Chapter 19
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Result of Theft
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As soon as I got home, I shut myself in the study.
To learn more about the ancestor's power, which was so similar to my unique ability.
I opened the ancient tomes my father had given me one by one.
I traced with my eyes the history of thievery embroidered by the blood of House Noir.
Aaah, my eyes hurt...
I rubbed my increasingly tired eyes.
I pressed down on my eyelids and looked out the window to ease the fatigue.
The moonlight had faded, and the sun was slowly brightening the world.
Feels like I've been holed up in here for about three hours...
I checked my notebook filled with my earnest efforts.
I'd spent over three hours without a break, following the ancestor's footsteps and filling the pages.
The result?
Just about two pages in a palm-sized notebook. That was it.
Life... is just...
I cradled my throbbing head and let out a sigh.
Truly, what a damn twisted life.
I never imagined my pathetic mana would hold me back even here.
I sighed as I glanced at the decoding key beside me.
The condition for reading House Noir's ancient tomes was simple.
One must possess the blood of House Noir.
To anyone not of the family, these tomes appeared as nothing but blank pages.
Since I was a member of House Noir, the condition was met.
The problem came next.
All these tomes were written in code, and decoding them required expending mana.
Otherwise, they just looked like pages full of weird worm-like scribbles.
Worms standing up,
worms curled into balls,
worms rolling forward...
Even now, countless worms swarmed before my eyes.
No helping it.
After all, my mana was pathetic.
If a novice mage had 200-300 mana, I barely scraped by with 15.
On par with a regular person who couldn't use magic at all, so reading these tomes was pure torment.
What I could do was,
either sip potions to replenish my scant mana while reading,
or painstakingly cross-reference with the decoding key beside me.
At least I had the decoding key to thank.
Without it, I'd probably be a potion addict by now.
I silently thanked the ancestor who made it—probably someone as mana-poor as me.
Let's see... I've copied down all the useful bits...
I flipped through the notebook.
The info I'd crammed in over the past six months, plus today's cram session—two pages.
Pathetically thin compared to the time invested,
but still, I'd salvaged some useful details on the ability.
⚙ HOUSE NOIR NOTES ⚙ 1. Borrowing the moon's power to steal means no mana or cost is consumed during the theft. 2. Using stolen immaterial things requires mana or a cost. ※ Immaterial?
Formless concepts, qualities, or invisible forces.
E.g., memories, authority, emotions, mana, combat prowess, etc.
3. Mana or cost depletes proportional to the value or amount used, with additional deductions for recovery or manipulation. 4. Theft doesn't guarantee legitimate ownership. (Others won't accept it as yours, nor will causality be altered.)
5. Material items are stable, but immaterial ones return to the original owner after 24 hours if not bound. (Can be maintained or recovered with mana or cost.)
6. Immaterial returned to the original owner severs connection beyond a certain distance, preventing further recovery/manipulation. (Distance proportional to mana or cost.)
6-1. Connection resumes if distance closes, allowing recovery/manipulation/use again.
7. Immaterial can be bound. Bound items incur no mana/cost when used. (Excludes mana-requiring techniques.) 8. Once bound, immaterial cannot be unbound. 9. Fully making bound immaterial one's own requires long time and adaptation. 10. If bound immaterial exceeds 50%, its essence is lost, rendering House Noir's power unusable. I meticulously reviewed the summarized contents again.
In short,
Stealing is free, but dealing with the aftermath is on you.
A quintessentially Noir ability: "Handle your own mess."
Of course, unique abilities might be similar but differ in details.
Like my aunt and sister, for example.
Both had abilities mediated through drawings, but the specifics differed.
My sister unconditionally summoned the real thing most similar to what she drew,
but my aunt's ability only manifested if the desired object resembled the drawing.
Right off the bat, the ancestor's and my abilities had different activation conditions, so this memo wouldn't apply to me identically.
Still, I'd reference it first and foremost.
I had no better countermeasures right now.
I leaned back against the chair.
Was it from racking my brain nonstop?
Even after sneaking into the mansion and pulling an all-nighter, my mind was sharp as ever.
Though my body felt like it was dying of exhaustion.
I gazed out the window at the fully risen sun, lost in thought.
One thing was clear: these notes meant I needed to use my unique ability even more cautiously.
Especially regarding binding.
Losing House Noir's power if non-Noir stuff exceeded half? No thanks.
Honestly, born into the free-spirited Noir family, I had zero loyalty or attachment to it.
But I wasn't about to stupidly throw away my identity and cheat-code unique ability.
Noirs get most pissed when their stuff gets stolen, after all.
So, I'd restrain from binding as much as possible.
No way I'd overreach and lose Noir's power.
I wonder if even the ancestor cautioned against binding, since it's in the records.
Maybe there's a magic tool to check my status?
I could ask Father.
The side effect of diluting Noir blood probably wasn't unique to my ability.
Ask Father first, then...
As I sorted things out in my head,
the study door suddenly burst open with a loud bang.
I'd expected it, but sure enough, it was Rapina sister.
She scratched her belly under her slightly lifted top and yawned as she asked,
"Oh, what're you doing, Fourth? Up early? Or did you not sleep?"
"Didn't sleep."
"Ehey, you little punk need your early bed early rise. No sleep means you're done for. You won't... well, won't grow taller anyway."
Sister eyed me up and down and trailed off.
Seeing I was a head taller than my peers, she had nothing to say, apparently.
I shrugged inwardly proud.
"More importantly, why're you in here? You never come to the study."
"'Cause I got business with you."
"What business."
"Ahem, Fourth. Your big sis is craving something sweet."
"I'm not your errand... boy."
I started to argue but quickly gave in.
After all, I'd put her borrowed tools to good use at dawn today.
Even without that, I was the lowest in the family pecking order—had to do as told.
I yawned hugely and rose from the chair.
"Tiramisu okay? Got some leftover cream cheese."
"Sounds good. ...But what's with all those potion bottles? Why'd you chug so many?"
"Reading books."
"Jeez, even so, moderate it. You'll ruin your health."
Rapina sister ruffled my hair wildly.
Unlike her teasing scolding, her touch was unusually gentle.
Gazing at her, I casually asked,
"Wanna decode and read for me?"
"...Just looking at the text makes me sleepy—it's a chronic condition."
"Yeah. Wasn't expecting anyway."
Among us siblings, only big bro and I read books.
Honestly, even I only did it out of necessity.
I never flipped pages for fun.
Walking the hall with sister, I mentally planned my day.
Grab a quick breakfast, make plenty of tiramisu, then head to the Eliad mansion.
I still didn't know if the severed connection was permanent,
or just due to distance.
The feeling of my link to the Grand Duke's judgment breaking was still vivid.
Like sand I'd cupped in both hands slipping through my fingers.
Maybe that's why.
I felt more than a little anxious.
My unique ability was, after all, a degraded version of the ancestor's.
Unlike the ancestor, there was no guarantee the connection would hold.
So I had to check.
Would it reconnect at the mansion, or was it gone for good?
And so,
a bit past lunchtime in the afternoon—
I arrived at the Eliad mansion, dark circles under my eyes.
Sister told me to sleep a bit,
but I couldn't close my eyes until I confirmed.
Please, let the connection resume. At least let my manipulation hold.
I prayed fervently one last time before approaching the mansion gate.
The stern-faced guard looked down at me.
Soon enough, as always, he silently stepped aside.
Opening the gate without fuss... does that mean the manipulation holds?
I couldn't fully relax yet.
It was just a guess—no hard proof.
Suppressing my unease, I walked on.
The closer I got to the mansion, the more the connection sensation faintly revived.
Yes... it's reconnecting!
The moment I entered the mansion, I let out a long sigh of relief.
That instant—
a chill ran down my neck.
"You're here."
"Ah."
A familiar cold, intimidating voice.
Turning, the Grand Duke looked down at me with an expressionless gaze.
Even with my conviction, I couldn't shake the inner anxiety.
But I was a Noir.
As always, I donned my shameless mask and smiled calmly.
"Yes. After all, I'm Ruena's one and only friend."
"...Indeed."
Fortunately, the Grand Duke didn't contradict me.
Just days ago, he'd firmly told me never to return.
My unique ability must have properly twisted his judgment.
Let me probe a bit more firmly.
I'd manipulated three aspects of his judgment.
Accepting my visits to the mansion as natural.
And seeing me as essential to Ruena.
I bowed politely and smiled brightly.
"I'll do my utmost to be a support for Ruena."
"Good. I leave it to you."
The Grand Duke replied curtly and indifferently turned away.
But—
I had even greater certainty now.
The guy who treated me like air for three years accepts me this easily?!
Joy mingled with a touch of bitterness.
But I quickly composed myself and headed to Ruena's room.
I still had work to do.
"Hey, Ruena."
"Yes?"
"Wanna go out just the two of us next week?"
I picked up Ruena's dropped fork and smiled brightly.