Top Tier Perversion: Dual Cultivate Secretly

Vincent stared at the gold coin resting on the table and felt his excitement grow.

It really was that simple.

He almost stood up when another thought came to him.

"Wait, mom. If karma can be resolved by doing something as simple as handing over a coin, what is stopping everyone from doing this?"

Vivienne picked up her teacup.

"The coin is irrelevant, my dear. What matters is whether both sides genuinely recognize the exchange as repayment."

Vincent listened carefully.

"If someone saved your life and you handed them a copper coin while secretly believing you still owed them, then nothing would change. Likewise, if they accepted the coin but continued believing you remained indebted to them, the karma would remain."

Vivienne took a small sip of tea.

"Karma is formed through cause and consequence. It disappears only when the people involved truly consider that particular cause settled. Most people cannot convince themselves that a life, betrayal, favor, hatred, or decades of sacrifice is worth a single coin merely because they wish it to be convenient."

Vincent stared at her.

That was surprisingly reasonable.

The loophole existed, but exploiting it required both people to sincerely accept something ridiculous.

"So I can’t just accept a coin from someone who owes me and clear the karma?"

"You need to ensure the other party doesn’t continue to feel indebted after paying you."

’This is troublesome,’ Vincent thought. ’If someone is too humble, it’ll bite me in the ass.’

Vincent could already imagine a few scenarios.

"Like if there’s an old couple and the granny is sick and her old man cannot bring her medicine, but I being I, I give them the medicine and they are extremely grateful to me and keep thanking me and saying they’re indebted forever... this would form a permanent unresolved karma... hmm... troublesome."

Vivienne: "..."

Vivienne put her teacup down and said, "My dear, your thoughts are slipping into the real world..."

Vincent looked at her. "What?"

"Nothing." Vivienne slowly glanced down at her tea.

Vincent’s mind was still wandering at the karma topic and he couldn’t help but understand that playing hero or villain would bring him endless troubles.

Fortunately, the karma he had was with the people of D’Arc County. He had seen how angry they were and even with relief and reforms, they did not seem like the type to feel indebted to someone forever.

’I need to clear this fast. I have a little around fifty hours until everything goes berserk.’

Vincent looked at his mother.

"I understand now."

He got up, went around the desk, and then stood behind her.

Vincent wrapped his arms around Vivienne, then kissed her cheek.

"Thank you for patiently explaining everything, mom. You’re the best."

He released her and rushed toward the door.

"I’ve got urgent work to do. I’ll see you later."

The door closed behind him.

Vivienne remained seated.

Her fingers slowly moved toward her cheek and lightly caressed the place Vincent had kissed.

A faint crease appeared between her brows.

’He said thank you.’

Vivienne stared at the closed door.

’He usually says love you.’

Her fingers remained against her cheek.

’Does he not love his mommy anymore?’

...

Vincent returned to his bedroom and found Anastasia arranging several reports upon his study desk.

She glanced toward him when the door opened.

"Young master?"

"Did Vanessa reply to my letter?" He asked as he sat down on the bed’s edge.

Anastasia grabbed a letter from the desk and handed it to Vincent.

"Her response was surprisingly swift."

Vincent opened the letter and read it.

"Felicia will bring the corpses before dawn."

"You’re five minutes younger. You’re my little brother."

"Regards."

Vincent smiled and shook his head. He handed the telegram to Anastasia and said, "Keep this somewhere safe."

Anastasia nodded and went to work. When she was done, Vincent patted the bed beside him.

"Come here for a second."

Anastasia walked toward him and sat down.

Vincent took out the gold coin he had brought from his mother’s study.

Anastasia looked at the coin, then at him, waiting patiently to see what her young master was trying to do.

Vincent activated Karmic Thread Perception.

The world changed slightly before his eyes.

Several faint threads stretched away from him in different directions, but the one he focused upon was the red thread connecting him directly to Anastasia.

He held the gold coin toward her.

"Take this."

Anastasia took the coin.

Vincent then said, "This is repayment."

Her eyebrows rose slightly.

"Young master, what could you possibly repay me for? I am your maid, there shouldn’t be—"

"Cooperate with me for a bit please, Anastasia. I’ll explain everything afterwards."

Vincent stared at the red thread while saying so.

Anastasia fell silent and did not protest again, waiting to see what he was up to.

As Vincent finished handing the coin, he said,

"Please accept this coin as payment for what I owe you. I want you to consider the debt completely settled by accepting it."

Anastasia stared at his face for several seconds.

She did not understand what the young master was talking about, but he seemed serious about it.

She looked at the coin, and then at him.

Vincent gave her a nod, urging her to continue.

Anastasia closed her fingers around the coin in her palm and said, "I am failing to understand what’s happening, but whatever debt the young master owes me is settled with this coin. You no longer owe me anything."

The red thread disappeared.

Vincent stared at the empty space between them.

There was no resistance or grand reaction from the world.

The thread was simply gone when Anastasia accepted the repayment.

This experiment was a success too, but somehow, Vincent’s brows were furrowed and his face showed a trace of sadness.

Anastasia must’ve sacrificed a lot to regress. Although he had no idea what she did after his death, he was sure that she needed to die too if she wanted to regress.

He heard her cry out his name before his death, and he had a feeling that she killed herself and regressed just so she could see him alive again.

If not for the reset point changing, Vincent was sure that she must’ve regressed way back in time.

This could’ve been a period where he was not the earth Vincent or when their relationship hadn’t even come to fruition.

Vincent was sure that she must be aware of the consequences, yet she still chose him over herself in the previous iteration.

She was ready to sacrifice herself if it meant he could be alive again.

Vincent felt his chest tighten and knitted his brows hard. ’This is just my speculation. I really hope things aren’t this sad man...’

Vincent turned to Anastasia.

She was staring at him with concern. She wanted to ask what was wrong but kept quiet and patiently waited until he spoke.

Watching her beautiful blue eyes in the candlelight, Vincent felt a lump in his throat.

For a moment, he wondered how a single coin could possibly equal what Anastasia had done for him.

Then he understood that he was looking at it wrongly.

The debt was settled.

That did not mean the sacrifice had become worthless.

Karma apparently cared about repayment. He himself was still allowed to care about the person.

Vincent took a deep breath.

His crimson eyes slowly glanced at Anastasia.

"Young master?"

Anastasia finally called out.

"Yes?"

"You look sad."

"..."

Vincent massaged his temples and instantly, the sadness and frown from his face was gone, replaced by a calm and peaceful expression.

"I’m not."

Anastasia: "..."

She knitted her brows slightly and continued, "Now you aren’t."

The immediate expression change slightly startled her, making her wonder how one could go from sad to at peace so quickly.

’Is he having mood swings?’

Watching her expression, Vincent sighed and said,

"There are some things you gotta pretend you didn’t see."

Anastasia’s eyes focused on him. "I could pretend, but that would make me a poor attendant, young master."

Vincent shook his head and looked away.

Anastasia moved a little closer and held his palm with both her hands.

"I don’t know what happened, and I don’t know what’s troubling you either. But if your burden can be shared or if there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know. I’m here for you..."

Vincent glanced at the pair of hands holding his.

Hearing those words seemed to have relieved a lot of his worries.

He could still recall the day Anastasia asked him to rely on her, and had also said that she would rely on him.

Fixing shit and not dying, creating a peaceful home for the regressor to return to was what Vincent thought he must do to honor her sacrifice.

The corner of his lips curved faintly.

He looked up, then scooted closer, and looked into her eyes again.

"I feel like all my worries will be resolved if we sit under a certain maple tree."

Anastasia couldn’t help but break into a soft chuckle.

She gently held his face and replied, "I am sure it’s less about the tree and more about what happened under the tree."

"Maybe..."

Vincent leaned forward and felt the touch of her sweet lips.

Anastasia responded with a gentle pressure.

The kiss was supposed to be a short peck, but neither moved away when it lasted longer than intended.

When they finally separated, Vincent felt his body heat up.

It was chilly outside but the room was warm, and Anastasia’s embrace was warmer.

Vincent craved something more than just a kiss.

He held her chin and asked in a low whisper, "Anastasia... can we?"

Anastasia’s face remained close to his.

She didn’t answer, but her fingers moved toward the ribbon tied neatly around her collar.

Vincent’s gaze followed the movement.

Anastasia slowly pulled one end.

The knot loosened.

"Young master."

Vincent’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

"Yes?"

Anastasia removed the ribbon and placed it upon the nearby desk.

She leaned on Vincent’s chest and said softly,

"...I am all yours."