“Don’t be fooled by a tramp who doesn’t know her place the same way your father was.”

That was what Katie Elms—Malcolm’s mother—used to say. His mother and father were supposed to be engaged, but he got deceived by a vixen and ended up having a child with her.

There mustn’t be a repeat of that. He shouldn’t be inferior to George, the son of a woman who could only seduce men. Akin to brainwashing, this was repeatedly told to him from an early age.

George and his mother were wicked and repulsive—and Malcolm agreed.

Still, it was irritating to hear his mother constantly blabbering about George.

Where was the fun in a life where he had to obey his mother? Unable to bear the oppression, he did as he pleased. Since his father married his mother without love, he had little to no care towards his two sons. As such, there was little interference. Nobody could stop him from growing arrogant.

He would never be deceived by a woman like his father. He fooled around with women as he pleased, instead taking to using them.

The good looks he inherited from his parents came in handy. He never had trouble finding a partner. In fact, they flocked to him, so he had options. He ignored his mother’s nagging and never spent much time in the mansion where his filthy half-brother lived. It also wasn’t uncommon for him to come home in the morning, living in debauchery.

Being the second son allowed him to enjoy the luxuries of life without having to inherit the earldom, so it was quite easy and convenient.

While living his life as usual, Malcolm had an encounter that changed his life during his fourth year at the university department of the Chester Academy.

That day, he was walking through the well-maintained garden of the academy. His female companion was latching onto him, her ample bosoms pressing against his arm. Then, a handkerchief caught by the and landed in front of them.

“Oh my. Who does it belong to?” muttered his female companion.

Malcolm picked up the handkerchief without much thought. It had a cute feminine pattern, so he was curious as to who it belonged to. If she was pretty, she would become his new playmate.

“Excuse me!”

Then, a pretty girl appeared, running toward him. Her pink hair fluttered, and her round, sky-blue eyes were transfixed at him.

Seeing her adorableness, Malcolm was entranced. He immediately realized that she was the rumored second princess.

“I’m sorry, it got blown away by the wind. Thank you for picking it up!”

The soft smile that accompanied the thank you did it for him, and Malcolm awakened to a new sensation.

His heart beat faster and sweeter than usual, and he felt himself grow warm. Malcolm’s entire consciousness was captured by the girl in front of him, to the point his female companion became completely forgotten.

Love at first sight.

That day, he experienced a shock so big that he had no choice but to admit it.

After that, Malcolm cut ties with other ladies and tried to get closer to Juliet. However, Juliet was always with someone, making it difficult. Her sister, her sister’s fiancé, her friends—they were all very protective, not allowing Malcolm any opportunity to get close with her.

Another factor was that her surroundings were wary of Malcolm. Those who were overprotective of Juliet tried to keep him away. He knew the cause, and he had never regretted his past actions more.

However, he tried to view it as a trial.

It’d be even weirder if a member of an earl’s family could approach the princess without any obstruction. He just needed to work hard and make progress. Once Juliet entered high society, he’d have an opportunity to make contact.

Disciplining himself with this expectation, Malcolm graduated from the academy and began helping at the company.

Ever since that accident, his father had yet regained consciousness. At the same time, that despicable man began to take control of the earl’s family and the company as if he owned the place.

Then, Rex came to discuss something in private with him.

“The Southern Continent is a conflict zone and the situation is unstable. Without any discussions for some kind of support, there shouldn’t have been such a sudden increase in transactions. Such a massive amount of money should not be moving around.”

According to Rex, ever since that man started acting on behalf of Elms, a lot of things weren’t adding up.

When Malcolm looked at the documents Rex presented, it was certainly so. There were rumors that illegal drugs and contraband were being sold in the Southern Continent amid the conflict. It wouldn’t be surprising if that cretin played a role in it!

This could be useful, Malcolm thought.

He was a second son of an earl’s family with no title to inherit. Even if he became an earl, his status would still be considered low. Well, it was still better than nothing. He might be able to spend the rest of his life with Juliet.

But to become an earl, he needed to think about his other siblings.

Since his older brother was revealed to have played a role in shady deals, he could probably get rid of him by making it public.

Yet, to Malcolm’s great disappointment, if the eldest son was deemed unfit to succeed, then the position would fall to his younger brother, Rex. After all, on top of living as he pleased, Malcolm had declared that he wouldn’t be the successor. Well, he just needed to have Rex make some kind of “blunder” to boost his own standing.

Afterward, he’d approach Juliet and impress her.

One day, a servant informed him that they had received a suspicious envelope.

The only address written on the envelope was “To: Malcolm Elms,” without any sender.

Malcolm decided to check the contents just to be sure. Inside, he found a letter explaining that Juliet would be attacked on her way back from visiting the orphanage. It even contained information about the magic weapons.

Juliet was in danger. This was an emergency.

He felt that he had to contact the royal family immediately. But then, an idea occurred to him.

If the attack did happen and Malcolm came to her rescue, he might be able to win her over.

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