The walk back to the mansion felt much longer than before.
Arianne wasn’t sure if it was because of Leon.
Or because of the giant mess currently occupying her brain.
Possibly both.
She had awakened in a novel.
Obtained an F-Rank ability.
Discovered a mysterious system.
Found an S-Rank+ child hidden inside a wealthy estate.
And met an old gardener who felt far more suspicious than any gardener had the right to be.
It had been a very long day.
And it wasn’t even over yet.
Arianne pushed open the side door leading into the mansion.
Immediately, noise greeted her.
Servants rushed through the hallways.
Boxes were being moved.
Decorations were being carried from room to room.
Someone was arguing about flowers.
Another person was arguing about chairs.
Arianne blinked.
“…What happened?”
For a moment, she wondered if she had somehow entered the wrong building.
Then she remembered.
Right.
The charity event.
Bits and pieces of Arianne’s memories surfaced.
Not complete memories.
Just fragments.
Enough to understand what was happening.
Every year, the Rowland Family hosted a charity event.
Officially, it was meant to raise support for orphanages affected by the Gates.
Unofficially…
It was also a very good opportunity for wealthy families to show everyone how generous they were.
Arianne had read enough novels to recognize public image management when she saw it.
The Rowlands weren’t the only family who did it.
Most powerful families did.
Kindness was good.
Kindness with witnesses was apparently even better.
A servant carrying a stack of documents nearly bumped into her.
“Miss Arianne!”
The woman jumped in surprise.
Then quickly bowed.
“My apologies.”
“It’s fine.”
The servant stared.
Arianne stared back.
The servant looked even more confused.
Then she hurried away.
Arianne sighed.
That made three people today.
Apparently, simply speaking normally was enough to shock the entire household.
The original Arianne must have been exhausting.
She continued walking.
The deeper she went into the mansion, the busier it became.
Guests would begin arriving tomorrow.
Everything had to be perfect.
Everything always had to be perfect.
Especially in noble families.
Or wealthy families.
Or whatever category the Rowlands belonged to.
Arianne still wasn’t entirely sure.
The estate itself felt less like a home and more like a small city.
She passed a massive window overlooking the grounds.
Workers were setting up tables.
Gardeners were trimming hedges.
Luxury vehicles arrived and departed through the main gate.
For the first time, Arianne understood why Leon had been here.
The orphanage children had probably arrived early.
Some for performances.
Some for presentations.
Some simply to be introduced to potential sponsors.
The realization made her pause.
Leon had been surrounded by hundreds of people.
Yet somehow…
He still ended up sitting alone.
That thought bothered her more than she expected.
A small blue screen suddenly appeared.
[Trust Level: 11%]
Arianne stared.
“Eleven percent?”
The system offered no explanation.
Naturally.
“How generous.”
It had increased.
Somehow.
She hadn’t even seen Leon since leaving the garden.
At this rate, maybe the system was counting thoughts.
That was slightly terrifying.
The screen vanished.
Arianne rubbed her forehead.
Then another memory surfaced.
The walk back to the mansion felt much longer than before.
Arianne wasn’t sure if it was because of Leon.
Or because of the giant mess currently occupying her brain.
Possibly both.
She had awakened in a novel.
Obtained an F-Rank ability.
Discovered a mysterious system.
Found an S-Rank child hidden inside a wealthy estate.
And met an old gardener who felt far more suspicious than any gardener had the right to be.
It had been a very long day.
And it wasn’t even over yet.
Arianne pushed open the side door leading into the mansion.
Immediately, noise greeted her.
Servants rushed through the hallways.
Boxes were being moved.
Decorations were being carried from room to room.
Someone was arguing about flowers.
Another person was arguing about chairs.
Arianne blinked.
“…What happened?”
For a moment, she wondered if she had somehow entered the wrong building.
Then she remembered.
Right.
The charity event.
Every year, the Rowland Family hosted a charity event.
Officially, it was meant to raise support for orphanages affected by the Gates.
Unofficially…
It was also a very good opportunity for wealthy families to show everyone how generous they were.
Arianne had read enough novels to recognize public image management when she saw it.
The Rowlands weren’t the only family who did it.
Most powerful families did.
Kindness was good.
Kindness with witnesses was apparently even better.
A servant carrying a stack of documents nearly bumped into her.
“Miss Arianne!”
The woman jumped in surprise.
Then quickly bowed.
“My apologies.”
“It’s fine.”
The servant stared.
Arianne stared back.
The servant looked even more confused.
Then she hurried away.
Arianne sighed.
That made three people today.
Apparently, simply speaking normally was enough to shock the entire household.
The original Arianne must have been exhausting.
She continued walking.
The deeper she went into the mansion, the busier it became.
Guests would begin arriving tomorrow.
Everything had to be perfect.
Everything always had to be perfect.
Especially in noble families.
Or wealthy families.
Or whatever category the Rowlands belonged to.
Arianne still wasn’t entirely sure.
The estate itself felt less like a home and more like a small city.
She passed a massive window overlooking the grounds.
Workers were setting up tables.
Gardeners were trimming hedges.
Luxury vehicles arrived and departed through the main gate.
For the first time, Arianne understood why Leon had been here.
The orphanage children had probably arrived early.
Some for performances.
Some for presentations.
Some simply to be introduced to potential sponsors.
The realization made her pause.
Leon had been surrounded by hundreds of people.
Yet somehow…
He still ended up sitting alone.
That thought bothered her more than she expected.
A small blue screen suddenly appeared.
[Trust Level: 11%]
Arianne stared.
“Eleven percent?”
The system offered no explanation.
Naturally.
“How generous.”
It had increased.
Somehow.
She hadn’t even seen Leon since leaving the garden.
At this rate, maybe the system was counting thoughts.
That was slightly terrifying.
The screen vanished.
Arianne rubbed her forehead.
Then another memory surfaced.
The crystal incident.
Right.
That problem still existed.
Technically.
She had been accused of breaking one of the family’s valuable crystal.
Technically.
No punishment had been announced.
Technically…
Which meant she had somehow survived.
Her father had only given her one warning.
Do not cause any more trouble.
Simple.
Direct.
Terrifyingly reasonable.
Arianne wasn’t entirely sure whether she should feel relieved or suspicious.
The original Arianne probably would have received a much harsher reaction.
Instead…
Everyone seemed more confused than angry.
Especially after she asked to go outside.
Thinking about it now, the request must have sounded ridiculous.
Fresh air.
What kind of excuse was that?
Yet somehow it worked.
Not because it was convincing.
But because nobody knew how to react.
Arianne almost laughed.
She had accidentally escaped punishment through sheer confusion.
Honestly…
She would take it.
Unfortunately…
Not everyone seemed willing to move on.
A familiar voice drifted from ahead.
“Arianne.”
Arianne stopped.
Of course.
Speak of the devil.
Fiona stood near the staircase.
Perfect posture.
Perfect smile.
Perfect timing.
The golden child of the Rowland Family looked exactly as flawless as ever.
And for some reason…
That smile looked much less friendly now.
Arianne had a feeling this conversation was about to be very annoying.
Arianne had a bad feeling about this.
Experience told her that whenever someone called your name with a smile like that…
Trouble usually followed.
“Arianne.”
Fiona stepped closer.
The smile remained.
Perfect.
Polite.
Beautiful.
It somehow made Arianne even more nervous.
“Yes?”
Fiona tilted her head.
“You seem different lately.”
There it was.
Arianne knew it.
The moment she saw Fiona standing there, she knew this conversation wasn’t about the charity event.
It wasn’t about the guests.
It wasn’t even about the crystal.
It was about her.
Arianne smiled.
The safest smile she could manage.
“I hit my head.”
Fiona blinked.
Arianne blinked back.
The answer wasn’t entirely false.
She had died.
Which was probably worse.
For a brief moment, Fiona looked completely unprepared.
Then she recovered.
“That isn’t what I meant.”
Of course it wasn’t.
Arianne internally sighed.
Worth a try.
Fiona crossed her arms.
“You’ve been acting strangely since you woke up.”
Since she woke up.
Right.
The day everything changed.
A mysterious system.
A new world.
And a completely different soul occupying Arianne Rowland’s body.
Just normal transmigration things.
Arianne maintained her smile.
“Maybe I’m growing up.”
Fiona stared.
The silence lasted three seconds.
Then five.
Then seven.
Apparently that was the wrong answer.
Finally Fiona sighed.
“You know nobody believes that.”
Arianne almost laughed.
At least Fiona was honest.
That was refreshing.
Most people in the mansion still looked at her like she might suddenly start throwing furniture.
“You’re overthinking things.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
Fiona narrowed her eyes.
Arianne realized something.
For the first time since arriving in this world…
Fiona looked her age.
Not the flawless future heroine.
Not the perfect daughter.
Just an eight-year-old girl trying to understand something she couldn’t explain.
The realization was surprisingly unsettling.
Because Arianne had spent so much time viewing everyone as characters.
Characters from a novel.
Characters with predetermined roles.
But they weren’t.
They were people.
Real people.
Living real lives.
And somehow…
That felt far more complicated.
“You should be careful.”
The sudden warning pulled Arianne from her thoughts.
Fiona’s expression had become serious.
“Careful?”
“There are many guests coming.”
Arianne immediately understood.
Translation:
Do not embarrass the family.
Do not embarrass me.
Do not create problems.
The funny thing was…
For once, Arianne agreed.
She had absolutely no desire to become involved in noble family politics.
Or rich family politics.
Or whatever this counted as.
She wanted a farm.
That remained her long-term goal.
A simple dream.
A reasonable dream.
A dream that somehow kept getting interrupted by hidden S-Rank children.
Life was unfair.
“I’ll behave.”
Fiona looked skeptical.
Arianne couldn’t even blame her.
The original Arianne’s reputation had clearly suffered catastrophic damage.
Before Fiona could respond…
A servant hurried toward them.
“Miss Fiona.”
The servant bowed quickly.
“The guests from Saint Aurora Orphanage have arrived.”
Fiona immediately turned professional.
Like someone had flipped a switch.
“The director arrived as well?”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Good.”
The servant relaxed visibly.
Apparently even servants felt nervous around Fiona.
Interesting.
Fiona looked toward Arianne.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Fiona smiled.
The perfect smile returned.
“The event starts soon.”
Arianne nodded.
“I know.”
“Try not to disappear again.”
Arianne almost choked.
Disappear again?
She had gone outside for less than an hour.
Was she on a leash?
Fiona walked away before she could answer.
Servants followed behind her.
The hallway became quiet again.
Arianne watched her leave.
Then exhaled.
“That was exhausting.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
A blue screen immediately appeared.
[Trust Level: 11%]
Arianne stared.
No response.
Naturally.
The system remained committed to being unhelpful.
She continued toward her room.
At least that had been the plan.
Then the system flashed again.
[New Observation Available.]
Arianne stopped.
“…What?”
The screen expanded.
[Seed Observation: Leon]
[Current Condition: Neglected]
[Current Risk Level: Moderate]
[Recommended Action: Continued Contact]
Arianne stared.
Neglected.
The word bothered her.
More than it should have.
She remembered the garden.
The quiet corner.
The way Leon apologized before she had even done anything.
The way he called himself nobody important.
A child shouldn’t think like that.
A child definitely shouldn’t think like that.
The screen flickered.
Then another line appeared.
[Future Growth Potential: Extremely High]
Arianne froze.
There it was again.
That ridiculous potential.
S-Rank .
The kind of talent powerful guilds would kill to recruit.
The kind of talent governments would fight over.
The kind of talent capable of changing the world.
And currently?
He was sitting alone.
Ignored.
Forgotten.
Hidden in plain sight.
Arianne rubbed her face.
“No pressure.”
The system remained silent.
Which she took as agreement.
Outside, preparations continued.
The Rowland Estate grew busier with every passing minute.
Guests arrived.
Servants rushed through hallways.
The charity event moved closer.
Everything appeared normal.
Peaceful.
Orderly.
Exactly as it should be.
Yet Arianne couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
The novel had started long before she arrived.
People were already moving.
Plots were already unfolding.
Secrets were already buried beneath the surface.
And somewhere among those secrets…
A mysterious gardener knew more than he should.
An abandoned boy carried enough potential to shake the world.
And a Spirit Gardener with an F-Rank ability was somehow standing in the middle of it all.
Arianne looked out the window.
Toward the distant gardens.
Toward the place where she had found Leon.
The system quietly appeared beside her.
[First Seed Located.]
[First Seed Planted.]
Arianne blinked.
“Planted?”
No response.
Of course.
But for some reason…
The words made her smile.
Then the next notification appeared.
And the smile vanished immediately.
[Warning.]
Arianne groaned.
“What now?”
The screen glowed.
[Additional Seeds Detected.]
Silence.
Arianne stared.
The system stared back.
“…Excuse me?”
Three new lights appeared on the map.
Three.
Arianne looked at the glowing markers.
Then at the ceiling.
Then back at the screen.
Three more.
Three.
More.
She hadn’t even figured out what to do with Leon yet.
The system clearly didn’t care.
Arianne covered her face.
“My farm dream is dying.”
Somewhere in the distance, guests continued arriving.
Unaware that the future strongest team in the world was about to become significantly more troublesome.