On the outskirts of the Eidelman Empire, there was a tiny village with no name. Families of commoners have lived here from generation to generation. The locals earned their living by hunting and farming. This region wasn't even marked on the map.

A quiet and measured life, the tranquility of which was rarely disturbed.

The village headman was considered to be the forester Enoch, a respectable middle—aged man who was appointed to this position by the villagers themselves. Enoch was a very kind man. He looked after the forest and the territory of the village, memorizing every path and fence by heart.

Residents could turn to the man for help at any time, knowing that he would not refuse. Enoch was born and raised in this village.

The village was surrounded on both sides by a large forest, thus protecting it from the outside world. That's why it was so rare for outsiders to be here. Enoch had a responsible job — to protect all this vast territory.

By his forties, the man was not living alone. Enoch had a little daughter named Angela. The locals adored this lovely baby, not even believing that such a treasure could be born in the family of an ordinary forester. All because of the unusual appearance and accommodating nature of the girl.

Angela had blonde hair like molten gold and emerald eyes. Delicate skin and elegant facial features. Any heiress of a noble family could envy the beauty of the forester's daughter. Even an ordinary peasant dress could not spoil this.

Nothing was known about Angela's mother. There were rumors that the woman abandoned her husband and newborn daughter almost immediately after giving birth. Since then, Enoch has raised the child alone.

Despite her young age, Angela already helped her father and dreamed of becoming his support when she grew up. The girl wanted to continue her father's work and stay in this village forever.

But so far, Angela was only ten. Enoch promised that he would take his daughter with him to the forest when she was a little older. Angela was looking forward to it. In the meantime, I helped my father with household chores as best I could.

When Enoch returned home from work in the evening, dinner was already ready for him. Father and daughter lived in a small wooden hut at the end of the village. There were only two rooms in it.

Like most commoners, by her age, Angela knew a lot of things. Not like the pampered children of aristocrats. Today, the girl cooked a vegetable stew on her own.

When the front door opened, Angela immediately rushed to hug her father on the threshold.

— Daddy!

The tired man smiled, hugging her back.

— My girl, did you miss me today?

Angela shook her head.

— Not at all! I tried a lot to cook you a new dish. I also went fishing in the pond with the guys, and washed my clothes…

— Wow, so many things.

Enoch chuckled. His daughter is only ten, but she already behaves like an adult.

After a little rest, the family sat down to dinner at the table. There was always a lot of noise and fun during this. In fact, they were not very similar in appearance, but everyone just thought that the girl took after her mother.

— Dad, tomorrow you're going to the city to sell firewood? Angela asked.

— Yeah.

Enoch's main income consisted in selling firewood and other forest resources. Every month the man went to the capital and sold the collected goods. Business was especially profitable in winter and autumn, when not only aristocrats, but even commoners hurriedly made supplies.

These days, Angela usually stayed at home alone. But this time she unexpectedly declared:

— Dad, I want you to take me with you!

Enoch looked up from the stew and looked surprised.

— Why all of a sudden?

— I want to help Dad!

— Uh… Are you sure? This is quite a difficult case.

Angela puffed out her cheeks resentfully.

— Dad, I'm not little anymore. I also want to help you with your work!

— But…

Enoch hesitated. The capital is a big city, and Angela has never been there… Isn't it too risky?

— Dad! His daughter's displeased voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Looking at his daughter, who looked insanely cute even when frowning, Enoch couldn't help laughing.

— So be it,» he pretended to mutter, — Persuaded!

— Hurrah!!!

From happiness, the girl hung herself on his neck. The forester himself did not stop smiling at the sight of her delight. This quiet family idyll between father and daughter that I wanted to prolong as long as possible.

And at the same time, a dream that is not destined to come true. The main secret of the forester's daughter people will learn only after a few years. After all, it wasn't that simple.

Above Angela's head shone a halo invisible to anyone else. The halo of the main character.

***

No, you won't think. I'm not a stalker.

The fact that I'm watching a small child doesn't mean anything.

Anyway, the image that I accidentally caught last time, kept bothering me. I had to find out who that boy was. The color of his silver hair was too rare to consider it a trivial coincidence.

Moreover, I am in an otome game. I should have been careful and known all the detours in advance. Especially if it is related to love interests. I couldn't leave such an important detail without attention.

Just in case, I need to check this child and put all the dots over the «and». Then I won't have any doubts. Therefore, when a free day appeared in the schedule, I decided to spend it on research.

Roger and I are going to the exhibition tomorrow. Based on this, if I wanted to make sure of something, I should have done it today.

I ordered the carriage to be parked in the center of the city, and I have been watching the passers-by for some time. But the «right» child still hasn't appeared.

It's been almost three hours. Anyone in my place would think that I'm just wasting my time.

But…

When I was already nodding off, something silver finally flashed by. I looked closer. It's really that boy!

— Wait for me here!

I threw instructions to the coachman, I rushed after him. From the outside, what was happening could really seem strange. But then again, I'm only chasing him because this boy could turn out to be a love interest! If I'm doing this for the sake of survival, there was nothing wrong with it.

I followed the boy unnoticed for a while. Until finally we entered the area of the city called the «entertainment quarter». Almost every building was either a brothel, a casino, or some other dubious institution. In any case, no decent lady would have appeared here.

But even without knowledge of the game, this place seemed familiar to me. I could even pinpoint the building where the real Grace used to hang out. When all these memories flashed through my head, I felt disgusted. That's it. And why is this woman's past exactly like this? Even in the modern world, I would be called a pervert for such a thing, let alone the current century.

I sighed heavily until I remembered that I wasn't here for that.

I continued to watch the boy, and soon I saw him enter the Blue Lagoon brothel. I recognized him right away. The one that I saw when passing the flashbacks of one of the love branches. His mother worked in this building.

Finally, I was finally convinced.

This boy is twelve-year-old Lionel Ferder.