TVBS 08

Episode 08

Without thinking, I flinched as well, my body taking half a step backward.

Shevert’s red eyes flickered viciously as they fixed on me.

Then, all of a sudden, he gave me a crooked smile.

“You’re an orphan with neither parents nor siblings, aren’t you?”

“…?”

“Ah, so that’s why you were admiring the pictures of my father and grandfather? Because you’ve never had anything like that yourself, right?”

“……!”

At first, I didn’t understand what Shevert was saying.

Then I realized what he was trying to do.

He was clearly saying those things just to poke at my wounds.

Marianne had been sent here as an orphan, after all.

But I wasn’t hurt in the slightest.

Not only was I not the real Marianne, I hadn’t been looking at the portrait because I was feeling sad in the first place.

Besides—

This guy’s grown in body, but his mind hasn’t caught up.

When I first saw Shevert, I had been so frightened that I trembled whenever he was around. But after meeting him several times, I realized there was no reason for me to be intimidated.

Shevert Kereis was currently seventeen.

If I wanted to put this not-quite-grown boy in his place, now was the perfect time.

Courage surged through me.

Got you now!

Perhaps because he was pleased by the irritated look on my face, Shevert chuckled and turned away.

I quickly checked my surroundings.

There was no one else around.

This was a godsend.

There had always been far too many eyes watching me until now, so this was perfect.

“There! Lord Shevert!”

I shouted with all the strength I could muster from my gut.

But Shevert didn’t care in the slightest. He simply turned around and continued on his way.

Even more annoyed, I sprinted after him with all my might.

“You disaster-spewing mouth! Stop right there!”

Then I raised both arms and shoved him squarely in the back.

Very, very hard.

“Waaaah! W-What the hell?!”

Caught completely off guard, Shevert fell forward and rolled across the floor before crashing into the wall.

Only then was he barely able to lift his head.

His body was well trained, so he wasn’t injured.

But for Shevert, this was an extremely humiliating and bewildering situation.

And, ugh—why did his nose suddenly start throbbing?

“My noooose… bloooood?”

Bright red blood was already running thickly down the area beneath his nose.

I planted myself firmly in front of his dazed face.

“As a general rule, anyone with a head on their shoulders should know how to use their mouth properly. From now on, I’d appreciate it if you’d mind your manners.”

“What, what? H-Head?! M-Mouth?!”

Seeing Shevert’s stunned expression, I gave him a sweet smile.

There was no one around anyway, so I could say even worse things.

I raised my hands, curling my fingers like hooks, and threatened him once more.

“So if you recklessly flap that mouth of yours one more time, next time you might get to experience blood flowing not just from your nose, but from every single hole in your body.”

I’m a former mage, after all.

I left him with that parting shot, gave a little “Hmph,” and turned away.

I thought I could hear Shevert laughing hysterically behind me.

It must be humiliating.

Hmph.

Behind one of the pillars in the rear garden connected to the reception room—

Two people had been secretly watching him.

“Tsk, tsk. What a pathetic fellow.”

“Lady Marianne wins.”

“……”

At the duke’s chilly gaze, Duvier quickly pursed his lips demurely.

But when the duke’s next words reached his ears, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“I seem to have brought home quite an excellent daughter-in-law.”

“Pfft.”

The duke scolded his butler with a look.

But he didn’t realize—

The corner of his own mouth had lifted slightly as well.

Shevert covered his head with both hands.

His blue hair swayed between his fingers.

Shevert was thinking.

He was really thinking.

“Mouth… head… nosebleed…!”

Those humiliating words continued to circle endlessly through his mind.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t forget them.

A nosebleed.

His first ever.

He hadn’t bled from the nose even when he’d spent days training deep in the mountains, nor even when he’d sparred against adults.

And yet he’d ended up bleeding because of some little brat.

Staring at the blood smeared across his hands, Shevert couldn’t quite believe what had happened.

“Since ancient times, those born with magical power have ruled the world. Thus, the Delve family came to serve as the backbone of the Empire—”

“AAAH! That’s enough already!”

At Shevert’s outburst, Butler Duvier put down the book he had been reading and adjusted his monocle.

“That really happened? The Delve family?”

“Yes. According to this book, that’s how it was. Of course, it happened several hundred years ago.”

Shevert regretted asking Duvier to read the book to him.

He remembered Marianne’s warning.

“Next time, you might get to experience blood flowing not just from your nose, but from every single hole in your body.”

Every hole in his body?

Blood flowing from every hole?

Shevert lowered his hands from his hair, rested his chin against his smooth jawline, and sighed.

“Haaah. Duvier.”

“Yes, Young Master?”

“I want to beat her. I want to beat that girl. I can do it, right?”

“……”

“Hey! Why aren’t you answering me?!”

“……”

Duvier silently held up the book containing the history of the magical families again.

Seeing it, Shevert messed up his hair and shouted.

“Why the hell did Father bring someone like that here?! Just what is she supposed to be?!”

She’s your fiancée, Young Master.

Unable to say the words aloud, Duvier simply continued reading his book.

After that clash of nerves, Shevert didn’t come looking for me or anything.

I’d expected him to seek revenge, so I was relieved.

However, according to what Britta told me—

“Young Master Shevert has apparently left for expedition training.”

Apparently, Shevert had become even more determined and was training harder than before.

For some reason, I had a feeling it was all because he wanted revenge on me, and a chill ran down my spine.

Ugh. I need to hurry up and develop my magical abilities so I can become stronger.

I sprawled out across the bed, and all the things that had happened recently came rushing back to me.

As for the magician issue, I’d already thrown the matter over to the duke, so all I could do was wait and see what happened.

And I still couldn’t remember where the second son was.

“Hmm…”

As I wrestled with my complicated thoughts, I also remembered what was perhaps my biggest concern of all—

Krimu.

Actually, I’d considered telling the duke about Krimu earlier, but decided against it.

I didn’t have a single piece of evidence that could really be called proof yet.

“But why is the duke so uninterested?”

After having breakfast with him several times and even speaking to him alone, I had begun to think that perhaps the duke genuinely knew nothing because he had absolutely no interest in his third son.

“No wonder I feel a little… sorry for Krimu.”

Anyone would feel pity seeing a four-year-old child in tears.

And I’d witnessed it more than once.

No matter how much of a mischievous little brat he was, I couldn’t help but worry about him a little.

“Yeah. What could a child possibly have done wrong? It’s all the adults’ fault.”

The duchess, who had died young.

A duke who seemed to have no feelings whatsoever toward his children.

It was an unbearably harsh environment for a four-year-old child who should have been happily playing with children his own age.

Once I’d started thinking about how pitiful Krimu was, my mind became completely occupied with that little boy.

To solve this problem, I first needed to find out why Krimu cried every night.

Through Britta, I was able to learn about the nanny’s daily schedule.

“But, Miss, may I ask why you’re curious about this?”

Seeing that Britta had a surprisingly sharp side to her, I gave her a suitable excuse.

“Shh!”

“Huh?”

“This is an order from the duke.”

“Oh.”

“So you have to keep it secret, understood?”

“Yes, Miss!”

A look of tension spread across Britta’s face, only to quickly turn into excitement.

…Why was she so excited?

Apparently, the thought of a secret mission had completely inflated the young maid’s curiosity.

In any case, what mattered was that I needed evidence.

And to get that evidence, I had to infiltrate enemy territory.

A few days later, Britta’s help proved invaluable when I secretly infiltrated Krimu’s room.

“Miss, just trust me!”

Britta was incredibly reliable.

She sent the guard knight outside on her own and told me when the nanny and Krimu would be out of the room.

I never knew the young maid had such talents.

I found myself seeing her in a whole new light.

“Thank you, Britta.”

While I hid behind a thick curtain, Britta even thoughtfully brought me some water.

Before leaving in a hurry, Britta spoke shyly, scrunching up the bridge of her nose.

“I’ve actually always wanted to do something like this. Hehe.”

I was happy that I’d given Britta a chance to show off her natural talents.

I should officially hire her as my assistant next time.

I was happily imagining what that might be like when—

A small noise disturbed the quiet room.

Then voices began to drift in.

It was Krimu and his nanny, returning after their meal.

I clasped my hands tightly and even held my breath, afraid that I might be discovered.

The four-year-old’s room was spacious.

Britta had told me it was divided into two separate spaces, so there was no reason for anyone to come all the way to this area where things were stored.

Even so, my heart was pounding wildly.

“Young Master, sit here.”

“Okay.”

I quietly listened to their faint voices.

Up to this point, it sounded like an ordinary conversation.

But the nanny’s next words were anything but ordinary.

“No. You need to kneel on the floor.”