"Did you hear about what happened?" someone said in a whisper. "Felicia lost her mind yesterday."
"What are you talking about?"
"I heard a rumor that says it's because of the person Amelia brought with her from the Royal Capital."
It had been only a day, and all kinds of rumors about me had already been circulating throughout the Lix Estate. It seemed that this nasty maid hadn't kept her mouth shut and spread some annoying rumors about me.
"Shush! H-He might hear you…"
I rolled my eyes internally at how stupid those maids were.
Nevertheless, I kept my calm. With Felicia gone, Amelia was bound to be slightly more comfortable around the Lix Estate.
"Still… where do you think she found him?"
"Did she hire him as a bodyguard?"
Just as I was about to ignore them and move about my day, Amelia, who had been walking next to me, clenched her fists and turned in their direction.
"Stop talking about someone you know nothing about!"
I glanced into her eyes and saw a glimpse of hatred.
The maids who had been whispering about me all stopped talking at once. After all, they were probably shocked to see Amelia angry.
From what I learned in the past day I spent with her, it was the fact that Amelia was always nice to those around her. She never showed her true feelings, keeping them locked on the inside only for her to see.
"W-We're sorry, Lady Amelia…" one of them said with a stutter before bowing. "W-We didn't mean any harm."
"F-Fine! J-Just don't do it again!" Amelia said, stuttering.
She clearly wasn't used to ordering them around. As crazy as it might sound, she looked sorry for the maid in front of her even after everything she had said.
But then, just as we were about to leave, a new person appeared at the end of the hallway.
He had short red hair, merciless red eyes, and he had a certain aura with each step he took.
There was no doubt that he was just like Amelia, a direct member of the Lix Family.
"Are you really the harmless Amelia I know~?" he teased as he leisurely walked in our direction. "To think that a year in the Royal Capital would change you that much."
Amelia, who had just shown a hint of self-confidence, lost her composure. Not saying a word, she instinctively hid behind me as if asking me to protect her from the person approaching.
"Oh~!" he smiled at me as he extended his right hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Amelia's older brother, Oliver Lix."
I glanced at his hand and felt a strong aura coming from it. It seemed he wanted to show the difference between our statuses.
'Mhm. So that's how you want to play it, huh?'
I grabbed his hand as I watched Oliver's smile turn into a wicked one.
I could tell that he was trying as hard as he could to crush my hand, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing would work.
'He seems to have a decent Physical Body. He probably refined his Fire Affinity to around C-Rank.'
Acting as if I couldn't feel his strength, I greeted him back.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Yike Vale."
Flustered, he tried his best to keep his composure.
"Vale? I've never heard of this noble family. Where is it from?"
"Ah, it seems you got something mixed up. I'm not a noble."
His eyes widened for a split second. However, he tried his best to keep his emotions in check, but I could see straight through him.
The disdain that noble held for commoners.
"I see. Well, it was nice to meet you, commoner." He tapped my shoulder. "I'll take a walk with my sister now. You're dismissed."
I could feel Amelia's fingers tightly holding onto the back of my shirt.
Right as Oliver was about to walk past me, I stopped him by placing my hand on his chest.
"Hm. I'm sorry, but I don't think I can let you do that."
"A commoner is saying what I can and can't do? Have you lost your damn mind?"
I stayed emotionless. It wasn't the first time that someone had looked down on me. The more they underestimated me, the better.
Seeing as I was not moving, Oliver changed tactics.
"Amelia. Come and take a walk with me. If you don't, then you know what will happen to your new friend here, right?"
Threats.
The moment I heard those words coming out of his mouth, everything clicked.
Oliver was the reason why Amelia was bullied inside her own estate.
He might not be the sole reason, but it seemed that this kind of situation happened often in the past from the way he spoke.
"Y-Yes, brother…" Amelia turned and forced a smile. "I'll be fine; you can go now."
"Do you really want to go on this walk?" I asked, the look in my eyes not once changing.
Amelia seemed stunned for a moment as she stopped in her tracks. However, she stayed silent.
I stared back into her eyes and asked, "Do you want to go?"
I could see her glance at her brother and me, hesitating.
There was no doubt that she didn't want to go. However, it wasn't like I could force her to make the choice.
"Forget about everything else; what is it that you want to do?"
The look of hesitation suddenly disappeared, and instead, both her cheeks turned bright red, unable to meet my eyes. "I-I want to stay here with you…"
Just as she began walking in my direction, Oliver placed his hand on her right shoulder.
"Amelia."
Just by calling out her name did she stop. It looked as if Oliver was her master.
A sigh escaped my mouth as I grabbed Oliver's hand and forcefully removed it from his sister.
"I'm sorry. It doesn't seem like she's interested in spending time with you."
"A-A mere commoner dares to order me around?!"
Oliver's body shook with anger as he suddenly clenched his left fist and tried to hit my face.
I dodged out of the way with ease.
"Guards! Detain this commoner right away!"
In a split second, I was face-first on the ground with my arms tightly held behind my back.
'It seems that I will be meeting with the Lix Patriarch, after all.'