A chill ran down his spine.
He gasped for air.
For a moment, he imagined Lucia's cold corpse in Estio's hands.
Just then, Estio approached, holding Miracle.
"Bansis."
Startled by his call, Bansis looked up.
Estio's purple eyes seemed to pierce through Bansis's very soul.
"You look pale. Is something troubling you?"
At his probing words, Bansis hesitated...
And decided.
He wouldn't mention Lucia.
'She's already got a soft head.'
He recalled Lucia's appearance after she was hit by a book while protecting him in the library, injuring her head.
He really disliked Lucia, but that didn't mean he wanted her to die.
...No, he didn't care if she lived or died before, but now it was different.
At least, not now.
'And if I talk about it, it'll reveal that I know about it.'
That was something that couldn't happen.
So Bansis forced a smile and lied.
"Trouble? What trouble! Ligrin is giving too much homework these days, that's the trouble. Tell him to lay off a bit, hyung."
But...
"..."
Estio stared at Bansis in silence.
As if he already knew everything.
As if telling him to speak up while he had the chance...
"Haha..."
...Drip.
Cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck.
His heart plummeted.
His parched lips kept twitching.
A fleeting moment felt like an eternity.
Then, like a savior, someone's voice cut through the tension between the two.
"Welcome, Young Master Estio."
"Ah."
Estio's gaze shifted.
Turning his head to confirm who was approaching, Estio gave a composed smile.
"It's been a while, Butler."
"You must be tired from your travels. The Lord is waiting for you. Please, come inside."
"I will. Bansis, let's talk again later."
"Uh... okay."
"Little Brother, come in quickly!"
Ligrin, Estio, and Miracle entered the main building one by one.
Left alone, Bansis stood there, dazed.
He couldn't bring himself to go inside.
'He said we'd talk again later, definitely.'
There was no doubt about it.
Estio knew something.
Could it be... does hyung already know?
That Lucia knows his secret...
Just then.
"...!!"
Bansis's head snapped around at the sudden feeling of being watched.
"..."
Lucia was looking down at him.
Thump, thump, thump!
Footsteps echoed loudly from afar, as if trying to announce their presence.
─Thump, thump, thump!
Soon, the footsteps seemed to be getting closer.
Bang!
"Hey, you!"
Bansis burst into the room, panting.
Then, pointing at me, who was standing by the window, he shouted.
"Did you know?"
"Know what? That Estio is here?"
"Yes!"
Bansis yelled.
"Well..."
How could I not know?
He made such a grand entrance.
Estio's existence within Rodbel was quite special.
Of course.
He was the eldest son and the young heir who would lead Rodbel in the future.
'Besides, he's handsome and has a good personality.'
Yes, it was really annoying, but Estio's reputation was very good.
Moderately sociable and reasonably kind.
The level of manners that everyone else had, combined with his background and appearance, created a great sense of goodwill.
But they didn't know.
What kind of demon was hidden behind that beautiful mask.
Anyway...
I looked at Bansis and asked.
"So, what's the matter?"
"Huh?"
He asked back with a stupid look on his face.
"The matter. You didn't run all the way here just to check if I knew Estio was here, did you?"
"Ah... well, I mean..."
Bansis couldn't readily give a reason.
He seemed even stranger than usual today.
Ah, maybe.
"Did you come to complain about why I didn't come out to greet Estio? To tell me to go and say hello even now?"
How dare a bastard like me not greet the heir, being so presumptuous.
It was a plausible assumption, considering Bansis always followed Estio around.
'By the way, this guy...'
Did he forget his place and barge in like this?
'He seems to have forgotten that he's my dog.'
What should I do?
Should I remind him?
While I was pondering,
"Absolutely not!!"
Bansis suddenly shouted.
"You, don't even think about saying hello to hyung! Just stay out of sight and hide in the corner, got it!"
"..."
"Remember what I said! Don't come out of this room! Got it?!"
─Bang!
Bansis, who had shouted loudly, even spitting, left the room as it was.
I stared blankly at the closed door and muttered.
"He's more out of his mind than usual today."
Is he more excited because Estio came back and acting up more?
Or is he scared that I might approach Estio?
Whatever it is, it's really unnecessary worry.
'I'm the one who doesn't want to run into him.'
That kind of unlucky human.
Either way, I'll be going back to the academy after the qualification test.
'Let's just try not to run into him.'
I wouldn't see a good outcome if we ran into each other.
Estio, or me.
'There's no particular reason to run into each other anyway.'
I thought, let's not worry about it for a while and just do my own thing - at that moment.
Knock knock.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
'Who is it?'
There's no one coming.
Bansis wouldn't have come back.
Most of all, Bansis wouldn't knock.
'Marin is on personal business.'
Aen is in knight training, and Ligrin is dealing with the Duke.
Then...
...Knock knock.
When I didn't open the door, they knocked again from outside.
I slowly approached and opened the door.
And beyond that...
"......Who are you?"
A group of maids was standing there.
Each of them carrying a lot of something.
Is that a dress? Why a dress in my room?
As I stared at them with a puzzled look, the maid standing at the front bowed her head and said.
"I have come under the Duke's order to help Miss Lucia attend the dinner."
At that word, my mind went blank for a moment.
So, who, ordered what?
At the same time, Ligrin, who had personally conveyed the Duke's order to the head maid, was also confused.
'What on earth are you thinking?'
Ligrin recalled the moment that triggered the incident.
He took Estio, who had just returned, to the Duke's office.
The Duke's first words upon seeing his eldest son, who had returned home for the first time after entering the academy, were -
"You've returned earlier than expected."
-were.
There were no questions about how he was, whether the journey was tiring, whether the academy life was okay, or whether the dormitory was uncomfortable.
It was a situation where he could be sufficiently disappointed, but Estio calmly answered without showing any signs of it.
"Yes, I was worried about whether Miracle was doing well, and I hurried a little earlier because I heard it would snow soon."
At Estio's words, Ligrin reflexively looked at the sky beyond the window.
'Certainly.'
It was full of dark clouds.
The magical tool that tells the weather change also predicted that the first snow would fall soon.
I was going to contact the academy about it anyway, but Estio judged and acted on his own.
Ligrin's assessment of that judgment was 'excellent'.
A posture of anticipating and dealing with the future was an essential virtue for the master who leads the family.
But...
'Why is the Lord looking like that?'
It was a situation that deserved praise, but the Duke was only staring at Estio with a cold gaze without saying a word.
'It's strange.'
Of course, Duke Ego Rodbel was not originally an affectionate father to his children.
How nervous and frozen would Bansis be only when standing in front of his father.
The only child he treated affectionately and kindly was Miracle.
But that didn't mean he was a heartless father who wouldn't even say 'You must be tired from your travels' to his son who had returned after a long time.
Moreover, Estio's attitude was as if he knew this would happen.
'There's something I don't know.'
There must be something between those two that Ligrin didn't know.
Ligrin didn't try to find out what it was.
That's because there's a good reason why the Duke doesn't say it.
However, it was necessary to change the frozen atmosphere.
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