Family Matters
Duchess Iliana studied the young man standing before her with careful, unhurried eyes.
She had never seen him in person, yet she knew every detail about him.
She had not conducted an investigation of her own.
If she wanted to know how her daughter was spending her time at the academy, all she needed to do was visit the study of Duke Andres.
Andres received reports on Aria in near-real time.
On one side of the study, a dedicated team had been assembled to compile her daughter’s files.
Of course, the team remained secret from Aria herself.
Still, mountains of reports on her daughter lay stacked on the shelves, ready for her to consult at any moment.
The single most frequently mentioned name in every report was Zeroa.
The portrait of Zeroa already hung on the wall of the study. He was the primary focus of concern.
Whenever Andres grew irritated, someone would scrawl rude graffiti across the face.
But the diligent team would replace it within an hour with a fresh portrait.
Beyond exhaustion, the family feared the duke’s obsessive devotion to his daughter.
Iliana, however, understood her husband’s feelings completely.
She worried for Aria every bit as much as he did.
Aria Shane Briqueville.
She possessed a bewitching beauty that could captivate any heart, yet that very same beauty had brought her nothing but sorrow.
The halo of the Briqueville dukedom could not shield her.
Her appearance was no mere countenance; it felt like a spell of pure fascination.
Those whose minds had not been properly tempered would fall under Aria’s spell and commit crimes of the heart.
Even knowing the dangers that would befall a Briqueville, people still threw themselves at her without hesitation.
Since the very first day she had been surrounded by threats, Aria had been forced to endure them.
A commoner with no backing would boast, and even nobles who understood the power of the ducal house would lick their lips in envy.
On occasion, even loyal servants and soldiers of the family would fall under her spell.
In a sense, her beauty was a curse.
After the knight of the family, who had served the Briqueville for generations, had been caught trying to abduct her and was only rescued in the nick of time, Andres stopped trusting anyone with Aria.
She was never allowed to leave the mansion where danger lurked, and her surroundings were always guarded by carefully selected people.
She could not be trusted simply because she was a woman; the knight who had tried to kidnap her had been her personal guard.
For her safety, Andres had shielded Aria with absolute thoroughness.
The reason the third prince had fled abroad after receiving a death threat was a rumor that he had harassed Aria and the duke had grown furious.
Yet the real issue had revealed itself at the academy.
Isolated from the outside world, Aria had lost all social skills.
She possessed no grace, no emotional expression, and had almost never smiled at her parents.
Iliana could no longer bear to watch her daughter turn into a doll that no one could even prick with a pin.
Andres had already recognized the problem.
It had taken some persuasion, but he finally allowed Aria to attend the academy.
The only person actually accompanying her was Therla, yet dozens of escorts surrounded her at all times.
When even that proved insufficient, the family had contracted with an ancient being of great power and began receiving daily reports on how she was faring.
Only after every safety measure had been in place could Aria finally come to the academy.
When Therla’s report reached Andres—“The young miss smiled while conversing with the young master. She has fully recovered”—tears of blood had fallen from his eyes.
Iliana, however, had wept with joy.
The smile she rarely showed to family members had been offered to a stranger, and to someone who had only known her for less than a year.
This was proof that Aria’s social skills were returning.
Through Therla, the reports of Aria’s academy life had continued to flow into the Briqueville household.
“The young miss ate two buns with both hands. She looked so adorable.”
“Rai the instructor calls the young miss by the nickname ‘Prude.’ May I kill him?”
“Ceset, the young lady of the Eliza family, has grown close to the young miss. They embrace each other so cutely.”
“The young miss gave Seria’s Sweets to Rai and Zeroa. We should kill them now.”
“She did not attend the Ball. She said she was too embarrassed and could not go. Her shy expression was adorable.”
Even though the perspective was slightly biased, every time Therla reported, a smile would form on Iliana’s lips.
At home her daughter was stern and formal, yet at the academy she behaved like an ordinary girl.
Iliana felt an immense sense of relief that the decision to send her to the academy had been the right one.
And the beginning of all this change had been Zeroa.
When Therla had reported that the young miss was happy because no one else could approach her because she was so beautiful, Iliana had worried.
But the moment she met Zeroa, other people began to gather around her.
From that day forward, Iliana had paid close attention to the young man named Zeroa every time a new report arrived.
She did not discriminate against commoners or nobles, yet Zeroa’s family background was far worse than expected.
His father worked as a laborer carrying goods at the upper-class marketplace, earning too little to support the family.
His mother also took side jobs, weaving baskets and spinning thread at home, all to make ends meet.
Because the household finances were so poor, Zeroa had performed a wide variety of tasks since childhood.
The list of jobs he had held was so long that even Iliana, who had extensive experience, began to wonder if such professions actually existed.
Andres disliked Zeroa because he was the one girl he was closest to at the academy, but Iliana approved of the boy.
The Briqueville dukedom already possessed everything the empire had to offer.
No matter who was brought in as a son-in-law, the family would not gain more wealth or power.
In any case, the Briqueville family had never cared about such things and had no greed.
Their only desire was for Aria to be happy.
From a parental standpoint, many better matches appeared, but that was a parent’s wish, not the daughter’s.
As long as the person was not inherently bad, Iliana would stand on Aria’s side no matter who was chosen.
Aria had not yet expressed romantic feelings, but Iliana had already added Zeroa as a candidate.
The time at the academy was still long, and with a beautiful daughter, the number of candidates would only grow.
As long as a decent boy was chosen, the daughter would forgive her parents.
“You. Can you defeat him?”
“Hm? No. I don’t have the strength yet…”
“Aigoo—weakling, failure. Failure. You’re useless. Why? Why are you like that, my precious daughter. Eh—”
Aria pushed her father’s arm away, embarrassed.
The question was whether she could beat her escort.
Andres had simply acted like a child because the girl was close to him.
But that was a trial Aria had to overcome.
Iliana smiled faintly and moved to stop the two of them.
***
“Ah, why are you here?!”
Aslan glared at his older brother Rules with irritation.
It had been the first time he had seen his family since leaving home, yet the fact that Rules had come without warning irritated him.
“Why are you acting so angry? I can visit my little brother.”
“It can’t have been a good intention.”
Even after hearing Rules’ words, Aslan did not soften his expression.
Since leaving home, he had not contacted his family even once.
He was not angry at his brother, but at their father who sat above him.
Rules would surely spout nonsense about his father.
“I didn’t speak to Father. I came alone.”
“… …”
Contrary to expectation, Rules had only come because he worried about his younger brother.
Left speechless and embarrassed, Aslan stood there as Rules circled the room and suggested they sit on the bench.
“How are you doing? Father is one thing, but have you contacted Nana or Adel? Adel keeps complaining that he misses you.”
“Hm… Sorry. Is Adel doing well?”
“He’s doing great, unlike me. He started learning swordsmanship last month.”
Aslan, the disappointing older brother, felt a pang of sorrow thinking of young Adel.
Although Aslan and Rules were not far apart in age, Adel was nine years younger.
When he was home, the small boy would run after his big brother, calling him “Oppa” and “Hyung.”
Aslan wondered how much he had grown in half a year since he had last seen him.
“Did you bring Adel with you?”
“After all the commotion I caused, could I even bring him to the academy? I came here as an inspector for the provinces as well.”
“That old man is still stubborn, huh.”
Aslan grumbled, and Rules realized his brother had not changed at all.
He was not cursing; he was simply happy to see that his brother was doing well.
Their father, Duke Alion, had completely cut off all family involvement with Aslan.
Because of the duke’s attitude, Rules had no idea whether his brother was living well or not.
“You’re living under the academy’s instructor?”
Rules could not abandon his worried younger brother, so he had quietly investigated how Aslan was faring through a contact.
He had learned that Aslan lived in Rai the instructor’s house.
“Eh, Raikkang, no, wait. I live with Rai.”
Aslan corrected himself the moment he saw his brother.
Rules stared blankly at the younger man who spoke so casually about the instructor’s name.
Raikkang must be a nickname, and casually calling the instructor by name meant his brother had always been like that.
“You idiot. If you’re being disrespectful to the instructor…”
“Puhahaha! What are you doing?!”
Before Rules could finish, Aslan burst into loud laughter while looking at someone.
Following his brother’s gaze, Rules turned and saw a man wearing sunglasses.
“How did you figure it out?”
“Is that a disguise? Rather…”
He had almost said “transform into a woman,” but Aslan had stayed silent.
The events of that day remained secret.
“Ah, no.”
Rai furrowed his brows, removed the sunglasses, and shaved off his fake beard.
There had been no one who had failed to recognize him anyway.
He was simply irritated by the unnecessary attention and mockery.
“Aslan… Just in case… you’re the instructor…?”
As soon as he noticed the bluntness, Rules asked carefully.
Aslan answered calmly that the instructor he lived with was Rai Redford.
Rules knew the instructor’s position was far from low.
He had to have experience, achievements, and—according to what Rules knew—Rai was a dedicated instructor.
The position of dedicated instructor was only given to those who had come straight from the field, because they had to manage and supervise the students.
It was not for people who only researched in their specialty.
It meant someone who had rolled through actual battles had reached that rank.
Although he was young, the fact that he could become a dedicated instructor at such a young age spoke volumes.
Rules immediately reached out and patted his brother’s head, bowing his head.
“I’m sorry. I have disrespected you because I failed to properly educate my brother.”
“Huh? A-aslan’s older brother?”
“What? Why are you like that?!”
Aslan brushed off Rules’ hand and stood up, walking over to Rai.
“Where did you get this?”
“From the Dawn Mage Shop.”
“That bearded eccentric’s magic shop? Did you buy that weird mustache from him?”
“What kind of mustache would I use? I paid fifty silver coins for it. I can tell it’s fake.”
“Of course you can tell. Magic doesn’t work on it. What kind of person is that uncle who sells such things?”
Rules watched his brother speaking casually to the instructor and his mouth fell open.
Rai was the dedicated instructor, the benefactor who had even lent him a house, yet he had sold manners like candy and treated him like a friend.
“This is my brother, Rules.”
“Hello. My name is Rai Redford, Aslan’s dedicated instructor.”
“… … P-pleased to meet you. My name is Rules Scape, Aslan’s older brother.”
Rules, who had met the parents of many academy students, greeted Rai naturally.
But he reacted one beat late, startled, and bowed his head.
“Hahaha, no need to be so formal, brother. This kid hates that stuff.”
Rules wanted to slap his laughing brother’s mouth shut, but he ignored the words and barely managed to keep his face straight while looking at Rai.
“The Scape family has troubled the instructor. Thank you for taking care of Aslan.”
“You don’t need to bow your head so deeply.”
“You don’t understand what you’re saying!”
Rai answered casually, and Rules held back his words in his heart while bowing again.
“Wa—”
“… … Did something go wrong?”
Rai sighed, and Rules looked up and asked cautiously.
“No, no. I was just surprised to meet a normal person.”
“Ah… I understand.”
Rules immediately grasped how much Aslan was troubling Rai with his words.
How could he act in such a way that even the phrase “normal person” was used?
It seemed they needed to have a proper conversation.
Because the academy was so closed-off, many families had come to visit.
It was the time when students could meet their families, but the difference between watching them at home and seeing how they lived at the academy was vast.
Many people had come to the academy.
Zeroa’s parents could not come because they worked, but his younger sister Kara had arrived, and the parents of Ceset and Diana had come even on their busy schedules.
“… …”
Not every student’s family had visited the academy.
Philia and Abigail, whose families had come, watched the students who were guiding their families around the academy or introducing the instructors.
Everyone was busy talking with their families, but the two of them had nothing to do.
“Hey.”
“What?”
Philia called out to a student who was talking happily with his family, and Abigail answered in an annoyed voice.
“Are you going to spar?”
“I’m itching to get my butt kicked.”
“No, I want to get my butt kicked. Hard.”
“Coincidence. I feel the same.”
Because the visitors had delayed the tournament, it was late.
Philia and Abigail quietly left the crowd and headed toward Rai’s house.