After listening to Ryan’s story, Liamy finally understood why Rant had turned out like this.
“So, she’s the feminized Rant? Besides the physical change, has anything else changed?”
Liamy looked at Rant and asked, while Ryan’s gaze darkened oddly as he replied, “Besides the body change, her mindset has become more feminine. For example, her emotions fluctuate more easily now—she gets down and loses confidence very quickly, and…”
Ryan glanced at Rant, signaling Liamy to come closer. Liamy raised an eyebrow but didn’t refuse, leaning in to listen since with Ryan’s strength, there was nothing to fear.
“She… is a bit dumber than before now. I don’t know if that counts as a change?”
At this, Liamy gave Ryan a deadpan look. What kind of change was that? How was that even possible…
Liamy then studied Rant more carefully and did feel that she seemed less sharp than before. Could that magic array really have this effect? Then what about me…
Shaking her head vigorously, Liamy banished those troubling thoughts. She was confident that even if that magic array really did this, she would never fall victim to it. Never!
Afterwards, Ryan recounted how he and Rant survived several days in the labyrinth using his survival skills, transmitting magic through the stone beads every day. Until today, they finally succeeded in using the stone beads’ power to return here.
As for why Ryan had just yelled at Rant, it was because she forgot to bring their luggage along. Their belongings were still left in that labyrinth, and now they were penniless.
That was why Ryan had gone crazy berating Rant earlier, while Rant kept apologizing and begging him not to abandon her. Otherwise, she might starve to death on the streets.
The reason for this was that Rant was now a silver-haired beauty, but many people in the kingdom viewed silver hair as an ill omen, saying it brought disaster. The Demon King was said to have been born because of it.
So if even Ryan abandoned her, Rant would probably end up dying on the streets. After all, Kit City was one of the worst places in the kingdom for discrimination against silver-haired people. If Ryan no longer needed her, there would be no one to protect her.
Seeing this, Liamy suddenly thought of a good idea. She smiled kindly at the two.
“I have a proposal—would you two be interested in hearing it?”
Upon hearing this, Ryan’s expression soured instantly. He had already foreseen his miserable fate. Rant, on the other hand, still tried to resist.
“C-can we not hear it?”
“Ha, what do you think?”
Liamy smiled at Rant. Though she smiled, only her mouth curved upward; her eyes showed no warmth.
“Of course not~”
Ryan resigned himself and closed his eyes, while Rant lowered her head in despair. They waited for Liamy to deliver their final verdict.
“So, this is the ending you have planned for them?”
After listening to Liamy’s story, Colin was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, his gaze still fixed on the solemn Ryan and Rant opposite him.
He never imagined that someone just going out for a walk would come back with two servants. It left him at a complete loss.
“That’s right! This is their ending—they become servants in Colin’s mansion! How about that? Not a bad idea, right?”
Liamy said happily to Colin, her eyes full of satisfaction with this plan.
She made Ryan and Rant into Colin’s servants mainly because it would be beneficial for future matters.
She had no reason to kill Ryan and Rant. Though Rant was once a guard for the “Forge Hook,” she shouldn’t be considered completely villainous.
But judging by his demeanor, Ryan was probably slacking off when he was a guard, or simply didn’t dare act. After all, if he took action, it would expose how weak he really was. Moreover, he would have had to initiate evil acts himself. So, killing Rant was unnecessary.
Besides, Rant was now a woman. Perhaps Heffny could research valuable information from her. If they ever found a way to reverse the transformation, she could be the test subject.
So it was better to keep her around. As for Ryan, he was just a down-on-his-luck merchant, a mere scapegoat pushed out by the “Forge Hook.” He didn’t even get a penny from the slave trade profits—it was pure puppet status.
Therefore, Liamy saw no need to kill him either. Also, killing Ryan but sparing Rant felt wrong; she had a bad feeling Rant might do something terrible. So if she wasn’t going to kill one, better to kill neither.
In short, Liamy’s decision to keep Ryan and Rant was well thought out!
Of course, there was another important reason: it wasn’t her paying their wages. They were openly employed by Colin, so he would pay them. Liamy was merely the one introducing them. Their future was not her concern.
Hearing Liamy’s excited words, Colin’s mouth twitched uncontrollably several times. Eventually, he agreed, deciding to let the two start as trainee maids and apprentice steward of the mansion, with salary details to be discussed later.
“How about that? Does that work for you?”
Colin asked Liamy, who casually responded with a “hmph,” leaving the decision to him. She only took responsibility for bringing them here.
Seeing this, Colin’s mouth twitched again. In the end, he helplessly let her do as she pleased.
“By the way, what about that stone bead you got? Is it connected to that ‘Yiqiu’? Or is that labyrinth itself the ‘Yiqiu’?”
Colin suddenly asked about the Floret Stone Bead Liamy mentioned earlier. Compared to the two new servants, this mattered more to him.
“Ah, that… how to say, I can feel a familiar magic from it. It’s similar to the magic array that turned me into this, so it probably is connected to ‘Yiqiu.’ But whether that labyrinth actually is ‘Yiqiu,’ I can’t say. The information is too scant, better to be cautious and not hope for too much.”
Liamy said cautiously, no longer showing the desperate urgency she had earlier to revert back. Instead, she seemed somewhat indifferent.
Colin, noticing this, asked curiously, “What’s going on with you? Such a pessimistic view isn’t like you. Did something happen?”