Chapter 8

Even in the middle of normal conversation, he always does things like this.

Forcibly twisting mana circuits means taking my shinbone, grinding it down to fit on my ribs, then stretching and shaping my ribs to jam them into my shinbone.

In other words, it’s completely insane nonsense.

Ugh, gives me chills. Who twists mana circuits just because someone doesn’t like their unique magic?

-It’s a joke. You know that, right? Cente is making a fuss again. Your brother’s going to work now, okay? Ari, don’t get hurt. Contact me if anything happens?

“Yeah. You too, brother.”

When the communication orb disconnected, I relaxed. Reyn is really a good brother to me, but I can never let my guard down because I never know where he might go off the rails.

After talking with Reyn, I lay down briefly to catch up on my lack of sleep, and it quickly became lunchtime. Caught by Sier who barged into my room saying let’s eat lunch, I headed to the garden.

As we walked toward the table that had been moved under the large tree, Sier asked.

“What did brother say?”

“It was Cente who contacted us.”

“Ah… brother’s aide?”

“Yeah. While brother was working…”

After hearing my full explanation, Sier put his index finger to his temple and spun it around, then made a knowing expression and looked disgusted.

Maybe because he’s the younger brother, Reyn particularly liked to play pranks on Sier.

When he stayed at the mansion for a while, he really would prank Sier constantly, to the point where Sier once ran around hiding from Reyn for a while.

“So when is he coming?”

“Brother said he can’t come for a while.”

“Really?!”

How much torment did he endure to jump with such joy at hearing he can’t come?

Oh dear… I looked at Sier with pitying eyes.

Sier didn’t seem to realize yet that the longer Reyn stayed away from the mansion, the more intense his pranks became when he returned.

The pranks would only end when Sier grew tall enough to be similar in build to Reyn. It was the same in my past life.

“Brother?”

“Yeah?”

“That story you were having with Mom earlier. Tell me too. I’m curious.”

“Oh, that? It wasn’t much.”

“If it’s not much, then tell me!”

“Mom seemed to know that kid.”

What does that mean? How could Mom know him when she hasn’t even seen him?

Mom definitely reacted strangely when I mentioned reddish-black eyes.

Are such eyes common? No. Most citizens of the Ratarta Empire have light-colored eyes.

Could it be familiar eye color…? Did our family have dealings with the Chervan Grand Ducal family?

“Didn’t she say anything else? Is she going to keep him there? He was so thin. If we bring him, we’d need to feed him a lot more. How old is he? 10?”

“He’s probably only one year younger than you.”

“What? How do you know that?”

I don’t even know Kallius’s age myself.

Just as I was about to interrogate Sier, I heard a short scream nearby. The sound of teacups breaking followed, as if a maid had dropped the tray she was carrying.

And this familiar sound coming from far away is…

“…A dog?”

A dog?

When I listened carefully, I really could hear barking. And it was very familiar…

“Oh my! What’s this puppy doing here!”

The maids reached out to catch the puppy running around, but the puppy nimbly ran about, dodging all their hands.

This time, the puppy came running toward me with both ears flapping. Seeing this, I jumped up from my seat and stretched out both arms toward the puppy running at me.

“Come here! Good boy!”

When I stretched out my arms, I felt the body temperature of the puppy that nestled in my embrace. A happy scream burst out involuntarily.

“What? What’s with the puppy?”

“It’s the puppy I met yesterday! How did it get in here?”

Is there some dog hole somewhere?

I was petting the soft fur with both hands when I hugged the puppy and approached Sier. The moment he made eye contact with the pure white, cute puppy, Sier’s face melted into a goofy expression.

Dogs are indeed right. How could anyone ignore this cuteness?

That’s when it happened. Sier, who had been carefully petting the puppy with me, suddenly glared somewhere with sharp eyes.

“Who’s there?”

Sier’s coldly subdued voice was unfamiliar. I followed Sier’s gaze toward where the large tree was.

“Brother?”

“Come out. If you don’t want to die.”

Sier blocked my front while keeping watch ahead. I was holding my breath while hugging the puppy behind Sier when the puppy suddenly whimpered and struggled.

Thinking it wanted to get down, I put the puppy on the ground, and it quickly ran toward the tree Sier had been watching.

“Huh?”

Before I could stop it, the puppy that had darted away like a shot was whimpering and dragging something out from behind the tree.

“…Go away.”

A young boy’s voice came from behind the tree.

‘Wait a minute. If it’s a boy with that puppy, could it be…?’

“Kalif? Is that you?”

“Ari, do you know him?”

“It’s the kid I talked about with Mom. The one I saw by the lake.”

“What?”

Looking at Kallius struggling with the puppy, I slowly stepped forward. He was still in the same mess as before.

Cruel massacrer, mad dark mage, demon Grand Duke who would destroy the empire.

These were the epithets that would be attached to that child in the future. They were too heavy and terrifying labels to attach to that grubby little kid.

“Kalif! Do you remember me?”

“…”

“How did you get in here? Is it okay if I come closer?”

As I slowly approached Kallius, I heard Sier trying to stop me from behind.

“Miss!! Young master!!”

Hearing the maids’ screams, knights came running belatedly. Startled by the appearance of the burly knights, Kallius picked up the puppy beside him.

Perhaps because of the sword-bearing knights, Kallius’s wariness seemed to spike to maximum levels.

I waved my hands to chase away the knights.

“Don’t come closer! Go away!”

“M-miss?”

“Go away. Go away. You’re scaring the kid!”

When did they hear the maids’ screams, and what’s the point of being alert now?

I got chills thinking what would have happened if it hadn’t been the puppy and Kallius who had intruded.

“Stand down. Which unit are you from?”

“W-we’re from the 3rd Knight Order.”

“Did you get lax because this is a villa? A kid that small got right up to the mansion’s front door and you couldn’t even notice?”

“We’re sorry!!”

“Move aside. I’ll decide on punishment later.”

At Sier’s cold words, the knights broke out in cold sweat and withdrew. How did he really get in?

“Kalif!”

“…What.”

“How did you get in here?”

I approached Kallius and asked while petting the puppy in his arms. His eyes, which had been sharp and trembling with tension, had somehow become calm.

“He…”

“The puppy?”

“Kept pulling me.”

It seemed the puppy had led Kallius here.

“I followed him. There was a hole.”

“A hole?”

“Under the wall.”

So he came in through a dog hole…?

“Pfft!”

Laughter burst out before I could stop it.

[Breaking News! The worst dark mage in history and cruel massacrer, Iron-blooded Grand Duke Chervan Kallius! Claims to have once crawled through dog holes…!]

I could just imagine such a news article.

“Don’t laugh.”

“So that’s how you got all covered in dirt?”

I carefully reached out and brushed the dirt from Kallius’s hair. Glancing at Kallius, he didn’t seem to dislike it.

When I first met him, he was like a wildcat.

I was brushing off the remaining dirt from Kallius’s body when I heard someone gasp behind me.

When I turned around, Mom was there covering her mouth with one hand, looking at me with a shocked face—or more precisely, at Kallius’s face.

“Eve…?”

“Mom?”

Mom stared at Kallius’s face with a hardened expression.

“Everyone step back.”

Sier, who had dismissed the surrounding maids, supported Mom who looked like she might collapse.

“You’re… alive? No, no. That can’t be. But…”

Sier seated Mom, who was swaying and couldn’t properly support herself, in a chair. I gently grasped Kallius’s sleeve and led him to the table.

“Mom! Are you okay?”

Mom, who had gulped down the cold tea, carefully looked at Kallius. Mom seemed to be trying to hide her agitation while clasping her finely trembling hands together.

“…I’m fine. I was just a little surprised. Everyone sit down.”

Her reaction wasn’t normal even during the meal—what on earth made her so shocked?

I grasped the sleeve of Kallius who was standing stiffly and said.

“Let’s sit. Okay? Your legs hurt, don’t they.”

Kallius, who had been hesitating while looking at me, sat in the chair. He seemed to have been tense since earlier, so I pulled my chair right next to Kallius and sat close to him.

“I am… called Algenfrina Rachel. I’m the Algenfrina Duchess.”

Mom tried to speak while struggling to steady her breathing, but she couldn’t suppress the tears mixed in her voice.

I tried hard to understand what was happening in this situation. I couldn’t understand why Mom was suddenly introducing herself to Kallius.

Mom definitely knows Chervan Kallius. And she was shocked to the point of breathlessness that Kallius was alive.

This is a bit unsettling. How does Mom know Kallius?