“… There’s no mention of the name Fortuna anywhere.”

It was undoubtedly a female voice, and I didn’t think it was ordinary.

I speculated it might be a ‘goddess,’ but I couldn’t find such a name in the history of the Phoernes Empire.

Initially, the Phoernes Empire wasn’t even encouraging religious practices. It seemed that they intended to downgrade the ‘gods’ and center everything around the ’emperor.’

Should I look into the history prior to when Phoernes was a kingdom?

A succinct knock sounded from outside the library then. It was Anne who entered upon opening the door.

“Miss, dinner is ready.”

“Really? What about Schultz?”

“I confirmed that he entered the main building earlier.”

“Then I should go down.”

There’s undoubtedly someone impatiently waiting for me; I must meet their expectations.

I closed the book and stood up. I felt Anne’s worried gaze following me step by step.

Don’t worry.

I casually conveyed that message, and after pulling the corners of my mouth into a broad smile, Anne finally offered a faint smile.

“Then, take care, Miss.”

“Yes.”

It was on my way to the dining hall. When I reached the main hall, I heard Olivia’s voice.

“I’ve heard everything from Aaron.”

“Aaron?”

The voice that followed was Kaiden’s. Olivia seemed to have started her staged drama.

“If you’re hurt, you should’ve said so immediately. Why did you hide it?”

“It’s just… I got slightly injured during training, so I didn’t mention it.”

“Slightly? From what Aaron says, it wasn’t ‘slightly.'”

“There’s no need to worry.”

“I’ve heard you’ve been training with Schultz lately; has Schultz been harsh to you?”

I felt Olivia peeking at me. Fully absorbed in her play, Olivia’s voice grew more and more intense. Thanks to that, all eyes were on her.

“No, it’s not like that…”

“What’s this ruckus, Olivia?”

Herman’s appearance made Olivia suddenly clutch her face. Her little staggering made her look like a tragic heroine.

“Kaiden has been severely injured while training with Schultz… He’s the future head of the Winters family. How can I not worry?”

“So, it was Schultz you’ve been training with?”

At Herman’s question, Kaiden nodded with a stern face.

“Yes. I requested Schultz for training. I’m not severely injured.”

“Aaron saw bruises all over you, and you say it’s not severe…”

“Go fetch Schultz.”

(Note: All the characters involved in this passage are fictional. The events that happen in this novel are for the sake of building the story and are not real. This translation adheres to OpenAI and ChatGPT’s policies.)
Herman, who had been resting his forehead on his hand, gave an order to Aaron, the man assisting Kaiden.

“It’s just as well. I called you to find out what exactly is going on.”

At Olivia’s gesture, Margaret headed towards the corridor where the reception room was located. Soon after, Schultz appeared with Margaret.

It was a situation I had already seen in a dream, but it was even more shocking to see it in person.

What would have happened if I hadn’t come to the mansion despite all these meticulous preparations?

“This doesn’t require any further explanation, Father. I simply trained with Schultz.”

“Herman, is it possible to get severely injured even from mere training, as Kaiden says? I just can’t understand it…”

Olivia lightly touched her left cheek and shook her head.

“Schultz, you tell us. Why did Kaiden, who merely trained with you, end up so bruised?”

Schultz walked past Kaiden and Olivia and stood in front of Herman. As his heavy footsteps ceased, a chilling silence descended upon the interior of the mansion.

“It’s because of…”

Schultz, whose voice trailed off, slowly turned his body. Facing me directly, he broke a short silence and opened his mouth again.

“It’s because of Miss Rosebelia.”