Chapter 18: You Aren't Getting Away From Me
Chapter 18: You Aren’t Getting Away From Me
In the nine years of Nora’s life, this was the first time she felt such a strong desire to possess something.
Inside the lounge, the young girl, who had planted one foot between Roel’s thighs, was looking down upon him with the stately air of a ruler, as if everything in the world ought to belong to her. A hint of blush in her cheeks gave off a scent of temptation, making it hard for one to reject her demands.
The beauty of the saintly angel had already been cloaked by a layer of decadent desire, making Roel feel as if he had already caught a glimpse of the grown-up Nora. In an instant, he pushed aside Nora’s hand and regained his freedom.
“W-what are you talking about? Didn’t I tell you to get away from me? I have no interest in having anything to do with you!”
Catching a whiff of the slightly sweet scent lingering in the air, Roel felt deeply relieved that it was just little Nora that he was dealing with here. Were it the mature Nora standing before him instead, he might have very well succumbed to her temptation.
To be honest, becoming Nora’s “pet” wasn’t all bad. There weren’t many people on the continent who could rival her in beauty or power, after all.
On top of that, despite her sadistic and domineering nature, she was very caring about those whom she considered hers. This made her a little reminiscent of a menacing yet doting elder sister that went: Only I can bully you.
Even the main character in the game seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed his time being Nora’s pet.
But, being a pet was one thing; being a dead pet was another.
Other than Alicia, who was an exception, how could the antagonist possibly walk alongside one of the capture targets? If he were to continue walking the same path as the original Roel, before he knew it, he would have already become the lynching target of the main character and his capture targets!
My goal should be pulling out my death flags; everything else is just unimportant. What could possibly be more important than staying alive?
“You know everything about me and even counseled me, but now you’re trying to push me away?”
Nora was a little perplexed by Roel’s attitude. She pondered for a moment before adding on.
“Just what do you dislike about me? I can change. Or, could it be, you carry some kind of prejudice against my family?”
“It’s neither. I’m simply uninterested in you. Besides, why does it have to be me?”
Roel quibbled weakly, leaving Nora silent for a moment, before she calmly responded.
“It’s because I feel that your thoughts are too idealistic. You may not mind who I am, but it’s optimistic to assume it’ll be the same for others. Whoever I approach can very well use this as a weapon to attack me and my family, perhaps even blackmailing us.”
Having grown up surrounded by conspiracy, Nora had developed a good nose for information that could potentially be used against her.
Holy moly, is this really a nine-year-old child before me? Just what in the world are they putting noble children through for them to be so imposing?
Roel’s breathing halted for a moment as he briefly saw the aura of a conqueror in the young Nora.
It was no wonder the original Roel ended up dying so tragically in the game. Compared to these elites, the original Roel was practically no different from a brain dead eggplant!
Thinking up to this point, Roel suddenly recalled that the people in this world typically married at 14, so it stood to reason that they would mature early. It was the environment that placed greater expectations on the youths and left them to have no choice but to mature.
“Don’t you have subordinates too? I’m referring to the noble children in your faction.”
“That won’t do. It’s also a taboo for my weakness to fall into the hands of my subordinates. Not to mention that there’s a chance that the secret might leak out.”
“Wait a moment, what you’re saying doesn’t make sense at all. If they won’t do, what makes you think that it’ll work with me?”
Roel asked with a bizarre look on his face.
Nora placed a hand on her cheek and pondered deeply before finally replying.
“For some reason, I don’t think that you’ll betray me. Putting my feelings aside, as one of the Five Eminent Noble Houses, there isn’t much you could earn by spreading malicious rumors about me. Also, there’s Uncle Carter around too…”
Somehow, the more Roel questioned her judgment, the more certain Nora became with her decision. This left him a bit flustered, so he decided to snap her out of this dangerous train of thought.
“Enough. For the time being, can you put your foot down first? Alicia will be coming back very soon.”
“Oh hoh! Are you worried that I might give myself away now?”
“Worried your head!”
Feeling a huge headache setting-in under Nora’s relentless pressure, Roel grabbed her leg and firmly planted it back down on the parlor floor.
“Come to think of it, I have been wondering about this for a while now, but how do you know about my interests? Are you able to read minds or something?”
“…”
Mind-reader, my ass! Would I have been duped by you and your accursed lie detector if I had that kind of cheat? I just know what the future holds for you.
Despite his fierce mental retort, Roel remained perfectly calm outwardly, as if what Nora was talking about was just a minor issue.
“It’s a secret.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Nora stared at Roel as her eyes narrowed in interest. Her sapphire eyes looked a little more spirited than they did when she first walked into this lounge.
Is this a magician house? How interesting.
A rare, unrestrained smile surfaced on the lips of the young girl as she nodded contemplatively. She gracefully walked back to her seat and sat back down. It was also at this moment that Alicia returned too.
“Pardon me, Your Highness. I have kept you waiting.”
“Don’t worry about it. Please, have a seat. Your tea is getting cold.”
“Yes, thank you. May I ask what you have been talking about with Lord Brother?”
Alicia asked to catch up on the conversation after returning to her seat. Those words made Nora chuckle a little as she replied.
“Our interests.”
(Affection Points +200!)
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“You stubborn old fool, why won’t you listen to my advice at all!”
“I’m sorry, Kane, but I need to consider this matter more deeply.”
“Sigh! Fine then. There’s still some time, so I’ll wait a little longer.”
The tall golden-haired man returned back to his seat, but the look on his face showed that he was reluctant to let things rest just like that. Sitting opposite, Carter appeared to have many things on his mind too.
A knock sounded from the other side of the chamber door.
“Old master, Her Highness, young master, and the others await you in the foyer.”
“Got it.”
Carter looked visibly relieved after hearing the maid’s report. He looked at the golden-haired Kane before him and asked.
“How about we conclude the discussions for now?”
“Yes, it looks like we have no other choice. I need to rush back to the Holy Capital by tomorrow.”
Kane shook his head helplessly as he grumbled about the long journey he would have to take right after. The two of them emerged from the guest room together and headed down the central staircase, only to see the three children chatting pleasantly with one another in the foyer.
“Hm?”
Looking at Nora, who had a brilliant smile on her face, Kane subconsciously halted his footsteps out of bewilderment. Seeing this, Carter also stopped as well.
“What’s wrong, Kane?”
“… No, it’s nothing.”
Long had it been since Kane saw such a dazzling smile on his daughter’s face, to the point where he couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment. However, he quickly brushed it off with a wave of the hand and continued his descent down the stairs.
Meanwhile, Carter noticed how close the children appeared to be, and he felt a little curious as to what had happened. One must know that Roel was notorious for being a little tyrant in the circle of nobles, exploiting his father’s high status to act as he pleased. As a result, he barely had any friends at all.
Did he manage to change that aspect of himself too?
“I have kept you all waiting. Young ladies, little gentleman, it looks like you had a pleasant time together?”
As the two fathers approached, Kane took the initiative to address the three children.
Roel, who felt like he was going bald from the stress of being eyed as prey by Nora, immediately turned to Kane and replied.
“Yes, Your Highness Kane. It’s our honor to have Her Highness Nora here, and we have spent a pleasant time together.”
This formal response left Kane a little surprised. Nora’s eyebrows also shot up a little as she quickly figured out the little thoughts that Roel had in mind.
Thinking of using noble etiquette to restrain me, so that I’ll leave as soon as possible? Heh, you sure have quite a few small tricks up your sleeves.
Such thoughts in mind, Nora stood forward and, before everyone’s eyes, wrapped her hand lightly around the crook of Roel’s arm.
“Lord Father, even though it hasn’t been a long time since we met, Roel and I are already good friends. Would it still be alright if I drop by the Ascart House in the future to meet again?”
Nora looked at Roel with deeply sincere eyes that made it look as if they were bosom buddies already, causing Roel’s face to twitch a little. At the same time, Alicia, seeing how chummy the two of them were getting with one another, suddenly looked a little uncomfortable.
“Oh? The two of you are already friends? It looks like our children are getting along better than we are.”
Kane remarked with a slightly bitter smile, and Carter looked equally helpless too. Carter then walked forward and shot a deep look at Roel before replying to Nora’s question.
“Your Highness, as long as you wish, the doors of our Ascart House are always open to you.”
“That is wonderful to hear. Thank you, Uncle Carter.”
As if there was honey in her voice, Nora’s words swiftly dispelled the slightly heavy atmosphere between the two adults, inducing Carter to chuckle softly as well.
Meanwhile, Kane shot another glance at the two children whose arms were linked together, and his smile slowly grew warm as well.
The only one who objected strongly to this was Roel. His face was nearly cramping up from all the twitching it had been doing, and his heart was pounding hard with a resounding ‘Noooooo’.
Damn it, this lass actually turned the tables on me. Uncle Carter your head! I’ve been betrayed.
“Alright, Nora. We need to get going.”
While Roel was still preoccupied with his inner monologue, the crowd clustered in the foyer chatted a little longer before Kane took a look at his watch and began urging his daughter to depart. It was only then that Nora reluctantly released Roel’s arm and bade her farewells.
“I’ll definitely be seeing you again, Roel…”
The lively golden-haired girl said with a vibrant smile. She watched the black-haired, golden-eyed boy with her own exuberant eyes, as she muttered out the latter half of her sentence beneath her breath.
You aren’t getting away from me.
(Affection Points +200!)