At that moment, in the Marquisate of Lilys…
“That Calypse Duke… he has no eye for people! Of all the orphans he could have adopted, he chose that brat?!”
The Marquis of Lilys slammed his cup down, his voice seething with frustration.
“There are so many talented people among the collateral lines! Don’t you agree?”
“You’re absolutely right,” someone chimed in, eager to please.
“But isn’t it odd? If he really wanted to adopt, he should have taken in Tex from the start…”
“Hush, enough of that! Ahem!” Another person cleared his throat, signaling the speaker to be more careful.
Viscount Linkston blinked foolishly, belatedly realizing his mistake. “Ah, I suppose adopting an orphan is a bit embarrassing to announce publicly, after all.”
“Indeed. They’re likely counting on Tex to perform well in the successor trials. Hahaha!”
As the heads of the noble families echoed their sycophantic remarks, the Marquis of Lilys finally withdrew his sharp gaze, feeling somewhat mollified.
He had become increasingly sensitive lately.
His plan had left Tex as the only viable successor to the Kreutz Duchy, and the last desperate attempt by Calypse to adopt an orphan had been proven futile when it turned out the child had no abilities.
‘Then why do I still feel so uneasy?’
As his fingers tapped rhythmically, the image of the girl resurfaced in his mind.
A petite frame.
Chubby cheeks like freshly baked bread.
Those large, curious blue eyes.
And the pigtails that stuck up like arrows.
‘Aisha, was it?’
Yes.
Ever since meeting that little girl during a visit to the duke’s residence, something had been bothering him.
At first, he had thought it was simply because Calypse had ignored Tex and chosen to adopt another child.
But even after confirming the child was powerless, he couldn’t shake the unease.
‘You earned respect by protecting people with your ice powers.’
‘But you? You used your powers to threaten people. That’s why you have no right to be the successor.’
That child was different.
A five-year-old orphan should have been frightened in front of a noble, and maybe even a little slow-witted.
But she was far too sharp, so much so that she could have easily been mistaken for a true direct descendant of the Kreutz family.
‘Did he choose her because she wasn’t ordinary?’
And then there was the humiliation he still couldn’t forget.
‘While the Duke is away on the monster subjugation, the marquis enjoys his tea at the Duke’s castle. I’m sure the Duke would be thrilled to hear that.’
Her big blue eyes had peeked out from beside Knox’s legs, and though he had glared at her in shock, she hadn’t flinched. She spoke clearly, without the slightest hesitation.
‘That brat!’
The memory of the encounter made the marquis grind his teeth.
He had known about the monster subjugation timing, which was why he had visited the Duke’s estate, avoiding the terrifying Calypse.
But that little brat had dared to point out what everyone else knew but was too afraid to say aloud.
A mere orphan, lucky enough to climb the social ladder!
‘Did Calypse adopt her just because she’s got a sharp tongue?’
That seemed unlikely, but no matter how much he tried, Aisha continued to gnaw at his thoughts.
Finally, he gave voice to his concerns.
“Her name was Aisha, right? If Tex becomes the duke’s successor, she’ll likely give him a hard time.”
“A five-year-old orphan giving him a hard time? That’s ridiculous! She’s a nobody,” another person scoffed.
“She should be bending over backward to please Tex at this point,” someone added.
Sycophantic comments filled the air, but the marquis wasn’t listening.
“The problem is, she didn’t,” he muttered. “Do you know what that brat said to me?”
The people around him silently rolled their eyes, having heard the story at least ten times before.
Seeing an opportunity to redeem himself, Viscount Linkston spoke up again. “But no matter what that brat said, isn’t Tex the one with the ice powers?”
He clenched his fist.
“He’s the first from the collateral line, the hope of the collateral line. Our pride, our strength!”
“Exactly, sir. The hope of the collateral line.”
“Indeed. Honestly, all this fuss about killing a few monsters and guarding the ice wall… Calypse Duke has always been too dramatic about it. The collateral families have estates in the North too, you know.”
The others chimed in with their own comments, eager to impress.
Although their words dripped with flattery, in that moment, the heads of the noble families spoke with sincerity.
An ice user had emerged from the collateral line. That was monumental—it meant the towering wall separating the direct line from the collateral had been breached.
A wall as high as the heavens and the earth itself.
“Why don’t you show off Tex’s powers for us, now that we’re all here?” Viscount Linkston suggested, rubbing his hands together eagerly.
Unable to resist, the marquis smiled faintly and ordered his servant, “Bring Tex here.”
Showing off Tex’s abilities in front of others had become one of the marquis’s few pleasures lately.
Shortly after…
“Yaaawn. Why did you call for me, Father?”
Tex, hair disheveled like a bird’s nest, swaggered in and then froze when he saw the room full of noble heads.
“Ah… Hello, everyone.”
Tex had expected his father to just nag him as usual, but seeing all the gathered nobles made him quickly compose himself.
“Tex, show them your powers,” his father commanded.
“What?”
Smiling, the marquis gestured for him to go on. “Come on. Our guests are waiting.”
Tex, understanding his father’s intent, frowned uncomfortably.
His expression screamed, *I really don’t want to do this,* but he knew from experience that it was better to just get it over with than to resist.
“Hiyah!”
Tex stomped his foot, imagining a massive icicle forming in front of him.
But nothing happened.
“…Huh?”
“Hiyah!”
Tex, eyes wide with panic, stomped again, but still nothing.
His face turned bright red, realizing he had done nothing but shout and blink stupidly.
“No, wait…”
Desperate, he tried again, thinking maybe he could at least create enough ice for a drink.
Just as he was about to slam his hand down on the table—
“Hold on, son. Are you joking again? Hahahaha!”
The marquis suddenly stood, grabbing Tex by the shoulders.
‘Have you forgotten?’
With a smile still plastered on his face, he whispered in a voice only Tex could hear.
“Oh… right.”
The marquis clicked his tongue at his son’s delayed realization.
Turning back to the nobles, he forced a smile. “My son’s been going through quite the rebellious phase. I hope he doesn’t act like this during the successor trials. Anyway, I apologize, but we’ll have to end things here today.”
The noble heads exchanged glances but began offering words of understanding.
“Ah, yes. Kids at that age are like that.”
“We’ll see you at the successor trials, then.”
Fortunately, they didn’t seem too bothered. Many of them had already seen Tex’s powers during previous demonstrations, as the marquis had shown them off so often.
Once they left…
“Sorry! I was sleeping and forgot—ouch, Dad!”
Thud, thud.
Dragging his son down the corridor by the wrist, the marquis stormed into Tex’s room, slamming the door shut so no one could overhear.
“The medicine!”
“I forgot! It happens! I’ll take it now!”
“Forgot? You can’t even use your powers without that medicine! How do you forget something like that, you brat? That medicine is part of you now!”
The marquis smacked his son on the behind.
“Ow!”
Tex yelped, staggering a few steps away before grumbling under his breath. “I said I’ll take it…”
“Take it now! Hurry!”
“…Fine.”
“Here, I’ll get it for you.”
But as the marquis opened the nightstand drawer, he froze, eyes widening in shock.
His face paled instantly.
There was barely a week’s worth of medicine left.
‘He’ll need to drink more than usual to get through the successor trials.’
Ah.
Now he understood the source of his earlier unease.
He needed to get more of that elixir.
“I’ll have to push myself to get more this time… Even though it hasn’t been long since our last meeting, I’ll have to deal with those people again.”
