HSTYM 02

Chapter 2

Around the time Xenon turned ten, people began saying that it was about time to start his heir training.

However, Marquis Velks’s position was firm.

He said they should at least wait until Xenon became an adult before discussing it.

But saying that he would only receive heir training after becoming an adult was basically the same as saying he would raise the child to be an idiot and then throw him out.

As a result, those who served the Duke of Lianeric ended up like dogs chasing a chicken that had already gotten away. Among those people was Herace’s father, Viscount Lorca.

He seemed unable to abandon his loyalty to the deceased Duke of Lianeric. But even those loyal servants were slowly losing hope in Xenon, so the boy had become nothing more than a burden that was difficult to deal with and equally difficult to take responsibility for.

“Anyway, that’s how things turned out, so let’s hurry to Lambert Mansion.”

Lambert Mansion was the townhouse the Duke of Lianeric had used while he was alive. Now that his entire family was dead, it was the place where the young master of the Lianeric family, Xenon, lived alone.

How old did he say the boy was again? One year older than me? Two years older?

Either way, making a boy of around sixteen live alone in such a huge mansion was proof that Marquis Velks was a heartless man.

“Right now? Like this?”

But that was that, and this was this.

The boy’s unfortunate situation wasn’t enough of a reason for Herace to put up with the trouble.

She showed the embroidery book tucked under her arm and the plain everyday dress she was wearing, then asked with an absurd expression,

“Look at me right now.”

“The embroidery teacher won’t be coming from today, and as for your clothes… they’ll be outside the young master’s concerns.”

Even her deeply loyal father seemed unable to overlook the young master’s strange personality. He quietly avoided her eyes as he spoke.

Herace silently stared at her father, whose eyes were darting around, and thought for a moment.

Can this really happen?

She had gone through all the trouble of transmigrating into a romance-fantasy novel, yet she didn’t even know what book this was, and nothing had happened at all.

There was no tyrant father, no crazy second male lead, and no villainess.

It was such a boring world.

Having lived fourteen years in a position that was neither particularly special nor particularly miserable, Herace instinctively felt that today would be a turning point in her life.

‘Could he be the duke male lead…?’

When she thought about it, it made sense.

Wasn’t the male lead usually either a duke or a crown prince?

But there was no way someone like her would ever meet a crown prince. If he was the son of a duke, he was probably the main character, the second main character, or at least someone important enough to be connected to them.

Judging by her own background as a pathetic viscount’s daughter, it seemed she hadn’t transmigrated into the protagonist.

Still, she was curious to know what the protagonists were like.

Besides, even if he was nothing more than an abandoned young master who had been pushed into the background, having her face remembered by him might be useful someday.

Half out of curiosity, Herace made her decision.

She handed the embroidery book to the maid beside her and answered,

“All right.”

“Thank you, Herace!”

Although Viscount Lorca had announced it as if it were already decided, he must have been quite nervous because he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked delighted.

Seeing him like that, Herace gave a small smile.

Father really is something. Is playing with one child such a big deal?

Besides, being able to escape those annoying embroidery lessons might actually be a good thing for Herace too.

With that thought, she innocently remained that way until the moment she got into the carriage heading straight to Lambert Mansion.

Lambert Mansion had once been famous as the most magnificent mansion in the capital, and its appearance was truly overwhelming.

After passing through a golden gate decorated with a relief of a lion with its mouth open and crossing a garden that seemed to stretch endlessly, they saw dozens of maids standing in a line with their heads bowed.

As Herace got out of the carriage after Viscount Lorca, she realized that, despite being the daughter of a vassal, this was actually her first time visiting the mansion.

She had often heard about the wealth of the Lianeric ducal family, but she had never imagined it was this immense.

While Herace was looking around in a daze, a middle-aged man who appeared to be the butler approached them and greeted them.

“Welcome, Viscount Lorca.”

“Good to see you. How is the young master doing?”

While the two men exchanged greetings, Herace looked around the perfectly maintained garden and silently whistled.

I heard he was a useless burden who had been thrown out of the main family, but if this is what being a useless burden looks like, it doesn’t seem too bad.

“Is this the young lady?”

The butler seemed to recognize Herace standing behind Viscount Lorca.

The viscount nodded with a rather proud expression and placed a hand on Herace’s shoulder, bringing her forward.

“Her name is Herace.”

Herace looked up at the butler with an awkward expression.

He smiled kindly and slightly bent his waist toward her.

His dark, wood-colored eyes reflected Herace’s confused face.

“What a lovely young lady. I’m sure the young master will like her, and she’ll get along well with the other playmates too.”

‘Other playmates?’

Didn’t they all run away because they had no perseverance?

Herace turned to Viscount Lorca with a look that clearly asked what was going on.

But the viscount seemed pleased with the butler’s assessment. He was too busy smiling broadly and placing Herace’s shoulder into the butler’s hands.

“That’s a relief! I just hope the young master likes Herace. Please take good care of her.”

After leaving Herace with the butler, Viscount Lorca turned toward his daughter with a bright smile.

“I’ll come back in four hours. Have fun playing, then.”

“……”

Leaving Herace speechless, Viscount Lorca returned to the carriage he had arrived in.

As soon as the viscount disappeared, the kind-looking butler slightly bowed and politely asked,

“Then, shall we go see the young master now, Miss?”

“Okay.”

When had she ever had a choice about coming to this mansion?

She had simply been chosen as a playmate without even realizing it.

Besides, she was only curious whether the son of a duke might be connected to the main characters from the novels she had read.

So Herace nodded without giving it much thought and followed the butler.

The moment the butler opened the mansion door and walked inside, Herace belatedly realized something.

Her father hadn’t even entered the reception room before leaving.

No noble family would ever leave a guest standing at the door and send them away like that.

Yet Viscount Lorca and the butler looked so accustomed to it that they seemed to have planned it together.

Her small question was answered easily as soon as she entered the mansion’s hall.

From somewhere, there came a sound like—

BOOM!

It sounded as though a bomb had exploded.

Startled by the explosion that shook the entire mansion, Herace covered her ears and trembled.

But the butler seemed accustomed to such noises and continued walking without hesitation.

“There!”

“The young master is playing with the others in the garden right now.”

“That’s not what I—”

The butler disappeared toward the back of the mansion without giving her a chance to finish.

Herace had no choice but to run after him so she wouldn’t lose sight of him.

The further they went, the louder the crashing sounds became.

Mixed among the noises were screams of all sizes.

“Eeeek!”

‘What on earth is this place?’

Was this really the famous Lambert Mansion in the capital?

She had no idea where her father had dumped her and run away.

In the middle of her confusion, the butler suddenly stopped.

Then the garden behind the mansion came into view.

The beautiful, carefully maintained garden was filled with something completely unexpected.

Five black lumps of mana were floating in the air, threatening boys and girls around the same age.

“Help me!”

“Move! This is my spot!”

Screams were coming from every direction.

And at the center of it all sat a single boy.

There was also a black, spherical lump of mana floating in his hand.

The well-dressed boys and girls of his age were desperately trying to avoid the mana spheres.

“Ha-ha.”

Among them, Herace noticed a boy with black hair.

His hair was slightly wet, as if he had just washed it, and his complexion wasn’t bad, but the area beneath his eyes was somewhat hollow.

His sharp jaw still had some childish softness to it, and his high nose bridge gave him a striking appearance that made one curious about how handsome he would become in a few years.

The boy smiled gently with his eyes, sat cross-legged on a chair, and rested his chin on his hand.

“Try running away a little more. You can do better than that.”

His voice was surprisingly low for a boy who hadn’t even fully gone through puberty yet, scraping across the floor like a growl.