MBMP 03

Chapter : 03

“Hmm? No, well… It’s not necessarily like that. Children of noble families all get engaged at an early age, you know. I was just saying that it’s something you should think about.”

Why was he reacting so seriously?

I answered absentmindedly while searching for the source of the sword energy I had just sensed. At that, Calian’s expression changed as though he had been deeply hurt.

“I understand. If I receive a marriage proposal next time, I’ll seriously consider it…”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“It seems like Rossi really sees her brother as a thorn in her side…”

“There’s no way that’s true!”

Don’t interpret everything however you please, you idiot!

I shook my head vigorously, trying to make him understand that he had gotten the wrong idea.

Only after I went on and on about how much I liked and cherished him, and how I wanted to stay by his family’s side for a very, very long time, did Calian finally smile brightly.

It was a smooth, elegant smile, as if he had never looked as miserable as a drenched puppy moments ago.

“Okay, then that’s enough. I’ll stay by Rossi’s side for the rest of my life.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He always interpreted things however he wanted.

I gently ruffled Calian’s blond hair and let out a deep sigh.

“It’s a relief that that isn’t your preference. But if that’s the case, we really are in trouble…”

I became serious again. As I mentally gathered all the information I knew, Calian asked in the most carefree manner imaginable,

“But is that really true? That the Emperor is gay?”

“…As far as I know.”

I knew quite a lot about the Emperor of Delphiam.

In my previous life, I had been a member of Kirges, and since Kirges was a family that served the Emperor of Delphiam as its lord, it was only natural that I knew a great deal about the secret history of the imperial family.

I had never personally witnessed the true nature of his rather unusual tastes, but the rumors passed around discreetly were more than enough.

They said there was a harem in an abandoned palace north of the Imperial Palace, where three hundred concubines lived.

They said the Emperor visited that palace every night and was attended by his concubines. Every single one of them was extraordinarily beautiful!

The problem was that those beautiful young men were replaced every year…! They said that once the Emperor lost interest in them, they were killed without anyone knowing!

When I told Calian that story, he admired me without a trace of hesitation.

“Our Rossi really doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘ignorance.’ I had no idea you knew so much about Delphiam, too.”

No. You’ve completely missed the point.

I groaned inwardly. In fact, in my previous life, I had once made it all the way to the very doorstep of that harem.

I had been searching for a sacred relic that the Delphiam imperial family had secretly smuggled away.

A sacred relic was an artifact left behind by the stars—an object that proved that each star protected a particular family.

Within Kirges, it was an open secret, almost as well known as the Emperor’s secret private life, that a sacred relic unknown to the rest of the continent was hidden somewhere in the Delphiam Imperial Palace.

I had been so curious that I once secretly tried to sneak over the palace wall.

Of course, I didn’t even manage to get caught by the palace guards. The head of Kirges caught me instead and spanked me.

When had that been, anyway?

I calmly calculated the number of years.

I had just turned twelve.

Thanks to being reincarnated frighteningly soon after my death, exactly twelve years had passed since I died.

Twelve years later, would the Emperor’s tastes and his harem still be going strong?

“So what exactly happens inside that forbidden palace?”

I was practically dying of worry while the person involved remained as carefree as ever. I firmly shook my head.

“You don’t need to know about things like that, Oppa.”

“What?”

“I’ll protect our young master Calian myself! So don’t go trying to learn about useless things like that!”

Calian looked surprised for a moment before slowly raising the corners of his mouth.

“Okay, then.”

Even though he was the son of a swordmaster family, his calloused hand reached over and playfully messed up my hair. After lightly pinching my cheek, Calian gave it a quick kiss and whispered,

“I’ll trust only Rossi. Okay?”

My expression automatically crumpled. My cheeks were still plump with baby fat, and that was one of the things I found particularly embarrassing.

‘Still… maybe I’ll let it slide today.’

Considering Calian’s dark and gloomy future.

More importantly, it seemed I had suddenly ended up carrying the future of the entire family on both my shoulders.

Deep in thought, I accepted five cookies from Calian and ate them one after another. Then, all of a sudden, an ominous feeling washed over me.

“But Calian. If you agreed to meet on the night of the festival, does that mean the date has already been set?”

“Hm? Yes, of course.”

“The night of the festival… isn’t that tomorrow?”

“That’s right. We agreed to go out to the Delphine River together at nine tomorrow night.”

My mouth fell open.

And this time, I really did send the entire box of cookies flying through the air.

“Why are you only telling me now?!”

It meant that tomorrow could very well be the last day of our rabbit’s life!

There was no use crying over spilled milk.

I spent the night tossing and turning, agonizing over the situation, but I couldn’t come up with any good solution.

And so, morning came.

Today was the day of the Festival Prayer, when prayers would be offered to the five stars who protected the Transcendent Families, ahead of the Continental Conference.

Once the prayer ceremony ended, the festival would begin that evening.

The festival lasted three days.

If he had arranged a date for the first night…

This really seemed like a declaration that whoever it was intended to cling to Calian throughout the entire festival.

Of course, it was possible that the Emperor had completely reformed over the past twelve years.

He might have been an utter delinquent when he was young, but he had grown older since then. Perhaps he had finally come to his senses.

If that were the case, it would be a relief.

But why did I have such a bad feeling about this?!

Calian had already made a date with the Emperor of Delphiam.

Unless one of them suddenly collapsed today with some mysterious illness, there was no way the appointment would be canceled.

Then, just in case something happened…

‘Should I knock him out?’

That was the first thought that came to mind.

Once someone had caught the Emperor’s eye, there was no way to undo it even if heaven and earth were overturned. So until I could find another solution, I should at least prevent the Emperor and Calian from meeting.

I hid behind a pillar in the hallway and peeked at Calian’s back.

His clean blond hair, visible from five hundred meters away, swayed gently as he walked farther away. I followed Calian while suppressing my presence as much as possible.

The head of the Winyak family and its direct descendants were staying in Delphiam for the Continental Conference.

The place where we were staying was a separate residence that Hwezel, one of Delphiam’s two Transcendent Families, had provided for Winyak.

Though it was called a separate residence, the estate was large enough to rival the main mansion.

Moreover, compared to Winyak Castle, whose hallways were simple and spacious, this place had a much more complicated layout.

Since I had never had any reason to enter Hwezel’s separate residence in my previous life, even I found the mansion unfamiliar.

If it was unfamiliar to me, how much more so would it be to Calian?

Calian seemed completely unaware that someone was following him. He walked carelessly without even bothering to conceal his presence.

His steps were so light and carefree that they were almost bouncy.

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

Even if he was already fifteen and officially the heir to Winyak, how could he walk around leaking mana as if he wanted everyone in the world to come chasing after him?

But right now, Calian being off guard was an opportunity for me.

I gripped my wooden sword tightly and quietly moved beside the pillar.

Then, the moment Calian passed right beside it, I raised the wooden sword high.

One strike.

Right to the back of the head!

I’m sorry. But I’m doing this for your sake!

A glimmer of starlight seeped ominously into the sword.

It was the blessing of the star that protected Winyak, “Judge of Darkness and Chaos.”

But at that very moment—

Calian disappeared from my sight.

“Huh?”

He had definitely been walking down the stairs just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, Calian’s figure had vanished like smoke.

I panicked and tried to regain my balance, but my wooden sword was already plunging downward into the air at a terrifying angle.

With no target to strike, my body lurched forward.

I instinctively shouted a Word of Command.

[ᛒᛟᚢᚾᚳᛖ (Bounce)!]

Guardian Star of Kirges, please help me!

Just before my body slammed into the floor, the runes engraved into the marble floor began to glow.

Kirges’s Words of Command began with designing a spell using runic characters and then calling upon the name of a star.

The star that answered the call infused the spell with its power through the planetarium possessed by Kirges’s spellcasters.

I had lost my planetarium long ago, but the guardian star of Kirges had always willingly lent me its strength whenever I called upon it.

This time was no different.

A jelly-like membrane appeared in midair and bounced me upward.

‘Yes! Thank you!’

I did a somersault in midair before lightly landing on the floor.

“Hyah.”

Where did he go?

Calian.

I looked around sharply.

But I couldn’t sense a single trace of human presence anywhere.

It was enough to make me wonder if a ghost had carried him away.

I hurriedly rubbed away the runes engraved on the floor with my foot. Then I was about to run toward the other side of the hallway to find Calian when—

“Eek?!”

Someone suddenly appeared behind me and grabbed both my shoulders with tremendous strength.

My feet lifted off the ground, and my entire body was hoisted into the air.

“What are you doing, Rosienne?”

The person who had effortlessly lifted me up was Lord Oen, the head of the Winyak family.

Nearly two meters tall and built like a bear, he held me so high that the floor seemed frighteningly far away.

“L-Lord Patriarch… Oppa?”

Standing beside Lord Oen was the very person whose head I had just tried to smash.

‘When did he get behind me?’

Calian smiled as sweetly as a picture and asked,

“What are you doing here, Rossi?”