Brooke hadn't forgiven Charlotte for her actions, quite far from it, but she understood them fully. BUT, she nor Annabell was the one who kicked her once she was down. She was a bitch, for sure, but she had already done all the damage that needed to be done to get rid of the possibility of romance between her and the ML, which meant Charlotte was free to do whatever she wished with her life. The only one who couldn't let it go was Jason, which led to Annabell being shoved off a fucking balcony.

It was also why in this world Turaya had got rid of all of the balconies on the Giandim Estate, but that wasn't the point.

The more and more that she thought about it, the more the love that she had for the white-haired ML turned to dislike.

Which was why, as of current, Turaya was putting most of the energy she had from getting progressively angrier into training Samone. Yes, that Samone. She knows that she promised to not be softhearted again after buying the young girl from slavery, but that was obviously a lie. Children always made her softhearted, she loved little kids until they reached 12. Then they started turning into smart asses and stopped being cute. Most of the time.

After having Samone pledge her loyalty, Turaya and Diane set to work fixing the most pressing problem. Samone's appearance. After a good bath, which Samone seemed to not like at all, a couple of weeks of feeding her well, at the family table to Renaut's chagrin, and various beauty regimens, Samone was shining like a polished diamond.

Her brown hair had been brought to a lustrous state, the little girl liked to keep it short since when it was long it tickled her, her dark skin had become smooth and clear although scars from slave market 'discipline', her thin build had filled out quite a bit, and she seemed a great deal happier than she had been before. It brought Turaya some happiness.

The other child of the house, however, was driving her insane.

"Renaut, you're being unreasonable." Turaya's annoyance leaked out through her voice as she piled Samone's plate high with fruit, as she had observed that she liked them the most. Rather than a servant, it was more like she had picked up another younger sibling. Which was probably what brought about this situation in the first place.

"She's not even a member of our family!"

"Anyone who shares this living space is a member of the Giandim House. You know this."

"But-"

Samone finally cut in as the argument was getting worse and worse. "If it's really that much of a problem, I can just eat in the servant's quarters..."

"Absolutely not. You were given permission to eat at this table by me, the head of household, and you will continue to have this permission until I say otherwise." Turaya's words were absolute, leaving no room for further argument. "If Renaut wishes to make the rules, he'll have to wait until he becomes an adult."

The red-head in mention sunk into his chair and glared at the unwanted guest. First it had been Etienne, and now it was Samone. Who was next? Diane?

The sulking child had a sudden blow delivered to his head. "Ah, I'm a bit disappointed. It seems all my lessons in manners have been flushed down the drain." The newest guest to the breakfast table clicked his tongue in disapproval before sitting down.

Samone instantly lit up. "Mr. Etienne!" Although she still couldn't see her favorite instructor, she knew his voice well enough and turned to look at him.

"Good morning, Samone." Etienne gave the small girl a smile. As the family teacher, Turaya had naturally entrusted some of Samone's education to him. He naturally liked Samone more than Renaut for many reasons, though the main one being she always wanted to learn. The other was she created various reasons for him and Turaya to meet and talk, causing one of his greatest achievements.

Turaya hadn't injured him once in an entire month.

"Good morning, Turaya~ You're just as gorgeous as usual~"

"I know." Turaya dismissively put a slice of pineapple in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully before speaking again. "Etienne."

"Yes?~"

"Do add more etiquette lessons to Renaut's schedule. It seems he has problems retaining the information."

Etienne nodded enthusiastically before pausing. He hadn't been insulted when he entered the dining room, nor when he complimented Turaya. Which meant she was getting used to, or at least tolerating, his presence.

The navy-haired vampire would take on a century of classes with the little red-haired brat if it meant that Turaya could hold a decent conversation with him.

The blonde woman in question was completely unaware of Etienne's thoughts as she conversed with Jules.

"Jules, quick question."

[ Yes, Host? What can I help you with? ]

"Does the System Store have any books on disciplining children?"

[ Sadly, no. We implore all Hosts to find their own way of parenting. ]

"Dammit. I really don't know what to do with Renaut though. He's becoming more and more bratty." She sighed. "I have a newfound respect for parents. If they're good parents, that is."

[ There is something else that Host could do. ]

"What?"

[ You could post a question on the System Forum and see if other Hosts have any good ideas! ]

"There's a System Forum?"

[ Yes! There's a System Shop, Forum, Chat, and many other features! :D ]

"Then how do I post a question?"

[ Please put your question in between two #'s. ]

Brooke thought for a bit before finally thinking of the best question to ask.

# The ML is currently a child under my care and he's acting like I brat. Any advice on how to discipline him? Any help is appreciated, please leave replies ASAP #

[ Please wait while post loads... DING! Post has been successfully uploaded, please check on post later to see any replies. ]

Turaya decided to check back in on her post in a couple of hours and continued to eat breakfast in relative peace.

--------

Turaya could only sigh as she looked at the invitation in her hands as she was going through the mail. It was a red envelope with her name elegantly written upon it in black ink, sealed with the wax seal of a noble family. While it wasn't one of a family she sought to destroy, it wasn't one she could ignore either. Which meant whatever was in this letter, she had to attend whether she wanted to or not.

When she tore off the seal and looked at the contents of the letter, Turaya's face contorted a bit. It was a simple ball invitation, but that was exactly the problem. She hated balls because it always required the female attendants to have a male companion come with them. The problem wasn't even finding one. It was always getting rid of the excess attempted suitors. Which explained all the excess letters with other noble house's seals on them. She honestly wished to bash her head into her desk.

Long ago she had decided to not be a cradle robber and wouldn't get into a relationship with this male lead, only gaining his forever adoration but never returning it. Renaut couldn't accompany her to this party in the first place because he was too young. There was no way in hell that she'd ask Edric, though she could see a letter from him from the corner of her eye. Who else could she ask?

Her fingers tapped against the desk for a bit before a lightbulb appeared above her head. Obviously, there was only ever one choice.

Etienne couldn't help but sneeze in the middle of his lesson.

-Meanwhile, on the form-

FoodieHost201: Have you tried the old fashioned way of just spanking him or something?

TeacherHost658: How about a point system? Every time they do something bad, you take away some points, when they're good you add points which could eventually lead to a reward.

ParentingHost469: While it does mainly depend on the age of the kid, the main thing you have to do is show them that you're the authority figure of the house! Don't back down!

AnnoyedHost323: Ugh, I had the exact same problem in one of my worlds. What I did was only give them clear rules of how things were going to happen and if they broke the rules, I'd take away a privilege of some sort. Usually alone time.

Somehow the forum question ended up reaching over 5,000 replies.