Human nature has always driven people to fear exclusion and the possibility of being cast out from the community they belong to. This is a sociological and psychological truth. And among all the pieces of that truth, family has always been the most important one.
Being excluded from a family and no longer being part of it can wound deeply, especially the children of that family.
When faced with such a situation, a person either seeks to build a new family or falls into a destructive path with the potential to bring ruin upon themselves.
This was precisely the kind of situation Selene could have been slipping into, even without realizing it.
Although she had not been fully cast out of the family, and no one had ever gone so far as to openly tell her to leave, an adult like Selene could have reacted far too emotionally in a situation like this.
That was absolutely not what Magnus wanted. It was contrary to his plans.
So now, after dinner, he knocked a few times on the door across from him. Beside him stood Rina, who, despite being seven years old, still never strayed from her older brother's side, clutching her little teddy bear.
The door slowly opened, and the moment the downcast Selene saw her siblings, her smile lit up.
"What is it, is something wrong?" she asked.
"May I come in?" Magnus replied.
Since joining the academy, Selene had rarely seen her family, and during that time she had forgotten Magnus's mature gaze. When she looked at her ten-year-old little brother standing before her with worry in his eyes, she remembered it again.
She let out a small sigh, smiled, and stepped back from the door to let her siblings in.
Magnus sat on his sister's bed, while Rina wandered toward Selene's wardrobe.
Even before Selene could open the wardrobe for her little sister, who had always been fascinated by the clothes from the capital, she handed her the special chocolates she had brought back from there.
As Selene watched Rina's eyes light up at the sight of the chocolates, she felt the dark clouds in her mind scatter for a brief moment.
The little girl's pure joy had even changed the air in the room. As Rina set down her teddy bear on the armchair and excitedly tore open the package, Selene found herself, without noticing, widening the smile at the corner of her lips just a little more.
Magnus was watching this small moment carefully. It was precisely what he had intended when he walked in. Rather than diving straight into heavy topics, he wanted to first pull Selene's mind out of that gloomy cycle.
"In the capital... are there a lot of these chocolates?" asked Rina, mouth full, innocently.
Selene gave a soft laugh. "If you have enough money, yes. But these aren't sold in ordinary places."
"When I grow up, I will buy them all!" declared Rina with conviction, pretending to hold a piece of chocolate up to her teddy bear's mouth.
Magnus tilted his head slightly. "First you need to learn to read properly."
"I will!" Rina shot back immediately, as if it were a challenge.
Even this brief, ordinary exchange had lifted the invisible weight from Selene's shoulders. But Magnus knew it was temporary. The real issue was still there, merely covered over.
Magnus straightened slowly and looked at Selene. This time his gaze was more serious.
"Sister," he said, in a calm but clear voice. "You are sad."
Selene's smile froze. She had not expected such a direct opening. Her eyes drifted involuntarily across Magnus's face. A ten-year-old child looking at her with that kind of expression... it was not easy to get used to.
"I..." she began, but could not finish the sentence.
Magnus did not cut her off. He simply waited.
That silence was even heavier for Selene. Because in Magnus's eyes there was no judgment, and no pity either. Only understanding.
Selene took a deep breath and sat down on the edge of the bed. She clasped her fingers together.
"I'm just tired of my father trying to force me into a marriage with the children of powerful nobles," she said. "But a child like you shouldn't be thinking about these things."
Not even the slightest flicker of surprise appeared in Magnus's eyes.
As if he had already been expecting this answer, he tilted his head slightly to one side.
"He only wants what is best for you, sister. I am not saying he is right. But as someone who has spent his whole life working beneath high-ranking nobles and earning a living that way, he knows what kind of life you would have if you became one of them. That is why, in his own way, he wants to offer you a better life."
When Selene heard Magnus's words, she did not argue back right away.
That alone was a change in itself.
Normally, whenever someone tried to defend her father, the suppressed anger inside her would surface immediately. But Magnus's tone was not judgmental. He was neither excusing her father nor belittling her. He was simply laying out the truth as it was.
Selene lowered her head slightly.
"...I know," she said quietly. "And that is exactly the problem."
Magnus raised his eyebrows just barely.
Selene continued.
"I know he is not a bad person. And even... that much of the time, he does think about what is best for me." Her lips pressed into a thin line. "But that... makes me feel even worse."
Rina did not fully understand the weight of the conversation, but she had noticed the shift in her sister's tone. Gripping her teddy bear tightly, she moved a little closer to Selene.
Magnus listened without moving.
"If he were forcing me to do something against my will," said Selene, "it would be easier to push back. But he... does this because he believes it is the right thing for me."
She lifted her head. There was a faint vulnerability in her eyes.
"So why... can't I be the one to decide whether my own life is right or not?"
"Because you do not yet have the power to choose."
The sentence was blunt. But the tone was not.
Selene did not merely narrow her eyes; this time she looked directly at Magnus.
Magnus continued.
"This world... is not the world of people who have choices." He paused briefly. "It is the world of people who can make choices."
He emphasized the distinction deliberately.
"Your father can make choices. Because he has a position. He has power. He has a network." Magnus's voice was low but sharp. "You, on the other hand, are living inside his decisions right now."
Selene's breath slowed.
These words stung. But they were too true to be denied.
Magnus leaned forward slightly.
"That is why I am not calling you 'right' or 'wrong. It doesn't matter. What matters is this: Do you want to change this situation?"
At that point Rina wrapped her arms around Selene's arm. "Don't be sad..." she said, with small but earnest seriousness.
Selene's expression softened. She stroked Rina's hair.
"Your father is not offering you a bad life," he said honestly. "But that... does not mean it is the life you want."
Selene closed her eyes.
That sentence... was exactly what she had been feeling.
Magnus spoke one final time.
"If you want to refuse the path he has laid out for you... you must become stronger, and you must show our father that you can be of value to the family even without marrying into a powerful noble house."
Selene sat in silence for half a minute, absorbing these sentences that were far too honest and at the same time far too rational to be coming from a ten-year-old child.
"What do you suggest I do? I am already doing everything I can at the academy, and I have earned high marks on my exams. What more do I need to do?"
Selene's question, "What more do I need to do?" had been asked from the wrong starting point. Performing better at the academy, earning higher marks, none of that would change the game in their father's eyes.
Because the question was not one of talent. It was one of value.
Magnus was quiet for a short while. This time he was weighing what to say. Go too far, and he would raise suspicion. Keep it too simple, and it would have no effect.
At last he spoke in a level voice.
"Doing better at the academy will not change anything."
Selene's brows drew together slightly.
Magnus continued.
"Because what you gain there... only makes you a better wife. At best, you might attract a higher-ranking noble, or perhaps even a man from the royal family, or you could become a professor like our aunt."
That sentence stopped Selene cold.
Magnus rose slowly to his feet and took a few steps around the room. It was a habit of his when he was thinking, or at least he wanted it to appear that way.
"The real question should be this," he said. "What can our family gain through you?"
Selene's gaze hardened.
"I am not a tool."
"You already are," Magnus said calmly, cutting her off. "But that is not a bad thing. Everyone is a means to something. The difference is this: do you define your own value, or do others define it for you?"
Rina said nothing this time. She only held on to her sister more tightly.
Magnus stopped and turned to Selene.
"If you want our father to give up on a political marriage for you... you need to offer him a better alternative."
Selene narrowed her eyes.
"What kind of alternative?"
The corner of Magnus's lips shifted ever so slightly.
This was the critical point.
"Money."
A single word. But it was enough to change the air in the room.
Selene said nothing for a few seconds. Then she tilted her head slightly to one side.
"...What?"
This time Magnus spoke directly.
"Our father is a merchant. If you can secure a serious income source on your own... he will have no leverage over you, and you can contribute to the family without entering into a marriage you do not want."
Selene frowned.
"Magnus, I am at the academy. Most of my time is consumed by classes. Where would I earn money from?"
Magnus slowly sat back down on the edge of the bed.
Rina had by now finished her chocolate, taken her teddy bear into her lap, and was watching both of them. She did not understand, but she was watching. That was her habit.
'How far can I go?' He was running a rapid calculation in his mind.
This world was at a medieval level. There was no printing press. There was no industry. There was no standardized production. But there was trade. There was luxury consumption. And most importantly... there were knowledge gaps.
For someone who had come from the modern world, those gaps were a fortune.
But he could not say everything. What he said had to be simple enough for his sister to understand without raising suspicion, while also being something that would genuinely work.
'Soap?'
That was the first thing that came to mind. Simple. Scalable. Something every class needed.
But no. Soap already existed in this world. Crude, poor in quality, with varying smells or none at all. But it existed. Competition would be hard, sourcing raw materials would be hard, and it would require startup capital.
'Glasswork?' No, too technical.
Textile dye? Possible, but the supply chain would be complicated.
Then it came to him.
And the moment it did, he was surprised he had not thought of it sooner.
'Perfume...'
No. More precisely... fixed scent.
The people of this world knew essential oils. They knew rosewater. They knew incense. But systematically fixing a scent to a surface, working it into fabric, cloth, a candle, even paper, they did not know how to do that.
In the modern world, this was called a fixative. And its basic principle was remarkably simple.
Ambergris. Musk. Benzoin resin. These already existed in this world. But no one was combining them in the right proportions, using the right method, to produce a lasting scent-binding compound.
Nobles spent months trying to give their garments a lasting fragrance. They used expensive imported products. And that scent would vanish within a few hours.
If Selene could give a fabric or a candle a scent that held for three days...
That would be more than enough to empty the pockets of the capital's nobility.
Magnus raised his head.
"I want to ask you something... Are there chemistry or alchemy classes at the academy?"
Selene was mildly surprised by the shift. "At a basic level, yes. Why?"
"Did you take those classes?"
"Yes, but..."
"Do they teach anything about resin compounds?"
Selene paused. She was trying to figure out where her brother was going. "Some basic properties, yes. In the context of medicinal uses."
Magnus nodded. As if he were settling something in his mind.
"Then," he said in a calm voice, "if a high-ranking noblewoman in the capital were to complain that the rose oil she applied to her dress had faded by evening, what would she do?"
Selene furrowed her brow. "She would apply more. Or try a different oil."
"And would that be costly?"
"Yes, imported oils..." Selene stopped.
Magnus waited.
He could see his sister's mind making the connection. Not fully. But she was approaching the door.
Selene spoke slowly. "A scent that lasted longer... would be valuable to the nobility."
"Valuable?" Magnus tilted his head slightly. "Sister. Do you know how much a noble in the capital spends each year on court garments?"
Selene did not answer, but her eyes opened just a little wider.
Magnus continued, his voice low and even. As if he were talking about something ordinary.
"Benzoin resin already exists in this world. Ambergris exists. Musk exists. These can be used individually as scent fixatives, but no one is melting them at the right temperature, in the right ratio, and binding them to a carrier oil. The reason is simple: no one thinks it is possible, or they do not know the method."
Selene narrowed her eyes. "How do you know?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Magnus answered.
"I read it."
Technically, that was not a lie.
Selene looked at him for a few seconds. Magnus's gaze was steady. Not defensive, not curious. Just... calm.
Rather than letting her attention scatter, Selene pressed on. "But would it actually work?"
"If done correctly. the scent holds for three to five days. On fabric. On a candle. Even on paper."
"On paper?"
Magnus nodded.
"Nobles write letters, sister. If a noblewoman knew that the letter she had written would still carry a faint scent weeks later..." A brief pause. "How much do you think she would pay for that?"
Something shifted in Selene's eyes.
Magnus did not want to push her too hard. He let the idea settle on its own.
It was right at that moment that Rina looked at both of them and asked, completely unaware of anything:
"Why would anyone want letters that smell?"
Selene laughed without meaning to.
Magnus too gave the faintest smile, just at the very corner of his mouth.
Then he grew serious again.
"The startup cost of this business is low. Most of the raw materials can be found in the markets. Your knowledge of chemistry is enough for you to work out the formula. And most importantly..."
He paused.
Selene waited for him to go on.
"You can develop and test this product while you are still at the academy. You do not need to explain to anyone what you are doing. You present it as a perfume or fragrance business."
Selene slowly leaned forward. She rested her elbow on her knee.
"And then?"
Magnus shrugged, but even that movement had something calculated in it.
"Once you get into the supply chain of even a single noble's household in the capital... Nobles and even the common folk will come running to your door. From there, you can start small with a little shop and a few skilled workers, and grow slowly in the capital"
Selene was quiet for a few seconds. Her eyes fixed on one point, but her mind was clearly working.
This was familiar to Magnus. When people truly took hold of an idea, they stopped talking.
Selene finally looked up.
"What if they steal the formula?"
The corner of Magnus's mouth shifted this time a little more noticeably.
Now that was the question of someone who was thinking correctly.
"In that case. You make the formulator indispensable, not the formula."
Selene frowned.
Magnus explained.
"You give everyone the basic composition. But the ratio and the method stay with you. You make a different customization for each client. A formula tailored to the noblewoman's skin, her garments, her intended use. Perhaps after a while there will be those who try to imitate you, but by that time you should have already become a monopoly in this field"
Selene studied him for a long moment.
He was ten years old.
He was ten years old, and he had just laid out a small-scale monopoly strategy for her.
"Magnus..." she said slowly. "Where did you learn all of this?"
Magnus tilted his head slightly.
"From books." he said.
This time, Selene did not believe him. But she did not ask further either.
Rina, meanwhile, looked at both of them and asked the most important question on her mind:
"So, are the rest of the chocolates mine?"