HNMCEH~02

CHAPTER~02

Lopenter Marquis Family.

In the Averk Empire, there is probably no one who doesn’t know the name “Lopenter.”

If the Decart Duke became famous for producing Sword Masters, then the Lopenter Marquis Family raised the Empire’s honor by producing Archmages.

And in the novel , the female protagonist, “Kanna Mella Lopenter,” was a member of this very family and was destined to become an unprecedented Archmage.

“Kanna?”

……But the descendant of that Archmage, meaning the future female protagonist, is currently collapsed on the floor of my office?

Strictly speaking, collapse isn’t even the right word.

She basically shot through the window like a bullet and crash-landed here.

Well, maybe not.

But if she weren’t the heroine, then why did the “star” mark on her wrist scream Lopenter Family so clearly?

Wait, hold on……

Did my wish to meet the heroine actually make her appear in front of me?

No then, why didn’t money or jewels fall from the sky instead?

Since when was God this selective?

While I was blankly staring into space, Hubert pushed up his glasses and said something annoyingly smug.

“It is undoubtedly punishment for Count Evlyen Leella shouting at the sky asking for money and jewels. Truly pitiful. As if drowning in debt wasn’t enough, now a child as well. Wait…….”

“What now? What nonsense are you about to say?”

Hubert’s gaze shifted to Kanna, who was curled up and completely motionless like she was dead.

She isn’t dead, right?

No way. The original story hasn’t even started yet. She can’t die. But what happens if she really is dead……?

Then Hubert, who had been silently observing her, suddenly spoke in an oddly serious voice.

“She resembles you, my lord.”

“Huh? Impossible.”

“No, there is definitely a resemblance. Look. Even her hair color is similar to yours, Lord Evlyen.”

“…….”

I wanted to deny it firmly, but even a quick glance showed that she did look a bit like me.

But that makes no sense.

She’s not even my blood. How could the heroine resemble me?

Come to think of it, the original novel described her as having red hair, so why was it pale gold like mine?

The unanswered questions piled up in my head, making me increasingly frustrated.

“For now, take her and lay her down somewhere. We’ll have to wait until she wakes up to know anything.”

I decided to stop thinking for a moment and simply put Kanna on the bed first.

Well, the questions could be dealt with later.

* * *

However, the news I heard afterward disturbed me even more.

A carriage marked with the Lopenter crest was apparently parked right in front of our estate’s main gate.

In that case, the heroine must have been inside that carriage and got flung out due to some incident.

But why, of all places, did she crash into my estate?

And that wasn’t even the strangest thing.

“……Even stranger is this, Lord Evlyen. This child is not injured anywhere.”

At Hubert’s words, I looked more carefully and noticed a transparent barrier surrounding her body.

A protective shield like that meant she was a fairly skilled mage. So who cast it?

I couldn’t use magic myself, but I knew enough from my father to recognize it instantly.

That explained why she smashed into the wall yet remained perfectly unharmed.

“Someone definitely abandoned this child on purpose, Lord Evlyen. And they chose our penniless house to dump her on top of that.”

“Just insult me directly instead.”

Hubert wasn’t wrong.

Given the circumstances, someone had certainly abandoned her.

I asked for jewels and money, and instead they tossed me a child?

“Who could possibly…… Do they expect me to raise her?”

Grumbling, I opened the crumpled piece of paper.

[Raise her while I’m still speaking politely.]

“……!”

The sentence, written as if the writer knew exactly what I would say, left me speechless.

This was 100% a threat.

Pretending I didn’t see it, I quietly set the note down on the table.

Hubert spoke.

“Do you think the culprit is the Lopenter Family? I’ve heard rumors their family affairs are quite chaotic, but surely they wouldn’t abandon a child of their own blood…… would they?”

“If you don’t want a vacation in prison for insulting high nobility, keep your mouth shut, Hubert.”

Hubert, clearly unwilling to go to jail, obediently quieted down for once.

Anyway, what now?

Did my meddling twist the storyline this badly……?

“Uuuh……”

Just then, Kanna’s clean little brows twitched as she began to stir.

“Are you waking up?”

I hurriedly leaned forward and asked.

As expected, she looked incredibly cute and soft.

“Where is… this?”

Kanna blinked wide awake, lifted her chubby arms, rubbed her big eyes, and then—

Suddenly, terrified by the unfamiliar surroundings, she burst into tears.

“Who are you, lady? ……Why am I here? I don’t remember anything. ……Waaah!”

I was terrible at dealing with children, so the situation was panic-inducing.

I tried calming her down and gently asked,

“……You really don’t remember anything? Not even your name or where you’re from?”

“No……”

The worst possible scenario had happened.

But seeing Kanna smiling so innocently despite knowing nothing, guilt pricked at my heart.

“This is troublesome. Still, since the Lopenter carriage is outside, we can just send her back. They’ll know her.”

Hubert, a cold-hearted old man with not a shred of sentimentality, stood up as he spoke.

At that moment—

Kanna, who had been absentmindedly following our gazes, suddenly coughed sharply and dropped something.

“Oh dear.”

I’m pretty sure I heard a very intentional “Oh dear,” but maybe that was my imagination.

Looking at what she dropped, I saw the words “Adoption Renunciation Form.”

“……Adoption Renunciation Form?”

[As of this moment, Kanna Lopenter is disowned and permanently expelled from the Lopenter Marquis Family.]

“…….”

The heroine not only lost her memory but was disowned by her family?

The story hadn’t even begun yet—wasn’t this twist too extreme?

Could this really be because of me?

Horrified, I folded the paper again and pretended I didn’t see it.

This confirmed it.

They had every intention of abandoning her, considering they even prepared the official documents.

……Of course a villain in the original story wouldn’t just do one bad thing.

The Marquis of Lopenter had been portrayed as a cold-hearted brute in the novel, so he probably had his reasons.

But that only made things difficult for me.

Because in my current situation, I didn’t have the money to raise a child.

Just then, Kanna’s wide, clear eyes met mine.

The innocence in her untouched gaze hit me with a wave of guilt.

As I struggled to look away, a hand pressed down on my shoulder.

“No, Lord Evlyen.”

“…….”

“Considering the debts on our family, it would be more merciful to grow hair on your conscience instead.”

Those words snapped me back to reality.

The only reason someone like me—who easily gets scammed—hadn’t been scammed so far was entirely thanks to Hubert.

No matter how bright the heroine’s future was, what good did that do for my current life, which was already in the gutter?

I should refuse. That was definitely the rational choice.

Just then—

“Oops. My hand slipped.”

With those words, a stone dropped from her sleeve and rolled across the floor.

But there was nothing she could have slipped on. My eyes followed it downward.

“Hubert? Ack! My eyes!”

For some reason, Hubert was lying flat on the floor.

His plump buttocks were sticking up toward the ceiling, and the sight nearly made me gag.

“……This precious thing, touching such a filthy floor! This is Argenta, my lord. With this alone, we can repay part of our debt immediately!”

Hubert lifted the stone—no, the Argenta—in both hands with reverence.

Argenta was one of the rarest mineral gemstones.

The Marquis of Lopenter monopolized the mining rights, so ordinary people could never obtain it.

“Wow. This stone is worth that much? I have more like it in my bag!”

At those words, Hubert’s eyes filled with golden madness.

“Young lady, please follow this old man! No, allow me to carry you on my back!”

Since when was she a young lady?

“I shall gladly offer you the largest, sunniest, warmest room on the second floor!”

“Waaah!”

“Hold on. That would be my room.”

He immediately changed his attitude and began treating Kanna like a noble lady.

Seriously……

His attitude flipped instantly. Truly the biggest gold-digger in the family.

Sighing, I picked up the letter again.

[Please name this child “Mela.” I leave her in your care.]

My eyes stopped at the neatly written name, “Mela.”

I slowly lowered the letter and called Kanna.

“Hey, kid.”

Kanna, who had been riding on Hubert’s back, tilted her head and toddled toward me.

Her soft cheeks wobbled with every step.

Her plump, adorable face was so cute it threatened my heart just to look at it.

Well, whatever.

I still had no idea what was going on.

“Your name is Mela.”

As I stroked her head, I thought: letting her stay for a bit shouldn’t cause any problems, right?

“I’ll be in your care.”

Of course, I didn’t know then.

That this would be the beginning of absolute chaos.

And so, I began living together with the memory-less heroine of the original novel.