Welcome, my dear brother Harold!

Chloe's life was not easy at first. Having low status and not much love from her family, Chloe was forced to become an adult and strong.

Although "Knight" is a title of nobility, it confers only superficial power and small lands, enough for only a small village.

It would not be a lie to say that even some commoners ate better than the same "nobles. And Chloe, who hated her already low position, could not accept it.

Every day she worked on herself and eventually awakened a class—the Shadow Mage. This magical class was mysterious and powerful, but most people were afraid of such mages.

Upon learning of her strength, Chloe's father banished her from the family, sending the underage girl into the cruel outside world. Being alone during her teenage years, Chloe developed a strong and tough character.

One day she settled in a remote village, tired of all the political games. It was there that she met Raine.

Raine was an ordinary peasant, but very talented. Chloe learned that he had received an invitation from the Marquis of Ashenwald and approached him to increase his power.

And Rain, being naive and kind, sincerely believed Chloe. They spent three years together, and it was not until the fourth year that Chloe agreed to sleep with him. Eventually, she fell in love with him, and they had a daughter.

One day, Chloe became a maid, and after a long battle for the position of head maid, she barely grabbed the chance, eventually winning the battle.

As the years passed, Chloe's daughter turned twelve. And after the celebration, on her way to her room, she discovered Rayne's corpse. Upon examining it, Chloe realized that Rain had been poisoned.

Being angry, Chloe closed herself off, and because of this, her power increased tenfold. But the fact remained unchanged: her husband, the only love of her life, died.

Chloe became a widow, and she had to work hard to make sure her daughter grew up in good conditions. But what happened was this:

From that day on, Chloe closed herself off. And it lasted until she met a man named Adric. The second son of her enemy

***

Adam watched with some shock as Chloe cried. There were so many different emotions mixed up in her crying that Adam felt discouraged.

Chloe has always been strong and impenetrable to Adam. However, seeing the way she showed weakness, even Adam's somewhat rigid heart trembled.

"Sometimes the events in this book are so realistic that I'm not even comfortable," Adam thought, and then took a somewhat decisive step: he hugged Chloe.

Chloe, surprisingly, did not resist and allowed herself to be hugged. She buried her face in Adam's chest and continued to cry while Adam stroked her hair.

Adam looked at the bright star in the sky and sighed bitterly.

"Chloe has been fighting all her life. She's not a real character, but her emotions and personality are far more interesting than the real me." Adam's eyes turned black. - "What do I even want? What do I want?"

Adam felt his inferiority and sighed bitterly. It seemed to him that his life was far worse than that of the non-existent character.

Feeling the moisture on his chest and the gentle grip of Chloe's hands on his back, Adam smiled bitterly.

"I guess I got too deep into it."

***

Surprisingly, after last night's events, Chloe became friendlier to Adam. She even cooked for him in the morning, making Adam feel uncomfortable.

Every time they met each other's eyes, Chloe smiled sweetly and looked as bright as the sun.

And so the day X came. Harold arrived at the princess' villa accompanied by two knights.

Adam walked out to the gate and smiled at Harold, who was glaring fiercely at Adam.

"Welcome, dear brother! I hope you're not tired on the way." Adam ignored Harold's angry look and turned to the two knights. "Thank you for your hard work. Allow me to express my gratitude."

Adam held out two bags, which were quite heavy. The knights' eyes lit up, and they instantly shoved the bags into their spatial ring.

"Mr. Edric is too generous. That's our job."

"Yeah, is that why you put the money in your pocket so quickly?" Adam's mouth quivered slightly as he looked at the departing knights.

Then he turned to Harold, who was looking at Adam with anger.

"Big brother, let's hurry up. The princess is waiting for us."

Without waiting for an answer, Adam turned and walked toward the villa. Harold gritted his teeth and was forced to follow Adam.

During their little journey, the maids openly criticized Harold, though they looked at Adam with admiration.

"Why are they being so respectful of this toy?" Harold was outraged.

The day the record of Marquis Albert's bargain spread through the empire, angry hands immediately crept in their direction. And when the Emperor imprisoned Albert, nothing good awaited Harold.

His mother, Isabel, escaped with her family. They wouldn't touch her because of the background of Isabel's father, but as for Harold, he was the perfect target. And adding the fact that Harold had pissed off a lot of people, enough people were willing to crush his skull through to line up a mile long.

Adam, on the other hand, had already managed to scan Harold's profile.

Status window:

[Name: Harold von Aschenwald

Level of Magic: Medium

Class: Battle Mage

Race: Human

Political influence: 2 points

Title: Absent.

Faction: Not in a faction

Spells: Exact Blows, Enchanting Element,

Small enhancement (dexterity).

General Force: 515].

Adam could barely contain his laughter when he saw Harold's meager profile. In Adam's early days, his general strength had been shocking, but now it was nothing more than a joke to him.

"Big brother, do you think Dad made a deal with the demons?" As casually as if he didn't know anything, Adam asked.

"Hmph! What business is it of yours anyway, trash? And don't you dare call him your father! You're not worthy!"

Adam smiled strangely and turned to Harold.

"Too bad."

No sooner had Harold asked his question than his mind shut down. Adam stared blankly at Harold's unconscious body and simply grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, dragging him toward the basement.

Naturally, Adam didn't take much care of Harold and dragged him mercilessly up the stairs, deliberately lowering Harold's body so that he could feel every step.

Since Adam had cast a "compulsion" spell on Harold, he now felt no pain.

As Adam stepped onto the basement floor, a woman of amazing beauty approached him. When she saw the man in Adam's arms, she smiled a predatory smile.

"As I promised, Chloe, It's yours."

Adam smiled and mercilessly threw Harold away as if he were garbage. Chloe smiled back charmingly and dragged him toward the table, on which lay various kinds of tools.

"Remember, don't kill him right away!" Shouted Adam and laughed.

Chloe just shrugged her shoulders and picked up the pliers.

Then sounds were heard that are better not described.