Chapter 34

It was when Roziel returned to the mansion.

“Young master.”

The maid was waiting for him and her expression wasn’t good. When she looked at him like that, there was always a call from his father.

“Your Majesty the Marquis is waiting.”

“Yes.”

His mood sank. No matter how much his father raised and taught him, Roziel felt uncomfortable with him. He was the man who looked down on him more coldly than anyone else in the mansion. It couldn’t have been comfortable.

“This way, please.”

The maid guided Roziel and his steps fell heavily. Roziel fixed his clothes as he walked. He touched his eyes with his hands to check if they were swollen, and sniffed his clothes.

What if he smelled bad? Or he had cream on it without knowing…

His father was very quick-witted.

He shouldn’t show a disheveled appearance. And if he got caught breaking the rules  of not eating sweets…

Roziel shook his head.

There was no way they’d get caught. Didn’t he hide the candies that Yuria gave him as gifts last time?

“He’s in the study.”

Roziel carefully opened the door and entered. The Marquis glanced at Roziel as he came in.

“Roziel.”

The low voice shackled Roziel like a chain.

“Yes.”

The Marquis was still sitting and staring at him quietly. He wasn’t a man who talked a lot. Nevertheless, there was something about a man who had been in power for a long time that could pressure people with the look of his eyes alone.

“Where have you been?”

Roziel’s shoulders stiffened by the blatant questioning. His father probably knew that he had wandered from place to place unlike usual. But for some reason he let Roziel go. So he thought it would be okay this time, but maybe it wasn’t.

“I heard you were out of training.”

“I had a place to go for a while.”

“Someone else said you went into the dormitory.”

“That’s…”

Roziel pondered for a moment. He wondered if it would be better to be honest. It was his father who directly ordered him to get along with the trainees. And it was his order to select and report talented children among them.

But if he said he was playing with Yuria… He’ll get in big trouble.

“I wasn’t feeling well.”

“I can’t believe you missed training because you were sick. Now I’ve seen everything. So, where exactly are you sick?”

“…I just felt a little dizzy. I rested in the backyard of the annex and I felt better.”

However, the Marquis didn’t believe it, because for a moment he looked at Roziel with a serious expression on his face.

Nervous in vain. He was afraid he’d get caught lying.

“Fine.”

The Marquis replied shortly afterward.

“By the way, Roziel.”

It was the moment Roziel tried to sigh with relief.

“I don’t care who you hang out with. But ignoring my orders is unacceptable. When are you going to fulfill the order I gave you?”

As expected, he knew everything.

Roziel took a moment to catch his breath and replied.

“I’ve already roughly figured it out.”

Roziel was able to grasp the children’s talents only with basic training. All of them were excellent children, but there were children who stood out in particular.

“Who is it? Tell me their names.”

“Can I tell you the exact details after basic training is over? I am not sure yet.”

He thought for a moment and opened his mouth again.

“Go ahead. Instead…” The pen between his fingers spun around. “There should be no mistakes.”

The Marquis briefly spoke then turned his gaze back to the paperwork.

It meant to get out.

However, unlike usual, Roziel hesitated.

“Do you have anything left to say?”

“I want to ask you something.”

At his words, the Marquis raised his head again.

He nodded as if to speak.

“Why did you give that order?”

“I don’t know how to respond to your question.”

“I just…”

“Didn’t you always listen to me?”

“…”

Roziel did not answer. At that moment, he noticed that his father had seen through him. He didn’t know what he saw because even Roziel didn’t know what he wanted to hide.

Was it Yuria Zeos? Or was it a perverse rebellion against the way he always treated himself as a well-made doll?

Whatever it was, Roziel darkened.

“Roziel, we Evelians are not the vassals of the Ierta Empire. Even if we’ve been here for a long time, we mustn’t forget the fundamentals.”

Roziel made eye contact with the Marquis, aligning the line of sight that had slowly deviated.

“We are the bloodline of Agrad. Right?”

Agrad. A name that he’d heard since he was young. A name that has already disappeared due to the passage of time, and the root of Evelian that his father longed for so much. Roziel didn’t know which side of the two to project himself on.

“…Yes.”

Roziel replied with a small nod.

“Isn’t there only one thing we must complete in this life?”

Roziel couldn’t understand why his father was saying that. What did Agrad’s name have to do with selecting trainees with exceptional talents?

But the Marquis did not elaborate. He opened the paperwork again. He didn’t seem willing to say anything more.

Roziel looked at him for a moment.

Pure silver hair that looked just like him, and a delicate outline for a man. In the past, he was such a beautiful man that he was happy to hear that he looked like him.

But why now?

‘I’m afraid, aren’t I?’

The heavy burden of his ambition weighed on him.

He felt really dizzy.

* * *

Maybe it was because I took a day off, but when I went to training, I couldn’t walk away easily.

“I want to sleep…”

Why did Agelisk’s training start in the morning? Young children need to sleep a lot to grow up.

When I went out to the training ground, I swallowed my complaints. I saw Roziel in the distance. 

Unlike usual, he was standing in the back, in the corner, he couldn’t even look at me.

What is he thinking? A man’s mind is really complicated. 

I took a step, wondering how to soothe him. And stood next to him.

“Roziel.”

“Yuria…”

Looking closely, he wasn’t angry. As usual, he hesitated, looking at me and mumbling.

I asked point-blank.

“What happened yesterday? Why did you disappear like that?”

It was an opportunity that I got by playing hooky.

“That’s…”

His shoulders were twitching. It was Roziel’s habit when it was difficult to say.

I couldn’t let you go even if you act like such a fragile baby deer. I must hear the answer.

Roziel’s panic grew even bigger as I stared.

His cheeks were slightly red.

Are you sick or something?

I looked at him for some reason, but he didn’t look sick.

“Yuria… forgive me for being foolish.”

That was all he said.

Forgive you for what? Did you do something wrong?

What did Roziel do wrong, I looked back on what happened yesterday, but there was nothing but a sudden running away.

“The new world that Yuria talked about… I think it’s going to be a little hard.”

There was a slight weeping in his voice. It was like lamenting, like disappointment… Indescribable negative emotions intertwined to tightly block his voice.

I thought I knew even if he didn’t say any more.

Oh, that’s what it was.

Did you hate the novel I showed you so much?

Roziel, by the way, was a young man from the prestigious Marquis Evelian family.

Of course, this kind of writing wouldn’t be familiar. I thought it’d be okay if he came across it as often as other people. I guess it wasn’t.

“Well, it’s okay.”

I answered deliberately in a cheerful voice.

“Everyone has different tastes. You don’t have to like everything I ask for. You just have to adapt slowly.”

“…Do you really think so?”

“Yes, of course.”

I didn’t want to burden Roziel. There were plenty of days left for us to be together. We could just go slowly. Roziel was so naive to struggle so hard over nothing.

“So you don’t have to avoid me like you’re guilty.”

“I, I didn’t avoid…”

“Then?”

“I was a bit shy…”

“Alright, alright.”

For a moment I wanted to pat him on the head, but I held it in. At times like this, you should give yourself time to think.

I took a step back from him. Then I gave him a nice suggestion to make him feel better.

“Roziel, let’s eat together.”

There was no one who didn’t like to eat together, right? It was important to do something natural and easy together.

“Eat?”

“The place where we made the cake together. It’s a trainee cafeteria, but you’ve never tried it, have you? Let’s go together.”

There were a lot of other friends. I wish Roziel could blend in with us naturally.

Roziel hesitated for a moment and nodded.

“If you don’t like it, you can say no.”

Roziel shook his head rapidly at my teasing remarks.

“No! It’s because I really like it!”

I thought so.

“Pfft. Okay.”

I replied with a smile.