Chapter 5
You’ve obtained a new name.
Dercadian Rodwick.
He was Blake’s illegitimate son.
He received abundant love but was a child who didn’t understand love.
Because he had never experienced receiving love, he was a child who didn’t understand it.
‘They’re in the same mansion, huh…’
Blake, who was deep in thought, crumpled the paper on the desk and then wrote a name on a new sheet.
“Jedd?”
“Take it to Lady Ga.”
“Jedd, deliver it to the child tomorrow morning. Until then, don’t let anyone open the envelope.”
“Is it the child’s name?”
“Not yet.”
To Jedd’s question, Blake gave a meaningful smile.
It was the expression he occasionally made when scheming.
“When the child reads that name, it will become his. If he can’t read, then you’ll have to come up with a suitable name.”
“If the child reads it, you’ll give it?”
Jedd was perplexed.
To receive a name, one had to be able to read. In this world, reading and writing were part of higher education. It seemed unlikely that the child, who struggled just to get through each day, could read.
Even Blake, who had heard reports until now, probably knew that.
‘He’s never done this before. Why is he suddenly being so petty? Ugh. Is he trying to pass off naming the child to me?’
Although he couldn’t quite grasp Blake’s intentions, it seemed that naming the child was his responsibility.
Also, since he had guaranteed that the child’s life would change for the better, Jedd felt a heavy responsibility.
‘I should think of a name that suits that cute little one.’
After nodding in acknowledgment of the gesture to leave, Jedd bowed and turned around.
As he left the room, Blake added.
“And when the child gets the name, make sure to visit his other uncle again.”
“Pardon?”
“He’s fond of money, isn’t he? It would be good to give him a hefty reward. Seems like he won’t be able to work for a lifetime.”
In response to Blake’s words, Jedd smiled knowingly.
“No matter. Once he receives the name, that little one will also be a Rodwick’s person.”
* * *
Late at night.
“Let’s sleep together in my room tonight. It’s a double room, but I’ve been using it alone.”
Agnes was in Anna’s room.
She had intended to sleep on the floor but changed her mind upon hearing Anna’s words and lay down on the bed.
“It seems like it’s a place overflowing with recognition despite being an assassin family.”
Even giving a bed to a slave.
She had been considering sleeping in a corner of the stable or warehouse.
The soft and pleasant-smelling bed felt strange. Agnes wiggled her toes under the blanket.
On the bed opposite, Anna was sound asleep.
“And… If there’s anything, you must wake me up?”
Why did she say that earlier?
Agnes stared at the dim ceiling.
Although quite some time had passed since lying down, sleep didn’t come.
Perhaps it was because of the unfamiliar environment, but more likely, it was because of what Jedd had said earlier.
“A new life different from before….”
The past two days felt vivid to be called a dream.
So Agnes decided to regard the situation she was in as reality.
Whether it was the providence of God she sought before dying, or for some other reason.
She wasn’t sure, but she was given an opportunity.
And soon, she would have a new name.
“What name will I have?”
Agnes thought of Blake’s face.
Blake looked too young to be considered a father, and he was quite handsome.
Neither his demeanor nor his aura was ordinary.
If a man like him were to give a name, even if it was a slave’s name, it would be elegant.
Agnes’s heart pounded.
“I hope it’s a strong-sounding name.”
Then maybe she could become a strong person who wouldn’t suffer.
Agnes imagined various names, then felt a strange sensation.
She wasn’t even closing her eyes, but she didn’t know when it had arrived.
The boy was staring down at her right beside the bed.
Seeing a slight breeze coming in through the window frame, it seemed as though he had entered through the window.
“Oh, the Duke of Rodwick’s son.”
Their gazes met.
Cold red eyes stared at Agnes, while mocking silver eyes gazed at Deon.
Anna was still asleep, and the strange confrontation between the two continued for a while.
Deon was the first to speak.
“Hey. Doggy.”
“…Doggy?”
“Your hair looks like dog fur.”
“…”
Agnes couldn’t help but purse her lips unwittingly.
Before her bath, her hair might have looked like that, but now, thanks to Anna’s efforts, it had a noticeably different shine even in the darkness.
To call her hair dog fur was akin to disregarding Anna’s hard work.
Agnes kept her gaze fixed on Deon as she spoke up.
“It’s not dog fur.”
The word “Sir” came out a bit late due to her defiance.
Still, using polite speech didn’t mean she was disrespecting the master’s son.
Deon looked at Agnes with a bewildered expression.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“I’m not afraid.”
‘…Should I be scared here?’
Agnes couldn’t feel intimidated by Deon; he was too young for that. Agnes was nineteen, after all.
Still, maybe if she played along, she could make up for the awkward first encounter.
After a moment of hesitation, Agnes moved her lips slightly.
“Wow. I’m terrified.”
“…”
And then she realized. She wasn’t cut out for acting. And she had even made the mistake of using informal speech with Deon.
Her attempt at acting, however earnest, clearly didn’t impress Deon, who was unimpressed by her lack of status.
Thinking Agnes was mocking him, Deon’s expression turned hostile.
“You don’t know I’m a Rodwick?”
Deon drew a sword, pointing it at Agnes’s throat.
“I can kill you just like this, without any indication.”
“…Are you going to kill me?”
“Yeah.”
It’s a lie.
Agnes knew the aura when abilities were ready to be unleashed.
The kind of intense crimson that could burn everything to ashes.
But Deon’s aura was as usual, black.
‘Why would he say something like that when he has no intention to kill?’
The moonlight reflected off the blade caught Agnes’s eyes.
She didn’t like swords. When her escape attempts reached double digits, Duke Gerwer allowed his knights to threaten her with a sword.
Since then, Agnes couldn’t even dream of freedom.
Until the moment her breath stopped, her world was the dungeon of Gerwer’s estate.
“….”
Facing the sword brought back vivid memories of days gone by.
Agnes wiped her sweaty palms on the bedsheet and casually asked Deon.
“Are you going to stab me with that sword?”
“What do you think I’ll do?”
“I hope you won’t stab me. Please.”
Deon looked at Agnes lying on the bed.
A tiny child pleading.
The other playmates her father had brought had done the same.
They appeared in the middle of the night to scare her, then begged to be spared with tears.
“….”
Deon skillfully put away the sword.
A few strands of Agnes’s silver hair floated in the air.
“Then get out of here right now.”
Although his face was unemotional, he had scared her. He would probably tell her to leave the mansion tomorrow morning like he did with the others.
Deon turned away without a trace of regret. A small voice from the bed momentarily stopped his steps.
“…Why?”
Deon turned his head to look at Agnes.
The boy’s red eyes contained a clear hostility, unlike a moment ago.
“Because I hate humans.”
* * *
‘Why does he hate humans?’
From just before falling asleep until now, Agnes pondered Deon’s words, but she couldn’t understand the reason.
‘Is it because he’s an ability user?’ seemed the most plausible.
But if that were the case, it would mean Blake hated humans too, and she hoped that wasn’t true.
“Open it.”
The kind voice of the butler snapped Agnes out of her thoughts.
The morning sunlight streamed into the room through the window.
She was standing in the butler’s office, holding a sealed envelope just given to her by the butler.
Thanks to Jed intercepting her on her way to breakfast, she ended up here.
“Master has given you a name! Aren’t you excited?”
As Agnes opened the envelope, two pairs of eyes watched her intently.
For the butler and Jed, it was also the first time seeing the name written on the paper.
Finally, the paper unfolded, and the three of them inspected the writing.
“Oh, Master seems to enjoy jokes subtly too. But now, what should we name this little one? I’m torn between Rose and Sophia. Hmmm.”
Naturally, since he thought the child couldn’t read, Jed assumed Blake was playing a prank.
So, he believed the name he had chosen would become the child’s name.
Beside him, the butler was contemplating something different.
“….This name?”
Though the butler maintained a calm expression, inwardly, he was quite startled.
It was unexpected that Blake had given such a name.
If the child were to receive this name, then his future…
“…No. He said the child has to read it himself.”
Recalling Blake’s words, the butler settled his confusion.
There was no need to worry since the child couldn’t read.
The child, who had been staring at the paper intently, raised his head.
As he had thought yesterday, he was truly a cute child. Especially when facing those shining silver hair and eyes, he felt like all worries could be forgotten.
But unlike the relieved butler, the child handed the paper to him with a very troubled expression.
“Butler.”
“…Can’t you read?”
“I think there might have been a mistake.”
“I didn’t make a mistake.”
“But…”
The child hesitated for a moment.
Then, as if cautiously pointing out the butler’s mistake, he opened his mouth with a rather uncomfortable expression and spoke carefully while glancing at the paper.
“It says ‘Thuariche Rodwick’ here…”
“….!”
“Wow. Kid, you know how to read?!”
The butler was speechless, and Jed, surprised, questioned her.
“Yes.”
“Is that so…?”
Jed’s face was one of disbelief. It wasn’t because the name I had chosen, Rose, had vanished into thin air due to a trivial reason, but rather because he was disappointed.
Unaware of this fact, Agnes felt embarrassed, thinking she had made another mistake.
She briefly considered whether to reveal that she could read, but the received name was too surprising, so she couldn’t prolong her contemplation.
“Thuariche Rodwick.”
Using the same surname implies a familial connection, at least from what I know.
“It’s definitely the wrong one.”
Agnes was certain.
The owner of that name was not her. It belonged to someone else, and it was undoubtedly from a very noble lineage.
The paper in her hand felt heavy. Despite being just a piece of paper, it felt like an unbearable weight pressing down on her.
She hoped the butler would quickly take the paper back from her.
But the butler, who looked at her with an unreadable gaze, soon smiled and said,
“Thuariche Rodwick. It’s a fitting name.”
“…Pardon?”
“Congratulations on acquiring a new status, Miss.”
