Chapter 146: Dragon's Eye, Human Heart (10)
Chapter 146: Dragon's Eye, Human Heart (10)
Lupin sincerely respected his older sister, Elsie.
Born as the youngest of the Lainella family, he had been exceptionally frail since childhood. Among his siblings, who all possessed robust physiques, only he and Elsie were small in stature.
Despite the constant disregard and bullying, Lupin could never fight back.
He was weak, so there was nothing he could do. It was only natural to be treated this way. He spent his childhood half-resigned to that reality.
If there was a single ray of light for Lupin, it was the existence of his sister, Elsie.
"Hey, did you pick on my brother again?"
Elsie, who was as small as Lupin—even smaller, in fact—was always bold. She surely knew she had no chance of winning if she fought, yet she stood her ground anyway.
Watching her grit her teeth and charge in, desperately trying to protect him, Lupin could do nothing but tremble in fear.
The end result was always predictable. Elsie would be beaten to a pulp, and Lupin would approach his sister, sobbing. Every time, Elsie would simply wear a faint smile.
She would place her dainty hand on Lupin’s head and say:
"Lupin, why the long face? Listen... the one who laughs last is the strong one. Do you really think those muscle-heads can beat us?"
Those words felt utterly unrealistic.
Lupin was faint-hearted and thin. He didn't even dare to dream of besting his siblings.
And yet, those were the words spoken by Elsie, who looked even smaller and more fragile than him. While Lupin relied on her, he secretly thought she was chasing a vain dream.
However, it wasn't long before Elsie proved her words true.
Gritting her teeth and immersing herself in magic, she soon emerged as the prodigy of the Lainella family. Not only did she enter the Academy with top marks, but she consistently maintained a high ranking afterward.
Consequently, the way those around her treated her changed.
The siblings who used to bully her now lowered their heads and watched her every move whenever they saw her. After all, trying to save face would only result in them becoming a rotisserie chicken in the back garden.
Cruel, ruthless, and strong.
That was why Lupin respected his sister. Following in her footsteps, Lupin studied magic diligently and achieved the feat of entering the Academy after her.
Of course, he had started late and wasn't as ruthless as Elsie.
He couldn't stand beside her, as she held a lofty position even within the Academy. Nevertheless, Lupin was satisfied.
He never intended to surpass his sister in the first place. To Lupin, Elsie was the strongest and most reliable person in the world.
However, even if he couldn't reach her level, he wanted to resemble the sister he admired.
It was around this time that Lupin began to deliberately mock and bully the weak. Like Elsie, he would ruthlessly and coldly trample those who couldn't resist.
He didn't care if his actions earned him the contempt of the world. To him, the standard of justice was his sister.
Don't you all laugh at the weak as if it's nothing?
They just didn't show it openly; Lupin had peered into the dark inner thoughts of humans countless times. In contrast, the flower known as Elsie—who was once weak but remained unbroken—was incredibly beautiful.
Then, one day.
Lupin was searching for a target to bully, as usual. A friend spoke to him as if he had heard an interesting rumor.
"Hey, did you hear? That 'Yurdina's Rude Brat' is apparently being ostracized these days."
Lupin turned a questioning gaze toward his friend. Soon, his expression crumpled slightly. He asked back, sounding incredulous.
"Are you crazy? If Senior Delphine finds out..."
But Lupin's friend only clicked his tongue. He draped an arm around Lupin's shoulder and whispered persuasively.
"Word is that Senior Delphine is turning a blind eye. Otherwise, would those lowly lower nobles even dare to touch that brat?"
Lupin was about to ask why on earth Delphine Yurdina would do that, but he closed his mouth.
That was just how the world of high-ranking nobles worked.
There might be sibling affection, but the tendency to perceive each other as potential rivals was much stronger. Above all, the fact that lower nobles dared to touch a bloodline of Yurdina—even if she was a half-wit—made it certain.
Delphine Yurdina had abandoned her half-sister.
And so, Lupin joined the ranks of the bullies without a second thought. The feeling of tormenting a lowborn of Yurdina, whom he usually wouldn't even dream of touching, was special.
At least, it was until a certain madman with a hand axe appeared before him.
The moment the man's fist unexpectedly slammed into Lupin's face, a sickening crack signaled his nose bone collapsing.
His face crumpled around the point of impact, and his body went flying. When he regained his senses, many others were already sprawled out around him.
He was terrified. His heart pounded, signaling a crisis. But in that moment, Lupin remembered Elsie.
What did Sister do at times like this?
Lupin clenched his fists tight. He shouted in a voice full of resolve.
"I-I am Lupin, the third son of the Count Lainella family!"
A golden gaze flickered toward him. Lupin was terrified, but he desperately calmed his trembling heart by thinking of his sister.
"H-How dare you touch me?! If you kneel right now and beg for forgiveness..."
"Hey."
But before he could even finish his sentence, a hand axe whizzed past his cheek and thudded into the ground.
It was impossible. Lupin couldn't endure any more.
"Is that how the third son of a Count says he wants to get beaten up these days?"
That was the end of it. Lupin decided he must never cross this man.
Because the golden eyes glaring at him looked far too serious.
"There won't be a next time. You realized it today, right? That I'm a psycho."
Lupin had no choice but to nod his head frantically at the man's warning.
The memory of that day remained a deep scar, but Lupin, wanting no further involvement with the man, decided not to bring it up again.
However, Elsie's reaction upon hearing the news was different. She scowled and said:
"What? Are you crazy? That lower noble brat touched my brother, and you're telling me to do nothing?!"
"S-Sister... I'm telling you, that guy is a total psycho!"
"Ha, give me a break."
Elsie snorted as if she were hearing the most ridiculous thing in the world, wearing a confident smile.
"Hey, your sister is Elsie of the Lainella family. Do you think I'd lose to some lowly lower noble? Just wait, I'm going to go crush that crazy bastard."
Despite her words, Lupin still looked uneasy. Then, as she always did, Elsie stood on her tiptoes and stroked the head of the awkwardly hunched Lupin.
"Don't worry. I have the strength to protect my brother."
Seeing her beaming face, Lupin felt a sense of relief deep down, even as he voiced his worries.
Yes, if it's Sister, it'll be fine.
Because she's stronger than anyone.
But the next day, Elsie was utterly destroyed.
It happened while dozens of people were watching. Several seniors were forced to their knees in an instant, and the man, perched atop Elsie's shield, rained down blows with his hand axe.
Particles of light scattered along with her screams, and just like that, Elsie begged the man for her life.
She even earned the derogatory nickname 'Bedwetter.' For a while, Elsie stayed holed up in her room like a person who had lost her soul. Then, when she finally stepped out, she was caught by that devilish man and dragged off to the Hunting Festival.
He should have stopped her then.
No, there must have been a chance even when she was scurrying around with a subtly boastful expression after winning the Hunting Festival.
However, when Elsie mentioned she had to go on the next internship dispatch with that man, her face—though she claimed to be annoyed—held a faint trace of joy.
What happened after her return was even more of a spectacle.
She would look restless one moment, then sit there with a vacant gaze, smiling with her mouth hanging open.
Seeing Elsie's transformation, Lupin felt a sliver of anxiety. Nevertheless, he had been trying to turn a blind eye to that feeling and compose himself.
But the reality placed before him was far too cruel.
"M-Master... y-you'll forgive me, right? You won't throw Elsie away, right? Please?"
Pop. A blood vessel burst in Lupin's wide-eyed, bulging pupils.
He couldn't believe it. Right now, Elsie was rubbing her head against Ian's arm, speaking in a coquettish voice.
To that 'lowly lower noble,' no less.
Elsie's expression even looked somewhat desperate. Her face was reminiscent of a puppy terrified of being abandoned.
Objectively speaking, it was a very lovely sight. But to Lupin, it was a scene that made his world come crashing down.
Even in Elsie's eyes as she flirted desperately, a subtle affection could be glimpsed.
Lupin, who had grown up with her his entire life, knew better than anyone else what the nature of that affection was.
Elsie, who had been looking up at Ian with sweet eyes, suddenly snapped back to her senses and made a tearful face.
"A-Are you perhaps angry? Because of L-Lupin...? Hey, Lupin!"
Elsie's submissive attitude—as if she would bark if told to bark, or roll over and act cute if told to do so—flipped instantly. It was the moment her eyes turned toward Lupin.
With her usual stern expression, Elsie exploded in anger at Lupin.
"Lupin, hurry up and beg Master for forgiveness! H-He's angry!"
Seeing Elsie glancing nervously at Ian even while doing so, Lupin finally squeezed his eyes shut.
It was a lie.
There was no way this was reality.
But no matter how much he denied it, the vivid pain in his heart told him that this was indeed real. His eyes grew hot and red.
How did it come to this?
The flower known as 'Elsie Lainella,' who was ruthless and strong, was gone.
Only a female remained, craving nothing but her master's affection.
No matter how tightly he closed his eyelids, the scene he had just witnessed replayed before his eyes.
The image of a woman looking up vacantly at Ian's face with sweet eyes.
Lupin's body trembled. A torrent of emotion surged up his spine.
He couldn't take it. The reality crashing down on him was too much to bear, and Lupin wiped away the overflowing tears from his eyes.
He felt wretched. This feeling of his heart being torn to shreds—Lupin wanted to claw at his chest in frustration.
He was furious, beyond furious. What made him even more miserable was Ian's attitude.
The man just stood there with a troubled expression.
How can he be like that?
Lupin's mind flared with heat.
After turning his strong and cunning sister into a girl blinded by love, and with her standing before him acting all cute and flirtatious just to please him...
How could he be so cold?
He couldn't do that. This wasn't right.
Trembling, Lupin gritted his teeth and opened his eyes.
His bloodshot eyes were clear with rage and hostility. He took long, purposeful strides.
Until then, Elsie was still tearfully pleading with Ian.
"P-Please don't throw me away... I-I'll do anything for Master! S-Should I bark? Woof, woof!"
It was then that Lupin grabbed his sister's arm.
Elsie, who was about to voluntarily discard her human dignity, looked at Lupin with a dazed expression at the sudden force on her arm.
It was a look that seemed to ask what he was doing.
That was the very question Lupin wanted to ask. Gritting his teeth, he dragged Elsie away.
Startled, Elsie tried to shake off Lupin's arm.
"L-Lupin! What are you doing! If Master throws me away because of this...!"
"Don't you have any pride, Sister?!"
It was Lupin who roared instead. Elsie's eyes went wide.
Normally, Elsie would have beaten Lupin to a pulp while saying something like, 'A younger brother... talking back?!' but she seemed so confused right now that she couldn't say a word.
Nevertheless, Elsie was still Elsie. She stammered, her temper simmering, right before she was about to explode.
"Why do you have to be the one hanging on him and hurting your pride! T-That lower noble brat should be the one hanging on you!"
Elsie's movements came to a dead halt.
Her head tilted to the side for a moment. She looked as if she couldn't understand at all.
Lupin pounded his chest in sheer frustration.
"Just follow me! Hey, you! Lower noble!"
The man's golden eyes turned blankly toward Lupin. Lupin's body flinched as he remembered his past nightmare, but he endured it for his sister's sake, gritting his teeth.
He glared at Ian with eyes that looked ready to shed tears of blood and shouted.
"......J-Just you wait! I'll make you regret today!"
Spouting a cliché villain line, Lupin made his exit, dragging the still-puzzled Elsie by the arm.
He thought to himself, gnashing his teeth.
I'll get my revenge.
He planned to make Ian pay for treating his sister so coldly, making him cry and beg in regret later.
Since things had come to this, there was no other way. Even though his heart felt like it was being torn into a thousand pieces, there was only one method of revenge.
He just had to make Ian fall head over heels for Elsie.
When that happened, Ian would be the one kneeling and proposing to Elsie.
Lupin's head was filled with the desire to somehow engineer that situation.
Elsie looked confused.
It seemed like Lupin was trying to help, but she had no idea what he was planning to do.
Not that hanging onto Ian right now seemed likely to make her 'Master' take back his 'words' about throwing her away.
There was no choice. Lupin was her only breakthrough now.
He was a lacking younger brother, but if he could just connect her with her Master, she would gladly take his advice.
Even as she was being dragged away by Lupin, Elsie spoke to Ian in a pathetic voice.
"S-See you next time, Master!"
Ian just stood there, rooted to the spot, until the Lainella siblings disappeared.
And only after a long time, when even the shadows of the Lainella siblings were no longer visible, did a hollow laugh escape his lips.
"......What is with those siblings?"
He hadn't said a word, yet the two of them had carried on a conversation by themselves and left. Ian couldn't help but find it absurd.
After standing there for a while, he scratched his head and began to walk again.
It was time to go find the Saintess.
She was one of the few people who had met 'him' from the future.