🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 1
The grand corridor leading to the study.Tap, tap, tap. The hurried, squirrel-like footsteps suddenly came to a halt.
Lilia glanced at her reflection in a transparent crystal statue. She looked like a tiny toddler, no more than five years old.
A round, four-head-tall body with chubby arms and legs and a protruding baby belly. Cheeks as white and soft as marshmallows. Hands as small as maple leaves. Feet so petite that even the smallest shoes kept slipping off.
“I really am just too small.”
Every time she saw this body, she was still startled by how tiny it was. Except for unusually slow growth, she was actually seven years old this year, believe it or not.
“Just when am I going to grow up?”
The saying that kids grow up in the blink of an eye was strictly something said from the perspective of fully grown adults.
Today was the day of the decisive battle.
To rat out the garbage-like deeds her uncles had committed to her grandfather, she had gathered as much evidence as her abilities allowed. It had taken her more than half a year just to compile the data.
Even so, it was true that she was quite nervous and worried.
Speaking of her grandfather— He was the Iron-Blood Duke, a man who wouldn’t bleed a single drop even if stabbed. A legendary archmage with the power to wipe out half the empire’s population with a flick of his finger. Not content with single-handedly building a magic family into the richest house in the empire, he was a natural-born businessman who struck gold in every venture he touched, from mines and shipping to magical railways.
The current head of Robert, a house boasting a thousand-year history. Vladimir von Robert.
…Would a grandfather like that believe my words?
When Lilia tilted her head, her fluffy, soft pink hair swayed gently.
No. I can do this, Lilia.
Clenching her tiny chestnut-sized fists and opening her large, greenish-yellow eyes wide, Lilia resolved herself.
It would be difficult, but if she could just win her grandfather’s backing, the path ahead would be as smooth as a superhighway. Above all, because Lilia possessed “that ability,” she was going to capture her grandfather’s heart no matter what.
Right as she made up her mind, a man with a gloomy expression appeared before her eyes.
Long, draped black hair and glowing red eyes. The eldest son among her grandfather’s trash of children, Osdell. And one of the final targets Lilia had to oust. He was a person of interest who would go on to turn Robert into a notorious villain household, committing all sorts of vicious deeds without hesitation.
“…Don’t go wandering around. This is no place for a kid like you.”
His low, chilling voice alone was enough to instill a sense of dread in anyone who heard it.
“I only came here because I have business to take care of.”
Lilia spoke while clutching the hem of her dress.
“You and your ‘business.’ The study where the Lord resides is a place only for direct adults. Well, a child who has lost her fear needs to be taught what that means.”
Osdell smiled at Lilia in a way that made her skin crawl. As his finger twitched, black shadows crawled out and slithered along the wall.
Osdell excelled in darkness-attribute magic, particularly shadow manipulation.
The shadow gradually grew in pitch-black bulk and began approaching Lilia.Swoosh!
“W-What is this all of a sudden? Eek! Somebody help—!”
“Hush.”
Stepping right up to her, Osdell stroked Lilia’s head with a gloved hand. “You mustn’t make a fuss.”
Sending chills down her spine, Lilia stepped backward and thought to herself.
Attack magic is prohibited within the main estate, but since nobody is coming, he must have cast a barrier around the area.
Still, isn’t this a bit much for a kid?
Then again, Osdell was the kind of figure who would ruthlessly exploit even young children. On top of that, he openly detested and envied Lilia’s father, Classid, the youngest son. That was why he treated Lilia with such casual cruelty.
After all, as the eldest, his magic had once been weaker than Classid’s.
Meanwhile, the shadow—which had started out human-sized—had swelled to the point where it completely blocked the hallway.
An angry pair of eyes and a mouth had formed on the shadow, gaping wide open toward Lilia.
…Wasn’t he just trying to scare me?
Grrr…
If things kept going like this, it felt like she was about to be swallowed whole by the looming shadow monster radiating immense pressure.
No.
Lilia took stealthy steps backward. At that moment, feeling something twitching inside her chest, she grabbed it and collapsed flat onto the floor.
“Ah… Please stop. I-I can’t breathe…!”
Now that she thought about it, the surrounding mana had been stiflingly thick for a while now.
Clicking his tongue as he looked down at Lilia, Osdell twitched the corner of his mouth and muttered.
“Lilia, do you now clearly understand what happens when you act insolently toward adults?”
At that moment, the sound of footsteps and a presence could be heard from the other end of the corridor. It was likely the adjutant guarding the study.
“…Damn it!”
Whoosh!
Frowning, Osdell instantly withdrew both the shadow and the barrier, disappearing with a snap via teleportation.
Once Osdell vanished, Lilia brushed herself off, sat up, and looked down at her chest.
…Ah, I thought I was going to die of tickling. Was my acting pretty decent?
“Pip-pi-it.”
With a squeak, a small, white, fluffy ball of fur poked its head out of Lilia’s dress pocket.
With tiny black eyes, a nose, a mouth, and even whiskers, this little critter was the key spirit contracted to Lilia.
It was gripping a golden key tightly in its mouth. It probably meant she should use this to fight Osdell.
“Pip-pi-ik!”
“It’s not time yet.”
Shaking her head, Lilia gently stroked the ferret’s fur.
…Pip.
Seeming disappointed, the creature tucked the key away and burrowed right back inside the pocket.
Its temper was a bit foul, and it couldn’t speak human words yet, but it was a plucky little thing that guarded its key well.
Anyone of the Robert bloodline was born with mana and manifested magic before turning seven.
Though the circumstances under which she contracted with the key spirit were a separate story.
Tap, tap, tap!
One of the Duke’s adjutants approached and asked.
“Lady Lilia? What are you doing here?”
“Ah, I lost my way to the study. I have something to deliver to Grandfather.”
“I see. Please come this way first.”
As the adjutant guided her, Lilia trotted closely behind him. Walking diligently down to the end of the corridor with her short legs, she finally reached the massive door of the Lord’s study.
“If this is something for the Lord…”
“Ah, wait a second.”
Rummaging through the backpack slung over her shoulders, Lilia pulled something out.
Then, she handed over a thick stack of documents she had meticulously prepared.
“I really want Grandfather to read this.”
“Robert’s precious funds are leaking away everywhere.”
Along with a note that read just like that.
A grandfather who cherished his family more than his life would surely meet with Lilia.
As expected, it wasn’t long before she was granted a private audience with the Grandfather.
Sitting behind the mahogany desk, the Duke wore a cool, expressionless face.
His impression was as cold as if carved from ice, with a towering physique like a mountain, blue-gray silver hair, and blood-red eyes as vivid as garnets.
Having essentially run into a lazy, seasoned beast of prey, all the strength drained right out of Lilia’s body.
Her tiny palms, tightly clutching the hem of her dress, naturally broke out in sweat.
“…Who on earth ordered you to investigate something like this?”
The Duke’s gaze, pointing at the thick bundle of documents, was as biting as a cutting wind.
“…W-Well, that is.”
Lilia swallowed hard before speaking.
It’s scary, but I mustn’t let him see that I’m afraid.
What her grandfather hated most was someone weak and cowardly.
Better to be shameless.
Suppressing her pounding heart, Lilia mustered her courage and replied.
“You’re going to need time to check whether the contents of those documents are true anyway, right? In the meantime, can I eat some snacks first while I wait for your answer, Grandfather?”
“…For something the size of a bean, you’ve got quite the gut.”
Narrowing his brow, the Duke spoke to the adjutant standing behind him.
“Bring something a child can eat.”
A short while later, the table in the Lord’s study was set with out-of-place foods: milk, savory butter cookies, and fresh cream cake. It was a scene that would never happen under normal circumstances.
Of course, what fit the atmosphere least of all was the little girl curled up on the sofa, dangling her legs back and forth.
He couldn’t help but suspect that his youngest son hadn’t given birth to a human child, but something else entirely.
A long time later, having verified the authenticity of the documents, the Duke of Robert was swept by a wave of anger so intense it made him feel dizzy.
“…Who is it!”
Crrack.
The armrest of the chair he was gripping was miserably mangled and crushed.
While everyone inside the quiet study froze, unable to stir an inch,
The Duke’s chilling red eyes narrowed as his roar echoed through the room.
“Which brainless piece of garbage on earth pulled off a stunt like this?”
If anyone was pointed out as the mastermind behind this incident, he wouldn’t let them off, whoever they were. He was a man of resolute character who would sever even his own flesh and blood if necessary.
He took step after step toward the young granddaughter who had exposed this affair.
“So, which of my four brainless bird-brained sons dared to soil the name of Robert like this, huh?”
Raising three stubby fingers right next to the Duke’s ear, Lilia whispered.
“Three of them.”
“……”
Watching Lilia reply so brightly, the Duke’s expression stiffened gravely before relaxing.
“Oh, wait, three counting from the top! Excluding my dad, Grandfather.”
You wouldn’t snitch on your own old man. Not with fuzz still on your head. Who’s trying to protect whom, I wonder. Anyway, you… are quite something.
At her grandfather’s narrowed gaze, Lilia could only offer a smile.
Because I have quite a few things I need to protect, Grandfather. After all, I happen to know the future of everyone in this household.
You see, it was a year ago that Lilia realized this world was from a book.
