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Thanks for sharing the passage — here’s the full English translation of it:
Thanks to Hazen, who was sleeping with his head on my lap, Retilia quickly realized that I couldn’t get up.
“Hazen, wake up.”
She shook Hazen’s shoulder.
“…Reti?”
“Shunen needs to get up. You’re sleeping here.”
“Mm… got it. You woke me up just to say that…?”
“Yes.”
When Retilia confirmed, Hazen lazily waved a hand, telling me to have a good time.
But… to tell me something? Tell me what?
When I looked at Retilia in confusion, she smiled faintly and led me out of the common room.
“I actually wanted to talk to you earlier, but things have been busier than expected, so I’m only asking now.”
“What is it?”
“The rooms in this mansion.”
All these rooms? Why?
The mansion was so large that there were still many parts I didn’t know. To be honest, I mostly spent my time between my bedroom and the common room anyway.
As we turned the corner of the stairs leading up, Retilia continued.
“Most of the rooms don’t have fixed purposes or are simply left empty. They’re just basically maintained, that’s all.”
“Well, there are a lot of them.”
“That’s why I want to ask you about this.”
When we reached the top of the stairs, a door that looked like it belonged to a study came into view. Retilia took out a small golden key from her pocket and unlocked it.
“Wait here for a second. I need to grab something.”
She gave me an apologetic smile and quickly disappeared inside.
I didn’t mind waiting. But as I turned casually, something caught my eye through the open door.
“…Huh?”
A photograph? No—maybe a painting?
What had suddenly drawn my gaze was a painting.
Inside a frame hanging on the wall was a portrait of a woman with short black hair and a young girl.
‘Isn’t that Retilia?’
There was only one person I could think of with such rare navy-blue hair: her.
Click.
But before I could think any further, the door closed, and of course I couldn’t get a better look at the painting.
‘Who was that next to her?’
Considering Retilia’s unpleasant childhood, I couldn’t imagine who it could have been.
It was either something not covered in the original story… or a new variable created by this altered world. Those were the most likely options.
‘Eh, whatever. I didn’t even see it properly anyway.’
If I really got curious, I could just ask her later. I leaned against the railing and looked down below until the door opened again.
“What’s that?”
“A map. More precisely, a floor plan. Of…”
Holding a thick roll of parchment, Retilia playfully winked.
“This mansion.”
I knew the house was big, but I didn’t expect the map to be thick. I gave a wry smile, still not used to the ridiculous scale of this place.
Retilia chuckled when she saw my expression and untied the navy ribbon binding the map.
“Wandering around on a whim might be fun for you, but you’ll need this.”
“Does this have to do with the favor you mentioned?”
“Yup.”
Retilia continued.
“All the rooms in this mansion. Like I said earlier—empty rooms, rooms without a clear purpose—I want you to decorate them however you want.”
“…Decorate them?”
“Decide however you like. How you think the room should be used, what should go in it, what color the wallpaper should be, that sort of thing.”
As the map spread open with a rustle, countless lines and rooms appeared. Naturally, my gaze followed Retilia’s finger as it traced the diagram.
“But… why me? Couldn’t you guys have done this earlier yourselves?”
“Do you really think any of us has the temperament to willingly do this kind of thing?”
“…Yeah, fair point.”
Their house was getting blown up all the time—no one would bother decorating it.
I stared down at the map. So many lines crisscrossing the paper, mapping out endless rooms and corridors. This mansion.
‘It’s almost like they’re asking me to redefine the place.’
It was my first time doing something like this, but it wasn’t as if I was building the place from scratch. Just exploring rooms and giving simple opinions—I could definitely handle that. It even sounded kind of fun.
I nodded.
“Alright, I’ll do it.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem. I might as well explore the house a bit while I’m at it. Sounds fun.”
It looked like I’d found a new hobby to enjoy during all this free time. As I examined the map, Retilia added:
“Oh, and one more thing. Actually, this is the main point.”
She tapped lightly on the parchment.
“Take a good look at the rooms. We’ve hidden some things around.”
“Hidden… things?”
“The details are a secret. It’ll be more fun if you find them yourself. The map’s yours now—use it however you want.”
Her golden eyes curved mischievously, sparkling like honey in sunlight.
‘Hidden things, huh…’
Suddenly, the map in my hands felt like a treasure map.
Maybe this was like a treasure hunt. A smile crept onto my face.
“Starting today?”
I asked playfully. Retilia giggled.
“Starting today.”
“Anyway,”
Isaac slowly opened and closed his eyes.
“They’re volunteering to keep an eye on him until Cartilan’s envoy arrives. Volunteering, of all things.”
“…Isaac…”
“I wonder what bothers you so much about this, Emperor.”
The Emperor sighed. Ethan, standing next to Isaac, glanced at the man standing between them and the Emperor.
He was the man they had practically dragged out of the research institute not long ago.
After being cleaned and treated, he looked much better now. His face, though sharp, was fairly handsome, and his reddish-brown hair had regained its color.
“…”
The man, gripping his scarred wrists, met Ethan’s sharp gaze in the air.
Ethan let out a soft, derisive laugh. As if he enjoyed any of this.
Honestly, Ethan would have preferred to keep him far away from Shunen—or better yet, just kill him. That would’ve been simpler.
But because they needed to understand what kind of impact an unprecedented ability-user might have on this world, they couldn’t kill him.
And since he was a Cartilan native, not from Ruspert, they didn’t have much time to keep an eye on him either.
‘And if we’re keeping him alive, I might as well figure out exactly what kind of bastard he is, to prevent problems later.’
If he showed even the slightest sign of danger, they’d kill him on the spot.
“It’s not a bad deal, really. Where else is he going to find guardians like us?”
“…Do you even have a conscience?”
“Of course not.”
Isaac smiled faintly. The Emperor let out a deep sigh.
“The price?”
He asked bitterly. He knew that the Hadenbergs never offered “charity” without asking for something in return.
“That you won’t hold us accountable for any retaliation aimed at the Colhart Dukedom.”
“It’s a crime serious enough to warrant a noble tribunal anyway, so think of it as us handling it for you. The Imperial Family would rather not get its hands dirty with them, right? This is a good chance to crush their pride.”
The Emperor hated to admit it, but nothing Isaac said was wrong. Eventually, he accepted the deal.
“His name was Ian, right?”
Isaac placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. Black eyes met pale gray-blue ones.
Isaac gave a sly smile.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
“…”
And thus began a thoroughly uncomfortable cohabitation.
Ian blinked slowly as he stared at the dark, looming mansion before him. It wasn’t as lavish as the Imperial Palace, but its size and grandeur were on par.
“This will be our residence. You’ll be staying here for a while, too.”
“And don’t expect to be treated nicely. This isn’t charity.”
Despite their cold words, Ian didn’t complain. He didn’t nod either—he simply stood silently, staring straight ahead.
They didn’t seem to expect a response, and just gestured toward the mansion.
“One thing you should know—we won’t overlook any attempt to hurt anyone. At least we don’t have to worry about keeping your mouth shut, which is convenient.”
Isaac casually glanced at Ian’s neck. Heavy shackles were locked around it, covered in scars.
Ian couldn’t speak. He hadn’t lost his voice permanently, but according to the palace physician, the aftereffects of the experiments meant he wouldn’t be able to speak for a while.
At least they didn’t have to cut out his tongue, Isaac and Ethan thought dryly. That was his one and only redeeming feature.
Once they entered the mansion, a figure appeared at the top of the empty staircase.
“Isaac? Ethan?”
“Shunen.”
Their cold expressions instantly softened. A smile appeared on their usually indifferent faces.
Ian’s gray-blue eyes focused on Shunen. She had been one of those in the underground lab—a person who stood out even among that eccentric group.
Her orange eyes, shimmering with golden light, widened.
“Is that…?”
She was stunned when she noticed the shackles wrapped around Ian’s neck and wrists. Oh, for god’s sake.
‘Why the hell are they like this again?’
Shackles? On a person? Seriously, these so-called protagonists.
I practically ran downstairs to stand in front of the three of them. Up close, the shackles looked even more absurdly sturdy, as if they were proudly saying “I’m indestructible.” I was losing my mind.
“Why’d you bring him here?”
“We’re keeping him under our watch for a while. He’s the world’s first acquired ability-user. Before word spreads and chaos breaks out, we need a quiet place to hide him.”
“The negotiations for his repatriation to his homeland… those will take a while. So until then?”
“Exactly.”
“Even so, this needs explaining.”
I folded my hands and pointed at the shackles around his neck. Pointing with a finger felt too rude, somehow.
“It’s a safety measure,” Ethan said with a shrug.
“…People don’t usually call that a safety measure.”
“Think of it as… psychological assurance.”
And whose psychological assurance, exactly?
No matter how much his abilities were neutralized, it’s not like someone who had just awakened powers would be terrifying already.
It was obvious—the real reason was simply that they didn’t like him.
…For now, I decided to hear them out before objecting. We still didn’t know what kind of person he was.
I agreed, at least, that safety came first.
Isaac disappeared with the man, asking us to wait in the common room. Ethan and I gathered Retilia and Novel from their rooms and headed there.
“What’s going on?”
“This is Isaac’s doing, Shunen. He’s the only one missing, so that’s the answer, isn’t it?”
“More precisely, it’s about the man Isaac and Ethan brought back.”
I set the map and pen on a nearby desk and sat down. Retilia and Novel exchanged glances before sitting across from us, and Ethan sat beside me.
Just as Hazen stirred awake from all the commotion, a blue light flashed.
“Well, that was fast.”
Isaac tugged on his collar and grinned.
“Let’s get straight to it. For a while, we’re going to be keeping an ‘hostage’ here.”
After explaining the situation, Novel, Retilia, and Hazen came up with three suggestions.
“Is it even worth keeping an eye on him? Blowing his head off would be simpler.”
“Cartilan only cares if he’s alive anyway. As long as he’s breathing, we’re fine…”
“I don’t care… you guys decide this stuff, brothers…”
Ha. Great. Even worse than I thought.
After hearing their responses, I managed to settle the matter by agreeing to keep Ian under watch using shackles and solitary confinement.
