Chapter 32

The Marquess Family's Magical Genius - Chapter 32 (32/324)

32

Is it because of my changed appearance?

Surprise flickered in the Marquess's eyes.

"Huh, indeed. The difference between before and after is like heaven and earth. Come this way."

The place the Marquess pointed to was right next to him, a seat for a guest.

It was as good as saying he would treat me with that much respect.

Did I impress him that much? Well, the scale of the deal was quite large.

Even though I did cut the price a bit, the Marquess must have made a considerable profit.

His inventory would be lighter, and his mood would be much better.

He must be thinking that way now.

As I moved to his side, the Marquess pointed at me and said,

"Lord Celtaion's fourth son, Kyle Celtaion. My lady."

In response, the Marquess's wife smiled brightly and said,

"I heard you've changed a lot, but seeing you today, it's clear that you have."

Following the Marquess's wife, greetings were exchanged with his two sons. Their reactions were not bad.

They had only heard rumors so far and had not been directly affected by this troublemaker.

I smiled and bowed slightly, and they treated me with equal respect.

I don't know what story the Marquess heard before I arrived, but it probably wasn't a bad one.

After the greetings, I subtly bowed to Iris.

"Earlier, you rushed in. Are you feeling better now?"

I said with a slight smile, and her face turned red.

It seemed she was seeing me a lot.

The young girl was already quite bold.

"...Ah. Yes. Well..."

At this, the Marquess smiled and asked,

"Heh. Why are you suddenly like this? You can't even answer properly."

"No, just... well."

At this, the eyes of the two brothers sitting near her lit up.

"What's wrong with our youngest sister?"

"Indeed."

"Is it because of the handsome guy? You always look at faces first."

They started to tease her a bit.

"...It's not like that."

"Whatever. Why are you getting angry?"

"Indeed. You're reacting too sensitively."

Seeing them tease her like this, it seemed she was still considered a cute youngest sister in the family.

After all,

The characteristics of despising the weak or acting without regard for others are hard to activate against those who are similar or above in status. So, these brothers probably never experienced such pain.

At most, they might have occasionally thrown tantrums.

Logically, the eldest and second sons wouldn't be in a lower position than the youngest daughter.

Mayers Neron.

Leman Neron.

The two brothers were clearly older than me.

According to my Insight, the eldest, Mayers, was 18, and the second, Leman, was 15.

Considering Iris is 8, they would naturally think of her as a cute youngest sister.

'At least, the affinity isn't low.'

Initially, Iris showed an affinity of 40, while the two brothers had 0.

Thinking about it, I understood why.

Iris.

This kid is quite smart.

So, the moment the Marquess mentioned meeting me, she immediately understood the purpose.

A blind date.

But the man in this blind date was rumored to be a complete troublemaker.

'Naturally, she wouldn't have a good impression.'

She might have heard about the change, but she probably assumed it wouldn't be much different.

And hearing that I was a 1st Circle, the characteristic of despising the weak would have strongly activated.

In contrast, these two brothers probably never paid attention to me.

Their affinity might have been slightly negative, but it could have soared to 0 after the Marquess spoke well of me.

'0 is quite good.'

The two brothers were characters I knew to some extent. I had come here often to sell somat, so we had talked quite a bit.

The eldest is a knight of moderate strength, and the second son has talent in commerce.

In the end, the only person worth getting from the Marquess family is the kid.

But it wouldn't hurt to be on good terms with them.

Soon, food started to be placed on the table.

The elegant dishes were placed on the plates, and the Marquess smiled and said,

"Go ahead and eat. I told you, didn't I? The chef's skills are quite good."

"I'm looking forward to it. Thank you, my lord."

"Go ahead, eat comfortably."

Perhaps because of the relaxed atmosphere and the delicious food,

the meal went smoothly.

The two brothers asked so many questions that there was no time to be bored.

After finishing the meal,

I bowed and left the room.

On my way back to my room,

a voice came from behind.

"Wait, I want to talk."

Oh.

She was quiet as a mouse during the meal, but now?

She crossed her arms and threw out her request, trying to make it seem like she had no choice but to speak.

What kind of etiquette did she learn?

At eight, she should be more innocent.

Indeed.

To reform this kid, I can't be too lenient.

I need to be firm.

"Miss, if you request something so rudely, do you think I'll accept it?"

"...What?"

"If you want to request a meeting, you should speak politely."

The kid's face turned red at my words.

I'm sure no one has ever responded to her like this.

She seemed to want to ask something.

It was obvious what it was.

It must be about the magic I showed earlier.

If you're curious, you should speak politely, kid.

Let's start with etiquette.

"If you have nothing more to say, I'll be on my way."

At that moment, without hesitation, I turned around.

"...Wait..."

"Calling me 'wait' is informal."

"...Sigh. I want to talk. Is it okay?"

"Crossing your arms is very rude. I won't say it twice."

"..."

What can you do if you glare at me?

When I showed that I was about to turn around again, the kid reluctantly uncrossed her arms.

"...Is it okay?"

"I've heard about your behavior."

"..."

"Like me, you have a bad reputation."

"...Why are you bringing this up suddenly?"

"I hate such people. I've been trying to change. So, if you want to talk to me, start changing your attitude from today."

Iris looked at me with disbelief.

"Why should I?"

"If you don't want to, our conversation ends here. And I won't come to you again. Our connection ends here. Do you disagree with my terms? If so, say it now."

If you don't like it, just end it.

Although her talent is a pity, I didn't plan to make her a subordinate from the beginning.

Perhaps because of my firm attitude,

"..."

She bowed her head without answering, as if deep in thought.

The magic I used.

She must be very curious about what kind of magic it was. Moreover, considering the increase in affinity during the meal,

Iris was clearly infatuated with Kyle.

She can't easily refuse because of these reasons. Of course, I planned to be firm to take advantage of this.

After a moment,

The kid looked at me and quietly answered,

"...Okay. I'll try. Is that enough?"

Admiration for appearance.

Perhaps this characteristic strongly influenced her.

Our eyes met.

She seemed to have just thrown out an answer.

Reforming her from the beginning would be quite difficult, so this is good enough for now.

"Alright."

"Then, follow me. This place isn't suitable for talking."

Iris led me to what looked like a garden.

"What do you want to say?"

"...That magic. How did you activate it? I've never seen a spell cast so quickly and powerfully in any magic book."

She must have been thinking about my magic the whole time.

For her, it must have been a completely new technique.

She took the bait.

"I created it."

"...Created...?"

"Yes."

"How do you activate it?"

Her hazel eyes showed a mix of curiosity and anticipation. Despite being a troublemaker, she seemed genuinely interested in magic.

But this kid, does she think

that she can get an answer just by asking?

"Why should I tell you? This is a technique that's my livelihood. Asking about someone else's secret is very impolite, Miss."

I answered with a firm tone, and her eyes showed a sense of injustice.

"But you promised earlier. Shouldn't you tell me then?"

"What kind of miraculous logic is that? The promise was about whether to have a conversation. Besides, I don't know if you'll really change your attitude."

"...So, if I keep the promise... you'll tell me?"

"Maybe."

If she sincerely keeps the promise, her bad characteristics will gradually dilute.

Then, there would be no problem in recruiting her.

It would mean there would be no problem in strengthening her.

Of course, some preliminary processes would be needed to teach the hybrid activation method.

The kid looked at me with sparkling eyes.

"I'll keep it."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not lying."

"Your eyes say it all. It's just a casual statement. You don't seem to have the will."

The kid looked taken aback.

After a moment,

"...No."

She answered with a serious expression.

No, it doesn't work.

After making eye contact with the kid,

"I can't be fooled by lies."

I warned her.

She has the characteristic of acting, but she's still a kid.

She can't fool someone like me.

"...So, you won't tell me?"

"There's a way."

"...A way?"

"By writing a magic contract."

I can't trust this kid's words, but I can trust a contract. The more expensive the contract, the more control and penalties can be set.

So, the best way to constrain such a cunning kid is through a contract.

She looked surprised.

"...What? A magic contract?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I heard from Father that you would teach me magic. He even gave a gift. You can't do this."

"Oh, that