"Contract with me."
The Marquis's astonishing words fell upon Adel's bowed head.
'A contract? Between the Marquis and me?'
"Still don't get it? It means become my legal guardian."
"Huh?!"
Adel was so startled she couldn't help but look up.
Beyond the imposing mahogany desk, she saw the figure of the 'Marquis.'
Hair tied up in cute twin buns, long trailing white lace ribbons, round, adorable eyes and blue pupils.
And cheeks as soft and touchable as marshmallows.
This lovely Marquis was ten years old this year.
Her name, as beautiful as she was—'Clara.'
Why was this adorable, genius, ten-year-old girl Marquis making such an outrageous proposal to Adel, the family's shameful illegitimate child?!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The morning she turned sixteen, the age of adulthood.
Astounding news was delivered to Adel, the Merriweather family's shameful illegitimate child.
"The Marquis summons you."
Suddenly?
Adel was a useless human being, a parasite on the Marquis's household.
Because of this, everyone from family relatives to servants treated her like air.
Existing, but not existing.
'No, should I say a foul odor? They do scrunch up their brows whenever they see me.'
Anyway, since the Marquis summoned her, Adel nervously descended from the attic.
Passing through the opulent corridor, she soon found herself before the study.
Adel took a deep breath.
She didn't know what words she would hear, making her even more tense…
*Knock knock.*
An answer came soon after she knocked.
"Come in."
A clear, ringing voice. Adel carefully opened the door.
"Ah, hello."
Perhaps Adel's awkward greeting as she approached the desk was grating.
The face of the Marquis, Clara Merriweather, wrinkled slightly.
Even so, her innate cuteness was still evident.
'Like a doll.'
"Don't you know it's rude? Staring so intently at someone's face?"
At the sharp reprimand, Adel gasped and hastily bowed her head again.
"My, my apologies. Your esteemed visage was simply too divine."
"We don't have time, so let's get to the point."
"Ah, yes."
"Contract with me."
At the sudden proposal, Adel almost looked up again.
"I'll put your name in the Noble Registry. Not bad, right? Becoming a proper member of the Merriweathers."
"M-me… you mean?"
"Yes."
Considering Adel's situation, it was an absurd story.
A mother of lowly status.
A father known as the Merriweather scoundrel.
The illegitimate child they had without even marrying was Adel.
Due to the traditions and laws of the Kingdom of Selmiria, which viewed illegitimate children as impure beings, Adel was not treated as a formal noble.
She was merely considered the family's dirty secret.
"Surely that's not enough?"
"Ah, no! It's not that."
"Then one more thing. There was an engagement the previous Marquis recklessly arranged, wasn't there?"
"Huh? Yes."
Even if she was a dirty family secret, half of her was still noble.
The previous Marquis had leveraged this trait of Adel's to arrange an engagement.
With a nouveau riche, boorish, and utterly lacking-in-title, character, and grace prospective groom.
A petty scheme by the previous Marquis to pick the nouveau riche's pockets.
"I'll break it off, that one."
Long live the new Marquis! I love you!
I'll swear eternal loyalty right now…
'Get a grip, Adel Merriweather!'
A tempting proposal always comes with demands of equal magnitude.
Sure enough, conditions soon followed.
"However, you must stay by my side."
It was an unexpected demand.
An illegitimate child who couldn't even lift her head in front of others, staying by the Marquis's side?
'More than anything, the Marquis is…'
The daughter of a noble direct lineage.
The Merriweather genius girl.
Righteous to a fault, she had even personally exposed the corruption of her father, the previous Marquis.
'And now she's about to become the true Marquis through formal succession…'
Why would such a great figure, rewriting the family's history, want an illegitimate child by her side?
"Still don't get it? It means become my legal guardian."
"Huh?!"
This time, Adel truly looked up.
Facing Clara's small figure, she finally understood the earlier demand.
'I see…'
All minor title inheritors must have a legal guardian to have their title succession formally recognized.
Any adult within the same family could be the guardian.
But why on earth would it be Adel?
A position like that is usually held by a person of authority and wisdom within the family.
"The reason you chose me is, as expected…"
Because even though Adel is illegitimate, she possesses some incredible ability?
Ha, as if.
"Is it because I'm a completely useless, surplus human being?"
"Yes, you understand well."
Wow… answering so directly.
That hurt a little.
Not that it was wrong.
"Among the adults bearing the Merriweather name, you are the only one who is the most pathetic and an empty shell with no achievements."
The calm words struck Adel like a blow.
"So you won't be giving me any silly advice just because you're an adult, right?"
"Well, that's true."
Clara, wearing a cute smile, moved her small hand to open a drawer.
"Good, then I'll prepare the contract."
She seemed to believe Adel couldn't possibly refuse this offer. Becoming the Marquis's guardian.
Sounds like an attractive position, doesn't it?
But Adel, though an incompetent empty shell, was not a fool.
"I'm sorry, but I must decline, Marquis."
For Adel, with no backing, to become Clara's guardian was like a lowly insect flying into a fire.
Moreover, there were two such fires in this mansion alone.
One was the retainers opposed to Clara.
The other fire was the retainers who revered Clara.
In other words, the entire mansion would be out to kill Adel.
She couldn't risk her life just to break off one miserable engagement.
The same went for having her name entered in the Noble Registry.
'Would the contempt I've endured for so long really change just because of that?'
Her heart had fluttered for a moment, but Adel had a goal she had been preparing for a long time.
If she could just achieve that goal, perhaps the other side would propose breaking the engagement first.
"I wish to live from now on without any connection to the Merriweathers."
Little Clara's face wrinkled slightly.
She wouldn't punish her for disobeying the head of the family, would she?
"…Then get out."
She had worried some more persuasive words might come, but…
Clara let out a "hmph" and turned her gaze to other documents.
'Am I really allowed to leave?'
Hesitantly, Adel said, "Then I'll excuse myself," and left her study.
Clara gave no answer, merely looking at the documents.
Even as she was leaving the room, Adel found herself constantly looking back at Clara.
'She looks tired… Surely she's not working without any rest?'
*Thud.*
Before she could think further, the door closed.
Clara's nursemaid was standing in the corridor holding milk, watching quietly. Adel quickly left the spot as if fleeing.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The fact that every girl and boy needed a 'guardian' was a long-standing flaw in this kingdom.
Or perhaps the truly bad thing wasn't the system itself.
The problem was that anyone could become a guardian once they came of age.
Unqualified guardians were truly stupid, quite often mistaking 'protection' for 'domination.'
For example, like this:
"This happened because of you! Adel, if only you were a little smarter…!"
Adel's mother, Rose, was the epitome of an 'unqualified guardian,' so much so she could be made into a specimen and put on display.
She always found the reason for her miserable life in Adel.
'Well, it's not entirely wrong.'
First of all, Adel's father vanished immediately after hearing the news that Rose was pregnant.
Leaving the aftermath to the main family.
Without even holding a wedding.
Regarding this, her mother always said this:
"If only you had been born a little later, we surely would have had the wedding! You ruined everything!"
Her mother had another reason to resent Adel as well.
Although illegitimate, Adel received an education to become a proper young lady as a 'Merriweather.'
Sewing and embroidery.
Graceful posture.
Basic kingdom history.
Mansion management.
Social dance.
Singing and piano.
How to write seductive letters.
If Adel had shown even a little achievement in any of these, the treatment of Adel and her mother might have been better than it was now.
But unfortunately.
Adel failed to achieve anything in any subject.
Still, when she was young, she used to cling to her desk, trying her best.
'Because Mother liked it when I did that.'
No, it was only by doing that that she could receive something resembling affection.
'How foolish.'
Struggling so desperately for something as intangible as a heart.
'When it wasn't even real in the first place.'
After leaving Clara's room, Adel climbed the servants' stairs at the end of the corridor.
Arriving at the attic floor, she saw Rose pacing the narrow hallway.
She, who hadn't even earned the surname 'Merriweather,' had lived in the attic room all her life until today.
In a way, she was a pitiful person…
"Hey! Adel! What did the adorable little one say to you?"
Rose was an enthusiastic supporter of Clara.
The reason was simple.
"She got rid of that old fart who stank of shit from his mouth, isn't that something to be thankful for?"
That was the reason—getting rid of the previous Marquis who had shoved her into the attic.
"She's giving us a room? Of course, you mentioned we need to hire a personal maid, right?"
"The Marquis said no such thing."
"No, what are you talking about?"
If she said she refused the guardian proposal and came back, she'd probably get slapped…
*Smack.*
It seemed she had underestimated her mother.
She slapped her just for saying she got nothing.
"You messed up again, didn't you! Right?! There's no way things would turn out like this otherwise!"
Well, certainly.
If she had accepted the guardian position, the room for Adel and her mother would have changed.
'If that had happened…'
Holding her stinging cheek, Adel imagined Rose's reaction.
Would she have hugged her warmly, saying she knew she could do it?
'Hmm…'
That was a somewhat strange feeling to imagine.
She had given up on such expectations long ago.