Malice
Every day, every minute, every second is hell. Breathing, eating, drinking—even blinking is agony. It hurts. I want to die, but I lack even the courage to end it. I have no talent, no strength left to uphold the family, yet this stubborn, filthy life refuses to let me take it myself.
"……Young master."
"……"
At the butler's voice calling me, I turned my vacant, unfocused eyes toward Arhendo. Everything is unbearable. Even after losing my parents and my fiancée…… even after everything was stolen from me, the world still opens its maw as if it isn't satisfied. As if it demands I surrender every last thing, from head to toe. It gapes wide, black and ravenous.
"……The young lord's uncle…… is here?"
"Yes, my lord."
Yet the world is not truly so cruel. To be honest, it has never spared us a single ounce of interest. It merely watches, indifferent to whatever unfolds. All malice in this world springs from people. I simply learned too late that human malice spreads only among humans.
@
"What…… did you just say?"
Ruen stared blankly at his uncle, Calsento, and repeated the question. Calsento Fil Calbrandt. Younger brother of the former head, Hamel Fil Calbrandt. He too had been born with respectable magical talent, yet he had always lived in the shadow of his brilliant elder brother. Before Hamel became head, Calsento had known he would never inherit the position. More precisely, he had understood he could never become head. His brother was a once-in-a-generation genius whose talent far surpassed his own.
Knowing he could never surpass Hamel in either ability or character, Calsento had left the family. Everyone had agreed it was the right decision. The moment Hamel Fil Calbrandt took the headship, his magical talent blossomed, solidifying the Calbrandt name as one of the empire's foremost magical houses. No one doubted that Hamel's contribution had been decisive in elevating Calbrandt into the top three magical families of the empire.
And now, with Hamel Fil Calbrandt and his wife Luana Helint—now Luana Fil Calbrandt—dead in an accident, Calsento had learned that Ruen Fil Calbrandt possessed no magical talent. After decades away, he had returned to Calbrandt territory.
"Exactly as I said. The current Calbrandt is far too precarious."
Wearing a benevolent smile, Calsento looked down at the infant Ruen and spoke in a calm, measured voice.
"Your father, once hailed a genius, met an unfortunate end in an accident, and so did your mother. At the same time, rumors have begun spreading through high society that you, Ruen, lack magical talent."
"……That is……"
An undeniable fact. Ruen met Calsento's gaze with trembling eyes. His uncle had clearly eaten well in the years since leaving the family; his plump frame was the very opposite of his father Hamel's lean, dignified presence.
"Which is why I intend to lead the Calbrandt family until you come of age."
Ruen knew it too. If things continued this way, Calbrandt would surely collapse. No matter that they were an imperial marquisate, what sustained Calbrandt was its reputation as a magical house. The mere fact that Ruen himself had no magical talent was enough to shake its foundations. Of course, Calbrandt had built far more than Ruen feared it would lose so easily, yet he could not help feeling terror.
Two hundred years. Everything his father and ancestors had painstakingly built could crumble because of him. He did not know how his long-absent uncle had sensed his despair and appeared now, but before him stood a blood relative he could rely on. Therefore, he had been ready to accept Calsento's offer.
"……P-please, give me a little time to think."
Yet he could not bring himself to take his uncle's hand at once. Calsento had not shown his face even at Hamel and Luana's funeral, and something about him felt deeply wrong. Ruen could not put it into words, but his instincts screamed it. Behind that benevolent smile lurked a serpent, its jaws stretched wide with greed.
The current headship belonged to Ruen, the young lord. No matter how unsuited his talent was to a magical house, he was the empire-recognized head of Calbrandt. Even if the position were to be transferred to a regent, it could not happen without Ruen's consent. Calsento, well aware of this, accepted the request with the same gentle smile and withdrew with a nod.
Letting out a small breath, Ruen stared blankly at the ceiling.
"……Father, Mother…… what am I supposed to do now?"
His parents, who had always answered whenever he asked questions or sought guidance, were gone. So Ruen could only wrap his aching shoulders and let out a long, weary sigh.
@
Human malice is blacker than any abyss, deeper than any swamp, and thicker than any other emotion.
Ruen had grown up safely within the protective walls his father and mother had built, surrounded by love. Those who envied or resented him had never been able to approach him in the first place. He had never directly experienced another's malice. Only now did he realize he had been a flower raised in a greenhouse.
And now, with the walls shattered and the greenhouse broken, he faced human malice for the first time.
"Aaaaargh……!!"
Beneath the brilliant moonlight, on a late night when darkness should have made the stars and moon shine brighter, a scream of agony echoed through the mansion. Ruen could only stare ahead with trembling eyes.
"Protect the head of the house!!"
"You bastard!!"
The sharp clash of steel rang out, followed by the tortured screams of those struck down. Even in the dead of night, the dazzling display of magic illuminating the mansion made his head ring.
Crash……!!
"Aaaagh!!! My leg……!!"
Ruen could do nothing but tremble. He was terrified. He had never seen someone die before his eyes. The screams, the bright red blood—everything filled him with fear.
He was also furious. Someone's malice, someone's greed, was stealing the lives of the servants and knights who had served his parents and sworn loyalty to Calbrandt. The rage was overwhelming.
And shame flooded him. He cursed his own weak body that could do nothing even in this moment. He cursed the world that had taken everything from him while giving him no talent in return. Most of all, he was disgusted with himself for thinking such thoughts.
"Why…… why……!!"
A blazing fireball hurtled toward the desperately shouting Ruen. As if he had been expecting it, Arhendo drew his sword and swatted the flame aside, then called to him in a low voice.
"Young master."
"……A-Arhendo."
"You must flee."
The knights of the marquisate were loyal and strong. The house's forces were far from weak. Had this been a simple raid, the situation would never have deteriorated this far. But this was no ordinary attack. It was Calsento Fil Calbrandt's rebellion to seize the headship of Calbrandt.
His agents had already infiltrated the mansion, and even among the knights there were those loyal to Calsento. Traitors who had abandoned the crumbling Calbrandt and betrayed Ruen appeared from every corner. The loyal knights defending Ruen fell one after another, far too easily.
Until now they had managed to hold the line with magic, but Arhendo knew it could not last.
"Arhendo……?"
"If you survive, my lord, you can plan for the future. That is the only way to reclaim Calbrandt."
Arhendo's family had served Calbrandt faithfully for over two hundred years. For the true master of Calbrandt, he was prepared to throw away his life.
"B-but……!!"
"Young master."
Arhendo's dark brown eyes behind his glasses settled calmly. At that look, Ruen found himself falling silent and listening.
"Do not forget. You are Calbrandt's last hope."
"……"
"At the same time, never forget that the greedy Calsento is the hateful man who murdered the lord and lady."
"……!!"
Everything had been Calsento's scheme. Since leaving the family, he had carefully and secretly planted his own people inside Calbrandt. To seize it for himself.
Why had the carriage wheel—something that should have been meticulously maintained—failed? Because Calsento's subordinate had sabotaged it. Why had Hamel and Luana been unable to use magic even as they fell from the cliff? Because Calsento's maid had poisoned their tea with a substance that suppressed mana.
There were only two ways to inherit the headship. One was for the current head, Ruen, to voluntarily relinquish it and step down. The other was—
"Hand over your life quietly!!! Ruen Fil Calbrandt!!!"
—for Ruen to die, leaving the position vacant.