Chapter 17  

A welcome guest arrived at the annex’s reception room.

It was Elstern—visiting for the first time in a while.

“You should have told me you moved your residence to the Siastor estate. I went all the way to the Evanroar mansion for nothing!”

“Oh, did you?”

“Yes!”

Come on, it’s not that serious.

Isn’t spatial teleportation magic like drinking water for someone like the Tower Master?

While I made an unimpressed face, Elstern began ranting at machine-gun speed.

“Magic doesn’t just ‘happen,’ you know! Every spell grinds away at a magician’s bones and flesh! My entire body is aching right now!”

Ah… is that so?

“Then holding Aksion must be hard. Here, give him to me.”

“…T-that…”

He clutched Aksion like a priceless treasure and subtly hid the baby behind his back.

“It hasn’t even been 1 minute 30 seconds yet.”

“But you said you’re tired.”

“Ahem. A small… ador— I mean, a small baby like this is easy enough to hold. No matter how exhausted I am!”

He was using all three of the 30-second baby-cuddling coupons I’d given him earlier.

“Well… do as you like.”

Seeing the defeat flicker in his eyes, I smirked and leaned back on the sofa.

“So, is there anything wrong with Aksion?”

“Mm.”

Still fuming, Elstern’s expression suddenly sharpened at my question.

“You said you find it strange that the baby can’t speak yet?”

“Yes.”

As soon as he arrived for Aksion’s regular checkup, I grabbed him and explained that something felt off.

In the original story, Aksion’s development was abnormal from infancy.

That’s why he could demolish the Evanroar household at only seven years old.

So by now—at about one year old—Aksion should be speaking already…

And those innocent baby eyes should’ve faded a long time ago.

He could vividly remember being abandoned, after all.
There was no way his cognitive ability was at a baby’s level.

But he’s exactly the same.

I stared at Aksion’s big round eyes and crossed my arms.

Because of this, I couldn’t start his education at all.

“Since coming here, I planned to hire a tutor with our newly stabilized finances, but…”

Aksion wasn’t growing as expected, so everything fell apart.

“Well, I’m no expert on child development, but… ahem. Don’t boys usually develop slower than girls?”

Elstern tilted his head as he looked down at the baby in his arms.

“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

“No. My family is… unusual. Our development is three times faster than normal.”

“…Pardon?”

I tried throwing nonsense at him, but the answer remained the same.

“Well, if I had to guess… maybe it’s a side effect of housing the Demon Dragon’s heart? But I can’t give a definite answer.”

A side effect of carrying the Dragon Heart…

Reasonable-sounding, yes.

But that wasn’t it.

In the original, Aksion grew just fine with the Dragon Heart inside him.

He endured tragedy after tragedy since childhood—almost like he grew by feeding on misfortune. That was the intended setting.

While thinking that far, a ridiculous possibility crossed my mind.

What if he’s not growing… because he isn’t unhappy?

I blinked slowly.

Elstern was muttering something in front of me, but it barely registered.

Because suddenly, a line from the original story came back to me—Aksion’s words to Vanilla.

“I am a being who grows by devouring misfortune. My strength comes from hatred toward the world.
Can someone like you even withstand me?”

A being who grows by consuming misfortune.
A source of strength rooted in hatred.

Those words floated around my mind.

I swallowed. My throat tightened.

A chill ran up the back of my neck.

A baby who can’t grow unless he’s unhappy…

That almost sounds like he was born for misfortune.

I looked at Aksion in Elstern’s arms.

With a pure, clear face, he reached out with tiny hands and tugged Elstern’s hair.

The baby before me was just a sweet, innocent little thing.
It was impossible to imagine such a child was born with a gruesome fate.

“Young lady?”

Noticing my sudden seriousness, Elstern called out nervously.

I said nothing.

If my wild theory was true…

As long as I protect Aksion—
as long as he lives happily—
He will never grow.

He would never become the tyrant described in the original.

Which meant
My goal of survival would be achieved.

I should have felt relieved.
But instead, a heavy sadness pressed on my chest.

If Aksion never grows normally…
If he never truly gets to live in this world…

It didn’t sit right with me.

Realizing I felt that way made me aware—
I truly accepted Aksion as my child.

“Young lady? Is something wrong?”

But wait.

I shouldn’t treat this ridiculous assumption like it’s fact.

I quickly shook my head.

“What were you saying, Elstern?”

Now wasn’t the time to dive into my theory.

Better to finish this meeting first.

“Oh—ah…”

Caught off guard, Elstern blinked and answered.

“I asked how things are living with the Duke of Siastor…”

Dazhar?

Ah. That’s going wonderfully.

I pushed the thoughts swirling in my mind aside and answered cheerfully:

“It’s absolutely perfect.”

Elstern’s eyes gleamed strangely at that.

That look… somehow villainous.

Feeling unsettled, I teased:

“What’s with that evil mastermind face?”

“Huh? W-what?”

His startled expression was not convincing in the slightest.

But since I already knew he was a hidden villain, I let it slide.

“I mean, like those characters who pretend to be on the hero’s side but turn out to be the final boss. Pretend to help while secretly pushing the hero into traps.”

“—Cough!! Cough!”

Elstern choked violently.

I kindly reached for Aksion.

“Oh dear. Aksion, come here. The uncle is coughing.”

“I—I’m not some final boss of evil!”

He shouted desperately, eyes wide, clearly not meaning to reveal that much.

And, as they say—
Slips of the tongue reveal the heart.

Oh? So he’s not the final boss?

I shrugged casually and patted Aksion.

Teasing Elstern lifted my mood slightly.

“There’s no magician as kindhearted as I am! Actually, I think the Duke of Siastor is closer to an axis of evil.”

“Hm?”

My goodness.
How could he say exactly what I think?

“So you must be careful. Now that you’re living close to him.”

“Weren’t you the one who said he was refined and dignified last time?”

“T-that was because I didn’t expect you to live together! Ahem.”

“So why is he the axis of evil?”

Elstern lowered his voice dramatically.

“This is a rumor only known to some…
Among transcendents, there are those who remember their past lives.”

Past lives…?

Seeing my shock, Elstern’s eyes sparkled again.

“And Duke Dazhar is said to be one of them.”

I stared at him, stunned, before asking the natural question:

“And how does that make him the axis of evil?”

“Well…”

Elstern briefly glanced aside and clicked his tongue as if regretting speaking.

“Because of the bloodbath that once swept through the Siastor family.”

With those ominous words, he abruptly got up, saying he was out of time, and slipped away.

Clearly avoiding the topic.

In an instant, only Aksion and I remained.

“He remembers… a past life…?”

That wasn’t part of the original setting.

Then I froze as a thought hit me:

Wait…
What actually happened to Dazhar in the original story?