“Pfft. Cough. Cough.”

When Heloise, who had barely managed to get out of the water, continued to cough without opening her eyes, the hand that held her arm tapped her on her back.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m not alright.”

When she stood up, the pond was only about waist deep.

After Heloise’s dour response to Zenon’s question, she realised that she was still clutching the parasol like it was a lifeline.

Her temper soared at the sight of it, and she shoved it into Zenon’s arms before leaving the pond.

As Heloise gathered the hem of her dress together and wrung it, she spoke with water dripping from her hair.

“That’s enough, right? I’ll be leaving now.”

“Where are you going like that? You’ll catch a cold.”

Zenon, who had also entered the pond to pull Heloise out, grabbed her arm and blocked her path.

Around then, the maids that had belatedly noticed the situation rushed over and handed over a large towel to Zenon first.

Zenon took the towel and wrapped it around Heloise’ upper body.

“You’ll catch a cold if you wear wet clothes even if it’s summertime. It’s fine if you want to leave, but dry your hair first before leaving.”

With those words, Zenon ordered the maids to change Heloise’s clothes.

After watching Heloise being guided to the second floor of the mansion, he said to bring the guest to the drawing room after she had finished changing, before entering the drawing room.

Zenon stared at the tea that a maid served him, and suddenly clenched his hand into a fist.

He still couldn’t forget Heloise, who danced hand in hand with Blake on Prince Astor’s birthday.

“How childish.”

Muttering in a self-mocking voice, Zenon turned his gaze away from the teacup.

His unnecessary cantankerousness caused Heloise to suffer.

When Heloise glared at him with a drenched and bedraggled appearance, she seemed to be scolding him for his nastiness.

Wearing a dress that was kept by Zenon’s mother, Heloise ignored the maid’s words that the young master was waiting for her in the drawing room, and left the mansion.

In an unfamiliar dress, Heloise murmured while fiddling with the curls that were properly dried with the help of a maid.

“Did you think I’ll forgive you after doing this?”

While she was on the carriage returning back home, Heloise listed Zenon’s terrible points and made up her mind.

‘In any case, I have to keep my distance from him if I want to live a happy life.’

If she wants to cut ties with him as soon as possible, she has no choice but to ask Medicis about Sienna’s future and prepare for the events that are to come.

She thought of where she had to go and slapped her cheeks with both of her hands.

“Pull yourself together!”

As the saying goes, even if you go to the underworld bare-handed, you will meet Medicis if you stay alert.

In order to meet with Medicis, she has to start building up her [Evil] stat from today onwards.

Let’s meet that guy first.

⋄────∘°❃°∘────⋄

There was an incomprehensible route in <Princess Sienna>.

That route begins when the painstakingly raised daughter begins to mingle with some kind of thug.

Was it ever since she picked up a rag-like outfit from somewhere and threw a tantrum because she didn’t want to wear it? From staying out late at night, causing the fairy butler Soma to be angered over this and that, to making the poor father shed tears on his pillowcase every night. It was a stormy period and headache-inducing route of defiance.

Heloise tried her best to keep Sienna off that track as much as possible, but she would occasionally fall into it due to the choice of occupation……

‘Why in the world?’

“Keke, get rid of that man.”

‘Why on earth do you like a guy like that?’

If she could ask her daughter questions, she would.

‘Why did you fall for that kind of guy?’

If only she could shave the stats!

So she went to the temple daily, but it was useless.

As her daughter’s Evil stat was more than enough, she rejected her fiancé Isaac, who was Heloise’s fixed pick, and chose Lou Tulear suddenly.

“How dare you step into my area as you please? What a bold girl.”

It just had to be a guy with eighth-grade syndrome, of all illnesses.

[T/N: eighth-grade syndrome, also known as Chūnibyō in Japanese, refers to early teens who have grandiose delusions, who want to stand out desperately, and who have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers.]

Heloise’s first meeting with Lou Tulear occurred half an hour ago.

After leaving Langbert Mansion, Heloise directed the carriage to head straight towards the market and walked from the market to the alley to the underworld.

As expected, the underworld wasn’t welcoming to Heloise, who wasn’t high in [Evil].

Gazes were aimed at Heloise from all over the place along with mumbled threatening abuses, as well as the mixed sounds of breaking glass bottles with screaming in the middle of the day entering her ears piercingly.

That guy, Lou Tulear, walked out of the underworld’s entrance.

That punk didn’t seem to be very happy.

Regardless of that, in the manner of a well-educated young lady, Heloise stood at the entrance of the underworld in a dress and lace gloves, and suddenly blocked him.

“……What?”

As he was four years apart from Heloise, she had to bend her neck in order to make eye contact, but that wasn’t very important.

It’s because of that punk’s mental age.

“Woman, get out of my sight now if you don’t want me to rip your limbs from your body.”

It’s because, from the way his mental age was far lower, there wasn’t any difficulty in communicating at all.

“You’re Lou Tulear, right?”

“Are you sent by Nardian?”

While he looked at Heloise’s actions, his expression became as cold as ice.

And he immediately mentioned the name of his paternal family.

The Marquisate of Nardian.

It was a wealthy family that owned a large granary in the south.

And he had so little offspring that he had no choice but to accept such a ruffian as his successor.

However, there was another successor in Nardian that could still replace Lou, hence he was despised.

From what Heloise could remember, the successor will die after an accident where he fell from a horse within a year from now, and Nardian’s conciliation will begin to make his illegitimate son, Lou, his successor.

But what’s the point of conciliation?

Lou, who was strong on the outside but soft on the inside, had already been hurt.

And his feet were relatively deep in the underworld. Rebellious Lou was disgusted by the sudden change in attitude and refuses to take his place as the head of the family

At that point, Sienna turns fifteen and her precious daughter meets with this guy at an underworld event.

‘For Sienna’s sale, that can’t happen. This time, you should be used by me.’

Heloise was going to use him to build up her [Evil] stats, and she also planned to take this opportunity to edify him.

Heloise replied with a smile.

“Yes, Young Master! I’m Heloise Lorca, a private tutor sent by the Marquis of Nardian.”

“A private tutor? Hah, that’s ridiculous. Do you think I need something like that? You’d better not step in my area, or you’ll regret it.”

Heloise didn’t respond to his unpleasant remarks and got straight from the point.

“Will you be participating in the upcoming harvest festival?”

“What?”

“Aren’t you planning to go to the harvest festival and take the Nardian family down a peg with your skills?”

The current successor to the Marquis of Nardian was a knight ordained by the royal family.

As such, during the swordsmanship portion of the <Martial Arts Tournament>, Lou was going to show off his swordsmanship skills that were superior to his half-brother’s, and get rid of his inferiority complex and his desire for recognition in one fell swoop.

Sienna would meet Lou and hear about his story if she participated in the <Martial Arts Tournament> at the age of fifteen, before the underworld was officially unlocked.

Heloise decided to imitate a private tutor that was sent by Marquis Nardian with a hint of interest, for insurance purposes.

Although she couldn’t teach him things like swordsmanship, she could make him a little more satisfactory to Marquis Nardian.

“What the hell are you gonna teach me? Fath… what does that person want from me?”

“Ah, about that.”

That person doesn’t want anything from you.

The person that wants something from you is me.

Heloise smiled benignly and impudently.

“I’m here to teach the Young Master all about etiquette. It’s so that the Young Master won’t be flustered or make mistakes when he will be summoned to Nardian soon.”

While her words had exaggeration mixed within, it wasn’t a lie.

Marquis Nardian will want Lou if Marquis Nardian’s successor dies after falling from a horse in an accident, as scheduled.

It will become a problem if Lou becomes hurt due to the family’s problems and decides to enter the core of the underworld.

And he would find comfort in Sienna, who had just happened to dabble in the underworld, and falls in love with her.

“As such, Young Master, from now on you have to participate in my education with all your heart.”

Whenever Heloise was unlucky enough to reach Lou’s Ending, she tried to correct the deplorable guy’s manner of speech.

“……”

She thought that Lou, who had wanted to enter his parents’ house at the bottom of his heart, would welcome her with open arms.

But he had only looked down at Heloise with a blank face without saying anything.

“Young Master?”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“……Yes.”

“Then go back now. As this isn’t a suitable neighbourhood for a young girl to wander around.”

Lou turned around like that and disappeared through the dark alleyways.

“What‘s this situation?”

Heloise, who was left by herself, had a bewildered appearance.

She had planned on talking a lot and increasing her [Evil] stat while teaching that punk, but she failed even before she began!

Heloise couldn’t even chase after Lou as she rooted in place dazedly For a while.

When she belatedly came to her senses, Lou had already vanished from the entrance to the underworld without a trace.

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