Chapter 16.1

“Father, I, I…….”

“Ah! Dad! Christine didn’t receive the gift from the Duke. Aren’t you curious why I didn’t get it?”

Yelena’s head went blank and her stomach ached with habitual anxiety, but Christine raised her voice and diverted her father’s attention.

Christine, now 12 years old, dreamed of the duke every night and told everyone the lame story. It must have been a very exciting dream for Christine, but it was a rather boring story for the listener.

Count Mceuena replied with a tired face.

“I am very curious, sweetheart. Please talk to me later.”

“You told me to talk later before. Christine is so sad.”

“Oh no, my dear rosequartz, please don’t be so heartbroken. So, you didn’t get the gem?”

Christine, who puffed out her cheeks, replied with a pouty face as if she would let it slide just this once.

“Because the wounds in my heart were too great to forgive with such things. So I…….”

Yelena couldn’t even do this or that in the corner, only looking at them.

Apparently, her father seems to have forgotten her because of her faint presence.

She took a hand mirror out and examined herself.

Blonde hair half-tied with a green ribbon, a white blouse with a velvet skirt the same color as the ribbon. And her mother’s keepsakes, jade earrings and necklaces that she had never taken out before.

Maybe it was because she was wearing light makeup, it seemed that she could manage it today.

– Yelena. I saw you at a banquet the other day. I remember.

– Really?

– Of course.

Just thinking about it made the girl’s mouth go up and down.

“He has arrived.”

A footman entered and announced quietly, and the parlor was enveloped in a small commotion.

Christine, who had been busy talking about her dreams, was also busy with keeping her mouth shut for now and tidying up her clothes once again.

The nanny and ladies’ maids clinging to her younger sister, who is like a flower, are in a bustle, but Matthew, the only youngest son of the count, showed an uncomfortable feeling.

“Tsk, the bitch is very talkative. But the duke will gladly take her. That bitch must not have a tongue.”

“Matthew, the words and actions of nobles carry weight.”

Matthew couldn’t bear to say, ‘Dad only likes Christine.’

“But Father, as the heir of the family, I am concerned about the discipline of the family.”

It wasn’t Christine who should be treated for granted.

The child, clinging tightly to her father’s side, fired quickly.

“You have the Count’s seat, Matthew. But what should Christine do? If you want to properly manage the estate, you’ll have to be good to Christine from now on, right?”

“What? Where is this shrew talking about here…… !”

“Did Christine say something wrong? Right, Dad, is Christine right?”

With Christine openly ignoring the count, his father’s eyebrows narrowed slightly, but he did not shout.

Although there was a need to bring up the spirit of his one and only son who would succeed him, Christine, an S-class guide, was the most important asset to Count Mceuena. The future of the second child was already decided as the duchess.

An S-class guide who is born once in 100 years, but a Count’s daughter, who grows up like a precious jade, cannot easily form employment relationships.

For that reason, he had a lot of trouble sending her to a guide training school. When the time comes, Gladio and Janus will fight over his second daughter, but what kind of school is that?

Although an unexpected benefit rolled into his feet and he decided to send Christine in the end.

In any case, when trouble came, as always, the Count called his eldest daughter to solve the problem.

“Yelena.”

“Yes, Father.”

Yelena, who was still concerned about her sloppy appearance, mediated between her younger siblings, paying attention to her father.

Even though Matthew is his only son and therefore the heir, their father cares for Christine even more after all. Matthew is the child who will take over the family after his father dies, but Christine is the child who will soon bring wealth and glory to her father.

Yelena spoke softly to the furious Matthew.

“Matthew, it’s not right to call a Lady, your pretty sister, a bitch. Alright? Even if you are this pretty, if you say such harsh things, which lady will want to marry you? ‘Oh my, you’re such a wicked gentleman’, they’re going to run away saying that you know?”

“Just do well Sister. Don’t bother me because you’re all old.”

It was precisely the words that pierced her weakness.

Yelena’s mouth was quivering as she struggled to keep her composure and soothed her mind. She longed to avoid weeping in front of her younger siblings.

Besides, after a while, the Duke…….

“Duke Janus has come to visit.”

The people in the room were nervous at the low, clear voice of the butler introducing the distinguished guests at the parlor door.

Soon the boy duke entered, arguing with a child who looked less than ten years old.

The complexion of the servants who followed them and waited on them was pale.

“…… The positions are fixed. What about those who prepared for graduation harder than me?”

“If they don’t have a classmate to graduate with, they’ll have to do it next year.”

“It’s not fair.”

“Yes, it’s not fair, but what’s the matter? It’s advantageous to you. Then shut up and be still.”

It was because the Duke seemed displeased.

It was a very big thing for the distinguished guest to be in a bad mood even before he arrived.

Furthermore…….

“No, I don’t want to.”

“What?”

Especially if his mood is getting worse by the minute.

When the duke, who was entering, came to a standstill, the faces of the people in the parlor also turned pale.