Chapter : 10
A night so quiet that the word “war” felt completely out of place. A woman with beautifully silver hair, neatly braided, was gazing beyond the mansion.
“Lea. What are you doing up at this hour instead of sleeping?”
A voice called to her from inside the mansion.
Lea slowly turned her head toward where the voice came from. Her lifeless gray eyes sparkled faintly under the moonlight.
Her older brother, Austin, smiled at Lea, who looked unusually absent-minded today, and took off the cloak draped over his shoulder to wrap it around hers.
“It’s chilly out. You should’ve at least worn something before coming out.”
“I just… when I feel the wind, it makes me realize this is really real.”
“…It’s cold. Come inside.”
“No. I want to watch a little longer.”
Lea silently turned her gaze toward the monastery, as if refusing to yield, and Austin looked at her with a pained expression.
A sharp wind blew toward them. Austin hesitated, thinking to suggest going inside one more time, but he quickly shut his mouth. Instead, he gently patted her shoulder.
‘This can’t be real. I’m sorry, Lea… because of your useless older brother.’
Lea, now eighteen, was scheduled to depart for the battlefield in about three months, simply because she could use magic.
In comparison, Austin—useless with neither magic nor swordsmanship—could do nothing but watch her being dragged away under the empire’s orders.
Still, thanks to Lea being favored by the empress over the past few years, Austin had hoped she could at least avoid conscription.
A heavy sigh escaped his lips.
Yet, despite Austin’s heavy heart, Lea’s face carried a faint smile.
“I’m really okay. So please, don’t be sad, Oliboni.”
Lea gently placed her hand over Austin’s, which rested on her shoulder, speaking softly.
“How could I not worry? This battlefield is where even the crown prince didn’t last a year before dying. Even the empire’s sun set so quickly… and you, so fragile…”
Austin could no longer continue speaking and lowered his head. Lea looked at him with pity and embraced him.
Though an eighteen-year-old woman could barely manage to hug the 25-year-old man’s sturdy frame, in this moment, Austin felt smaller than her.
Pat, pat.
Lea’s small hands soothed him.
“You know how strong I am. No one will treat me recklessly now.”
“Lea…”
“So, Oliboni, protect our family well. And greet me warmly, as always.”
Austin hugged her even tighter, moved by her mature words and demeanor, far beyond her years.
Because of that…
Austin didn’t notice the expression of strange amusement on Lea’s face as she stared toward the edge of the empire beyond him.
A child’s scream echoed in her ears like a phantom. Though she knew it was an auditory illusion, she forced back the laughter trying to escape and continued speaking.
Her voice trembled slightly.
“No one can harm us anymore.”
“…You need to tell me the reason. Why are you just staring into nothing?”
Noah chuckled awkwardly as he watched Adel staring into the void with a faint smile.
Anyone would think she’s displaying her every thought as if in full sentences. Meanwhile, he had no idea what nonsense she was thinking.
“If you’re trying to spark curiosity, you should at least say something. So, what is it? What did I misunderstand?”
“Do I really have to tell you?”
Noah felt speechless. She was even worse than someone who cuts off mid-sentence.
“Wow, cheeky little one…”
Exasperated by Adel’s brazen response, Noah ran his hand through his hair.
“Don’t speak harshly to the child.”
As if hearing Noah’s quiet mutter, Luisa appeared with food and said something.
Noah pouted slightly at Luisa, who was only scolding him, and took the steak she offered.
When he cooked it himself, it always tasted burnt or weirdly seasoned, but Luisa’s steak rivaled the city’s finest restaurants.
Muttering, Noah chewed the steak.
“…I really can’t stand that little brat. Just being around her is torture.”
“So, you’re not going to give in?”
“…Hmm. If she gives me what I want, my words might change.”
At just sixteen, the kid was already calculating gains and losses so quickly. Luisa sighed while watching Noah smirk arrogantly.
“Luisa, I’m really okay. I can wait quietly at home.”
“I’m the one who’s not okay.”
Although she planned not to leave the house much, once she went out, she’d inevitably be gone for a long time.
Merihen was also a problem. A recent warning kept him at bay, but over time, he’d send his chimeras to Luisa’s house again.
The chimeras Merihen had been making recently were quite dangerous.
‘Killing Merihen would be the easiest solution…’
Luisa dismissed the thought without hesitation.
Well, it’s probably better for them to play together than be stuck at home, anyway.
Luisa handed Adel a cookie while looking up at her and addressed Noah.
“What do you want?”
“You know… …Magic. That golden magic, give it to me.”
After thinking for a while, Luisa answered.
“You have to at least meet the minimum conditions.”
Do not harm any ignorant commoners. Noah knew this better than anyone.
“Don’t worry. Thanks to you, I’ve been deeply immersed in making potions to lift curses. Plus, I think I’ve met someone to test the results on…”
Noah smiled faintly at Adel.
“Already itching to manipulate things? Makes me think retirement will have to wait.”
“I’m saying again, Adel is not a test subject.”
Noah’s gaze resembled that of a predator grabbing its prey, and Luisa quickly covered Adel’s eyes with her hand.
“Shh, the child shouldn’t see that.”
Noah snorted at Luisa’s exaggerated action.
“Looks like I’m babysitting a five-year-old.”
“Of course. She’s much younger than you.”
“What? Doesn’t look like it.”
Noah examined Adel’s face in detail, shaking his head.
“You just forget her age. Look at her build. Do you think she’s older than you?”
“No matter how you look at it, she looks older than me…”
Has he gone crazy? Luisa laughed lightly, and Adel frowned in disbelief at Noah’s words.
“That can’t be. Luisa, are you losing it? Why’s your judgment so off?”
…Wow, crossing the line.
Today, Luisa was determined to correct that brat with purple hair’s attitude. She gathered golden magic in her hand.
But Noah didn’t flinch. Instead, he quickly opened the lid of a vial on the table and held it out to her.
“This cooperation is excellent.”
A tiny amount of magic left Luisa’s hand and flowed into the vial. She quickly scattered the rest into the air.
“What? Why stop halfway?”
Seeing only a trickle of magic at the bottom, Noah raised his eyebrows.
This is classic audacity. Luisa sighed faintly, blaming herself for expecting an apology from Noah.
“I’ll pay the magic when you actually take care of Adel properly, even once.”
“Do we really need to? There’s hardly a place as safe as my house, and she can hardly go out by herself.”
Noah leaned arrogantly on his special sofa, smirking.
‘This sixteen-year-old is remarkably capable.’
“You’re not asking because you don’t know the reason, right?”
“What’s the problem anyway?”
‘What could the problem be? You are the problem, you terrifying little one.’
Even though he wasn’t a time traveler or possessed, sixteen-year-old Noah was in some ways even sharper than Merihen.
In other words, he was crazier than Merihen.
In front of Luisa, he might look somewhat like a normal kid, but four years ago, Noah was completely different.
Dead eyes, meaningless smiles, making cursed potions even as his hands rotted away.
He was like a doll born to make potions—emotionless. His only emotions appeared when he experimented with his cursed potions.
‘That severe mental illness was a headache to fix…’
Luisa never had the hobby of beating children, but back then, it seemed necessary to prevent his degeneration.
Now, he lives with human emotions, but that didn’t mean he was moral.
“Do not use Adel as a test subject. I didn’t entrust her to you for that purpose.”
“I got it. How many times do I need to repeat? I won’t move a finger until she wants it.”
“Forcing her to drink weird potions to get the answers you want isn’t what Adel truly wants.”
“…Luisa, what exactly do you think I am?”
Right now, I feel like I’ve become trash in Luisa’s head…
Ignoring Noah’s mutterings, Luisa glanced at Adel. Surprisingly, Adel looked calm.
‘Definitely not normal. Even when told not to use her as a test subject, she stays this calm.’
Still, it’s better than looking scared, so Luisa sighed in relief.
“Today, we’ll just teach Adel a little reading and writing. As for putting her to sleep… sigh.”
‘…I was hoping to leave that for later.’
It seemed she would be put to sleep today. Luisa turned her gaze toward the window, looking thoroughly fed up.
