Don't Trust the Heroine

The early spring’s warmth from when Madenna had brought Farren to her mansion had soon turned into the bitter cold of winter.

Sitting in the middle of her cozy office, protected from the cold weather, Madenna opened a green envelope while enjoying a cup of black tea.

Inside the envelope were two regular reports from the Stained Ravens.

Suzanne’s name was written over one of the documents. About half a year had passed since Count Tassio began to sponsor Suzanne, and she’d been living with the Count ever since.

She seemed to have wrapped the Countess around her finger just as she had with Cavan, acting as though she was their child.

Cavan was also doting on Suzanne, sparing no money on his patronage for her.

Also, as expected, she’d begun to study magic, evidently infuriated by the previous incident with Farren.

But there was nothing out of the ordinary even after half a year of surveillance.

The same was true with today’s report.

‘…She’s still not doing anything noteworthy?’

Madenna’s biggest concern was the places Suzanne visited and the people she met.

But so far, it seemed like there was nothing to be wary of.

‘I shouldn’t let my guard down. I’ll have to remind them to keep an eye on every little thing.’

Madenna scanned the report a few more times, before going over to the other page.

「Report on the activities of Lukas Sein」

A small smile graced her lips as she read the title.

‘The time has come.’

Madenna was delighted, finally receiving the report she had been waiting for.

In the original novel, three of Suzanne’s allies stood out on her path to empresshood.

The Sage, Sein.

The Mystical Researcher, Fosha.

The Master Diplomat, Bellin.

They were the most promising talents in their respective fields, making great contributions towards the collapse of the current empire and the establishment of a new country.

‘Of course, I’m turning them into Farren’s supporters this time.’

Unlike Fosha and Bellin, who were both commoners and therefore troublesome to locate, the information on the fallen aristocrat Sein could be found relatively fast.

After that, she could look into their situation and swoop in at the right time to recruit them.

‘I don’t think it’ll be an easy feat to recruit Sein, based on my knowledge from the original novel. In any case, the novel isn’t even trustworthy with how it ignored Suzanne’s actual personality, so it might even be more difficult than I imagine.’

Still, the reason Madenna decided to hunt down the three of them was because of Farren.

She had calculated that with their help, even if they had problems like Suzanne, Farren would be able to overpower them.

‘With the Blood Contract, I can completely trust Farren, and have security in my plans for the future.’

Madenna stood up after going over the report on Sein once more.

It was time to meet Farren.

***

After passing through a long corridor and strolling through the courtyard, the detached building slowly came into view.

The area was originally empty because it had no use, but it had been converted into a magic and martial arts training ground for Farren.

Madenna could hear a reverberant boom reaching the outside of the building. She also felt a slight shock after a delay.

His strength had increased significantly from half a year ago, when he had just started his training.

When she opened the door to the annex and went inside, Luhan, Farren’s magic instructor, halted and immediately gave her a polite bow.

Madenna approached him with a friendly smile, letting him know that he didn’t have to be overly polite.

Inside the magical barrier, a glowing sphere of red and blue was bouncing everywhere like a ball.

The light was blinding, incredibly quick, looking as if it would hit them if they were even a bit careless.

It had enough force to produce a loud thump every time it came in contact with the barrier or a solid surface.

In contrast to the lights’ fast pace, Farren was leisurely dodging whenever it came his way.

When he couldn’t avoid it, he would instead conjure a small spell to deflect the light before it struck him.

Slowly, the amount of light orbs increased, making it more difficult to avoid them.

“How’s his performance?” Madenna asked Luhan.

“…Frankly, there’s very little I can teach,” he answered cautiously.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, he’s a genius… no, it’s more accurate to say that he’s a monster.”

Farren’s magic instructor, Luhan, was born into a well-to-do commoner family, and he was lucky enough to be raised by supportive parents as a wizard.

Due to his aptitude in wizardry, he’d spent his whole life engaged in magical research.

He had single-handedly pioneered the field of magic in recent times, even though many ridiculed him.

It was hard to imagine how much talent Farren possessed if such a person had praised him to such lengths.

“Although he has an outstanding ability, he’s still a child. I hope you can still guide him well.”

“Yes, of course. It would be a great honor to raise Farren as my disciple.”

Farren’s training ended after being overwhelmed by hundreds of light orbs.

A clap of applause was heard behind Farren, who was drenched in sweat and drained.

“Ah… Countess!”

When he glanced back and confirmed it was her, his fatigue evaporated and his expression turned bright.

Farren quickly dissolved the barrier and ran over to Madenna.

“Oh, what about Master Luhan?”

“He said you could stop here for today and take a break. Go wash up and change your clothes. Let’s have some tea afterwards.”

“Yes!”

***

Unlike the chill outside, the greenhouse was warm and cozy, untouched by the changing season.

A marble white table and chair were placed in the center of the greenhouse, surrounded with anemones and zephyr lilies.

The servants poured the tea before leaving the pot on the table and withdrawing, giving the two space to talk comfortably.

After they’d left the training area, Farren went to bring a chestnut pureé as dessert, placing it onto her plate in a graceful fashion.

“I’ve heard you’ve been exceptionally successful in your studies, Farren. It hasn’t only been Luhan either, the teachers in charge of other subjects have also given you many compliments.”

“They’re all being kind to me. There are many areas I’m still lacking in,” Farren replied humbly.

It was evident that he was a prodigy, with effort and gifts abundant enough to bend even the strictest teachers.

‘He was amazing enough to rival Suzanne in the novel.’

Farren’s childhood in the original wasn’t described in detail.

But one could imagine the hardships he had to go through to survive in the underworld after leaving the orphanage.

He had to strive for his survival, without being given a chance to cultivate his talent.

While on the other hand, Suzanne was sponsored by one of the richest families in the Empire.

It was inevitable that there would be a gap between the two.

“You have to take care of your health as well.”

“You don’t have to worry. I’ve been looking after myself!”

She was pleased by Farren’s earnest and dutiful answer.

‘I’ve never had a child in any of my lives, and Farren is at the perfect age…’

Somehow, Madenna felt like a proud parent.

After making small talk for a while, they neared the end of the tea time, and she finally got to the main point.

“Farren. Luhan said that with your current skills, it’d be no problem for you to escort me alone.”

“Master said not long ago that it was too early for me to protect you myself. I’m glad I was able to improve!”

Luhan seemed to be a commendable teacher, who recognized his student’s limits and pushed them further.

Madenna smiled, recalling Luhan’s praise.

“Yes, your master has given his permission. Let’s go out together soon.”

“Are we heading to a dangerous place?”

While Madenna proposed the idea, tension was apparent in Farren’s expression.

“Maybe. It’s too conspicuous a place to take any guardian besides you, though.”

“……I understand. I’ll protect you, Madenna.”

“Yes, I’ll believe in you.”

Farren revealed a jubilant smile at Madenna’s faith.

It had been a while since he started studying magic in earnest, which was why he was eager for his first true assignment.

After finishing her tea, Madenna got up from her seat.

Farren rushed to reach out for her hand after standing up.

When Madenna held his hand in her usual manner, he had a look of discontent.

“What’s wrong?”

“Escort… I want to escort you.”

The shy Farren was so cute that she burst into laughter unconsciously.

Perhaps he learned to escort during his etiquette class.

“Because you’re still short, we can’t put our arms together very well… oh, by the way, you’ve grown a bit, haven’t you?”

Madenna recalled the first time she met him at the orphanage.

Farren was a little shorter than his peers due to a lack of nutrition.

As she recalled, he was only around her chest initially, but now his head reached her shoulder.

“Yes, but I’m still far from my goal. I’m going to grow much more.”

“You don’t have to be so impatient. When you grow up, you’ll be very tall.”

Farren’s hand was much larger than she thought, and brought with it a sense of comfort.

‘As time goes by, it won’t be long before this child turns into an adult.’

Madenna imagined the small boy growing up into a handsome young man she met before her return.

But the idea felt unreal, it felt like it was still in a distant future.

“…When I grow up, I can be your escort, right?”

“Haha, of course. I’m sure you’ll have the chance to escort other ladies as well.”

“Well, others are also fine, but I hope the day I can escort you comes as soon as possible.”

Madenna’s hold stiffened.

‘Even if you say this, you’ll fall in love with a pretty girl when you’re an adult and she’ll be your empress.’

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But this was in the distant future.

“I’ll be waiting for the day you become my escort.”

“Yes!” Farren answered energetically as his cheeks blushed, creating a lovely sight. Her hand unknowingly moved towards his cheek without realising, and she lightly rubbed it.

Farren’s expression quickly turned sullen, seemingly displeased by being treated as a child.

He squeezed her hand again tighter. His hold contained undisguised attachment and obsession within, yet Madenna didn’t seem to notice.