Chapter 2

Lucy received the quarterly sales statement from Sola. She wasn’t good with finances, so it was hard to understand. Normally, all these matters were Cassia’s responsibility.

Cassia had been busy lately, developing a new line of dildos. So Lucy had to deliver the documents to Cassia’s house herself.

Knowing Cassia was probably skipping meals to focus on inventing, Lucy bought a lunchbox for her on the way.

Cassia’s house wasn’t far, so Lucy decided to walk leisurely.

Cassia had once invited Lucy to live together in the house she’d prepared, but Lucy refused, worried that living with a business partner could lead to trouble if they fought.

Soon, Lucy arrived at a small, cozy two-story house. With two bedrooms, a parlor doubling as a living room, and a kitchen, it was a well-designed, pretty home. The garden was so tiny you could cross it in ten steps.

Lucy stood before the tightly closed iron gate. Next to it, on a pillar showing classic beauty, hung a bronze nameplate. It was engraved ‘Cassia’. Normally, a surname would be inscribed, but Cassia said she would pass her first name as the family name to her children.

Just as Lucy was about to press the doorbell—

“Lucy Noctus?”

Suddenly, her name was called from behind, and Lucy turned around.

Several men in expensive uniforms stood there, like guards from a noble house.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. Who were they?

“Is your name Lucy Noctus, Miss?”

The man who seemed to be the leader asked again. His voice was not particularly friendly. Lucy eyed their stiff faces and rigid postures suspiciously.

‘Did some proper lady get caught buying adult products and send these people after me?’

Well, it wouldn’t be unheard of.

“Yes. And who might you be?”

Lucy stepped away from the gate to protect Cassia’s house. The guard ignored her question and continued with his own.

“Is your brother’s name Sybil Noctus?”

“……!”

Her eyes widened at the unexpected name. Her pale green eyes shook violently left and right.

Ah. A name she hadn’t heard in so long.

Her suspicion melted away instantly. All she could think was that this was the result of her expensive newspaper ads. Lucy quickly closed the gap between them and spoke eagerly.

“That’s right! Have you found my brother?!”

The man’s eyes changed, as if to say ‘Found her.’ He gestured with his chin to those around him.

“You’ll need to come with us for a moment.”

“What? Wait, what is this…?”

Two men swiftly and quietly took positions on either side of Lucy.

Before she could escape, Lucy’s arms and mouth were bound.

***

‘If you come quietly, there won’t be any problems, Miss.’

Lucy desperately held back the urge to argue with such contradictory words.

How could coming quietly be ‘no problem’, and why would being dragged off for no reason ever be trouble-free!

‘Not that I wanted to hear, “You’ll die for sure,” either…’

Feeling conflicted and tense, Lucy looked around.

She arrived at a three-story mansion on the quiet outskirts of the Capital. There were gardens front and back, and a ring of iron fencing showed tight security.

Lucy had come here by carriage. Instead of the lively sound of hooves, the carriage made wheel and steam sounds—a high-class mechanical carriage.

‘Thought it was just a rich person’s house.’

People like Lucy, nouveau riche, always wanted to be in the wealthy district at the city center, but traditional nobles preferred to build large mansions on the quiet outskirts unless they owned a house near the Imperial Palace.

‘It’s not a huge mansion, so maybe not a noble?’

Neither the mansion nor the carriage Lucy rode bore a family crest, which was unusual for bourgeois or nobles who loved to flaunt their affiliations. Despite its tidy, well-kept appearance, the deserted mansion was eerily quiet even in broad daylight.

Passing through the iron gate and the beautifully landscaped boxwood garden (with a massive fountain), the carriage stopped.

A young man with ash-grey hair tied back offered Lucy his hand to help her down safely.

His manners eased her anxiety a bit. Thugs wouldn’t treat a hostage like such a precious lady.

Of course, this was all just Lucy’s wishful thinking.

“Excuse me, but why have I been brought here? Did my brother do something wrong?”

Lucy mustered her courage and spoke to the ash-haired man. He looked at her, his dark eyes filled with a strange compassion.

“Our Young Master… that is, you’ll understand when you meet him.”

‘Yo-Young Master?’

This was bad. He really was a noble.

The Noctus family might have been noble, but by the time Lucy was born, they were far removed from noble status. So Lucy never considered herself a noble lady, nor was she properly educated as one.

She knew about upper-class culture only from stories told by some noble customers or from the society gossip magazines Cassia subscribed to for fun.

Lucy watched carefully. It didn’t seem like a noble Young Master would call her for a good reason. Even with the rise of new classes thanks to magical engineering and the decline of noble power, offending a powerful noble could make life very difficult.

“The Young Master I’m about to meet…? Which family is he from?”

“You mean you came here not knowing?”

The man looked at Lucy as if she were a rare creature, surprised that she didn’t know.

“How would I know if no one told me?”

Looking around at the lack of family crests, the man opened his mouth and explained kindly.

“This is the exclusive mansion of Aicel, the youngest Young Master of the Penden Duchy, of the Grand Lurian Empire. It may look plain compared to the main house or the mansions in the city center, since it was bought suddenly—”

Lucy didn’t hear the rest. Even someone out of touch with noble news knew how famous and powerful the Penden Duchy was.

Granted their title 200 years ago, they were loyalists who commanded the Empire’s military, and in the new era of Grand Magical Engineering, they’d gained immense wealth in airship manufacturing. Their bloodline even traced back to the Imperial Family. In the Penden Duchy, where daughters were rare, if a girl was born, she was always considered a candidate for the next Empress.

In short, they were one of the highest-ranking families in the Grand Lurian Empire. Lucy knew all about what the Penden family did, not just from Cassia’s gossip magazines but also from the mouths of high-ranking customers who visited her shop.

The eldest son was the Duke’s heir, the second son owned and managed the Empire’s magic stone express train, the third was a combat pilot. And finally, the youngest…

Bang!

Her thoughts were cut short by an ominous sound. As she followed the ash-haired man, the noise grew louder.

Bang!

Lucy flinched at the unmistakable sound of gunfire. Soon, the two of them stood before a closed door, clearly their destination.

Unlike the doors she had passed so far, this one was a large, white door, the most ostentatiously decorated with gold trim. It seemed to be the main living space of the mansion’s owner.

The ash-grey-haired man, looking tense, straightened his attire and solemnly opened the door.

Beyond the open door was, as expected, a splendid room used by the mansion’s master. Majestic and spacious, sunlight poured in through the large, premium glass windows.

Inside, a man lounged carelessly on a single sofa covered in floral brocade fabric. The sofa was turned with its back to the door, so his face wasn’t clearly visible, but judging by the angle of his legs, he was almost lying down. The white-haired man sat so crookedly his spine seemed bent, and in his hand was a very small pistol with a thin, long barrel.

“Young Master.”

‘Is that Aicel Penden?’

His rare silver-white hair glistened. The man who had guided Lucy here stepped a little further inside. Lucy, eyes cast to the floor, timidly followed him.

His shirt and vest emphasized his broad shoulders. The unseen cufflinks and half-undone arm garter suggested the youngest Young Master of this family had a rather free-spirited personality.

‘He doesn’t look easy to deal with.’

Bang! Clink!

He was shooting at glass cups in the room for fun, which was unusual.

Of course, in a bad way.

Feeling a bit afraid, Lucy subtly hid behind the ash-haired man.

Bang! Clink!

The man raised his voice to the Young Master, who didn’t seem to care whether people came or went.

“Young Master!”

Aicel, replacing the bullets with practiced skill, replied.

“My ears aren’t blocked.”

“Then why didn’t you answer?”

“Because it’s bothersome.”

Aicel slowly rose from his seat. His legs were very long.

“Where is it, that thing.”

The man quickly stepped aside. Lucy, clutching her hands together, rolled her eyes and slowly lifted her head. She gasped silently.

He was truly stunning. Not all high nobles were handsome or beautiful, but Aicel Penden had the most striking looks Lucy had ever seen in a man.

‘…Come to think of it, the Penden family was famous for their looks for generations.’

“Hmm.”

His lazy amber eyes scanned Lucy up and down. He tapped his chin with the muzzle of his pistol, looking thoughtful. Lucy’s brow twitched in confusion. 

‘Hadn’t he just fired that, so it must be hot?’

“Ah, hot, damn!”

‘What’s with this strangely laid-back Young Master?’

Aicel grumbled, rubbing his chin with his free hand. Clicking his tongue, he approached Lucy. The man who had brought Lucy here stepped back two more paces as Aicel moved toward her.

Lucy recalled the stories women customers had gossiped about Aicel Penden.

Summing up the evaluations about Aicel in one word…

The family’s troublemaker.