Jealousy's Absurd Ordeal
The events that followed were so ridiculous that even calling them absurd from Jealousy's perspective felt like an understatement. Jeon and Togun had started guarding Arina after concluding she was being stalked. Naturally, once the real stalker—Jeon—began sticking close to her, the feeling of being watched vanished entirely, which only amplified their idiotic misunderstanding.
Even if that pathetic misunderstanding were true, what exactly do they think they're going to do about it?
Did they seriously believe two brats playing bodyguard could stop an 8-star powerhouse? From the perspective of the 8-star powerhouse being wrongly accused, the situation was so ludicrous that even a hollow laugh wouldn't come out.
Listen here, you little runts. If I were actually serious, you'd all be dead in a second.
Hell, forget a second. If they lasted even one second, he ought to applaud and praise them for doing well. Well, he could chalk it up to the children's ignorance. After all, they had probably never seen a proper 8-star powerhouse except for that pathetic 5-star dark mage they'd encountered last time. Togun was the legitimate heir of the Masao family, a clan of the talentless, and Jeon had lost most of his family's retainers to a dark mage invasion when he was too young to even remember it properly. Jealousy was willing to overlook this foolishness born of childish ignorance.
—So, you've been mistaken for Arina's stalker out of nowhere?
The real problem was that the Master, who had just returned from the Underworld, had received a full report on the situation from Pride. There was a hint of playful amusement in the Master's voice over the smartphone, a clear sign that he was finding the whole mess rather entertaining.
—How did they catch you tailing her?
"I didn't think you were the type to joke around like this."
Jealousy's lower lip jutted out several centimeters. His tone was curt as he indirectly expressed his frustration. Unfazed, Kain spoke as if it were no big deal.
—You were tailing her, weren't you?
"They didn't catch me."
—If they figured it out somehow, then you got caught.
"……."
There was nothing he could say to that. After all, what annoyed Jealousy most was that his tailing hadn't been discovered, yet the situation had unfolded as if it had.
And the Master is hitting the nail right on the head.
If it had been Pride, he would have exclaimed something like, "For the Master to personally point out my mistake! This is an honor my family will cherish for generations!" But Jealousy, with his narrow-minded nature, couldn't be that magnanimous.
Getting caught by a couple of brats, my ass.
It was infuriating to hear that line when the Master knew full well how skilled he was. If it weren't the Master, Jealousy's personality would have driven him to hurl insults right then and there. This matter had struck a serious blow to the pride of a narcissist who held himself in high esteem.
Should I just kill that Raydel brat?
His anger quickly spread to Jeon, the root cause of the whole mess.
—Don't.
Kain's voice lost its playful tone as he issued a low command, perhaps sensing that Jealousy's impulsive nature might lead to a child being assassinated without a trace.
"Understood."
Jealousy nodded reluctantly. His answer wasn't very convincing, but once he said it out loud, he would keep his word. That was the kind of man he was.
—Enough joking around. Brief me. Who is it?
Was it just his imagination, or did Kain's voice now carry a slight chill compared to before? Though his tone sounded emotionless and dry, Jealousy could easily tell that the Master's mood had soured. He had been smacked more than once or twice for acting up without reading the room.
"Anna Gibbernoon. The lady of the Gibbernoon viscounty."
Jealousy erased his earlier emotions and reported the information he had gathered in a flat voice.
"The viscount had a previous wife who passed away from illness two years ago. In effect, the concubine took the main wife's place."
All the children currently in the Gibbernoon household were from the previous wife. In reality, Anna Gibbernoon was an outsider who had rolled into the viscounty like a stray stone—and knocked out the one that was already there.
"The truth was never revealed, but there were traces of Anna Gibbernoon dealing with the underworld before the previous wife died."
—What was the deal?
"An assassination request. More precisely, she hired a dark mage specializing in curses."
—Hmm.
As was the case everywhere, the nobility of the Ellemental Kingdom had their share of scandals. The power struggles within the Gibbernoon viscounty were so common they could be dismissed as a minor incident. And most crimes on this continent were carried out through the underworld—over 97 percent, to be exact. Aside from the 3 percent exceptions like the Kayen Grant airship incident, there were no secrets Kain didn't know.
—So a commoner rose to become the lady of a viscounty. That's impressive, even for a viscount's house.
Of course, that had only been possible because she had previously been the wife of the Grant Merchant Group's eldest son. Considering Anna Gibbernoon's current position, the late Hughes Grant could be considered the greatest benefactor of her life. He was the one who had first given her a title when she was nothing.
—So that woman is the kid's biological mother?
Kain had never been interested in who Arina's biological mother was and had never ordered an investigation. Why would he care about a stranger whose mother-daughter relationship had already been severed? That was why Kain was only now learning that the unfamiliar woman named Anna Gibbernoon was Arina Grant's biological mother.
"From what I found, she said some harsh things to the young lady when she left the Grant Merchant Group. Enough to leave trauma."
A murderous glint appeared in Jealousy's eyes. If the Master gave the word, he would slit that woman's throat right away.
—Forget it.
But Kain shook his head and replied quietly. This was purely a coincidence. He hadn't known Arina would attend the royal palace party, nor that her biological mother would show up there. It was a tragedy born from layers of chance. She was someone Arina would never meet again. There was no need to intervene unless she harbored ill will toward Arina.
From what I've heard, the kid still seems to have some lingering attachment.
It was the same as during the church drug incident. If Anna Gibbernoon died and the news reached Arina, she would surely fall into despair. In that case, it would be far better to leave her alone.
If they try anything stupid, I can deal with it then.
After all, Kain was the type to barge in if he didn't like something, even if it was the Church or Yggdrasil. He had no reason to pay attention to a mere viscounty that had just arrived in the capital. If anything annoyed him even slightly, he would remove it. That was how he had always been.
—The train to the capital, Raymond, will be departing shortly. Passengers who have not yet boarded, please do so now.
The announcement from the magic train could be faintly heard over the smartphone. Kain had returned from the Underworld yesterday. He had taken a late-night bus to the major city of Emulin, spent the night there, and spent the morning picking out various gifts for Arina, so it was already nearing noon. If he took the train now, he would probably arrive in the capital around evening.
"Instead of gifts, why not just contact her once? The young lady was feeling down because she hadn't heard from you."
—There's nothing to say, so no reason to contact her.
Though Kain understood the importance of building memories, he still felt frustrated in this regard. Even he, with his disastrous human relationships, felt this way—how much worse must it be for the young lady? Jealousy let out a sigh at his Master's hopeless personality and spoke up.
"Why wouldn't there be anything to say? Just tell her you'll arrive this evening."
—Why bother contacting her when I'll see her anyway?
"If you don't say anything, the young lady will probably head straight to the palace again instead of going home."
—……
Now that he thought about it, she wasn't staying at home right now, was she? He had forgotten while he was in the Underworld.
—……Well, if I go, I'll probably make it around dismissal time.
After a moment of silence, as if calculating the time, Kain answered as if he had convinced himself.
—Since I'm going anyway, I might as well pick her up. I could even have dinner with her before heading back.
"……"
This person really had no intention of contacting her. Just how big a deal was sending a single text? Jealousy couldn't understand why the Master contacted him so readily but was so cold to the young lady.
"Ah, are you perhaps embarrassed? Now that you're actually going to call her?"
—……
At that moment, a playful smile similar to the one Kain had worn earlier appeared on Jealousy's lips, as if he had figured something out. From the reaction, it seemed he was right. He couldn't have imagined that the Master, who never hesitated to act no matter how rude it was, would feel such an emotion.
"So you've finally realized how precious the young lady is after two years. Being apart for two years made you miss her a lot?"
This was payback for the earlier teasing. Jealousy didn't miss the opportunity and kept needling the silent Kain.
—……Tsk.
At the sound of Kain clicking his tongue over the smartphone, Jealousy finally realized something was wrong. Cold sweat ran down his spine. The crisis sensor in his head blared loudly, putting his nerves on edge. He had been so focused on revenge that he had forgotten one crucial fact: the man he was talking to—the Master—was the most narrow-minded and vindictive man in the world.
"M-Master?"
Click.
The call ended before Jealousy could make any excuses. There were no common threats like "I'll kill you" or "Shut up." That silence was even more terrifying. He should have at least said something like "We'll talk when I get back."
—The phone is turned off. Please leave a message after the beep……
He tried calling again, but all he heard was an unfamiliar woman's voice instead of the Master's. Jealousy's arm went limp, and his smartphone fell to the floor with a thud.
I'm dead.
The Master never forgot grudges, even if he forgot favors. Thinking about the Master's personality, Jealousy couldn't even begin to imagine how bleak his future would be.
This isn't the time to just sit here!
He had to do something. Should he at least grovel before the Master returned? Unable to control his trembling heart, Jealousy bit his freshly manicured nails with his front teeth.
"……It turned off."
Meanwhile, while Jealousy was desperately trying to figure out how to appease Kain's anger, Kain himself was scratching the back of his head with a troubled expression. The smartphone screen he was looking down at showed nothing but pitch-black darkness reminiscent of his Inner World, the Black Heaven. He had forgotten to charge it yesterday, and now the power was out again. He had wanted to give Jealousy an earful about not getting cocky, but it seemed the phone had died before he could.
I'm screwed.
There was nothing to do on the way back anyway. How was he supposed to endure several hours without a smartphone?
"Haa."
His pocket dimension was probably in complete chaos right now. The reason was that he had taken out the King of Bones after a long time and, not wanting to bother organizing it, had just shoved it somewhere in the pocket dimension to deal with later.
All the books in there are probably buried under that guy.
He had planned to have the undead inside clean it up later, but even if he ordered it now, it would probably take several hours at least.
I shouldn't have put it off just because it was a hassle.
Staring at an equally bleak future, Kain let out a deep sigh as he watched the departing train through the window.