The Rumor Spread Like Wildfire
I loved magic. A technology brimming with infinite possibilities. Everything a frail human needed to survive. If that was the case, then surely magic could accomplish everything humans could not.
I had devoted my youth to plumbing the very limits of magic. During my time at the academy, I holed up in the library. After graduating, I shut myself inside the workshop I’d built at home, and years had already slipped by in research.
“Brother. Please, can’t you go outside for once?”
“Heh heh. Didn’t you personally explain to me just how dangerous the outside world is, dear brother? I think I’ll stay right here.”
“Brother, I’m begging you!”
After studying so diligently, they wanted to kick me out of the house? Not a chance.
The Clovias family were viscounts who served the royal palace. If I became the viscount, I’d have to navigate those annoying court political games with my own head. I couldn’t handle politics. Staring at magic formulas was far more comfortable and straightforward than trying to understand people.
That was why I had declared long ago that I would hand the heir position over to my younger brother. And I planned to live here forever, leeching off the family fortune.
“Little brother, this is actually good for you too. Since I’m going to stay cooped up in here for the rest of my life and never produce an heir, you get to inherit the family without any competition.”
“What are you even saying? You’re the one locked in your room wasting all our money.”
“And yet right now, that money-wasting shut-in has you completely pinned, doesn’t he?”
I’d let him into the workshop thinking the sponsor had finally come to show his face after so long. Instead, he suddenly drew a weapon and tried to drag me outside. The moment my innocence was proven, I used binding magic on his limbs.
“To have this much talent and all you do is lock yourself in a room…”
“It means I know my place. If I went outside and met people, I’d be taken advantage of in no time.”
“…That’s exactly why I’m trying to drag you out.”
“Huh?”
My brother Brean let out a heavy sigh while still dangling in midair.
“Brother. There are two pieces of information you need to know.”
“You’re telling me that in two years of never going outside in human form, there are only two things? That’s actually pretty good.”
“There’s a lot I want to say, but… wait. In human form? What exactly have you been doing?”
“I’ll explain that later, so let’s move on. What are those two important pieces of news?”
“…Sigh… We’re in serious trouble.”
A major incident had recently occurred at the academy. Priscilla Legator, the daughter of Duke Legator and the Crown Prince’s fiancée, had been excessively bullying a female classmate.
The victim was from a far lower social class than her. The real problem was that even when the Crown Prince himself pointed it out, she refused to stop.
After three straight years of relentless harassment, people’s affection for her had gradually cooled. Instead, their hearts leaned toward the victim who endured the bullying with quiet resilience and continued her school life.
The punishment given to Priscilla, who had finally crossed the line, was—
“Breaking off the engagement?”
“That’s not all. She’s essentially been expelled from the ducal family and forced to marry someone she doesn’t want.”
“Even the ducal house approved it? Just how horrible must she have been?”
She was the duke’s daughter, promised from childhood to become the emperor’s principal wife. Normally, no matter how bad it got, they would have glossed it over. Unless both the imperial family and the ducal house had gone completely insane, how could something like this happen?
“Her marriage partner is… gloomy.”
“Ugh.”
“Much older.”
“Isn’t that girl the same age as you? How could they do this to someone in the prime of her youth…”
“Ugly, never attends social gatherings, has a bizarre voice, and lives off his parents. There are even rumors that he’s a womanizer.”
“What absolute garbage…”
To pair such a man with a ducal lady who had behaved with utter arrogance— it was a punishment designed to destroy her dignity. Even if she had done something wrong and deserved punishment, she might as well have been sent to a convent.
“Sigh, just hearing about it is horrifying.”
“And now for the second piece of news.”
“You said there were two. What’s the other one?”
“…A marriage proposal has come for you, brother.”
“What.”
A marriage proposal? They wanted me to get married? To someone who hadn’t seen a woman’s face other than his mother’s in years after shutting himself in a room for so long?
“There’s no way I can get married. Absolutely not.”
“……”
“Do you seriously think I could get married? More importantly, don’t you have any prospects?”
Even I had to admit my brother Brean was quite tall and handsome. From what I heard, his grades weren’t bad either. He had trained hard since childhood and had a great physique. While I spent my academy days unable to even speak to girls, my little brother must have been incredibly popular…
“Little brother.”
“Yes, brother.”
“The more I think about it, that first story you told me seems to have absolutely nothing to do with me. I was listening because I thought it might cause problems for our family, but it really doesn’t seem related at all.”
“No, brother. The first story is very deeply related.”
“It can’t be… right?”
My brother closed his eyes and slowly shook his head.
“The punishment given to Priscilla Legator is to marry you, brother.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
I, Rayburn Clovias, had always kept my head down as much as possible in front of the family sponsor, but this was something I simply could not let slide.
“What the hell are you talking about! Priscilla’s marriage partner is clearly…”
“Gloomy, much older, ugly, never attends social gatherings, has a bizarre voice…”
“No, I mean—why?! Why did such horrible rumors get attached to me?!”
Brean let out what must have been his fifth sigh since I declared myself a professional freeloader. He still used respectful speech, but his eyes were the same as always—the look one gave to trash left abandoned in the corner of a room.
“It’s been six years since you graduated from the academy. Have you ever gone outside?”
“…Not in human form.”
Well, it was true that I hadn’t talked to people in quite a while. But what was so wrong with my face? It wasn’t exactly striking, but it wasn’t something that would inspire disgust either, was it?
“Besides, I’ve never been a womanizer! That part is pure slander!”
“You’re right. That particular rumor is indeed a misunderstanding.”
“It’s not just that one, but anyway…”
“Didn’t you present a spell at the academy that let you travel from the library to the bathroom without being seen by anyone?”
“That was transformation magic using dog saliva!”
“Either way, it’s hardly the behavior of a noble, is it…”
My desperate struggle to safely reach the bathroom from the library without incident. The heartbreaking memory of finally completing it, only for the professor to laugh hysterically for twenty-five minutes before suddenly shoving me onto the stage to present it…! Still, thanks to the transformation techniques I gained back then, I could still go outside for fresh air these days, so it wasn’t all bad.
“In that one and only presentation you ever gave in front of others, your voice was trembling, your eyes were glued to the floor, and your face was completely twisted. How could that leave a good impression?”
“But still…”
“To think you weren’t even aware that you’re the family’s disgrace…!”
Okay, maybe it wasn’t quite that bad… Aside from that presentation, I had never appeared before others. Whenever I met those noisy high-ranking social types, I immediately looked down. I had lived hidden away as much as possible so no one would notice me.
Even someone like me—who might as well not exist—was now a victim of these vicious rumors? And marrying me was the punishment being given to a ducal lady whose engagement to the Crown Prince had been broken off?
“Little brother… exactly what kind of image do I have out there…?”
“A crazy wizard hikikomori who stays locked in his house researching weird magic…”
“That’s enough.”
“If you had just gone outside and met some people instead of holing up like that, our family wouldn’t have ended up being the ones they threw that wicked woman at.”
My brother sighed again. I felt a little bad about keeping him tied up, so I released the magic.
“If only we could have driven you out before she arrived, the Clovias family might have been spared. Of all the flaws you could have, the only one that matters is that you’re completely useless…!”
“Why am I useless? I can use magic, can’t I?”
“When I think about that evil woman living right next to you, it only creates problems. Like you said, she might steal all your magical knowledge and research!”
“Oh… that’s actually a little concerning.”
“And now that we’ve been saddled with her, our Clovias viscountcy will be the target of even more finger-pointing than before.”
So we were already getting that, huh. The soldiers Brean had brought all wore gloomy expressions. A ducal lady abandoned by both the imperial family and her own house. Being forced to take her in definitely wasn’t going to be good for us.
This was a big problem. I didn’t want my magic research stolen, but if the family fell apart, I wouldn’t be able to continue my comfortable research either.
“No choice then. As the eldest son, I suppose I’ll have to step up this time.”
“Brother…?”
“It just means I have to make sure that wicked woman can’t pull any nonsense. Wait here a moment.”
In short, I needed to establish dominance right from the start. I was terrible at human relationships. But that was because I overthought other people and lacked confidence in maintaining connections. If I didn’t care about the consequences and just went all out, there was nothing I couldn’t do.
And the other party had no idea who I was.
“I’ll use this.”
Inside the medicine bottle I had carelessly tossed onto the messy floor were dull black pills. I could only make one per day, but since I didn’t need to take one every day, quite a few had accumulated.
“It’s a pill I created called Dito. When you swallow it, you can transform into any appearance you want.”
“What? You can achieve transformation magic just by taking a pill? How is that even…”
“Did you think I spent the six years after graduating just playing around in here?”
I popped one into my mouth and chewed. The texture and taste of chewing a rag soaked in dirty water filled my mouth. Along with the now-familiar pain, my muscles slowly twisted and expanded. My skeleton grew larger and thicker.
“B-Brother…?”
My hair became coarse, and a long beard I’d never had before sprouted, tickling my chin. My eyes grew large and sharp. Since changing the color too much might raise suspicion, I left that part alone.
“Ah… aah. Aaaaaah—”
My voice had become deep and menacing. My teeth had also grown large and sharp. I didn’t know exactly how bad Priscilla was, but with this much—
“What do you think, little brother? With this, she won’t dare act out and will live quietly, right?”
“Brother…”
With this, I had obtained a massive frame and a terrifying face that would intimidate anyone. Since the other party was in no position to complain no matter how I treated her, I might as well act like a real monster and shut her mouth for good. Perfect!
With this appearance, there was absolutely no way—
“…Have you perhaps forgotten what humans look like?”
“Huh?”
“That’s not a human. That’s a troll.”