10
Chapter 10:
"...Mister?"
Siellin tilted her head, unable to grasp the situation.
I slowly lowered my hands.
"A-Mister. Why were my ears...?"
"Enduring everything isn't always the answer. There are times when you have to act without thinking about the consequences."
"That... that's..."
Siellin hesitated over her words.
I could already guess what came next.
'Back then, acting recklessly would have meant disaster.'
She wouldn't have been able to try anything at all.
Siellin is nothing more than a twelve-year-old child.
She doesn't have the strength to survive on her own, without anyone's help.
What if she acted without thinking about the consequences and something went wrong?
That would have been the end.
But.
"It's fine now, because I'm here."
As long as I'm here.
There's no way anything will go wrong for Siellin.
"So you can do whatever you want."
I turned my head.
What I needed to do now was set the stage.
"Kneel."
I said those words and gestured with my eyes.
Telling them to go over there.
All the servants moved to where I had gestured and dropped to their knees in unison.
"P-p-please, Young Lord... m-mercy..."
"Shut up."
I have no intention of listening to that pathetic voice.
"Siellin, do whatever you want."
It was only right that Siellin, who had been oppressed all this time, decide what to do with the servants.
"For real?"
"Trust me."
"...Okay. I trust you. Mister."
Siellin walked toward the servants with a resolute air.
"P-please forgive..."
"Shut up."
Crack!
Siellin slapped the maid across the cheek.
Crash—
The kneeling maid tumbled and rolled to the side.
But Siellin didn't stop.
She singled out her next target and delivered another slap.
"Urk—!?"
"Kneel again."
And so Siellin finished dealing with the maids.
Then she turned her gaze toward where the servants had gathered.
"I am not someone the likes of you can pass judgment on."
Siellin didn't stop.
"How dare you evaluate me. Did you think I couldn't hear you gossiping behind my back?"
She began going through them one by one, holding each person accountable for their wrongs.
"You called me a monster. You agreed and talked behind my back. You stood by and ignored me."
Siellin poured out the resentment she had endured, putting her whole heart into it.
Yet within that resentment was composure and cold clarity.
She wasn't being swept away by emotion.
"I have no intention of forgiving you. I'm not the kind of pushover who shows mercy after being wronged."
Siellin recited it coldly.
And just as she was about to say something more.
"A-Adrian, Young Lord!"
Harsen, the Household Head, came running in a panic.
"W-what is the meaning of this?"
Harsen muttered as he took in the sight of the servants in shambles.
"Don't tell me you did this...?"
"So what if I did?"
Siellin fixed her glare on Harsen, eyes flashing.
"In the end, fate..."
"Harsen Rekanof."
It was my turn to step in.
"Young Lord... please, ease your anger. If you would somehow stop that child..."
"Pay for what you've done."
I didn't speak formally to him.
There was no longer any need for that.
"Mister, can I do whatever I want?"
"You don't need my permission. Do whatever you like."
I would have stopped her if she were tormenting innocent commoners.
But every one of them had committed wrongs.
It's only natural for wrongdoers to face consequences.
"You really irritate me."
"...What should I do?"
Siellin pointed at all the servants.
"Get rid of them all."
"Understood. What's next?"
"You need to get hit too."
Thwack!
Siellin's kick landed squarely on Harsen.
"Urgh...!"
Harsen crumpled down miserably.
"Household Head!"
"Ngh..."
Harsen staggered to his feet, supported by a Retainer.
"I-is this... enough...?"
Harsen rubbed the spot where he'd been struck and spoke.
The trembling in his voice hadn't settled.
And seeing that he couldn't keep his expression under control, she must have hit him quite hard.
"Mister."
Siellin didn't answer and looked at me instead.
It seemed as though she was passing the turn over to me now.
"Just why. Did you treat Siellin like a monster?"
This was the heart of it.
She was simply someone with exceptional talent.
Why was she treated as a monster by everyone in the Household?
"...Follow me."
I followed behind Harsen as he limped his way to the Household Head's chamber.
Once inside, he lowered himself into a chair.
"Could you send Siellin outside for a moment? This is not something she should hear."
"No."
Why would I send away the very person who needs to hear this?
"...I ask you. This is something Siellin must not hear."
Even after being beaten like that, Harsen didn't back down.
"I'm fine with just Mister knowing."
"Are you sure? You must be curious..."
"If it's something I'm allowed to hear and he's refusing anyway, I can just hear it from Mister afterward. Even the Household Head knows that much."
She's not wrong.
"I'll wait outside."
"I won't keep you waiting long."
"Okay."
Siellin gave me a faint smile, just for me, and stepped outside.
"Speak. What's the reason?"
"You are remarkably direct, Young Lord. Then I shall be direct as well."
Harsen closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.
"Siellin was born with a fate to kill all those around her. It began when she was born killing her own mother upon entering the world."
The moment I heard those words, one person came to mind.
The Sword Saint before my Regression.
The one who fell into Madness and brought a storm of bloodshed upon the continent.
"In detail."
"I cannot say more. This is as far as I am permitted."
My eyes narrowed on their own.
"How did you come to learn that she was born with that fate?"
"That as well."
"What do you mean, permitted?"
"The moment I cross the permitted line, I die. That is all."
It didn't seem like Harsen was lying.
His eyes held a desperate plea to be believed.
"Fate... fate, is it..."
Is my Regression fate as well?
It wouldn't have happened for no reason.
'Just looking at this sword.'
I glanced down at the scabbard.
My sword that came from the future.
This sword is proof that my Regression is not a meaningless phenomenon.
"Then let me ask you one thing. What have you been doing all this time?"
Right. Sure, fate this and that, I understand.
But what exactly have you been doing in the meantime?
"..."
Harsen didn't answer.
I suppose that means he did nothing at all.
"Knowing Siellin was born with such a fate, the only thing you did was make sure she was treated like a monster. That's all... Quite the Household Head you are."
"...What can I, a mere mortal, do to change fate?"
"Don't make excuses, Harsen Rekanof. Even if you can't change fate, there's no reason to make her be treated like a monster."
There was no need to hear any more.
"Siellin's mother..."
"And what of it?"
I have absolutely no interest in whatever tearful story you have.
"I'm taking Siellin with me."
There's no longer any reason to remain in a Household like this.
As much as I'd like to wipe out this Household on the spot...
'I need to be careful.'
Harsen knows something.
Permitted this and that—but it means there's something worth making use of.
Given that Siellin was born with such a fate.
Of course, even after I've gotten everything useful out of him, I have no intention of letting this Household off the hook.
'He probably can't go around disclosing it to outsiders either.'
If he could, he would have done so already.
So that part didn't seem worth worrying about.
"...Fate."
I left Harsen behind, muttering to himself alone.
"Mister!"
Siellin greeted me immediately.
"It was something I shouldn't hear, wasn't it? I can tell just by looking at your face, Mister."
"Don't worry too much."
"It's fine. I don't care about it anymore."
Siellin smiled, as if a weight had been lifted.
"But where are we going now? We're not staying in the Household any longer, right?"
"We're going to the Mage Tower."
Change Siellin's fate, and raise her well.
That is my newly established goal.
There are many places I'll need to visit along the way.
But the Mage Tower came first.
***
My plan to go to the Mage Tower fell apart in an instant.
—You win the Hunting Tournament... then fight and beat the Northern Grand Duke? What on earth have you been getting up to out there. Get back to the Household at once.
Because Kalen Valter, the Household Head of the Valter Ducal House—in other words, my father—had summoned me.
"Mister, Mister."
"What."
"What's your Household like?"
"Well... it's a good place."
Even being generous, I couldn't call it bad.
"I'm curious."
"You'll see when you get there."
There are just a lot of peculiar people.
"Ugh. But we have to ride the Warp Gate again."
"I've said it many times, but if you tried a carriage..."
"Mister. Did you know that keeps saying that is exactly what makes you such a mister?"
"What does 'such a mister' even mean?"
I am technically a mister, given my age.
But I'm not that kind of person.
...Really.
"The fact that you don't know is proof that you're a mister."
Siellin poked me on the nose.
"Let's go. I think I'll be okay since I've ridden it a few times now."
"A whole two times and you're acting proud."
"Hmph. Just watch."
We boarded the Warp Gate.
And then.
"Urgh—! Ah... Mi... blech—!"
Nothing had changed.
"See? All that pride for nothing."
"Shut... be quiet..."
I patted Siellin on the back.
Just then, a voice came from behind.
"Young Master, you've arrived."
Jern, the Household's Steward, greeted us.
"Yes."
"The Household Head is looking for you. And the person beside you is..."
"My disciple."
"Quite a lot seems to have changed during your little runaway."
"It just worked out that way."
In between, I'd lived through ten more years and come back.
"Mister, did you run away from home?"
Siellin, having caught our exchange, tilted her head.
"It wasn't running away, I had proper permission..."
"The Young Master left nothing but a single letter and bolted out the door."
Why would you say that?
"Pfft. Mister. Looks like you need to learn from me. You can't just go running away like that."
Siellin grinned wickedly.
"Ahem. I'll go to my father myself. Show Siellin to a room."
"Understood."
Jern put on a gentle expression and stepped in front of Siellin.
"Please follow me, miss."
"What should I call you? Should I?"
"Feel free to call me grandfather. And no need for formalities."
"Let's go, grandfather. To Mister's room."
Jern led Siellin away.
...Wait.
Why is she going to my room?
I realized too late, and it was already done.
"Good grief."
I let out a long sigh and headed to the Household Head's chamber.
"I'm here."
"Explain. What happened out there."
My father spoke, pressing his fingers to his temple.
"Don't be too hard on him. I'm sure Rian had his reasons."
A woman with dark hair swaying gently, looking at me with warm eyes.
Her name is Cecilia Valter.
My older sister, and the person who had risen to become the next Household Head before my Regression.
Even during my days as a troublemaker, she had always called me 'Rian' and looked after me.
"Isn't that right, Rian?"
"...That would be one way to put it."
A great deal had happened, in truth.
"Right. You've always gone and done things on your own terms. But what's this rumor about beating the Northern Grand Duke?"
"We crossed swords, and I won."
"Are you playing games with me?"
"I'm being sincere."
There's nothing more I can cut down.
We fought with swords and I won.
That's the whole of it, so what can I do?
"Haah. I give up. Do whatever you want. Just keep any trouble to the kind that can be cleaned up."
My father waved me off with an air of exasperation.
The fact that even while saying that, he didn't tell me not to cause trouble at all—that was my father through and through.
"Get out."
"Yes."
I stepped out of the Household Head's chamber with my sister.
"Rian, would you tell this sister of yours what happened in detail? I'll believe everything you say."
"The story's going to be a bit long. Is that alright?"
"Yes."
I walked toward my room, talking with my sister along the way.
Of course, there was no way to explain everything in that short time.
So I paused here and there as I continued.
My sister's eyes grew red each time Siellin came up in the story.
"Let me meet this child."
"She won't be quite what you're imagining."
And so we arrived in front of my room.
I opened the door and walked in.
"Boo!"
Siellin suddenly leapt out from the side and tried to startle me.
"Got you, didn't I?"
"No."
I held up my Bracelet.
"I already knew where you were."
"Oh."
Siellin let out a single sound.
She had been looking only at me, but then she noticed.
My sister.
"A woman?"
As Siellin said that, my sister stepped toward her.
And without a word, my sister pulled Siellin into an embrace.
"...Huh?"