CH 10

She is a daughter raised as the son of a duke.

Episode 10 

Attila, who liked May very much, praised her to Persis after class.

“Your Excellency, Young Master, is no less than a genius! Despite being a genius, he is humble, kind, and calm! I have seen many students over the past ten years, but no one with such good self-directed learning skills like Young Master!”

Although she didn’t intend to suppress her excitement, the words came out quickly.

Persis and Yohan, who were behind her, were also taken aback.

“… I’m glad that my son pleased you, madam.”

“Is it just a matter of pleasing me? It would be an honor for me to have him as my student!”

T/N: they are using He/ his/him pronounce now, but I will use them according to the situation because May is sometimes referred to as her. So people don’t get confused. 

She felt pleased while thinking of Mae. It was the first time Johan had seen someone praise someone else so much, even though he was her son.

‘My mother is not easy to please… but the lady is really amazing.’

Of course, no one can resist the charming personality of the young lady.

There was only one person sitting arrogantly on the sofa, showing his back to me.

“Except for the master, of course. 

Persis seemed unimpressed, even though Attila praised his daughter.

Suddenly, Attila remembered something and clapped her hands.

“Oh! I would like to ask Your Excellency your opinion regarding Young Master.”

“What about it?”

“It’s regarding etiquette.”

Due to circumstances, May was supposed to learn male etiquette, as she was to live as a man. However, May was originally female. Attila wanted to teach her female etiquette as well.

“In case she ends up living as a woman again, I want to teach her female etiquette, too.”

“…”

Persis should have immediately refused, but she couldn’t.

She didn’t understand why.

She didn’t need a daughter because her purpose as a mother was to have a son who could inherit the family. The existence of that child was meant to be as a son from the start.

But her lips wouldn’t move.

Was it difficult to say just one word, “No”?

“Your Excellency?”

At Attila’s call, his lips finally parted.

“May I also teach May female etiquette?”

The voice that unconsciously popped out of her even surprised her.

“Please do as you wish, my lady.”

Permission has been granted.

Persis was at a point where his actions were going against his own thoughts. He kept giving opportunities to that child, that daughter, thinking there would be some benefit for her.

What made him angry was that even at this moment, she couldn’t deny or retract her decision.

“Then I will also teach female etiquette to the Young Master.”

“… As you wish.”

Damn it. He would rather be under the control of Floa’s magic than deal with this.

***

Attila’s lessons were held every day. She judged that there was not much to teach me except for etiquette, so she freely let me read books and conducted question-and-answer sessions.

While reading a book about guardian deities, I asked Attila a question.

“Madam, do guardian deities really exist? It’s hard for me to understand what they do since I’ve only read about them in books.”

“In the Starcia Empire, there exist guardian deities. The representative guardian deities are Iris, Cassius, and Hestia, who is known as the Empire’s three great guardian deities. Of course, Floa is also a guardian deity, although their rank is different.

Attila kindly replied, “They do exist. Many people have seen them with their own eyes. If you’re a guardian knight, you would have seen them as a matter of course.”

The three great guardian deities of the Empire operate a knightly order called the “Guardian Knight Order,” with Iris, Cassius, and Hestia serving as the commanders of the first, second, and third knightly orders, Respectively. The Guardian Knight Order mainly hunts down demons to help improve the lives of the people.

The Guardian Knights receive a portion of the guardian deities’ magical power, which is why becoming a member of the Guardian Knight Order was a dream for many people. 

However, the selection process for becoming a Guardian Knight only occurs once every few years, and very few people are chosen. 

Moreover, there are no specific selection criteria. It’s simply up to the guardian deities to decide if they like you or not.

In some ways, becoming a Guardian Knight was harder than winning the lottery. “Dreaming of becoming a Guardian Knight is a foolish thing to do, since you can’t become one just by working hard,” someone said.

At least once in their life, they wanted to use magical power. It was cool, and it allowed them to protect their own body in dangerous situations. It was also a great pleasure to hunt down demons with fellow knights.

“You have to be liked by the guardian deities to become a Guardian Knight, so luck plays a huge role. But what is certain is that healthy and diligent people have a greater chance of being liked by the guardian deities,” she said.

Well, even if I were the commander, I would have selected healthy and diligent people for the order.

I nodded my head in understanding.

“But you don’t have to join the knightly order, since you have Floa,” she said to her.

“Why is that?”

“Well, because Floa is with you.”

Ah, Floa…

Floa also bestows some of her magical powers to the descendants of the Flotina family as their guardian deity.

That’s the power of the family.

Just because Floa is inferior to the three imperial guardian deities doesn’t mean the strength of the powers he bestows is weaker.

It depends on each person’s ability to handle magical powers, whether a guardian knight is strong or a descendant of Flotina is strong.

“The power of the family manifests itself before one becomes an adult. Women become adults at sixteen and men at eighteen, so Confucius would have had the power of his family before the age of sixteen.”

“I wish that was the case. 

I looked down with bitterness in my eyes.

“If I were my father’s biological daughter.”

“!”

At Attila’s words, she suddenly realized that she had made a mistake and quickly changed her expression.

“I’m sorry, Young Master. I dare not misspeak. I didn’t mean it like that…”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize.”

Lady Udif’s apology is not necessary. The person who should apologize is Viché if I am not Persis’ biological daughter.

But there will be no need for apologies.

“Because I am my father’s biological daughter.”

Well, I believe it for now.

It was when I was walking through the garden, enjoying the spring breeze after finishing class early.

Clatter clatter – the sound of carriage wheels grew closer, and a familiar man got off the carriage.

Oh, he’s here again?

I ran over to Heint as soon as I spotted him.

“You’re here again, Viscount.”

As soon as he saw me, Heint’s eyes widened in surprise.

“May, why is your…why are you wearing men’s clothing…?”

Seeing his shocked face made me burst out laughing.

“Well, the thing is-”

***

After hearing a brief explanation of the situation from May, Heint stormed into Persis’s office and asked straight away.

“Persis, is this true? May is your son!”

“First, have a seat.”

As he walked over to the sofa, Heint stared at his friend as if he was out of his mind.

Persis called for a maid to bring in some tea and took a seat on the sofa himself. Heind asked again, “What the hell happened?”

Persis recounted all the events that led to May becoming his son as if it were no big deal.

“So you decided to raise her as a boy?”

Persis’s answer was shamelessly straightforward.

“It was her own choice. I just gave her the opportunity.”

Heint was speechless for a moment, stunned by Perseus’s audacity.

“Do you really intend to raise May as a boy?”

“I needed a son.”

“I don’t even know what to say.”

Heint chuckled nervously as he watched Perseus leisurely sip his tea brought in by the maid.

Persis placed the teacup on the table.

“Why have you come back here?” Hind asked, his earlier anger dissipating as he avoided eye contact and pursed his lips.

He hesitated, unsure if he should say what he was about to do.

It was Persis who spoke next, voicing his own thoughts.

“You’re planning to adopt that child, Stella?”

Stella’s biological parents were unable to register her in the family registry, but she couldn’t remain stateless forever. Persis didn’t want to send her to an orphanage like himself, so the only solution was for Hind to adopt her.

“That’s the only way to raise her in Nazareth. But…,” Hind trailed off, unable to confidently declare that he would adopt Stella.

He had a reason for his hesitation: his lost son.

“How can a person like me take care of someone else? Someone who lost his own son, whose wife committed suicide because of it…”

Heint had to shoulder responsibility for his lost son and deceased wife alone.

His eyes grew red, and it seemed as if tears would spill at the slightest touch.

Persis advised him coolly.

“You don’t have to take responsibility for your brother’s daughter. There’s no reason for you to raise her when even her birth mother wouldn’t. Besides, where do you think a child who wants to go to Nazareth instead of an orphanage would end up?”

“Well, that’s true. Have you ever considered raising her as your own daughter?” Persis’ words hit Hind like a punch to the gut.

In truth, he had considered it deeply.

After becoming the head of the family, there was not enough time to put Stella on the family register, so it overflowed. After registering and filling out the paperwork, it’s over.

But why couldn’t he do it himself?

He still didn’t dare to accept the child as his own daughter.

Every night, he still dreamed of his deceased wife holding their lost son and smiling brightly.

He knew full well that he wasn’t qualified to raise anyone.

“For now, just live like this. When you sincerely want to take her in, it won’t be too late.”

Heint shook his head and buried his face in his palms.

“… Yeah.”

***

At that moment, Stella’s room at Count Nazareth’s estate was spacious and luxurious, so pink that no one could have anticipated that the room’s owner had never received love from their parents.

In that room, there was a platinum blonde girl with wavy hair that would come undone if she slept with it tied up when she was younger.

The crystal-clear, sparkling eyes of the girl, as if embroidered with amethyst, were directed towards a certain notebook. The notebook had one name written on it.

[Persis Flotina]

The girl picked up a white feathered fountain pen. Without hesitation, she wrote one more name under that noble name.

Her own name and his last name.

[Stella Flotina]

That was the name of the original protagonist.

T/N: if you guys see change in names of the characters please don’t mind i was too lazy to change them.