Pu!"
"L-lord Brother?"
"It's nothing. Haha."
Under Alicia's concerned look, Roel shrugged it off with a laugh as he glanced at the top of her head. Due to the two year age gap between them, Alicia was half a head shorter than him, so the 'Affection Points +1000' was practically sticking right next to his face.
Holy moly! 1000 Affections Points! A freaking four-digit figure!
Roel was screaming frenziedly in his mind, and he had a strong urge to do a celebratory dance right on the spot. While the Emblem of Glory probably played a huge role too, it was still unbelievable to him that a four-digit figure would roll in just by feeding Alicia a spoonful of meat. This was way better than him tearing up before Anna earlier on!
Roel turned to look at Alicia with his golden eyes once more, and this time, other than pity, his eyes also carried a hint of joy too.
By brushing up Alicia's affection, not only will I be able to avert my death flag, I'll be able to strike it rich too! This is killing two birds with one stone!
"Come, have another mouthful. Ah——"
"Glomp."
Affection Points +50!
"Alicia, this beetroot is delicious. Have a taste."
"Un… Glomp."
Affections Points +70!
"This is the orange juice that goes well with the specialty wine that Viscount Ross gave our father. It has a citrusy sweetness to it. You should have a try."
"Glub glub… Lord Brother, this orange juice is really, really sweet!"
"Isn't it so? I also think it's delicious too."
Affection Points +100!
It was as if a switch inside Roel had been flicked on when he saw how numbers that kept popping up above Alicia's head. He immediately got into his overly doting brother mode and ordered his servants to grab everything delicious that he could think of within the house and bring it over here.
"Bring me the chocolates that Viscount Ryan sent me for my birthday this year."
"Bring me the milk candy that my father gave me."
Quick, just bring everything here!
Standing behind the duo, Anna stared in googly eyes as she watched how the selfish and bad-tempered young master she struggled to handle unhesitatingly brought out all of the good stuff he had stashed away to share them with Anna. Even the Seven-colored Royal Macarons that he couldn't bear to eat went right into Alicia's mouth, as if fearing that she wouldn't have enough to eat.
What in the world is going on? Does the young master really like his new adopted sister so much? It doesn't make sense for their relationship to have proceeded to such an extent so quickly… Or could it be that…
Anna's eyes widened even larger. Looking at the loving siblings before her, she thought that she might have just inadvertently stumbled upon the truth.
Heh, is that how it is? Well, I must admit that Miss Alicia is a beauty in the making.
Looking at the blissfully smiling silver-haired girl, Anna's lips inched upward to form a knowing adult smile.
That explains why the young master acted so out of character the first time they met. It turns out that he has fallen in love with little Alicia at first sight! I must say, children nowadays sure mature fast!
Anna placed her hand dreamily on her slightly reddened cheeks as her imagination ran off in a direction that wasn't particularly family-friendly. But soon enough, she snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the little duo before her with a worried frown.
While it was gladdening to see that the two of them were getting along well, it was a pity that Alicia was the daughter of a baron house. With such a background, it would be nearly impossible for her to marry into a marquess house… Wait a moment, that was not right!
Anna, who was just about to arbitrarily proclaim that this budding romance would end in tragedy, suddenly thought of another factor that she had neglected—the crisis the Ascart House faced over its lack of offspring.
The Ascart House was a distinguished noble lineage with many years of history behind it, but consecutive generations of poor birth rates had resulted in Marquess Carter and his sole son, Roel, to be the only ones left in the lineage. Under such circumstances, it would be unwise for Roel to seek a political marriage with other houses.
The reason was simple—they would be in a vulnerable position if the other party coveted their wealth.
It was a known fact that Roel was the only successor to the Ascart House, which meant he would eventually inherit Marquess Carter's position. If any nobles were to covet the Ascart House's wealth and power, they could simply marry their daughter to Roel and seek an opportunity to do away with him. The Ascart House would then be left without a successor, thus placing Roel's wife next in the line of succession.
Such vile acts had already happened several times in history to houses with few members in their lineage. While such actions were frowned upon in the circle of nobility, there was little that could be done if there was no evidence to convict the culprits, and culprits were rarely foolish enough to leave behind any incriminating evidence.
Looking at it from such a perspective, Alicia would indeed be a better option. Despite her lower lineage, she was in an advantageous position due to the close ties between the Ascart House and the baron house that she had descended from, which meant that the Ascart House had a good grasp of Alicia's background as well.
As long as the little duo could cultivate feelings for one another from a young age, Alicia would indubitably be the best candidate as Roel's wife!
Perhaps, the old master leaving to deal with some urgent matters might even have been part of the plan as well to create an opportunity for the young master to get close to Miss Alicia. This would mean that Miss Alicia has already been internally decided as young master Roel's future wife!
What about Alicia's identity as an adopted child of the Ascart House, you may ask? That didn't pose a problem at all. All they had to do was to send Alicia out to be adopted by another house before having Roel to marry her back into the Ascart House!
Having come up with a complete scenario in her mind, Anna looked at Alicia with gleaming eyes. She felt like she had managed to peer through the intricate fabrics of the circle of nobility to arrive at the truth. What she didn't know was that none of what she had just come up with had ever flashed across Roel's mind.
All Roel could think of right now were the rows of Affection Points popping up above Alicia's head.
+60 Affection Points! +75 Affection Points! +110 Affection Points! +95 Affection Points…
Roel felt as if he was watching an ATM machine shooting out banknotes all over the air. His Affection Points were increasing at an incredible pace, surpassing the 2000 mark within a short span of time.
But as the saying went, 'the overeager won't be able to eat hot tofu'. It was not wise for him to rush things right now. As compared to the initial swift increment, the Affection Points rising above Alicia's head were growing fewer and fewer, and Roel knew exactly the reason behind that.
"Lord Brother, I-I can't eat anymore."
With a huge feast of delicacies and desserts placed before her, the silver-haired girl rubbed her stomach and spoke up in embarrassment.
Faced with such a situation, Roel knew it would be best to wrap things up here. He was already more than contented to have been able to earn over 2000 Affection Points in a single meal, and Alicia did have a little too much to eat.
"Since you're full, let's end this luncheon here. Out of consideration that you aren't able to use a fork and knife properly yet, you'll have your meals with me for the time being."
"Ah? H-how can that do? To impose so much on Lord Brother would be…"
"Hm? Are you averse to the idea?"
"No! There's no way I would be! I'm just afraid that I'll be troubling you too much…"
"It's no trouble at all. You're my little sister, and this is what I should do as your older brother. You need not think of it that way."
I'll brawl with anyone who dares to say otherwise!
With a grand wave of his hand, Roel dispelled the final unease in Alicia's heart. The silver-haired girl smiled with a slightly reddened glow on her face, and a series of numbers appeared above her head once more.
Affection Points +500!
Uwaa! Alicia, are you an angel? You don't know how much I love you right now!
Roel was deeply touched by this final sum he received. He bade farewell to Alicia before the latter proceeded to leave the dining room. This time around, however, her treatment was far better than before.
"Miss Alicia, please be careful."
Due to Alicia's shorter stature, the chairs in the dining room were a little too tall for her, such that her feet were unable to reach the ground. She was just about to hop down the chair when three maids suddenly rushed forward to support her. Their attitude toward Alicia was much more amiable than before, treating her with the respect that a daughter of a marquess house deserved.
"Please hold my hand."
"Be careful."
Alicia was treated like a fragile porcelain doll as the servants carefully supported her down from the chair. She pondered a while over the sudden change in the attitude of these adults before finally turning to look at Roel with gratitude in her eyes.
Affection Points +500!
"Thank you, Lord Brother."
"Hm? It's nothing much. I'll be seeing you later for dinner."
"Un! I'll be taking my leave then."
Alicia courteously lifted her skirt slightly and curtsied before leaving the dining hall a little reluctantly.
After seeing off his beloved adopted sister, Roel was finally able to get back to his meal. He was too focused on feeding Alicia and earning Affection Points earlier that he hadn't been able to eat anything.
"Hm? Why is there another 500 Affection Points?" Roel muttered under his breath while chewing on his lamb steak.
Another additional 500 Affection Points had suddenly been added to him, causing the total amount of Affection Points he had to rise beyond 3000.
The fact that he was able to earn so many Affection Points within just a few hours was indubitably good news for both him and the Ascart House. The more Affection Points he earned, the lower the chance of the Ascart House declining and him turning into a tragic cannon fodder villain.
After this huge harvest, it was time to move on to the next step, and that was to try out the Affection Points Exchange Shop and see if it was really possible to make purchases.
Otherwise, if he were to find that there was some hidden caveat behind the Affection Points Exchange Shop after saving several hundred thousand Affection Points, it would really be a huge tragedy.
To be safe, it was best for him to try it out first.
Having made up his mind, Roel turned his sights toward the Affection Points Exchange Shop.