Flame In Her

Kim Su Won's head throbbed with pain and excitement. This guy… he was a genius! To have the foresight to think that far ahead and the fact that this guy did not try to expose her… he wanted to test her and believe in his dad, did he not?

"Haha… hahahaha…," she laughed hysterically. She had hit the jackpot! If this guy and his dad were ready to give her a chance, then she had to really make use of this opportunity. If she got the backing of Laurent household, she would have influence over not just one but two generations of Whittemore household.

From what she remembered, this guy was the only one Ivan listened to apart from their dad and the earl. Same with her dad, he really listened to Earl Laurent and trusted him with everything, even his life. It was unfortunate that the author had not expanded much about the character of Earl Laurent in the novel. She would not need to ask this guy otherwise.

But now that she had seen the character of the son, could she assume that Earl Laurent was a similar personality? A genius with a real foresight to analyze situations? But that was not enough for her exam. In order to understand what she could be tested on, she had to really know how the Earl was in real life.

"Brother Alex, I am not sure why you are willing to help me like this, even sneaking back into the castle. But if you have taken the first step, then I would not be shy about it. You must have already guessed why I called you here," Kim Su Won spoke with confidence, something Alex had not seen in Ivan or Cecilia. This girl… she was well tempered and measured in her speech.

She thought before she spoke. And this was something missing from both the heir candidates of the dukedom. He had to report this immediately to his father. No wonder he was eager to give her a chance.

But she was definitely not like this before. Wasn't she always throwing a tantrum of some sort? What changed? Nonetheless, he nodded to her question.

Initially, he thought she wanted to know what questions his father would ask her. But how could he know such information? It was not like his father was going to tell him the structure of the exam he was planning? But he thought about it a bit deeper. If this girl had really gained some kind of wisdom, she would be aware of the same too. Then, directly asking him about the questions did not make sense.

What could it be? He was curious what kind of questions she was going to ask him.

"Great! Could you please tell me what kind of person the earl is when he is outside this mansion?" Kim Su Won smiled once again, taking aback the kid who had no idea what kind of curveball was coming towards him.

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"What did she ask you?" Earl Laurent had been waiting for his son to enter the house with a glass of wine in his hand and sitting on the sofa right in the drawing room of the big mansion.

There was no reason for his son to be late and the young lord of the Whittemore castle had no idea where Alex was when he had asked him. Then there was only one place he had to be. He was waiting for the girl to approach him but she chose another route, eh? This was becoming more interesting than he had thought.

"I don't think you need to worry. She is going to pass the exam," Alex replied as he sat down in the sofa in front of his dad. When he was there, he wanted to tell his father everything about his conversation with the young lady. But from the attitude of his father, it seemed as if he had already made up his mind to let her study.

"Oh? To think she has piqued your interest too. I am sure the conversation must have been very amusing. Quickly tell this old man what she asked you," Isaac Laurent even kept his wine glass on the table and sat with whole attention towards his son.

Alex had rarely seen his father this excited. His eyes were gleaming and his red beard was twitching with exhilaration and anticipation. What was it about her that was attracting both him and his dad like this towards her? He was perhaps just too young to understand it.

"Father, I will tell you all about it. But why are you so interested in her when you have never been biased towards Ivan or Lady Cecilia?" Alex asked curiously. He had to make his decision soon as well. Who was he going to support in the heirship battle?

"Sigh… I thought you would have understood, but you are still a child. Then, I will explain it to you," Isaac Laurent crossed his legs and picked up the glass once again, leaning against the back of the sofa. He had not spoken his mind to anyone just yet, so this exercise was going to help him clear his thoughts too.

"I have not seen her much but until now, there was this fear and death in her eyes. And yet, she is just a twelve years old kid. I know it was probably because of the neglect in her household. I always used to think that there were so many unfortunate kids in this world. And that girl was sitting there, living the life of luxury but drowning in self-pity," he downed the glass of wine and poured himself another. He was in a good mood right now. That kid, he had not judged her wrong. She had taken the next step as soon as she could.

"I never had any impression of the other two Whittemore kids either, both of them are spoilt brats and have never seen any unfortunate circumstances. Emmeline Whittemore is the only one who can remotely sympathize with the plight of our citizens. And you know what the slogan of our house is, right? We only support the heirs who think about the country and not themselves," Isaac explained his reasoning.

Alex nodded in affirmation. It was something he had to chant every morning after getting out of his bed, before starting any of his activities.

Isaac continued, "Harold was the kindest of all his siblings, which is why your grandpa supported him. And now I see something ablaze in her eyes, telling me that she is ready to take up the challenge. I guess, after her accident she has really understood the meaning of life. Her eyes are bright and clear with ambition, that's what I like to see. Plus, she is young. It would be very easy to mould her as we want for the just cause of the kingdom," Isaac downed the second glass too.

Now that he had said it aloud, his mind felt much clearer than ever. He had to gauge her properly, she was the only one who could take the dukedom after Harold Whittemore. Ivan and Cecilia Whittemore were lost causes, thanks to their parents. And Emmeline Whittemore could do it, again thanks to her parents. He could not wait to teach her personally, if he could!

"Then, what about her status as a crown princess candidate?" Alex asked.