_CHAPTER~02_
The Marquis Lopenter Family.
There was probably no one in the Aberk Empire who didn’t know the name Lopenter.
If House Decart was renowned for producing Sword Masters, then the Marquis Lopenter Family had elevated the Empire’s prestige through generations of Great Archmages.
And the heroine of the novel The Great Archmage’s Devotion, Kanna Mela Lopenter, was born into that very family.
She was destined to become the greatest archmage in history.
“Kanna?”
…So why was the descendant of those legendary archmages—the future heroine herself—lying unconscious in my office?
To be precise, she hadn’t exactly collapsed.
She’d shot through my window like a cannonball before crash-landing inside.
Well… assuming that was actually what had happened.
Then again, if she wasn’t the heroine, the star-shaped mark on her wrist unmistakably identified her as a member of the Lopenter Family.
Wait… don’t tell me…
Did I wish to meet the heroine… and actually end up meeting her?
Then why didn’t money or jewels fall from the sky instead?
Is this what they call selective divine intervention?
As I stood there in a daze, Hubert adjusted his glasses and spoke with his usual infuriating composure.
“It seems Your Ladyship has been punished for shouting at the heavens, asking for money and jewels.”
“Goodness.”
“Being buried in debt wasn’t enough, and now you’ve been given a child as well.”
“Hmm…”
“What’s with that look?”
“What are you about to say now?”
Hubert’s gaze shifted toward Kanna, who remained curled up on the floor without moving.
She isn’t dead… is she?
No, that can’t be right.
The original story hasn’t even begun yet.
But… what if she really is dead?
After studying her for a moment, Hubert spoke in an unusually serious tone.
“She resembles you, My Lady.”
“…What?”
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
“There’s something about her.”
“Look at her hair.”
“Isn’t the color remarkably similar to yours?”
“…”
I wanted to deny it outright.
Yet even a quick glance was enough to reveal that she did resemble me in some ways.
That made no sense.
She’s not related to me by blood.
So how could the heroine possibly look like me?
Besides, wasn’t she supposed to have red hair in the original novel?
Why is she a honey-blonde like me?
Questions continued piling up without a single answer.
“Let’s move her to a bed for now.”
“We’ll wait until she wakes up.”
I decided to stop overthinking and carried Kanna to a guest room.
Whatever mysteries surrounded her could wait.
But the news I received afterward only made things more complicated.
A carriage bearing the crest of the Marquis Lopenter Family had been found parked directly outside our front gate.
If my guess was correct, then the heroine must have been riding inside that carriage before somehow being thrown out.
But why had she landed at my estate of all places?
That wasn’t the only strange thing.
“Furthermore, Lady Evelyn…”
“The child doesn’t have a single injury.”
Looking more closely, I noticed a transparent barrier surrounding her body.
Only a highly skilled mage could create a protective spell of that caliber.
Who cast it?
I couldn’t use magic myself, but thanks to what my father had taught me, I recognized the spell immediately.
That protective barrier explained why she had crashed into a wall without suffering even a scratch.
“Someone deliberately abandoned this child, Lady Evelyn.”
“And of all places, they left her with our family, which doesn’t even have a penny to its name.”
“Just insult me instead.”
As much as I hated to admit it, Hubert had a point.
Judging from the circumstances, someone had clearly abandoned her.
I had wished for jewels or money to fall from the sky, and instead I ended up with a child.
“Who in the world would do something like this…”
“Do they really think I’ll raise her just because they told me to?”
Resting my chin on one hand, I grumbled as I unfolded the crumpled note.
There was another message written on the back.
[Raise her while I’m still asking nicely.]
“…!”
The sentence was written as though the sender had expected my exact reaction.
It was an unmistakable threat.
Pretending I hadn’t seen it, I quietly set the note back on the table.
Hubert broke the silence.
“Do you think the culprit is the Marquis Lopenter Family?”
“I’ve heard the Marquis’s household is rather… complicated.”
“Surely this child couldn’t actually be one of their blood relatives… could she?”
“Watch your mouth if you don’t want to spend your vacation in prison for insulting a high-ranking noble, Hubert.”
Perhaps the thought of prison frightened him, because Hubert obediently fell silent.
Still… what am I supposed to do now?
Did all of this happen because I changed the original story?
“Mmm…”
At that moment, Kanna’s brow twitched for the first time.
She slowly began to wake.
“Are you awake?”
I hurried to her bedside.
I’d expected it, but she looked unbelievably soft and adorable.
“Wh-Where am I…?”
Kanna opened her large eyes and slowly sat up.
She rubbed them with her chubby little hands before glancing around the unfamiliar room.
A moment later, fear overtook her.
She burst into tears.
“Who are you, miss?”
“Why am I here?”
“I… I can’t remember anything…”
“Waaah!”
I had never been good at comforting children.
This was about as awkward a situation as I could imagine.
After finally calming her down a little, I carefully asked,
“So… you really don’t remember anything?”
“Not even your name or where you came from?”
“N-No…”
The worst possible scenario I could have imagined had come true.
Even so, seeing Kanna looking at me with those innocent eyes filled me with guilt.
“This certainly complicates things.”
“Still, the Marquis Lopenter Family’s carriage is waiting outside.”
“We can simply return her.”
“Surely they’ll remember who she is.”
Heartless as ever, Hubert calmly rose from his chair.
Then, just as Kanna blankly followed him with her eyes…
“Cough!”
She suddenly coughed, and something slipped from her lap onto the floor.
“Oops.”
…Did someone really say “Oops”?
Or was I imagining things?
I looked toward the paper that had fallen.
Large letters were written across the top.
Adoption Dissolution Agreement.
“…An Adoption Dissolution Agreement?”
I slowly picked up the document and read the single sentence written across it.
[Kanna Lopenter is hereby disowned and permanently expelled from the Marquis Lopenter Family.]
“…”
The heroine had lost her memories…
And on top of that, she had been cast out by her own family.
The original story hadn’t even begun yet.
Isn’t this far too different from the novel?
Don’t tell me…
Did changing the original story really cause all of this?
Horrified, I quietly folded the document back up and pretended I had never seen it.
At least one thing was certain now.
Whoever had sent her here had every intention of abandoning her.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of including an Adoption Dissolution Agreement.
Just as expected…
The villains in the original story never did anything halfway.
The Marquis Lopenter had been portrayed as cold-blooded in the novel, so there had to be some reason behind his decision.
Unfortunately, that only made things harder for me.
I sympathized with the child, but my financial situation was already a disaster.
I couldn’t afford to raise another person.
Just then, my eyes met Kanna’s.
Her large, crystal-clear eyes were completely free of suspicion or resentment.
The moment I looked into them, guilt washed over me.
I couldn’t bring myself to look away.
Suddenly, a hand rested firmly on my shoulder.
“You mustn’t, Lady Evelyn.”
“…”
“Considering the mountain of debt this family already carries, it’s better to harden your heart.”
Hubert’s words immediately brought me back to reality.
Honestly, the only reason I hadn’t been scammed countless times was that Hubert had always been there to stop me.
It didn’t matter how bright the heroine’s future was.
My own present was a complete mess.
…I really should refuse.
Just as I came to that conclusion…
“Oops.”
“My hand slipped.”
Something rolled out from Kanna’s sleeve and landed on the floor with a soft tap.
…Slipped?
There wasn’t anything here for her hand to slip on.
I lowered my gaze.
“Hubert?”
“Ah! My eyes!”
For some reason, Hubert had thrown himself flat onto the floor.
His round backside stuck awkwardly into the air.
The sight was so ridiculous that it nearly made me gag.
“N-No…”
“To think such a treasure is lying on this filthy floor!”
“Lady Evelyn!”
“This is Argenta!”
“Just this one piece is enough to pay off a portion of our family’s debt!”
Hubert reverently lifted the stone with both hands.
Argenta was one of the rarest mineral ores in the Empire.
The Marquis Lopenter had recognized its value long ago and secured exclusive mining rights, making it nearly impossible for ordinary people to obtain.
“Wow!”
“This little rock is worth that much?”
“I have more that look just like it in my bag!”
The instant she said there was more, Hubert’s eyes gleamed with almost frightening excitement.
“Young Lady, please come with this old man at once!”
“No, even better—allow me to carry you!”
Since when did she become “Young Lady”?
“I shall gladly prepare the largest and sunniest room on the second floor for you.”
“Yay!”
“Wait a minute.”
“Isn’t that my room?”
Hubert had completely changed his attitude in an instant, showering Kanna with respect and calling her “Young Lady.”
Seriously…
His attitude changed faster than flipping a page.
As expected of the greatest money-lover in the Leella household.
Shaking my head, I picked up the letter lying on the floor once more.
Another sentence had been written beneath the first.
[Please give this child the name “Mela.”]
[I sincerely entrust her to your care.]
My gaze lingered on the neatly written name.
Mela.
Slowly lowering the letter, I called out to the little girl.
“Hey, little one.”
Kanna, who was perched on Hubert’s back, tilted her head.
With tiny, hurried footsteps, she toddled over to me.
Her soft, chubby cheeks bounced adorably with every step.
Just looking at her plump little face was enough to make my heart ache from how cute she was.
Well…
I still have no idea what kind of absurd situation this is.
I gently stroked her head.
“Your name is Mela now.”
As I patted Kanna—no, Mela’s—soft hair, a thought crossed my mind.
It’s only temporary.
What trouble could come from letting her stay for a little while?
“I look forward to living with you, Mela.”
Back then, I had no idea.
I didn’t know that this single decision would become the beginning of complete chaos.
And so…
I began living together with the amnesiac heroine of the original novel.
