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chapter 23
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
But Grace only blinked in confusion, as if she had no idea what expression she was wearing.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Then, suddenly, Livanu felt there was one thing he wanted to make sure of.
“Wait, Grace.”
“Yes?”
“Promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“…Even if your world grows bigger, even if I’m not your everything anymore, I want you to say that you still like me the most. It doesn’t even matter if it’s not true…”
Grace’s eyes widened in surprise.
Since she’d been harsh with him, she thought maybe she should comfort him at least once, and so she spoke firmly, word by word.
“Don’t worry about something so useless.”
“…Huh?”
“You’re my favorite, young master. Truly.”
It wasn’t an empty phrase—of all the masters she had served, Livanu was one of the gentlest and kindest.
“But you said I wasn’t…”
“I never said that. You were the one saying it all by yourself before I could even open my mouth.”
“So… you really do like me?”
“I really meant it.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Livanu finally smiled brightly then. He looked genuinely happy.
Seeing him like that, Grace thought her young master had truly changed.
In her previous life, she had only ever watched him from afar.
That distance suddenly felt enormous to her now.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…Nothing. It just makes me happy.”
The Livanu in her memory had always been drenched in blood, like someone who didn’t even know how to smile.
Rumors had painted him as something even more terrifying and cruel.
“You’re happy? About what?”
“I like it when you smile, young master.”
“…What…”
There had even been rumors that he bathed in blood.
People whispered that killing was his hobby. In fact, he had personally helped Grino with human experimentation.
Perhaps that’s why—it felt strange now to see him quietly smiling by her side like this.
After that, Livanu kept his promise diligently.
He spent most of his time reading books.
But since Grace herself wanted to know whether he truly understood what he was reading, she asked his permission a few times to check the books herself. The problem was, no matter how many times she looked, she couldn’t make sense of it. Perhaps long years of life didn’t necessarily mean an ability to study.
“Young master, do you understand this?”
“Yeah. It’s interesting to look at again after so long.”
Only a few days had passed, but Livanu had already read most of the books Sophien had given him.
“What does this mean?”
She couldn’t believe it. Hadn’t he grown up being called a genius? How could he understand everything after just one read?
Pointing to a passage in the book he was holding, Grace asked curiously.
Livanu answered smoothly, without hesitation.
“Special Law, Article 5, Section 6. It’s about crimes committed by mages. Since they have an advantage in power over ordinary people, if they commit crimes using magic, the punishment is more severe. Because magic is so diverse, there are countless subcategories, so even though it’s called ‘Special Law,’ it actually takes up a lot of space. This particular clause is about tax fraud—it’s basically embezzlement. Embezzlement means secretly diverting company funds, and it usually appears in the form of accounting fraud. Accounting fraud is when assets or profits are inflated by dishonest methods. That’s the most basic crime. Mages, however, can cleverly hide the numbers through magical manipulation…”
She listened quietly while he spoke excitedly, though no matter how simply he explained, she only understood half of it at best.
Her focus wandered, and she barely listened to the latter half.
“Did you get it?”
After finishing, Livanu looked at Grace with sparkling eyes.
“You enjoy studying so much—why didn’t you before?”
“…Hmm.”
Livanu hummed softly, thinking for a moment.
The answer came quickly.
“I think it was because I didn’t want to be used…”
“…”
“You probably don’t know, but His Grace never wanted to raise me as a ‘son.’ He just wanted to raise me as a puppet useful to the dukedom. He made that obvious—if I hadn’t noticed, I’d have been a fool. Because of that disgust, I chased the tutors away on purpose.”
“What?”
So it had been Livanu himself who refused to study.
Was that why he’d made that face when she told him to?
“I’d move around so much the stench became unbearable, and on the days tutors came, I wouldn’t take medicine. If some clueless fellow showed up, I’d deliberately pelt him with questions, and when he couldn’t answer, I’d sneer at him.”
He shrugged.
“Then the tutors would tremble and curse me. They’d say, ‘Disgusting little monster like you, no matter how smart you are, no one will ever take you in. You’ll die a miserable death anyway.’”
“What! What insolent bastards dared say such things! Young master, and you just let it slide?!”
Grace shot up from her seat, furious.
But Livanu was calm.
“I let it go. Back then, I thought they were right.”
“What part of that is right!”
“Well, now I know none of it was true.”
Looking up at her—angrier on his behalf than he was—Livanu smiled faintly.
“Thanks to you.”
His gentle gaze made Grace’s shoulders flinch.
This little master was still grotesque, still reeked, but at moments like this he gave off a strangely mature air, not like a fifteen-year-old boy at all.
And whenever he spoke words of such complete trust, she felt an unexpected pang of conscience.
She had never thought she had any conscience left—but maybe it was because no one had ever trusted her so blindly before.
“S-stop chatting and get back to studying!”
In the end, Grace blurted out loudly in fluster.
“Okay.”
Livanu obediently turned back to his book, as though he would do anything she asked.
As she watched his profile, already absorbed again, she let out a soft sigh.
In truth, telling him to study had only been bait.
Of course, studying wasn’t a bad thing either.
If he had strong mana and a brilliant mind, who could ever hope to defeat him?
Determined to make him someone untouchable, Grace set to work in earnest.
“Young master.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t you have anything you personally want to do?”
“Something I want to do?”
“Yes.”
The question caught Livanu so off guard that he couldn’t answer right away.
He had never thought to say he wanted anything. Busy despairing his lot, he had never dreamed of a future.
When he stayed silent, Grace carefully continued.
“Are you perhaps interested in swordsmanship or magic?”
“…Swordsmanship or magic?”
“Yes!”
She deliberately chose those examples because of Livanu’s disease, Infinito Danio.
Since they had even come here for recuperation, she thought it was about time to probe him.
If he had an interest, he might take to it more positively. So she focused, choosing her words carefully.
“…I’d like to learn.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But swordsmanship or magic isn’t something you can really self-study, right?”
That was something Grace could help with.
She couldn’t teach him everything from scratch, but she could at least guide him through core formation.
“Do you prefer swordsmanship, or magic?”
“…Which do you like better, Grace?”
She blinked—she was the one who asked, yet the question was turned back on her.
“Magic is ninety percent talent, so your potential is important there. But swordsmen are cool too. Honestly, it’s hard to choose just one.”
“…Then, if I can, I’d like to learn both.”
The thought didn’t take him long. He said it simply, like tossing a pebble.
Grace blinked.
“Both swordsmanship and magic?”
She’d never considered that before—but if it was Infinito Danio, maybe it was possible.
Still, no one had ever managed to master both. Surely there was a reason for that.
Trying to grab two rabbits at once might leave him with neither.
“Yeah.”
“Are you sure you’re really interested in both?”
Since his answer had been so quick, she asked again for confirmation.
But Livanu just looked straight into her eyes and said:
“Isn’t it you who wants me to learn?”
Ah. So it showed.
Grace, flustered, rolled her eyes around without replying.
“If you suddenly ask me here whether I’m interested in swordsmanship or magic, the answer’s obvious.”
She sighed deeply. It wasn’t that her thoughts were transparent—it was that Livanu was quick to notice.
She’d planned to explain her reasons once he agreed to learn something—but now she was speechless.
“The truth is…”
She began carefully, but Livanu spoke first.
“I’ll never disappoint you.”
“…Huh? Disappoint me about what?”
“Well, if I’m going to learn anyway, I may as well excel in many areas. That way, your investment won’t go to waste.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Of course, I know you’re not really expecting anything from me. But since we’re at it, why not?”
Uh…
His casual words stabbed dozens of knives into her conscience.
Because the truth was, she was expecting a great deal.
