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chapter 27
The day after returning from Zerkino.
“Hmph. This is all thanks to me.”
Jeril said arrogantly.
“I anticipated everything and even brought the magic crystal to summon Apji.”
“Oh, that little troublemaker.”
“Muahaha! Everyone, praise me!”
“Jeril, it’s not ‘praise,’ it’s ‘admire.’”
Jeril’s nose flared with pride.
And rightly so—because the moment Caesar’s magic crystal, which Jeril had secretly taken, broke,
the doting duke, who had cast a location-tracking spell on the crystal as a gift from his wife, realized where the children were.
Thanks to that, the two brothers, Lirian, and Illay were all safely rescued by Caesar and returned to Ersioni.
Though Lirian, having overexerted himself, collapsed in exhaustion.
“S-sick… sick…”
“……”
Illay silently watched Lirian’s sleeping face.
The price for using the Sword Ghost’s power at such a young age had been immense.
The duke family’s physician, upon seeing Lirian on the day of the rescue, fainted in shock, asking what the young lady had done.
It was only by divine providence that everything ended well; otherwise, it could have been disastrous.
‘Divine providence, huh.’
Illay looked down at his palm with somber eyes.
The power that had filled his entire body when Lirian destroyed the imprisoned crystal flower—
that was undoubtedly holy power.
‘But I can’t feel it now.’
By the time he regained his senses, the tremendous holy power he was born with had vanished like a mirage once again.
Illay clenched his fist tightly.
It was a power he had lived as if he never had anyway.
Although he had been surprised to use it suddenly, the fact that he could no longer use it wasn’t particularly important.
“Why don’t you come inside and rest? We’ll stay out here.”
At that moment, Yuri approached and spoke.
Illay unconsciously took the cup he offered.
“Cocoa.”
“……”
“Mother said children should drink something sweet.”
It was a bit awkward, but Illay sipped the cocoa, complete with heart-shaped marshmallows, and said,
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine at all.”
“I’m used to it. I can manage.”
“So… that means you shouldn’t be managing.”
Yuri stared straight at Illay.
“You’re hurt too.”
After being rescued from the temple,
Illay had been brought to Ersioni by Caesar and the two boys.
‘Nothing’s changed here.’
He quietly looked down at the cocoa cup with marshmallows.
The Ersioni family was just as kind as in the “vanished past.”
Turning his head, he saw Lirian sleeping soundly, his young face looking even younger than the child he remembered.
Seeing Lirian and the others brought back old memories.
Very old memories from before his reincarnation.
This is the story of the first day Illay met Lirian, according to his memory.
At five years old, he had learned that he could not trust anyone in life.
“Since you inherit noble blood, you must fulfill your purpose.”
“Fifth Prince, you understand the duchess’ intentions, right?”
And that ‘anyone’ included his parents.
“You are hereby appointed a priest of the Dawnstar Order.”
The year of the Arcarnse Crusade of Hatred.
His father offered him as a sacrifice to calm the unsettled public, while his mother ignored her second son to protect her firstborn.
Abandoned by his parents on his fifth birthday, he drifted at the bottom of the order.
Though born with immense holy power, his body could not handle it at all.
“But who is that child? I haven’t seen this face before at headquarters.”
“Shh, let’s pretend we don’t know. He’s being moved to Zerkino soon anyway.”
“Ah, that garbage dump? Sounds like he’s not worth much if they’re sending him there.”
People whispered about him.
Once noble, now a fallen star.
That’s how they called him.
Four years passed, and on a day when he turned nine:
“…Where is this place?”
Against his will, erased from the royal registry and sent to the order, he was again pushed elsewhere by circumstances beyond his control.
The temple kept it quiet, but rumors said a great holy knight known as the “Seventh Star” had personally exposed the corruption of the order.
Illay thought it had nothing to do with him, but reality was different.
The order brought him out to repair their tarnished image.
They paraded him at sanctification ceremonies to show that the Fifth Prince, once the hope of the entire empire, was now attached to the order.
For reasons unknown, after some dealings, he was entrusted somewhere else.
That place was—
“This is Ersioni.”
“Welcome to Ersioni, Illay.”
The Ersioni dukedom.
Illay did not trust people.
Especially not those who outwardly pretended to be kind, like royalty, nobles, or temple priests.
Thus, he did not trust the duke and duchess, despite their hospitality.
“Let’s see… nine years old, same age as Yuri. Yuri likes coffee… do you like mocha buns?”
“Really! I told you not to give coffee to the child.”
“Well, he needs it for studying…”
“Enough. Sit still. Here, Illay. Butter cookies. Drink cocoa if you’re thirsty. Want marshmallows?”
He was a little taken aback when the duchess tried to put heart-shaped marshmallows into a cat-eared mug.
A boy who had been forced to act ‘mature’ from the time he was a prince had no immunity to such… ticklish gestures.
Anyway, Illay would live at the Ersioni residence for the time being.
He resolved to stay quiet and leave quietly.
So he stayed in the room assigned to him.
Knock! Knock!
Someone knocked on the door.
“Are you asleep?”
“Maybe I came too early.”
“Alright, let’s come back later, Liria.”
Whispers were heard outside the door.
Illay tensed.
At the order, he had been treated as hopeless and had no experience interacting with others.
If he had, it had been torment or the disdainful looks of those seeing something useless.
Illay, who admittedly did not have a very good temperament, would only resist and defy in such moments.
In short, he did not know how to interact normally with others.
“I want to see you now.”
The disappointed voice of a girl outside the door faded along with several movements.
He relaxed his tense body.
‘Who are they?’
The voices all sounded like children.
After hesitating, Illay slightly opened the tightly shut door.
Creak.
Through the small gap, he saw something.
‘…A doll?’
A blonde girl doll, carefully cared for.
In the doll’s arms was a rectangular letter:
[Hello! I’m Lirian Ersioni. Do you want to be my friend?]
Illay stared blankly at it for a while.
Illay Cerevia Leonhart, nine years old.
Lirian Ersioni, seven years old.
