CBOM 26

chapter 26

“Eshi, I think that’s probably the young master under Lady Sophien’s care.”

“Huh? The young master?”

“Yeah. She mentioned once that there was another. I had forgotten, but I’ve never met him either… Still, I think it must be him.”

Startled, Eshi quickly apologized to the boy.

It was because she had spoken to him so casually, asking who are you in a rude tone.

“……”

But the child still didn’t respond.

Then, as his neck was briefly exposed, Grace noticed something reddish—something that looked like a scar.

When she instinctively reached out toward his neck, the boy, who had been frozen in a crouched position, turned pale and began trembling violently.

He was so terrified he couldn’t even avoid her hand.

“……Young master.”

A troubling thought flashed through her mind.

When she glanced at Eshi, she could tell the same suspicion had crossed her mind too.

“Uh, ah… ahh…”

The two of them stared at him, flustered and unsure what to do.

But the boy, as if misinterpreting their reaction, grew even more frightened and staggered backward, dragging his legs.

Not that it made him any faster—if they reached out, they could’ve caught him easily.

“I can treat you.”

When Eshi tried to move to fetch the first-aid kit, the boy, tense as a bowstring, suddenly shot up and fled.

“Ah—”

Even though he limped, he was so fast he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Grace began to suspect Sophien, who had once mentioned caring for a young master.

It was reasonable—Sophien seemed to be the highest-ranking person in this villa, and no maid under her would dare abuse a child behind her back.

Everything passed through Sophien’s hands. Unless she allowed such abuse knowingly, it couldn’t have happened.

“Hello, Lady Sophien!”

“Grace. It’s been a while. What brings you here?”

“Well, I happened to witness something.”

“Witness?”

“Yes, while working the other day, I think I saw the young master. But his condition was really bad. It looked like he had injuries too. I don’t know the details, but I was so worried I thought I should tell you.”

“Injuries?”

Sophien widened her eyes in surprise, as though she was hearing this for the first time.

“Yes. But I’m not certain the boy I saw really is the young master. Would it be possible to meet him once?”

“Hmm.”

“I remember you said it wasn’t possible before, but since this seems serious, I just want to confirm.”

After a moment of hesitation, Sophien replied:

“……It’s probably our young master.”

“What?”

“But his mental state isn’t sound. That’s why I refused before—I was worried seeing him might shock you. But since you’ve already seen him…”

“Then may I meet him?”

“Of course.”

Since Grace was convinced Sophien was the culprit, she wanted to see how the woman would respond.

And indeed, Sophien deflected, offering excuses to distance herself.

Of course, it could all be true—but Grace thought the chances of that were slim.

When the door opened and they went inside, a small boy was crouched tightly in a corner.

“Young master, you have a guest.”

Grace let out a faint sigh and greeted him.

“Hello, young master.”

It was the same boy she had seen before.

“Uhh…”

“Um…”

But they couldn’t exchange any words, nor could she approach him.

The boy rejected everything, shutting himself away.

In the end, she had no choice but to leave again without accomplishing anything.

“You see. The young master is very ill.”

“How did he end up like that?”

“Well… Lord Reto’s lady was alive until recently. She would torment and abuse the poor child mercilessly, as if she had nowhere else to vent her frustrations.”

Sophien’s face was full of pity, almost on the verge of tears—looking every bit as though she was innocent.

“So the young master’s name is Lord Reto?”

“Yes. I don’t know if I should even say this, but… if you don’t mind, could you help me?”

“What could I possibly do?”

“I can’t manage on my own. If you, Miss Grace, could visit Lord Reto from time to time, it might help.”

Grace narrowed her eyes.

“Would I really be of help?”

“I think so. A young person like you might understand and accept him better than someone older like me.”

It was a bit troublesome, but if this led to exposing Sophien and getting rid of her, that would be worth it.

If Sophien really was just a kind maid, then living alongside her wouldn’t be a problem. But if she truly was the duke’s pawn, then it was better to remove her.

“All right. But could Eshi come with me too?”

“Of course.”

Sophien agreed without hesitation.

When Grace told Eshi about it, she was relieved—since she had already been worried about the boy.

So they decided to visit Reto whenever they had free time.

Of course, Grace’s true priority wasn’t Reto but Livanu.

“Shall we go for a walk?”

“Huh? You don’t want to?”

“No, the weather’s lovely today. Let’s go quickly.”

“Mm.”

It was the first time Livanu himself had suggested taking a walk. How could she refuse?

Until now, they had only gone walking because Grace nagged and coaxed him. For him to ask first made her unreasonably happy.

Granted, he still wouldn’t go without her by his side, but still—this was progress.

“By the way, you suggested a walk first. Are you not feeling too sick today?”

Even with medicine, Livanu usually grew itchy and pained after only an hour. But today his face looked brighter.

In truth, he wasn’t the type to show weakness even when he was suffering.

Perhaps because he had long forced himself to endure alone.

At first, he had even tried to push Grace away, not wanting her to see him ill.

Back then, she had thought it would be hard to get close to him. But now, Livanu relied on her so much he wouldn’t do anything without her.

“…I feel better than usual.”

She had worried, but it seemed just creating his core had helped.

“That’s a relief.”

“I think it’s thanks to you.”

“Me?”

She blinked innocently, though she had already suspected.

“The core creation you taught me yesterday.”

“Ahh. I’m glad it helped.”

“I should be the one thanking you.”

Livanu gave a faint smile.

Even just the fact that it eased his pain made him feel like he could go on living.

Now that he had generated a core and could feel mana filling his body, the next step would be learning how to release and use it properly. Then his skin would improve rapidly.

“Young master, I think it’d be better if you learned swordsmanship first.”

She seized the moment to bring it up.

“Why?”

“Your body’s too weak. Swordsmanship will help you build stamina more than magic will.”

“…Stamina?”

“You get exhausted even after a short walk.”

It was natural—he had spent every day confined to his room.

During his growth years, he hadn’t eaten properly either, so his body was frail and undersized.

“I just want you to be healthy.”

“…Re-ally?”

At least for building stamina, Grace could help.

But beyond that, she wouldn’t be of much use.

Livanu was a genius—he needed a proper teacher eventually.

He had already awakened mana on his own, so it wasn’t urgent, but stamina was another matter.

“Grace, what are you thinking about so hard?”

“Oh—sorry. I was just considering how best to build stamina.”

“…What should I start with?”

He rolled up his sleeves eagerly, as if ready to begin right away.

At that moment, a button dangling from his worn sleeve popped off.

His clothes were so old and frayed it was no wonder.

“Oh dear.”

Grace quickly picked up the fallen button. She thought, more urgently than ever, that they needed to buy him some proper clothes.

In the duke’s household, where they hadn’t even cared to feed him properly, there was no way they had provided decent clothing.

Even if they had, it probably ended up in someone else’s hands.

On top of that, with his skin disease causing constant stickiness, his clothes wore out faster.

When she had first met him, he had been wearing little more than rags—it had shocked her terribly.

Even now his clothes weren’t in good shape, but at least she had managed to buy a few decent ones with her own wages, pretending they had been given.

“…Sorry. The clothes are already ruined…”

Livanu mumbled gloomily as he stared at the fallen button.

“It’s fine, clothes can always be replaced.”

“But you gave them to me.”

He seemed genuinely upset that the clothes Grace had bought for him with her own money were falling apart.

“I’ll get you more next time.”

“That’s not what I mean. What about the cost?”

“Lady Sophien will provide if I ask.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. As for this one, it’s a shame to throw away. Should we just keep the button?”

“Give it to me. I’ll keep it safe.”

The moment he finished speaking, Livanu held out his hand.

And that day, the button found its place in a small box tucked in the corner of his bedroom.