"Born as a slave?"

Ryuto murmured in astonishment.

"Yes."

Crepes Clair nodded solemnly.

It seemed that he had not misheard.

"But why would someone be born as...? What does that even mean?"

After a moment of silence with his eyes closed, Crepes Clair spoke again.

"Simply put, it's because I was born in the slums."

His tone was unusually firm, and even as he spoke, his gaze never left Ryuto.

But Ryuto was more concerned with something else.

"No, if that's the case, why would you live in...?"

If she was a slave, how could she live in such a luxurious place?

Perhaps understanding Ryuto's thoughts, Crepes Clair said calmly,

"There's nothing strange about that, as this is the Duke of Crepes' residence."

"Duke of Crepes? So you're the duke's daughter? Then does that mean the Duke of Crepes was once a slave?"

Ryuto naturally thought so, but...

"No, that's not the case. After all... slaves cannot become dukes."

He was quickly denied.

"So what's the story then?"

“It’s simple, because I'm not the Duke of Crepes' biological daughter."

"Oh? Not?"

"Yes, I'm just the Duke of Crepes' adopted daughter."

"Adopted daughter...? But why would the Duke of Crepes adopt you? Isn't that strange, adopting a slave as a daughter."

"I'm not entirely sure, but it's probably because of status."

"Status?"

"Yes, it's quite common among nobles. Nobles usually adopt unwanted children as their own, then train them in martial arts. If they achieve any military feats after joining the army, their family will gain honor, and their status will be elevated. This way, the entire family will have an advantage among the nobility."

I see, once the adopted children achieve military feats, their adoptive parents reap the benefits, and even if they don't achieve anything, it doesn't matter to them, after all...

They have more than one adopted child, so they can't guarantee that every one of them will succeed in the military. Although training them is costly, as long as one of them achieves something, it's enough to recoup the investment, and...

Perhaps they don't let their own children join the military because they consider it too dangerous. After all, serving in the military is risky and they want their children to inherit their titles and wealth. Although there are great benefits to succeeding, they are not willing to risk their own children, besides, with such good conditions at home, how many second-generation officials would join the military?

To resolve this contradiction, they came up with the method of adopting children.

If they are adopted children, there are no such concerns, because...

In the event that an adopted child dies in battle, it doesn't matter. After all, from the beginning, adopted children are dispensable to them. If one is lost, they can just adopt another, or even several more. There are as many homeless children as one could want. This way, their own children will not be in danger, and they can reap the benefits of the adopted children's military achievements. This method of sitting back and profiting from others' efforts is truly ingenious.

I truly admire them, to think of such a two-pronged strategy.

Indeed, nobles are not something ordinary people can become. At least I don't have that kind of talent.

"I understand this for now, but how did you come across the Duke of Crepes? As a duke, he shouldn't know you."

"Yes, I'll tell you about that next."

And so, Crepes Clair began a long narrative.