A cool breeze danced to the morning sun’s gentle warmth, casting a comfortable ambience over Circe as she strolled along the veranda. Immersed in the calmness of silence, she let her gaze wander to the garden beyond the tall pillars, the strong aroma of flowers swiftly captured her attention.

She wore a purple dress that Lilia had brought her from the Peregrine house, and once more secretly loosened her corset for comfort, if not for her maid’s insistence, she would’ve completely taken them off.

As she took a turn, a silhouette caught her attention from the corner of her eyes, causing her to halt her steps, turning to face a small child looking up at her sternly. “Oh, my apologies, I almost didn’t see you there,” it took her a moment, but once Circe recognized the little girl, she gave her a graceful curtsy. “Good morning, Lady Rowena. How was your training?”

Rowena Salvador, the youngest child and only daughter from the Salvador House, had her long, raven-black hair tied into a high ponytail, and wore a comfortable dress shirt and pants suitable for swordsmanship training. While she may have inherited Esmeralda’s emerald eyes, the frigid gleam within them mirrored her father’s, Creston Salvador.

“It was alright, my lady, thank you for asking,” despite her haughty demeanor, Rowena answered in a calm voice, returning Circe’s curtsy with a bow. If not for her petite frame and sweet timbre, any would’ve mistaken her as a boy. “But why are you here alone, my lady? I thought my brother follows you around like a parasitic worm these days.”

“Parasitic worm…Oh my god.” The child’s words brought a smile to Circe’s lips, displaying her amusement. Rowena may attempt to behave like a grown adult, but her half-formal language still showed her true age. “Lord Silas is still in bed, you see,” Circe replied as she snuck a glance to the scenery beyond the veranda, noting the half-lit sky. “Unlike us, he’s not an early bird. I’m sure you know what he’s like.”

Rowena scoffed at her words, crossing her arms as a frown creased her forehead. “I hardly want to acknowledge that person as my older brother, he’s been nothing but disgraceful to our family,” for a moment, Circe saw a flash of Lysander Salvador within her poise. “He doesn’t care about swordsmanship and goes around causing trouble for the people! Even Father chose to ignore him because no one could deal with him!”

“…Was Silas that bad?” Then Circe recalled Silas Salvador’s drinking habits, causing her to shudder. “Actually, yes, his emotions turn into a turbulent storm whenever he’s drunk…and gets angry way too easily.”

“But I guess he’s better now,” Rowena continued, the frustration in her voice now faded. Lowering her arms, she gave Circe a soft smile. “I have you to thank, Lady Ruelle. Were you a dog whisperer in your past life? Because you seem to have a good handle with wild dogs.”

Circe’s hysterical laughter quickly got suppressed as her hand shot to her mouth. “Oh my goodness,” wiping a stray tear from her eye, the wide grin that lingered brightened her expression. “First he’s a worm, now he’s a dog? You sure have your way with words for someone your age, Lady Rowena.”

Standing with her arms akimbo, Rowena puffed out her chest as she put on a proud face. “Of course! My nanny said that I’m the smartest girl in the march!” When the little girl looked at Circe with eyes shimmering with joy, she couldn’t see any trace of the stoic marquess in her anymore. “I’m starting to like you a lot, Lady Ruelle! Can we have tea together? I want to talk to you more!”

“I would love to, Lady Rowena,” Circe could feel herself getting more comfortable talking with the girl, even more so than Lilia, whom she knew better due to Ruelle Peregrine’s lingering memories. Genuine joy flickered across her face as she spoke. “Since we’re going to be family soon anyway, you’re free to speak however you want, Lady Rowena. I’m sure it’s difficult minding your words constantly.”

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Rowena’s expression lit up even brighter than before. “Really? You don’t mind?”

”Why would I?” Circe chuckled at her reaction, finding the little girl too cute to belong to a stern family like Salvador. “Please don’t take this as me looking down on you for being a child, but I believe that children like you shouldn’t fret with these things until you’re at least a teenager.”

As Rowena beamed at her, Circe got the impression that she may start bouncing around at any given moment, seeing her joy bubbling in her every word. “Okay! Then can you call me ‘Rena’? I’ve always wanted to use nicknames with someone!”

Circe nodded. “Alright Rena, then you may call me Ruelle too.”

“Ruelle…” Rowena looked down for a moment, appearing in deep thought. When she glanced up at Circe with a hint of hesitation in her eyes, uncertainty tinged her voice. “…Um, can I call you ‘Sister’? Sister Ruelle?”

Circe instantly froze, feeling as if her heart had gotten pierced by an arrow. “Oh my god, she’s so cute!” After replying with a frantic nod, Circe’s smile grew wider. “Yes! We’re going to be sisters in the future anyway, so I’m okay with that. Should we go talk some more over tea, Rena?”

“Yes!” Beaming like the sun, Rowena grabbed Circe’s hand and began dragging her somewhere, excitement oozing from her every step.

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The intense force reverberated throughout Zeke's arm as wooden swords clashed against each other. He gritted his teeth, eyeing the stoic Lysander Salvador in front of him as the latter effortlessly held out his weapon in defense. “Damn, why did this guy have to show up all of a sudden?”

Lysander abruptly came to the training center, and after watching him swing his sword around for a while, he decided to ask Einar to let him spar with his younger brother.

Since Einar, the vice commander, couldn’t ignore the words of his commander, he hesitantly stepped back and let Lysander into the field. Without much choice, Zeke secretly used up his speed and strength magic scrolls, hoping to at least give himself a fighting chance.

“It did jack shit!” His thoughts screeched to a halt as Lysander pushed Zeke back with a slight nudge.

“That’s enough.” Lysander’s cold, commanding voice unknowingly stiffened Zeke’s shoulders as they both lowered their swords. “Your strength is still lacking, but you’ve got good stamina. I can believe it if you were simply persistent while fighting a monster even if you’re this weak.”

“That’s because I decided to spend my last stat points on ‘Constitution’.” Letting his thoughts pass through his mind, Zeke forced a smile and bowed to his brother. “Thank you for your compliment, I’ll take your advice to heart, brother.”

His expression may appear stoic, but Zeke could spot a flash of uncertainty in Lysander’s eyes. “…Were you being sarcastic just now?”

“No, why would I dare?” As Zeke straightened himself, his arched brows spoke clear of his confusion

Seeing the genuine bewilderment on his brother’s face, Lysander simply shook his head in response. “Never mind…When will your morning lesson end? I would like to have a talk with you.”

“Talk?” Zeke didn’t notice his own tone as wiped sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his dress shirt. “What do you want to talk to me about?”

Lysander’s cold eyes watched Zeke mount the dummy sword back onto its racket, they darted towards Einar for a moment, but swiftly returned to their main focus as Zeke faced him. “I will tell you in private. It is an important matter so I would appreciate it if you could spare me your time.”

“Of course,” Zeke casted Einar a glance, and the knight responded with a silent nod of his head. Now with his teacher’s dismissal, a hint of joy flickered across his face, bringing a small smile to his lips. “We can talk right now, so lead the way.”

Zeke’s sudden mood switch didn’t go unnoticed, but Lysander quickly connected it with the reaction that a child would make after his class ended. “Very well, follow me,” as they passed Sir Einar, Lysander spared the knight a look. “Thank you for your hard work, Vice Commander. I will see you for afternoon training.”

Einar responded with a swift salute. “Thank you, Commander!”

“Even I didn’t know that Einar was the knights’ vice commander until recently,” Zeke’s thoughts ran rampant once more as he silently followed his brother to the main estate. Heat from the morning sun pricked against his skin, but the breeze coolly tempered the hot weather. “I don’t know much information about Einar at all, apart from the fact that he’s Silas’ personal knight escort, and the middle child from House Alston. So he’s shuffling his work? Or is my brother just too competent that ‘Vice Commander’ is just a fancy title?”

Soon, his train of thought once again screeched to a premature stop, having arrived at their intended destination. Lysander opened the door for them, revealing the interior of a room that shared similarities to the one he’d first met Circe in after falling into the game world.

A sense of nostalgia briefly flickered across his mind as the brothers sat down opposite of each other. After Zeke gave his surroundings another moment of surveillance, he realized that Lysander had picked a place with the fewest people, ensuring utmost privacy.

“…What’s so important that he needs to drag me out this far from the main wing?”