Procedures

After asking his question, Sian continued to gaze at the young lady, waiting for her response. Although he had never seen Charlotte before, he assumed it was her due to her distinctive pink hair.

While brightly colored hair was not uncommon, pink hair was quite rare, and it was a characteristic of the Rotherham family. Most of their descendants had pink hair. Sian had learned about this due to the previous leader of the Rotherham family, who was a strong warrior that made his name famous.

The young lady, also staring back at Sian, seemed slightly surprised but maintained her composure. "Excuse my manners. As you mentioned, I am Charlotte Rotherham. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sian de Castilho."

Her butler also greeted Sian with a brief bow.

"Aren't you going to introduce this young man by your side?" Sian asked, gesturing towards the butler.

"He's just my butler, you don't need to concern yourself with him," Charlotte replied. "May I know who this lady is by your side?"

"As expected of a Marquis's daughter, your butler is anything but ordinary," Sian remarked with a knowing smile and gestured to Ophilia. "This is Ophilia, my wife."

Charlotte nodded politely to Ophilia and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Clearly nervous, Ophilia responded, "T-The pleasure is all mine!"

"I hope you don't mind, she doesn't have much contact with nobles," Sian said, still keeping his hand on Ophilia's shoulder. "Since you're here, it makes things easier. You overheard our conversation earlier, didn't you?"

"Yes," Charlotte acknowledged, gesturing towards the chairs. "Why don't we sit down before we continue?"

Before heading to the chairs, she turned to the receptionist and requested, "Margarida, could you bring us some tea?"

"Certainly, My Lady," the receptionist bowed and left to fetch the tea.

After everyone except the butler had taken their seats, Charlotte explained, "I hope you don't blame Margarida for the earlier cautiousness, she was just following my orders."

"No problem," Sian replied. "It's understandable to have measures against those who want to exploit children for profit."

"Yes, especially when someone wants to adopt a child. This isn't a common thing to happen. It becomes even more suspicious if the person is well-dressed and from a different race," Charlotte said with a serious look.

Ignoring her initial distrust, Sian asked, "So, you've established measures to prevent such situations?"

"That's right. Whenever someone wants to adopt a child, they need to go through certain procedures, fill in information, and then their application will be analyzed. If they pass, they can proceed with an interview," Charlotte explained.

"That sounds quite problematic," Sian remarked with a disgruntled expression.

At that moment, the receptionist returned with the tea and served it to the guests.

"It can't be helped. I need to guarantee the safety of the children in my care, after all, children are the future of the nation," Charlotte said, gesturing for Sian to taste the tea.

Sian raised the cup to his mouth and asked, "Can we bring her with us after that?"

"Not quite," Charlotte explained. "If your application is accepted, you'll need to choose which child you want to adopt. Then, you can review their history and decide whether to proceed with the adoption."

"I'm sure my request will be accepted. Can I see her history now?" Sian inquired.

"There are still a few more procedures left," Charlotte said.

"What are they?" Sian asked impatiently.

Charlotte took a sip of tea and calmly continued, "You'll be able to meet her here at the orphanage first. After spending some time together and establishing a bond, you can take her for walks or have her stay with you for a few days. Only after a strong connection is formed can the adoption be finalized."

"This is quite time-consuming and complicated. Can't there be a simpler way?" Sian grumbled.

Feeling Sian's anger, Ophilia held his hand, her eyes showing anxiety. Seeing her concern, he realized he needed to calm down, even if he believed that violence could solve everything.

After a long sigh, Sian drank the tea and said, "I apologize. I tend to resolve things with violence, and as you can see, I haven't been able to leave that behind."

Charlotte smiled, her lips curving back. "Don't worry about it. I understand the inconvenience, but the procedures are necessary to ensure there are no hidden reasons for adoption."

"Well," Sian said, "Do I need to do anything else?"

"No," she replied. "But if you answer some of my questions, we can skip some of the procedures."

"Go ahead," Sian promptly agreed.

"Why did you, a Duke of Hosnein, come to our marquisate?" Charlotte asked bluntly. "And given your reputation and position, why do you want to adopt a child with whom you have no blood relationship?"

"Straight to the point, huh," Sian said casually.

"I know I'm being very incisive, and I apologize for that. But as the Marquis's daughter, I have a duty to investigate why someone notorious like you is here," she explained seriously.

Ophilia looked doubtful at Sian, who shrugged as he answered, "Nothing as scandalous as you might think."

"Then what is it?" Charlotte inquired.

"Love!" Sian replied seriously, holding Ophilia's hands, who appeared embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Charlotte tilted her head, uncertain about what she heard.

"The power of love!" Sian explained. "I'm a changed man after finding her. Or rather, I'm trying to change my ways."

"Is that so?" Charlotte asked, still not fully convinced.

"Yes, that's the truth," Sian replied. "As for adopting the child, she is Ophilia's daughter. Due to certain circumstances, she had to be left at the orphanage. Now, we want to bring her to live with us. I promise on my honor that we will take good care of her."

While Charlotte still seemed doubtful, Sian sensed a faint flicker of magic being camouflaged, but as it wasn't harmful, he ignored it. As he had suspected, the butler wasn't common. Someone capable of using telepathic spells and camouflaging them almost perfectly must be extraordinary.

As the doubts slowly vanished from Charlotte's face, Sian suspected that the butler could use magic to detect lies.

"Just out of curiosity, how long have you two been together?" Charlotte asked.

"Hmmm..." Sian paused briefly and said, "A day and a half? Or almost that. I know it seems impossible to believe, but it's the truth. I even thought I was under some magic, but I'm perfectly sane."

"I understand you!" Charlotte exclaimed, standing up with bright eyes. "I totally get it! Love is something inexplicable that can happen at any time, even the first time you see someone. But it's sad when it's not reciprocated..."

Sian also stood up excitedly. "So you experienced love at first sight too? I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who had that experience. Did you tell him clearly how you feel?"

"Not exactly," she said, looking lightly at the butler. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to be rejected."

Noticing her gaze, Sian said, "I understand, but you don't have to worry."

With a smile, some paper sheets appeared in his hands and telepathically told her, 'This can help you.'

She was a little surprised and asked, 'What is it?'

'A gift,' he replied, moving the paper sheets towards her. 'It's the 'How to win the love of your life' section. It may seem absurd, but it's really helpful.'

'Really? Then I will gladly accept it,' she said cheerfully.

Sian recommended some methods he thought would work and then said with a positive sign, 'Even if this butler looks cold on the outside, he certainly has a weakness. Just choose the right method.'

Seeing that Sian had found out who she loved so easily, Charlotte's cheeks flushed.

To outsiders who didn't know about the tactical discussion between Sian and Charlotte, it seemed like two people smiling and nodding at each other a few times.

Despite this, the butler remained indifferent, but Ophilia seemed puzzled.

Realizing the situation belatedly, Charlotte cleared her throat and said, "I'm sorry, I got carried away for a moment."

"The same here, my bad," Sian said, sitting down again.

After sitting down, Charlotte quickly brought up another topic. "Have you heard anything about the extermination of Edrorian's army?"

Sian froze immediately upon hearing that question.