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Chapter: 34
“Y-Yes…… Rosha.”
The good thing was that he was still listening to me fairly well.
First, I should treat those hands properly……
The shop tab of the system window came into view.
Back when it was Adrian, I had bought a mana glow orb there and given it to the child who was trapped in the dark.
As I opened the shop and scrolled down, something caught my eye.
[Bandage for Wounds]
A healing-magic adhesive bandage. The cute puppy pattern will comfort the wounded child’s heart. 10 coins.
……A puppy pattern. Such an unnecessary detail.
Anyway, after paying 10 coins, I took out the bandage and wrapped Nathaniel’s hands.
“L-Lady Rosha…?”
“Isn’t it amazing? It’s a secret technique of alchemy.”
The Utel family specialty!
If you say everything is alchemy, everyone believes it!
“How is it? Does it hurt less?”
Nathaniel nodded.
Now that he had calmed down and his face had grown pale again, he looked like a gentle little lamb.
“For today, just rest well.”
I gently patted his soft brown hair and left the room.
Outside the door, Lady Stuart was waiting anxiously.
“Nathaniel… how is he?”
“He’s much better. I told him to rest for now.”
“Thank goodness……”
Lady Stuart let out a relieved sigh.
Then she guided me to a lounge a short distance away from Nathaniel’s room.
“I’m so glad he’s calmed down.”
“……”
“Honestly… I don’t even remember the last time I saw Nathaniel smile happily.”
Thinking of her suffering child, Lady Stuart’s face darkened deeply.
To think such a sweet child was in pain every day—it was truly heartbreaking.
Come to think of it, even while reading The Sacrifice of the Thorned Golden Bird, I had wondered why someone as capable as Nathaniel had such low self-esteem.
Now it seemed likely that something from his childhood had changed him.
“Then… since when did Nathaniel start suffering like this?”
“Well……”
Lady Stuart’s expression clouded again.
“Actually… Nathaniel is very afraid of his cousin.”
She spoke as if bringing up something difficult.
“His cousin?”
When I asked, she shook her head and changed the subject, clearly unwilling to explain further.
“Anyway, thank you for coming today, Lady Utel. If it’s alright, could you visit often?”
“Of course.”
I would be coming here constantly if I wanted to clear this quest.
This was much easier than scamming Adrian with potions just to meet him.
“Thank you so much.”
Her face brightened, and she stood up to see me out.
As we walked down the hallway—
“Oh? Isn’t that Aunt?”
A rude, lazy voice came from the front.
It was so disrespectful that at first I didn’t even realize he was talking to Lady Stuart, the lady of the house.
While I stood frozen in disbelief, a boy stepped forward.
No—someone between a boy and a young man.
Brown hair mixed with streaks of blond.
His walk and expression were just as rude as his voice.
His face…… I’ll skip describing it.
If I said he looked anything like Nathaniel, that would be an insult to Nathaniel.
“What is this?” I said sharply.
“Do you know who this lady is? She’s the Chancellor’s wife and one of the heads of this household.”
“W-What……?”
“You should greet her properly.”
The rude boy looked startled for a moment, then smirked again.
“Hah, the lady of the Stuart family?”
“……?”
“That’s technically true. But what does a title mean when it’s just for show?”
I stared between him and Lady Stuart in shock.
Lady Stuart had gone pale, unable to respond.
What was strange was that even though many people were walking nearby, everyone pretended not to see what was happening.
This situation was clearly abnormal.
And the rude boy went even further.
“A son that useless… makes you wonder if he’s even really a Stuart.”
The moment I heard that, I understood.
This was all his doing.
Nathaniel’s broken self-esteem.
Lady Stuart’s helplessness.
Even my future death in that dream.
All of it.
But more than intuition, his words had just openly insulted Lady Stuart, Nathaniel, and the entire Stuart family.
“I’m the one who finds it strange.”
How could someone this rude walk proudly around this mansion?
“Who are you to speak so disrespectfully?”
“You don’t know who I am?”
“Well……”
He wasn’t in the original novel, and not even listed in the system registry.
How would I know some nobody?
“You’re not in the important character list I know.”
“W-What?!”
When I looked at him like he was something insignificant, he lost his composure.
He shouted angrily,
“That list of yours is slow! Just wait—soon the great Carlisle’s name will be on it!”
It won’t.
The novel is already finished, and anyone besides Lexia and the male leads is basically background air.
I shrugged and continued walking with Lady Stuart.
He muttered something behind us, but I ignored it.
Then suddenly, a memory flashed in my mind.
‘They say Nathaniel of the Stuart family is already being praised for his outstanding talent.’
‘……Nathaniel? Who is that? You must mean Carlisle.’
That had been Melisandra’s reaction when I mentioned the Stuart heir.
“So that man is Nathaniel’s cousin?”
“Yes, my lady.”
If that “Carlisle” she mentioned was that boy—
Then he was crushing Nathaniel’s confidence and stealing the position that should have been his.
I didn’t know what was happening in this household, but it wasn’t any better than what happened at the Bellas family.
Which meant the goal of this quest was probably—
To drive that Carlisle out of this family.
* * *
Between the Stuart estate and my home lay a busy district.
The carriage moved slowly through the crowded streets.
With the window open, lively scenery passed by.
In the distance, a tall, shining white magic tower caught my eye.
Come to think of it, the system administrator might be a mage from that tower.
Is the administrator there right now too?
As I stared absentmindedly—
“Catch him! That man right there!”
A loud shout rang out.
W-What?
Don’t tell me… a classic fantasy pickpocket scene?
“Um, could you stop the carriage?”
“Yes, miss.”
The coachman gently halted.
I turned quickly and saw a girl who looked two or three years older than me.
Her black hair was tangled like a scrub brush, and her clothes were torn.
She didn’t look like someone who would be a pickpocket’s victim at all.
Pointing frantically, she cried,
“That man tried to kill me in the alley!”
Blood ran from her nose, and scratches covered her pale skin beneath the ripped clothes.
This is serious!
In the direction she pointed, a suspicious-looking man was running away.
People hurried after him, but he slipped through shortcuts and escaped their reach.
And unfortunately—
He was now running straight toward my carriage.
“Move, damn it!”
He shouted.
Normally, I wouldn’t stand a chance.
But now, I had a weapon that erased strength, size, and distance.
I opened the window and slipped my hand into my bag.
Cold metal touched my palm.
—Ding!
At the same time, a system window flashed.
[SYSTEM: Starting ‘Alchemy Gun’ tutorial.]
[Adjusting tutorial to emergency situation.]
[Adjusting: 3, 2, 1……]
[SYSTEM: Adjustment complete.]
Several beeping windows disappeared at once.
And my vision turned gray.
‘……?!’
Then a voice echoed in my ears—the administrator’s.
“First, calm your breathing. Hold your breath when you pull the trigger.”
Instead of messages blocking my sight, it guided me by voice.
My breathing slowed unnaturally, as if someone else controlled it.
In the gray world, only the man running toward me was in full color.
The next moment, the gun fit perfectly into my hand.
I had never learned—but I knew instinctively.
This was the correct way to hold it.
