...

???

A small wolf-kin girl woke up from a ringing bell, confused about where the sound came from. As she opened her eyes slowly, she waggled her tail, thinking of what she should have for breakfast. However, she was immediately startled when she found herself in an unknown place, 'Where am I?!'

She stood carefully up and looked around, fearing she was kidnapped. She often read about such things happening to noble puppies in drama and romance novels. While it was a romantic fantasy of hers, experiencing such a thing terrified her to her bones, making her blood freeze.

Yet, when she looked around, she slowly calmed down, as it was too weird to consider it a kidnapping since she was free to move and run away, remembering that princesses were always tied up and gagged in the stories she read, 'What is happening, and what is this place?'

After orienting herself more, she recognized the room she was in. It looked like the art room she knew and loved, but much fancier and more colorful, like one of her brother's plays he occasionally did for her. The furniture wasn't as old and dark as she knew but much lighter, with more playful motives carved into it. Even the frames of the paintings looked very colorful but elegant. It was a weird contrast but one she liked.

She suddenly also felt that it was much brighter. Looking up, she saw that the ceiling was made of glass. The light coming from the outside made the paintings look alive, as if they would jump out at any second, 'Weird.'

As she moved, she suddenly stopped, noticing only now her new clothing. She was wearing the garment she only wore when painting. Grabbing her head, she also felt the stupid hat her brother requested for her to make and wear since he said real painters would wear it. Nobody else in the estate knew about this, not even her Mother, making her feel weird when she wore it.

'Did Big Brother prank me again?'

She remembered clearly the day he frightened her to tears, making her have nightmares for the following weeks, and she was sure to retaliate if that happened again, "Stop it, big brother! I will tell Mom if you want to scare me again!"

However, what came was not his laughter and an apology but a deep voice that she envisioned a fairy tale Knight would have, "Ms. Janina, your brother has nothing to do with it."

She turned quickly to where the voice came from, not finding anyone, "Down here, my Lady."

She looked down and saw her plush dog before her. It wore cute armor and a helmet, with a small sword strapped to the side, "Lord Fluffels?!"

The small dog plushy looked up to her with his tongue out and barked once, "Bark! No need to fear, Ms. Janina. But this is a skill test, and I shall lead thee through it."

She was initially confused but remembered what she was told about them. She would need to go through a small trial and succeed. She became nervous, "But... b... I... what should I do?"

Lord Fluffles barked again, "Bark! Please be at ease, my Lady! You graciously and through your incredible talent reached the threshold with your skill [Painting] level 25 and are allowed to soar even higher, but for this, you would need to succeed in the test!"

What Lord Fluffles said surprised her as she remembered others talking about their first skill test. Her siblings had their first before their legacy, while the servants had them after. It was apparently a sign of talent to have a skill test when someone was younger than ten, making her puff her chest out proudly.

"Good! This is what I want to see from an honest and virtuous Lady! The task is to paint anything with a landscape to your liking!"

Janina was confused, "Oh? That is easy..." She turned around and wanted to ask where the paint and canvas were since she hadn't seen anything before, but to her surprise, it appeared right behind her.

Lord Fluffles wobbled behind her slowly, and with his raspy voice, he started the test, "Begin, my dear Lady! You have as much time as you need. May your mind and tenacity lead thee through all perils!"

...

Hours Later

Janina had never felt this good. Her creativity was overflowing. She forgot about everything around her, only trying to create the perfect picture. It was as if she was encased in a cocoon with nobody disturbing her. No siblings were arguing with her parents, no visitors who screamed at her brother while he insulted them, and most importantly, no judgment.

While she loved her family, having Alexander as a brother became stressful. It always felt as if everyone was judging her, taking him as a standard, expecting her to be as, if not more, talented. While her family never did such a thing, she knew they always expected a lot from her.

She learned mana skills, like she wanted, and was now studying how to use even a simple spell for hours daily, yet she could only clean herself. She tried to reach a point where they could be proud of her, but it was impossible, even excluding Alexander.

All her achievements were nothing in comparison to those of her siblings. Sarah could beat Tier 3s to a pulp, and Narsiz became a fantastic archer. He also learned many assassination techniques, and his magic improved greatly.

Lorient was the only one who understood her sorrows, but she was gone. Now she was alone, with no one there. She tried to tell her Mother, and while she was forthcoming, it didn't help.

Janina felt little, weak, and unseen. She was looking at massive mountains, painting her emotions out, and crying. The flawless canvas and vibrant paint matched her feelings perfectly, bringing them to the forefront of what should be a simple landscape painting. It was creativistic in style, showing the enormous mountains with a small hill to the side. She used a surreal perspective encompassing the pressure she felt in her chest. The colors were fiery, bringing her frustration to the forefront. She wanted everyone to see her emotions through this painting.

"Done..."

She heard a deep voice, remembering that she wasn't alone, "This is beautiful, my Lady."

She turned around to Lord Fluffles, wiping her tears away and smiling at him, "Thank you very much, my great Knight."

He looked at her with his button eyes and said, "With this, the skill test is concluded, and you succeeded. Congratulations!"

Before she could say anything, she suddenly woke up and returned to her bedroom, confused. After adjusting herself to being brought back, she looked to the side to Lord Fluffles, whom she poked multiple times to see if he would talk again, but nothing happened, 'I liked his voice and demeanor, though...'

After a moment of reorientation, she saw the painting equipment standing in the room and remembered the nice one from the skill test, which was almost too perfect, 'Right!'

She immediately stood up and went towards her brother's mansion.

...

30 minutes later, Alexander's Mansion

"Mr. Alexander, you need to wake up!"

"Urgh, five minutes Franci. I am so tired."

Alexander turned away from the window, trying to avoid the sunlight, but was suddenly grabbed and turned back, "Mr. Alexander! You have a lot to do. Please don't forget your guests!"

He opened his eye slightly and closed it again, sighing, "You go."

He heard a humph, felt suddenly a pull to the end of his bed, and was halfway laying down and standing, "Mr. Alexander, but I assure you that I am not qualified to deal with them."

Alexander slowly opened his eyes and closed them again, feeling dead tired. The last days had been more than a little stressful. Beginning with the Silver-Tail Lord, a paranoid guy who didn't trust Alexander without confirming everything twice.

However, it slowly worked itself out after Alexander threw him 5,000 large gold coins as a present to show his sincerity. After that, their deals started to get annoyingly detailed, and they wrote the outline for their future contracts that were over 300 pages long with no end in sight.

All needed to be meticulously written down, thus making his life a living hell. Even though Ariana and Aurum would take over after the negotiations, when Bartholomew left, it was nonetheless apparently his job to discuss those stupid details. All his future undertakings needed to be rigorously discussed as to precisely what he would do.

However, Alexander could mostly give him vague answers as he had no idea what the Silver-Tail territory looked like. As such, he got a ton of reading material from Bartholomew's maid, who would answer all his questions. She even signed a mana contract, forcing her to tell the truth and cursing her heavily should she lie. Bartholomew probably also thought others wouldn't trust him, thus going so far.

Alexander hoped it was different in this world. He hated time-wasting bureaucracy and would instead just make a deal with a handshake, lose out, and later get revenge. Time was, for him, much more valuable than some coins.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

On the other hand, Nila trusted him fully, probably because Patricia vouched for him. She was open to all his projects, only needing some explanations of what he wanted to do roughly, which was fair.

However, before they left, another massive task needed to be prepared: the argument for the higher Moorgrelian court. Bartholomew and Nila hit off, spending much time together, which was ideal for Alexander since, as much as he could see, she spoke amiably about him to her lover, making his negotiations smoother.

It was ideal for future negotiations, but she also expected him to deliver the argument. Even though she was not saying it directly, little quips here and there made it apparent. However, the argument was hundreds of pages long already, with many citations from superseding obscure laws and texts. Alexander's law skills were put to full use, making him waste hours every night.

Then came the worst part of his last days: the Cold-Snout girls. They started to like him, but not in a friendship manner like Patricia, who just needed a lot of support after the assassination. They wanted to woo him, making him feel like a creep.

They were young, and even if Alexander put them into Earth's age bracket, it felt even weirder, as if he tried to find a way to rationalize that he wanted to be together with them, which he didn't want to. They were too young and looked their part like that, while his taste was more in line with Anastasia.

Yet, this was not all. The Cold-Snout girls, even though trying otherwise, acted like girls. Their sense of humor, manners, and topics they liked to talk about were all that he knew from his little sister back then, and it was the same with them. They were little girls through and through, making him feel weirded out.

As if this was not enough, he had another problem. He actually didn't know if he was attracted to girls at all. He had no sexual desire. Sure, he could see that some women looked great, but that was it. It was a first for him that he felt like he was a stranger in his own body as if something was wrong.

The girls didn't go through their first mating season but nonetheless pursued him, as they probably felt something, which he didn't know what. All he could feel was the certain friendship-like attraction, never even coming close to what he would describe as love or interest in having someone as a partner.

They all followed some kind of instinct that Alexander had not developed since he was born an adult, only sometimes acting childish, as he genuinely enjoyed it since he had no real childhood in his last life.

All he had now were his natural inclinations, and he did everything he could to suppress them, 'Did I castrate myself mentally?'

Suppressing all those wild and feral emotions was essential for him. It was to stop his bloodlust from going rampant, injuring his loved ones. All his mental fortitude skills were practically on auto mode, working not at full capacity but always a little, as he needed to bury all those instincts as deeply as possible inside of him. Everything else, like his personality, he let run free.

Alexander could conclude many things from this, making a somewhat wild guess. Still, he would rather not, as there was no need for it now since he was too young for a relationship, or so he thought. He would like to stay like this for the next few years until he could actually date some women more in line with his previous tastes. Thus, he did the only pragmatic thing, putting it to the back of his mind for later to look into, ' I need probably have a talk with Mom and Dad about bees 'n stuff.'

For now, he had more urgent problems to solve: Matilda, Vanessa, and Emma. So, how should he act? Just dump them all? This would destroy his future relationships with the Cold-Snout household. Maybe he could manipulate them where they thought he had an interest while not giving them any sincere answer. Indeed, it was possible, but his moral compass wasn't allowing it.

While on dates, he tried to be as forthcoming as possible, like with Patricia, but instead of acting like some flustered children, they started aggressively pursuing him.

What did it look like? They rubbed themself on him, tried to get ever so closer, even mentioning sleeping together and all the other things, making him incredibly uncomfortable, but he needed to endure.

If it was that hard to get into their territory with his charity and education system, like with Bartholomew, he needed to walk on a very tight rope to somehow reject them while they were still amiable to him. Otherwise, he imagined that they would make his life a living hell.

However, now it was back to his daily life, trying to coordinate important deals and avoid the love of underaged girls, hoping he could push their grabby hands for much later until he got an idea. He looked at his maid, opening one eye slightly, "Franci, I will pay you triple..."

He was interrupted by his maid, who woke him up most of the time, "...Mr. Alexander, stop it! You always want to pay me disgustingly large amounts of coin for letting you sleep!"

He smiled and winked at her, "That's why I love you."

She frowned, "I have a fiancé, and you shouldn't joke like this."

This was another thing he needed to adjust to even after years. While it was somewhat okay-ish to say one loved their friends in a platonic way on Earth, here, it was treated seriously and only allowed to say so in a familiar setting or to their partner. Even jokes weren't really accepted, as love was seen as something precious.

However, his cultural crisis was interrupted when he heard people outside talking, and one of those talking was Janina, "Hello! Who are you?"

Alexander wondered if he had someone new at his mansion, 'Did Melina hire another maid?'

However, those thoughts quickly changed when he smelled cigar smoke, "Hello there, little pup. I am Bartholomew, and who might you be?"

'What is he doing so early?'

While he was a pain in the ass to deal with, he was nonetheless from the Guard Households and thus probably somewhere part of his family, like the crazy uncle who would join them for dinner, strap for cash, and talk about some crazy conspiracy theories. As such, he let them relatively freely roam around.

He suddenly heard his little sister's joyful voice, "Janina M. Leonandra!"

Alexander frowned, 'Don't tell everyone your name.'

"Oh, and what are you doing here? Isn't this Alex's mansion?"

She sounded excitedly, "I want to visit him and ask him to make something for me!"

Alexander woke fully up, put on some slippers, and moved to the window, wondering if he had forgotten something. He had too many things on his plate and wasn't really looking after Janina's education much, including her magic lessons.

She was pretty good, and because of that, he gave her some long-term tasks, including cracking an uncomplicated anti-mana collar while not wearing it. While not strictly magic, one should first build up the fundamentals, as learning some spells was easy enough.

Her other lessons were mainly about learning easy algorithms through puzzles and some alchemy theory through toys and models of atoms, which was perfectly fitting for a child.

After teaching, or rather torturing, Ocilia with brutal and dry theory, he decided to try a more age-fitting approach with Janina. If it worked, it was to be seen, and if he was honest, she was more or less a lab rat for his future education goals when he would teach magic at schools.

"Oh? What do you want to ask him?"

"You see, I had a skill test, and there were so many great things, so I thought my brother could make it like in the dream since he also..."

Alexander panicked, interrupting her, screaming, "Hey, shut up!"

While Alexander was forthcoming and wouldn't care a bit to share technology that could benefit others before, his mind slightly changed when he calculated how much all the other stuff would cost him he wanted to do. As such, he needed to act less risky with his current revenue streams before he had any real say about the tax law. Sure, he could invent a plethora of other things, but it was always a crab shot if they would bring a good amount in or were just some pocket change.

Bartholomew looked up and smirked at Alexander, "I wish you a good morning, too, little pup."

Alexander jumped out of the window. Shortly before landing, he used air contraptions and a propulsion spell to create a bed of air under him, letting him feather his fall.

As he landed beside the giant hunk of dog-kin, he turned to her, "Don't talk to strangers about anything related to my inventions."

Janina became surprised and nodded at him. However, Alexander became a little frustrated, 'Damn it, Mom! You bashed into my head not to tell anyone about my inventions but forgot to tell her?!'

His Mother was adamant about keeping everything secret, from skills to inventions. Yet, she forgot that his little sister was too innocent and liked to gossip.

Alexander turned to Bartholomew, a little agitated, "Listen, what are you doing here? Don't we have a meeting in 10 minutes or so?..." He looked around, "...where is your better half? I thought you hit it off."

Nila looked out the window, seemingly ready and fresh, "Good morning, Alex. I would appreciate it if you do not blab such things out in front of everyone."

Alexander looked at her sheepishly, smiling, clearly smelling Bartholomew's smell on her, "Sorry."

Bartholomew straightened up and put the cigar out, disintegrating it with his energy, which felt very different to Alexander. It was the same as his Mother's, Grandmother's, and Lorient's but also very distinct. It gave off a slight feeling of horror and hysteria, a very familiar feeling but far from the intensity he felt when Teach' let loose and without all the evil undertones.

Seeing that he was somewhat casual, Alexander decided to de-escalate the situation, nodding toward Janina, "Go back to your room. I will come later, and you can tell me all you want, okay?" He smiled and patted her to calm her down, as she seemed a little agitated.

Janina nodded and slowly walked back, while sometimes turning around and watching how he faked his smile and waved at her, 'God damn it! I must tell her to shut up that I even invent things.'

His family, Patricia, and retainers made him realize that he couldn't be reckless anymore about openly sharing his most valuable knowledge or letting others know he could create things that easily. After the assassination attack, it was clear that the estate's security wasn't perfect.

If any of his achievements were linked to him, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that he would become the number one target for many people. As such, he would announce it but first wanted to go through his legacy, knowing that it would be an easy feat to defend himself by then.

He suddenly heard his three biggest problems screaming and looking out the window.

"Alex! Good morning!"

"Alex, how did you sleep?"

"Morning!"

Alexander looked up again and saw the Cold-Snout girls looking happily at him. He waved at them, forcing a smile, "What are my lovely Ladies doing so early?"

They started to chuckle and whisper to each other. However, Alexander turned to Barthelemow, scratching his head in annoyance, "You didn't hear anything, all right?"

He shrugged, "Hearing what? However, you look like you came straight out of bed. Are you really ready for negotiations?"

Alexander looked at him in annoyance, "Partly. It's too early for me."

Bartholomew smirked and became a little louder, "I see. So, you came after your uncle, huh?" while pointing his thumb at the girls.

Alexander panicked a little, looking upwards and seeing all the girls blushing. Matilda looked him straight into his eyes while smiling widely. Vanessa looked away in embarrassment, while Emma was stoic, but he could sometimes see how her tail popped out from the lower part of the window as it was aggressively propelling around.

They suddenly looked at each other and began talking, giggling, and sometimes glancing at him, 'Great. Why do people need to give them such stupid ideas?.'

It wasn't a stretch to say that one was judged much more heavily in this world of what their family was than on Earth. Because he had an uncle who apparently loved to collect canine-kin women, he was also seen as someone with the same blood as him, thus also some of his traits.

However, the last thing Alexander wanted was to have a harem. He wanted to marry at some point, but it was decades away. With his life expectancy being around 250 years and even more when he included that it would jump up to 400 with the first body modification and to 650 - 700 with the second, marrying so young seemed like a nightmare for a modern man like him.

Alexander was irritated, looking at Bartholomew, "Thanks, moron."

Bartholemew looked at him seriously but then smiled, "Oh, is this your weakness? Girls? You are really young, huh?"

"Young but old enough to kick your ass though."

Bartholomew smirked at him, "Fancy a spar?"

At first, Alexander wanted to decline but then shrugged, thinking it would be an excellent way to wake up if he didn't overdo it, "Sure, let me get Ipe first."