Time to go for an all-out fight!
In Marquess Carter's study room, Roel touched the emblem pinned on his chest with a solemn expression on his face, reminiscent of a Pendor Knight drawing his blade prior to the start of a battle.
Today was the adopted Alicia's first day in the Ascart House, so it was bound to be an important occasion to her. However, due to his recollection of his past memories, Roel 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!
Roel examined the black-haired, gold-eyed boy reflected in the mirror before him as he squeezed his slightly chubby but attractive face. Once again, he affirmed himself.
Yep, 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 about to march into.
He might not have left a good first impression on Alicia, but there was still a chance to salvage the situation. With this item aiding him, he would make sure to brush up Alicia's affection for him and destroy the death flag in its cradle!
But first and foremost, Roel felt that he should find someone to try his hand first.
"Anna, 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 who was assigned to take care of Roel'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.
Roel Ascart was rather notorious for his spiteful mischief. Due to him losing his mother at a young age, his father, Marquess Carter, doted on him excessively, not bearing to hit or scold him in the least. He viewed it as a way to make up for Roel'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 10-year-old Roel. 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 Ascarts' manor 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.
Anna, 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.
Is this just spontaneous action, or is there a deeper, nefarious plot behind this?
As a professional, Anna maintained a smile on her lips while her heart thumped in wariness.
On the other hand, Roel 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 Karon 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 began falling on the ground like raindrops, unable to be dried no matter how he tried to wipe them with his hands.
Such a sight gave Anna the scare of her life. She quickly kneeled down to wipe away little Roel's tears.
"Young master, it'll be alright. Those are just lies," explained Anna 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 Karon Forest would never dare to attack the Ascart House."
"I-is that true?"
"Yes, it's true."
Anna 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.
"Anna… I'm sorry for scolding you yesterday."
"Hm?"
Before Anna 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!" Anna 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?
"Anna, I'll never act that way anymore. Can you forgive Roel?"
The little boy looked at the maid with eyes glistening from tears. The silver emblem pinned on his chest gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight. Faced with such a Roel, Anna found her heart melting bit by bit, and before she knew it, she was already nodding her head.
"Of course!"
"That's great… Ah!"
Roel, who had been devoting all of his emotions into carrying out the script, suddenly yelped out loud, causing Anna to blink her eyes in confusion.
At the moment that Anna agreed to forgive Roel, the little boy saw green light rising from Anna's head, forming a series of words.
(Affection Points +150!)
Holy moly! It's really possible to earn Affection Points like this, and it's more than I thought!
Roel 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 coins then! Experiment, success!
Alicia, I'm really coming now!
…
"L-lord Brother, a pleasant afternoon to you."
It was afternoon, and Marquess Carter had gone out to deal with other affairs, leaving just Roel and Alicia in the spacious dining room for lunch.
As soon as the silver-haired girl saw her slightly older brother, she recalled the frightening look the latter had looked at her with earlier on. She was terrified of him, but she still tried her best to buck up her courage and greet him politely, and to which, Roel replied with a simple nod.
Following that, under the assistance of the maids, Alicia was settled right before Roel on a long dining 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 the hems of her skirt beneath the table. From time to time, she would glance at Roel before swiftly averting her eyes, exposing the trepidation she felt inside.
Roel knew that Alicia was waiting for him to speak up and reveal the reason why they were having this luncheon together.
In noble houses like the Ascart House, whenever the patriarch, Marquess Carter, was not around, children like Roel and Alicia tended 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 Ascart House was not lacking in money, and Roel, as the sole successor, was heavily doted on, he had the authority to change the venue where the luncheon was held at his discretion.
The significance of this deed, however, came across in a different manner to Alicia.
The very first reason that came to Alicia's mind as to why Roel would call her out while their father was away was that Roel wanted to flex his authority and give her a warning. The circle of nobility was very different from how the rest of the world operated. Oppression was common even amongst children, and the lack of maturity in concealing the oppression often resulted in things getting ugly.
There was a huge gap between a daughter adopted from a baron house and the sole son of a marquess house. It was in no way an exaggeration to say that all it took was a word from Roel to turn Alicia's life into a living hell, and she would have no way to retaliate at all.
What? Tell Marquess Carter about it, you say?
Marquess Carter was perhaps an impartial person, and he might protect Alicia in view of his relationship with Alicia's father. However, what would happen when Marquess Carter 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 the same back then too…
Terror flickered across Alicia's crimson eyes as she recalled her past. She raised her head to look at the little boy seated opposite to her, and Roel'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, Roel, was even more nervous than her at the moment!
Damn! How am I supposed to earn the affection of an 8-year-old child?
Roel, who had 30 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 Alicia down to the dining room to have luncheon together was simple enough—how could he win her affection if he wasn't even meeting her?
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, Roel decided to go about it formally in the end.
"Alicia, I neglected to introduce myself earlier because I was feeling a little under the weather. My name is Roel, 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?!
Roel 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 Alicia 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'd be able to walk out of the dining room with our hands held together and head for the garden to play in the mud.
Having failed his first wave of attack, Roel found himself at a loss as to how to proceed. On the other hand, Alicia heaved a sigh of relief.
Distancing herself from others with a courteous front was Alicia's way of protecting herself. For someone who had been bullied and harassed by boys due to her appearance, Alicia 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. Roel was completely helpless against the heavily guarded Alicia, till the servants finally walked in and laid out the cutleries.
"AH!"
While exquisitely designed cutleries were placed gently before the two of them, Alicia suddenly let out a shout of exclamation, confusing the servants. A spark flashed across Roel's mind as he recalled a certain scene inside the game.
Oh right! She's afraid of this!
My chance has come!