Luke made his way through the manor, having been here countless times in his past life. However, the way Hara looked at him suggested that she might be onto him.

However, Luke paid this no mind and headed upstairs to Hara's room. Upon entering, he was greeted with a maraschino wallpaper and a beautiful king-size bed.

Suddenly, he heard the door slam behind him, and a lock clicked in place. Alarmed, he turned around and found Hara sauntering up to him, hips swaying hypnotically.

"Sir Luke. I would like to have a word with you in private."

She placed her hands on his shoulders, her touch electric. Luke tried to pull away, but her nails dug into his skin, preventing him from escaping.

Forced to respond to Hara's question, Luke turned to face her with a glint of hatred in his eyes.

"We're already in private, Lady Hara. So you may as well spit it out."

Hara had a seductive smirk on her lips, her expression one of mischief.

"Why don't you...join me? Together, we can find the Amarok of Dyr and rule the world together, turn them all into our mindless slaves to do our bidding. Does not that appeal to you, Sir Luke?"

Luke's face morphed into one of shock.

"How do you know?"

Hara gave a nonchalant shrug, her smirk turning into a smug smile.

"Your book isn't the only of it's kind, you know."

Just then, there was a knock at her door. Hara went over to unlock it, and it was her maid Adeline.

"Lady Hara, it's time for supper."

Hara nodded politely and told Adeline that they'd be there. She tugged on Luke's arm and held it all the way to the dining area.

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HARA'S POV

Hara sat beside Luke, which she had done on purpose. She constantly initiated touches, such as "accidentally" brushing her arm against Luke's when she picked up more rotisserie chicken.

She mentally thanked Kiarha for giving her the book, and Kiarha had gotten the Madman's Amethyst in return. Their deal had worked out perfectly.

Hara had gotten the Madman's Amethyst because she knew where it had been located in her past, and that it was still in the same location here in her current life. Kiarha could put it to good use, and she would fulfill her end of their plan.

After supper, Hara pretended to give Luke suspicious looks in order to hide her own suspicious activity, watching him make his way to the comfort room as if he'd memorized the path by heart.

This was actually suspicious to Hara, because it should have been Luke's first time here. Unless...

No, there was no chance. Right?

Hara pushed that thought away and went back up to her personal bathroom, which was located in her room.

She changed into her nightwear and sat down on the bed. Soon, there was a knock, and Luke came in, also dressed in his sleepwear.

Now, Hara took the opportunity to employ another method she had learned from the book - getting to know the man.

She moved over to sit next to him, their legs touching.

"So, tell me more about yourself. I want to get to know you better."

Luke hesitated for a bit before slowly introducing himself.

"My name is Luke Alexander Giorno Schuyler. I'm thirteen years old, and I am the son of Duke Augustine Hamilton Schuyler, and Duchess Emmeline Vangelis Schuyler, and the future duke of my house."

Hara nodded in approval, before introducing herself also.

"I am Hara Baroque Eunelope, daughter of Count Yan Barossa Eunelope and Countess Helena Jacqueline Eunelope, and future countess of my house."

Luke gave her a smile, and she returned it. She found herself leaning in closer, and it seemed like Luke was getting closer as well. Her heart started thumping wildly, demanding that she stop, but her instincts had completely taken over.

Their lips were an inch apart, the distance so close and yet so far. Suddenly, Luke turned his head down.
The moment had been broken. Hara inwardly cursed.

She had expected the kiss, the one thing which would make them close enough for Hara to be able to start manipulating him.

"I'm not yet ready, Lady Hara. But maybe someday, when the time is right."

He gave her another soft smile, but she didn't return it this time. Instead, she curled up in the bed without so much as a goodnight.

Luke curled up too, and drifted off into slumber.

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LUKE'S POV

He awoke the next morning, sunlight streaming through the curtains and falling on Hara, throwing her already stunning beauty into even greater view.

Unable to resist, and because Luke wanted to annoy her, he pressed a soft and fleeting kiss to her lips before moving out of bed.

Not wanting to enter her personal bathroom for the sake of respect, Luke made his way down the stairs and was greeted by Yanna.

"Greetings, Sir Luke. How was your rest?"

Luke smiled.

"It was wonderful. What about yours, Lady Yanna?"

She gave an even bigger smile, and said that her sleep had been nice too. Then, she notified him that they would make their way to the capital for the ball at five in the afternoon.

Luke thanked her for this information, and then went to the library. The Eunelope manor library was more or less the same size as the library back at his own manor.

Looking around, he found a book lying on a table. Picking it up, he examined its contents. It was about how to get to know a man.

Looking at the cover, his eyes narrowed. It was the book that Kiarha had taken from the library, the exact same one.

"The Ways Of Men" by Sir Conan Arundel.

Could Kiarha have given her this book? If so, they might have something more dangerous in the works...

He set it back down and found another book lying nearby, which was a copy of "Legendary Artifacts of the Ancients."

This explained how Hara knew about the Amarok of Dyr. But what he didn't know was that Kiarha had already gotten to work back at the Schuyler Manor.

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KIARHA'S POV

Kiarha hypnotised every servant she saw by touching them with the gem, wearing gloves so that she herself didn't become affected by it.
Soon enough, she had just about everyone except Bernard under her control, because Bernard had been on holiday that day.

The duke and the duchess were also out, having to attend an important ceremony at the capital to celebrate the opening of another new trade route between Kalna and the country to the west of it, Sorsol.

First, she ordered them to search the library for the book that she needed. When one of them told her that Luke had packed it and brought it with him to the Eunelope manor, she had immediately killed her on the spot by causing her brain to explode, blood and bone fragments flying in all directions.

After ordering the others to clean it up, she ordered some of them to go to the main library in the capital and steal the book from there. Meanwhile, she took the keys of all the high-level servants.

Afterwards, she removed the effects of the gem by snapping her fingers twice, and wiping all memory of what they had done before their minds had been enslaved.

With this power, Kiarha began to come up with a new plan. A plan, that if it succeeded, meant the end of the House of Schuyler.

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LUKE'S POV

At around ten in the morning, Luke took a walk outside to clear his thoughts and get some fresh air. He came upon the new local market, where merchants had come to sell wares.

Walking through the dusty tents, he found a stall that sparked his interest. Reaching the stall, he examined the contents on display.

There was a snake tooth necklace, a vial of green liquid, a gleaming orange amber, and some other trinkets.

The merchant, noticing his piqued curiosity, smiled up at him.

"Examining the items, sir? These are rare and exotic objects, which were extremely difficult to obtain. This amber in particular was quite troublesome."

Luke's eyebrows shot up. Troublesome amber?

"How much is the amber, sir?"

"It's yours for five hundred huknah."

Luke whipped out his wallet and slammed a thousand-huknah coin onto the wooden display table. The merchant smiled.

"Would you like me to wrap it for you, sir?"

"No, thank you. This will do."

Luke took the amber and hurried to a secluded area, to see if his hunch was right.

Holding the amber, he pointed it at the ground and raised his arm. To his surprise, a portion of the ground raised also.

So he was right. That merchant really was selling the Traveler's Amber.

With this in his possession, his chance for becoming influential skyrocketed. He could build homes for the peasants, increasing the amount of respect and honor he would have.

He pocketed it and made his way back to the manor, where he found Lady Yanna waiting for him at the gates.

"It's almost lunch, Sir Luke. You'll be late if you don't hurry."

Luke smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Thank you very much, Lady Yanna."

As he made his way to the dining area, he wondered if Hara knew that he had one of the four Gems of Fortune. If she didn't, it would be the best option to keep it hidden. Because if she found out, she would pursue it relentlessly.

And Luke wasn't about to let that happen.