healing was not strong enough to truly harm him, but he loathed the light element instinctively.

Just moments ago, he had seen that human woman speaking with the supposed "genius mage". Rothgar knew Anna was highly ambitious; she wanted the unwavering devotion of an Earl's son. He intended to "satisfy" her desires in his own way, but now it appeared she had a new target.

Patrick's memories provided the details: the man was Ulysses Russell, the second son of Duke Russell. Though he had no inheritance rights, he was a gifted fire-affinity vessel who had attained the rank of four-star mage at a remarkably young age. He was currently recuperating at Wilson Manor after being injured by a demon beast, as Bluestone City lacked a Mage Association.

Humans were no different from Abyssal creatures when it came to worshiping the strong. On one side was an ordinary Earl's son with no elemental affinity; on the other was a rare young four-star mage and son of a Duke. To a social climber like Anna, the choice seemed obvious.

"Lord Patrick," Anna's voice came from behind him.

Rothgar turned his head. Anna, as was her habit, kept her gaze lowered to avoid direct eye contact with the demon as she set out the steaming, exquisite meal from the food box.

Rothgar looked at her, drawing on Patrick's memories to put on a face of dejection. "My dear Anna, is your persistent refusal to marry me because you have fallen for someone else?"

Anna was momentarily startled. Did my superficial friends tell him what I said? She stole a quick glance at the demon to observe his true expression—it was terrifying. His pale, gloomy face seemed to hold a suffocating tension, as if he might flip the table at any moment.

"No such thing," Anna denied firmly. "I don't know where you heard such a story, but it is a complete fabrication. I have not fallen for anyone".

"No one told me; I saw it myself," Rothgar said, gesturing toward the window. "I saw you with Ulysses Russell".

Ulysses Russell? Anna realized he wasn't talking about the fake lover she had mentioned to the other maids. So that is the handsome young mage's name. Anna memorized the name and put on a puzzled look. "You mean... that noble mage lord from earlier?"

Rothgar, unsure if she was truly ignorant or just playing dumb, continued, "A twenty-three-year-old four-star mage is indeed impressive. Usually, elemental mages at that age are still stuck at two stars. I can understand why you would cast an admiring gaze at such a genius".

So elemental mage ranks start at one star and go up? I wonder if there is a cap, Anna thought, extracting the useful information while quickly denying his accusation to keep him from losing his temper. "Lord Patrick, you truly misunderstand. I only saw that noble lord standing alone and asked if he needed anything. I am just a maid; I only want to do my job well".

"Is that so?" Rothgar replied noncommittally. Even if he saw no flaw in her acting, he did not fully believe her. This human woman was far more clever than others and an expert at disguise; words alone could not reveal her true intentions.

He would observe further. Moreover, even if she had changed targets, it didn't change much for him. If she wanted to snare the mage, she would have to act quickly, as Ulysses was only there to recover and would soon depart. Rothgar knew he could simply possess the mage if it became necessary to win the wager.

"By the Goddess, I speak the truth," Anna insisted.

Rothgar sneered, but before Anna could react, he said deliberately, "Ulysses Russell is only staying here temporarily. He will be leaving soon. You need not concern yourself with him next time".

To an ordinary observer like Waldo, this sounded like the jealousy of a man toward a rival. But Rothgar's true intent was to make Anna realize that if she didn't strike soon, her opportunity would slip away. Whether Anna chose to keep stringing him along or tried to seduce the mage made no difference to him.

Anna, who only wanted to earn money and had no intention of seducing anyone, decided to take his words as a simple order from a master to a maid.

"As you wish, Lord Patrick," she replied obediently.

Internally, however, her thought was: I'm definitely concerning myself with him next time. She was intensely curious about mages; she wanted to learn magic, too!