Episode 6
“Um… so, uh… who are you?”
Aphelion finally asked, fidgeting the whole time since we greeted each other.
So it wasn’t that he wasn’t curious. He just hadn’t dared to ask.
He was at least a hand-span taller than me, yet he was looking up with such a timid, fragile expression that my chest strangely ached.
“What is this?”
He’s the son of that awful man, so why is he this shy?
“No. Don’t fall for that face.”
I forcefully pulled myself together, recalling the original novel’s Aphelion.
“He’s the guy who didn’t care at all even after I was sacrificed.”
That’s right.
This guy is the heartless beast who stood by and watched Chloe Ritz get sacrificed without lifting a finger.
“This is probably a test. He was always sneaky in the original story, so this must be a trap too.”
Maybe he already knows who I am. Maybe he even knows why I came to the duke’s estate.
The future has already changed once, so it wouldn’t be strange if the moment he finds out my identity came sooner.
I glared at Aphelion, who was wearing the innocent face of a lamb.
“You’re curious who I am?”
“Y-yeah…”
Do all final villains have to be born with amazing acting skills?
Even if he already knew everything, he was acting perfectly clueless. It was honestly impressive.
I had no proof, but since I already saw him as a hypocrite, I stayed on guard.
“So what if you know?”
I asked sharply.
“Are you going to kick me out? Or report me to the duke for talking to you?”
“Th-that’s not…”
Just as I was scanning Aphelion suspiciously from head to toe—
“F-friend…”
“What?”
“I… I wanted to be friends…”
…Huh?
The word friend hit me like a rock to the head.
So he wants to be friends with me?
That’s why his cheeks are so red?
“If this is acting, he deserves a best actor award…”
I was completely confused by how genuinely childlike Aphelion looked.
The future villain, known as an emotionless walking corpse, was supposed to be this kid?
I stared at him in shock.
His cheeks were still burning red.
His body was trembling slightly, probably from nerves.
His eyes kept darting around, carefully watching my reaction.
Then I noticed something else.
“What… is that?”
His small, fern-like hands were covered in wounds.
Scabs piled over scars that hadn’t even healed yet.
All ten fingernails were cracked and lifted, almost like an animal’s claws.
“He wasn’t beaten… so is this from training?”
No matter how talented a child is, training someone this harshly is basically abuse.
“Now that I think about it, the novel did mention that Aphelion was also a victim of abuse…”
The Duke of Rehaven only paid attention when there were results.
When Aphelion made mistakes, the punishment was severe.
The duke even ordered that his son shouldn’t make friends, believing emotions were useless.
The novel explained that Aphelion becoming a villain was inevitable, after a childhood full of deprivation.
“Eureka!”
A sudden idea hit me.
Since I’ll be living in this mansion, I can become Aphelion’s only friend.
“If I use him, my plan will be much easier.”
Aphelion is the absolute authority in the Rehaven duchy.
With that kind of power backing me, things I need will be easy to get.
“…I can’t be your friend.”
“Th-that’s… I know…”
Aphelion lowered his head, clearly thinking I rejected him.
“But I can be your reliable supporter.”
The kid who had been staring at the floor like he’d sink into it—
“Starting today, I’m your big sister.”
He immediately lifted his head.
“…Huh?”
“Call me big sister, kid.”
I smiled as brightly as if I owned the world.
From that day on, Aphelion and I spent a lot of time together.
I went to the hill around the time his training ended, and Aphelion waited for me every single day.
Between the end of training and his tutor lessons, there were two free hours.
He spent all of them with me.
After several days—
“You’ve been getting close to my son.”
The Duke of Rehaven, who invited me to dine with him for the first time, spoke in a cold voice.
I flinched while biting into my perfectly grilled steak.
“Of course he noticed. There are too many eyes here.”
It seems our relationship finally reached the duke’s ears.
Still, I didn’t expect a warning this fast.
I quickly swallowed my food and replied.
“We’re the same age, so we got close quickly. We’re both loners with no friends.”
“Stay away from him. You’re not someone fit to stand beside him.”
Wow. Chills.
That line feels straight out of a drama from my past life.
If he had slid me an envelope of money, it would’ve been perfect.
I wiped my mouth with a napkin, buying time.
“I did think this through.”
I already had a model answer prepared for this situation.
“This benefits you too. I’m voluntarily cooperating with your experiment.”
“Such arrogance.”
“When ‘we’ help each other, we can share power.”
“What?”
The duke, who usually responded mechanically, actually questioned me.
“Whenever I use my ability for that child, the power transfers to him. For example, if I draw a picture for Aphelion, the ability I use while drawing gets absorbed by him.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Do you think the god who told me my fate wouldn’t mention something like that?”
I spoke more boldly on purpose.
The duke seemed convinced.
“There’s no need. Stop. We’ll handle the extraction ourselves.”
Still, he clearly didn’t want Aphelion getting close to me.
But I couldn’t back down either.
I shrugged and reminded him of our deal.
“Don’t you remember agreeing to cooperate? Sorry, but I don’t like disgusting experiments either. I’ll let you exploit me, but I decide how.”
I practically dared him to break the agreement.
The old Duke of Rehaven would’ve snapped immediately.
But—
“Fine. We’ll see whether that arrogance ends or continues at the Harvest Festival next week.”
Seems he couldn’t oppose me yet.
The single card I held was clearly bothering him.
The next day, I climbed the hill with a racing heart.
What if the duke had forcibly separated us?
Aphelion is a total papa’s boy. No matter how fond he is of me, he wouldn’t disobey his father.
Please be here. Please be here. Please be here…
“Aphelion!”
Thankfully, he was waiting in the same spot as always.
The moment I saw him, my anxiety vanished.
I jumped high in excitement.
Just as my floating body was about to crash into him, strong arms caught me.
Since I was already in his arms, I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I missed you!”
My essential stepping stone for social status, the absolute power of the Rehaven duchy!
Aphelion Rehaven, I was worried I wouldn’t see you again!
“Oh, here. Eat this.”
After gently setting me down, Aphelion pulled something from his pocket.
Luxury chocolate wrapped in gold foil.
“My little brother is the best!”
Feels like my status already went up.
It’s chocolate now, but next time, bring gold.
I popped the chocolate into my mouth and enjoyed the smooth sweetness.
I nodded eagerly at Aphelion, who was watching me expectantly.
“I was going to give you a gift too.”
I asked Aphelion to sit, then took out paper and a pencil.
“Big sister will draw you a picture.”
“Okay!”
I brought the pencil close to my eyes and skillfully started drawing.
I thought he’d refuse out of shyness, but Aphelion willingly posed.
“But why a drawing all of a sudden?”
“I wanted to do something for my little brother, but I didn’t have anything. So I thought I’d draw you something!”
“I’m excited!”
…That’s a lie.
I’m just covering things up so I don’t get caught later.
If the duke ever asks about gifts, I’d be in trouble.
Still, since he had never received gifts outside birthdays, Aphelion looked deeply moved.
“I made a promise!”
Sitting upright, Aphelion suddenly grabbed the sword at his waist.
Ah, don’t change your pose—
“I’ll win the Harvest Festival, for you!”
Hey, stop moving—
“What?!”
