Chapter 7: She’s not here? That’s for the best

The butler froze for a moment when he heard Shu Yue mention Emily, and a strange light flickered in his eyes.

It was a look of scrutiny, though he hid it well.

However, Shu Yue’s perception had sharpened significantly, allowing her to catch that subtle change in his gaze.

‘Why is he looking at me like that?’

Shu Yue was puzzled, but she did not ask.

After that brief lapse, the butler’s expression quickly returned to normal.

He continued in a polite, gentle tone, “Miss Emily went out earlier, and I am not sure when she will return. If you need to see her, Master White, I can wait until she returns and pass along a message.”

“That won’t be necessary. You don’t even need to mention I was here.”

Shu Yue shook her head, declining his “kindness.”

She had not asked about Emily because she wanted to see the fiancée she had only met once; she just wanted to confirm if the woman was around so she could prepare herself.

Shu Yue had no idea how to handle women.

Since Emily was not there, all the better—it saved her a headache!

Shu Yue’s expression became relaxed and cheerful, which left the butler even more confused.

In his eyes, since Shu Yue had come to see Baron Lester, shouldn’t she want to see the young lady as well?

Why did she look so relieved to find out Miss Emily was not home?

As the butler of a Baronial family, his status was naturally lower than Shu Yue’s.

Even though she was a newly appointed Noble without a formal title yet, she belonged to a different social class.

But compared to Emily, it was not nearly enough.

He did not believe the youth named Liya White was worthy of the noble young lady.

In his eyes, Emily was marrying down to a bastard, and Shu Yue was just a freeloader.

The news of the engagement between Emily and Shu Yue had already spread; it was known by everyone in the Lester family.

Liya White’s background had been dug up as well.

He was the bastard son of the White Knight, Wood White.

However, because of his status, he had not inherited the Mortal Blood lineage.

Combined with the fact that his biological mother was just an ordinary woman, his talent was mediocre.

Even at 15 years old, he had not yet broken through to Level 1 combat power.

Meanwhile, Emily had broken through to Level 1 when she was only 13 years old and was currently at the early stages of Level 2.

In another two or three years, Emily might even surpass her elder brother and become a woman of Level 3 combat power.

With that kind of strength, she could potentially inherit the title of Viscount.

By then, Grey Pine City might not even be large enough to contain her!

Looking at it this way, Shu Yue must have had incredible luck to secure this engagement.

Since their talents were worlds apart, why should someone like him be allowed to live off her?

It was enough to incite pure envy and hatred.

The public announcement of the engagement had brought Shu Yue a great deal of animosity, though she was still unaware of it.

The butler felt a sense of disdain for her.

Even if Liya White was the bastard son of a White Knight, that knight was dead, and Liya was nothing more than an orphan with no one to rely on.

Only Shu Yue and the butler entered the Manor; Anna and Mundo were left outside.

Shu Yue did not insist on bringing them along.

She followed the butler toward the area where guests were usually received.

One had to admit that a Baron’s residence was built with great style.

They walked through the landscaped front yard for quite a while before entering a large Gothic-style building.

The interior was incredibly open, avoiding any sense of architectural oppression, and the natural light was so abundant that nothing felt gloomy.

They turned down a side path where one wall consisted of a row of thick, evenly spaced stone columns.

They supported the weight of the structure above while keeping the view as open as possible.

Shu Yue turned her head to look.

There was a very spacious, flat area where several people were currently sparring.

It appeared to be a training ground, and those practicing seemed to be the younger generation of the Lester family.

She did not pay them much attention.

She had come here with a purpose, and her priority was to complete the main quest.

At the same time, several richly dressed youths on the training ground turned their gazes toward her.

Their leader was a handsome young man with chestnut hair who looked nearly identical to Baron Lester, though he appeared much younger—roughly 18 or 19 years old.

His dashing appearance and upright posture made him an outstanding man in the eyes of most women.

This was Beland Lester, the second son of Baron Lester.

Since his elder brother had died young, he was effectively the eldest son and the primary heir to the Baronial title.

He was the one the other branches of the Lester family rallied around, essentially the young master of the house.

He recognized Shu Yue instantly—or rather, the identity of Liya.

He naturally had to keep an eye on his sister’s fiancé.

After all, his sister’s talent was higher than he had expected, which put a lot of pressure on him.

But a woman was a woman; she was supposed to be married off.

That should have been the case, but things were different now.

Emily was marrying a newly appointed Noble through an engagement granted by the higher-ups.

Since Shu Yue had no power or influence, she would inevitably have to rely on her wife.

This meant that not only would Emily not be married off, but she was also bringing a man into the family.

She would remain Emily Lester, and she now had the qualifications to compete with him for the inheritance.

Thinking of this, a chill rose in his heart.

Beland hid his emotions well, maintaining a warm smile and a refined manner that made people feel at ease.

In the arena, the match had reached its conclusion.

A fierce-looking youth had defeated the attendant he was training with.

*Clap, clap, clap—*

After three claps, Beland said with a smile, “Sart, your strength has improved once again.”

“Haha, of course!”

Sart laughed loudly, clearly proud of his recent growth in strength.

Beland suddenly looked into the distance and let out a soft sound of surprise.

This action naturally caused the others to look over as well.

The youth named Sart was no exception.

He followed Beland’s gaze and locked onto the somewhat thin, black-haired youth.

Seeing this, Beland took the opportunity to speak.

“Oh, it’s him…”

“Him?”

Sart’s thick eyebrows furrowed.

He was confused, wondering who this frail-looking guy was.

Seeing that he had taken the bait, Beland used the momentum to introduce the newcomer to the hot-headed Sart.

“That is Liya White. You know, my sister’s fiancé.”

“…”

The moment those words left Beland’s mouth, Sart’s face turned grim.

He had always considered Emily to be his woman.

When he found out she suddenly had a fiancé, he had been furious enough to demand an explanation from her, but he had been unable to see her or the Baron.

He never expected to run into Emily’s fiancé here today.

How could he not be angry?

Sart’s expression was as dark as a stagnant pool as he asked coldly, “What is he doing here?”

“Most likely looking for my sister. After all, Emily has become a very beautiful young lady,” Beland said casually.

His tone was peaceful, making it impossible to tell he was being manipulative.