illegitimate child
Prafent Estate
Inside the room, the girl sat on the sofa by the window, propping her head up with one hand. She picked up a delicate pastry and put it in her mouth. Her blonde hair was draped over her shoulders, shimmering in the sunlight. Her blue nightgown made her skin appear even whiter.
"Knock knock." A knock sounded on the door.
"Miss, it's me!" a clear female voice said from outside the door.
“Come in.” Tiffany lowered her eyes, staring at the petals floating in the teacup.
After receiving permission, the short-haired brown maid pushed open the door and walked in. She was petite with big eyes and a gentle smile. Upon closer inspection, one could see that she had dimples on her cheeks.
"Miss, an invitation has arrived from the palace. They're celebrating His Highness the Crown Prince's birthday." The maid, Lisa, approached Tiffany and handed her the invitation with both hands.
"Okay, I understand," Tiff replied casually, placing the invitation on the table.
"Did you know that Samuel Academy has adjusted its class schedule? The Tower Master Hicks Winley has actually joined the academy and become a teacher of magic courses!" Lisa's tone was filled with undisguised shock.
“And he took the initiative.” Lisa stroked her chin, her eyebrows furrowing slightly in confusion. “In previous years, the dean would invite Hicks to become a teacher at the academy, but he never agreed. This year, he actually approached the dean to become a teacher without waiting for an invitation.”
"That's really strange," Lisa commented.
“Hicks Winley…” Tiff picked up the flower tea on the table and took a sip. She had never met this young genius magician, only seen his portrait.
In the original novel "The Tower Master", he has black hair and red eyes, is scheming and cold. He entered the Demon Tower at the age of fourteen and became the Tower Master in just seven years. He has extremely high talent in magic.
In Tiff's original world, "The Tower Master" is a male-centric web novel with no romantic pairing, telling the story of the protagonist Hicks' journey from a commoner to the master of a magic tower. The story ends after he becomes the master.
The character Tiffany did not exist in the original book. The Duke and Duchess of Streich had no children in the book, but perhaps because Tiffany entered the book and caused a butterfly effect, she became the Duke and Duchess's daughter.
She had read this book many times, but she didn't really like it.
Samuel Academy is where nobles and commoners learn magic and swordsmanship. They typically enter the academy at the age of seven to study magic and swordsmanship and graduate at the age of eighteen.
Samuel's Academy is different from other aristocratic academies. It only accepts students with talent, regardless of whether they are commoners or nobles, or even royalty. However, commoners who have both magical and swordsmanship talents cannot learn magic and swordsmanship at the same time like nobles. They can only choose one of them.
The college holds an exam every year, and those who fail will be expelled.
“But this has little to do with you, Miss.” Lisa’s voice brought Tiff back to her senses. “After all, you have your graduation exams next month.”
Tiff tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Get ready, we're heading back to the capital this afternoon."
"Yes, miss!"
———————
Tiff was reading the most popular novel of the time in the carriage; the protagonist was a knight.
Knight… she couldn’t help but think of the person outside the window.
Tiff yawned, looked out the car window at the red-haired woman on horseback, and called out, "Dope."
Hearing a sound from inside the carriage, the woman turned around, her dark eyes blinking slightly. She slowed her horse's pace. "What is it, Miss?"
Dope is also a student at Samuel Academy. She took the knight exam at the age of 16 and became a knight. Instead of joining the Royal Knights, she chose to join the Stryker family knights. At the age of 17, she became Tiff's personal knight and has been by Tiff's side for three years.
"Where are we?"
Dope replied softly, "We've arrived at the Karu Forest."
No sooner had she finished speaking than an arrow flew into the car window, passing in front of Duopei, who reached out and grabbed it, crushing it in two.
Tiff's gaze swept over the bushes.
Dozens of men in black, who had been hiding in the bushes, exchanged glances and then rushed out to surround the carriage.
Dope, sword in hand, led a dozen knights forward quickly, while Lisa retreated to the carriage to protect Tiff.
Just then, another commotion came from the bushes on the other side, and everyone turned their attention there.
Another group of men in black.
The two groups looked at each other in bewilderment. Tiffany laughed out loud, "Oh dear, I never expected to be so popular that you all want to kill me."
Tiffany rested her chin on her hand and said, "What should we do? Why don't you two have a fight, and whoever wins can come and kill me?"
The men in black ignored her words. The two leaders exchanged a glance, nodded to each other, and gripped their swords tightly. "Attack!"
The men in black swarmed forward. Duo Pei stepped forward, kicked one of them to the ground, plunged his sword into his heart, and then charged at the leader of the men in black.
Lisa, who was guarding Tiff's side, was not idle either, throwing fireballs one after another.
Before long, the fighting stopped, and the air was filled with the smell of blood. Duopei wiped the blood from her face and walked to the carriage window. "Miss, we've checked them all. They don't have any family markings on them."
"Keep investigating. I want to see who it is." Tiffany sneered, lightly tapping the back of her left hand with her right fingertip.
As the carriage drove away, a man emerged from behind the tree. He wore a cloak, had very pale skin, and stared blankly at the carriage without any emotion in his eyes. The wind blew, rustling the branches and causing leaves to fall onto the man's shoulders, which he brushed away.
Nothing else happened along the way.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Duke's mansion. Doppel opened the car door, and Tiffany stepped out, lifting her skirt. Her shoes had barely touched the ground when the elderly butler, Brun, greeted her, calling her "Miss." The maids stood in two rows at the door to welcome Tiffany's arrival.
Tiffany reached up to adjust the lace-trimmed hat on her head and glanced at the butler. Seeing his hesitant expression, she asked, "Is something the matter?"
The butler smiled slightly, "His Excellency the Duke is waiting for you in his study."
Tiffany's face remained expressionless; she simply nodded to indicate that she understood.
Tiff walked ahead and soon arrived at the study door. Bren stood by the door and knocked twice. "Your Grace, the young lady is back."
"Let her in." The voice sounded flat.
Tiff walked past the butler and went inside. She heard the door close behind her. She walked to the table and looked at the Duke, who was still working, and asked, "Father, what brings you here?"
"Oh, you've come, Tiffany." Duke Strickland put down his quill and said casually, "Your coming-of-age ceremony is coming up soon, isn't it?"
“Yes, there are still three months left,” Tiffany replied obediently.
The Duke was very pleased to see Tiffany so docile.
"Then you should stay home and not go out unless there are special circumstances. It's a good opportunity to get along well with your brother." After saying that, the door behind her opened, and a blond boy about the same age as Tiffany walked in. He had an ordinary appearance and black eyes. At this moment, he was cautiously looking Tiffany up and down.
He was her father's illegitimate son; Tiffany's spies at the manor had already told her that.
"I plan to announce the arrival of your younger brother at your coming-of-age ceremony."
Upon hearing this, Tiffany glanced at the Duke and sneered inwardly.
By announcing the arrival of an illegitimate child at his coming-of-age ceremony, did he want to become a laughingstock? And by acknowledging this illegitimate child at such a time, even a fool could understand his intentions: he wanted this illegitimate child to inherit his title.
In the Inolier Empire, nobles inherit their titles by the firstborn child, with a few cases depending on ability. The Strych family, for example, had their firstborn child as the heir. However, when Strych returned to the manor to handle some matters, he found an illegitimate child who wanted to inherit the title.
Whether considering her birthright as heir or her abilities, Tiffany is undoubtedly the rightful choice.
“Good father.” Although Tiffany smiled, there was no smile in her eyes.
No one can stop her from ascending to the throne. No one can. If anyone insists on blocking her way, then she shouldn't blame her.
Although she was thinking this in her heart, she still smiled on the outside.
“But Father has been staying at home for three months, so what about the academy…” Tiffany looked troubled.
The Duke dismissed it, saying, "Don't you have your graduation exams next month? You don't have to go this month."
“This child is timid, please take good care of him.” Seeing Tiff nod, the Duke was relieved and looked at the blond boy: “Antony, now you are a child of the Strych family, you need to change your temperament, this won’t do.”
Hearing the Duke say this, Antonie's ears turned red. "Yes, yes, Father."
"By the way, Tiffany, you'll have a good chance to get to know the Crown Prince better at his birthday banquet," the Duke advised.
“But,” Antony paused, “Isn’t my sister engaged to the young duke of Belanovic?” Hearing this, Tiff glanced at Antony but didn’t speak.
“What do you know? The Emperor has intentionally or unintentionally revealed his desire for Tiff to become the Crown Princess. Moreover, our family and the Belanovich family are already powerful. If our two families were to marry, we would definitely become a thorn in the Emperor’s side. The royal family would never allow Tiff to marry into the Belanovich family. They would definitely do everything they could to obstruct it.”
“In that case, why not let Tiffany marry the Crown Prince? Our family is in the Crown Prince’s faction anyway.” The Duke’s words became increasingly inappropriate. “Besides, the Crown Prince is in poor health. If she marries him, and your sister has another child after he ascends the throne, then the Crown Prince can die. The Strych family will be the ones controlling this empire.”
It must be said that they are father and daughter, both harboring ulterior motives and coveting the throne, but Tiffany's ideas are even more rebellious.
Realizing he had gone too far, the Duke stopped and waved to them, "You may go back."
Tiff and Anthony turned around at the same time. With Antony behind her, Tiff didn't see Antony's gaze fall on her and then quickly look away, and her upturned lips immediately fell back down.
Not long after arriving at the room, there was a knock on the door. "Miss," Duopei called out through the door.
"Come in." After Tiff gave permission, Dope pushed open the door, walked to Tiff, knelt on one knee, placed one hand on her chest and bowed slightly. Only after she finished bowing did she speak.
“Miss, Duke Ferrand has been meeting with someone very frequently lately.” Dope clenched her hands and slightly turned down the corners of her mouth as she said the name Ferrand.
"Have you found out who it was with?"
“No,” Dope shook his head gently. “All I know is that the man is from the Magic Tower. Ferrand has been very careful lately, and our people haven’t had a chance to get close to him. Our spies in the Duke’s mansion haven’t been able to get any information either.”
“Continue the investigation.” Tiffany leaned back on the sofa, toying with a large pink diamond in her hand.
"Yes." Dope turned and left.
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