Meeting Rachel Cassius, the mother of the second main character, was something I definitely did not expect in this life.

Thinking about what I should do now, I hardly paid attention to what was happening around me for the rest of the evening.

After the end of the crumpled welcome ceremony, we were settled in our rooms, but even at night I could not close my eyes.

It looks like there won't be a day of rest for me for the next three years. I have to do everything possible to save this country and myself from two threats.

The only thought that warmed me with all this was the hope that by my efforts I could achieve a bright future for myself.

In order to live carefree for the rest of my life and not think about problems, I was ready to roll up my sleeves and do everything possible for this now.

So, I decided to set Rachel Cassius on the right path.

But what can I do for this?

In order for her son not to grow up to be a crazy psychopath, I definitely had to work on her personality so that there would be no problems with this in the future.

But considering what a scene I found in the garden not so long ago, it will be quite difficult...

It is possible that aggressiveness and lack of anger control are present in all members of this family from birth.

Since, apart from the abuse of her son in childhood, Rachel's character and life itself were not reflected in the novel in any way, I knew practically nothing about her.

From Robert's memories, I knew only the smallest fragments of her life.

The current Duke Cassius and Rachel's father is a very powerful man who is feared by the entire empire. And Rachel, being his only daughter, is very similar to him both in appearance and character.

In a few years, Rachel will have to marry an aristocrat for political reasons, whom she absolutely does not love.

A year later, their son Robert will be born, but their family union will not last long. Rachel, who from the very beginning was imbued with contempt and indifference for her husband, will eventually kill him after a couple of years of living together.

Robert, who accidentally catches this, will have a psychological trauma, which will only further aggravate his condition.

In the end, it will be Robert who will kill her, and that will be the end of her life.

One could say that our destinies were similar to hers, because of such a sudden death. Although, if in my case, it happened because of a series of unfair circumstances, then she... Had quite a direct relation to this outcome.

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In the novel, Rachel was described as a cold and unfeeling woman who is not capable of love.

Therefore, it was not at all surprising why everything turned out that way. Most likely, it was hard for Robert to accept that his own mother despised his existence. And in the end, he took revenge on her radically.

In order to prevent a repetition of the scenario from the novel, I had to at least try to germinate the rudiments of sympathy in her heart.

But will I succeed?

At least I should have tried.

After all, the future of the whole kingdom depends on my actions now.

And for such a good purpose, I didn't see anything difficult in striking up a friendship with an heiress from a cursed family.

At that moment, I didn't think at all that I might regret it in the future.

***

The next day, the first classes of freshmen took place at the academy, but I hardly concentrated my attention on them.

After serving the prescribed six lessons, I left our classroom as if from hard labor. Then, I decided to go straight to look for Rachel.

After all, I considered saving the state a much more important task than studying.

Having decided to attend all the subjects just for show, I did not feel much remorse. Moreover, all this knowledge is absolutely not useful to me in my future carefree life.

After searching the entire building, where she was not, I decided to look into the garden where yesterday's incident occurred. I had a ghostly hope in this regard, and surprisingly it was justified.

I noticed a dark crown under one of the huge apple trees. Most likely, she was asleep, because she did not react to the sound of leaves breaking under my sole.

Carefully approaching, I was able to see her face so clearly for the first time.

Rachel Cassius was really very beautiful. Her features resembled an elegant statue, and her skin was snow-white, like porcelain. Her jet-black hair reached just below her shoulders, and her overgrown bangs fell over her face, covering almost the entire forehead.

It became obvious that the rumors about the inhuman beauty of the Cassius family were not lying.

Rachel was undoubtedly attractive, and if it weren't for her blood-red eyes and her background, she could have led a much better life than she is now.

In the dream, she looked innocent, just like a child, and I even lost my vigilance for a while.

However, it took only a couple of seconds as my little idyll of admiring her ended, and the scarlet irises pierced me.

— What are you doing?

A cold voice, without any emotional shades, at first drove me out of myself.

She stood up, and I recoiled, choosing my words along the way.

— Hi, my name is Leriana. I am also a first-year student... I don't have any friends yet... I saw you here, and I thought you might not be busy...

— Maybe you would like to be my friend? — Silence in response. — Rachel...

— Get out.

A simple and unambiguous answer, which I was expecting in my heart, but hoped for the best until the last.

After saying that, Rachel turned around and left.

I exhaled.

Perhaps it only now dawned on me how difficult the path to win her favor would be.

And the first attempt was definitely a failure.

***

After my first attempt to talk to her, Rachel just left, I returned to my dorm room in somewhat upset feelings.

I didn't know what I could do to make her pay attention to me.

After all, Rachel didn't even show a shred of affection for her own son. Is it worth talking about how realistic it is to make friends with her...?

Sighing, I was passing by the greenhouse when I suddenly heard a splash of water nearby.

Interested, I headed in that direction, and found that the sound came from the lake.

Someone's head was visible on the surface of the water, and desperate cries for help were coming out; Someone was drowning!

Turning around in horror, I saw that no one was nearby, and it would be too long to call for help.

Realizing that a human life was at stake, I couldn't risk it; I had to act immediately; At that moment, throwing off my bag, my body instinctively rushed into the water.