With silver hair and eyes as deep and serene as a forest, he possessed a strength and valor unimaginable from his composed and handsome appearance—the Silver Lion of the battlefield.  

He was the empire’s greatest knight and the swordsmanship teacher of Prince Gis Carcier Gnoui, the next in line for the throne: Marquis Lotus Byten.  

This place was the Byten Marquisate, known as an impregnable fortress.  

Of all places, she had ended up at the mansion of the pro-emperor faction, where she could never avoid Gis, the future emperor!

Beate anxiously looked up at Marquis Byten, who stood tall before her.  

Since this mansion near the capital became the Byten Marquisate, not a single trespasser had ever set foot inside.  

Who would dare enter the home of the empire’s greatest knight unless they had a death wish?  

Not only the marquis himself, but even many of the household staff were former knights, and the marquis’s own order resided here.  

Yet, the very first intruder had arrived—not a legendary phantom thief, nor a notorious underworld assassin, nor a professional hired by enemies of the marquisate.

The marquis looked down at the tiny girl before him, at a loss for words. Albert, the chief butler, approached and reported the situation to the marquis.

“So this child is from the orphanage?”

“It seems she was playing hide-and-seek with the other children, hid in a supply wagon, and fell asleep, ending up here without realizing it.”

The marquis gazed at Beate, who was about the same age as his youngest daughter, Riley, with a look of pity.  

Since Riley had passed away at thirteen, he had regularly supported the Larre Orphanage in her memory. That orphanage, part of the temple in the Sacred Independent State of Belia—how had this child come to be there?  

He had heard Larre was a place where the temple took in children from fallen noble families who had lost their parents due to poverty, illness, or accidents.

Though her circumstances were unfortunate, his thoughts ended there.  

It was late, and he could show her compassion by letting her stay the night and sending her back tomorrow, but the fact that she was a girl the same age as Riley made things difficult.  

He worried that if his wife, still sensitive from not being able to forget Riley, found out, it might hurt her even more.  

Lotus gave instructions to Albert.

“Feed her dinner and see that she is well cared for, then return her safely to the orphanage.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Lotus withdrew his gaze from Beate. Coldly, he turned his back on the girl who had managed to flee all the way here.  

Cornered, Beate steeled herself. There was no choice between the marquisate and the grand duke’s residence. She had to stay here!  

Even if she ended up meeting Gis, the future emperor, again, she quickly decided the marquisate was far better than the grand duke’s house.

“No, Marquis! Please don’t send me back. I beg you.”

Beate ran over and desperately clung to the marquis’s leg.  

He stopped walking but did not look back at her. In a calm voice, he repeated his instructions to the servants.

“Take the child away and return her to the orphanage.”

At his command, two maids each took one of Beate’s arms.  

Beate struggled with all her strength to break free, but a thirteen-year-old girl could not overpower two grown women.  

She shouted with all her might at the marquis’s retreating back.

“Wait! Please give me a chance. I can help you, Marquis.”

At the girl’s cry, the marquis stopped again and turned to look at her. He asked,

“Help? What kind of help could you possibly offer?”

“I’ll protect you and your family, so that you’re never endangered by the opposition’s schemes in the future.”

Beate knew. In her previous life, she had seen how the anti-emperor faction had schemed to bring down House Byten, supporters of Gis, with their plots.

“You’ll protect me?”

The marquis could hardly believe his ears at the bold claim of a thirteen-year-old.  

She was saying she would protect the empire’s greatest knight and one of its most powerful families?  

Seeing the utterly serious expression on the powerless girl’s face, the marquis was too dumbfounded to even be angry.  

The servants struggled to suppress their laughter at Beate’s absurd words. For those who didn’t know she had returned from the future, their reaction was only natural.

‘Even I wouldn’t believe me.’

But she couldn’t reveal she had returned from the future—that would only make things worse.

‘If I go back to the orphanage, I’ll just live and die the same way as before. I have to find another way to stay here.’

She needed a way to move the marquis’s heart.  

Beate searched her memories from her previous life for an answer.  

Back then, she’d only ever seen Marquis Byten from afar and never spoken to him directly. If only she’d tried to talk to him.  

Still, there was one memorable impression. Was it during her first year serving at the imperial palace, at a luncheon with the emperor?  

She recalled a conversation between the marquis and the emperor that had stuck with her for a long time. It was about Riley’s memorial day.

Furrowing her brow, Beate squeezed her eyes shut, trying to recall the conversation in detail.  

She remembered the emperor had started by saying,

[Four days ago was Riley’s memorial day, wasn’t it?]

[Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you for the flowers you sent.]

The two reminisced about Riley.  

Near the end of the meal, Lotus picked up some asparagus garnish with his fork and said,

[Riley especially hated eating asparagus. Whenever Sophia tried to make her eat it, she’d give me a special signal asking for help.]

The marquis’s eyes softened as if he could see Riley sitting before him.

[What kind of signal?]

[She’d lace her fingers together as if in prayer and lift her left pinky finger—that was her desperate plea for my help. It was our secret signal. I could never resist it, any more than I could disobey Your Majesty’s orders.]

[Haha. She was a charming little lady.]

The two men smiled fondly, remembering Riley.  

The conversation from that day came back to Beate clearly.  

If eight years ago from when she was twenty-one in her previous life, then now was the second year since Riley had died of illness.  

If the marquis had loved his youngest daughter that much…

“Marquis, please…”

Beate suddenly cried out.

“Would you… take me as your daughter?”

Lotus stopped in his tracks.  

Beate’s plea pierced the empty space in his heart.  

He was the kind of man who always looked kindly at girls of Riley’s age.  

Whenever he heard a young girl call out “Father,” even knowing it wasn’t Riley, he’d look over and feel a pang of sadness.  

Lotus turned back and approached Beate.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Beate Beatrice.”

Tears welled up in Beate’s large eyes.  

Lotus almost reached out to embrace the pitiful child, standing there like a baby bird fallen from its nest, but he stopped himself.  

If he let himself get attached, it would only hurt more in the end.  

Even though he knew he was being cold, he averted his gaze from Beate’s desperate eyes.

“Beate, adoption isn’t an easy decision. I don’t think I can grant your request. But if you return to the orphanage, I’ll become your guardian.”

“If I go back to the orphanage, I’ll die.”

“What are you saying? Who would want to harm you?”

“……”

She couldn’t answer that. She only knew she would die, not who or why.

“I’ve heard the orphanage attached to the temple is the safest, most well-managed place for children on the continent. I’ve never heard of any accidents happening there.”

Beate nodded in agreement.

“No matter how much you dislike the orphanage or want to be adopted, you shouldn’t lie about such things.”

“I didn’t say it was because of the orphanage. And it’s not a lie that I’ll die—not right away, but eventually. There are complicated reasons. You wouldn’t believe me even if I explained, so I won’t…”

Beate’s voice grew weaker as she lost confidence.  

Lotus studied her face carefully.  

Judging by her dirty clothes and smudged face, she didn’t look like someone who had just ended up here playing hide-and-seek.  

It really seemed she had her reasons, just as she said.  

Lotus couldn’t detect any cunning or deceit in her clear eyes.  

It was hard to believe, but looking into her desperate gaze, it was even harder not to.

“Is it because you don’t like me?”

Beate thought her appearance must be the problem.  

She wasn’t dressed up to look neat and pretty, like when she’d stood before the Grand Duchess.  

She’d slept with her head against the cramped wagon, so her hair was messy and tangled, and she looked dirty besides.  

Who would like a child in such a state? If so, there was only one last option left.

She tightly grasped Rosaria’s rosary bead, which she’d kept in her pocket. This was a moment for prayer.

“If you won’t adopt me, at least let me work here. I promise I’ll repay your kindness.”

Beate pleaded, putting all her last hope into her words.  

She pressed her hands together and laced her fingers, softly raising her pinky just as Riley had done, closing her eyes tightly in earnest prayer.  

‘Please, please! Let Riley’s signal work. O god of Travitas, Saint Rosaria, please help me.’