Lowell’s hand pressed against the wall, her body trembling as if she might collapse at any moment.
The conversation had been that shocking. The problem was, it was only just beginning.
“But I’m not really into it. That diligent type isn’t my style.”
“Right. Seems like it would be boring. A relationship has to be fun to last, right?”
What are you talking about? Do you think my sister would even bother with punks like you in the first place?
She’d disqualify you the moment she laid eyes on you. She wouldn’t even give you a second glance.
But Lowell didn’t leave. No, she couldn’t leave.
Her intuition screamed at her that she absolutely should not leave this place.
“Anyway, you guys are fools… that’s why you can’t make it.”
“Huh?”
“It’s fun to corrupt a diligent girl like that. The thought of her being corrupted because of me. Isn’t it thrilling just to imagine?”
The boys chuckled in agreement.
The guy who spewed such vile words without a second thought—it wasn’t hard to figure out who he was.
The second son of Count Aster. Calix de Aster.
‘A guy who plays dirty tricks, despite that handsome face.’
Several people had been wronged by him before.
Of course, he’d managed to settle and cover everything up by throwing around massive settlements, but the damage couldn’t be undone.
The more closed off a place was, the faster rumors spread.
In the end, Calix had attended the academy alone and barely graduated.
‘So I was shocked when a guy who barely scraped by suddenly appeared as an instructor.’
Was that why the rumor had started circulating? That he might have used his family’s influence.
‘Academy instructors aren’t chosen based on skill alone.’
Speech, morals, and character were naturally part of the evaluation criteria. But for Calix—a sex offender—to be appointed as an instructor?
It could only mean he’d leveraged his power. No, it was certain.
“That’s right. As expected, Calix operates on a different level.”
“Since she’s from the Lucid family, she’ll naturally enter the academy, right? And since we’re instructors, it’ll be easy to approach her.”
“Exactly. Simple enough if you comfort her every time she gets discouraged.”
Filthy words, no different from garbage spilling from their mouths.
Lowell clawed at her neck with her nails. It felt like insects were crawling all over her body.
“I was getting bored, so this is perfect. I can get revenge on that little lion too.”
“Ah, come to think of it, you never actually beat her, did you?”
“I won once, you know! You’re the one who never won!”
“Be honest. This is more about revenge, right? Not that you actually like her?”
“You bastards… anyway, you know me too well.”
Lowell’s breath caught in her throat.
For Delin to be insulted because of her.
She forced her collapsing body upright.
Now wasn’t the time to collapse. Now was the time to protect her beloved younger sister.
“You should have shown some restraint. I will definitely make you pay the price for your arrogance…”
Calix, who had been chattering excitedly, fell silent. He felt an overwhelming presence looming behind him.
His friends’ faces had turned pale. Calix knew instinctively who stood behind him.
“Why did you stop talking? Continue.”
“…”
“Keep going. You seemed to be having such a great time.”
An insult to her sister.
But that wasn’t the only reason Lowell stepped forward.
A gut feeling told her this guy would actually execute that disgusting plan—and succeed.
That he would place an even heavier burden on a child who was already carrying too much.
“Wait! It was just a joke. Calm down!”
“I didn’t say anything! I was just standing there!”
The boys who knew Lowell’s terrifying reputation were petrified.
They nudged Calix’s body, urging him to apologize quickly.
Calix, who had been frozen stiff, suddenly chuckled and lit a cigarette.
“Just drop it. What can she actually do anyway?”
“Hey, hey! Are you insane? If the Lucid family finds out about this…”
“As if they would. Don’t you know the rumors?”
Calix wasn’t the only one with rumors swirling around him. Many noble children were subjects of gossip, and Lowell was among them.
“She’s an abandoned child, isn’t she? Do you think they’ll even listen if she tells them this?”
“…”
“Our family isn’t any lesser than theirs. Let them try if they want. I’ll crush them head-on.”
The Aster family—the center of trade connecting the central and southern regions.
They weren’t one of the eight pillars, but they weren’t a family that could be ignored either.
They had enough influence to tip a balanced scale to one side.
Calix leaned forward and thrust his face toward her. Cigarette smoke drifted up in front of Lowell’s eyes.
“Hit me if you can.”
“…”
“You can’t, can you? A fight between families would be problematic, but a day like today is one of the few opportunities for someone like you.”
The attendance of nobles and high-ranking officials.
There were few places where one could so easily forge connections.
As he said, today was also crucial for Lowell.
‘Because I could build my own faction.’
In fact, five different parties had requested meetings with her today.
But what if she caused trouble on a day like this?
Not only would those opportunities vanish, but she would also be completely cast out from the family.
Duke Luke was one thing, but the vassals were practically salivating at the chance to expel her.
Calix blew a puff of cigarette smoke directly into Lowell’s face.
“If you’ve grasped reality, then get lost. I’ll take good care of your sister, so don’t worry about it.”
A shiver ran through Lowell’s entire body.
The mysterious intuition that only she possessed—it was the first time she’d felt such an intense warning.
‘I have to kill him here…!’
She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, blood bursting forth immediately.
She wouldn’t be able to call herself a member of the Lucid family anymore.
She’d lose her instructor position and wouldn’t be able to find decent work.
But none of that mattered.
As long as she could protect her beloved younger sister.
No, more than that.
‘There’s no way I’d let some bastard who insulted my sister walk away!!’
Lowell’s fist shot through the cigarette smoke.
Calix crashed to the ground, and immediately Lowell’s foot targeted his groin.
“Kuaaaaaaaaah!!”
After this day, Lowell’s nickname would change.
From Little Lion to the Mad Lion of the Lucid family.
One of the academy classrooms.
Lowell, who had been ordered to wait, sat calmly awaiting her punishment.
She examined her hands.
Hands covered in wounds and blackened, hardened scabs. Her face and body were also bruised and torn in various places.
It was the natural result of fighting three against one.
She had no regrets since she’d protected Rodelin. The problem was…
“What in the world is wrong with you!”
Lucas shouted.
After the incident, Lucia and Lucas had rushed over upon hearing the news.
Not only had she beaten a high-ranking noble’s son to a pulp, but she’d also rendered him a eunuch.
It was an ultra-mega incident that transcended a mere mega incident.
The only fortunate thing was that Rodelin wasn’t here.
It was a blessing that there was an academy introduction event for the younger students.
‘It’s a shame I couldn’t kill him…’
The ominous intuition had completely vanished. So it was safe to say that Rodelin’s safety was now secured.
If he still dared to reach out his hand, then she’d tear off that hand too.
If he extended his leg, then his leg. If he shoved his face forward, then his face.
She would never let anything touch Rodelin.
“Did your puberty kick in during your twenties? No, it’s more accurate to say it’s been ongoing until now. If that’s the case, then speak up. I’ll fix that rotten mentality of yours!”
“Calm down. From where I’m sitting, you’re still in puberty too.”
“It’s because you keep enabling her that her puberty never ends!”
“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. I’ll stop enabling you too. Lucas, congratulations on graduating from puberty.”
“Kuaaaaaaah!!”
Lucas practically breathed fire. Lucia ignored him and approached Lowell.
“What in the world happened?”
“…”
“Just tell your sister. There was a reason, wasn’t there? Right?”
Unconditional trust radiating from her. Tears welled up in Lowell’s eyes.
She wanted to say it immediately. That bastard had insulted her family—her beloved family.
But Lowell kept her mouth shut.
She knew that if Lucia discovered this, the matter wouldn’t end with just one person dying.
‘If Delin finds out about this…’
She would be devastated.
That the reason for the fight was because of her.
If she learned that her sister’s future had been completely ruined because of it, Rodelin wouldn’t be able to bear that weight.
‘Responsibility feels different to everyone.’
Some people felt it as light as a feather, while others felt it as heavy as steel.
Rodelin clearly belonged to the latter.
She was a child already carrying a heavy burden. Lowell couldn’t add more weight to those small shoulders.
“Are you really going to keep this up? Were we the only ones who thought of you as family?”
“Please exclude me! I’ve never thought of something like that as family!”
“You weren’t included in ‘we’ in the first place, so don’t worry. Oh my, who might you be? Only people from the Lucid family are allowed here.”
“Kuaaaaaaah!!”
Lucas threw a tantrum. It was that serious of an incident.
A situation so grave that Lucas—who was typically armed with reason, logic, and cold calculation—would lose his composure.
As meaningless time dragged on, the classroom door opened.
Everyone’s eyes widened at who appeared.
“Father?”
It was Duke Luke. Their surprise was natural.
As mentioned before, the relationship between Duke Luke and Lowell was essentially severed.
He hadn’t even attended her graduation or instructor appointment ceremonies. And for him to come in person…
“W-we can handle this at our level. We’ll respond immediately…!”
“Everyone leave except Lowell.”
“Don’t scold her! There must be a reason…!”
Lucas dragged Lucia out. She resisted, but when he joined forces with the escort knight, it was enough to remove her.
Crash! Crack!
The sound of the hallway breaking as Lucia thrashed about echoed through the corridor. The classroom fell so quiet that even those distant sounds seemed insignificant.
“…”
“…”
The two of them hadn’t exchanged a single word in years.
To speak up at a time like this would make her a coward who only spoke when she needed something.
But Lowell decided to break the silence. She wanted to prevent this incident from reaching Rodelin’s ears.
“I will accept any punishment. But please keep it a secret from Delin.”
“Why is that?”
“If Delin finds out… if she discovers the incident happened because of her, she’ll be heartbroken. So… please keep it a secret from Delin.”
She was terrified. Terrified of placing another burden on her beloved sister’s back.
Terrified of being the one to shatter Rodelin, who was barely holding herself together.
So scared and trembling.
Tears streamed down her face.
She didn’t remember much of what happened after that. Lowell was too overwhelmed at the time.
But she clearly remembered being carried back to the dormitory on someone’s back.
“So that’s what happened. If she had just held back then and told us, we would have taken care of it. How foolish…”
“I know, right. Did she distrust us that much? I’m going for a short walk.”
“Stop right there. I know you’re planning to kill him.”
“I won’t kill him. I’ll keep him alive and personally feed him shit. Of course, after cutting off all his limbs first.”
Lucas threw his entire body forward to grab Lucia’s waist and held on tight.
As he was being dragged along, he asked Duke Luke.
“Ugh! What are you going to do?”
The Lucid family didn’t abuse its power recklessly.
It wasn’t just about honor—if they used their full power, the matter would escalate beyond control.
Therefore, Duke Luke refrained from abusing his authority.
It was the same this time. Although his family had been insulted, it concerned his youngest child, who had no official standing.
There was no reason to overreact. Unless he used it as leverage to make a deal.
But for some reason, from the sight of Lowell crying as she spoke about what had happened while worrying about Rodelin, the image of Rodelin came to mind—carefully buying and wrapping gifts for her sister, one by one.
A moment later, Duke Luke’s mouth opened.
“…Let’s show them.”
What real power is.
–TL Notes–
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Damn Lowel,And Duke Luke acting lije a good father too
From the beginning he wasn’t that bad as a father,And sacrificing Rodelin was more than just preserving the Lucid family but also the entire Empire(There could be more going on too)