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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Late afternoon.
A time when one might enjoy lunch.
The heavy thud of boots echoed through the hallway.
Thump, thump—
The servants, no doubt annoyed by the boot prints marring their freshly cleaned floors, silently averted their gazes and scurried out of the way.
It was him, after all. Someone they couldn’t afford to offend.
Duke Kyle Reinhardt strode down the hall.
“…Useless brats, always acting so recklessly…”
He muttered under his breath.
Even if he weren’t the Duke, the servants wouldn’t dare approach him. His expression screamed, “I’m in a foul mood.”
His already harsh features were contorted in a grimace, effectively repelling anyone who might consider approaching.
“Tsk, why now, after all this time…?”
Thump, thump—
His pace quickened. He was headed towards Jenison’s room. The room of the “scoundrel” son he’d ordered to act out.
The boy had surprised him by appearing at breakfast this morning, then dropped a bombshell by declaring his intention to leave the family.
“Leaving the family? What about the disgrace it will bring to our name?”
The Duke wasn’t going to stop Jenison. He didn’t value his son enough for that.
“I told him not to act so recklessly…”
But he wasn’t going to let him leave either. How dare he act so independently, without considering the consequences?
How dare he disregard the impact of his actions on the family’s reputation?
He should have stayed quietly in his room. Did he think leaving the family was so easy?
‘If that’s what he thinks… I’ll have to correct him.’
He would make sure Jenison understood that he would never escape the family.
The thought, chilling enough to make anyone shudder, didn’t even cause a flicker in the Duke’s expression. It was as if this was the most natural course of action.
Thump, thump—
He reached Jenison’s door and saw her, a girl with black hair, waiting for him.
“Father.”
“Aria, what are you doing here?”
“…To see Brother.”
That was all she said. She turned her head away, overcome by a sudden shyness, before he could question her further.
She might pretend otherwise, but she clearly cared about Jenison. They’d been close as children.
“Then why don’t you return to your own room?”
“What? Why…?”
“I believe we have the same objective, so there’s no need for both of us to be here.”
“B… But, wait—”
“Go back and prepare for your next lesson.”
Aria looked confused, but the Duke ignored her and sent her away. He simply wanted to eliminate any unforeseen variables.
‘I can’t risk him saying anything foolish to Aria…’
The Duke was a meticulous man, calculating every possible outcome, even accounting for the smallest of pebbles in his path. The concept of an “unforeseen variable” didn’t exist in his world.
‘First, I’ll make him retract his statement, then…’
…re-educate him.
The Duke, his emotions hidden behind his usual impassive mask, knocked on Jenison’s door.
“Who… Duke?!”
“…Who are you?”
It was a silver-haired maid who opened the door.
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“Gone? And you have no idea where he went?”
“N… No…”
“…You know what happens if you lie to me.”
“I… It’s true!!”
Jenison had left the mansion. No amount of questioning would change that fact.
As the Duke turned to summon his men, a loud crack echoed through the room.
Crack—
“…?!”
The floorboards beneath his feet gave way. Thanks to his exceptional balance and physical prowess, he avoided the embarrassing spectacle of falling in front of a servant. But the incident itself was irritating. It implied that his own mansion, a symbol of his family’s power, was falling apart.
“…What is the meaning of—”
“I… I apologize…!!”
“…This room hasn’t been maintained?”
“Y… Young Master forbade anyone from entering his room…”
So that’s why he’d been hearing things breaking every night.
‘Tsk, why would he act like a scoundrel for years, then suddenly change his tune today?’
“What about cleaning? How was the room cleaned?”
“Young Master only allowed me to enter, so I did all the…”
“…And yet you have no idea where he went?”
A flicker of killing intent, subtle yet potent enough to be lethal to an ordinary person, emanated from the Duke.
Ella trembled, her legs shaking so violently that she collapsed to her knees. She wrapped her arms around herself, as if chilled to the bone, all because of a single word from the Duke.
“Y… Yes! I… I really… I don’t…!”
She insisted she didn’t know, her small, fragile form resembling a frightened animal. Even the Duke, a man seemingly devoid of compassion, withdrew his killing intent and sighed.
Or perhaps he simply didn’t want to deal with a corpse in his mansion.
“…Then where are the servants who used to attend to him?”
He changed tactics. If she didn’t know, he’d ask someone who did. While Ella was the closest to Jenison, there might be others who knew something. Servants who had somehow managed to form a bond with the temperamental boy.
“…If you mean the servants who attended to Young Master… they’ve been dismissed. They’ve left the mansion…”
“…What?!”
A surge of killing intent, this time fueled not by annoyance, but by the realization that something had happened in his own house without his knowledge.
“Y… Young Master… He dismissed them all himself…!”
“…Ha, meticulous… though I don’t know when he started planning this…”
Jenison must have anticipated this, dismissing the servants beforehand, likely with generous severance pay. After all, despite his reputation as a scoundrel, he still received a monthly allowance befitting a member of their family.
He’d been completely outmaneuvered by the boy he thought he had under control.
‘Go ahead, do as you please. But the moment your actions tarnish the family’s honor…’
…I’ll tear you limb from limb and display your remains on the city walls.
He was no longer a member of their family. Not anymore.
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“…If you hear from him, report to me immediately.”
“Yes, Duke.”
“…Nothing goes right!!”
Slam!
The old door slammed shut, followed by a sigh. A sigh from the beautiful silver-haired woman.
“Phew… I think I got away with it.”
Ella finally relaxed, sinking onto the worn bed. She knew where Jenison had gone. He’d told her before leaving.
‘Hmph, after giving Young Master such an order, what do you expect?’
But she wouldn’t reveal his whereabouts. She disliked the Duke as much as Jenison did.
“Right! I should start looking for a new job.”
She had to follow Young Master, her other family.
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“…Brother… left?”
After the Duke slammed the door and returned to his room, a head of black hair emerged from the shadows. Ruby-red eyes glinted in the dim light.
“…I have to find him.”
Tap, tap, tap—
Another set of footsteps echoed down the hallway.
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After leaving the mansion, I headed straight for the academy. I needed a place to stay, at least for now.
‘Once I’m back at the academy, the first thing I need to do is…’
Lost in thought, I arrived at the Headmaster’s office. A large, wooden door with a silver handle.
I opened the door and stepped inside. Stacks of documents littered the room. A large desk sat before a window. Sofas and a table occupied the center of the room. And a woman was diligently organizing the paperwork.
The women I’d encountered in this life – Aria, Lianna, Ella – were all strikingly beautiful. But the woman before me was equally stunning.
Platinum blonde hair, unlike Aria’s black locks, framed her face. She had a slender figure, with curves that hinted at a voluptuous form. A black suit accentuated her beauty. And finally, her power: a 9th-circle mage, one of only five in the empire. She was the perfect embodiment of beauty and strength.
She noticed me and rose from her seat, pushing aside the documents, then walked over and sat on one of the sofas.
“Please, have a seat. You seem to have something to discuss.”
I sat down silently on the sofa opposite her.
She took a sip from a teacup that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, then spoke.
“What can I do for you, Cadet Jenison?”
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