HPIM 06

A blatant sneer spread across his face as he thumped the floor loudly, making it clear how displeased he was with such a misunderstanding. Esteban let out a disbelieving laugh.

“You’re pretty bold, aren’t you? Anyone would think this is your room, not mine.”

“……”

“But the door was definitely closed—so how did you even get in…?”

As if struck by a thought, Esteban’s gaze shifted behind me.

Unable to believe what he was seeing, he strode over to the door, only to discover the small auxiliary entrance cut into the bottom of it. His face twisted in irritation.

“Who gave permission to mess with someone else’s door—”

“……”

“Why not just tear the whole thing off while you’re at it?”

Even though I hadn’t done it, Esteban mocked me anyway. I tilted my head as if to say it wasn’t my fault.

My nonchalant attitude clearly annoyed him, as his expression darkened.

And seeing that expression, a strange sense of satisfaction welled up deep inside me.

‘Looking at this… maybe I really am a bit of a pervert?’

Esteban frowned at my sly grin. Just as he ran a hand down his face in disbelief, a knock sounded.

After receiving permission, Rendel entered the room and, seeing the two of us sitting face-to-face, smiled with satisfaction.

“It seems the two of you have grown quite close.”

“Whose wish is that?”

“Everyone’s.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but that’s not a wish I intend to grant.”

Brushing off his pants as he stood, Esteban jerked his chin toward me.

“Take her out of my room. Ellen will be here soon.”

Ellen?

It was a name I’d never heard before, so I looked at Rendel for an explanation.

Sensing my gaze, he spoke kindly.

“Sir Ellen is one of the most skilled mana users in Aidelio. He teaches Young Master Esteban how to control mana so he won’t lose control.”

Oh, like a mana tutor?

Well, it made sense—they wouldn’t rely solely on me back in Winchester.

‘If he’s good enough to be hired as a teacher there… maybe he could help me too?’

I wasn’t very good at handling mana either, which was why I couldn’t fully transform into a human yet. My eyes lit up as I looked at Rendel.

Seeing me suddenly stare at him so intensely, Rendel hesitated.

“Are you… hungry, perhaps?”

“Pfft—?”

‘No, that’s not it! I want to ask if I can learn from Ellen too!’

“I’ll have Rani prepare some fruit and bring it to your room—”

“Pyaaak!”

‘No, that’s not necessary—well, actually, it wouldn’t hurt…’

“What are you two doing?”

“I apologize, Young Master. It seems the young lady has something she wishes to say to me…”

“Enough. Both of you, get out of my room. I’m going to rest and then attend my lesson.”

At his words, Rendel seemed to remember why he had come in the first place.

“Actually, that’s why I came. Sir Ellen said something came up at home, so he’d like to change today’s lesson time.”

“Something came up?”

“Yes.”

At that, Esteban’s lips twisted.

“After trying to teach me a few times, he’s probably too scared and wants to run away.”

“W-what? That’s not true! You know Sir Ellen has an ill mother, don’t you?”

“That’s as good an excuse as any. Every teacher who’s run away from this job has done the same. First they change the lesson time, then they just stop showing up.”

“Y-Young Master…”

“No need for me to spell it out. You should know better than anyone.”

From their conversation, it seemed every teacher who had agreed to teach Esteban—tempted by the high pay—ended up fleeing once they realized the sheer scale of his mana.

‘If they slip up even a little, they’d be swept into a mana rampage and die. Of course they’d be scared.’

Once mana started to spiral out of control, no one else could stop it.

The important thing was that even young Esteban already knew why his teachers kept running away—that they feared his uncontrollable power.

It likely explained his distrust of people as well.

After hesitating briefly, Rendel spoke more firmly.

“Sir Ellen is not someone who lacks responsibility. You can trust him, Young Master.”

“……”

“And he didn’t say he’d quit—only that he wanted to move the lesson to around three this afternoon.”

At the mention of a specific time, Esteban’s expression softened slightly.

Just moments ago, his face had been stormy, but now it was easing again.

He really is still just a kid.

Feeling somewhat reassured, Rendel glanced at me sitting on the floor before speaking again.

“Since you have some free time, why not show Miss Foblian around the estate, Young Master?”

The moment he suggested it, Esteban’s expression darkened again, as if thunder might strike.

“How did the conversation jump to that?”

“Miss Foblian came all the way here—from Aniple, where the Fenecga resides, to the capital, Peyfren—for your sake.”

“Be precise, Rendel. She didn’t come just for me. She came for Bluebell.”

Rendel frowned slightly at his curt tone but replied gently.

“No matter how valuable Bluebell is, children as young as she is don’t wish to be separated from their parents. Especially not to come to a place where someone dislikes them.”

“What do you mean?”

“The maid assigned to her mentioned that Cook served her spoiled meat for breakfast this morning.”

I hadn’t expected that to come up and glanced nervously between the two.

Rendel, still serious, continued.

“Of course, Bluebell is important to both Miss and Fenecga. But I don’t believe that’s the only reason she had to come here, especially when she cannot yet properly transform into a human.”

That part was true.

If Ariel had come instead of me, our family would’ve been wiped out—and I would have died too.

‘Of course, I’m not going to say that.’

But I didn’t deny it either. Taking my silence as agreement, Rendel spoke more confidently.

“And as you can see, with such a small body, it’s difficult for her to even protect herself.”

He looked at me, as if asking for confirmation.

But remembering how I had driven off Cook earlier with Aria’s help, I felt a pang of guilt and avoided his gaze.

Caught off guard by my reaction, Rendel hesitated—just as Esteban crossed his arms and smirked.

“Did you know this, Rendel?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“That little fox who can’t fully transform? She has my mother backing her.”

“What?”

Rendel looked at me in shock, but I pretended not to notice.

Esteban smiled faintly.

“I thought something was off.”

“……”

“That sly Cook wouldn’t have acted without securing an escape route. Since he couldn’t, someone must have exposed him.”

“……”

“It couldn’t have been a mere maid reporting the head cook… so it must’ve been you.”

Hey—calling me a ‘culprit’ is a bit much…

“Why don’t you tell me too? How did a fox that can’t even speak manage to report it to my mother?”

“……”

“I’d like to learn.”

“Pip-pip!”

‘What do you mean how?! I did exactly what you did earlier—told Lady Aria you were bullying me!’

I thumped my tail against the floor in protest, but Esteban only sneered.

Rendel, who hadn’t expected me to handle things myself, looked utterly stunned.

“That… I see. As expected, very clever! After all, the best kind of friendship is one where you can learn from each other—”

“That’s enough, Rendel.”

“…My apologies.”

With a sigh, Esteban turned his gaze to me.

After staring for a long moment, he wordlessly left the room.

Seeing Rendel awkwardly rub his face, I figured my staying would only make things worse, so I followed Esteban out.

Standing by the door, he spoke bluntly.

“You’re late.”

Late for what?

“I’m not going to kindly explain what everything is. Just look around and figure it out yourself.”

“……”

“You’re smart, aren’t you?”

Seeing him mock me using Rendel’s earlier words made me want to bite his finger.

But unlike before, his pace had slowed slightly—as if matching mine.

So I decided to let it slide this once.

‘He’s kind of cute after all…’

“Your legs are really short.”

Nope.

I’m definitely biting him.