The young man with a red swollen forehead ground his teeth and shouted.

“D*mn it! Did you put steel in your fingers or something? Why does it hurt so much!”

“I hit pretty hard when I put my mind to it, you know? Three more to go.”

“Shut up, you d*mn— oomph!”

Slap slap slap! The woman’s fan quickly struck the young man’s lips.

“I told you to call me Big Sister.”

“Am I crazy?”

“Now then—”

As Calliphe raised her hand, the young man flinched and crumpled his large frame.

It was hard to tell who the real thug was!

“Lady Calliphe…?”

Calliphe froze at the child’s trembling voice.

Quickly hiding her raised hand behind her back, Calliphe’s eyes widened at the sight of the child and the man standing beside him.

“L-Lynen?”

“……”

It was an unexpected reunion with someone she’d rather never see again.

Looking back and forth between the two who had barged in, Calliphe hurriedly explained to Noah.

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s a misunderstanding. There’s a deep transaction between adults here.”

* * *

So this is how it happened.

After sending Noah away, I faced off against Dietrich in a fierce standoff without giving an inch.

In his anger, he was like an unleashed wild dog running amok.

“I-I’ll just stay quiet like I’m dead……”

The shop owner was too scared to leave his spot, timidly hiding his body behind furniture.

Dietrich gave a vicious smirk.

“Did you hear that, my lady? He says he’ll keep quiet no matter what I do to you here. Shouldn’t you be more careful?”

“Hey, are you rich?”

“Huh?”

“Perfect. Hand over three hundred gold.”

Let me complete this quest with your money.

“Did you deposit it somewhere? What makes you so confident?”

“Yes. I did deposit it. Don’t you remember the password?”

“What nonsense—”

“The password is.”

I stepped closer to the growling man. And whispered the secret he was desperately trying to hide.

“You can’t read.”

“……!”

Dietrich’s eyes bulged.

“More precisely, you became unable to read after becoming a noble?”

“How, how did you……”

So you were the ‘Black Hand’s’ heir after all.

In <My Little Noah>, there are four potential guardian candidates.

One of them is the ‘Master of the Black Hand’.

Behind the empire lies a vast market where secret trades take place, known as the Black Hand.

‘Choosing this guardian could have made Noah the heir to the Black Hand.’

In place of the original heir, the Black Hand’s own son.

The son was someone who ran away saying ‘I want to live proudly and gloriously!’ and became a noble.

But suddenly he became unable to read, and feeling ashamed, he hid it and kept hiding it until…

‘In the end, he was abandoned by the noble he was courting, and died without being able to return to the Black Hand.’

Being unable to read would be a shameful weakness both as a noble and as the master of the black market.

‘When Noah heard this story, he showed protagonist-like sympathy, but.’

Well, I’m not like that.

I’ll mock you with all my soul.

“Pfft. So it’s true? A noble who can’t read? Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“Y-y-you. Are you done talking?”

Dietrich’s face turned pitifully red.

I taunted him further.

“Oh my my. Are you going to cry? Going to tell mommy?”

“D-d*mn it! What’s with that tone? Drop it right now! Or else—”

“I wonder if the Young Marquis knows about this?”

“……!”

He probably doesn’t.

Since that noble you were courting before being abandoned was the Young Marquis.

I whispered like a witch in Dietrich’s ear.

“If I let slip just one word… you’ll never be able to set foot in noble society again. Right?”

“…D*mn it. Who the h*ll are you!? How did you know!?”

Dietrich grabbed both my shoulders tightly and shouted. I coldly glanced at his hands.

“Can’t you read the situation?”

“……”

Grinding his teeth, he slowly let go of me.

“……D*mn it. What do you want?”

“I told you. Hand over some money.”

“Three hundred gold. That’s all?”

“Five hundred.”

“Are you crazy? Why did it go up!”

“Interest added. Seven hundred.”

“Why are YOU adding interest!”

“Nine.”

“You crazy woman! Fine! I’ll give it to you!”

I wanted to squeeze more out of him but held back at this point.

‘It’s dangerous to control him with just blackmail.’

The possibility of betrayal is high too.

‘So I need to make him yield to me first.’

“There’s one more condition.”

I took aim at his forehead, positioning my thumb and middle finger together for a forehead flick.

“Let me hit you ten times.”

Have a taste of that sweet growth buff.

Like with the sturdy maid, stats related to areas I want to develop will grow.

The more it’s related to their weakness, the more noticeable the change will be.

“Huh? You think those twig-like fingers of yours are going to make me even tickle?”

“Try it and see.”

And so.

“Listen to Big Sister’s words!”

Thwack!

“Listen well!”

Thwack!

“Even in your sleep!”

Thwack!

“You’ll get a bump!”

THWACK!

“Ow, d*mn it! That really hurts!”

That’s how I ended up gleefully giving Dietrich forehead flicks.

Noah and Duke Ortega, not knowing these circumstances, could only stare at me in bewilderment.

‘At least I achieved my goal.’

I glanced at the system window that had appeared to the side.

But this time, the growth direction was a bit different from the sturdy maid’s case.

[Pressure -1]

[Pressure -1]

[Pressure -1]

So it can apply minuses too.

Well, in <Marino>, we could reduce Noah’s stress too.

[Quest Complete!]

[Successfully purchased ‘Legend 25 Years’ without Young Marquis Caiman knowing.]

“Ah……”

As soon as I confirmed the quest completion, my body suddenly felt drained from the aftereffects of using the ability.

When I stumbled, holding my forehead, Noah quickly rushed to support me.

“Lady Calliphe. Are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, I’m fine, so step away.”

You might get crushed under me if you don’t.

I quickly gathered my strength and stood straight.

“……”

Noah stepped back dejectedly.

Before I could explain anything, Dietrich sneered in disbelief.

“I’m the one who got hit but she’s pretending to be hurt. But Duke Ortega, what are you doing here?”

“What are you doing, Baron Rotten? It seemed like you were deliberately getting hit.”

“N-never mind that……”

Seemingly hit by belated embarrassment, Dietrich hurriedly fixed his clothes.

“Hey, my lady. You better keep your word. Otherwise, your married life will become very difficult. Got it?”

“I’m not going to marry you.”

“Ha. We’ll see if you can say the same thing at the marriage announcement party.”

“What about the remaining three hits?”

“Shut up!”

Dietrich glared at me like he wanted to bite me before hastily leaving.

And then I felt a familiar yet strange gaze staring at me.

It was Duke Ortega.

The excitement I felt while hitting Dietrich became awkwardly hesitant.

“Um… l-long time no see.”

“……”

“You must be surprised, right? Are you okay?”

“…Why are you suddenly being so formal? Did you commit a crime?”

“……”

I should drop the formality after all.

Instead, I just won’t be clingy like before.

I won’t lay a finger on him.

That’s when.

Ding!

[Filial Piety Quest Arrived!]

[Exchange reconciliation hugs with Duke Ortega (0/1)

Reward: Filial Piety 3]

…This unfilial quest b*stard.

* * *

Calliphe suddenly made a face like she was chewing something while staring into space.

As an awkward silence fell because of this, Noah, who had been reading the atmosphere between the two, carefully stepped forward.

“Lady Calliphe.”

“Yes?”

“Earlier, the Duke helped me.”

“Helped you?”

“I almost got into a fight with a big dog earlier.”

“What?”

Startled, Calliphe immediately knelt down and grabbed Noah’s shoulders, examining him from all angles.

“Are you hurt anywhere? Are you okay?”

“Ah, y-yes.”

Noah, momentarily surprised by Calliphe’s fuss, blushed pink.

“What’s this on your mouth? Is it blood!? Tell me the truth right now.”

“This is jam. From the cookie. Hehe……”

“What are you laughing about?”

Noah shyly shook his head.

Seeing his lovable behavior, Calliphe finally relaxed and stood up. Then she turned toward Lynen.

“Thank you for helping Noah. Lynen.”

Still cold and informal.

Lynen, who was about to ignore the greeting, narrowed his eyes at Calliphe’s next action.

Because Calliphe even slightly bowed her head while expressing her gratitude to him.

Unlike her usual self, she showed no signs of wounded pride. It was the attitude of a guardian doing what was natural.

‘No. It can’t be sincere.’

The child is just a commoner orphan. Surely it must be a superficial sponsorship for her own benefit.

“I didn’t do it for you. More importantly, please refrain from such behavior in front of the child.”

Hiding his intent to test her, Lynen pointed out bluntly.

“Violence doesn’t suit an exemplary sponsor, does it?”

The hot-tempered and proud Calliphe Offensa would surely snap and lunge at him immediately.

“Are you criticizing me right now?”

Just as expected—

“Well, you have a point.”

“…What did you say?”

Lynen doubted his own ears.