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Chapter 02
The Duke’s mansion was as massive as Romford’s reputation. It was as grand and magnificent as a small kingdom’s castle.
“Your Grace, welcome.”
An elderly butler greeted Romford.
Soon, a child with striking hair color came into the butler’s view from a distance. The red hair was a trait passed down through the Anais royal family.
“Excuse me, but who is that child…? Judging by the hair, he looks like royalty from the small kingdom.”
“A hostage.”
“What should we do with them?”
“Do whatever you want.”
Romford waved his hand lazily as if it was annoying, then walked toward the mansion.
The servants, including the butler, bowed deeply.
At that moment, a boy ran from a distance.
He stopped in front of Romford. The boy was only about half the height of Romford’s thigh. With a slightly excited face, he spoke.
“Father, you’re back.”
The boy smiled brightly, his red eyes shining with innocence.
But Romford’s expression remained completely emotionless.
“Yeah.”
That was all he said.
He barely looked at the boy and continued walking.
The boy slowly lost his smile and watched Romford’s back until it disappeared into the mansion. Then he turned his head.
“What is this?”
His gaze turned cold immediately and landed on Esiel.
He frowned and looked her up and down.
The boy’s red eyes were sharp and intense.
* * *
No matter how luxurious the mansion looked inside and outside, not all rooms were beautiful.
Esiel was pushed into one of the worst rooms in the mansion.
It was located in a corner, neglected and ugly. The furniture looked like it had not been touched for a long time, and dust was piled everywhere. It looked more like a storage room than a bedroom.
Esiel stood alone in the middle of it.
She could not even wander around. She was a hostage—locked here. That meant she could die at any moment.
She did not expect her abusive parents to come save her. And Romford must not know her true situation either.
If Romford finds out I’m useless to the kingdom, I’m done.
She needed to look useful in order to survive.
Before her background was discovered, she had to survive on her own and escape.
“Yeah… at least I didn’t die as an extra…”
She muttered to herself.
At that moment—
The door suddenly burst open.
Esiel turned her head instantly.
“Hey! You’re the hostage?”
“Young master, you can’t go in there! Please come back!”
It was the same boy she saw at the entrance. A nervous servant stood beside him, panicking.
“So what? Do you think she can do anything to me?”
The boy crossed his arms and stared at Esiel.
He walked straight into the room without hesitation.
He stood face to face with her.
Esiel only blinked and looked at him.
A blond boy—probably the second son of the Legonis family.
“Young master…”
The servant at the door could not enter and kept hesitating.
“I said I’m not going back! Stop bothering me!”
BANG—
He slammed the door shut just like he entered.
The room became quiet.
After getting rid of the servant, the boy frowned and glared at Esiel.
“Hey! Why aren’t you answering? So boring.”
He came closer, clearly picking a fight.
“You saw my father, right? He’s really scary, you know?”
His eyes clearly demanded a response.
Esiel suddenly let out a small laugh.
“Pfft.”
“W-what? Why are you laughing? You’re just a hostage! Are you laughing at me?”
The boy stuttered, embarrassed. His ears even turned slightly red.
“What’s your name?”
Esiel asked, ignoring his attitude.
She had to slightly look up at him since her body was small and underdeveloped.
“Name? You don’t even know my name? You—”
“I’m Esiel Anais.”
She cut him off and held out her small hand as if offering a handshake.
“Ferudin Legonis. I… I’m not interested in your name!”
He glanced at her hand and turned his head away.
Then he started talking loudly, like he was reciting a lesson—mostly about the history of the Legonis family.
“Wait… you’re the princess of Anais, right? And you don’t even know the great Legonis family history?”
His red eyes looked suspicious.
He seemed to doubt her identity.
But Esiel, who knew everything because she had possessed this world, could not easily answer. She had never even received proper royal education.
And if her situation in the small kingdom was exposed, it would be dangerous.
“No! I just… fell asleep during class!”
She lied quickly.
Come to think of it… he’s similar to me.
The boy had lost his mother when he was too young to even remember her. He grew up with neglect, not abuse—but still without love.
That was why Ferudin was always hungry for affection in the story. And this would later shape him into the ruthless second son of Legonis.
Romford had two sons. The second son, Ferudin Legonis, and his older brother, Teishi Legonis. In the original story, both would later conquer the empire.
Well, that’s future stuff.
Right now, Ferudin just looked small and cute. Not like a future killer.
That small similarity of being unloved made Esiel feel a strange sense of connection.
“Idiot. If you want to live, at least learn how scary being a hostage is!”
“Pfft, I’ve been living fine without knowing that.”
“W-what?!”
Ferudin clenched his fists and growled.
But to Esiel, he only looked like a noisy, cute child. Especially with her past life as a kindergarten teacher.
“Are you bored?”
Esiel asked carefully.
Ferudin’s face turned red.
“W-what are you talking about!?”
“You are bored, aren’t you?”
“I’m not!”
He tried to act indifferent and messed with the blanket on the bed.
“Then why did you come here?”
Silence.
Ferudin needed time to think of an excuse.
“Ugh…”
He frowned deeply.
“I was just bored anyway!”
“So? What do you want me to do?”
Now Ferudin stood closer, arms crossed, glaring at her.
“Do you want to play with me?”
Esiel smiled brightly and stretched out her arms.
Even though she was a hostage, her smile was very bright—but her trembling lips showed she was still nervous.
“Me? With you?”
“Yes!”
“I’ll play hide and seek, but it’s a little hard. What do you think?”
“H-hard? What is it?”
“If you agree, I’ll tell you.”
“Hmm…”
After thinking, Ferudin nodded.
“Okay! But only inside this room.”
“How boring.”
“But you must close your eyes!”
Esiel pointed at her green eyes and blinked slowly.
“Hah! That’s easy.”
Ferudin tried to act confident, but still glanced at her secretly.
Esiel noticed and shouted:
“Starting now! I’ll be the seeker first. I’ll find you in 5 seconds!”
