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Chapter 64
The twins of the Sperom family first learned of Arellin not long after the collection society had formed.
“Ciel, they say the young lady of Halbern is here.”
“Oh, Halbern?”
The young lady of Halbern, considered the foremost of the five ducal houses.
For the Sperom twins, who always moved in a pair chasing curiosity and amusement, this was an irresistible lure.
Halbern—what kind of place was it?
A household cloaked in secrecy and mystery.
Naturally, the twins wondered: what kind of girl would come from such a house? How fascinating or strange might she be?
But their excitement quickly turned to disappointment when they finally laid eyes on her.
“She’s really the young lady of Halbern?”
Contrary to their expectations of someone eccentric or abnormal, the “real Halbern girl” was quiet and well-mannered.
In fact, she was so reserved that she was often overlooked or pushed aside by the other children.
“Did Noel get it wrong?”
“Nope. Everyone says it’s her.”
“She’s… ordinary.”
“Too ordinary.”
The twins were disappointed.
“So dull.”
“Boring.”
They had expected something interesting to happen—but this was it?
And so, the image of the Halbern girl quickly faded from their memories.
That is, until the day Pession mentioned the name Arellin.
A girl who had caught Pession’s interest?
A new card to tease the Crown Prince with?
That was the extent of the impression the twins formed of Arellin at the time.
The Sperom twins had, until then, not paid her a single ounce of attention.
That all changed the moment they happened to see Arellin with Pession.
“Huh?”
It started with Ciel.
She blinked and rubbed her eyes, then looked again.
“What…?”
Her golden eyes shone, displaying a result she couldn’t believe.
“What is this…?”
Since the fall of the old gods and the end of myth, remnants of ‘miracles’ and ‘divine power’ could only be found in ruins or forgotten holy sites. Yet even in the age of magic and mortals, abilities akin to divine intervention still existed.
The <Golden Eyes>, passed down through the Sperom family—eyes that had elevated the house to the Empire’s top commercial power, granting them dominion over its wealth for generations.
Ciel’s <Golden Eyes> showed her the value of all things—people, objects, it mattered not.
“What’s wrong, Ciel?”
Noticing her unusual expression, Noel followed her gaze. At the end of it stood Arellin.
And then—
“Huh?”
The same thing happened again.
Noel’s <Golden Eyes> showed danger.
His ability, comprehensive in scope, allowed him to sense threats—people, disasters, any kind of hazard—almost like prophecy.
And yet…
“Noel, you too?”
“Huh? So you saw it too, Ciel?”
The twins froze, dumbfounded, expressions blank.
It was something they had never experienced before.
“It changed.”
“She’s different from before.”
[Arellin Siglia Halbern]
[Value: 5]
A mediocre, utterly unremarkable score. In fact, considering Halbern’s renown, it was too low.
[Arellin Siglia Halbern]
[Danger: 23]
Similarly, Noel’s reading showed a low score—not remotely threatening.
But now—
[Arellin Siglia Halbern]
[Value: -]
[Danger: ℃₰￡]
It had changed.
So strangely that it left no room for error or misinterpretation.
“?”
This was the moment the Sperom twins began to truly recognize Arellin.
The reason they suddenly clung to her like glue.
There had never been a precedent for a person’s value or danger level changing so drastically.
Even when some transcendent force interfered, the result always translated to a readable number.
So, naturally, Ciel and Noel couldn’t understand what they were seeing.
“This is unprecedented…”
Even the Sperom Duke, when they rushed to him, had no clear answer.
“It’s probably just because she’s a Halbern.”
And that was that.
“That’s all you have to say, Daddy?”
“You’re ending it with because she’s a Halbern?”
Despite their complaints, the duke was firm.
“You don’t understand Halbern.”
His mindset—that anything was possible simply because she was a Halbern—was even stranger to the twins.
So they decided to investigate the cause themselves.
“What could’ve changed?”
“Maybe Arellellellin’s personality?”
“Just that would trigger a <Golden Eye> reaction?”
“But we don’t even know what she was like before, do we?”
“Right? We’re just assuming she changed because the others said so.”
“True. That makes sense.”
Regardless, the bizarre situation piqued their curiosity, and watching Arellin became a joy.
She reacted differently each time they poked her, and that fascinated them.
“Arelliririn is weak to kindness!”
“And she seems to like Harun.”
“Why does she dislike us?”
“If she hated us, she’d avoid us. But she doesn’t.”
“Then maybe she doesn’t hate us after all?!”
“She really gets annoyed with His Highness though.”
Being disliked or brushed off had never dampened the twins’ spirits—they were far too self-indulgent for that.
In fact, Arellin’s standoffishness only made them more determined.
“We’ll definitely be her best-best friend!”
“Just wait—bestie slot number one is ours!”
They didn’t care about her family or value—just that she was fun to be around.
For two who lived by calculations and numbers, this approach felt oddly fresh.
Maybe that’s why…
Why they were suddenly so generous with their affection.
Why they found themselves sincerely stepping up, not to show off or manipulate, but simply to help someone else.
“Why do you two even like me?”
The twins… well, they thought Arellin was adorable.
‘She’s happy, but she’s suspicious because she doesn’t know why…’
‘…She’s openly wary!’
How can we pretend not to know when she makes that face?
“Ciel, I don’t think Arellin can live without us.”
“Right? I think so too, Noel.”
The twins burst into giggles, delighted with themselves.
Mehen sighed.
He had just barely shaken off the clinging twins when he was hit with yet another absurdity.
“Please tell Duke Sperom that I have no interest in male attention.”
The young gold-greedy devils of Sperom weren’t nicknamed “little devils” for nothing. They showed no sorrow at Mehen’s blunt rejection.
If anything, they enjoyed their father’s misfortune.
“Ha-ha! Daddy got rejected!”
“Daddy’s gonna be so sad!”
Truly reactions worthy of creatures who fed on other people’s misery.
“But Daddy seriously likes Lord Mehen.”
“Mehen-Mehen is too cold!”
Mehen scoffed.
“He doesn’t like me. He likes the numbers he sees.”
The current Duke of Sperom’s <Golden Eyes> could detect talent—and nearly every genius in the empire had some tie to the Sperom family.
The only one who slipped through his fingers… was Mehen.
“Daddy says Mehen is the best.”
“His greatest find ever!”
That he couldn’t have the greatest talent all to himself drove the duke mad. Since his days as the young heir, he had sent Mehen one proposal after another.
“I’m well aware of how amazing I am,” Mehen replied flatly.
And yet, he had rejected every offer. Whether there or here, he’d be a paperwork slave either way.
Having dealt with the twins enough, Mehen now searched for his little chick.
“Arell.”
Her eyes met his, and her soft face lit up.
“Mehen―!”
She ran to him, footsteps quick and bright, and Mehen couldn’t help but smile.
As he embraced her small form, all the stress of the day seemed to melt away.
How did such an adorable angel come from that monstrous lord of hers?
“The twins didn’t give you trouble, did they?”
“Nope.”
“If they do, tell me right away.”
Arellin giggled.
“You’ll scold them for me?”
“Yes.”
At his resolute reply, her smile bloomed—a completely different one from the kind she showed the twins.
Watching this unfold up close, the Sperom twins were dumbstruck.
“Arellin smiled…”
“I’ve never seen Lord Mehen smile like that before.”
“Am I dreaming? Noel, is this a dream?”
“Ow! Ciel, no—it’s real.”
Even as they pinched each other’s cheeks, they stared in awe at Arellin smiling beside Mehen.
“The twins helped a lot.”
“Did they? That’s good to hear.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
Her response seemed meant to ease his concern, but Mehen’s face darkened with uncertainty.
And with that…
The long-awaited tea party day arrived.
