Liantin and Joffrey swapped their test papers when the professor wasn’t looking.

I frowned as I watched them from behind.

‘What are they doing now?’

There wasn’t much time left for the test.

It was almost over, and they were swapping papers?

The test paper Liantin got from Joffrey looked almost blank.

She hurriedly started writing on the paper she got from him.

But naturally, time wasn’t enough.

She barely wrote anything when the professor collected the test papers.

Liantin’s face turned pale white.

‘If that’s the case, why did she swap the papers?’

I tilted my head in confusion.

The professor, having collected all the papers, said,

“We will form groups based on your test scores. The group with the highest achievement will receive special points, so everyone, please do your best.”

In other words, the groups formed by this test were important.

‘The smarter kids grouped together will perform better. That’s obvious.’

The morning class ended with the test.

Since many kids were young, the class was short.

Joffrey left the training room with a smug smile.

One by one, the others left as well.

“Hey... Aren’t you going?”

Dionera asked me as I stayed seated.

I said, “I’m going,” and stood up with her.

Just as we were about to step out the training room door, Liantin’s nurse hurriedly ran in.

“Miss, you did as instructed, right?”

“...”

“Miss...”

“I did! I said I did!”

Liantin shouted back, collapsing onto the desk and bursting into tears.

The nurse hugged her and repeatedly patted her back.

“You did well. You really did...”

“I, I studied so hard... I didn’t take a single day off during the break just to get to the intermediate class...!”

“I know, Miss. I know everything.”

As I kept watching them, Dionera gently pulled my hand.

“Don’t want to go...?”

“Yes.”

I went out to the corridor with Dionera.

Liantin’s crying continued until we reached the end of the hall.

Dionera sighed as we walked.

“Sis, is something sad?”

“Huh? No... I just felt sorry seeing Liantin...”

“Why?”

Dionera looked around cautiously and lowered her voice.

“Try to avoid Joffrey if you can.”

“...?”

“Joffrey’s father, Uncle Balderic, is a scary man.”

“Balderic?”

“Yes. Balderic’s jurisdiction is the most fertile land, and the shopping district is nearby, so it’s prospered greatly. Seems like he lent a lot of money to relatives, including ours...”

I understood what that meant.

Since the grandfather’s attack incident, most jurisdictions had their budgets drastically cut.

Plus, this year had many disasters.

So they had no choice but to borrow heavily from Joffrey’s father.

“The kids have to listen to what Joffrey says. Otherwise, their parents would be in trouble...”

I wondered why Joffrey, who wasn’t even in the 7th rank, was so reckless.

He had someone to rely on.

‘Liantin probably had no choice but to swap test papers because of her parents.’

She was mean but loved her parents very much.

When Uncle Deconz and his wife looked at their only daughter, their eyes practically dripped honey.

I sighed softly.

After lunch.

The kids gathered by the lake in front of the new building and played.

It was close to the dining hall and always crowded at lunchtime.

Dionera cautiously approached me sitting on a bench, tapping her feet anxiously.

“Do you like chocolate pie?”

“Yes!”

“Good.”

She opened a rattan picnic bag.

Inside were two palm-sized round chocolate pies.

They smelled nutty, sprinkled with crushed nuts.

“There’s milk too!”

“Sit here too, sis.”

I tapped the seat beside me.

Dionera happily sat down.

We sat side by side, munching the pies.

Then, someone rested their chin on my shoulder.

“Me too.”

I looked and saw Balzac, very tired, eyeing my pie.

I tore off a bit and fed it to him.

He chewed well.

After swallowing the piece, Balzac stretched and came over in front of me, accompanied by Joshua.

“Baby, didn’t you just eat lunch?”

“Balzac, you want more too.”

“I haven’t eaten lunch yet.”

“Why?”

“Training ended late, so I’m eating now.”

Then he said with a grim expression, “This swordsmanship teacher kills people.”

I vaguely remembered hearing that Conrad’s swordsmanship instructor was strict.

Balzac glanced at me, then glanced sideways at Dionera.

“What? You were here too?”

“Ah, ah, no, no, h-hello...”

Her voice was so small I could barely hear it.

Balzac frowned.

“What did you say? Speak up.”

Dionera shrank her neck like a turtle, face pale blue.

Poor little beast was scared.

I hugged Dionera and told the twins,

“Don’t scare her, okay?”

“When did I? Dionera, did I scare you?”

“Ah, ah, a-a-a-a-a!”

“...”

“...”

“...”

The twins and I quietly watched Dionera trembling.

Joshua spoke sweetly.

“You don’t have to be scared. People who get along with Erilot aren’t disliked.”

“Y-yeah.”

Still, Dionera didn’t relax.

Balzac shrugged helplessly.

“They say the beginner class has practical training in the afternoon?”

“What’s that?”

“Didn’t you know? They train in groups like actual combat. The 2-year-olds watch.”

“Even Abami?”

“Yes, they all stayed at the castle last night.”

“Wow.”

“Joffrey is already excited. Grandpa said he’d stop by briefly too. Seems like he wants to impress this time.”

Joshua patted my head.

“Be careful, Erilot. If it seems dangerous, give up immediately.”

“Okay!”

The twins said goodbye, seemingly off to eat.

I waved my hand.

After they left, Dionera sighed with relief.

“Sis, are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

She didn’t look okay at all. Her face was still pale.

When I looked at her, Dionera smiled awkwardly.

“I’m not only scared of Balzac and Joshua but also uncomfortable around my cousins...”

“...”

“Since I was teased, I’ve been uneasy... I have such black hair. Because it looks dark and gloomy, the kids call me a crow...”

Dionera hesitated and scratched her head.

“If the afternoon class is practical training, the groups should be out. I’ll go check!”

She hurried off.

I stared at her back.

‘I should go too.’

If grandpa is watching the afternoon class, I should prepare somewhat.

I left the lake and entered the new building.

Then headed to my room.

I opened the door and sat on the bed, sighing, “Ah, go go.”

‘Playing every day makes me tired.’

Then I glanced to the side.

‘...What?’

The bedside table drawer was slightly open.

I hadn’t touched the bedside table yesterday.

Nor had the servants left anything scattered there.

From my experience as Yoo Hyemin, I wasn’t the kind to let this slide easily.

My half-sibling often rummaged through my room and stole things.

‘Did someone steal something?’

That’s unlikely.

I always keep all my valuables carefully tucked in my handbag.

That includes enhancement stones I kept for myself and gems I brought just in case.

‘It’s not stolen.’

No one would think a three-year-old’s room had anything worth stealing.

Then...

‘It must have been put there.’

I got up and searched the room.

Not the bedside table.

Not the drawer.

Not the cabinet.

‘Could it be...’

I hurried to the dressing room.

I searched the pockets of hanging clothes one by one.

When I touched the pocket of a coat hanging in the middle, I felt something blunt.

Taking it out, it was a fountain pen.

[“Joffrey Astra”]

—A very luxurious fountain pen.

I knew this item.

It had appeared in Ice.Dark.Hand as well.

Joffrey Astra always proudly took out a golden fountain pen from his pocket whenever he signed documents.

It was made with an astronomical sum for his 6th birthday by his father.

I had never brought anything like this.

‘Someone put it here.’

And it was obvious who put it.

Someone who could easily come and go in my room and obey Joffrey’s orders.

That nursery maid who had been clinging to Mrs. Sarah, Joffrey’s nurse, and fawning on her just this morning.

‘She must have been very displeased that I got more attention than her yesterday.’

So she wanted to torment me, but since the twins were there, she couldn’t do it physically.

‘Joffrey was the most worrying among the direct heirs.’

He was the nastiest and lowest among the three-year-olds.

‘Just in my dreams yesterday...’

“It’s your fault, Erilot!”

“It was strange from the start that you came to Dahlia’s birthday party. You deliberately took a corner seat and led Dahlia to come here. Isn’t that right?”

She just blurts out whatever comes to her mouth.

She doesn’t try to understand the circumstances, nor does she consider how her words might hurt others.

‘If she comes at me like this, I can’t just stay silent.’

I clenched the fountain pen and smirked.

Where I headed was the beginner training room.

Inside the room were two kids.

Dionera and Liantin.

I went between them and checked the parchment posted on the wall.

Group A — Joffrey, Adam, Fabio.

.

.

Group D — Erilot, Liantin, Dionera.

It seemed the groups were ordered by grades.

Liantin bit her lips hard, barely holding back tears.

‘I pretended to be a kid and wrote answers roughly.’

Liantin looked like the sky was falling.

Dionera... well.

“I’m in the last group? No way.”

Dionera glanced nervously at Liantin.

“If, if we work together, we might get good grades...”

“Do you know how to add?”

“Up to two digits...”

“What about multiplication!”

“...”

“How many ancient letters do you know?”

“I, I know up to ‘Girin’ (the equivalent of the Korean ㄱ)...”

Liantin collapsed, sobbing loudly.

I squatted and looked at Liantin.

“Liantin, you swapped test papers with Joffrey.”

“Did you see that?!”

“Yeah.”

“Are you going to... tell?”

Liantin looked terrified.

“Don’t {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} say anything... If Joffrey finds out, there’ll be chaos.”

“Joffrey is bad, right?”

“Of course. He’s always threatening us. Because of his father, our parents are always struggling! They even charge interest between siblings...”

This time, I looked up at Dionera.

“You don’t like being called a crow, right?”

“Yeah...”

She smiled faintly and stood up.

“Then want to get revenge?”

Both of them looked wide-eyed at me.

“Revenge...?”

“Revenge?”

I nodded.

Dionera nervously fiddled with her fingers, glancing at me, then shrinking her neck awkwardly.

“Then... would you play with me?”

“Of course!”

Even aside from this, I would play with her, so Dionera’s face brightened instantly.

She grabbed my hand quickly.

“Then let’s do it.”

“Good.”

I looked at Liantin again.

“And you?”

Liantin bit her lips tight and looked at me sullenly.

‘Still no?’

She would probably hate me.

But I thought an enemy’s enemy might be a temporary ally.

Liantin spoke.

“Me!”

“...?”

“...I really like that kind of thing.”

She stood up and dusted off her dress with a slap.

“I’m really good at bothering others.”

“Yeah! That’s your specialty!”

“Right!”

The three of us formed a small circle.

The mean me and Liantin giggled, and good Dionera followed with a “Hehe?”

‘Just wait, you petty brat.’

The afternoon class was the rumored parent-observed training exercise.

The kids in the beginner class changed into training clothes and hurried to the training ground.

Parents sitting on the stage watched their children and waved lightly.

Daymond also scanned the kids to find his daughter.

A brother beside him said,

“Erilot is over there, sir.”

Among the girls with long hair tied in one, there was Erilot with braids beside her ears.

“Her hair is braided today. Cute.”

The brother laughed.

Daymond gave a solemn order.

“Prepare.”

Then the soldiers, aides, and managers surrounding Daymond all raised sketchbooks simultaneously.

When Daymond summoned staff from the factory, he saw only one thing.

“You, you’re good at drawing?”

Thinking back, he only had a portrait from when Erilot stayed at the 12th estate, and no current portraits.

In the estate without a daughter, he lamented his shortcomings.

‘I want to see her, but there is no portrait.’

He couldn’t bring a painter.

He received multiple inquiries from the factory asking if he really wanted a painter.

The thugs who didn’t understand his deep denial about his daughter said they couldn’t let a painter enter.

They worried the painter might draw and smuggle out estate maps.

Recalling the past, Daymond clicked his tongue and declared,

“Don’t miss a single eyelash or a single mole.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

As the soldiers eagerly focused their eyes on Erilot, the brother was stunned.

‘...Is he crazy?’

While the soldiers sketched with bloodshot eyes, Erilot turned around to the stage.

“Abami!”

Jumping and waving her arms, Daymond smiled gently and nodded.