Chapter 4: Knowledge is power.

Sharon and I stood nervously in front of the Duke's office door. The butler led us here, knocked on the door to report in, and then left. Inside, I could hear voices arguing, but there was no reply, so I just had to wait.

After standing there for a long time, I got a little bored. I didn't dare to wander off, so I looked around.

At my current height, everything in the hallway looked huge to me, as if I had wandered into the land of giants.

I looked up, and the frame of the office door looked like it was made of paulownia wood, shiny and polished. I saw my own clear face on it.

It's so cute! No matter how many times I look at it, I'll still be shocked. Is this the beauty I can have?

Her long, naturally curly, silvery-white hair was soft and smooth, with a hint of pale gold, and fell over the shoulders of the child in a white puffy dress. Her small, plump cheeks were white with a hint of pink, so soft and plump that I wanted to pinch them to see how they felt.

The most mesmerising feature were her eyes, which had an extremely pure golden hue.

The book describes Inette's golden pupils as being as pure as gold. They are mysterious and gorgeous, yet inexplicably holy. Even the eldest prince was enchanted by these eyes when he first saw Inette, and for a moment forgot his manners.

Although I knew at the orphanage that I was beautiful in this life, after putting on a gorgeous little dress and being carefully dressed up, I looked almost as delicate as a doll.

How could such a beautiful child be thrown away?

I stared blankly at my reflection, as if I could see Inette standing in front of the door of the man who would become her father, innocent and full of joy.

How cruel.

‘Click.’

The door was suddenly pulled open, and I was looking up blankly when I suddenly looked into a pair of scarlet pupils.

Ario stared at me for a few seconds, took a step back, and pulled away from me.

I saw clear disgust and hatred in his eyes.

Why? Inette had no grudges against him, and even if there were, it was Ariol who had wronged Inette. I found his hatred hard to understand, but then he was a madman, and madmen need not conform to logic.

I followed him into the room. The duke was sitting behind his desk, going through paperwork. He didn't even look up when he saw me standing in front of his desk.

I was a little curious about the appearance of Duke Nigel. He never appeared in the novel because since Ario made his social debut on his eighteenth birthday, he had inherited the title of Grand Duke, and his father, Ian Nigel, had completely withdrawn from public life. This event took place before the beginning of the first act of the novel.

I hesitated to bow to the duke. My posture might not have been accurate, but no one would correct a six-year-old.

He finally looked up at me, his dark hair and bloodshot eyes. His handsome but emaciated face. The genes are really powerful, the Duke is practically the adult version of Aryo.

The only difference between them is probably that Aryo always has a dangerous smile on his face, while the Duke is full of fatigue, and his expressionless and serious face vaguely reveals a sadness...

I thought of an inappropriate word.

He has the air of a widower.

But he is indeed a widower. Ariol's mother died six years ago, and since then the Duke has been in a slump, shutting himself away in the Duke's Mansion. This is why Ariol has so much power in the mansion despite his young age.

‘Sit down,’

I said, struggling to climb onto the sofa in front of his desk. I've been doing this a lot since I was reborn. Being a child makes your arms ache, and if this trend continues, when I become an adult, I might be able to punch Ariol to death.

I couldn't help but laugh at this image.

Cough, be serious, be serious, I sat upright on the sofa, straightened my skirt, and looked up at the duke, who was leaning his forehead wearily against his hand and looking down at me, seemingly at a loss as to what to do.

‘Father, don't trouble yourself, I will arrange Inette's clothing, food, and shelter.’

In total, Ario should be thirteen years old now, and his clear, youthful voice still sounded quite sunny.

It seems that the duke was not informed of Inette's adoption. It was once said in the novel that after the death of the duchess, the duke lost interest in everything, and he would not bother to adopt a girl as a tool of power.

After a long silence, the duke sighed and gave in.

‘...Inette, right? You will be my daughter from today onwards. Do you want anything?’

Unexpectedly, I had thought that Arios's paranoid personality was mostly inherited or the result of the duke's education, but now it seems that perhaps he learned it on his own.

What do you want? If you want money, you won't just give it to me, you'll have someone else keep it for you. If you want jewellery, it's pointless, the servants will just steal it and sell it, and then blame me for losing things.

When I turn sixteen, I will be on my own in the world, and I want something that no one can take away from me and that will always belong to me.

‘My lord duke, I want a teacher.’

Yes! Knowledge! Knowledge is power!

The duke seemed a little surprised, but that expression also passed quickly. He probably thought I would ask for something a child would like, like a toy or a pet.

‘...Okay, I will have Duncan choose a competent governess for you.’

That won't do.

‘I want to choose one myself, is that okay?’

My tone was timid, not knowing if the duke, beneath his gentle appearance, also harboured a mad dog's heart like his son, nervously twisting his fingers.

The duke didn't say anything, his gaze resting on my arm. I looked down and saw that there was a large bruise on the back of my elbow, which stood out against my fair skin.

I quickly covered it up. It should have been the bad aunt at the orphanage who grabbed me too hard this morning. I'm also a body type that easily leaves bruises, which is why it looks so scary. I hope he doesn't think I'm a troublemaker.

‘Duncan will give you the list later.’

He agreed, adding hesitantly, ‘If the teacher makes any inappropriate moves, tell Duncan immediately.’

Overjoyed, I quickly flashed the brightest smile I could manage and said, ‘Thank you, Duke!’

I had gained a lot of life experience during the days when I had been bounced around between foster homes, feeling helpless and isolated. The most important thing I had learned was that you must let others feel your emotional response, and never remain indifferent to praise or criticism!

‘If there's nothing else, go rest,’

the Duke waved his hand as if swatting mosquitoes, and buried his head back in his paperwork.

I jumped down from the chair contentedly, almost tripping over myself, but I managed to stand firm. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the Duke seemed to tremble a little, probably because he wanted to catch me.

But Elio, who was standing right in front of me, was indifferent, with a cold face. If I had fallen into his arms, he would definitely have dodged. What an unpleasant guy.