CBOM 35

chapter 35

When had he been trembling? Now, Leto greeted Sophien with composure and tried to get up from the bed he had been occupying.

“…I must have dozed off.”

“Here? I told you to stay in your room.”

“My apologies…”

Sophien hadn’t noticed it before, but now she could see clearly—Leto was overly sensitive to her moods.

“I told you not to inconvenience others. And the clothes—what are they?”

“…I lent him some pajamas I made myself.”

“Oh, really? The clothes he usually wore were a bit worn out anyway. I was planning to throw them away, but this young master liked them so much he’d dig them out of the trash and wear them again. Honestly.”

Sophien was talking more than usual.

It was obvious—after the way Leto had looked right before they left, she must have been panicking, worried her double-faced nature had been exposed.

But since Grace, Essie, and Ribanu all acted as if nothing was wrong, she must have felt some relief.

“But.”

At that moment, Ribanu quietly spoke.

Sophien flinched as if burned, whipping her gaze toward him.

“Y-Yes? Why, was there some problem?”

She pulled Leto’s hand toward herself, swallowing dryly.

Honestly, her nervousness was so obvious it was embarrassing.

Grace, curious about what Ribanu was about to say, gave Sophien a mocking smile before turning to him.

Since they had already decided to reject Sophien, Ribanu had no need to hold back.

“I want to ask about the wounds on Leto’s body.”

“…W-What? His body? What do you—”

“You serve him, don’t you? Yet you don’t know what injuries he has?”

Since she’d said she changed his clothes, there was no way to hide it.

“I explained this to Miss Grace as well. The young master is not of sound mind and hurts himself.”

“They don’t look like self-inflicted wounds. You didn’t abuse him, did you?”

“No! Why would I ever do that!”

Sophien cried out in protest, wearing a face full of indignation.

“Really?”

“Young master, please, say something!”

In an instant, tears streamed down Sophien’s cheeks. She collapsed onto the floor, appealing her innocence desperately to Leto.

Leto froze when Sophien grabbed him, unable to do anything. Then, trembling under the pressure, he finally opened his mouth.

“…It was not abuse.”

The slow words fell out, and Sophien, still crying, turned to Ribanu.

“See! Hhhk!”

Still sobbing loudly, she scooped Leto into her arms and, insisting she couldn’t stay a moment longer in a place where she was being slandered, rushed out.

Bang—

The door slammed violently shut. Before anyone could react, she had run off with Leto in her arms. Grace let out a dry laugh.

“Shameless, but it looks like lying isn’t her strength.”

“Yeah. If she’d confessed just now, I might have let her off a little.”

Ribanu clicked his tongue.

It seemed Sophien had just thrown away her last chance.

“…For now, I don’t think Leto will be able to cooperate with us. He’s practically been brainwashed for years.”

Grace was worried too, but from start to finish, Leto had always defended Sophien.

Every word he spoke shifted all the blame onto himself. Sophien, he claimed, had done nothing wrong but try to teach him properly.

That must have been what she repeated over and over while subjecting him to abuse.

Exposed to violence from such a young age, Leto had simply grown up believing it was normal.

“Still, it’s not completely hopeless.”

Now, unlike before when only Sophien’s people surrounded him, he had met others.

They weren’t violent. They smiled often. To Leto, they must have seemed very different from Sophien and her servants.

“Even today, it was different, wasn’t it?”

“…Yeah. No harsh words or violence.”

For now, he must be confused, but in time, he would come to realize.

The difference between Grace and Sophien.

“We’ll deal with her soon.”

“Yes.”

And when that time came, he would see the difference even more clearly—without Sophien clouding his world.

Leto, carried off to the western villa in Sophien’s arms, swallowed hard.

Though she had cradled him carefully as she fled, as soon as they reached the room, she flung him onto the floor.

“Ah…!”

With a loud thud, Leto let out a pained groan.

Sophien, her tears gone as if they had never been, stared down at him with murderous eyes.

“Why did you take off your clothes there?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Because of you, they suspect me!”

“…Suspect you of what?”

“That I beat you!”

“But it’s true, isn’t it? You said that was your way of teaching me.”

Leto blinked innocently, as though he couldn’t understand the problem.

Cowardly and timid as he was, he still said everything he thought. Sophien gave a bitter laugh.

Yes, she had raised him that way—but who would have thought it would come back to trap her?

“My way isn’t wrong. But others must never know.”

“Then I must have been wrong again… I won’t make that mistake again.”

Most seven-year-olds, curious, would ask “why?” when told such things.

But not Leto. He simply accepted everything she said as if it were the truth.

“Yes, young master. Everything I say is right. Never reveal anything in front of them.”

“I was wrong.”

Leto knelt down and begged earnestly before her.

Finally satisfied that he understood, Sophien smiled and stroked his hair.

Since suspicion was already on her, she couldn’t act as usual. She intended to let this pass for now.

But Sophien didn’t know—

The early education she had given Leto, in preparation for his future entry into the Duke’s household, now created contradictions for him.

Leto was sharper than most children. He absorbed knowledge quickly.

Because of this, he excelled beyond an average seven-year-old—and for the first time, began to sense that maybe not everything Sophien did was right.

Sophien is wrong.

It was as if Grace’s voice echoed in his ears.

But having grown up this way for so long, even if he noticed small contradictions, Leto couldn’t fully grasp them yet.

After that day, Sophien began providing material comforts for Leto.

The soft pajamas Grace had given him were thrown away, but at least he no longer wore the old, threadbare clothes.

Dressed now in fairly good-quality garments, Leto sat staring blankly out the window.

Though his clothes had changed, his daily routine remained the same. Most of his time was still spent reading.

Occasionally, when Sophien was in a good mood, he was allowed a short walk—that was the extent of his outings.

“Hm.”

Outside, he spotted Ribanu and Grace.

Leto thought their appearance strange, and it made him curious.

Ribanu was smiling constantly, as though something were making him very happy.

Why is he smiling?

And unlike him, Ribanu went for walks every day—something Leto only experienced at Sophien’s whim.

Ribanu seemed free, and Grace did not control him.

Why is he free? Over there, you’re not supposed to go that way.

Watching them, Leto realized: Grace and Sophien were complete opposites.

He didn’t yet know which was right. But for the first time, he felt envy.

“Knock, knock.”

Just then, a knock sounded, and Sophien entered.

As if he had never been looking outside, Leto quickly turned his head away and drew the curtains.

Sophien didn’t think much of it. Without hesitation, she snatched the book from his hands and asked:

“Have you finished today’s portion?”

“I have.”

“Recite it.”

Being illiterate, Sophien couldn’t teach him herself.

Nor, given her situation, could she hire a tutor. Instead, she forced Leto to memorize books cover to cover.

It was a crude method—but Leto excelled at it.

He rattled off the text without stumbling. Convinced he was destined for greatness, Sophien felt proud.

If she raised him into someone impressive and brought him before the Duke—what would the Duke’s reaction be?

Especially with Leto’s face, so strikingly similar to the Duke’s when he was young.

Though only a half-blood, surely the Duke’s heart would crumble at the sight of a son who resembled him so much.

“Hehe…”

Caught up in her grand fantasies, Sophien chuckled unconsciously.

But lately, Leto seemed to be growing interested in Grace and the young master she served.

That couldn’t be allowed.

She had been flustered before and told them to come whenever they wanted, just to prove she was right—but she hadn’t expected them to actually show up afterward.

“Sigh…”

Her earlier good mood vanished as she recalled that incident.

The maid who had failed to keep watch properly was whipped and dismissed.

Yet her anger had not been soothed.

She resolved to keep a closer eye from now on—making sure Grace could never come near Leto again.