Disappointment and Hope Intertwined Here

Across the black-and-white marble floor, a carpet of gold, red, and blue stretched from doors carved with Black Sparrows to the far wall, where a portrait of Duke Wisdom hung. Gold thread embroidered the Wisdom Family crest over the red and blue, lending the room an antique, dignified air.

When Fatenai pushed open the door, the first thing she saw was the man in the painting—his attire as rigid as his expression. Yet his blue-violet eyes instantly dispelled that impression of stiffness, making him seem like an authority figure whose presence alone inspired awe. Looking down from the portrait, she found the man himself standing straight in formal black attire.

He was the head of the Wisdom Family, the most powerful ducal house in the Kingdom of Luther: Aldrich Wisdom.

Just as she entered, a male servant gathered the remaining teacups from the low table in the council chamber onto a tray. He gave her a slight bow before heading toward the door.

"Father." Fatenai's gaze flickered. She ignored the servant, seeming to have focused entirely on Duke Wisdom from the moment she entered. The anger she had carried with her all the way here had miraculously settled, something evident even from the gentler force with which she had pushed open the door. Even as she bowed, her eyes remained fixed on Duke Wisdom.

"Lona." Duke Wisdom extended a hand toward her, catching her off guard. Before she could react, he had already walked over and taken her arm in full view of the servants standing on either side of the sitting room. "You've always done very well. Come and see if there's anything here you like."

Fatenai brushed her free hand over her cheek, concealing her brief loss of composure. Yet she still felt dazed for a moment—since when had the ever-reserved and noble Duke Wisdom been so openly emotional?

Only when they reached the end of the sitting room did she see what had been hidden behind Duke Wisdom's tall figure: a carefully carved box lined with sapphire-blue velvet, cradling a gemstone pendant. It was blue-violet, the same color as the distinctive eyes of the Wisdom Family, and one glance was enough to tell how rare it was.

"Is this for me?" A flash of delight crossed Fatenai's eyes.

"Yes. I'm glad you like it." Perhaps Duke Wisdom was too accustomed to being imposing; his rare gentleness sounded somewhat stiff to Fatenai. Still, she pretended not to notice and lifted the palm-sized box, examining it with apparent fondness. "Come dine with your mother later."

"That would be wonderful... Very well, I'll go prepare at once." The joy in Fatenai's eyes finally gave her pale, serious face—so similar to Duke Wisdom's—a childish quality, though it vanished in an instant.

She looked just like an impulsive young girl who had forgotten her manners in her excitement, perfectly fitting the image of a young lady who had made a mistake during an important ceremony and was now lost and helpless.

"Then go get ready." Duke Wisdom patted Fatenai on the head. She beamed and hurried toward the door.

Duke Wisdom's expression had not changed at all since Fatenai entered. The moment she left, he turned and immediately called for the butler to handle other matters.

Fatenai seemed entirely unaware of this. Pulling open the door, she descended the stairs with crisp footsteps.

Walking quickly, Fatenai soon caught up with the servant who was slowly carrying out the teacups. "I'd like to know who the guest was just now."

"It was Earl Allennew of the Arrenieu Family," the servant promptly answered.

Fatenai nodded, turned at the next intersection, and quickly walked away.

Her pace grew increasingly hurried along the empty corridor until she returned to her room and shut the door.

The motion was much like what she had done earlier, but this time, she took several deep breaths before calming the emotions in her chest. Then she opened her eyes. The blue-violet eyes no longer held the delight of a little girl receiving a beloved toy. Instead, they seemed filled with a raging blizzard, cold and sharp.

The Arrenieu Family's territory lay in the Godega Highlands. As rising stars in the Kingdom of Luther, their title had come from gemstones—or, more precisely, in the eyes of many nobles, they were merely upstarts with no real foundation.

Mining gemstones, selling gemstones, carving gemstones—those were the words associated with that family. Fatenai raised the box in her hand, flicked open the lid with her thumb, and stared at the gem, which was the same color as her eyes.

How could there be such a coincidence?

What did Duke Wisdom mean by this? Fatenai placed the box on the table, then sat down in a chair and propped one side of her face on her hand. Her expression was unreadable, as though she were calculating what would happen to her next.

She was no child—yet Duke Wisdom still treated her as one, giving her this piece of candy to slightly soothe her "frightened confusion," and then...

He would introduce the Arrenieu Family to her at dinner, wouldn't he?

"How strange... With the Wisdom Family's power, do they really need a marriage alliance with upstarts like the Arrenieu Family?" Fatenai's attention abruptly shifted to why this was her prospective marriage partner. Completely disregarding the dinner to come, she sat quietly where she was and thought.

Having failed at the awakening ceremony, she was still the eldest daughter of the Wisdom Family, but everything had changed. Setting aside what Mana itself represented, managing many family affairs required the use of this Mana, which she still did not understand...

"My lady, His Grace requests your presence for dinner." Fatenai could not make sense of it no matter how much she pondered, until someone knocked on her door.

"Alright, I'll be right there." With a sigh, Fatenai answered quickly.

No matter the reason, she had ultimately been regarded as some kind of tool...

A cold gleam flashed through Fatenai's eyes as she closed the box.

After leaving her seat, she did not change immediately. Instead, she dragged the chair, which was somewhat heavy for her, and wedged it against the door before walking to the open space in the room.

She extended a hand. On her skin, as white as her face, red patterns slowly surfaced after a moment of stillness, like some mysterious incantation. Even Fatenai herself did not know what they meant.

This was what it meant to seek any cure in desperation, wasn't it? Fatenai felt helpless, yet she consoled herself at the same time. Better than nothing. This thing that had arrived in this other world with her, something that did not belong to this world, might... truly bring her a turning point.

Dark red patterns lit up across the floor, forming a circular magic array—complex and magnificent. Fatenai stared at the growing red glow, unusually nervous. What would she summon this time?

A humanoid figure slowly took shape...

"Oh, hello." Once the figure became clear, it proved surprisingly to be a little boy with wheat-colored skin, dressed in plain cloth. He grinned at Fatenai. "I'm Hermes. Are you the one who summoned me?"

"Hermes from Greek mythology?" Fatenai had already been somewhat disappointed, but his words still left her shocked.

"I don't know anything about Greek mythology. I'm just Hermes," Hermes said with a smile. "Is there anything you need help with? I'm researching all kinds of metals."

Fatenai narrowed her eyes, still unable to understand the situation.

This game system she had brought from another world was called Grand History and used figures from history that it summoned as its agents—but it had also lost several important support functions, leaving her unable to determine the attributes and abilities of the people she summoned at random.

Judging them by their former histories was Fatenai's most common method. Take Jane Grey, for example—the English queen executed as a political sacrifice. In Fatenai's eyes, she was of no use.

Fatenai had heard Hermes's story. He was the son of Zeus in Greek mythology, no longer a historical figure in the conventional sense—but a god.

Yet this boy did not look like one at all.

"Are you human, or a god?" Fatenai could not help asking. Looking at his childish appearance, she truly could not imagine this summoned Hermes possessing the ability to fly through the sky and burrow into the earth.

"Of course I'm human." Hermes answered as though it were only natural, and the answer was clearly unsatisfactory.

Fatenai's expression turned complicated. These summoned people could only remain for one month, and one month was extremely precious to her now. Could she trust that this boy would be useful?

Hermes was in no hurry. Leaning against the table, he watched Fatenai with a smile.

"My lady, do you need assistance?" Another knock sounded at the door, jolting Fatenai out of her thoughts.

"Alright, I'm coming." Struggling to hide her emotions, Fatenai replied before opening the door. A maid entered and began helping her change. The maid did not see Hermes, which seemed to mean that only Fatenai could see the summoned boy.

Fatenai quickly changed into a pale yellow dress that made her look full of childish innocence. She did not speak to Hermes again and opened the door to leave.

"Didn't I say so? I can make medicine with metals, and I can find extremely rare metals too..." The moment Fatenai left, Hermes began muttering to himself in grievance. He was clearly not as well-behaved as he had seemed. As he spoke, he reached toward the box on the table. "There aren't any metals, but there is a very interesting gemstone."

Fatenai walked onward, still thinking about Hermes. She had no clue what to make of him. There was too much for her to consider, and all she felt was powerless.

Until she arrived before the dining table.

Beneath the crystal chandelier, the long dining table covered in a gold tablecloth was neatly arranged with expensive tableware—not merely because today was the day of Fatenai's awakening ceremony.

"Father. Mother." She calmly bowed to her parents, her gaze sweeping over the guests from the corner of her eye—two blond visitors, one older and one younger.

"Remember your manners." Duke Wisdom sat at the very end of the table, in the most important seat. "These are guests from the Arrenieu Family: Earl Allennew and his son, Theretine Arrenieu. We have decided to hold your engagement ceremony next week."

"Theretine is a good child," her mother said.

Fatenai had anticipated this, but she had not expected it to be so direct.

Why? Had her tardiness and impropriety angered that deeply calculating duke?

Or was her value even less than she had imagined, making the family's desire to discard her even stronger?

"Yes... Father." Fatenai forcibly suppressed the turbulent thoughts in her heart. Only after bowing to them once more did she walk toward her seat.