Chapter 5
After losing Cain, I gave up on looking for a servant and returned to my room.
Now that I had seen Cain wasn’t receiving purification, the excuse of purifying him myself wouldn’t work anyway.
But in truth, there was an even bigger reason.
“Ahhh! I—It touched me!”
The knight’s reaction—screaming in horror and fleeing as if something filthy had clung to him.
The moment I saw that, I felt as if I’d been struck by a hammer.
Because a scene from the original story suddenly came to mind.
So that’s why Cain pushed me away.
Only now did I understand.
“……”
I quietly closed my eyes, then opened them again, making a decision.
In that case, it’s better to just write everything down and give it to him the way Cain wants.
Now that I knew the reason, I couldn’t bring myself to approach Cain forcefully.
The more I do that, the more he’ll avoid me.
I took the paper the maid had left behind and wrote down what I had planned to say to Cain if we met.
“I’d like it if, as repayment, you could capture the villain organization. I happened to see the future, so… that is, about that villain organization…”
Hmm, this is harder than I thought.
Maybe because I always wrote only cheerful, good news in letters to my brother, writing something that would make the reader feel so pitiful they’d have no choice but to help was more difficult than expected.
…I guess this is enough.
Only after struggling with the paper for hours did I finally produce something halfway decent.
In truth, it was just the best among bad options—I didn’t like it at all.
But I don’t think I can write it any better.
Taking the paper with my request, I left the room to look for the maid.
“Hmm, not here either.”
But I couldn’t find her anywhere.
I thought about asking other servants where she was, but—
“I don’t know.”
The servants, who were already few in number, all refused to listen to me.
They don’t even look busy.
With no other choice, I searched the mansion alone.
How much time passed like that?
“Just thinking about what happened earlier makes me break out in a cold sweat.”
As I passed near the back door, I heard someone speaking.
That voice sounded familiar…
I listened closely.
“I seriously screamed without thinking.”
“Like, ‘Aaaah!’ right? I heard it all the way near the quarters. Everyone laughed about it for ages.”
“Stop teasing me! You’d have done the same in my place! Seriously, why did the young master have to show up there of all places…”
A voice full of revulsion.
Ah, now I remember!
It was definitely the voice of the knight who’d collided with Cain earlier.
But what they’re saying is… ridiculous.
My brows furrowed on their own.
Still, it wasn’t an unfamiliar story.
It was exactly what I’d just recalled from the original novel.
“So how was it, bumping into the ‘bringer of misfortune’? You should brace yourself—something unlucky will happen to you soon.”
“Shut up. I’m already irritated enough.”
‘Bringer of misfortune.’
That was Cain’s childhood nickname.
Whenever Cain appeared, incidents and accidents followed.
And in truth, there really were many incidents.
Not only assassination attempts and poisoning threats—perfectly fine carriages would break down and crash whenever Cain rode them, and monsters would even appear at parties he attended.
Cain knew that, and kept his distance from others.
That was why he rarely went outside the ducal estate as a child.
But even within the estate, he wasn’t exactly welcomed.
Taking advantage of the fact that the duke and duchess couldn’t pay close attention to household affairs, the servants gradually began to avoid Cain.
My shoulders slumped dejectedly.
And I didn’t even think about any of that…
Coming all this way by recalling the original story had been the right decision.
But that was all.
I’d only been thinking about asking Cain—the “protagonist” of the novel—for help.
Cain is a person too, but I only thought about myself.
Right after recalling my brother’s death scene, I’d unconsciously pushed all the other parts of the story aside.
I’d thought even less about Cain’s past.
I just thought he had a gloomy past, without really feeling how serious it was.
In the original story, his trauma had already been completely resolved.
I’d vaguely assumed that with enough information, we could hunt down the villain organization earlier than in the original timeline.
But that was nothing more than an excuse.
No matter how little emotional room I had, I felt truly pathetic.
From now on, I need to act smarter.
And since I’d decided that, there was something I needed to say.
Clutching the paper in my hand, I walked toward where the knights’ voices had come from.
They were probably already far away, having exited through the back door while talking—but that didn’t matter.
Just as I was about to go out through the back door myself—
Step. Step.
I heard footsteps behind me.
Who—ah!
When I turned around, I saw the back of a boy.
It was Cain.
Don’t tell me… he heard everything!?
My face went pale as I ran toward him.
“Young Master!”
At my call, Cain stopped.
“Don’t come any closer.”
A cold voice.
“Didn’t you hear what they just said?”
My legs froze as if rooted to the ground.
So Cain heard it too.
Ah…
My palms grew damp with sweat.
How am I supposed to fix this?
I wasn’t the one who said it, but I couldn’t just pretend I didn’t hear anything.
I don’t want him to think I’m avoiding him too.
I didn’t want to distance myself from Cain. I didn’t want to hurt him either.
What if I make his trauma even worse because of me?
For many reasons, I couldn’t back down here.
“I did hear it, but…!”
I shouted, following after Cain as he walked away.
Cain stopped again, then turned around this time.
“Then why are you coming closer? Being around me only brings misfortune.”
His chilling red eyes fixed on me.
“Do you want to see that monster from earlier again?”
Anyone hearing that would think he’d used black magic himself.
Even though he was in danger too.
I didn’t like how Cain blamed himself even for that.
Had he lived like this all along?
“Say what you want quickly, then disappear from here.”
In that case, no matter what I said, it probably wouldn’t be much comfort.
Still…
Choosing my words carefully, I spoke in a quiet voice.
“I—I don’t know what kind of misfortune you mean, but…”
Cain didn’t stop walking. Still, I continued speaking to his back.
“I think meeting you was a stroke of luck.”
Cain is the only person I can ask for help right now.
Even if Cain truly did bring misfortune, I needed him.
Of course, I couldn’t tell him the whole truth, so I ended it there.
Even if it sounded insincere without a reason, it couldn’t be helped.
“……”
Cain said nothing.
At some point he’d stopped walking, but he didn’t turn around—he just stood there silently.
Maybe I should leave now.
He’d already heard unpleasant things, and if I clung to him any more, he’d probably hate it.
At least now he knew that I wasn’t avoiding him—that was enough.
I hid the paper I’d been holding behind my back.
If I give it to him now, he might say I’ve already said what I wanted and chase me away.
And given the mood, talking about my request now would be strange anyway.
I did have some sense, after all.
Even with a thick skin, it was impossible.
“Um, then I’ll be going now. Please rest well.”
I bowed politely and turned around.
Cain watched Winiel’s retreating back.
The temple insignia hanging from the girl’s wrist swayed with each step.
Cain frowned slightly.
He recalled what had happened the night before last.
That night.
Cain couldn’t fall asleep.
Earlier that day, he’d heard that his father’s condition had worsened.
“They say he brings misfortune—looks like he finally brought death too.”
“I just feel sorry for the duke and duchess. How did their only child end up like that…”
“But did you know? No matter how much others get hurt, the young master is always fine.”
“Huh, you’re right! But isn’t that even scarier? It means only the people around him get hurt! I can’t go near him!”
Cain knew how the servants thought of him.
But he did nothing.
Because the day his father collapsed before his eyes, he accepted that he brought misfortune to those around him.
If only I didn’t exist…
A thought he’d had many times resurfaced.
Cain gripped the scabbard at his waist—then quickly let go.
He couldn’t kill himself.
He didn’t want to further tarnish the Argent family’s prestige.
He didn’t want to burden his parents even at the very end.
“……”
But today, his emotions wouldn’t settle.
Cain secretly left the ducal estate and headed for the nearby forest.
Soon, he stood before the pond he’d last visited with his father.
Whenever his heart felt unbearably heavy, this was where he came.
…Ha.
But perhaps because of the news that his father’s illness had worsened, his heart only grew heavier instead of lighter.
Whenever he closed his eyes, it felt as if his father would pat his shoulder and suggest a sparring match.
Cain lowered his head.
Guilt tightened around his throat. He couldn’t breathe.
That was when it happened.
Flutter.
A single sheet of paper fell from a tree by the pond.
What is that?
Before he could even think, the paper suddenly burst into black flames.
The air split open—and a monster appeared.
An attack?
Cain wasn’t surprised. It was familiar.
So now they’re even using black magic.
That was all he thought.
With a sigh, Cain grasped his scabbard.
“……”
But he didn’t draw his sword.
…Should I end it?
The thought crossed his mind impulsively.
Come to think of it, this situation would work.
A monster couldn’t be completely destroyed without divine power.
So if he were later found holding a sword, it would look like he’d fought to the very end—not like suicide.
It wouldn’t be an assassination either, so it wouldn’t damage the Argent family’s reputation.
Yes. Let’s end it.
Having made his decision, Cain stood still, staring at the monster while holding his scabbard.
The monster squirmed, stretching its arm toward the boy.
Just as it was about to reach him—
“Uh….”
A girl with dazzling silver hair appeared.
