A short while later, Adrian walked out of the church alone, flexing his fingers as he stood at the top of the stone steps, an exhausted look weighing on his face.

’Well... that was certainly awkward,’ he thought.

He remembered every detail of what had transpired the moment he stepped inside.

The priest had indeed performed the scan, just as Emilya had requested.

And as expected, a look of pure shock had overtaken the man’s face when he realized what kind of class Adrian possessed.

The priest had then requested to speak with Emilya alone, which led to his mother gently instructing him to wait outside by the carriage with the driver.

’I suppose that is a good thing. If word spreads about the nature of my class, it would only serve to strengthen my standing. I do not mind that in the slightest.’

He descended the first few steps.

’At the very least, I can use this opportunity to get a better sense of this town and the people living in—’

Wham.

Without even a moment’s warning, someone crashed into him the instant he moved to take his final step off the staircase.

The impact sent him stumbling forward, barely managing to catch his balance before he hit the ground.

Then, from somewhere down the road, a furious voice tore through the air—

"Quick, someone—stop that thief!"

An old man yelled, running as fast as his heavy legs could carry him while swinging a wooden club in his hand.

Meanwhile, Adrian had only just managed to stand to his feet after being knocked to the side by a stranger.

Upon opening his eyes, he realized his back was flat against the ground, and sitting right on top of him was a girl who looked quite a bit older than him.

A few things immediately caught his attention.

First were the dirty clothes she wore, along with the brown hoodie pulled over her head, both stained with various kinds of food and dirt.

But despite how filthy her dress was, and how unpleasant she smelled, one thing truly captivated Adrian the moment he got a good look at her face.

Her beauty was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

She had long silver hair that fell across the side of her face, and her red, mesmerizing eyes bore into his, as though trying to peer straight into his very soul.

As if that was not enough, the system notification suddenly appeared before him.

[Notice: A high potential candidate has been spotted.]

Adrian frowned slightly.

High potential candidate? Surely it could not be this girl.

"Uhm, ah, I am sorry!"

The girl uttered while still sitting right on top of him.

Though she sounded apologetic, the look on her face suggested otherwise.

Without giving it a second thought, she turned her gaze behind her and noticed the fat man still running toward her location.

Then, she spotted the carriage only a few inches away from where she was.

"Move!"

The girl shoved Adrian’s legs to the side, charging forward and straight into the carriage, to which she then proceeded to lock the door from within.

Adrian sighed and slowly sat upright.

’There goes the potential, I suppose.’

Standing to his feet, he walked toward the door.

Then, for a split second, he stopped, turning his gaze toward the fat man who was now close to him.

"Damnit!" The fat man stopped in front of the carriage. "It belongs to a noble. Tsk! You damn bastard, come out of there! You will be dead either way!"

He yelled, swinging his club back and forth.

It was the best he could do, since as a commoner, he would not dare to enter a noble’s carriage.

His attention was soon pulled away from the carriage when Adrian suddenly spoke.

"Excuse me, may I know the reason as to why you are chasing such a child?"

"Huh?" The man looked at him. "Whose lost child is this?"

Adrian threw a deadpan look at the statement.

"Wait a second, judging from how you are dressed, are you a noble?"

"Adrian von Vane. Perhaps the Vane name rings a bell to you."

"Oh, you are the count’s son." The old man did not seem the least bit moved by that knowledge.

Instead, he stepped back, bowing his head slightly.

"Please forgive my ignorance toward your name. It is just that brat stole from me, and I would like to get it back from her."

"I know. Here you go."

Adrian stretched forth a red necklace toward the man.

"I took it from her before she ran off. That should suffice, yes?"

A smile spread across the man’s face as he reached out to take the necklace.

"Oh, thank you, my lord."

Without so much as another word, the old man walked away, skipping in joy like a little child.

Watching this, Adrian could not help but sigh.

The moment the girl had landed on him, he had taken it from her. Seeing as it was the only valuable thing she was holding, he knew it had to be what she stole.

With that done and dusted, he could now deal with her directly.

Step after step, Adrian closed the distance between himself and the carriage.

Once he was close, he opened the door, peeked inside, and saw that the girl had curled up in the corner like a ball with her head pressed to the ground.

Adrian stared at her for a while.

"To think you chose to stay inside."

The girl raised her head.

"The other side would not open."

"That is because carriages like this only have doors on one side. You would not know that since it is not something commoners can own." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Adrian walked into the carriage and closed the door behind him.

The driver remained on the other side, simply acting as an observer to the scenario.

Once inside the carriage, Adrian sat down, crossed his legs, and leaned against the side of the chair.

"You do understand what is going to happen to you now, correct? Not only did you assault me, but you also stole and entered my carriage without my permission. The knights could have your head for this."

"Does the Vane family still have knights?" the girl blurted out.

Adrian froze for a second. Truly an unexpected question.

"You sure have a foul mouth for a child."

"I look older than you, though. I am thirteen."

"That does not make you any less of a child."

The girl pouted, then she stood to her feet.

"Are you going to kill me now? Would you change your mind if I apologize sincerely? I swear, I can say sorry well."

Adrian paused.

"Is that so?"

’System.’

[Understood.]

[Name: Liora Ashfell.

Current rank: First circle caster.

Class: Assassin.

Hidden potential: SSS-class Asura.

Loyalty: 2%.]

Adrian’s eyes widened slightly.

Other than Mary, this was the second person he had encountered who was capable of possessing the hidden potential of an SSS-rank class.

Immediately, he turned his gaze toward the condition needed to unlock that potential.

[Condition: Contract with host.]

’Eh? That is all? Just a contract?’

He thought hard about it, closing his eyes for a few seconds.

This was a wayward thief, but at the same time, if he branded her with his sigil, she would be devoted to him.

The question was whether it was going to be worth it.

Seeing that Adrian was lost in deep thought about something, the girl figured it would be a good chance for her to escape.

However, just as she was about to get close to the door, Adrian opened his eyes and spoke.

"I will forgive your insolence if you do something for me."

The girl paused, a nervous look crossing her face.

She had heard that question from many disgusting men before, since being an orphan was not exactly all sunshine and rainbows in this county.

"Are you not a noble, sir? Why not find other older women with more body and appeal?"

Adrian’s brow twitched.

Somehow, she always managed to get under his skin.

"That is not what I mean." He looked at her. "Should you agree to make a contract with me, you will be my subordinate, working for me under the Vane name. You will be free from your crimes as well. But should you refuse, then you will face the consequences of what you did here today."

"I accept."

"I can give you a few days to think about it, but—"

Adrian halted.

"What?"

...

[A/n]

This will be the introduction of the first female lead, the number of wmen have not been decided, but right now, i am sitting on just three.