Chapter 4

Time to go for an all-out fight!

In the Marquess Archer’s study room, Zephyr touched the emblem pinned before his chest with a solemn expression on his face, reminiscent of a Pendor Knight clutching onto his blade prior to the start of a battle.

Today was the adopted Mana’s first day in the Calypso House, so it was bound to be an important occasion to her. However, due to his recollection of his past memories, Zephyr had already ruined their first meeting.

Ey! What a huge regret! Why did I react so slowly back then? With my looks, even if I can’t charm her over right away, I would have at least been able to leave her with a favorable impression of me!

Zephyr examined the black-haired, gold-eyed boy reflected in the glass before him before squeezing his slightly chubby but attractive face. Once again, he affirmed himself.

Yeap, I’m good-looking.

And judging from the game’s character illustrations, my dad and mum’s genes are still quite stable. I’ll continue to grow more and more handsome with time.

Maybe it’s my delusion at work, but after wearing this emblem, I feel like I look a little more… pleasing?

The little boy poked at the silver emblem on his chest with his finger as he built up his confidence for the battle he was going to fight later on.

He might not have left a good first impression on Mana, but there was still a chance to salvage the situation. With this item aiding him, he would make sure to brush up Mana’s affection for him and destroy the death flag in its cradle!

But first and foremost, Zephyr felt that he should find someone to try his hand first.

“Cordelia, you must have waited a long while for me. Are you tired?”

The door to the study room opened, and an adorable little boy leaped right into the embrace of the maid standing by the doorway, looking up at her with big, round eyes.

“Young master? What’s wrong?”

The maid that was assigned to take care of Zephyr’s daily needs stared at the little boy holding onto her leg in shock. She was baffled by her young master’s sudden act of intimacy.

Zephyr Calypso was rather notorious for his spiteful mischief. Due to him having lost her mother at a young age, his father, Marquess Archer, doted on him excessively, not bearing to hit or scold him in the least. He viewed it as a way to make up for Zephyr’s loss in maternal love.

Such an environment proved to be ideal in cultivating the stereotypical arrogant young master, as could be seen from the 9-year-old Zephyr. He was smart enough to rein himself in before his father and the other nobles, but those who interacted with him on a day-to-day basis knew deep well that there was another side to him⁠ —how could they not know when they were victims of his malice themselves?

None of the servants of the Calypso House dared to speak of this matter aloud, but they were deeply unnerved by the fact that this little tyrant would one day become their master and even the head of this fiefdom.

Cordelia, especially, was planning to retire before this tyrant grows up out of consideration for her own safety.

As such, it was imaginable that it would cause bouts of easiness when such a notorious tyrant suddenly changed his attitude. Was this just spontaneous action, or was there a deeper, nefarious plot behind this?

As a professional, Cordelia maintained a smile on her lips while her heart thumped in wariness.

On the other hand, Zephyr continued carrying out his plan.

“A-ah, it’s nothing much! I was just reading a storybook, and it says that children like me will be gobbled up by the werewolves in the Kairi Forest. I don’t want to be eaten up, uwah——”

The black-haired boy spoke with a lump in his throat. His face was scrunched up in fear, and his tears were falling on the ground like raindrops, unable to be dried no matter how he wiped them with his hands.

Such a sight gave Cordelia the scare of her life. She quickly kneeled down to wipe away little Zephyr’s tears.

“Young master, it’ll be alright. Those are just lies,” explained Cordelia with a helpless tone, as she recalled the ‘Ruminating Incense’ burning in the study room. “It must be the effects of the magic item that the old master uses to keep himself awake. You don’t need to worry; the werewolves of the Kairi Forest would never dare to attack the Calypso House.” “I-is that true?”

“Yes, it’s true.”

Cordelia looked at the large eyes of the little boy before her and instinctively fondled his soft face. An inexplicable thought arose in her mind: This tyrant actually has a cute side to him too .

“Cordelia… I’m sorry for scolding you yesterday.”

“Hm?”

Before Cordelia could calm herself from this mystifying turn of events, another bomb was placed right into her hands. The maid widened her eyes in shock, displaying her disbelief that this arrogant young master would actually know to apologize.

“I was wrong yesterday. The times before too. I’m sorry * hic * for always hitting and scolding you all.”

“No no, young master, you’re still young! It’s normal for children of your age to be mischievous, we have never blamed you for it!” Cordelia quickly consoled the little boy, who was wallowing in self-reproach.

At the same time, a thought surfaced in her mind: Could it be that our young master has grown up, and he’s going to be a decent person from now on?

“Cordelia, I’ll never act that way anymore. Can you forgive Zephyr?”

The little boy looked at the maid with eyes glistening from tears. The silver chest pinned on his chest gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight. Faced with such a Zephyr, Cordelia found her melting bit by bit, and before she knew it, she was already nodding her head.

“Of course!”

“That’s great… Ah!”

Zephyr, who had been devoting all of his emotions into carrying out the script, suddenly yelped out loud, causing Cordelia to blink her eyes in confusion.

In the moment that Cordelia agreed to forgive Zephyr, the little boy saw green light rising from Cordelia’s head, forming a series of words.

Affection Points +150!

Clovis moly! It’s really possible to earn Affection Points like this, and it’s more than I thought!

Zephyr clenched his fists tightly together from agitation as hope lit up in his eyes.

Hehe, I’ll be able to gather Affection Points way faster than gold coin then!

Experiment, success!

Mana, I’m really coming now!

------------------------------------

“L-lord Brother, a pleasant afternoon to you.”

It was afternoon, and Marquess Archer had gone out to deal with other affairs, leaving just Zephyr and Mana in the spacious dining room for lunch.

The moment the silver-haired girl saw her slightly older stepbrother, she recalled the frightening look the latter had looked at her with. She was terrified of him, but she still tried her best to buck up her courage and greet him politely, to which, Zephyr replied with a simple nod.

Following that, under the assistance of the maids, Mana was settled right before Zephyr on this long table that could easily hold twenty people. It was in a slightly awkward silence that the two of them waited for the maids to serve the dishes.

The silver-haired girl had her head lowered as she nervously gripped her skirt beneath the table. From time to time, she would glance at Zephyr before swiftly averting her eyes once more, revealing the trepidation she felt inside.

Zephyr knew that Mana was waiting for him to speak up and reveal the reason why they were having this luncheon together.

In noble families like the Calypso House, whenever the patriarch, Marquess Archer, was not around, children like Zephyr and Mana would tend to have their luncheon privately in their rooms. One reason was to cut cost, and the other one was to uphold the solemn dignity of the head of the house.

However, as the Calypso House was not lacking in money, and Zephyr, as the sole successor, was heavily doted on, he had the authority to change the venue where the luncheon should be held at his discretion.

The significance of this deed, however, came across in a different manner to Mana.

The very first reason that came to Mana’s mind as to why Zephyr would call her out while their father was away was that Zephyr wanted to flex his authority and give her a warning. The world of the nobles was very different from that of the rest of the world. Oppression was common even amongst children, and the lack of maturity to conceal the oppression often resulted in things getting ugly.

There was a huge gap between a daughter adopted from a baron family and the sole son of a marquess family. It was in no way an exaggeration to say that all it took was a word from Zephyr to turn Mana’s life into a living hell, and she would have no way to retaliate at all.

What? Tell Marquess Archer about it, you say?

Marquess Archer was perhaps an impartial person, and he might protect Mana in view of his relationship with Mana’s father. However, what would happen when Marquess Archer was not around? Grudges amongst children were often far more frightening than what adults could imagine; just the intervention of an adult wouldn’t stop things.

It was just like back then…

Terror flickered across Mana’s crimson eyes as she recalled her past. She raised her head to look at the little boy seated opposite to her, and Zephyr’s small body seemed to overlap together with the boys who had once humiliated her. It made her lower her head even more, as if there was something pulling her down.

What she was oblivious to was that the demon king in her heart, Zephyr, was even more nervous than her at the moment!

Damn! How am I supposed to earn the affection of a 7-year-old child?

Zephyr, who had 29 years behind him if one were to count his two lives, sat on his chair in a daze. He felt an urge to ruffle his hair from frustration.

The reason why he invited Mana down to the dining room to have luncheon together was simple enough—how could he win the affection of someone whom he didn’t even meet with?

But when the two of them were finally sitting face-to-face, he found himself not knowing what to say to her, and the pressure of having to make a good second impression wasn’t helping at all.

Hey sis, let’s get close to one another!

Tsk, doesn’t sound too right either!

After pondering for a very long while, Zephyr decided to go about it formally in the end.

“Mana, I neglected to introduce myself earlier because I was feeling a little under the weather. My name is Zephyr, and I’ll be your brother from this day onward.

“Yes, Lord Brother.”

“Feel free to tell me if you face any difficulties in this house in the future.”

“Yes, Lord Brother.”

“If you’re feeling bored, you can also come by my room to look for me.”

“Yes, Lord Brother.”

“…”

What the hell was that? Are you a parrot?!

Zephyr looked at the little girl before him, who kept repeating the same words with her head lowered, and a fact quickly dawned upon him—none of what he was saying was getting through at all.

He wasn’t gaining any affection out of this, and Mana was still as cold as ever toward him. She was polite and obedient, but her attitude was pushing him miles and miles away.

This child… Why does her heart feel so closed? It feels like she has matured beyond her age.

For kids of our age, shouldn’t the act of asking someone out to play already a symbol of goodwill and friendship? I thought that we’ll be able to walk out of the dining room with our hands together and head for the garden to play in the mud together.

Having failed his first wave of attack, Zephyr found himself at a loss as to how to proceed. On the other hand, Mana heaved a sigh of relief.

Distancing herself from others with a courteous front was Mana’s way of protecting herself. For someone who had been bullied and harassed by boys due to her appearance, Mana didn’t believe in the bonds between humans at all. Even if she managed to get close enough to someone to play together, they would eventually distance themselves from her out of fear due to her peculiarity, and it was only a matter of time before this fear transformed them into demons that oppressed her.

Yes, this is fine.

The little girl thought to herself as she clutched her skirt tightly.

A heavy silence fell upon the dining room. Zephyr was completely helpless against the heavily guarded Mana, till the servants finally walked in and laid out the cutleries.

“AH!”

While exquisitely designed cutleries were placed gently before the two of them, Mana suddenly let out a shout of exclamation, confusing the servants. A spark flashed across in Zephyr’s mind as he recalled a certain scene inside the game.

Oh right! She’s afraid of this!

My chance has come!