Chapter 12

“…What?”

One of the duke’s eyebrows twitched.

“Maryanne, I don’t like repeating myself. And I don’t believe you’re incapable of understanding what I meant.”

“Ah… yes.”

Unable to ask any further questions, I simply closed my mouth.

The duke rose from his seat as though our business was already finished.

I wanted to stop him, but no words came out.

It seemed he had already settled everything regarding Krimu.

Well… the guilty ones have been punished, and the previous nanny is supposed to return soon… I guess everything has been wrapped up.

Still, I’d thought we’d have time to sit down and actually talk.

I even wanted to tell him that I was the one who had saved his third son from those villains—and maybe earn a little credit for it.

I smacked my lips in disappointment.

Then suddenly, the duke’s parting words came back to me.

“Wait… You’re saying I can go save the mage?”

What an unexpected stroke of luck.

Instead of waiting until adulthood, I’d get to meet the mage years earlier.

If that happened…

I’d be able to learn magic.

I’d finally possess power that no one could look down on.

“Gah…! Wow! This is amazi—!”

I barely stopped myself from shouting in excitement and hurried out of the study, passing the maids along the way.

Half a day had passed since the duke had begun reading the thick tome.

As darkness settled outside, he motioned with one hand.

A servant waiting nearby approached and lit the lamps.

Warm light illuminated the pages.

The Delve family…

His long fingers tapped lightly against the desk.

For several days, every book he’d studied had been about the Empire’s magical families.

The Duke of Kereis recalled the day he had first brought Maryanne Delve into the mansion.

At the time, his goal had been simple.

He wanted to use the power of a child capable of magic to strengthen House Kereis in the future.

But somehow…

Lately, that desire had begun to weaken.

That can’t be…!

Just then, someone approached outside the door.

“The eldest young master has arrived.”

At the servant’s announcement, the duke gave permission for him to enter.

Father and son faced one another for the first time in quite a while.

Shevert had been away for several days training.

He seemed to have grown even more during that short time.

With a physique rivaling that of a grown man and an icy expression, he looked remarkably like the duke himself in his youth.

Estimating that his eldest son was now around seventeen years old, the duke spoke.

“How is the situation?”

“It seems quiet, perhaps because winter is approaching. There have been no attacks on nearby villages.”

They were discussing monsters.

As autumn turned into winter, monster activity always increased.

That was why the duke had sent Shevert, who was still in training, to guard the western frontier.

“Good. You may leave.”

That was always how conversations between father and son went.

They skipped greetings entirely, speaking only about official matters.

Rarely did they spend more than five minutes together.

The duke had just returned his attention to his book…

When he realized Shevert was still standing there.

He looked up at his son.

Even though those crimson eyes resembled his own, he couldn’t tell what his son was thinking.

“Father.”

“Yes?”

“I heard a rather strange rumor while I was away.”

“A rumor?”

The duke frowned.

He enjoyed using rumors himself.

He disliked hearing them from others.

Shevert knew that perfectly well.

After a brief hesitation, he finally spoke.

“I heard a rumor that I might become engaged to that girl.”

His face twisted in obvious disgust.

Seeing that expression, the duke curled one corner of his mouth into a faint smile.

The rumor wasn’t entirely false.

Depending on the abilities the girl displayed in the future…

It could very well become reality.

“Try to get along with her.”

“Father…”

Shevert’s crimson eyes widened.

“She belongs to the Delve family.”

“I know. They were once a family of mages powerful enough to dominate the Empire hundreds of years ago. But now they’re nothing more than a fallen house.”

“Many of them died without leaving heirs. Their bloodline was plagued by short lifespans.”

The duke rested his chin on one hand.

The red glow of the lamp reflected in his crimson eyes, making them seem almost aflame.

“But that child survived.”

“And not only that… her bloodline remains pure. She inherited only the Delve family’s blood, without mixing with any other lineage.”

Shevert was intelligent.

Like his father, he grasped things quickly.

He understood almost immediately.

“Don’t tell me…”

“That’s right. That child may accomplish something extraordinary for our family. Doesn’t that make her the ideal fiancée for you?”

The eldest son of House Kereis, Shevert, resembled the duke in every way.

Especially in his cold, merciless temperament.

He gazed silently up at the moon hanging in the night sky.

“She’s only thirteen.”

Besides…

As far as he knew, the Delve family’s magical abilities had already disappeared generations ago.

His sharp gaze narrowed before slowly relaxing.

House Kereis is one of the Empire’s founding noble families—the greatest house in the Empire.

Ever since he had been old enough to understand words, his father had repeated that phrase to him.

By now, it had sunk deep into his heart, almost like brainwashing.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Shevert left his bedroom.

“Young Master Krimu just woke up.”

Hearing the servant’s report, he entered through the wide-open door.

The sounds of someone happily munching echoed throughout the room.

“Krimu.”

Just as always, his tiny youngest brother immediately stopped what he was doing and ran over to hug him.

There was a thirteen-year age gap between them.

Since Krimu was only his half-brother, Shevert had never paid him much attention.

But after Krimu’s mother died…

He had started visiting him from time to time.

“Big… bro.”

Krimu buried his face between Shevert’s legs before looking up.

A white milk mustache remained around his lips.

Shevert casually wiped it away with his fingers.

Then his eyes happened to fall upon Krimu’s exposed arm.

So this was it.

The moment he returned to the mansion, the servants had reported everything that had happened.

Including the crimes committed by the nanny and the servant.

Why didn’t I notice…?

Gently pulling Krimu away, Shevert lifted the little boy into his arms.

He felt deeply guilty toward his tiny younger brother.

After setting him down on the sofa, Krimu immediately picked up a half-eaten cookie and continued happily munching on it.

Looking at the ointment sitting on the table, Shevert asked,

“She’s the one who discovered it?”

“Yes, Young Master.”

The head maid, now acting as Krimu’s temporary nanny, immediately understood who he meant.

At that moment, Krimu swallowed a mouthful of cookie and suddenly looked up.

“Big Sis.”

“…What?”

“Big Siiis.”

As Shevert frowned, the head maid quickly explained.

“Since yesterday, Young Master Krimu has been calling Miss Maryanne ‘Big Sis.'”

“…”

Shevert’s expression darkened.

Completely unaware, Krimu continued smiling brightly.

“Big Sis! Big Sis!”

“S-Stop!”

“Big Sis?”

“Stop it, Krimu.”

“Big Bro… Big Sis!”

Apparently finding it amusing, Krimu refused to stop.

Feeling a headache coming on, Shevert left the rest to the maid and walked out of the room.

“…Hah.”

Big Sis?

That little brat had already won over his youngest brother.

“Tch… that tiny little pest.”

Guards stood along the long hallway.

His eyes drifted toward the room at the end of the corridor.

Maryanne’s room.

The duke’s room and Shevert’s room were much farther away.

Since Maryanne’s room had been closest to Krimu’s old bedroom, it made sense that she had been the first to notice something was wrong.

“That child may accomplish something extraordinary for our family. Doesn’t that make her the ideal fiancée for you?”

Among the Empire’s nobility, political engagements and marriages for mutual benefit were nothing unusual.

Shevert had always expected to marry for the family’s sake.

But he had never imagined his future partner might be a mage.

And of all people…

It had to be the girl who had called him a loudmouthed fool.

Even now, he vividly remembered that humiliation.

That was why he’d pushed himself through grueling training every single day—to surpass her.

As he stared at her tightly closed bedroom door…

It suddenly creaked open.

“…!”

Though he’d done nothing wrong, Shevert instinctively stepped back in surprise.

A moment later, Maryanne poked her head out.

Her crimson hair swayed softly as her dark eyes met his.

For some reason, that unreadable gaze made him feel strangely self-conscious.

Trying to hide it, he spoke gruffly.

“W-What? I was just passing by.”

“Could you spare a moment to talk with me?”

“W-What?”

The sharpness in Shevert’s eyes gave way to bewilderment.

While he hesitated over whether to accept this unexpectedly bold girl’s request…

He suddenly felt a small hand grab his collar and tug him inside.

“H-Hey! W-Wait!”

Before he knew it, Shevert was being dragged forward by someone whose strength wasn’t even a quarter of his own.

I’d gone through all that brutal training… and this is what happens?