LMHS 20

Chapter 20

“Ah, I don’t want to work.”
Her long, golden hair flowed down to her waist.
Beneath her long eyelashes, her clear, ocean-like blue eyes looked bored as she folded a piece of paper into a paper airplane and sent it flying across the room.

Viviana Pappiopé Dillum.
The Duchess Pappiopé, known as the “Cheerful Mad Dog.”
Her nickname came from her personality—once she decided she wanted to do something, no matter how absurd, she would see it through to the end.

She had climbed to the position of Duchess by eliminating both the senior members and collateral branches of her family. She had declared that she would adopt an heir rather than bear children herself. And in everything she did, there was always noise and commotion following her.

Perhaps it was because she always brought a storm wherever she went.
After adopting her first child as she had declared, her daily life had become unusually quiet—and painfully boring.

“I wish something interesting would happen.”

As if sensing the Duchess’s desire, someone knocked at the door of her office.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Her assistant entered the office and hurriedly delivered the news.

“Your Grace, there’s a child at the Pappiopé Talent Academy who has shattered all previous records.”
“Really? That’s excellent news—so a talented individual has appeared.”
“Moreover, this child’s ability is said to be ‘Precognition.’”

At last, the Duchess’s cold, emotionless gaze shifted to one of keen interest.

“Oh! That’s an ability worth running after in excitement! Investing in the Talent Academy was worth it after all. I stayed put, and fortune walked right to me.”

Leaning back comfortably in her chair, the Duchess’s eyes sparkled.

“Wow, with precognition, could I turn my life around too?”
“You’d still be living the same life, I imagine.”
“What?”
“Well, Your Grace, you already have more money than you could ever spend.”
“You! Even I have dreams. I’d like to try a life-changing adventure.”
“If you attempt it here, you’d end up in the gutter.”
“That’s harsh.”
“I’ll amend my words.”

Her assistant quickly moved on to the main point.

“Anyway, ‘Precognition’ is such a valuable ability that if other families learn that the ability-holder is under our care…”
“They’ll be desperate to snatch the child away,” the Duchess finished coolly.

A tense silence filled the office, as if someone had poured ice water over them.
Both of them briefly pondered how to make the child completely and solely theirs.

The assistant broke the silence first.

“Your Grace, I would like to suggest an exception this time: adopting the child immediately.”
“No. We cannot make an exception to the noble adoption competition.”

The Duchess rejected the suggestion decisively, as soon as it was offered.

“It would be disrespectful both to my firstborn Lucian, who became my child through the proper adoption process, and to the staff of the Talent Academy.”
“…Since when did you care about such things?”
“Ha! If it’s about this, then it is something I care about. Enough talk.”
“I’ll amend my words.”

Seeing her assistant back down quickly again, the Duchess clicked her tongue and added another reason.

“Above all, the criticism that would fall on a child adopted via a shortcut would be considerable.”
“However, if we leave it as it is, other families might snatch the child away.”

The Duchess narrowed her eyes in disgust at the mere thought.
She couldn’t bear the idea of a child she had welcomed into her house being taken by another family.

“One month from now, hold the second adoption competition. Notify the Talent Academy.”
“What? Your Grace, but that won’t solve the problem. If another child wins…”
“If this child is truly exceptional enough to warrant an exception, they will confidently win the adoption competition too.”

The assistant exhaled deeply from his core.
He knew well that when his lord made a decision, no argument could sway her.

“…Understood. I’ll prepare so that the adoption competition can proceed in one month.”
“Good.”
“I’ll leave the child’s file here. Please review it when you have the time.”

After giving a brief bow, the assistant left the office.

Alone, the Duchess idly flipped through the documents he had left behind.

Tania… such a young age, yet her achievements are extraordinarily impressive.

Could she even determine test answers through her precognition ability?
Curious though she was, it didn’t matter. If she had indeed found the answers via her ability, that itself was a skill.

Ironically, what caught the Duchess’s eye the most wasn’t Tania’s grades or scores.
It was the fact that Tania had saved all the rabbits in a dilemma problem. The Duchess’s lips twisted in amusement.

“…Well, well, look at this.”

In a situation where one must sacrifice either a pregnant rabbit or five old and sick rabbits, Tania had found another path entirely.

The Duchess’s eyes sparkled with delight.

“Yes, to become my child, you must show such unexpectedness.”

✦ ✦ ✦

I asked the director for permission to postpone my admission and then bid farewell to Rosemary and Raspi before heading home.

“Eat something delicious and take care of yourself.”
Sniff “Hero, you’ll really come back, won’t you?”
“Yes. I’ll get permission from uncle and return soon.”

Rosemary wiped away tears, worried I might never return.
The twin siblings looked determined, their expressions resolute.

“Until the Hero returns, we’ll secure our place here. We won’t let any of the Talent Academy kids even think of challenging you!”
“We’ll prepare so that you can live comfortably, no matter when you return.”

…It felt like I’d become some kind of organization boss.
But knowing they were acting out of gratitude, I laughed it off.

Well, I had intended to brush it off—if not for Raspi’s next words.

“Tania.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you again for saving us. If it’s your command, I can even kill someone.”
“…Could you just focus on adapting here instead?”
“No. If it’s not killing, I don’t want to do it.”

Crazy.
Was this kid naturally dangerous? What to do with him? Countless thoughts crossed my mind.
I realized, however, that his mouth had curved into a faint smile—a relief after seeing him always so serious.

“Hahaha, that’s a pretty intense joke.”

If it were anyone else, I would have taken it as a joke.
But coming from someone who had killed countless Empire citizens, it sounded terrifyingly sincere.

“You should never joke again. You have no talent for it.”
“But I was serious when I said I could kill at your command.”

“…What?”

Before I could react, Raspi, smiling brightly for the first time since we met, pressed his lips to the back of my hand like before.

“Go well. We’ll be waiting here.”

Seeing both an angel and a demon in his face, I calmly waved to the twins and left the Talent Academy.

“When I’m at the Talent Academy, I’ll have to keep an eye on Raspi so he doesn’t go astray.”

I still couldn’t tell whether he had great potential or dangerous tendencies.

“…Well, at least everything ended well.”

Leaving the twins at the Talent Academy eased my mind.
Competition was constant there, but at least they didn’t have to worry about food, shelter, or clothing.

It had been a busy day—rescuing Rosemary at the underground auction, taking the Talent Academy exam.
With all the abilities I’d used, it felt like I’d experienced more than 24 hours in a single day.

After a long walk, I finally arrived at my empty home.
Food from the neighbor lady was left at my door.
Peeking into the basket, a delicious aroma wafted up—cold meat stew.

It seemed my uncle had paid well for her daily attention to meals.
Humming a tune, I carried the basket inside.

“Hehe, looks delicious…”

“Where have you been, wandering around at this hour instead of coming home?”

At the low, familiar voice I shouldn’t have heard, I froze stiff as stone.