Adrian’s eyes remained fixed on the girl in front of him as she absentmindedly stared at the ring on her hand.

’I can’t figure it out.’

No matter how much he observed her, he couldn’t figure her out. He wanted to confirm if she was a reincarnate like him or not, but the attempts he made didn’t seem to have borne fruit.

Not only that, he was now more confused about whether she was a reincarnate or not than he had been before.

’Her behavior looks normal.’

She behaved the way you’d expect a child her age to behave. She didn’t show any unusual behavior, which he had been expecting.

But that didn’t prove that she wasn’t a reincarnate.

’After all, she could be acting.’

He had never tried to act or pretend to be like children his age, simply because there was no point in doing that. Everyone had gotten used to his abnormal behavior. But that didn’t mean everyone would behave like him.

What if she had developed a habit of pretending to act her age so that no one grew suspicious of her?

But that was not the only thing he was observing.

’Her presence... isn’t abnormally large like mine.’

Her presence was certainly large, if he compared it to his younger brother Elias’ presence. But it was nothing compared to the size of his own presence when he still had it. So that was also a dead end.

More than that, she had seemed genuinely confused when he asked her real name. So all signs were pointing at the fact that she wasn’t a reincarnate like he was.

’But I can’t be sure.’

What if that was all an act? What if she were intentionally trying to hide the fact that she was a reincarnate from him? After all, she could’ve also guessed his identity as a reincarnate, just as he did. Anyone would be able to, unless they were stupid.

If that were really the case and she were really acting, then he couldn’t make it clear to her that he was a reincarnate. After all, he couldn’t simply assume that her goals aligned with his own. What if she were actually hostile to other reincarnates?

’I noticed her staring at my face earlier. Was she also trying to figure out if I was a reincarnate? She had even turned her gaze away the moment I looked back. It was definitely suspicious.’

1

If all Adrian wanted was to confirm if she was a reincarnate or not, then he could’ve simply spoken Earth’s language in front of her or used a common term or phrase from Earth.

But his goal now was to figure out if she was a reincarnate or not, without giving away the fact that he was one.

As he watched, the maid who stood beside the girl while holding out the ring case tapped the girl on her shoulder a few times–perhaps due to getting impatient–which pulled the girl out of her absentminded state.

Still looking confused, she alternated her gaze between the ring in the case and him. After hesitating for a bit, she pulled out the ring, stepped closer, and slowly slid the ring onto his finger.

With this, they were now engaged.

Looking at the ring in his hand, which was identical to hers, his eyes remained sharp. Then he raised his head and looked at her.

The girl’s demeanor turned sheepish under his observant gaze. But Adrian didn’t let his guard down.

’If you’re really hiding something, you won’t be able to hide it for long.’

***

Lilianne sat motionlessly on a sofa as beads of sweat trickled down her chin. A strong, invisible pressure was pressing down on her shoulders, making it hard for her to keep her back straight.

She looked at the woman sitting across from her, calmly sipping tea.

Perhaps noticing the gaze directed at her, a pair of clear green eyes turned towards Lilianne.

"Countess Lilianne," the woman smiled gently. "You seem uncomfortable. Is there a way I can help you, perhaps?"

Lilianne internally gritted her teeth. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

’Help? Yeah, it would help greatly if you tone down your presence. It’s taking me quite an effort to breathe.’

But of course, Lilianne knew that those words were merely provocation.

One could intentionally release more mana and thicken their presence, and make it larger. You could use that to either increase the pressure people felt while near you or counter someone else’s presence and reduce its effect on you.

Using this trick was normal in a meeting between two nobles, as it was a silent clash that determined the hierarchy between them.

That was exactly what the woman before her–Seraphina Ravenshade–was doing.

She was telling Lilianne that she was beneath her.

Well, Lilianne was quite aware of that fact, so there was no need for the Duchess to continue torturing her with the weight of that presence. Lilianne had even tried countering the Duchess’s presence with her own to relieve some weight she was feeling.

But the Duchess had increased the pressure even more, which forced Lilianne to retract her presence and continue suffering under the weight.

"You called me the moment the engagement ended, the maid said that you had something important to discuss with me. I ask that you please explain that important matter to me, Duchess Seraphina."

The Duchess’s smile widened ever so slightly.

"There is no need for you to address me so formally. After all, we are practically family now."

’Yeah, right. As if you would ever consider people like us family.’

She continued.

"As for the important matter I wanted to talk about... I want you and your daughter to live inside Aevithar, at least until the girl turns twenty. I have already arranged a mansion where you both could live comfortably, and it’s not too far away from here. All I need now is your agreement."

"...What?"

’What sort of nonsense is she spouting?’

Was she seriously asking her to leave the Florivelle territory and live here instead? That was simply too unreasonable a thing to ask of her, was it not?

Lilianne knew that the Ravenshade family would demand something from them—something that had to do with their daughter. She and Alistair had been prepared for it. But this demand was too unreasonable even for that.

She opened her mouth to argue.

"Lady Seraphina, don’t you think—"

"Lady Lilianne," the Duchess cut her off. "You and your husband are struggling, right? The pressure from the imperial side is too much, isn’t it? You went as far as closing yourselves off for five whole years, so it must’ve been quite a struggle to deal with."

Lilianne closed her mouth.

’So they knew.’

Well, that should’ve been obvious. House Ravenshade must’ve kept a close eye on them during those five years, so it was not strange for them to know about the situation the Florivelles were in.

But things were different now that her daughter was engaged to House Ravenshade.

"Lady Seraphina, it surprised me that you know about our circumstances. But shouldn’t you provide us with protection now that you know? After all, you said moments ago that we were now family. Shouldn’t you help a family member who is suffering?"

With the engagement in place, House Florivelle was now a vassal to House Ravenshade, which meant that House Ravenshade would provide them with protection against all threats. They had essentially acquired a shield called House Ravenshade that would protect them.

The Duchess gently placed the now-empty teacup on the table as her gentle smile slowly faded. What replaced it was a mildly bored expression.

"I believe it’s time we stop pretending and speak in a straight manner, don’t you think, Lady Lilianne? As for the protection we are supposed to provide, didn’t I call you here specifically to provide it?"

Lilianne frowned at the Duchess’s sudden change of tone.

"But isn’t that—"

"Lady Lilianne," Seraphina cut her off once again. "The distance between our territories is quite large. It is tedious to protect you when you are that far away."

Lilianne was taken aback by the sudden bluntness of her words.

"Do you know," the Duchess continued. "How many attempts at your daughter’s kidnappings have we thwarted over these five years? How many schemes against you all were crushed by us? We have been protecting you all from the shadows all this time. Were you aware of this?"

Lilianne’s heartbeat sped up as soon as she heard everything the Duchess revealed, making her fall completely silent.

’Come to think of it...’

She had heard Alistair mention that it seemed strange to him how things were so peaceful. Now that she thought about it, the imperial faction was not the kind to remain that docile. It was strange that no incident had happened in these five years.

They might’ve been arrogant to think they could stop those power-hungry beasts so easily.

The Duchess met Lilianne’s eyes with her own sharp gaze.

"It would take us too long to react should anything happen to you within your territory. We would most likely not be able to help you in time. So it is in your daughter’s best interest to remain close to us, at least until she becomes strong enough to protect herself."