I took letter paper out of the drawer. I pressed the letters firmly onto the pretty stationery and sealed it well. Then I sent it to Han Jihyeok, addressed to the Egritz Training Camp. Camp Commander Karlie called Alexis. Alexis, who was swinging a wooden sword, approached Karlie. Karlie looked at Alexis with a satisfied gaze. ‘This kid really looks like me when I was young.’ “You’re popular with the girls, aren’t you?” “Is that why you called me?” “So prickly. Here.” Karlie handed Alexis a letter. Alexis’s eyes widened as he looked at the letter Karlie handed him. It was letter paper with a drawing of a squirrel holding an acorn. As soon as the kids around saw it, they swarmed over. “That looks like it’s from a girl!” “You know a girl other than you? Huh?” Alexis silenced the noisy kids with one hand and carefully opened the envelope. Alexis’s eyes grew wide. Han Jihyeok visited Egritz once a month. But since Erilot woke up, the day to visit Egritz hadn’t come yet. So Alexis didn’t know that Erilot had woken up. Throwing aside his wooden sword, Alexis ran outside. He looked around the area near the exit for a long time. A hooded kid jumped out from the bushes with arms raised. Alexis hurried over, and the kid pulled off the hood. “You let your hair down.” “When it’s all curly, the hood sticks up.” Erilot smiled and grabbed Alexis’s hand tightly. Then she waddled away. Alexis’s eyes went wide. “Where are you going?” “I’m going to give you a gift. Come here!” They arrived at a worn-down, abandoned building. They climbed the outside stairs together. The stairs were so old that even a single step creaked loudly. Erilot reached the top floor and spread her arms wide with a flourish. “This is a gift to start training.” Alexis followed her gaze up to the sky. A night sky so full of stars it seemed they would pour down. Alexis had always lived running from trackers. At night, he always hid deep in the dark, never allowed outside. During the day, he was so used to walking with his head down he never thought to look at the sky. “I really love our Astra sky.” Alexis’s eyes sparkled like stars. Erilot walked lightly with her hands behind her back. This was the place where Erilot from her first life ran away when life was hard. A place where she received comfort and barely gained the strength to endure. “This is our secret place now, Alexis.” “When you’re struggling, come here. Even if you look at stars alone, your heart feels like you’re looking at me.” Alexis stared at Erilot. A strange, strange girl. So small, yet sometimes she looked like a mountain. Though she seemed ignorant of misfortune, her eyes were very mature. “They say royal family kids’ eyes turn gold when they grow up.” His eyes were blue now. Erilot smiled faintly and looked at Alexis. “When your eyes turn gold, let’s break them.” “Everything that made us unhappy.” Erilot held out her fist. Alexis lightly bumped his fist against hers, staring at her tiny hand. It was the summer of Erilot’s tenth year. On a day when roses were in full bloom, a debutante ball was held at Astra’s Factory. Children from the direct, collateral, and vassal noble families gathered in the Factory’s Great Hall. The children entered with faces full of excitement. The Great Hall, which could accommodate 100 people, was bustling with kids. Even social leaders from distant Hwangdo came to celebrate the first steps of the children. The direct descendants appeared on the second floor. The noisy children who entered first suddenly all turned their gaze. “Hello, Miss Liantin!” “Miss Dione, it’s been a long time!” “That’s Lord Balzac...!” The Great Hall buzzed with noise. The direct descendants flaunted their brilliantly blossomed talents and appearances. It was a debutante ball that even Hwangdo took notice of. Balzac leaned arrogantly on the railing with hands in his pockets. His red hair flowed down to his neck, exuding wild charm. Joshua walked deliberately from afar, frowning. His neat blond hair and lake-like shining eyes attracted all the women’s attention. If Balzac looked sculpted, Joshua had a molded kind of charm. “You should behave yourself in front of others.” “I’m exhausted from dragging guards all over the mountain for two days straight. If you want to nag me, nag over there instead.” Balzac gestured toward the first floor. A group of Geoffrey’s gang, dressed roughly, swaggered around among the collateral descendants like they were kings of the group. It was visible even from afar how cocky they were. Liantin came up beside Joshua and made a sour face, “Ugh.” Her curly hair that barely reached her shoulders had now grown down to her waist. From the first floor, Dione struggled as the collateral descendants cornered her. Liantin called out, glaring, and the collateral descendants hesitated. Dione took the chance to hurry upstairs. “Were you stupid enough to get caught again?” “I was just talking to them...” People on the first floor looked at the direct descendants and gasped. They each gazed at the direct descendants’ appearances with enchanted eyes. Balzac spoke with annoyance. “How long do we have to stay here?” “Until grandfather leaves.” Then, a clear voice was heard from somewhere. “Don’t think about running away, brother.” A person who had been in a corner on the second floor slowly walked toward the railing. White, translucent skin. A beautiful curved face shape. Eyelashes shimmering like gold thread. Eyes shining like jewels, red in color. Lips perfectly shaped. A beauty mark by the eyes. Luxurious golden hair reaching down to the waist. A girl who looked like a living rose, flaunting a gorgeous appearance. She blinked and looked at Balzac. “I told you I’d congratulate you on your debutante ball.” When the girl appeared, the first floor murmured at once. No sooner had someone muttered that than people gasped and focused on the source of the sound. At that moment, a man strode in alone. Now the lord of the flourishing jurisdiction ranked among the top three estates of Astra Manor, “Father of the one just mentioned. Follow me quietly.” Balzac swiftly jumped down from the second floor. Joshua leisurely walked down the stairs. “The one just mentioned, this way.” The boy and the middle-aged man who appeared to be his father looked pale. The twins placed their hands on the boy’s shoulders, and Daymond placed his hand on the middle-aged man’s shoulder. The night after the debutante ball, Daymond’s jurisdiction was as quiet as a mouse. All the employees quietly stood against the wall, and even the soldiers hung their heads. Erilot sat on the sofa with her arms crossed. The twins knelt side by side in front of the sofa. Daymond stood beside his daughter’s sofa, hands behind his back, stealing glances, then spoke. “About today’s matter...” Erilot glanced sharply at him, and Daymond closed his mouth. Heidi and Betty, who saw her long eyelashes droop, forgot the situation and sighed, then quickly snapped back to attention. ‘Our lady is even more beautiful today.’ ‘The rose, the ruby of Daymond’s jurisdiction...!’ No one in distant Hwangdo wouldn’t know the Astra Daymond family. Daymond Astra was famous for his looks, but the twins and Erilot had grown up beautifully. Especially Erilot, who was known as the precious jewel rapidly growing in Daymond’s jurisdiction after seven years. Erilot held a teacup with long white fingers and spoke. “Thank you and sorry for fighting over me.” Balzac stood up but sat down again after Joshua elbowed him in the stomach. Erilot looked around. “Did it have to come to a team fight with the soldiers? They were guests invited from Hwangdo.” A 3-meter-tall soldier, Mosco, protested. “That was because Count Gentil first led the knights...!” “They hid behind and begged for mercy.” “The first to grab the iron was Count Gentil’s son...!” “He was the one covering his head with a tray.” Daymond cautiously spoke. “They refused to apologize even when asked...” “Dad grabbed Count Gentil’s tongue and told him to apologize.” Erilot looked around at the family members who had brawled at the debutante ball. “Those who threw a punch at Count Gentil, quietly raise your hand.” Daymond quietly raised his hand. Erilot closed her eyes tightly. “Who said ‘You’re dead, you bastard!’ when grandfather came?” Balzac quietly raised his hand. Erilot furrowed her brows. “Who pretended to fight with Count Gentil’s side and took off Uncle Balderic’s wig?” Joshua quietly raised his hand. Erilot’s eyebrows twitched. She slammed the teacup down on the table and jumped up. “How are you going to handle this─!” The broad-shouldered men flinched. Managers ran in crying. “Count {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Gentil officially protested to the royal palace!” “Last month, we almost half-killed Prince Briken, so we prepared 2,000 pages of documents...!” “We nearly broke a pillar in the Great Hall and have to pay compensation...!” I looked at the managers, who had suffered digestive problems, hair loss, and high blood pressure over seven years, with pity. “I’ll go see grandfather.” The managers brightened as if they found a ray of light in the darkness. Because they worked in our estate... I sighed and looked at Heidi and Betty. “Shall I bring you hats?” “How about the cloche hats we bought last time at Lady Rita’s boutique? They suit our lady so well!” Heidi and Betty had just been promoted from junior maids to senior maids and were now leading a team. The maids ran to the dressing room, saying, “Nothing won’t suit her~!” While they went to get the hats, I looked at the three criminals standing by the wall. “Don’t take it out on others, okay?” I looked at my dad and the twins with narrowed eyes and headed to the carriage. Just as I was about to board, the maids ran over and put a hat on me. “I knew it had to be red!” I lightly waved to the two happy maids and climbed into the carriage. The carriage raced off. ‘It won’t even take two hours.’ After all, the carriage was embedded with a whopping twelve blessing stones. I still remembered how shaky my hands were when buying this carriage. It had been ten years since I returned as Erilot, but a small part of me was still Yoo Hyemin, the small-town girl. ‘Gotta show off the money.’ Back then, I wondered why nobles were so extravagant. But showing off wealth really helped a lot in society. I raised myself to a place where I could buy this kind of thing. It was all thanks to my father, who traveled the kingdoms all year round hunting seasonal fruits. Soon the carriage stopped. I got off and entered the main estate. I was greeted by Hilda and Greta, who had been promoted to senior servants. She had become the maid in charge of managing maid greetings. Hilda clasped her cheeks with both hands and said, “Congratulations on your promotion.” “It’s thanks to you, my lady~!” Hilda was very happy and said so. Together with Hilda and Greta, I walked toward grandfather’s study. Hilda glanced around and said, “It seems Deconz and Gustav had a big fight.” “Why? Gustav is not someone who loses his temper easily.” “They had a heated argument over where to build the hospital.” “What a stupid fight. The hospital is ours~!” Through Hilda and Greta, I was keeping up with the estate’s situation. After chatting about this and that, we arrived at the study. Clearing my throat, I knocked. I was barely inside when— I acted like a delighted granddaughter. Running like a ten-year-old, I went to my grandfather but froze for a moment. ‘Were the retainers gathered?’ I felt a slight wave of reality hitting me but pulled myself together. The Great Hall repair cost! The hospital! “The hospital is really important.” Our jurisdiction had greatly expanded because of my father’s obsession with land acquisition, but there were only two hospitals. I smiled and greeted the retainers. “Miss Erilot grows up so fast every time we see her.” My grandfather and my soul mate Marquis Debussy bowed their heads. After greeting, I hurried to stand by grandfather. “The Hwangdo Academy keeps contacting us. I wanted to ask you, grandfather. I think education for blood relatives is good, but it might be nice to attend the Hwangdo Academy, where you have acquaintances.” The retainers’ eyes widened. “The Hwangdo Academy contacted us?” Marquis Debussy chuckled. “When Count Eneron, the headmaster of Hwangdo Academy, visited last time, he made the miss solve entrance exam questions for fun.” “She scored full marks. Count Eneron insisted on sending her. They said it was the first time they’d seen a ten-year-old with a perfect score and made a big fuss.” “Wow. I knew Miss Erilot was brilliant, but that’s amazing.” Marquis Debussy asked my grandfather, “How does it feel to have such a talented granddaughter?” “What? It’s just annoying.” At the same time, grandfather’s lips trembled slightly. ‘All those sleepless nights and study sessions paid off.’ Through the blessing of reading comments, I had known Count Eneron was coming. He was a strange person who makes kids solve exam problems when drunk. ‘I studied my ass off.’ Who would dislike a grandchild who studies well?