Lilia sat at the dressing table in her room, gazing into the mirror at her slightly flushed face. “Is what Marquis Charlotte said really true?”
Because of an invitation from the Emperor, there would soon be a banquet, and Duke Ryan had no choice but to come to the Empire Capital.
Most of the nobility of the Kalishi Empire were gathering in the Empire Capital, and it just so happened to coincide with Lilia’s coming of age.
Naturally, he would host a grand banquet to invite the nobles, to witness his daughter’s growth—a gesture that was perhaps more a father’s pride than anything else.
Originally, Lilia had no intention of attending this birthday banquet, but her father had granted one of her wishes—he agreed to find her a private tutor and let her apply to Kalishi Academy.
Only then did she agree to her father’s request to attend this event for the Kalishi nobility.
Though a noble herself, Lilia didn’t much enjoy socializing, and the thought of having to interact with a bunch of strangers troubled her.
So, during the banquet, Lilia spent most of her time beside Charlotte. Besides the Servant, he was her only true friend. Yet he…
“Marry me, Lilia Karen. I’ll treat you well for a lifetime, I promise…”
Charlotte’s voice echoed once more in her mind. Truthfully, she couldn’t help but recall those words again and again.
Lilia pinched the corner of her dress. “Was he serious…”
As the Daughter of Duke Ryan, her understanding of romance mostly came from the love stories she read.
To think her first real experience would be a high-difficulty “proposal”—her mind went completely blank.
Such stories often appeared in novels.
The sheltered noble Miss would meet the male lead in a dramatic way, slowly fall in love, and eventually walk down the aisle.
Lilia had imagined her own destined one more than once.
Could her fated one be Charlotte…
Charlotte was tall and gave off a strong sense of security, and those emerald-green eyes made her feel close to him.
As an elf, she naturally liked green—just like her mother.
But Charlotte had always been rather rude, staring at her chest. That bothered her a bit.
Thinking of this, Lilia clutched the pendant on her chest—a sparkling diamond set like a star.
It was her mother’s keepsake, and holding it always calmed her heart.
“Could Charlotte have been looking at my pendant?” Lilia thought Charlotte wasn’t really so rude.
After all, no matter how impolite a noble might be, they wouldn’t stare at someone’s chest the whole time.
Just then, a voice came from the doorway. “Miss, Master is looking for you…”
Lilia knew her father wanted to discuss the matter of her private tutor.
“Mm… I understand.”
Lilia straightened her clothes, fixed her posture, and walked gracefully toward the Duke’s Mansion’s drawing room.
When the door opened, Lilia quietly closed it behind her.
She saw her father standing by the window, gazing out at the night.
The whole room was silent, the only sound being a servant refilling Duke Ryan’s teacup.
“Father…” Lilia bowed in greeting.
Duke Ryan turned around. “There’s no need for such formality in front of me. I asked for you to discuss the private tutor matter…”
Ryan handed Lilia a list. She glanced over it and noticed Charlotte’s name was not among them.
“Father, I actually have someone in mind.” Lilia set the list on the table and looked her father in the eyes as she spoke.
“Oh? Lilia already has someone in mind? Tell me about it.”
Ryan was quite pleased that his daughter was so decisive.
But suddenly, Ryan’s heart skipped a beat, as if he sensed she was about to say a name he didn’t want to hear.
Tentatively, Lilia asked, “Charlotte Wuyue. Father, what’s your impression of him?”
Sure enough, his bad feeling came true.
The color on Ryan’s face faded instantly, replaced by obvious resistance.
“Daughter, how did you come to think of him?”
Lilia replied earnestly, “Father, I truly believe he’s the best choice for my private tutor.”
Ryan knew well that Charlotte really was the best candidate.
From a young age, Charlotte had always been remarkably intelligent—Ryan remembered him clearly.
At age seven, he could already offer the Emperor insightful advice.
In terms of magic, he was the Youngest Third-tier Mage in the history of the Empire, personally given the title of “Genius” by the Emperor, and his late wife had also spoken highly of Charlotte.
Just last year, he had entered Kalishi Academy as the top student; when it came to entrance exams, there was no one better.
To be honest, Ryan was still a bit worried—worried his innocent daughter might be fooled.
Lilia had lived a sheltered life in the Duke’s Mansion, almost entirely within an ivory tower.
Both her father and mother had doted on her since childhood, and after her mother’s passing, her father cared for her even more.
She hardly had any friends, except for classmates at school, so she wasn’t used to chatting with people.
She’d learned noble etiquette but had little real-world practice.
As for Charlotte, he had become the subject of much noble gossip at a young age.
He was simply too outstanding—so brilliant that nobody could overshadow his light. Every Genius of this era resented being born in the same time as him.
Ryan was afraid that such a dazzling Charlotte would win over his pure-hearted daughter in just a few moves—especially since Charlotte had said what he did at today’s banquet.
Ryan clicked his tongue, trying to persuade his daughter otherwise. “But do you really want to choose him? That fellow’s rather cold, like a block of wood. Even so, you want to be around him?”
Lilia smiled. “Father, you’ve misunderstood him. Although there are some bad rumors about Marquis Charlotte, I trust him. He definitely means no harm to me. Besides, do you have so little faith in your own daughter? I’m not someone who can be fooled so easily.”
Ryan was helpless. Even though he’d had the Servant keep an eye on his daughter, Lilia still liked sneaking out, and whenever she did, that Charlotte always seemed to find her—no matter how he thought about it, it seemed premeditated.
Seeing Ryan’s troubled look, Lilia tugged at his sleeve.
All her life, this trick always worked on her father.
“Come on, Dad, I really want to get into Kalishi Academy. And in the future, Charlotte will be my senior, right? There’s no need to keep things so awkward between us, is there?”
Ryan finally gave in. “Since you put it that way, I’ll trust you this time. But I’ll also attend the private tutor selection. If I find someone better than Charlotte, you’ll have to reconsider your choice.”
Lilia agreed immediately. “Alright, no problem.”
He knew for sure that Charlotte was after something in his house—it might be gold and jewels, power and position, or perhaps truly his own daughter.
But if the time came, he’d just beat the boy up.
Ryan felt at ease for only one reason: he was certain Charlotte could never steal Lilia away from right under his nose.