MBMP 04

Chapter : 04

“Ah, well…”

A chill ran down my spine.

It absolutely could not be revealed that I was a Kerges sorcerer.

Putting aside the fact that Kerges and Winyak were rivals, learning the secret arts of two Transcendent Houses was strictly prohibited by international law.

I dangled helplessly in the air, stammering out an excuse.

“I, um, was following Kallion. But then he suddenly disappeared…”

“Why were you following Kallion?”

“He said he was going out tonight… so, um, I was a little worried about him.”

Lord Oen’s eyes narrowed as he stared directly at me.

The head of Winyak, a man said to have reached a transcendent level in swordsmanship, had copper-colored skin and sharp eyes. His body was so covered in muscle that he made even large men look small.

Perhaps because I remembered the head of Kerges describing the current head of Winyak as a man as solid and immovable as a mountain, I had always found Lord Oen difficult to approach.

I quietly hid my wooden sword behind my back.

Avoiding his eyes, I lowered my gaze somewhere around his neck and noticed the veins standing out prominently.

He must be really angry…

For some reason, whenever Lord Oen saw me, his complexion visibly hardened.

The veins in his neck bulged like today more often than not, and his cold stare seemed to be permanently equipped.

Sometimes, when we were facing each other like this, his large fists would twitch as though he wanted nothing more than to bonk me over the head.

I lowered my eyes dejectedly.

“I’m sorry, Head of the House.”

His arm, which was gripping me beneath the armpits and lifting me up as though pulling out a radish, tensed even harder.

Ouch.

I became even more dejected.

Lord Oen definitely hated me.

Come to think of it, he had been the one who had vehemently opposed Kallion when he said he wanted to make me his younger sister.

It was unfortunate to be hated by the very person who had been my role model and hero in my previous life.

Lord Oen spoke in a gloomy tone.

“Stay quietly… inside the mansion.”

“Yes…”

“If you wander around carelessly, you might get lost. And then I would have to… search for you all over again… wouldn’t I…?”

“Yes, Head of the House. I’ll keep that in mind!”

Wanting to look as cute as possible, I clenched both fists and made my eyes sparkle.

Lord Oen flinched for a moment, then abruptly turned his head away. Seeing the veins in his neck standing out even more prominently today made me feel even more depressed.

I guess that had the opposite effect. I shouldn’t do that next time.

Perhaps worried that someone of uncertain origins like me would wander around a foreign mansion, Lord Oen tucked me under his arm, personally carried me upstairs, and put me inside my room.

Damn it. My plan to knock Kallion unconscious has failed.

“What should I do?”

I clutched my anxious chest and looked out the window at Lord Oen sparring with Kallion.

Still, seeing Kallion wielding a sword reassured me a little.

As befitted Winyak’s sole direct heir, his swordsmanship itself was quite impressive.

His fatal flaw was that his physical stamina couldn’t keep up, so he couldn’t last very long.

I could occasionally hear bits and pieces of the conversation between father and son as they clashed.

“I will never acknowledge… you hopeless, good-for-nothing brat!”

“Why are you acting like I’m the only one who… …”

They were probably talking about how they couldn’t accept me into Winyak, right?

That’s depressing.

“My life is mine to…”

Oh!

Had our eyes just met?

“Ugh…”

The moment Kallion seemed to notice me, he deflected Lord Oen’s diagonally thrusting blade, only to suddenly let go of his sword.

“Ghk… Hoo…”

Kallion collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Naturally, I panicked.

“Ah!”

I hurriedly looked him over, worried that he might have been injured somewhere, but there were no visible wounds.

It seemed he had simply run out of stamina.

No wonder he managed to last so long against the head of the house.

I clicked my tongue and quickly headed down to the training grounds.

Kallion greeted me with a bright smile.

“Rosi, did you see me training? Today, my sparring time increased to fifteen minutes!”

“Really? Good job. You’ve improved a lot!”

“But my wrist hurts. I think I twisted it.”

“What?! Let me see!”

No! I had only just managed to feel relieved because he was finally able to use a sword!

Lord Oen watched me frantically examine Kallion’s left hand with an incredulous look.

I think I even heard him mutter coldly,

“You’re quite something.”

By the time I cautiously glanced up to gauge his reaction, Lord Oen had already turned his back on me.

I really have no hope of ever being acknowledged by him.

Clicking my tongue, I helped Kallion to his feet.

Then I immediately dragged him to the family physician.

That afternoon.

Even while seeing Kallion off outside the mansion, I couldn’t shake my worries.

“Then I’ll be off, Rosi.”

“…Wait. No, this really won’t do.”

I hurriedly grabbed his hand.

Afraid he might leave without even looking back, I interlaced my fingers with his and shook his hand.

“Can’t you just not go, Oppa?”

“Why? You don’t want me to leave?”

“Yeah. I want you to stay with me during the festival.”

Kallion seemed pleased by my request.

His reddish-brown eyes curved into a delighted smile.

Encouraged by his reaction, I quickly continued.

“Let’s go to the Delphine River together. We can ride a boat, buy lots of delicious food, and have fun. Okay?”

“Well… If it were up to me, I’d love to stay with my princess forever, but…”

Kallion tilted his head slightly.

He ran his fingers through my hair and thought about something for quite a while.

I nervously waited for his answer.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can this time, Rosi.”

After waiting so eagerly, all I got was a refusal.

When I looked at him in shock, Kallion gently added a few words.

“As you know, relations between Delphiam and Avie haven’t exactly been good lately. Delphiam is trying to win Winyak over, and Avie is naturally baring its fangs at Delphiam because of it.”

“That’s true…”

The international situation was a little unstable.

Apparently, around twelve years ago, the imperial family of the Delphiam Empire had suddenly begun showing an unusual obsession with the Winyak House.

Even though they already possessed two Transcendent Houses.

Naturally, the Kingdom of Avie, which possessed Winyak, had no intention of simply standing by and watching.

The King of Avie had even pressured Winyak to boycott the upcoming Continental Conference.

Kallion gently patted my cheek as he continued.

“They never showed any interest in us before, but now they’re suddenly acting like this. There’s definitely some ulterior motive behind the Delphiam Emperor’s actions.”

“…”

“So, in a way, it might actually be fortunate that the emperor has taken an interest in me. It gives us a perfect opportunity to find out what scheme he’s plotting by coveting Winyak.”

Kallion’s voice had become noticeably colder than before.

For a moment, I thought I saw a sinister glint pass through his reddish-brown eyes.

But his expression soon returned to normal.

He smiled warmly and sweetly, as if nothing had happened.

“Don’t worry too much, Rosi. Your big brother can handle it!”

He clenched both fists and smiled brightly.

He looked completely untrustworthy.

Will he really be okay…?

“And the Delphiam Emperor looked much gentler than I’d heard. He was kind and warm. If I just make sure to keep him in a good mood…”

“W-Wait, what exactly are you planning to do to keep him in a good mood?!”

I was so dumbfounded that my eyes nearly popped out.

He definitely wasn’t going to be okay!

Good grief, I had a mountain of worries.

How have I spent the past three years raising you?

Do you think I raised you so you could happily follow some tyrant around and get devoured by him…?!

At this rate, I was going to faint.

Feeling as though I were desperately clinging to a lifeline, I reviewed everything I had taught Kallion the night before.

“If someone touches your body without your permission, what do you do?”

“Firmly refuse and tell them I don’t like it.”

“And if they don’t stop?”

“Strike them in a vital spot.”

“What if the other person is stronger than you?”

“Never be alone with them, and if I sense something is wrong, immediately ask the people around me for help.”

“And what do you do after that?”

“Call Rosi!”

If he dared strike the emperor in a certain important area, someone would have to deal with the aftermath, wouldn’t they?

Pretending to sigh, I glanced at Kallion’s left ring finger.

While pretending to wrap a bandage around the wrist he had slightly sprained earlier that day, I secretly planted a tiny, invisible rune on the outside of his little finger.

It was my own personal tracking device.

The activation word was “Rosienne.”

My name.

As long as Kallion called my name, I would be able to sense his location.

I would have preferred to use an easier activation phrase…

Something like, “Your Majesty, you really mustn’t do this.”

But if I did that and Kallion happened to sense the abnormal mana flowing through his body, I’d be in trouble.

There was also the possibility that other Transcendents who were sensitive to mana might detect it.

“Make sure you tell the people around you to call out ‘Rosienne.’ Understand?”

“Mm-hm. Got it.”

Kallion seemed to answer absentmindedly.

This brat… completely oblivious to what I’m going through…