Chapter 21

<If we had found you first, you wouldn’t have had to go through such terrible things… It’s heartbreaking that I couldn’t repay that kindness sooner.>

<…It’s okay.>

<Legally, we’re your sponsors, but we think of you as family. So please feel free here as much as you want.>

The fortune given to Serenia was a fruit of goodwill sown long ago by her father.

During the days when war still raged at the border, Serenia’s father had once saved the life of the head of the Delaroz family. The Delaroz lord couldn’t immediately find his savior, who had disappeared after saving him, and by the time they finally uncovered Serenia’s father’s whereabouts, he had already died in a terrible bandit raid.

Because her life was always a cycle of misfortune and luck, Serenia feared great fortune even more than immediate misfortune. She always saw the shadow of misfortune lurking behind it.

Unlike the orphanage, the Delaroz mansion spared no expense, even for an unfamiliar child, giving her fine clothes and food. On her first day at the mansion, Serenia lay almost buried in a huge bed, anxiously glancing around the large and luxurious room.

<…This is strange.>

Even the soft, warm blanket wrapping her body made her uneasy. She couldn’t sleep well, afraid that if she closed her eyes, another misfortune would arrive.

Contrary to young Serenia’s worries, Helena, who had always wanted a daughter among her three sons, found Serenia absolutely adorable. Though the same age as her youngest son, Serenia was much smaller and looked younger, instantly stirring Helena’s maternal instincts. Helena cherished Serenia as if she were truly her youngest daughter.

If the wind blew, she worried Serenia would fly away; if it rained, she worried she’d get wet; if it snowed, she worried she’d slip. Helena treated Serenia like a precious glass ornament, to the point that outsiders would think she was her real daughter.

The story of a child losing both parents at a young age moved not only Helena but everyone in the mansion, so all looked at Serenia with kind and sympathetic eyes.

Except for one person.

<You look more useful than my brother.>

Lost in the mansion, Serenia arrived at the training hall. In the wide, empty yard, a boy was swinging a wooden sword at the air. He sized up Serenia from head to toe and, with a blunt assessment, tossed a wooden sword at her.

<I—I don’t really know how to use a sword…>

<Just hold it and move. I’ll take care of the rest.>

The boy grinned confidently and urged her to pick up the sword. As soon as she awkwardly grabbed it, the sword sliced through the air toward her.

<Uh!>

<Oh, you’re actually pretty quick?>

As soon as she sensed the sword was about to touch her, she twisted her body away. But the boy hadn’t meant to hit her—the sword stopped with plenty of distance before reaching her. He clapped, genuinely impressed that Serenia moved away before he halted his swing.

After being used as a live practice dummy, Serenia was stunned. No one else in the mansion had ever treated her so roughly. Even Delaroz’s young masters, Serion and Kyle, would take books from her hands if she passed by, just to help her.

<Aren’t you bored alone? Want to be my sparring partner?>

<Me? Can I?>

<Judging by how you grip the sword, it’s not your first time, is it?>

Startled, Serenia glanced down at her tightly gripped sword handle.

She’d said she didn’t know swordsmanship “well,” not that she “couldn’t” do it.

The Delaroz family had no interest in swordplay, so no one connected Serenia with it. They encouraged her to pursue typical noble hobbies like reading, embroidery, and other arts, so Serenia tried her best to fit their expectations.

‘I don’t want to disappoint anyone.’

To keep fortune from turning into misfortune, she followed what others wanted. The sympathetic gazes that followed her since birth grew heavier each day, but she knew it was kindness, so she never complained.

‘Can I really stay here?’

The kinder Helena and the others were, the more Serenia worried that their kindness might one day be sacrificed to her next misfortune. The more favors she received, the more her anxiety grew. In this place where nothing seemed lacking, all she could do was watch as her debts grew every day.

<Why? Don’t want to be my sparring partner?>

<It’s not that…>

<My brothers are useless. You’re the best in this house.>

It was the first time Serenia realized that overwhelming kindness could be suffocating. Maybe that was the misfortune creeping up on her, unnoticed. Despite being a child who couldn’t survive alone, the burden of possibly never repaying all the kindness she received weighed on her. In her anxiety, the only person who asked her to do something for him, who told her she was useful, was this boy.

Ironically, his blunt requests did more to release her tension than any of the gentle care she received.

Someone who needed her.

Someone she could help.

Someone who didn’t pity her.

Serenia, recalling her childhood, straightened the wooden sword in her hand. The boy’s slightly annoyed face slowly brightened. He lifted the corners of his mouth, eyes shining with excitement, like someone who’d found a fun new toy. Serenia smiled back, just a little.

<Just dodge?>

<Why? Think you might manage an attack?>

<…I’ll have to try.>

<Wow, do I look easy to you?>

His pride seemingly pricked, the boy snorted in disbelief. The afternoon sun slid gently over his wrinkled nose. The sunlight behind him was dazzling, and the dust swirling around sparkled in the light.

<Do you know who I am?>

The boy’s gaze, pointed at the tip of the wooden sword, flashed sharply. Serenia didn’t answer his provocative question; she just lifted the corner of her mouth. In this mansion, there was only one person who could speak so confidently and arrogantly.

Lucien Delaroz.

The name she’d only heard from Helena now appeared before her, shining in perfect form.