Both Ledo and that kid—what on earth is going to happen to this country if the future looks like this for these young ones? Is becoming a villain their dream?
As I lamented inwardly, the child suddenly whipped around. I hurriedly dove down. Could it be that he sensed something?
Unfortunately, I heard footsteps approaching my direction.
I clenched my fist. The best defense is a good offense. Given the situation, I had to take the initiative and catch him first. I felt somewhat confident about it.
Thanks to growing up as a rough boy, I had taken down all the boys my age who dared to confront me. Many of them teased me for not having a dad or made strange comments about my mom.
My mom didn’t know, but there were quite a few who ended up with bloody noses after messing with me.
So instead of sitting still and getting caught, I decided to ambush him first. That way, I could uncover the identity of the one who orchestrated this.
“Yah!”
The moment the footsteps got right in front of me, I launched myself with a shout.
I managed to tackle the child. However, while we rolled on the ground a few times, he skillfully slipped out of my grasp.
“Stop there!”
I chased after the fleeing child. Perhaps luck was on my side, as he soon reached a dead-end alley. He halted in front of the blocked wall.
“Who are you? Who sent you to ambush us?”
Now that he was like a rat trapped in a cage, it was time to get a confession. I rolled up my sleeves. He should know today was the day he’d get a bloody nose.
But then he turned around. Most of his face was hidden under the hood, but I could see his slender jaw and well-shaped lips. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards, and he smiled.
That little brat? Is he laughing at me right now?
“You’re not going to talk, are you?”
I shouted, even though I never intended to talk from the beginning. Just as I was about to charge at him again, the child suddenly pulled something out of his pocket.
Could it be a knife?
I flinched involuntarily, but what the child pulled out was not a knife—it was a small piece of paper.
I soon realized it wasn’t just any paper. It was covered with tightly written magical spells. That was a magic scroll.
A magic scroll is a magical item designed for common people to use, and when the paper is torn, the spell that the magician has pre-cast activates.
Usually, magic scrolls are used for self-defense. Therefore, the spells written on them are mostly lethal.
“Gah!”
The moment the child tore the magic scroll, I covered my head and dropped to the ground.
I had no idea what would come out of the scroll. There was no other way but to pray it wouldn’t be something like burning to death or experiencing excruciating pain as if my body were being torn apart.
Boom! Pop! Pop!
But then I heard a strange sound. It was like the sound of fireworks exploding.
Cautiously lifting my head, I soon saw petals fluttering all around. Petals burst in the air and fell like snow.
What the…?
Magic scrolls are extremely expensive items infused with a magician’s power. To use such an expensive magic scroll just for making petals fly?
While I was completely dumbfounded, the child had already escaped the dead-end alley. After glancing at me for a moment, he disappeared into the dark alley.
In the meantime, the petals fluttering around gradually faded. After briefly showing a vision, the magic completely disappeared before me.
At that moment, I heard the footsteps of an adult man again.
The thought that the assassin might have returned crossed my mind too late. As I wandered in search of a hiding place, a man holding a sword emerged from the corner alley.
He was not the assassin. It was my father, Grand Duke Iskas.
“Ah…”
I let out a deep sigh of relief. Then I hurriedly ran toward him.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere…?”
But suddenly, he grabbed my shoulder painfully.
“I told you to stay hidden. Why are you here?”
His voice was filled with anger. Not only that, but his face was twisted in a scowl. It was the first time I had seen him this furious, and I shrank back in fear.
Could it be that he was worried and searching for me because I wasn’t there?
“Well… um, a kid suddenly appeared earlier and… used magic…”
As I spoke, I realized that this would sound absurd to him.
Would he really believe that a child my age orchestrated this attack? It would be hard to believe that he used a magic scroll. There was no trace of magic left, and more importantly, I was unharmed.
He would surely think I was fabricating some strange lie to escape the crisis.
“Well, um…”
As I stammered and couldn’t say anything, he suddenly lifted me up and hugged me. Then he growled softly.
“Let’s talk about this when we get home.”
For the first time since elementary school, I felt a deep fear at those words.
I had hoped that his anger would subside somewhat while we were riding, but the dark energy simmering behind me showed no signs of fading.
Could it be that he planned to punish me when we got back? No way, would he actually hit me? Just try it!
When we arrived at the castle, I spotted my mother outside. She must have come out because she was worried about us being out so late. To me, she looked like a savior.
“Mommmm!”
I called out to her loudly to take the initiative. As soon as he stopped the horse, I quickly jumped down.
“Mom, Mom!”
I ran to my mother, the only person who could protect me, and hid behind her skirt. Then I turned around and smiled confidently at him, as if to say, ‘Go ahead, do what you can.’
The Grand Duke looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“Ar, where have you been with your father?”
At my mother’s question, I pointed to the luggage hanging on the horse.
“Dad bought me things I needed for drawing. Look at that! That’s all mine! Right, Dad?”
My mother was quickly moved by the fact that I called him ‘Dad’ and that he had bought me gifts. As she looked at him with tears in her eyes, the Grand Duke finally let out a small sigh.
In any case, he would find it hard to tell my mother about what happened today. He wouldn’t want to cause her unnecessary worry. Ultimately, the fact that we were attacked would remain a secret known only to the two of us.
Hmm, it seems like we’ve been accumulating secrets just between us for a while now, but that’s probably just my imagination.
“…Why are you outside in the cold? Let’s go inside.”
He wrapped his arm around my mother’s shoulders. My mother took my hand, and the three of us entered the castle together.
Suddenly, I felt a very strange sensation. It felt as if we had truly become a real family.
That night, I sat pondering while touching the art supplies the Grand Duke had bought for me.
I thought about the events of the day and the various things that would happen in the future.
And I made a resolution. I had to change the future somehow. I would do anything I could.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
The next day, I waited in the hallway for Ledo to finish his class.
After a while, the door opened, and the teacher came out first. He recognized me and hurriedly bowed his head in greeting before quickly disappearing.
Following him, Ledo emerged from the room and, upon spotting me, flinched.
“You, come here.”
I beckoned him with a finger.
“Come here.”
Ledo hesitated but walked over to me. In just a few days, our relationship had completely reversed.
“About the secret passage in your house.”
Previously, Ledo had skipped class using the secret passage. Because of that, I knew that secret passages existed throughout the castle.
“W-why?”
“Does that passage connect to the guest room?”
Currently, the Grand Duke was using the guest room. I had seen him talking to the magician there last time, and I confirmed that the magician had entered several more times since.
“Yeah.”
“Then you need to guide me there.”
Ledo’s face turned pale.
“What? No way. My father said we must never tell outsiders about that passage.”
I approached the startled Ledo and threatened him with the words that 9-year-old Ledo would fear the most.
“If you don’t listen to me, I’ll tell my dad everything.”
