CHAPTER 17: THE MAIN CHARACTER

On the edge of the Eidelman Empire lay a tiny village with no name. Generations of commoners had lived here. The locals made their living from hunting and farming. This region was not even marked on the map.

It was a quiet and measured life, the tranquility of which was rarely disturbed.

The village elder was Enoch, a respectable middle-aged man who had been appointed to this position by the villagers themselves. Enoch was a very kind man. He looked after the forest and the village territory, knowing every path and fence by heart.

The residents could turn to him for help at any time, knowing that he would not refuse. Enoch was born and raised in this village.

The village was surrounded on both sides by a large forest, thus shielding it from the outside world. That is why outsiders rarely visited here. Enoch had a responsible job — to protect this entire vast territory.

By the age of forty, the man was no longer alone. Enoch had a little daughter named Angela. The locals adored this charming little girl, unable to believe that such a treasure could be born into the family of an ordinary forester. It was all because of the girl’s unusual appearance and easygoing nature.

Angela had light hair, like molten gold, and emerald eyes. She had delicate skin and delicate features. Any heiress of a noble family would envy the beauty of the forester’s daughter. Even a simple peasant dress could not spoil this.

Nothing was known about Angela’s mother. Rumor had it that the woman had abandoned her husband and newborn daughter almost immediately after giving birth. Since then, Enoch had raised the child alone.

Despite her young age, Angela already helped her father and dreamed of becoming his support when she grew up. The girl wanted to continue her father’s work and stay in this village forever.

But Angela was only ten years old. Enoch promised to take his daughter with him to the forest when she was a little older. Angela looked forward to this with impatience. In the meantime, she helped her father with the household chores as best she could.

When Enoch returned home from work in the evening, dinner was already waiting for him. Father and daughter lived in a small wooden hut at the end of the village. It had only two rooms.

Like most commoners, Angela knew how to do many things for her age. She was not like the pampered children of aristocrats. Today, the girl had cooked a vegetable stew all by herself.

When the front door opened, Angela immediately rushed to hug her father on the threshold.

"Daddy!"

The tired man smiled and hugged her back.

"My girl, did you miss me today?"

Angela shook her head.

"Not at all! I worked hard to cook you a new dish. I also went fishing with the boys in the pond and did the laundry..."

"Wow, that’s a lot."

Enoch smiled. His daughter was only ten, but she was already acting like an adult.

After a short rest, the family sat down to dinner. Mealtimes were always noisy and cheerful. In fact, they didn’t look very much alike, but everyone simply assumed that the girl took after her mother.

"Dad, are you going to the city tomorrow to sell firewood?" Angela asked.

"Yes."

Enoch’s main source of income was selling firewood and other forest resources. Every month, the man would travel to the capital and sell the goods he had collected. Business was especially profitable in winter and autumn, when not only aristocrats but even commoners hurried to stock up.

On those days, Angela usually stayed home alone. But this time, she unexpectedly announced:

"Dad, I want you to take me with you!"

Enoch looked up from his stew and stared at her in surprise.

"Why all of a sudden?"

"I want to help Dad!"

"Um... Are you sure? It’s quite a difficult job."

Angela puffed out her cheeks indignantly.

"Dad, I’m not a little girl anymore. I want to help you with your work too!"

"But..."

Enoch hesitated. The capital was a big city, and Angela had never been there... Wasn’t it too risky?

"Dad!" His daughter’s dissatisfied voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Looking at his daughter, who looked incredibly cute even when she frowned, Enoch couldn’t help but laugh.

"All right," he grumbled pretentiously, "You’ve convinced me!"

"Yay!"

Overjoyed, the girl threw her arms around his neck. The forester couldn’t stop smiling at the sight of her delight. This quiet family idyll between father and daughter was something he wanted to prolong as long as possible.

And yet it was a dream that was not destined to come true. People only learned the forest ranger’s daughter’s big secret several years later. After all, it wasn’t that simple.

Above Angela’s head shone a halo invisible to anyone else. The halo of the main character.

***

No, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not a stalker.

The fact that I’m watching a small child doesn’t mean anything.

One way or another, the image I accidentally caught last time wouldn’t leave me alone. I had to find out who that boy was. The color of his silver hair was too rare to be considered a mere coincidence.

Especially since I’m in an otome game. I had to be careful and know all the workarounds in advance. Especially when it comes to romantic interests. I couldn’t ignore such an important detail.

Just in case, I needed to check this child out and dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. Then I would have no doubts. So when a free day appeared in my schedule, I decided to spend it on research.

Tomorrow, Roger and I are going to an exhibition. Based on that, if I wanted to make sure of something, I had to do it today.

I ordered the carriage to be parked in the city center, and for some time now I had been watching the passers-by. But the "right" child still hadn’t appeared.

Almost three hours had passed. Anyone in my place would have thought that I was just wasting my time.

But...

Just as I was starting to nod off, something silver finally flashed by. I looked closer. It really was that boy!

"Wait for me here!"

After giving the coachman some instructions, I rushed after him. From the outside, what was happening might have seemed strange. But then again, I was only following him because this boy could be a love interest! If I was doing it for survival, there was nothing wrong with that.

I followed the boy discreetly for a while. Until we finally entered an area of the city known as the "entertainment district." Almost every building was either a brothel, a casino, or some other dubious establishment. In any case, no respectable lady would ever set foot here.

But even without knowing anything about the game, this place seemed familiar to me. I could even point out the building where the real Grace used to party. When all these memories flashed through my mind, I felt sick. There you go. And why was this woman’s past like this? Even in the modern world, I would be called a pervert for something like this, let alone in this day and age.

I sighed heavily until I remembered that I wasn’t here for that.

I continued to watch the boy, and soon saw him enter the Blue Lagoon brothel. I recognized him immediately. He was the one I saw in the flashbacks of one of the love stories. His mother worked in that building.

Finally, I was completely convinced.

This boy was twelve-year-old Lionel Ferder.