Chapter 16
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Death's Multiple Choice
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The ship that had been sailing smoothly with the tailwinds,
suddenly slammed into a massive reef and shattered to pieces.
"...Yes?"
"From now on, please do not come to our mansion anymore, Young Noir."
I just blinked vacantly in a daze.
As if someone had scrubbed away everything with an eraser,
all my thoughts and sense of reality had vanished clean.
I was so stunned that I just kept blinking vacantly.
Then, snapping out of it, I started turning my brain at full speed.
What?
What was the problem?
Had I done anything blameworthy?
I recalled the past three years of daily life in my head.
'Blameworthy actions...'
If I had to pick one, deliberately avoiding the Grand Duke?
But that was something I'd done without fail every single day for the past three years.
Thanks to that, my skills had improved to the point where
I could sense the Grand Duke's presence from afar,
or slip out of sight so skillfully even right under his nose.
It was something I'd repeated so often that my stealth skills had naturally leveled up.
If that had bothered him, he would've kicked me out several times by now.
'Then what?'
Something else the Grand Duke might hate...
Feeding Ruena sweet desserts?
But that was routine too.
It was something he disliked,
but knowing that, I'd been meticulous about leaving no traces.
'Of course, the Grand Duke would probably notice anyway...'
I'd heard that parents avoid giving sweets to their kids
because the addictive sweetness ruins their health and eating habits.
So I'd deliberately toned down the sugar,
been careful not to let Ruena gain weight,
and only used seasonal fruits good for the body or expensive ingredients.
'...No way, did Ruena gain weight?'
No, that couldn't be.
By my sharp eyes, she looked about the same as before.
What had noticeably increased was probably the food expenses I'd lavished on her.
'Come to think of it, that alone is reason enough to get kicked out...'
But it didn't seem to be the issue.
The man before me.
Kasian Eliad, the Grand Duke.
A man ruthless even to his only daughter
would hardly be lenient to me, just her friend.
With the Grand Duke's personality, he wouldn't have overlooked it for three years.
So if that were the problem, I would've been gone long ago.
Pretending to sip my tea, I glanced at the Grand Duke.
As always,
his inner thoughts were impenetrable.
He just looked at me like an unwelcome intruder, as usual.
But today, that gaze felt more unpleasant and sharply on edge than normal.
'What the hell? Did I slip up today? Or do something noticeable lately? ...Wait.'
Come to think of it, things had been off lately.
Not with me, but with Ruena.
She seemed anxious yet listless somewhere.
It had been sporadic at first, but lately, it was noticeably more frequent.
A fidgety restlessness, like she was being chased by something.
"Something wrong?"
"No."
"Okay?"
At the time, I'd just assumed she had something she couldn't tell me.
Gaining a unique ability brings burdens and pressures, after all.
Unlike me, Ruena was also the heir.
And speaking of today—
'...Something was definitely off.'
Our usual teatime in Ruena's room.
The same scenery every time, yet it felt strangely out of place.
"Ruena."
"Yeah."
"The cake no good?"
"No. It's delicious."
Yeah. Something was seriously weird.
Ruena had been swallowing her words or lowering her head more often.
And on top of that—
she'd barely touched the dessert I'd made.
Even if it wasn't her taste, she'd always slowly finish it all.
"Oh, right. Your birthday's coming up soon, huh?"
"...Yeah."
"What kind of cake do you want this year? I was thinking we'd do whatever you crave."
"...Dunno."
It had been ages since I'd reminisced with Buddy the parrot as company—
when I sensed the Grand Duke's presence from afar.
I quickly erased the evidence and hid as usual.
The Grand Duke, who treated me like I was invisible, would deliver his business to Ruena briefly and leave.
But—
today, he wasn't there for Ruena.
"Ruena."
"...Yes, Father."
"I heard Young Noir came today too. He's still here, right."
"......"
"I have something to say to him alone, so send him out, Young Noir."
For the first time, the Grand Duke addressed me directly.
Completely different from the past three years of avoiding each other.
After a moment's hesitation, I revealed myself.
"...Yes, Your Grace."
And that's what I heard the moment I arrived straight at his study.
"From now on, do not come to our mansion."
It was a sudden declaration.
A verdict that left no room for excuses.
'And when I asked again, he even used formal speech to hammer it in.'
From his expression, even asking for the reason seemed forbidden.
In that case—
I had to guess the reason and ask from my side.
Ruena's changes.
Her anxious demeanor.
And the conviction in his eyes that I couldn't be near Ruena.
I stared at the Grand Duke and slowly opened my mouth.
"Your Grace."
"What."
"Is it because I'm a Noir?"
No matter how I thought about it, this was the most plausible reason.
Our family's origins were top secret,
but the heads of the Founding Houses knew our ancestor was a thief.
House Eliad was a strict household.
They'd see it as dishonor for someone with a thief's blood
to associate with their sole heir.
'He'd held back until now out of respect for the Grand Duchess's wishes...'
Age 10.
Ruena, who gained her unique ability.
She was no longer a child to be babied,
and had to face the world's judgment as House Eliad's true heir.
Having me by her side must have seemed a fatal flaw to the Grand Duke.
'Everyone in power knows it. ...The truth about the Noirs.'
I set down the empty teacup and stared at the Grand Duke.
No response came, confirming my guess was probably right.
I wasn't the heir or anything,
and the Grand Duke was Ethersia's greatest power.
So... no sharp solutions.
"Understood."
"......"
"But... give me some time. Even if I'm leaving, I need to tie up loose ends, right?"
"Fine. Can't give you long."
After bowing to the Grand Duke, I left the study.
The sound of the study door closing echoed unusually loud.
'...I'm screwed.'
A ship with full sails sinks in a single moment.
My plans, shattered hopelessly.
I had no idea what to do next.
'What now? If my connection to Ruena breaks, I lose any way to glimpse her future...'
I tore at my innocent hair.
Fortunately, the recent futures I'd seen were positive.
No death for me, and Ruena living peacefully.
The problem was not knowing how long they'd remain valid.
Futures can flip anytime.
As a Noir close to the future, I knew that uncertainty all too well.
'If we part like this, it could change again...'
For now, I headed to Ruena's room.
To end it as beautifully as possible.
A short but precious childhood friend.
Maybe playing that role could free me from a dog's death fate.
I entered Ruena's room.
She shot up from her chair as if waiting and approached.
"Celen."
"Yeah."
"...What did Father say?"
Ruena's eyes wavered.
Her fists clenched tight, trembling visibly.
My throat went dry instantly.
'...What do I say?'
After a moment's thought, I dropped my gaze to look as pitiful and sad as possible.
"His Grace said... to refrain from coming here."
"...What?"
"Looks like... I can't come anymore..."
I dragged out the end while peeking at her future.
Praying desperately for a useful vision.
A moment later—
a vision unfolded vividly before my eyes.
🔮 FORESIGHT VISION 🔮 A future where Ruena, with an eerie glint in her eyes, smiled chillingly at me. "Celen...?"
"Why did you abandon me back then?"
"Why? Why? I only had you, Celen."
"Why do you look at me like that? Planning to abandon me again?"
"No. Never."
The future's Ruena closed in right up to my face.
Then my vision gradually blurred, and nothing was visible.
It wasn't the future ending—it was my consciousness in the future forcibly severed.
Which meant—
'If we part like this, dog's death confirmed!'
Cold sweat poured down my back.
Was there ever a more horrific multiple choice?
Choosing Ruena means getting marked by the kingdom's top power,
but obeying the Grand Duke leads to my future self dying a tragic young death.
'This is maddening!'
A bumpy future,
or a smooth one ending in dog's death.
Pick one—
"Ruena."
"......"
"...But I... don't want to be apart from you."
Of course, the former.
I had zero desire to die young.
Long and long,
especially hating that kind of dog's death.
So—
only one answer.
Find a way to stay entangled with Ruena without crossing the Grand Duke.
I glanced up at Ruena.
She stared at me with wide eyes.
A gaze so fragile it could shatter any moment.
Yet her eyes were faintly red.
"...Really?"
"Yeah."
I nodded firmly, fists clenched.
Then I approached Ruena and gently took her hand.
"Ruena, I don't want to be apart from you."
"......"
Ruena's lips trembled.
She squeezed my hand back, still gazing at me.
🔮 POSITIVE VISION 🔮 A faint smile spread across Ruena's face. "...Me too." At that moment—
my heart started pounding wildly.
'...Why is this happening now?!'
Ignoring my heart acting on its own, I put on a resolute expression.
"I'll talk to the Grand Duke once more."
"...Father?"
"Yeah. Who knows? Maybe we can find a compromise."
Finding that compromise would be in true Noir fashion, though.