Chapter 11. I Am Cain of the Aetherborn Family.
Chapter 11. I Am Cain of the Aetherborn Family.
".....Ian-nim?"
A silhouette standing with her back to the dim moonlight.
It was clearly Vivian Belmont.
Dressed in training swordsman gear and holding a heavy wooden sword in one hand, she stood vacantly at the mouth of the cave.
'Fuck, even if this is Belmont territory, how can coincidences align like this?'
I'm fucked.
That was the single word that flashed in my mind.
To make matters worse, I had completely thrown off my hood.
My blonde hair and red eyes exposed under the moonlight, along with my perfectly focused gaze.
There wasn't a single shred of leeway left to insist I was blind anymore.
'Should I run?'
Instinctively, I tensed my legs, but soon arrived at a despairing calculation.
Vivian was a character who would awaken as a knight later in the original story.
Even if her swordsmanship was still at a novice level, her innate physical specs couldn't be ignored.
In short, with my current body, there was no way in hell I could outrun her.
'Then... should I kill her with the magic I just learned?'
Just as I was about to focus my consciousness onto the tip of my right index finger, I gritted my teeth and abandoned even that thought.
The 'Fire Pierce' I had just acquired certainly possessed power, but because my proficiency was still at rock bottom, it took far too long to condense mana.
While a red flash gathered at my fingertip, Vivian's wooden sword caving in my head would be tens of times faster.
"Ian-nim... is that really you, Ian-nim?"
Vivian took a step closer, her voice trembling.
Her gaze slowly swept up and down the clothes I was wearing.
'Clothes...? Ah, right, clothes!'
I caught the fact that Vivian's gaze had briefly lingered on the 'robe' I was wearing.
Right now, wasn't I wearing a fairly luxurious robe that cost ten silver coins?
As my thoughts reached that point, my frozen mind rapidly cooled down and started spinning like mad.
'Since it's come to this anyway...'
Instead of blind Ian's characteristically gentle voice, I lowered my tone into a much deeper and authoritative pitch.
"...Who is this person named Ian?"
".....Pardon!?"
At my words, Vivian's steps halted dead in their tracks.
Bewilderment washed over her eyes.
He was chillingly identical to the blind therapist she knew, but his tone of voice and the aura he radiated were completely different.
"I asked who this person named Ian is."
Vivian, looking confused, suddenly narrowed her eyes and held her palm out flat right in front of my face.
"Can you see... how many this is?"
A surprise eye test?
Frowning deeply between my eyebrows, I displayed my irritation unfiltered.
"What do you think you're doing right now?"
"A-Ah, you can see?"
Vivian's lips trembled violently, as if she was utterly shocked.
Now, with her confusion reaching its peak, was the exact time to seal the deal.
"I don't know who you are mistaking me for, but..."
Dusting off my collar, I lifted my chin.
At the same time, I conjured up the most arrogant and noble stance of a young lord in my mind.
"I am Cain of House Etherborn."
House Etherborn.
Of course, I had just made it up on the spot.
"Etherborn...? That's a family I've never heard of..."
"It is a family from the Eastern Continent. I have merely traveled to the Southern Continent for a brief visit."
"Ah......"
At my casual answer, Vivian's lips parted slightly.
However, she still didn't seem to have completely cast aside her doubts.
Even now, she was obsessively scanning every fine hair on my face.
'In times like this, I have to go even stronger.'
Straightening my back, I built up an imposing momentum and glared at Vivian.
"I believe I have already introduced myself?"
Only then did Vivian's shoulders shudder violently.
She hurriedly hid the wooden sword behind her back and bowed her head politely, assuming a posture fitting for a noble lady.
"I-I am sorry. You... look so terrifyingly similar to someone I know that I accidentally committed a discourtesy. I am Vivian of House Belmont."
Did I finally trick her?
Hiding my joy, I softened my expression while pretending to be exaggeratedly surprised.
"Ah, so you are the daughter of this territory's lord. I was the rude one instead. I did not expect to encounter a noble lady in such a secluded mountain valley in the middle of the night."
"That... goes for me as well. But..."
Vivian raised her head and stared intently back into my face and eyes.
Deep, lingering attachment that still couldn't be erased remained in her eyes.
"You really look so much like him. No, rather than just resembling, you look completely identical..."
Just as Vivian's suspicion was about to sprout again, I decided to channel my mana and deliver the finishing blow.
Pretending to naturally rest my hand on my waist, I pushed a tiny bit of mana to the tip of my thumb.
Pong—!
With a crisp sound, a small blue ember of mana bloomed above my thumb.
".......?!"
Vivian's eyes widened as if they were going to burst.
In this world, mages were strictly a symbol of talent and bloodline.
It wasn't something a back-alley commoner blind therapist could ever pull off.
"Is that person a mage like me as well?"
When I asked with a smile on my lips, only then did Vivian make a face as if she'd been struck on the head with a hammer.
The ultimate proof that we couldn't possibly be the same person had struck her mind.
Because nobody with such a gifted talent would ever live in a back alley.
"N-No... That person is not a mage. I... really made a huge mistake toward Cain-nim. I offer my deepest apologies once again."
It seemed my perfect quick thinking had overcome this desperate crisis.
Of course, cold sweat was still dripping down my spine, but I maintained a composed smile and shifted the topic.
"I am glad we cleared up the misunderstanding. But what brings you deep into the mountains at such a late hour?"
"Well... I came to practice my swordsmanship a bit."
Vivian averted her eyes, her cheeks blushing as if embarrassed.
Looking at the wooden sword hidden behind her back, I clicked my tongue internally.
'She must have been caught secretly practicing swordsmanship in the mansion's backyard by her father, the Baron, and got kicked out again. Man, she's persistent.'
Even if this was a safe zone, I couldn't help but admire Vivian's sheer tenacity, crawling all the way up to a mountain valley at dawn without a single guard, driven purely by her determination to protect her house.
"You are admirable. A noble lady who wields a sword day and night to protect her family's land—you are quite a cool person."
"Cool, my foot... My father horribly detests the fact that I pick up a sword."
"Ah... Is that so?"
Vivian gave a bitter smile and raised her head to look at me again.
Even though the misunderstanding was resolved, her gaze shook strangely whenever our eyes met.
"Still... you look so amazingly alike."
"Seeing as you keep mentioning it, I suppose I resemble that person that much?"
"You look identical, like twins."
The word 'twins' that spilled from Vivian's mouth.
In that moment, a flash of inspiration struck my mind like a lightning bolt.
'Wait, this... if I use this right, it's going to be huge!'
I had dreamed of leaving the trashy back alleys behind to live a normal, comfortable life.
However, as long as I kept the identity of 'Ian', even if I escaped the Roswell Territory, I was doomed to live anxious and on edge.
Because I might run into someone I knew back when I was blind by chance someday.
'But what if... I make the identity of Cain real?'
Right now, I lay the bait to Vivian that I'm searching for a lost twin younger brother from my childhood.
Then, with her help, Cain locates Ian's whereabouts.
A few days later, Ian follows his older brother Cain back to his family in the Eastern Continent.
'...If this plan succeeds, I can shed Ian's skin and live a brand-new life under Cain's identity!'
It was the ultimate identity laundering scenario.
Suppressing the joy threatening to burst out, I shifted my expression into a serious, sorrowful one.
"Ahem... Vivian-nim, speaking of twins..."
"...Pardon?"
"To tell you the truth, I have a twin younger brother whom I lost in a tragic accident when I was young. I have been wandering the continent for a long time trying to find him."
At my words, Vivian's eyes widened.
"A-A twin younger brother?"
"That person named 'Ian' whom you know, Vivian-nim... would it be possible for me to meet him?"
"If Ian-nim is truly Cain-nim's brother... what will you do...?"
"Naturally, I must take him back to our house."
Now, all she needed to do was tell me he lived in the back alleys of the Roswell Territory, and it would be over.
And yet.
"........"
Despite my dramatic confession, Vivian offered no answer.
Her eyes widening in shock, she suddenly hung her head low and sank into a heavy silence.
'What's with her? Why isn't she talking...?'
Sensing an ominous foreboding, I cautiously called out to her.
".....Vivian-nim?"
Then, Vivian's lips, which hadn't twitched for a long while, parted slowly and eerily.
"He's dead."
"...Pardon?"
What did I just hear?
The moment I asked back while doubting my ears, Vivian slowly raised her head.
She then stared at me as if binding me in place, chewing and spitting out each word with distinct precision:
"That person named Ian, who looks just like Cain-nim... is already dead."