“Go to the opera? I don’t have time for the next two days. There’s a sparring session between Saints next week. Even though it’s just a simple exchange, the high-ranking officials of the entire parish will be there, so I need to prepare well.”
“Will there be sparring between magic dolls in the future?”
“I haven’t heard of anything like that. Probably not.”
“I see.”
Lulumia received this response when she brought the theater tickets she had acquired to Ino.
Holding the philosophy that it would be a waste not to use the tickets, Lulumia ran off to find Tiran—entertainment in this world was quite scarce, and as someone who was partially unemployed, Lulumia basically had nothing to do but read books in the library if she didn’t find something to occupy her time.
Thus, she headed to Baron Cassandra’s Mansion early in the morning. After explaining her purpose to the servant at the door, she was immediately led inside by a maid who recognized her.
Unfortunately, her timing was poor. She could hear Tiran arguing with her family in the first-floor dining room from quite a distance.
“All you do is talk about magic dolls all day! You’re already twelve, and you’ll be an adult in three years. You don’t even have an engagement yet! This is disgraceful!”
“The Second Son of Baron Benna has a gentle personality and decent talent. His family is in the gemstone business. If you marry him, not only will your future be secure, but the family can join forces with the Benna family to take over half the jewelry business in the capital. How is this mistreating you?”
“I said I’m not going, and that’s that! All you care about is the family, not me at all.” First was the shout from Tiran’s father, followed by Tiran’s resistance.
It seemed the Cassandra Family was scouting for Tiran’s future husband.
The average lifespan of people in this world was not long, so fifteen was considered reaching adulthood. Marriage wasn’t a drawn-out process like it was for modern people; often, children were engaged to the childhood friend next door before they even reached that age.
Arranged marriages by parents were especially common among the nobility. Some were even betrothed before birth by their respective parents. For someone like Tiran to reach twelve without an engagement made her something of an “old maid” by noble standards.
This made things awkward for the visiting Lulumia. Standing before the door, she couldn’t decide whether to enter or retreat, forced to eavesdrop.
“For the sake of the family? Have we mistreated you all these years? You said you didn’t want to consider an engagement before age twelve, and your mother and I felt that since you had older brothers and sisters, we wouldn’t force you. But half of your twelfth year has already passed, and you’re still acting like a spoiled brat. If you wait any longer, it won’t be you choosing a man, but men choosing you! When you’re a bit older, you’ll only be able to serve as a concubine for some old man. Is that what you want?”
“That’s right, Tiran. The Second Son of Baron Benna is the right age and is interested in you. You two are a perfect match.”
“I’m not marrying him.”
“Then what kind of husband do you want? You keep it all bottled up and won’t tell us, so it’s hard for us to find someone for you.”
“I don’t have to marry. I’ll stay with the family and help manage the family business,” Tiran said stubbornly, her usually gentle voice now full of rebellion.
It’s not that Tiran won’t marry; it’s just that she doesn’t like men… Lulumia complained silently outside the door. She hadn’t expected to encounter such a realistic scene even after coming to an alternate world.
“Help manage the family business? Have you asked your eldest brother? Is the family business something for a woman like you to manage?” Seemingly unwilling to let Tiran continue her indulgence, Tiran’s father sneered. “You’re going today whether you like it or not. Your mother and I haven’t raised you all this time just to support a freeloading parasite!”
“I’m just not going! If you want someone to get married, why don’t you marry him yourself? At worst, I’ll just leave the Cassandra Family—”
“Slap!”
Before Tiran could finish her sentence, the crisp sound of a slap echoed through the dining room. It made Lulumia’s heart tremble out in the hallway, and she couldn’t help but look away.
He didn’t hold back at all…
The air went silent instantly. Lulumia could vaguely hear the heavy breathing of Tiran’s father inside the room.
“You’ve truly crossed the line! From this day forward, don’t expect to get a single cent from the family. Once the end of the year passes, I’m sending you back to the ancestral home. Don’t think about stepping out the door until you find someone to marry!”
“You think I’m a doll like my sister, someone you can arrange however you please?” There was a hint of a sob in Tiran’s voice, but her tone remained fierce. “I’m leaving this house today!”
“You—!”
Tiran’s father was furious. Lulumia could already hear him pacing around looking for a stick, as well as Tiran’s mother’s desperate attempts to pull her husband back.
It was no longer appropriate to just watch the drama.
Although Lulumia felt the restless embarrassment of being at a friend’s house when the friend suddenly started fighting with their parents, she was no longer a child herself, and she had a considerable amount of goodwill toward Tiran.
Not only had Tiran helped the newspaper office a lot, but she had also genuinely tried to save her from the dangerous Church back then. That phrase, “I will become Mia’s hero,” was something Lulumia couldn’t forget even now—though it was a bit childish, it was very romantic. If it had happened earlier, she might have actually fallen for her.
Even for a man, meeting someone who provides help in a time of need and comes to save them in such circumstances would be a life-long memory.
Now, it was time for her to be Tiran’s hero.
Lulumia took a deep breath and gently pushed open the door.
The dining room door immediately let out a “creak” from the friction. Almost instantly, the family in the room cast their gazes toward the doorway—eyes filled with anger, confusion, and also surprise and unease.
Lulumia poked her head through the half-open door. After looking timidly at everyone in the room, she pretended not to notice the awkward atmosphere and bowed politely to Tiran’s father—a sturdy man with a full beard and a stocky build—and Tiran’s mother.
“Hello, Uncle and Auntie. I’d like to take Tiran out to play.”
“It’s Lulumia. Tiran doesn’t have time today. Come back another day.”
Tiran’s mother declined tactfully, but Tiran’s father, Baron Cassandra, simply kept a stiff face and said rudely, “Don’t come to bother Tiran’s studies in the future. She’s not a child anymore; it’s time for her to get married.”
Normally, as a noble, Baron Cassandra wouldn’t treat a guest so rudely. The problem was that Baron Cassandra had an extremely poor impression of Lulumia. Since the original owner of the body was a rude and uneducated child with exceptionally poor grades and no family background to speak of, Baron Cassandra had always resented Tiran hanging out with Lulumia.
Had Lulumia been a boy, Baron Cassandra’s order to leave would have been even more aggressive.
But Lulumia was already mentally prepared.
She put her index finger to her chin with a look of confusion. “But the Fourth Princess told me to come. Today, the Fourth Princess gave me two theater tickets and told me to find my best friend to go with. My only friend is Tiran…”
“The Fourth Princess?”
Baron Cassandra raised an eyebrow. Everyone knew Cinderella’s noble status; even he wasn’t qualified to meet her. Could this rude child in front of him really be given theater tickets by the Fourth Princess?
Lulumia didn’t look at Tiran. Instead, she took out two tickets with complex purple patterns and answered politely.
“Yes. I am currently the Fourth Princess’s assistant, helping Her Highness process the assignments students submit to her. These two theater tickets were given to me by the Fourth Princess yesterday.”
This child… how did she become like a different person?
Baron Cassandra was uncertain and suspicious as he reassessed Lulumia.
In the past, when Lulumia came to his house, she always spoke without filter and had no regard for others with her volume. Now, not only was her clothing neat and her behavior polite, but even her speech was extremely organized. She already had the mannerisms of a noble child.
What was even more surprising was that she managed to establish a connection with the Fourth Princess—the woman who held the titles of the “Silent Dark Moon” and the “Witch of the Proclaimed Death.” It was an open secret in noble circles that the Fourth Princess was arrogant and had a nasty personality. She had been visiting the Kingdom of Ounheim for two months now, yet she hadn’t had a single friendly interaction with any noble or individual. The nobles of the capital had almost given up on trying to get close to her.
How did she get close to the Fourth Princess?
Baron Cassandra looked hesitantly at the tickets in Lulumia’s hand. As a noble, he was no stranger to the theater. Tickets with purple patterns meant the seats were quite near the front, positions that could generally only be reserved by high-ranking nobles. Even if he tried, it wasn’t something he could just book at will; he would have to defer to higher-status nobles. Lulumia had no title; she couldn’t have gotten these on her own.
It was more than likely real.
Watching Baron Cassandra’s suspicious and uncertain expression, Lulumia already had a judgment in her heart.
This was a sure thing.
Adults see more than children do. Children in school only care about their classmates’ grades and personalities, while adults care about looks and family background. This was something Lulumia only realized after she grew up—in the past, when she complained to her mother about classmates, her mother would say in surprise, “Isn’t his family very well-off?” At the time, she didn’t care, but after entering society, she realized the subtext behind that sentence was to get along well with that classmate.
To deal with someone like Baron Cassandra who cared about status and money, using Cinderella—a top-tier power—as an entry point was perfectly suitable.
She pressed her left hand lightly against her chest, bowed slightly, and smiled politely.
“I’ve been busy running the newspaper lately and haven’t contacted Tiran much. I finally have some free time today, so I specifically came to find Tiran. She has helped me a lot, so it’s only right to return the favor.”
“Running the newspaper? You’re the one behind that popular newspaper in the Noble District?” The surprise in Baron Cassandra’s eyes deepened.
Lulumia responded politely, “Indeed.”
“Haha.”
Baron Cassandra suddenly laughed. His attitude changed abruptly, as if he had forgotten the order he just gave her to leave. The anger on his face vanished completely, replaced by the warm smile of an elder looking at a junior.
“So you’re the one. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders. Tiran has made a good friend. You two go ahead then. Since it’s a request from the Fourth Princess, I can’t refuse. Just don’t stay out too late.”
“Okay. Goodbye, Uncle and Auntie.”
With that, Lulumia took Tiran’s hand and walked out the door.
Baron Cassandra’s sudden change of face wasn’t strange. In his eyes, she was just an innocent child, so he felt no psychological burden in shifting his attitude. A profit-driven merchant wouldn’t turn his back on money.
From now on, she would likely receive a very warm welcome whenever she entered or left Baron Cassandra’s Mansion—something the arrogant and incompetent original owner could never have obtained.
Once Lulumia led Tiran out of that oppressive mansion, she immediately took off her mask of a well-behaved child and turned to look at Tiran with concern.
“Are you okay?”
Of course she wasn’t.
Because she had been slapped, half of Tiran’s face was swollen, and her eyes were red as if she had just finished crying.
Not wanting Lulumia to see her in such a pathetic state, Tiran turned her face away, her voice as faint as a mosquito.
“I’m fine.”
“That doesn’t look like ‘fine’ to me. I’ll take you to the church; we can just use Healing Magic.”
“No need.” Seemingly worried her reaction would be taken as coldness, Tiran, who had her head down, added in a small voice, “I know Healing Magic myself.”
“You’re so amazing. I still haven’t learned Healing Magic.” Lulumia widened her eyes in praise.
However, Tiran’s spirits did not rise because of this. With her face turned to the side, her eyes were covered by her purple bangs. She pursed her lips and almost murmured her question. “Did you hear…?”
“Hear what?”
“Don’t play dumb. Were you outside the door the whole time?”
“Well…” Lulumia looked away helplessly. She had pretended not to know because she didn’t want Tiran to lose face. After all, in Tiran’s eyes, she was the one playing the role of the older sister.
Seeing that she couldn’t hide it, she put her hands on her hips and gave a long sigh.
“…It couldn’t be helped. I wanted to ask you to come out and play, but I happened to run into you arguing with Baron Cassandra. If I hadn’t said those things just now, your father really would have grounded you. Oh, let’s not talk about that. Seeing the opera is more important. I was worried I wouldn’t have anyone to go with.”
“Thank you.”
“Hmm?”
Lulumia doubted she had heard correctly. She looked at Tiran in surprise, only to see Tiran silently shedding tears. Although she couldn’t see her expression, the sobbing and the two lines of clear tears on her lightly made-up face were very obvious.
Was her life in the Cassandra Family really that hard?
It was probably that she didn’t feel wronged at first, but after being comforted like this, she couldn’t control her emotions? Lulumia thought. Since she had never comforted a girl in real life, she couldn’t help but feel at a loss. She could only use her sleeve to gently wipe away the tears from Tiran’s cheeks. She opened her mouth but didn’t know what was appropriate to say. After a moment of stalemate, Tiran suddenly grabbed her in a hug and let out even more obvious sobs. Lulumia could even feel Tiran’s wet tears dripping onto her shoulder.
Well, I’ve made the dressed-up little girl cry. Now we can’t even go see the opera.
Why was I trying to act so cool?
Clicking her tongue, Lulumia stiffly returned the hug around Tiran’s waist, carefully weighing her words.
“There, there, don’t cry. You won’t look pretty if you keep crying. Let’s go sit at the newspaper office for a bit.”
“I’m not going.” Tiran, leaning on Lulumia’s shoulder, resisted in a small voice, her tone a bit petulant.
“Then should we just walk around?”
“To the theater,” Tiran’s voice was a bit hoarse. She suddenly pushed Lulumia away with both hands, the warm violet fragrance on her body disappearing as well. She turned her back, speaking as if nothing had happened. “Wait for me a moment.”
After saying that, Tiran jogged quickly back into her home.
Looking at Tiran’s small figure hurrying back to the mansion, Lulumia suddenly felt something fluttering in her heart.
This atmosphere… it was almost like having a lover in the ambiguous stage of a relationship.
Putting aside her young age, Tiran was actually quite cute…
[Obtained Titles: ‘Baron Cassandra’s Recognition’, ‘Nosy’, ‘Manipulator of Hearts’]
[Mindfulness Value: 18 (Gained mindfulness from Tiran, increased by 4)]