When Zenon was ten, talks about him receiving education as the successor began to arise, but Marquis Velks’ stance was firm.

 

Waiting until Zenon has at least reached his coming of age before speaking about this, the successor’s education can wait till after he becomes an adult. It was no different from raising the child as a fool and kicking him out because of that.

 

Thus, those that served Duke Lionerik became so-called dogs that chased chickens. Amongst those dogs was Heloise’s father, the Viscount of Lorca.

 

He seems to have not given up on his loyalty to the late Duke Lionerik, but now that such loyal vassals were gradually losing hope for Zenon, he merely became a burdensome guy that was difficult to deal with and dispose of.

 

“Anyways, since it’s like this, let’s head to Langbert Mansion.”

 

The Langbert Mansion was a townhouse used by Duke Lionerik while he was alive, and now that all of Zenon’s family members have passed, it was now solely used by him, the Young Lord of Lionerik.

 

How old was he? Was he older than her by a year or two? In any case, the Marquis of Velks must be a heartless person, to let a boy around sixteen to live in a large mansion by himself.

 

“Right now? Just like this?”

 

But that was that and this was this. The pitiful circumstances of that boy had no business bothering Heloise.

 

She asked in return with a bewildered expression, while gesturing to the embroidery textbook by her side and the plain and casual dress that she was wearing.

 

“Look at my current appearance,”

 

“Your embroidery teacher wouldn’t be coming from toward onwards, and your appearance… the Young Master wouldn’t pay attention to it.”

 

Her faithful father spoke, while averting his eyes, seemingly unable to defend the Young Master’s peculiarity. As Heloise quietly observed her father, whose gaze was pointed at everywhere but her, she momentarily became lost in her thoughts.

 

‘Why would this happen?’

 

She possessed a character in a Ropan, but she didn’t know which book it was, and nothing noteworthy happened. It was a boring world, with neither a tyrannical father, nor sub-male leads and villainesses in sight.

[T/N: ‘Ropan’ refers to Romance & Fantasy]

 

As Heloise lived for 14 years in a position that was neither remarkable nor ugly, she instinctively felt that it was a turning point in her life.

 

‘Could it be that the male lead is the Young Lord…?’

 

It made sense when she thought about it carefully. Isn’t the male lead usually a Young Lord or a crown prince?

 

However, she didn’t think that she would meet the crown prince given her position, and if it’s the duke’s son, he would be someone equivalent to the crown prince, whether he was the main character or the sub-male character.

 

While it didn’t seem like she had possessed the main character from the looks of her lame background as the young lady of the Viscounty, she was curious about who the main characters were.

 

Also, even if the Young Lord has been shoved into the back room as dregs, if they went to show themselves, it might be of help later on.

 

Heloise’s decision was partly made out of interest. She handed the maid her embroidery textbook and answered, “Alright.”

 

“Thanks, Heloise!”

 

Even though he spoke like he was informing her, Viscount Lorca wiped away his cold sweat that formed due to nervousness delightedly. A faint smile appeared on the corners of Heloise’s lips at that sight.

 

‘Seriously, Father, what’s the big deal about playing with a child?’

 

Instead, she could be absent from annoying embroidery lessons, so it was a good thing for Heloise. She had naively thought so, until she got onto the carriage heading towards the Langbert Mansion.

 

The Langbert Mansion was once the most luxurious mansion in the capital, and was grand in appearance.

 

Passing both the golden gates that were engraved with open-mouthed lions and through an endless garden, dozens of maids could be seen in rows, bowing their heads in unison.

 

When Heloise got off the carriage after Viscount Lorca, she realised that even though she was the daughter of a vassal, it was her first time coming to this mansion. The Duchy of Lionerik’s affluence was well known, but she didn’t expect that it would be to this point.

 

While Heloise was busy looking around, a middle-aged man that seemed to be the butler approached them with a greeting.

 

“Welcome, Viscount Lorca.”

 

“It’s good to see you. How’s the Young Master?”

 

As they were exchanging greetings, Heloise looked around the garden that was trimmed with razor-sharp precision while whistling internally. Apparently this was a place the headache was thrown into, but it seemed quite the decent place.

 

“Is it this person?”

 

The butler pretended to know Heloise, who was standing behind Viscount Lorca. With quite a proud countenance, the Viscount nodded his head and held Heloise by her shoulder, bringing her in front of him.

 

“She’s called Heloise.”

 

Heloise tilted her head and looked up at the butler with a begrudging look.

 

A smile appeared on the butler’s face as he bowed slightly towards Heloise. His dark brown eyes reflected her rather puzzled expression.

 

“What a lovely girl! The Young Master would definitely like her, and it seems like she would get along well with the other playmates.”

 

“Other playmates?”

 

‘Didn’t you say that everyone else ran away as they didn’t have grit?’

 

Heloise looked back at Viscount Lorca with a look asking what was going on. But perhaps because the Viscount was pleased with the butler’s evaluation, he was busy placing Heloise’s shoulder in the butler’s hand with a beam.

 

“Then that’s a relief! I hope that the Young Master will take a liking to Heloise. Please take care of her.”

 

After entrusting Heloise to his butler, Viscount Lorca spoke to his daughter with a bright smile.

 

“It’s fine if you return after four hours. Then, have fun before coming back.”

 

“……”

 

After leaving Heloise at a loss for words, Viscount Lorca boarded the carriage he came in. When the Viscount had left, the butler with a cordial smile asked politely while bent down slightly.

 

“In that case, shall we go meet the Young Master, Miss?”

 

“Okay.”

 

When did she have a choice whether she wanted to come to this mansion or not?

 

She just happened to be chosen as a playmate. Moreover, she was just curious as to whether the Duke’s son was related to the main characters of the novels she had read before, so Heloise nodded thoughtlessly and followed the butler.

 

Heloise only realised just as the butler was opening the door of the house that her father returned without even stopping by the mansion’s drawing room.

 

Within any aristocratic families, none would let their guests leave at the door, but it was like both Viscount Lorca and the butler were on the same page, and seemed quite accustomed to such behaviour.

 

The small question was easily solved as soon as she entered the hall of the mansion. A bang came from somewhere like the sound of a bomb going off.

 

The explosion that shook the mansion from its core gave Heloise a shock, as she covered her ears while trembling. However, the butler continued in large strides, as if he was used to such noises.

 

“Excuse me!”

 

“The Young Master is currently playing with the others in the rear garden.”

 

“That’s not it…”

 

Without giving her a chance to reply, the butler disappeared behind the house. Heloise had no choice but to dart after him in order to not lose sight of him.

 

The booming sounds increased from the direction the butler was moving towards. There were loud and soft screams amongst the noise.

 

“Kyaaak!”

 

‘What the hell is this?’

 

Was this the capital’s famed Langbert Mansion? She wasn’t sure where had her father left her before running away.

 

In the midst of her confusion, the butler stopped in his tracks suddenly. Just like that, the rear garden of this splendid mansion unfolded before her eyes.

 

For some reason, there were five black lumps of mana in the beautifully decorated rear garden, and it was threatening boys and girls that were around the same age as her.

 

“Save me!”

 

“Move! This is my place!”

 

There were screams coming from all over the place. Seated in the center of all of this was a boy.

 

There was also a ball-shaped lump of mana floating above his hand. Additionally, the well-dressed male and female peers were struggling to avoid those mana spheres.

 

“Haha.”

 

Heloise spotted a black-haired boy amongst them.

 

Perhaps because he had just washed his hair, it was slightly damp, and although his complexion wasn’t bad, his eyes were somewhat sunken. The sharp nose and sleek jawline with some baby fat gave him an air of immaturity, but it was expected that he would become a noticeable beauty in a few years.

 

The boy sat cross-legged on the chair, a gentle smile on his face while a palm supported his chin.

 

“Continue running for a little longer. Didn’t you say that you can do it well?”

 

For a boy at an age that will experience voice changes, his low voice already reached the lowest it can get.

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