Chapter 17
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Volume 3 + Chapter 17: Complicated Feelings
“Miss! Miss!”
A noble young lady’s attendant hurried over, having just heard her earlier statement.
“What… what did you just say?!”
“I said, I want to adopt that child on behalf of our family.”
The noble girl was referring to Xia Yi.
It was clearly a spur-of-the-moment decision; she hadn’t discussed it with anyone.
The moment those words left her mouth, her attendant was completely stunned.
“Miss, this… isn’t really appropriate, is it?”
“What’s inappropriate about it?” the noble girl shot back. “Are you suggesting our family can’t afford to raise a little girl? Do you think she’d eat us into bankruptcy?”
“No, that’s not what I meant,” the attendant quickly explained. “Didn’t you say we were just going to visit Spring Breeze Orphanage? Why make such a sudden decision? Please, let’s not stir things up—if we’re late, we’ll be punished.”
“But she’s so cute. Didn’t you see how she played the Silver Dragon Queen? Her presence was totally different from the others. Even just bringing her back as a mascot would add prestige to our family.”
The noble girl completely ignored her attendant and didn’t take his concerns seriously at all.
Her eyes returned to Xia Yi.
“Little girl, you’re a child from this orphanage, right?” the noble girl asked. “We’d like to adopt you. I’m very interested in you and want to invite you into our family. We can fulfill all your fantasies about nobility.”
“…”
Xia Yi stayed silent, her emotions conflicted.
“Well?” the noble girl pressed.
“Excuse me, miss,” a nun interjected before Xia Yi could reply. “I’m Sister Martha from Spring Breeze Orphanage. This young lady isn’t one of the children here.”
“She’s not?” The noble girl frowned. “But I saw her performing in the play with the other kids.”
And judging by her height, she clearly wasn’t an adult—obviously still underage.
Sister Martha explained, “She is Miss Xia Yi of the Lawrence family. In recent years, our orphanage has received support from the Lawrence family. Miss Xia Yi was simply helping out out of kindness, performing alongside the children as the Silver Dragon Queen.”
The noble girl was surprised and leaned in to quietly ask her attendant, “Have you heard of the Lawrence family?”
“No, Miss. I haven’t. Maybe it’s a small regional house.”
“I see…”
The noble girl looked disappointed.
Xia Yi, of course, had no intention of revealing her true identity. She knew exactly who the girl’s family was.
“I am Xia Yi – Lawrence of the Lawrence family. Pleased to meet you,” Xia Yi said, performing a proper noblewoman’s bow.
After seeing Xia Yi offer a formal greeting, the noble girl returned it. “Hello, Miss Xia Yi. I’m Lia Schubert, of the Schubert family.”
“Schubert family?!”
Sister Martha gasped and quickly covered her mouth.
And not just her—everyone present began looking at Lia with reverence and awe.
Because the Schubert family was one of the Four Great Houses of the Rhine Kingdom.
The Four Great Houses held unmatched status in the Rhine Kingdom. Their power and influence were deeply tied to the kingdom’s prominence among human nations, even surpassing that of the royal family.
Lia Schubert was a prominent young lady from the Schubert family.
“Miss Xia Yi, it seems there was a bit of a misunderstanding earlier. My apologies,” Lia said with a smile. “You’re simply so adorable that I got carried away. I hope you won’t take offense.”
In the past, Lia had technically been Xia Yi’s younger sister.
But she never once called her “Brother.”
After all, they weren’t related by blood, and Wright—Xia Yi’s previous identity—hadn’t come from a particularly esteemed background.
Lia had always resisted acknowledging Wright as her brother, though she had been very young at the time. Wright didn’t push it and focused on sword training instead of trying to force a child to call him “brother.”
Still, it always felt like she disliked him.
Now, that little girl had grown into a tall and graceful young woman—taller than Xia Yi herself.
Xia Yi didn’t even know what to say about that.
And the strangest part was that this “younger sister” now wanted to take her back to the Schubert family?
She couldn’t even begin to comment. This kind of plot twist would be too absurd for even a fantasy novel.
Of course, she now presented herself as a member of the Lawrence family, and she would play the part accordingly.
“It’s truly surprising to receive Miss Lia’s favor, but I’m afraid I must decline,” Xia Yi replied.
Lia’s eyes stayed fixed on her.
Feeling the tension, Sister Martha stepped forward to shield Xia Yi.
“Miss Lia, are you here to tour the Spring Breeze Orphanage? If so, may I guide you?”
“…All right,” Lia nodded.
Martha led her away, giving Xia Yi a subtle signal to leave while she had the chance.
Xia Yi nodded and smiled at Martha in gratitude.
…
As Martha showed Lia around the orphanage, Lia deliberately sent her attendant away to wait at the entrance, instructing him not to disturb her.
“So this… was where he lived, back then…”
Lia muttered to herself.
“Hm? Miss Lia, who are you talking about?” Martha asked curiously.
“No one, Sister Martha,” Lia deflected, changing the subject. “I meant the play earlier was quite interesting.”
“Oh, that’s a favorite of the children. Speaking of which, Sword Saint-sama also came from the Schubert family, right? He must be your older brother?”
“Yes… he is my… brother.”
“The children really love his story.”
“Too bad… the story’s a lie,” Lia said suddenly.
“A lie?” Martha blinked. “You mean the part about the Sword Saint defeating the Silver Dragon Queen? That’s just something the kids added to the script. Everyone knows the real story—he fought the Silver Dragon Queen to a draw. Still, that’s already amazing.”
“…”
Lia fell silent.
This made Martha uneasy. Shouldn’t the Schubert family be proud of the Sword Saint?
“By the way, Sister Martha, is the Lawrence family the current sponsor of Spring Breeze Orphanage?” Lia asked.
“Yes.”
“What was their reason for sponsoring?”
Martha believed it was Xia Yi’s private matter, so she didn’t mention Ash and simply said, “It was the Lawrence family’s decision. Perhaps they’re kindhearted. It started a few years ago.”
“I see…”
Lia began to take serious interest.
After the Schubert family stopped supporting the orphanage, another noble family had stepped in?
…
“Miss, shall we head back now?”
Lia’s attendant, waiting at the orphanage gate, saw her return and hurried over.
“Yes, let’s go.”
“Great, let’s get moving!”
The attendant opened the car door.
But Lia didn’t get in immediately. She gave her attendant an instruction: “I’m curious about the Lawrence family. Look into them for me.”
“Understood, Miss. Should I find a reason to summon their family head directly for questioning? If we invoke the Schubert family name, they’ll surely tell us everything.”
“No, investigate secretly,” Lia paused. “Especially that Xia Yi – Lawrence—get me every detail about her background.”
