The Duke’s residence really was decorated on a palace level. Though this massive building was called a “castle,” most of its military function was long gone. Aside from the towering outer walls, where a few traces of defensive works still remained, the mansion and gardens behind them were built entirely to suit the tastes of Imperial nobility. The white-toned manor and the beautiful courtyards both radiated Baroque luxury. Only near the garden was there a broad training ground.

Still, I was very familiar with this estate. In my previous life, I had done all kinds of research in the annex out back. Returning to an old place stirred completely different feelings now. Back then, I’d probably only left with some boring impression like, “Whoa, amazing,” my heart full of envy. But in this life, I was indifferent to all this splendor. I knew very well that not a single blade of grass here belonged to me. It all belonged to the ducal house.

House Northenberg believed in strength above all else. Living off others was never going to work here. If I didn’t want to be discarded, then I had to become useful as soon as possible. I had to earn my own value and place.

With that resolve, I came to the doors of the Duke’s office. Two royal guards in blue uniforms glared at me from the corners of their eyes. They probably couldn’t understand why a little girl in a pink nightgown, with a slight limp, had shown up here. But their duties didn’t allow them to act rashly.

“I wish to see His Grace the Duke.”

“His Grace is handling official business.”

“Then I’ll wait here.”

I shifted slightly to a spot where I wouldn’t be in the way, then waited quietly by the door. The two guards remained in a strange standoff with me. Thank goodness they didn’t drive me away. After about an hour, my injured leg started to ache, but I still gritted my teeth and endured it. Just as I was about to lose the strength to stand, the office door opened, and a light-toned handsome man stepped out.

It was Freud.

“Hm? Victoria, what are you doing here?”

The future duke picked me up like I was a pet cat. I was so small that he easily settled me in the crook of his arm.

“You two. Do you know who she is?”

Faced with the young duke’s sharp gaze, both guards trembled.

“Forget it. Just remember this child. From now on, whenever she wants to enter this door, she may. Do not stop her, and there is no need to announce her.”

“Y-Yes, Young Master.”

With that, Freud carried me into the Duke’s office. The scent of ink and books rushed over me. The first thing that entered my sight was, unexpectedly, the tall bookshelves. Only after that did I see the Duke of Northberg seated behind a broad desk. The old man had a white beard like a lion’s mane. People called him the Silver Sword Specter, and even in the Empire, he ranked among the strongest.

“Son, didn’t you just leave? Why are you back already, carrying Victoria?”

“My apologies, Father.” Freud bowed lightly. “Victoria seems to have something she wishes to discuss with you. She waited outside for quite a while.”

Bang!

The Duke’s fist smashed a dent into the desk.

“Those two bastards outside! Are you eating shit? Get to the training ground and run a hundred laps!”

“Yes, sir!”

The guards outside answered loudly. Their hurried footsteps quickly vanished down the corridor. My heart filled with unease. This kindness and concern were definitely not free. It wasn’t that I refused to believe in other people’s goodwill. I’d simply seen too much malice. So much that I didn’t dare... or perhaps didn’t want... to believe anymore.

“Your Grace, my apologies for not announcing myself in advance.” I got down from his arms and bowed politely. “I came today to submit a proposal.”

“A proposal? Ahaha? Let me see... hm?”

The moment he saw what was in the proposal I handed over, the Duke frowned.

“Arcane Golem Research Plan? This... this is some kind of combat weapon, isn’t it?”

Oh, he saw through it at a glance?

The proposal I gave the Duke included a design draft for the Arcane Golem. Of course, it wasn’t some child’s doodle. It was a proper design sketch drawn to engineering blueprint standards. Its prototype was the very reason Freud and I had fallen out in my previous life—the Iron Man. I had even driven the prototype out of this castle overnight while fleeing, then sank it into a lake and destroyed it completely.

“Victoria, are you serious?” The Duke handed the design to Freud. “Can this thing really be made?”

“Give me one year,” I said. “It can.”

“And the budget?”

“I’ll prepare the budget request tomorrow for your review.”

By then, Freud had also finished reading the design. A thoughtful look immediately appeared on his face. He hesitated slightly before returning the Arcane Golem draft to the Duke. The two exchanged a glance, then nodded to each other. They were interested in my proposal. That finally eased the tension in my chest. What I feared most was rejection. The Duke brushing me off with, “You’re still young, there’s no rush.” If that happened, then once their sense of novelty toward me faded, my position would become dangerously unstable.

A child’s cuteness and a woman’s beauty both faded quickly. Only talent and skill did not.

“Good afternoon~~ Oh my~~ Why is Victoria here too?”

A fiery red braid swayed at the doorway as Lilia poked her head in. She spotted me at once, then came over humming a little tune. Her skin was covered in fine beads of sweat that glittered in the sunlight. Her training leather armor and trousers outlined her balanced, toned figure so well that I couldn’t help envying her.

I wanted a figure like that too.

Unfortunately, I was far too frail. Long-term malnutrition and abuse had left me two sizes smaller than children my age. I was even worse off than my five-year-old little sister. Right now, Elizabeth was surely throwing her weight around in House Lude with the power of her Beguiling Eye. Soon enough, she would spend all the gold the Duke had paid to buy me. House Lude would decline at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Sadly, she wasn’t the kind of woman who would collapse that easily. After draining her own father dry, she would look for a new target. For example... a fiancé. That little bitch was born beautiful, so she was especially sought after. Men would swarm to her like flies smelling blood, rushing one after another, never getting tired of it.

“Father, and hubby,” Lilia leaned in, “what are you discussing?”

“Nothing. Just a bit of work.”

“Lilia, can you help me take Victoria back to her room?”

“Yes, dear hubby!”

Lilia picked me up and ran off like the wind. As the office door closed softly behind us, only the Duke and Freud remained inside.

Again, the Duke of Northberg picked up the proposal and read it from beginning to end. When he reached the highly detailed three-view drawing of the Arcane Golem, his brow tightened again.

“That child is in too much of a hurry to prove her worth,” he said. “In truth, she doesn’t need to rush like this at all. Once she grows a little older, I’ll give her everything she wants.”

“Yes. She’s too impatient, and very uneasy as well.” Freud nodded. “But for a child raised in that kind of environment, thinking that way is only natural.”

“That kind of... environment?”

The Duke of Northberg raised one eyebrow and ordered Freud with his eyes alone: continue.

“Father, when I returned to House Lude under the pretext of reporting the investigation results and searching again for the owner of that machine, I saw Victoria there,” Freud said. “The first time I saw her was in a third-floor corridor. She was wearing tattered clothes. Even a maid’s child looked more presentable than she did. Worse still, Victoria was being beaten by her younger sister’s maids. They were outright abusing her, hurting her and tormenting her for fun.”

“Wait. Beaten by maids?” The Duke frowned deeply and stroked his beard. “As far as I know, isn’t Victoria the daughter of Count Lud’s former wife, Jenny? That girl was my wife’s attendant. I trust Jenny’s character. She would never do anything against ethics or decency.”

“According to the investigation, her bloodline is pure. There’s no doubt.”

“But this... Count Lud actually allowed maids to bully his own daughter? That’s absurd.”

“Father.” Freud let out a sigh. “What came after was even worse. After I used my Demon Eye to confirm everyone’s mana hue, I found that Victoria was highly likely to be the owner of that machine. To verify it, I approached her again. That time, it was in the kitchen. A group of cooks had stuffed themselves full, yet they gave her leftovers—no, slop would be the right word—as her meal. Ha... Even the dogs of House Northenberg wouldn’t eat that. Yet those vile servants brazenly served it to their own young lady.”

At that, the Duke of Northberg stood up and took his sword from the wall.

“Father, why are you taking your sword?”

“Prepare me a fast horse. I’m going to wipe out House Lude.”

“P-Please calm down!”

By the time he finally restrained the Duke from launching a full-scale family massacre, Freud was already exhausted. He looked at the sullen Duke with a bitter smile and shook his head slightly.

“Hmph, boy.” The Duke folded his arms. “When you told me you wanted to buy back a daughter of House Lude to be a maid, I thought you’d gone insane. You know our family motto is, ‘Lolicons must die,’ right? And yet somehow, you brought home a terrifyingly capable little girl. Do you have any idea how much benefit this proposal alone could bring to our ducal house—no, to all of Casworth?”

Freud nodded.

“It will change the rules of war.”

“Exactly. And we’ll be the ones writing those rules.” The Duke gave a cold laugh. “But what I’m even more looking forward to is Victoria handing over the design for that exploding ball. Lilia reported to me that the puppet Victoria controlled threw one of those balls into the artificial Demon Realm created by the Abyss cultists. Then boom—the Demon Realm was gone. In the future, when we subjugate Demon Realms, we won’t need to risk charging in to fight the boss anymore. We’ll just toss a ball inside. Boom! Simple, convenient, efficient.”

“Father, I suspect Victoria won’t reveal her trump card that quickly.”

“My son, what do you mean by that?” The Duke glared. “Are you still treating that child like an outsider? Since she came to our house, she is one of House Northenberg’s children. That is the one thing you are not allowed to forget. If you ever do, I’ll break your legs.”

“As you command. I won’t make that mistake again.”

For some reason, as Freud lowered his head in apology, a rare trace of a smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

“But still, but still!” The Duke suddenly pounded the desk over and over. “Our family actually failed to give Victoria enough of a sense of safety! How the hell am I supposed to tolerate that? Freud, everyone says you’re smart. Even that pot-bellied Henry says you’re brilliant. So hurry up and help your old man think of something. How do we make Victoria stay in this house with complete peace of mind?”

Faced with his furious father, Freud thought in perfect calm.

“Father, I have a plan. I wonder what you think of it?”

“Spit it out! Brat, don’t play coy with your father!”

“Perhaps... you could adopt Victoria as your daughter?”

The moment those words came out, the Duke slapped his forehead. Enlightenment struck.

“Son, are you a genius?”

“No, I just—”

“From this moment on, Victoria is one of our family’s children.” The Duke suddenly put away his smile and turned serious. “Now go to the treasury and withdraw twenty thousand gold coins. Consider it Victoria’s settlement fund. Don’t come back if you haven’t spent it all. That’s an order.”

“As you wish, Father.”

After bowing once more, Freud left the office.

“Ugh. What a headache.”

The duke gazed at the sunset beyond the window and let out a sigh. “That child... she always feels like a cat that’s hard to get close to. What a headache~~~”

The golden evening sun shone over the training ground beside the garden. The figures of two royal guards sprinting with all their might flickered in and out of view.