n

n

n“Brother! Did anything happen today? How have you been?”

nFurthermore, she bothered Hikan like this at every meal.

nThere was almost no answer, and even if there is, it was such a short answer.

n“Be quiet.”

nHikan is not a friendly person at all, he gets up and leaves on his own after the meal, or leaving the young Dalia to eat alone because he was busy.

nHowever, for Dalia, who knew about his misdeeds in the original, this was very good.

nHikan, though she was being annoying and irritating, did not seem to intend to sell her anywhere or kill her, as Dalia imagined.

nEither way, her plan to lower Hikan’s guard seemed to be working successfully.

n‘Hoo-hoo. As expected, I’m great. ‘

nDalia, proud of her own greatness, finishing the flower crown that she has been working on.

n

n

nThis garden is Dalia’s favorite place in the Pesteros’s residence because she could lie freely in a dress.

nNo one else came except for Dalia, so the whole garden is like a place only for her. So she could sit on the lawn and make a flower crown with the flowers that she picked.

n‘I’ll give this to my brother as a gift. ‘

nThis is also part of Dalia’s big plan to escape. I’ll throw it away or put it somewhere.

nDalia trembled as his cold face appeared before her eyes. (*t

/n: she imagined his face)

n‘……What if he doesn’t like it?’

nIf not, I was going to ask someone else to pass it on this time.

n“Oh my, Miss. Now you’re making something for the young Duke?”

nThen, the gardener Bucky smiled and talked to Dalia while bending his knees.

nDalia nodded with a smile.

n“Yes, that’s right.”

nBucky smiled gladly.

n“Miss, you really love your brother.”

n“Of course! Will my brother like this, too?”

nDalia smiled with her arms wide open. If you want to deceive, you have to deceive everyone completely. Unaware of her true intention, Bucky nod his head.

n“Of course, since it’s from you, miss.”

nDalia was popular among the employees.

nEven though she is a lady of the Pesteros family, who is said to be directly under the Emperor, she did not insist on her identity or be harsh on her employees.

n‘Oh! It’s crooked.’

nDalia, who lost her concentration, accidentally broke two flowers on her flower stalk.

nShe pondered it for a moment, then handed it over to Bucky.

n“I’ll give one to Bucky, too.”

n“Me, me too?”

n“Yes. You helped me pick the flowers. Come here. I’ll put it on you.”

nBucky bowed his head, deeply touched.

nDalia put the flower crown directly on Bucky’s head. His dirt-stained face, his overalls, and flower crowns were unexpectedly harmonized.

nDalia said unknowingly.

n“It’s pretty, Bucky.”

nAs she laughed, Bucky scratched his earlobe, not knowing what to do.

nWhile making it, she also made a wreath as a present for the Duchess Blueport to hang on the door of her mansion. After making it, it became more fun and she can also improve her skills.

nShe also put flower crowns on some of the butlers and maids who passed by. She also wears one.

nNow the only one left is Hikan’s. But Dalia’s excited hand stopped in the middle.

n‘Oh, come to think of it, brother.’

nDalia recalled Hikan’s top secret from his secret route in the original .

nHe is allergic to pollen.

n‘…….’

nI shouldn’t have made it.

nDalia looked at the flower crown and just put it down on the lawn.

nI worked hard on this, I started making it when the sun was high, but now the shadow of the tree began to grow long.

n‘It’s alright.’

nI’ll make him something else next time.

nDalia got up, brushed her bottom and returned to her room. Without even dreaming that her figure could be seen right from Hikan’s room.

n“You must be happy to have a cute little sister.”

nThe butler standing beside Hikan said delightedly. On top of his head was a flower crown made by Dalia.

n“……It’s not even funny. Put that flower crown out of my sight right now.”

nHikan said coldly.

nHe imagined the flower crown on his head. It was terrible.

nDalia Pesteros. His only little sister. The ‘normal’ child the previous duchess desperately wanted.

nWhen he first came into the mansion, he was going to clean everything up without any rumors if it bothers him.

nIf he had seen her acting smart or used her head, he would have made a decision right away, but Dalia, who he’s seen so far, seemed to have no such plans.

nAll she does everyday is to chat with him without getting bored of it or make a flower crown in the back garden like today.

nAt this level, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to leave her as a card for later use when needed.

nBut it was a little irritating to keep being around her radius. Pretending to be close by giving useless gifts.

nHikan looked down at where Dalia had left. The flower crown that had been made remained on the lawn.

n‘……’

nHe was staring at it without knowing why. Then he turned his head in a hurry.

n* * *

nIn Dalia’s mind, the plan to appear naive to Hikan is going very well.

nAll that remains now is to raise money for independence.

nShe already had her own plan. First of all, she will sell some of the dresses and jewelries that she doesn’t need.

nDalia grabbed the nanny’s hand who came to visit her before her bedtime.

n“Nanny. Nanny will always, always be on my side, right?”

nThe nanny smiled and said without any doubt.

n“Of course! If not Miss, then whose side would I be on?”

n“As expected of my nanny!”

nDalia clasped her cheek, cuddling at the nanny. The nanny smiled and hugged Dalia. She didn’t miss this time and said,

n“Nanny, I need a secret fund.”

nThe nanny’s expression hardened for a moment.

n“……Yes?”

nDalia explained her plan.

nJust in case, if she said that she wanted to run away from the family, she thought that nanny would try to stop her like Duchess Blueport. So Dalia changed her words a little.

nThe nanny almost cried when she said that she wanted to save pocket money in case Hikan kicked her out of the family later.

n“My poor Miss. I’d like to tell you that the young Duke won’t do that, but I resent myself for not being able to. How can I help you?”

nDalia was moved.

nShe expressed her grand ambition. The nanny listened and gave realistic advice.

n“It’d be nice to sell them all, but you’ll be caught soon as the maids always check the inventory.”

nThe nanny took only a little bit of Dalia’s dress and jewelry without being noticed and sold them.

nHowever, it did not last as long as the nanny predicted. The maids are starting to check inventory one by one, saying that the young miss’ items seem to be missing these days.

n‘I can’t do this anymore.’

nIf they do it again, the situation may get worse as the maids try to find out who the culprit is. I didn’t want an innocent person accused of being the criminal.

nI won’t be able to make money this way anymore, but I still have some money.

n‘Thank you, nanny.’

nDalia deeply thanked the nanny in her heart for all her sacrifices.

nThen she gathered the money that she saved and put them in the bottom of the box, and looked at them several times, feeling proud.

n‘How do I make money now?’

nNot wanting to increase the burden on the nanny, Dalia visited the Duchess of Blueport again for consultation.

nThe Duchess heard her ambitious aspirations, and this time again, she choked on her water.

n“Goodness. Creating a secret fund. Dalia, how much more are you going to surprise me?”

nDalia looked eagerly up at the Duchess with her hands together.

n“It’s really, really important to me, Duchess.”

n“……I heard that there are many valuable books in the study of the previous Duke Pesteros. Try to look into it.”

nThe Duchess reluctantly opened her mouth.

nTaking the advice, from that day on, she looked at the book in the mansion study.

nDalia’s late father loves to read. Perhaps there is an expensive rare first edition in the study.

nShe’ll secretly hide it and sell it at a premium price later!

nDalia made a secret list of expensive-selling books after eagerly reading the journal’s list of auction houses. And while Hikan was away, she sneaked into his study during lunchtime.

nThe study was quite spacious. Sunlight was coming into the library.

n‘I have to take care of it quickly before he comes.’

nShe looked around hard, but there were not many expensive books in Dalia’s eye level. She couldn’t reach the one above her height.

nThen Dalia saw a folding ladder leaning against the wall of the study.

nShe took the ladder and put it in front of the bookshelf. It was higher than she thought. The tallest compartment was more than twice the height of Dalia.

nIt was a little scary, but she plucked up her courage and climbed up to the bottom of one of the highest compartments. Then she quickly looked at the title of the book, which was originally out of sight.

nSadly, however, there was no book that seemed to be so lucrative.

nMost of the books on the shelves were about ‘Transcendents’. Strangely, it was also a warning of the transcendent’s mana rush or their danger.

n‘Is it because of my maternal grandfather?’

nWith a sigh, she quickly scrolled through the titles and found a book.

n<>

nThe title was very interesting.

nDalia climbed up the ladder and picked out the book with a whimper. When she opened it up, luckily, it was the first edition. First editions can be expensive.

n‘I should sell this one.’

nShe put the book on her side and carefully descended the ladder step by step. And when only one last step is left-

n“What are you doing here?”

n“Kyaa!”

nSuddenly, surprised by the sound of a voice heard from somewhere, Dalia startled and lost her footing on the ladder.

nShe missed the book and fell to the floor.

nFortunately, there was only one step left, so she didn’t hurt much, except for the torn knee which was a little painful.

n

n

nDalia raised her head with tears in her eyes.

nBeautiful silver hair that stood out everywhere came into sight. An inhumanely beautiful appearance. And needless to say, the owner of an inhuman personality. Hikan stood right in front of Dalia looking down at her.

nFor some reason, with a colder expression than usual.

nHe picked up the book she dropped without caring about the injured Dalia and turned the page over. With no expression at all.

n“I didn’t know you’d like to sneak in.”

n“Well, that’s…”

nHe seemed to have no intention of listening to Dalia. Instead, he stopped at a page of the book.

n“They can’t even be called human beings. Basically they are different from us.”

nHe read a passage from the book in a low, cold voice. Then he looked at Dalia with a grave look on his face.

n“……is what it said. Do you think so too, Dalia?”

n