She Is a Daughter Raised As the Son of a Duke

“…”

“I guess I was right since you can’t answer. So, did you arrange a seat for me?”

Are you trying to give up somehow?

I couldn’t hide it until the end, so I honestly spoke with my head down.

“Yeah… I’m sorry…”

It’s probably unpleasant. It’s like peeping at someone else’s man.

But Stella’s reaction was unexpected.

“Hmm-“

I thought I misheard for a moment.

Hmm? Stella bursts into laughter in this serious and somber situation? What’s so funny?

My pupils shook as if there was an earthquake as I looked for Stella. She was laughing, shaking with laughter.

“Why… are you laughing?”

“Just because of that, you became serious?”

“Well…?”

Just because of that? It’s likely to become a love triangle now…

“Why are you apologizing? I’m not even dating him.”

“But you might fall in love later, right?”

“That only happens in the original story. Don’t you know that the original and reality are different?”

The fact that the original and reality are different can be explained by my existence alone. If the contents of the original matched reality, I would have died a long time ago.

“But you said you wanted to live like in the original.”

“Hey, when did I say that? Do you still remember? And Jed Bloche is not my type. I don’t like him.”

Maybe Jed Bloche won’t like me, either, because I’m not like Stella the original.

“!”

Different from the original character.

Hearing those words made me feel enlightened.

Stella was right. The Stella in front of me and the Stella in the original are completely different people, and her liking Jed is just my speculation. She might like him, but she might not.

“Do you really not like Jed Bloche? There’s no one as handsome as the male lead.”

“Do you like everyone just because they’re handsome?”

“No.”

“Me neither. Jed Bloche is not my type.”

I didn’t feel affectionate towards someone who seemed so perfect.

“So don’t worry about me and like him freely.”

Why does it feel awkward to say “like him freely”? I lightly scratched my un-itchy neck.

Stella sent me a curious and intrigued gaze.

“So, when did you start liking him?”

The day we went shopping together? No, if I had gone to Iris’s birthday party today, I would have seen him there, so from today?

I shyly replied.

“The day we went shopping…”

“Oh my, oh my. So, what are you going to do from now on?”

And so, the two of us chatted late into the night about unrequited love.

* * *

A few days later, it became the weekend when I was going to Nine. The royal carriage Diego sent stopped in front of a two-story building behind a small street in the capital.

As I got off the carriage, I saw a building surrounded by a tall wall.

“So this is Nine…”

The whole building is Nine?

As I looked at the building through the open gate, the coachman informed me of the way to meet the Second Prince.

“If you enter the building, you will see the central staircase. Go up the stairs, and the room immediately visible on the second floor is the reception room for the Prince. He said he would be there.”

As the servant continued to recite as if he had memorized it, I became puzzled.

“During the weekend, there are no employees at Nine, so the Young Master should enter alone.”

“Ah… I see.”

No employees during the weekend. It must be out of consideration for the Second Prince’s personality.

I wondered if he engaged in mischievous activities every weekend. It would be troublesome if the employees saw and heard about it and spread it in social circles.

As I thought my deduction was quite accurate, I felt a weight in my step that didn’t seem to touch the ground.

Maybe he planned to bother me on purpose today.

I glanced at the longsword at my waist.

‘I have a sword, so I should be fine’

What if I draw my sword as well, huh?

By the way… I wonder if Jed Bloche also came? He said he wanted to get closer to me.

As my thoughts shifted from the Second Prince to Jed, I felt a lighter sensation in my step. I took a deep breath and prepared to enter Nine.

Alright, let’s go in!

As I entered the building, I was greeted by an unexpected sight.

It’s more ordinary than I thought?

I had expected a dark, bustling place reeking of alcohol and tobacco, but the inside of the building was no different from an ordinary mansion.

I crossed a quiet courtyard with no one around and climbed the stairs. As soon as I reached the top, I saw the Second Prince’s reception room.

So the Second Prince is here?

I raised my hand and knocked on the door, and I heard the Second Prince’s voice from inside.

“Come in.”

I opened the door and entered the reception room. There was only the Second Prince inside, sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed as if he had been waiting.

“Welcome to Nine, young Master.”

“I greet Your Highness.”

“You’ve traveled a long way. Please have a seat.”

He was quite polite. His attitude seemed suspicious, but I didn’t show any signs and sat on the opposite sofa.

“I was surprised that there were no employees at Nine during the weekend.”

“Since Nine gathers only on weekends, I made a rule that no one can enter unless they are invited by me, like you, young master.”

“I see…”

I couldn’t understand why I brought up this topic.

It’s almost like confessing that I did something that others shouldn’t see or hear at Nine.

“Don’t worry, I’m not doing anything bad.”

Diego spoke as if he could read my thoughts.

“Think about it. Even if the conversations we have leak out through the employees, it wouldn’t feel good, right? Even if we didn’t talk about anything specific.”

“…You’re right.”

I speculated about Diego’s intention in bringing up this topic.

Ah, is he worried that I secretly brought knights or reporters with me?

“I came alone, so don’t worry.”

“I’ll leave it at that.”

Finally satisfied with the answer he wanted to hear, Diego slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

Diego turned his head toward the wall. There was a frame hanging on the wall.

“Do you know what that is?”

Inside the frame, there was neither a photo nor a painting, but a single iridescent scale.

“A scale… is it?”

“The scale of the creature is Gliu-Gon’s scale.”

“If it’s Gliu-Gon….”

“Gliu-Gon is an S-class monster that even the guardians fear.”

Monsters are classified into five levels. The lowest level is D. A D-class monster can defeat even an ordinary person without magical power, depending on its size.

Next is C. From C-class monsters and above, magical power is necessary to defeat them. If you have magical power, you can defeat most of them.

B-class monsters have different capture possibilities depending on the strength of their magical power. Assuming that the entire guardians’ order can defeat a C-class monster alone, it’s about 70% for B-class.

A-class is the strongest monster, and only about 30% of the guardians can defeat it alone.

Finally, S-class monsters have similar power to A-class monsters but can use special abilities, making them harder to capture than A-class monsters. They are rare because they are rare in number and rarely appear.

Since Gliu-Gon is an S-class monster, it is difficult to find and defeat.

And that’s Gliu-Gon’s scale….

It’s worthy of being displayed in a frame.

“It was brought by my brother after a battle with Gliu-Gon ten years ago.”

“You mean Crown Prince, right?”

“That’s right. I only have one brother.”

The Emperor had two sons and one daughter. Diego is the second son, and his brother, who he mentioned, is the Crown Prince, the eldest, and the princess is the youngest.

“That scale has a deep meaning to me. It’s very precious.”

Gliu-Gon’s scale is nothing less than a display of the Crown Prince’s power, so it had deep meaning out of respect for his brother.

“Did I talk about boring things too much?”

Well, a little?

“Don’t worry, I have something interesting to show you.”

Diego got up from his seat with a mischievous smile.

“Let me introduce you to the members of Nine. Follow me.”

He led me to the main room of Nine. The main room was the largest room on the first floor, right below Diego’s reception room.

“This is the main room of Nine.”

When he opened the double doors, the room was filled with the smell of cigarettes and alcohol.

“Cough, cough-“

I coughed a couple of times due to the foul smell and followed Diego inside.

“Wow… this is completely…”

It’s like a casino.

The windows were covered with dark turquoise curtains, blocking out the light from outside, and the place was illuminated only by bright and dark lights.

In the center, there was a crescent-shaped deep red sofa and a round table. Darts and poker tables and other gaming equipment were placed on the left and right, where you could enjoy games.

The Nine members who were drinking in the room greeted Diego. Galley and Velta approached with their heads lowered, showing their respect.

“Your Highness has arrived.”

“We’ve been waiting.”

Diego introduced me to them.

“This is May Flotina. Greet him.”

Galley and Velta looked up and stared at me. Judging by their expressions, they didn’t seem to find me favorable.

“I’m Maxime Galley.”

“I’m Velta Verus.”

While they treated Diego respectfully, they barely acknowledged me with a nod and greeted me indifferently.

“It’s the first time we’ve met, Lord Maxim and Lord Verus.”

“…”

“…”

When I greeted them, Galley suddenly took off his glasses and checked, and Velta tidied up his wavy hair with his little finger in an impolite manner

I don’t know why, but it seems like they don’t like me much, is it because I’m not that impressive?

I didn’t feel the need to treat them well either.

Next, Diego introduced Clovin and Jed.

“This is Clovin Penso and Jed Bloche.”

Clovin openly stared at me and extended his hand for a handshake.