Chapter 2: Brotherly Conflict (1)
“You’re telling me he’s still alive after drinking that poison?”
The eldest son of the Marquis Renorf family, Yulian von Renorf, could hardly believe the report his subordinate brought him.
He had increased the amount of poison just in case.
Ian should have consumed more than twice a lethal dose.
And yet he survived.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
“How is he still alive?”
“I heard an antidote was recently developed.”
“Seriously… that bastard has always had absurdly good luck.”
Yulian had considered Ian a thorn in his side since the first time he saw him.
He hated that Ian was born to a mother with no status.
He hated that someone like that had been accepted into the family.
And what he hated most…
Was that Ian awakened magic younger than he had, drawing the family’s attention.
Ian’s talent was so genuine that even Yulian, once called a prodigy, felt jealous.
If Ian hadn’t lost his mind over a woman…
There was a good chance Yulian would have lost tomorrow’s duel.
‘Thank goodness he’s out of magic.’
Yulian couldn’t tolerate the fact that he had to feel relieved because of luck rather than skill.
What greater humiliation was there?
Whenever he saw Ian, the sense of disgrace gnawed at him.
He had tried to assassinate him and trap him whenever possible.
But Ian always survived.
Just like today.
Remembering those unpleasant memories, Yulian unconsciously frowned.
“Still, after drinking that much poisoned wine, there’s no way he came out unharmed.”
“Rumor says he can no longer use magic.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. A maid passing by overheard the doctor saying it.”
“So no one has confirmed it directly.”
It wasn’t fully trustworthy.
But it was believable.
And even if it wasn’t completely true, if Ian’s magic was impaired even slightly…
There was no way Yulian would lose tomorrow’s duel.
“At last… tomorrow I can finally get rid of that stubborn pest.”
It was unfortunate Ian survived the poison.
But all it did was extend his life a little.
Even if he somehow survived again, Yulian could simply become family head and exile him afterward.
Thinking through what would happen from tomorrow onward, Yulian slowly suppressed the irritation rising inside him.
***
It had been half a day since I sent Albert to gather valuables.
Even though Ian was a neglected illegitimate child, there were quite a lot of ornaments and jewels piled on the table.
Earrings, necklaces, rings…
Why had this guy collected so many accessories that looked like women’s jewelry?
It bothered me a little.
But I had no time for minor details.
For tomorrow’s duel, all that mattered was the value of these items.
“This is everything, right?”
“It is… but something feels strange.”
I had been about to convert everything into points, but Albert’s words made me stop.
“Strange? What do you mean?”
“This can’t be all the ornaments you collected by going into debt, young master.”
I froze.
“W-Wait. I went into debt for these?”
“Yes. You said you needed gifts for Miss Kirolina.”
Judging by how resigned Albert sounded, it seemed he had long passed the point of trying to stop it.
This must have happened so often he had accepted it.
Just thinking about it made my head ache.
“This Miss Kirolina… is she my fiancée?”
“No. You have no such relationship.”
“So I prepared all these gifts for a woman who isn’t even my fiancée?”
“Yes.”
Only then did I remember another detail about Ian.
‘Right… after losing the duel and getting kicked out, he was abandoned by his lover too.’
During the side quest, the lover never even appeared.
I had thought she was just a line of background setting.
Who knew she was one of the main reasons Ian’s life was ruined?
‘Then again… he handed everything over willingly. It’s not only her fault.’
Either way, this absolutely could not happen again.
“This idiot… no, how much debt have I taken on?”
“500,000 gold.”
“Five hundred…”
With 100,000 gold, you could build a huge mansion in a nice frontier region.
But 500,000?
That was beyond what a noble bastard could ever repay.
“What lunatic would lend me that much money?”
“You kept saying once you became family head, you’d repay it all, so you borrowed from all over.”
Albert added, almost as an afterthought, that this annex itself had already been put up as collateral.
“…”
Now that I thought about it…
Ian wasn’t unfairly exiled.
He was thrown out because he deserved it.
With a legitimate, capable older brother already there…
What gave him the nerve to go around borrowing money while bragging he’d become family head?
And all for one woman.
‘Wouldn’t it actually be natural for me to lose the duel?’
I shook my head and forced the thought away.
“N-No. Forget the past. Focus on the present.”
“Indeed.”
For some reason I felt guilty while glancing at Albert.
Even though none of this was my doing.
“So what did you say earlier? That for 500,000 gold worth of purchases, this amount is too little?”
“Yes.”
Albert was right.
For ornaments supposedly bought with 500,000 gold, there were too few.
I even checked whether each item was exceptionally valuable.
They weren’t.
Nothing special.
“Did I maybe send some of them to Miss Kirolina already?”
“Absolutely not.”
Albert answered so firmly that I tilted my head.
“How are you so sure?”
“Because you always ask me to ghostwrite your letters. You’re not good with words.”
“Oh… right.”
A lovesick fool like Ian wouldn’t send gifts without letters.
Then where had the missing items gone?
Only one possibility came to mind.
“Bring all the servants in this annex here.”
“…What?”
“Didn’t you hear me? Gather everyone under me.”
***
A maid returning after organizing laundry saw the servants rushing around.
It was late evening.
Work should have been winding down.
Why was everyone so busy?
She grabbed a passing coworker.
“What’s going on?”
“Young Master Ian summoned all the servants working in the annex.”
“What? Why?”
“How should I know? Who understands that man?”
Maybe he was planning another weird event for his lover.
Her coworker didn’t think much of it.
But she couldn’t be so calm.
Without thinking, she touched the earrings hidden in her pocket.
‘Should I hide these somewhere first?’
If she kept carrying them, she might get caught.
As she quickly turned, her coworker grabbed her.
“Where are you going? We were told to gather immediately.”
“M-My stomach suddenly hurts.”
“You’d better endure it. If the head maid finds out later, you’re dead.”
“I know, but…”
Being dragged before the head maid for ignoring Ian’s order…
Or being caught for stealing valuables…
After weighing the two futures, the maid chose the first.
“I really can’t hold it! Cover for me!”
“Hey, wait!”
Ignoring her coworker’s calls, she ran at full speed.
If she hid them just anywhere, another servant might find them.
It had to be somewhere only she knew.
‘My room? No, too obvious.’
After thinking it over, she concluded hiding them inside the annex was too dangerous.
If Ian had summoned everyone because he discovered the theft…
Surely the annex would be searched too.
‘Maybe it’s better to go to Young Master Yulian instead.’
She had reported Ian’s every move to Yulian before.
He wouldn’t turn her away.
‘Yes… better be called a traitor than get caught.’
Having made up her mind, she headed for the back door.
But she never made it.
Turning a corner, she collided with someone and fell backward.
“Ow!”
The person she crashed into looked troubled and offered a hand.
“Are you alright?”
The maid looked up.
And instantly turned pale.
“Y-Yes… I’m fine.”
Albert helped her up with a gentle smile.
“You seemed in a hurry. My apologies for not noticing sooner.”
“N-No, it was my fault for running.”
Albert looked like a kind old man.
But the maid couldn’t relax.
In her mind echoed the warnings senior maids often gave.
‘The scariest person in this annex isn’t the head maid. It’s Albert.’
Only now did she understand why.
‘It felt like crashing into a wall.’
She had hit him hard enough to fall over.
Yet Albert hadn’t even budged.
Not even a grunt.
He stood there like an old tree with deep roots.
“So what were you doing here?”
“I-I was just going to the bathroom…”
“The servants’ bathroom is the other way.”
Her weak lie was instantly exposed.
Speechless, she froze.
Albert stepped closer and whispered quietly.
“Surely you didn’t have something more important than the young master’s order?”
“N-No! Of course not!”
“Then let us go join the others.”
Unlike with her coworker, she couldn’t shake Albert off.
If she did anything suspicious now…
She felt she would regret it.
Sensing danger instinctively, she obediently changed direction.
‘It’s probably nothing anyway.’
Who was Ian von Renorf?
Maybe he had once been a genius.
But now he was considered the family’s disgrace.
There was no way someone like him had noticed a few missing items.
At least…
That was what the maid believed.
