TL: Zimmings
It was the first defeat.
Another challenger then entered the ring. Henry approached Leblaine, who had started reading the book, and smiled.
âLeblaine.â
âYes?â
âShuheil will probably be busy with his father. Calling at this time when you are helping his father heal will feel more like coercion. If youâre kind, you wouldnât want Edgar Shuheil to come by force right?â
He said in an unbelievably friendly tone. Leblaine organize his thoughts before answering.
âItâs okay!â
ââ¦â¦What?â
âEven if you forced him, itâs fine.â
I canât be nice to everyone, so Iâll prioritize Linda first.
Heâs a very precious person to Linda.
Leblaine smiled brightly, and Henry quietly retreated.
It was the second defeat.
The next challenger was the Duke of Dubblede. He declared with a stern voice.
âThere are a lot of things going on in the mansion right now. So-â
âOh right!â
Leblaine, who clapped her hands, hugged her fatherâs neck.
âI forgot to greet you today. Good morning.â
ââ¦â¦Yes.â
âBut whatâs going on in the mansion?â
Theodore quickly said.
ââ¦â¦Itâs nothing.â
âYes!â
Another defeat.
Henry and Isaac, who were staring at the duke, jabbed at Johann om the side.
âAre we going to leave it like this?â
âDo something.â
He took a step forward at the passionate gaze of his two younger brothers.
âLittle sister.â
When Leblaine turned her head, Johann looked at her.
The servants, who were watching the situation from afar, waited nervously for the attack of the last challenger.
Johann slowly opened his mouth.
âItâs okay to play around for a while.â
ââ¦â¦Huh?â
At the pathetic remark, the faces of Henry and Isaac were severely distorted.
âThat crazyâ¦â
âIs he crazy? Why is you talking nonsense again!â
At that time, Leblaine said with an unhappy expression.
âI didnât play around!â
The butler rubbed his forehead. Then he felt the signs of the storm and whispered to the servants.
âBring him.â
In the case of an emergency in Dubblede, Chairman Noanoke, who always gave the right answer, was called.
***
I sat quietly in the chair, put my hands together, and glanced at the chairman.
âNo, I didnât know my brothers could talk nonsense with such a serious faceâ¦â
âWhy did you want to meet Lord Shuheil?â
Lindaâs personal history could not be easily shared, so the chairman shut his mouth.
âLady. From ship remodeling to temple monitoring, mercenary guild oversight, I forced myself to work with my old body. But whenever something happens, I need to go here and solve everything?â
ââ¦â¦.â
âYour ancestors never treated me like this!â
Seeing the chairman with a haggard face, I laughed awkwardly.
âPlease be patient, Iâll tell you later.â
âYou always use that word since a year ago.â
âAh, I forgot about Trigon.â
âWill the head of the imperial mage, who must be in the Imperial Palace every time, help you with your work?â
ââ¦No.â
I had no choice but to open my mouth.
âShould I only tell you?â
âWhen was the last time you shared your worries with someone else?â
âLinda has a son. But that son is Edgar Shuheil.â
ââ¦â¦!â
The pen fell from the chairmanâs hand.
â⦠His Excellency and the Master, didnât know?â
âIf they had known, it wouldnât be like this right?â
âI see⦠They donât know.â
âIâm very grateful to Linda. She is so precious to me that I want to let her meet her son. Itâs Lindaâs personal life, so I donât want to tell my family.â
â⦠You indeed owe Linda a lot.â
The chairman nodded and continued.
âOkay. This time, I will meet them and fix the situatiom. But, how are you going to get Storas back?â
âHuh?â
âIf the meria grass becomes the main ingredient for effective drugs, demand will skyrocket. It would be impossible to erase the traces of meria from the human world. Didnât you know that you gave it to Taylor? I knew it meant that you had no intention of granting Storasâ wishes.â
âLeave it to me. Oh, by the way, can you contact Dubbledeâs investigation team? Iâll ask Henry to help as well.â
As I laughed slyly, the chairman frowned.
âWhat other evil thoughts are you thinking? ⦠Alright then.â
The chairman raised his eyebrows and left.
âBy the way, are you getting a good nightâs sleep these days?â
âWhy?â
âJust go get a good nightâs sleep. Donât worry about it.â
Having said that, the chairman really left. I pouted and rubbed my face.
âHow did he know that I was not able to sleep well?â
The chairman was surprisingly quick-witted.
âIf I had a grandfather, wouldnât it be like him?â
Thinking like that, I inadvertently looked at the portraits of the ancestors on the wall and frowned.
âNot a bad grandfather like them. A good grandfather.â
I let out my tongue at the portrait and got up from the chair.
âCome on, letâs work. I wonât let the chairman die due to overwork!â
That afternoon, the chairman met the brothers. I donât know what he said but the faces of my brothers were bright the whole time throughout the dinner.
Isaac placed a large chunk of meat on my plate.
Then he said,
â⦠So what are you so proud of?â
Concentrating on eating the lamb, I asked him back, âHuh?â
Isaac coughed again and said.
âNo, why do you want to brag about us? Isnât it obvious that weâre better than Edgar?â
Then Henry patted Isaac and said,
âStop it. Leblaine is embarrassed.â
Have I ever felt embarrassed? Johann said, while chopping the meat that Isaac gave me.
âIf you want to hear about the academy, just ask us. You donât have to call him.â
Now I understand what the chairman had said.
He mustâve said something like âThe lady called him to brag about the young masters.â or âShe must have been curious about the academy.
I laughed awkwardly.
âYes. Iâm proud of you guys⦠I wonder how you guys are doing at the academy. Iâm going to the academy soon.â
âHuh, because you loved us so much, I really donât want to go back to the academy. Ah, this is burdensome.â
And then why do they keep smiling?
I rolled my eyes after seeing them. My father dipped the meat Johann had cut with a fork and offered it to me.
âMy graduation photo is in the library.â
ââ¦â¦.â
ââ¦Why.â
âNothing.â
I didnât know why other people said that my family was abnormal, but now that I see it, it may not be wrong at all.
For some reason, I felt ominous.
And that ominous feeling became a reality after a few days.
***
I touched my forehead when I heard a loud voice coming from the drawing room.
âI only asked him to invite Edgar Shuheil, so why!â
Some people in Isaac and Henryâs class were also invited.
All of them were young masters and ladies from powerful families, so it wasnât just a normal gathering.
âOh, Henry always hadba wise, sociable personality. Also, there are many people admired himâ¦â
âI, I, Isaac is in good spirits today! Oh, hello there. Lady, I usually get help from Isaac. Isaac is a friendly, caring friend, so he always buys bread for meâ¦!â
I looked at the academy students who were praising Henry and Isaac as if they had memorized those words from somewhere.
Isaac put his arm on the shoulder of the student who triumphantly praised him.
âI really do help a lot. Righ5?â
âO, of course!â
âHe saved me when I was caught by a wild boar in the last training session!â
âT, thatâs right! ⦠It would have been better if he didnât throw me in the boar cage⦠Oh no, I mean Isaac is a lifesaver!â
âYes, yes.â
I took a deep breath and gestured to Isaac.
âIsaac.â
âYes?â
âYou canât ask your friend to buy you bread. Itâs even worse to throw them into a boar cage.â
âHuh?â
âYou canât.â
âYesâ¦.â
As I stared at him fiercely, Isaac shook his head sullenly.
I told Isaacâs classmate, who spoke pitifully.
âIf he bothers you again, please contact me. My communication device code isâ¦â
Then, the studentâs expression brightened.
âYes! Lady! Code, codeâ¦memo paper!â
âMe too!â
âYes, Iâd like to contact you too!â
The classmates started looking for the memos, and the servants started running around with them frantically.
Among them was Linda, who accidentally dropped a wad of notes while handing them to a boy with red and a hint of violet hair.
âOh, Iâm sorryâ¦â
âItâs okay.â
Edgar, who was next to the boy, picked up the note and handed it to her. Linda and Edgarâs eyes met each other.
ââ¦â¦.â
âHere. Take it.â
Edgar speak to her, and Linda bit her lip.
Just then,
Krkrkr-!!
The mansion began to shake with a loud roar.
âWhat?!â
As I turned my head, I could see Storasâ body, floating in the air.
[I canât kill you, but I can make you suffer enough to die. Foolish child.]