I Dropped the Bomb
"Marshall."
"Yes, young master."
Den stayed behind to handle the cleanup, and Marshall—one of the escort knights who had followed me—answered my call.
"Go bring the Baron and Baroness."
"Understood."
In truth, I was pretending to be calm, but my head was already starting to throb. It wasn’t because some massacre was unfolding in there. Those two had done unforgivable things, the kind that made keeping them alive the far more headache-inducing option. No, the real issue was something else.
Is it really okay for me to handle this alone?
I’d felt from the very beginning that I’d gotten myself tangled up in something seriously troublesome. But the problem was what came after. Even a moment’s thought made it clear this wasn’t something that could be easily resolved. If I wasn’t careful, the situation had grown so large that I might have to flip the entire back alleys of the Floverhart barony upside down.
I might even need to bring it up with Serena—and with my father. What a pain in the ass.
It wasn’t just that it was annoying and complicated. It was because this might be the kind of thing that, for someone, went beyond simply exposing their shame. It was like digging a knife into an open wound.
Well. I guess I’m not exactly in a position to lecture anyone about minding their own family business.
This is exactly why you shouldn’t carelessly get involved in other people’s affairs. Still, now that I’d already stepped in, I had zero intention of half-assing it and backing out.
…Even so.
It was still annoying as hell.
A chilly, cold atmosphere—anything but light—hung heavily inside the reception room.
In a tension so thick it felt like a single wrong word could draw blood, he sat alone, quietly sipping the cheap black tea before gently setting his cup down.
Clink.
At the sound of the teacup meeting its saucer, Serena flinched without meaning to.
Is he… angry?
He had to be. No, he definitely looked angry.
Ever since Kallion had followed them out and returned completely unharmed, he hadn’t said a single word. He simply sat there in silence. Naturally, Serena—who felt like nothing more than a false advertisement at this point—couldn’t bring herself to speak first. She could only sit there, nervously twisting her fingers.
"Big brother, this is super yummy!"
"Yeah? There’s plenty more, so eat as much as you want."
"Really?!"
"Yep. But you have to eat your meals properly too, okay? You can’t skip dinner just because you ate sweets."
"Of course! I eat tons of rice!"
"Really? Guess I’ll have to check later."
Of course, Kallion wasn’t staying silent toward everyone. Somehow he and Felix had grown close without her noticing, chatting comfortably with the boy. He even answered Anya’s occasional questions with sincere attention.
Ugh…
On the way back, Kallion had stopped by a dessert shop and bought an armful of cookies, cakes, and other sweets as if nothing had happened. Thanks to that, Felix and Anya were over the moon. Serena was the only one who wasn’t.
Every time she watched Kallion smiling faintly while dealing with the children, her heart shriveled a little more.
What do I do…!
Those sweets and desserts—were they a breakup gift? All sorts of wild thoughts flooded Serena’s mind.
Meanwhile, the person in question was lost in his own thoughts and hadn’t noticed her distress at all. Since Felix and Anya kept approaching him first, he answered them without overthinking. But Serena, feeling too guilty to speak up, had no opportunity to talk to him. That was all it was. Yet to Serena, it felt like he was deliberately ignoring only her, and her insides continued to burn.
"These are delicious."
"Really? That’s a relief. I don’t know much about desserts, so I just bought whatever they recommended."
"They said these have been really popular lately. Thank you."
"No need to thank me. Just eat a lot."
Anya’s words, which somehow blended adult maturity with childish innocence, brought another small smile to Kallion’s face as he replied. The somehow warm expression momentarily stole Serena’s gaze before she shook her head, trying to snap herself out of it.
"…You get along with children incredibly well."
The words slipped out before she could stop them. Kallion’s eyes turned toward her.
Ah.
She was currently in the position of a sinner. She should have started with an apology, not something like this. As Serena slowly blinked, realizing her mistake and preparing to lower her head—
"It’s nothing special."
Kallion’s voice was a little softer than usual.
"I just like children."
"Ah… I… I see."
From Serena’s perspective, the usual Kallion was somewhat stiff, the type who drew clear lines. The kind who acted like everything was a hassle, pretended to be laid-back, but had a lot going on in his head and never crossed certain boundaries—a cold sort of person. But right now, he was the complete opposite. The lines, or rather the wall he usually kept up, had been temporarily lowered. The warmth that replaced it somehow felt like it was casually stepping over other people’s boundaries.
That was why she found herself staring blankly at his face.
That was when it happened.
Knock, knock.
"Young master. I have brought the Floverhart Baron and his wife."
In an instant, Kallion’s expression—which had been somewhat warm and relaxed—froze over coldly. The atmosphere shifted completely. The change was so stark that even Felix, who was right beside him, noticed it.
"Anya."
"Yes?"
"Could you take Felix and wait in the room for a bit? I’ll have the desserts sent to you."
"…Yes, understood."
"Thanks."
Before Anya, who had sensed the suddenly heavy mood, could lead Felix out of the room, Kallion spoke.
"Come in."
It was as if this were his own family’s estate. The way he spoke, like he was inviting outsiders into his domain, struck Serena as strangely off before she could fully process it.
The door opened, and the Floverhart Baron and his wife appeared.
They looked so haggard, emaciated, and filthy that it was hard to believe they were nobles. Kallion narrowed his eyes as he observed them.
"Marshall, Den."
"Yes, young master."
"Take what’s here to the children’s room."
"Understood."
After sending all four—Marshall, Den, Felix, and Anya—outside, Kallion slowly rose to his feet and straightened his clothes. Then, with eyes that had sunk into a low, cold gaze, he stared at the Baron and Baroness and quietly spoke.
"It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time. Baron Floverhart, Baroness Floverhart. I am Kallion del Helios, the second son of the Helios Marquisate."
"I-I am Baron Floverhart."
"I am the Baroness of Floverhart."
Elegant. Polite. After the perfectly proper greeting, Kallion faced them with sharp eyes and a calm voice.
"I will speak directly."
To them, he said:
"It is time for you to step down from your position as head of the family."
He had dropped the bomb.
The head of a family and his wife. Instead of leading their house and prospering their territory, they had nearly ruined it all through gambling. Even if they had exploited their own people and borrowed money from loan sharks in the process. Even if the territory itself had been in danger, there was very little I could do about it from my position.
Legally speaking, the Floverharts were clearly nobles, and while I was a noble too, I hadn’t inherited any title yet. Honestly, even if my father had come himself, there probably wouldn’t have been an easy way to forcibly remove them from their position as head of the family.
I’m not entirely sure, but in the original story it probably went something like… gather evidence, report it to the emperor. That kind of thing.
Ugh, what a weird memory to resurface.
Anyway. If it had to be resolved that way, there wasn’t much I could do. At the very least, I couldn’t just slam my head into the problem like this. That was why the temperature inside the Floverhart reception room had plunged to freezing.
I opened my mouth again toward the Baron and Baroness, who were blinking blankly, still unable to grasp the situation.
"Illegal gambling and loan sharks. I can understand up to that point."
If I were being generous, that much could be overlooked. Why? Because I had already crushed everyone who had lent them money and tried to use it to control them. I had also completely destroyed the gambling dens.
Of course, a few dens still remained in the barony, but getting rid of those would be simple enough.
"What… what are you suddenly talking about, young lord of Helios…?"
When I turned my gaze to the stuttering Baron Floverhart, his body gave a violent tremble. No, that wasn’t a normal reaction. Both the Baroness and the Baron had been shivering uncontrollably ever since they entered the reception room, as if they were standing in the middle of a blizzard.
The reason they kept silent wasn’t because they failed to understand the situation. It wasn’t because their every sin had been laid bare, nor because their shame was being exposed in front of their proud daughter.
"S-suddenly dragging us here and then saying things we c-can’t understand… i-it’s c-confusing… and f-frightening."
They were stuttering badly. The once-normal Baron and Baroness had suddenly become obsessed with gambling, selling off everything the family owned and squandering all their assets. How could they have lost so much money in such a short time?
Of course, addiction to gambling often led to such things. But these two came from a merchant family. For the head of the house—who had grown up under a father skilled with money and calculations—to fall apart so completely, there had to be another reason.
"Fairy's Tail."
"……"
I spoke slowly, staring directly at them.
"I assume you are familiar with it?"
Yes. Unless they were addicted to some kind of drug, this situation was difficult to understand.