41. Homework (2)
41. Homework (2)
- 1 -
Yulian was a handsome man with golden hair resembling Serica's and deeper, more intense red eyes.
If Serica's were a wine color mixed with violet, his were more like blood-red.
As both half-siblings were vampires, it seemed their father, Marquis Baritra, was the vampire.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Dungeon Lady Libertas. I am called Yulian, the legitimate eldest son of Baritra."
"Welcome, Yulian."
Kkumteul!
Though he seemed to have a personality that did not match his face.
At least he was not completely devoid of manners, as he came to greet me first. But it was amusing how his eyebrows shot up the moment he heard my casual, informal reply.
After that, I immediately turned my head to look at the working-level official standing beside the young nobleman, and I caught a glimpse of his face crumpling a little more in my peripheral vision.
"Is this the working-level official?"
"... Yes. Administrator? Introduce yourself."
"I-it is an honor to meet you, my Lady! I am Baroness Melody Haig, Chief Administrator of Baritra!"
"Pleased to meet you, Melody."
The administrator of the Baritra Marquis Household, whose face turned bright red the moment our eyes met.
This shy-looking woman, who wore large glasses, gave off the impression at a glance that she was someone who preferred working indoors.
Though she was much taller than me, she did not feel that tall, perhaps because of her shy demeanor or perhaps because she had bowed her head in bashfulness. It was an impressionable sight.
The cuteness of it made the smile at the corner of my lips deepen, and as if she were conscious of it, her downturned face grew even redder.
'An assassin? Or a ranger? Either way, it's the complete opposite of her appearance.'
On top of her head, the horns that were proof of the demon race sprouted very small toward the back.
Considering the demon trait that the size and type of one's power were reflected in the shape of one's horns, those small horns were a physical characteristic signifying that she primarily used tricky, subtle powers.
It was not a particularly strong trait, but it was still a level that held meaningful ability.
"Then, discuss the working-level matters with the three people behind me. I leave it to you."
"Y-yes...!"
When I spoke, pointing to Evangeline, Geurim, and Sonia Seth, Melody bowed her head several times and then scurried off toward them.
Wiping off the smile that had naturally surfaced from that rather adorable sight, I looked back at Yulian.
"I was quite rude. To speak with a subordinate in front of a superior. But then, who organizes an unscheduled event without any focus?"
"Ah... no. It seems I made the mistake first."
It was pitiful how he tried to maintain courtesy with a furrowed brow that practically had the words, 'A powerless little shit of a dungeon lord dares to ignore me?' carved into it, but I had no obligation to accommodate that.
He was the one who started the disrespect, after all.
"Then, shall we move somewhere else to talk?"
"Yes. Attendant? Escort the Lady..."
"There is no need for that. I have my own legs. You may help Serica, though."
"Th-that is..."
Even in the midst of it, he seemed not to have forgotten his purpose for coming here, as he still tried to show some courtesy... but with a first impression like that, it only amplified the negative feelings.
Truly unnecessary consideration could sometimes be a discourtesy.
"Here, drink."
"You drive it yourself? I look forward to it."
"If it's bitter, you may have a candy from this side."
"Guhk... Khub?!"
Yulian, who had been drinking the tea, spat the liquid back into the cup as if he had choked on it, then quickly put a candy in his mouth. The tea he had received from Leonis must have been terribly unpalatable to him.
Since its true identity was this world's espresso, of course it would be bitter. It was even more bitter than the stuff on Earth.
A dungeon lord's body needed something this strong just to get the caffeine circulating. The reason Leonis, who drank this stuff straight, lived with dark circles under his eyes was plainly obvious from its concentration.
"It seems it does not suit your palate."
"I... I apologize for my rudeness."
When I showed no reaction and simply gestured toward the skeleton standing beside me, the one that usually served as my attendant and personal room guard added sugar and milk to Yulian's teacup.
It was amusing how his face contorted a little more with humiliation as more ingredients were added.
"It should be fine now. I simply had it made the way I usually drink it, so it may not have suited your taste."
By the time I had made a mixed concoction in front of his eyes that couldn't exactly be called a caffè latte, he was making a face that screamed, 'I'm not a child,' yet he couldn't refuse the kindness for fear of the bitterness resurfacing, leaving him looking frustrated.
"Do you drink it as is, my Lady...?"
"Of course. This is how I normally take it, so it is fine for me."
When I nodded calmly to Yulian's question, his gaze alternating between his teacup and mine, his expression worsened a little more.
No matter how I looked at him, he did not appear to be the legitimate eldest son or prospective heir of a high-ranking noble family.
My initial guess was deepening. The guess that this man fell somewhere between an ordinary wastrel and an idle playboy.
"Now then, it is time to verify whether she truly possesses the bloodline of the marquis household."
"Ah, yes. Bring it."
What the Baritra family attendant brought was a single ring placed on a red decorative pedestal.
A solid gold ring with what looked like a signet engraved on its surface. It was probably an object meant for the exact purpose I had guessed.
"Hmm..."
This verification procedure was likely supposed to be carried out by the attendant or Yulian himself, but Yulian simply alternated his gaze between the ring and Serica, furrowing his brows, and showed no sign of moving or giving any further orders.
His expression gave a fair idea of what he was thinking.
"Hold out your hand..."
Still, as if he couldn't completely ignore the family's business, he was about to move, but...
I decided to just cut in.
"I will do it. How should it be done?"
"First, you must spill her blood onto it."
"Very well."
Gripping the dagger that the skeleton beside me quickly untied from his waist and handed over, I met her eyes.
Serica said nothing, but her gaze, which plainly seemed to understand my intent, was asking me.
'Why are you suddenly being so kind to me?'
Without any particular expression, I lowered my gaze again, pricked her finger with the tip of the dagger just enough to draw a small bead of blood, and then dropped the blood onto the ring.
Charak!
The blood traced a shape like a magic circle in the air above the ring before being sucked into it.
It was a sign of success that could be seen at a glance.
"Give me your hand, Serica."
"... Mm."
Thus, with the Baritra family signet ring in her hand, I took hold of her uninjured index finger and slowly pushed it on.
The ring, which had seemed slightly loose, settled at the base of Serica's finger and then shrank rapidly to a size that fit her perfectly.
"It is done."
"Yes... that is correct. She is indeed a person of our family."
Yulian spoke as if he were forced to admit a fact he disliked, his brow furrowed. Seeing that, I wondered whether, idiot or playboy, he at least understood that she could become a rival.
At least he had the brains to calculate the pros and cons of this situation.
Because of such premature thoughts, I nearly let out a hollow laugh at what he said next.
"Truly, the Father has fathered an illegitimate child... What on earth could he be thinking? This is a disgrace to the family."
His tone was as if the purity of the family was more important to him than him becoming the head of the family.
A sort of peculiar aristocratic idealism, perhaps.
The reason my expressionless face didn't crumble at that tone, so full of that clumsy way of thinking, must have been thanks to my trait.
It was that hard to bear.
Could this bastard be an only child?
"Yulian. Do you have any other siblings?"
...The moment the thought occurred to me, my mouth opened.
The young nobleman's eyes went wide the moment he heard my words. Could it really be true?
"Did you not know? Vampires have always had a scarcity of children."
Ah, I see.
I supposed creating a vampire was as simple as 'spreading the infection,' but producing an heir was another matter entirely.
At least I understood why his head was a garden of flowers. It seemed to be because he had never experienced competition for family and power.
At the very least, there would be no conflict within the family.
Given that they spoke of having 'scarce children' and the man himself was a clueless demon noble, there had probably been little to no power struggle within the family, even in the previous generation or before.
It was a stroke of luck for Serica.
Of course.
"... Why?"
"Nothing."
"I told you not to touch me...!"
All of this was, of course, only if she ever intended to engage in such a struggle.
This young lady, who had by now grown accustomed to my stroking hand and no longer batted it away but merely looked at me with slightly coy eyes, did not seem likely to recognize the need for power right now.
It was unknown whether she currently possessed such concepts. Power, or the succession of a noble family.
Of course, this was also a good thing for me.
Because it meant there was an opportunity to get closer to her before she rose to a position where she could wield the family's power.
'Why on earth did they send a man like this here... Ah.'
As I thought about it, the reason quickly came to mind.
The calculation must have been that, since I was also a novice dungeon lord, I would naturally bow my waist if contacted by a high-ranking noble family of the demon realm, and they could dress that up as this idiot's achievement.
Creating a suitable achievement for the heir apparent was essential for a noble preparing for succession, was it not?
'So the actual power was all in that administrator.'
No matter how stupid this man was, it was something that could easily be accomplished by sending a reasonably competent administrator along with him.
The miscalculations here were that I, simply because they were nobles of the demon realm, had no reason to just submit, and that the idiot had committed the stupid act of trampling on the authority a dungeon lord holds within the demon realm without even being conscious of it.
But even so, it was a matter of no concern to me.
After all, there was almost no downside for me in establishing a connection (緣) with the nobles of the demon realm.
Not that I entirely let it go unremarked upon in my mind.
'Anyway, it is strange.'
Blood purity-ism and scarce children. So these two things could coexist, huh.
If they had been human, they would have had to abandon one or the other. In most cases, they would have had to give up the blood purity-ism.
Perhaps it was because demons had much longer lifespans than humans.
- Tap.
"What is it?"
"The negotiation settlement is complete. Let us rise."
The conference between nobles ended like that.
More amicably than I had expected, yet it left me with the homework of having to get closer to Serica.
"...? What."
"It is nothing. Let us go."
"How boring."
Though it was homework that didn't look too difficult, anyway.