CHAPTER 48………………………………………………….
The Turmoil of the Lippmann Family (1)
“Leon Lippmann.”
The youngest son of House Lippmann, a marquis family.
That meant Leon carried the bloodline of the Lippmanns, the family in charge of the Empire’s finances. Yet he had never once felt proud of that noble birth.
“Young master, the marquis has sent books for you.”
“Leave them there.”
Shortly after he was born, he had been sent away to a collateral branch of the family. He had heard that he was born at a time when the marquis and his wife were not on good terms, and that he had been almost cast aside. As a child, he had no way of knowing whether that was true.
“Oh dear, every time I see young master Leon, I get chills. How can a child that young have such an expression? I try to take care of him because I pity him for being abandoned, but the moment I see his face, that feeling just disappears.”
“Well, it is unsettling to see such a small child with eyes like that. Still, what fault does he have? It’s the marquis and his wife’s fault.”
“Isn’t he actually the child of a mistress? Otherwise, would they really send such a young child to a collateral branch without reason?”
“Shh! You’re talking too loud.”
The servants’ whispers passed through the thin door and reached Leon, who sat inside the room.
Is that really true?
Were the parents whose faces he couldn’t even remember sending him here because he wasn’t truly their child?
“….”
In any case, Leon stared at the difficult books supposedly sent by his father and thought to himself that there were now even more things he didn’t understand beyond their contents—for example, the secret of his own birth.
“Leon. We’re going out to the shopping district. Ask a servant for your meal when it’s time.”
The collateral relatives were not affectionate toward him. Even at a young age, he could clearly feel the line they drew between themselves and him.
“Yes, sir.”
Still, it wasn’t something he could resent. They were not his parents; he couldn’t beg for affection from them.
As the seasons passed, Leon grew up neither ordinary nor especially cherished, raised under the ambiguous care of the collateral branch.
“The marchioness has ordered that Leon be brought back to the main house!”
So when, on his ninth birthday, the collateral relatives announced the news with overly bright smiles, he was not deeply hurt. Leon knew his place all too well.
Wow.
The moment he stepped down from the carriage upon arriving in the capital, he couldn’t help but marvel. To think such a grand and splendid estate was his home.
“Now that you’re older, you should receive your education at the main house. I dislike foolish behavior, so conduct yourself properly.”
But coming to the main residence did not change much.
Living in the same house as his parents fell far short of the changes he had imagined on the carriage ride to the capital.
“You’re my brother?”
“Sister, is this child really part of our family? I don’t like him. His eyes are fierce, and just….”
“That’s enough, Radel. Look at his eyes and hair color. Anyone can tell he’s from our family.”
His older sister and brother did not welcome the sudden appearance of a younger sibling.
If there was any consolation, it was that their coldness did not last long. Gradually, they lowered their guard toward the brother their parents paid no attention to.
That winter.
“Did you solve this?”
“…Yes, Mother.”
For the first time, his parents showed interest in him.
When he solved his older brother’s academy assignment by himself, they looked as though they had discovered something useful in a pile of discarded trash.
The fact that he had solved a difficult problem alone seemed to hold considerable value for them.
“You will study at the academy from now on.”
From then on, he attended the academy. His parents placed upon him the goal of becoming a great statesman who would glorify the Lippmann name.
“Leon. Come sit beside your mother.”
The classes at the academy were dull and felt meaningless, but he was satisfied. At least his parents had begun calling his name gently.
This is far more interesting.
However, he was far more intrigued by the stories of magic knights tucked away in a corner of the estate’s library than by the confusing numbers. More than academy studies, he was curious about mana.
“Sister Lanis, can no one in our family use mana?”
“What?”
When Leon finally asked, unable to suppress his curiosity, Lanis gave him an incredulous look and then scoffed.
“Why are you curious about mana? House Lippmann doesn’t produce magic knights. That sort of thing is meaningless for us.”
“……”
“Well, it’s not entirely hopeless. I heard one of our ancestors was a magic knight.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Why would I waste time lying to you? If you don’t believe me, go search the library.”
“The library….”
“Ah, but hearing you say that annoys me.”
“…Pardon?”
“Our parents have huge expectations for you, yet you don’t even care? Some people struggle like hell to be acknowledged.”
Though Lanis was smiling, Leon clearly read the finely honed anger in her eyes.
“Useless child! You skipped academy classes? Do you know how much it cost to enroll you there?”
“Mother, I… want to become a magic knight.”
In the spring one year after his conversation with Lanis, that single sentence earned him confinement. More painful than the slap and being locked in his room was the thought that he might lose his chance to become a magic knight forever.
“……!”
Another winter came. Mana manifested within his body. He vividly remembered the overwhelming sensation that wrapped around him when he opened his eyes in unbearable pain.
All those nights secretly trying to circulate mana weren’t in vain.
Even amid the burning sensation under his skin, Leon felt elation.
“So you’re asking me to permit you to transfer to the Magic Academy?”
What returned was a look of contempt. Upon learning about his son’s mana, the marquis crushed his dream mercilessly, speaking of the family’s honor.
“…….”
At that moment, when the miracle that had come to him became meaningless, he first felt the desire to stand against his father.
But in the end, he could not. He had no power then.
“Leon. Who are you going to the ball with? If you haven’t decided yet, come with me—”
“Hey! Have some self-awareness. Why would someone as popular as Leon go with you?”
“What? You—!”
During his time at the academy, two thoughts constantly filled his mind: boring and noisy. He could not understand his chattering peers. What meaning did any of this have?
“Hey, want me to help you transfer to the Magic Academy?”
So it was only natural that his eyes widened when his older brother Radel said that in the carriage back to the estate.
“I heard something. If you inscribe something called ‘Turbidity’ onto your body, the mana inside you explodes, making normal life impossible. If that happens, our parents won’t be able to keep you at the regular academy.”
Leon looked into Radel’s eyes—gleaming with desire. It was obvious what lay beneath such information offered to a brother he despised.
Radel had been jealous of his younger brother, who had entered the academy later yet far surpassed him in grades. Of course he would look for ways to remove him.
“…How do you inscribe it?”
More than responding to Radel’s petty emotions, Leon’s desire to escape the academy was far greater.
“…Ugh.”
“Be quiet, Leon. What if our parents notice?”
In any case, Radel had not been wrong. Each night, Turbidity was inscribed upon him. His mana lost form and ran wild.
It did not take long for his parents to decide that he could no longer remain at the regular academy.
“You must live quietly and not draw attention. Do not tarnish the family name.”
After that, his position within the family returned to the beginning—complete neglect and oppression. And yet, for the first time, Leon felt free. That was enough.
“You enrolled late, but through effort you’ve risen this far. Well done, my disciple.”
When he was chosen first as a trainee knight at the academy, he thought he finally understood why he had endured everything.
“Please… stop.”
But it did not remain joyful.
Radel continued inscribing Turbidity onto him under the condition that he would not tell their parents Leon had transferred academies on purpose. Later, Lanis joined simply because it seemed amusing.
“Haa… haa….”
Collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath, he finally realized that all of this was abnormal—his parents’ neglect and his siblings’ abuse. None of it was normal.
So he had to grow stronger. He had to succeed. With the cursed name of Lippmann, he would only be hindered until he reached the position he desired.
He worked himself to death, maintained top rank, graduated, became a senior magic knight, and eventually rose to the position of vice-captain of the order.
“…What did you just say? Expulsion?”
But when the family that had done nothing for him cast him out in disgrace, he felt raw fury for the first time.
I will take revenge.
It was the first time he had ever thought such a thing.
He told himself he would return, earn merit from the position he desired, and show them. Show them that he had not been wrong.
“…Is that really true?”
And so, the reason he now revealed a story he had thought he would never tell to Lowell—who looked up at him with tear-filled eyes—was surely to protect something precious to him in this dreadful place.
This child must never feel what I felt.
If someone dear to him had to endure the same pain he had suffered, that would be unbearable.
