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Chapter – 06
The morning of the summoning ritual had dawned.
Burnie had stayed up all night reading the book until the late hours of dawn, and only then had she fallen into a deep sleep. Because of that, she woke up from bed rubbing her swollen eyes with the back of her hand.
Still half-asleep, Burnie hugged Toto and swayed her body left and right, unable to fully shake off the remnants of sleep as she slowly climbed down from the bed.
She placed Toto against the headboard, dragged a chair over while grunting, and opened the window by standing on it and jumping slightly.
Then she jumped down again, and with her small hands, she neatly pulled and straightened the messy blanket she had slept under.
After going back and forth to all four corners of the bed since morning, tugging it into place, the bedding was now perfectly neat.
“Yaaawn……”
Wiping away a tear that had formed, acting very grown-up, Burnie placed a small step stool in front of the sink and successfully managed even the “chikachika” brushing that even Luriel used to find bothersome.
After thoroughly washing herself with refreshing water that made her whole body tingle, and washing her hair with “bub-bub-bub,” Burnie spread out a towel on the floor, lay down on it, grabbed the edge, and rolled around on the floor.
She wrapped herself in a towel, took a fresh one, placed it on her head, and rubbed it dry carefully. Then she opened her wardrobe wide.
“Hmm……”
Today… she felt like being stylish!
She wore a light sky-blue dress that the orphanage head had given her as a gift, and pinned a hairclip she had received from an orphanage friend.
Burnie nodded firmly.
Looking at the two towels lying on the floor along her walking path, she kicked them aside and pushed them into a corner for now.
Finally, she tied the “Demon King Bear” doll that gave her courage onto her back using a string.
Perfect.
“Burnie… perfect.”
Hmph.
She smiled happily and nodded.
Water still dripping from her slightly un-dried hair soaked her shoulders, and the bear doll she had tied awkwardly was bent backward, its head almost dragging on the floor—but in Burnie’s eyes, everything was perfect.
“Burnie genius.”
What if too many “father candidates” lined up because she was too much of a genius?
Thinking that, she placed the notebook she had read all night back into Toto’s pocket, then tucked Toto and the elephant plush under the blanket.
“Let’s go. Magoma!”
Burnie stepped forward confidently with the courage-giving (demon) bear—her “Ma-gom”—and recalled last night.
When you opened this page, it means you’ve finally been adopted into the ducal house and are about to undergo the summoning ritual! Our dear child, are you worried about what to do?
“Huh! How did you know?”
But don’t worry. You are a special genius. Trust Luriel. You will definitely summon something amazing and incredible. By the way, the house you entered has a guardian system, right?
“Huh, Luri already knew Burnie would come here?!”
As expected of Luriel. A genius recognized by Burnie herself!
Rolling around on the bed while reading the neat handwriting, Burnie covered her mouth with both hands.
Everyone will definitely fall for you and line up! I guarantee it! (If not, turn to page 227)
“Hmph.”
No matter how long the line is, the selection criteria is being handsome or pretty. In situations like this, casting importance changes depending on appearance.
Handsome or pretty!
Importance of roles!
When she went down to the first floor, she saw other children who seemed to be participating in the summoning ritual as well. Most looked to be early teenagers. Burnie was clearly the smallest and youngest.
“Lady Burnie.”
“Oh, Roden!”
Burnie, eyes wide, raised one hand high and waved.
“Hello.”
“Yes, good morning. Have you been well?”
“Yes! Burnie didn’t totally fail and has perfectly adapted to this crazy mansion. Soon I’ll reach popularity score 100.”
Hmph, she proudly gave a thumbs-up.
At that, Roden Heiner let out a small laugh. The surrounding children widened their eyes.
“…The knight is laughing?”
“That ice wall Roden Heiner?”
“…No way, I saw wrong.”
“You’d have to see a group hallucination for that.”
From a distance, murmuring voices spread, and Roden Heiner quickly composed his expression.
He glanced at Burnie’s damp shoulders and the bear doll tied awkwardly backward, then knelt on one knee.
“It’s a bear doll.”
“Yes! This is Ma-gomi, who gives Burnie courage!”
“Ma-gomi, I see. It looks like it might fall, so may I fix it again?”
“Huh, Ma-gomi must not fall!”
Burnie shouted urgently and turned around.
Seeing the dangling bear doll swinging weakly, Roden Heiner barely suppressed his smile and retied it properly.
“Done.”
“Thank you.”
Burnie bowed deeply toward Roden Heiner.
At that exaggerated bow—her head nearly hitting the floor—Roden Heiner’s eyes widened.
“Pfft.”
“That’s what she’s doing?”
“She bowed to the knight?”
The surrounding murmurs didn’t matter as Burnie wobbled dangerously forward.
Roden Heiner quickly reached out.
Flap flap.
Flap flap.
Burnie, realizing she was tipping over, flapped her arms and bounced in place, then stood properly again.
“……”
Roden Heiner’s outstretched hand froze in midair.
Burnie looked at it and suddenly widened her eyes.
“Ah!”
As if realizing something, she ran over and placed her head gently against his hand while standing on tiptoe.
“Head pat!”
Burnie is already super popular!
Without thinking, Roden Heiner gently patted her head.
“…Shall we go?”
“Yes!”
Burnie answered brightly, and together with Ma-gom, she began her journey toward the main mansion.
“It’s been a while since we’ve all shown our faces. One lives in the temple, one locks himself in his room and never comes out. You’re really trying to give your father a headache.”
“Well, we do come out for events at least. The summoning ritual is basically like kids showing off their talents. Why would I skip that? Forgive us for being absent otherwise.”
A muscular man with dark skin laughed loosely.
Dressed in a bold outfit with his chest exposed, Duke Ludbrid Yudia glanced at him with displeasure.
“Father, don’t be like that. My brother seems busy gambling and playing around~”
“Hey, watch your mouth again.”
“What? Gambling?! You brat…! Klein, are you truly part of the noble House of Yudia?!”
“Ah, that’s not it! I only go out for information gathering, not gambling or anything like that… Tch. Anyway, why are you here, youngest? Locked up in the temple and never showing your face.”
As if switching topics to avoid disadvantage, the man quickly changed the subject.
Among the noisy tea table, the “youngest,” who had been quietly sipping tea, twitched his eyebrow slightly and calmly set down his cup.
Black hair flowed down softly.
“Because Father said if I didn’t come this time, he would send me on a long-term assignment.”
From the dry yet strangely gentle voice, a deep sense of boredom and lethargy could be felt, and Ludbrid Yudia clicked his tongue.
“More importantly, let’s start quickly and finish this. Time is being wasted.”
“The kids are arriving now.”
The dark-skinned man ran his fingers through his hair lightly.
A low growl of a beast echoed somewhere.
“By the way, those so-called ‘runaway kids’ are participating today, right? Half-beasts and even abandoned ones.”
“Watch your language in front of the children.”
“I’m just curious whether they’ll be failures or hits.”
With a grin, the dark-skinned man stood up.
“Well, I don’t expect much… let’s head out.”
As soon as the youngest finished speaking, all four of them rose and left the white mansion decorated in gold.
