'Who is stealing my mana?'
How? When?
"Ah, I don't know."
Even racking my brain, I couldn't find a single clue.
For now, focusing on the magic examination was the priority.
'Even if I can't use magic, I can still pass the qualification exam.'
Otherwise, Estio, who has no mana, wouldn't have been able to pass the exam.
I didn't have to worry about being held back by magic.
Now, if I just take the qualification exam safely, I can be recognized as a direct descendant of Rodbel and get what I want.
But...
'Why do I have such a bad feeling?'
Is it because the preparation is going too smoothly?
My heart was uneasy for no reason, like the calm before the storm.
It was then.
—Neigh!
The sound of a horse neighing came through the open window.
Since the stables were far away, I rarely heard the sound of horses neighing.
'What is it?'
Wondering, I looked out the window and froze.
A pure white carriage parked in front of the main building's entrance.
A silver-haired boy in a pristine white uniform was getting out of it.
I bit my lower lip and muttered.
"...Estio Rodbel."
Why is that person here already?
He was supposed to return two days before the qualification exam, right?
I knew I had a bad feeling.
This is the worst.
—Neigh!
Clatter.
A carriage pulled by a white horse stopped in front of the entrance.
Soon, the door of the carriage opened.
A foot in a black shoe came out first.
Then, a hand in a white glove grasped the doorframe, and soon a silver-haired boy in a perfect white uniform appeared.
As he stepped down from the carriage,
"Big Brother!"
Suddenly, a clear, sweet voice was heard, and the boy raised his head.
A gentle smile formed on his lips.
His cold, northern atmosphere instantly softened.
The boy, Estio, opened his arms, and Miracle ran into them with a flurry of footsteps.
"Welcome back, Big Brother! I missed you."
Estio smiled faintly as he watched Miracle rub her face against his chest.
"Haha. You're still a crybaby, Miracle."
"Crybaby! I'm all grown up now too."
"Yes, yes. You've become a lady."
"Tch..."
Pat, pat.
Estio stroked her head, treating her like a child, and Miracle's cheeks puffed up.
Estio chuckled at the sight.
"Welcome back, brother."
Then, Bansis, who had been watching from a distance, approached cautiously.
They had been apart for a long time, so it was awkward.
Estio nodded.
"It's been a while, Bansis."
"Yeah..."
Glance.
Bansis's face turned slightly red as he glanced at Estio.
Estio had grown up splendidly in the meantime.
He was 14 years old this year, but thanks to his height, sharp jawline without any baby fat, and well-proportioned body, he looked much more mature.
Bansis, who had always admired Estio, found him even more impressive.
But Bansis couldn't just admire Estio like before.
Seeing Estio naturally reminded him of the time he sparred with Lucia.
More precisely, what Lucia had said.
'You actually know that Estio is... don't you?'
It was about Estio.
'You actually know that Estio is... don't you?'
That day's conversation came back even more clearly, and Bansis squeezed his eyes shut.
His mind went blank the moment he heard those words.
He ended up making a mistake he shouldn't have, and became Lucia's dog.
'What should I do?'
Bansis anxiously watched Estio, who was comforting the sulking Miracle.
'Should I tell him?'
That girl Lucia knows that secret.
But...
'If I tell him, will he leave her alone?'
No, will he leave me alone?
Bansis knew his brother Estio Rodbel well.
Estio Rodbel was indifferent and cold, but also quite easygoing.
He was quite gentle as long as you didn't bother him too much.
He strangely hated Lucia, but it was understandable to some extent.
But... the saying that he's gentle if you don't bother him also meant that it was difficult to be safe if you did bother him.
Three years ago, Bansis attended a meeting of young nobles with Estio.
There was also a young noble from a family who had moved to the capital from the provinces after their business became very successful.
'Our family has a huge influence in the trade industry.'
He was very arrogant, as if his nose was touching the sky.
Everyone disliked him because he was a newcomer who had just come to the capital from the provinces and was showing off so much.
But it was true that his family had a big influence in the trade industry.
There was no point in dealing with him.
At that time, Bansis was separated from Estio and with a group of his peers.
He vaguely saw that guy approaching Estio with a triumphant look.
The nobles around him tried to stop him, but he didn't stop.
'What's with him?'
Until then, Bansis didn't think much of it.
But soon.
—Clang!
'Kyak!!'
The guy screamed, clutching his head and staggering.
'Wh-What?'
Bansis was startled and ran towards him.
And he saw.
'Ah, heuk, hweeuk!'
The young noble, holding his cracked head and shedding tears mixed with blood, and Estio, holding a broken piece of a vase dripping with blood.
Just looking at the scene, he could tell what had happened.
Estio had hit the guy's head with a vase.
'B-Brother...?'
Bansis called him in a trembling voice.
'Ah.'
Estio, hearing the call, turned his head.
'Bansis.'
Step. Step.
Estio, holding a broken vase covered in blood and approaching with blood splattered on his face, was as terrifying as the Grim Reaper holding a scythe.
It was difficult to even breathe with fear.
Estio, who had already approached, threw away the broken vase.
Clang-
The sound of the vase rolling on the floor was loud and deafening.
And...
'Let's go back now.'
He held out his white hand covered in blood.
Bansis was terrified of that hand at that moment.
'Ugh... Brother.'
His instincts screamed.
He mustn't turn away from that hand.
If he did, something irreversible would happen.
'...Let's go.'
As he grabbed his hand, pretending to be nonchalant, Estio smiled brightly and led Bansis away.
The incident was quietly buried.
The family that had just moved to the capital after becoming successful returned to the provinces with everything, as if being chased by something.
Bansis immediately realized that his father had used his power.
Only the Imperial Family or Rodbel could have done that.
'Let's forget it.'
Since his father had stepped in, that family must have committed a great crime.
Bansis consciously erased the events of that day from his mind.
Otherwise, Estio's face, approaching with a blood-stained face, kept appearing before his eyes.
He even had nightmares for a while.
He tried to forget, and he forgot.
As his memory faded, Bansis was able to treat Estio like before.
But inevitably, the fear of that day remained in one corner of his heart.
A year later, Bansis heard about the incident again from a young noble who was there at the time.
'Actually, I was at that table at the time. When that guy approached Estio, he said something like.'
'...'
'You don't look much like Duke Rodbel?'
'What?'
Bansis couldn't help but be flustered when he heard that.
He hit someone's head with a vase for that reason?
Of course, it could be a rude remark, but it didn't seem like a reason to crack someone's head open.
Besides...
'It's true that Brother doesn't look much like Father.'
Their atmospheres are similar, so they seem alike at first glance, but if you look closely, they are subtly different.
But...
'Still, crack his head open?'
The shock of that time is still vivid.
Bansis looked at Estio again.
As if to prove that he was his son, Estio became more and more like Ego Rodbel as he grew up.
The features that were subtly different in childhood could no longer be found.
The way he smiled at Miracle was exactly like the Duke.
If you only look at his current appearance, he seems like a completely different person from that time, but...
Bansis didn't forget.
Estio's true appearance.
'If Brother finds out that she knows that fact, he definitely won't let her go.'
If it's the current Estio, maybe...
'He might kill her.'
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