In Nassos, the capital of the Empire of Dawn, prosperity was only natural as the heart of an empire.
On the main streets, people bustled back and forth, and caravans of merchants weaved along the sides of the road, all trying to find a place to stay before night fully fell.
Meanwhile, the retainers of nobles rode carriages down the center of the road on the Noble Path, chatting about how entertaining tonight’s ball at a certain family’s estate would be, while mocking the insignificant commoners on either side.
No matter how prosperous a city, it never lacks for beggars at the very bottom of society.
In the alleys and corners lining the streets, countless vagrants less than even commoners huddled together for warmth, praying tomorrow would bring them enough food to survive.
At that moment, a beggar, picking lice off a companion, happened to glimpse a figure passing by.
It was a young girl. She wasn’t tall, perhaps only about one meter fifty.
Clearly a young lady, yet she wore a silk hat a bit too large for her, which covered her entire head, leaving only a unique strand of golden hair trailing out from beneath.
Even so, the beggar could still catch a glimpse of the girl’s beauty, drawing his gaze irresistibly. He didn’t even notice what food she cradled in her arms.
He saw her enchanting peach-blossom eyes, her long lashes like tiny fans, the high bridge of her nose accentuated by the shadow beneath her hat, and those alluring lips that gleamed as if they were jelly from a noble’s dessert shop.
They looked as if biting into them would make sweet syrup burst forth.
Especially when their eyes met, her gaze dodged like a startled, timid rabbit, and her cherry lips pressed tightly together in nervousness making him lose himself, stirring a mischievous urge to tease her.
Since when had such an angel appeared in this filthy slum?
The beggar’s companion noticed the silence behind him and called his name. When the beggar came to his senses, the young girl had already vanished without a trace.
Aier only slowed her hurried steps once the beggar was out of sight. She let out a long sigh of relief, her heaving chest and rosy cheeks proof enough of her recent fright.
After all, this slum was hardly safe, especially for someone like her who looked as soft and powerless as a little lamb—it often felt as if hungry wolves were eyeing her from the shadows.
But she had no choice but to endure it.
“Eyy-shoo~”
Aier hugged the two loaves of rye bread to her chest again. They weren’t heavy, yet in her hands, they seemed to weigh her down, as if they might crush her arms at any moment.
She was just too thin and weak, with little strength, but poverty had forced her to forget the pain that came with burdens.
These two loaves of rye bread cost her just one copper coin in total—right now, it was the only affordable and practical option for her.
In the past, Aier had never needed to be so frugal, for back then she had family and servants to care for her, and hardly any worries about money or daily life.
But Aier didn’t belong to this world or rather, her soul didn’t belong here.
She had once been an ordinary high school boy on Blue Star. Like many novel protagonists, under the direct guidance of Fate-sensei, Aier had been forced to come to this world.
But unlike most transmigrators, she had been reincarnated.
Not only was there no way to return to her original world, but she had also lost her “little brother” during the process, having been male before.
·°(°˃ᗝ˂°)°·
Good news: Reincarnated into a Count’s family
Bad news: The family was gone
At the age of fifteen, Aier’s father, the Weirley Count, died in battle during the Empire’s campaign against the Northern Barbarians.
Then, their enemies banded together to slander the Weirley Count as a traitor, and began swallowing up the Weirley Family’s lands through every means possible.
The Countess had no ability to maintain the Weirley Family’s power. On top of that, her own maiden family chose to stand by and do nothing during the crisis. In the end, the Countess could only sell off all the family’s property and dismiss all the servants.
When Aier was sixteen, her mother took Aier and her younger sister to the imperial capital to try their hand at trade for a living, but that only made things worse.
Her mother’s poor business skills quickly squandered most of their remaining wealth. Later, after being tricked again and losing the last of their fortune, the Countess, unable to bear the pressure, suddenly disappeared—leaving Aier and her sister to rely on each other. She left behind a debt of 300 gold coins and a small house on the edge of the slums.
Recalling all this, Aier couldn’t help but sigh softly.
Other people transmigrate to another world and start a cheat-filled life, surrounded by beautiful girls, but her own life seemed so miserable in comparison.
Before she knew it, she had reached her doorstep. Aier took out her key and unlocked the door. Once inside, she habitually slid the bolt into place, cutting off the cries of beggars and the indescribable smells from the street outside.
This was the house her missing mother left behind. It was small, with only a single room and a loft. The ground floor served as the living room, with a rough wooden table in the center and two small tree stumps as stools. The only cooking tool was a coal stove in the corner, with a water jar and cupboard for dishes in the other corner.
The loft upstairs was the bedroom. It was furnished with a bed barely big enough for two, a small desk, and a wardrobe.
Everything was just as it had been when Aier left that morning. Nothing had been moved, including the petite figure still hunched over the desk, writing busily.
Aier put the food on the table, took off her headscarf and coat, and quietly climbed up to the loft, coming up behind the girl lost in her own world.
“Xiqi~ It’s time to rest. Your body can’t handle you pushing yourself like this.”
As Aier spoke, she hugged the girl called Xiqi from behind and even gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Pulled back to reality, Xiqi exclaimed joyfully, “Sis, you’re back!”
She had the same brilliant, pure golden hair as Aier, though unlike Aier’s emerald eyes, Xiqi had inherited their mother’s sapphire blue eyes clear as gemstones. Coupled with her slightly pale skin and exquisitely cute features, she looked just like a lovely porcelain doll.
She was Aier’s only precious relative in this world her little sister.
Xiqi had been born when Aier was three. From a young age, she had always been frail and sickly, but Aier didn’t mind.
After all, before reincarnation, Aier had been timid, introverted, and quiet—let alone a sister, there hadn’t been a single girl around him except his mother. Now, after reincarnation, he actually had a little sister. This kind of development was just like a turtle checking out of a hotel—he couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Maybe it was all the yuri novels and girls’ love stories she’d read in her previous life, but not only did Aier not mind awakening her “inner femininity,” she loved sticking to Xiqi every day. Once Xiqi became sensible, she returned that affection in kind. The two of them were like a pair of lovers deeply in love.
The Count and Countess could only shake their heads at this relationship.