Children of the Gorge (4)
No matter how much of a glutton one might be, no one could chew through every single item in a basket. Not even if they were flowers.
Chewing up around a hundred wilted blooms? That was straight-up torture. Mana-infused or not, even knowing that didn't make the mere thought any easier.
"Why? Scared?"
"......."
Ethan picked up a single Somnus flower with trembling hands.
Crunch.
He glared at the basket and chewed the first bloom raw.
Grind, grind, grind.
His face twisted like he was munching on cow fodder. The Somnus flower itself had no flavor at all—indistinguishable from real weeds.
Grind, grind!
This time, he grabbed two. He glanced up at me briefly, then stuffed them into his mouth and started chewing for real.
"Hmm."
I focused my mana into my eyes. The faint sparkle of mana in the Somnus flowers flowed into Ethan's body. Still no reaction.
If simply eating flower petals triggered a real mana flow, Ethan would've awakened his mana long ago and never ended up here in the first place.
'He wouldn't have come here at all.'
Talent for sensing mana? His father had picked him out from a horde of orphans as one of the twelve worth running alongside Noir. If his mana had been unlocked, Mirdin Madam would've snapped him up as her own disciple.
"Heh."
It felt like opening an unopened treasure chest. I picked up a nearby Somnus flower and swallowed it petal-first in one bite.
"!!"
"What're you so shocked about?"
Ethan, who'd just grabbed about five flowers to show off and swallow them in front of me, blinked in surprise.
"You think I told you to eat this just to mess with you?"
"......Gulp."
"I like this stuff."
The eldest son of Gibraltar chews Somnus flowers? Everyone in the family knew it, and anyone with even a passing interest in Gibraltar affairs had heard the rumor.
'Some idiots still don't believe it's true and brush it off.'
Grind, grind.
No taste. But I wasn't eating it for the taste.
'Focus on the tip of your tongue.'
Find the subtle mana flowing between the petals and stem, and eat it like that. That was the trick.
"Listen while you eat, Ethan. What is it you want?"
"...Huh?"
"Ah, just listen. I'll ask and answer for you."
Ethan gaped at me in bewilderment.
"Your opinion doesn't matter. What I decide is the answer, and you just pick what you want from those."
I shoved another Somnus flower into his open mouth and continued.
"You've got three choices. First: quietly disappear from the orphanage."
Ethan chewed the flower. As if that was his answer.
"Good. Looks like you're not planning to leave. Second: report the person who sent you here—Mirdin Madam."
"......??"
"Whether it was negligence or intentional, we'll investigate Mirdin Madam."
If she'd just sent an ordinary orphan, that would've been one thing.
"After branding her a traitor and kicking her out of the orphanage, you'd pocket a fat reward and head home."
"......."
"Mirdin Madam? Not your problem anymore. Guardian or whatever, claiming she sent you to Gibraltar to extract info—what good would that do?"
"That's...!"
"Who knows? Maybe she's a pro-empire sympathizer using you to steal Gibraltar secrets and pass them to the Empire."
"......."
"If you report her like that, that's how it'll play out. Plenty of people hate the goody-two-shoes Mirdin Madam who only speaks the truth... but has a ton of money."
If it had been a kid from a family ruined by the military instead of gambling, things might've been different.
"I can guess. Your parents begged Mirdin Madam. 'Please send our son to Gibraltar. Write a recommendation letter for him.'"
Orphanages didn't just gather orphans.
"Orphans make up most, but some kids are sent on purpose."
For instance, when parents couldn't raise a child until adulthood.
"Talented but too poor to afford it, or hoping to catch someone's eye for adoption or a servant position."
Gibraltar could act as guardian and raise them instead. It was an option.
"Which are you? Do your parents want you under Gibraltar's wing to revive the family? Or do they hope you'll be happy, even if it means abandoning the Sezar name?"
Ethan was nine—coincidentally a year younger than Noir.
"Hard to judge yet, right? And time's short."
Pretty cruel, sure. But the world wasn't kind.
"One more time: the choice is yours. If you stay in this orphanage from now on, that's choice three."
I nodded toward the outside, twirling a Somnus stem around my finger.
"The orphanage kids will hate you. Unlike them—born into crushing poverty or abandoned by parents—you at least had warm bread and soup as nobility."
"......."
"They've already started competing. Doing everything to catch Gibraltar's eye. Even those kids outside right now..."
Speak of the devil—a perfect example appeared outside the window.
"See those kids trudging over there? By the window. They showed knight potential and got picked by Father. Just finished sword training."
"!!"
"Keep it up, and they could become beginner knights. With our recommendation, they might contract as vassal knights with other nobles and aim for a real title."
Not all knights became nobles, but marriage or capital opened doors. Marry an heir, get adopted, or buy a title if you had the cash.
"If you've got martial talent, you could join their knight track. Handy like the others? You'll tend Somnus flowers underground. Smart? You'll assist my research and get drafted for mana herb experiments."
Those were the three paths to 'success' for orphanage kids.
"Some of the average-talented ones are prepping to be butlers, maids... servants. Got it? They've all realized: this place is a temporary shelter until adulthood, not a forever home."
"......."
Ethan kept chewing flowers.
"Remember that. Next candidate comes, you might have to explain it."
"Question."
Ethan swallowed hard and looked up.
"Time not deducted?"
"How do I become Letar... Lady Letar's guard?"
"You little shit."
Whoops.
"...Ahem."
Slipped out. But no helping it now.
"Letar's pretty, yeah. Even those twelve knight candidates who just came in—some are gunning for her guard spot."
Anyone could dream.
"Some girls are after Noir."
"...What about you, Young Master?"
"Flattery? Well, someone might aim for me, but long-term, Noir's better. He's learning the sword from Father."
I didn't mind tales of servants charming nobles to take over houses.
"Easiest way to blend into another noble house? Target human emotions—especially love. Steal Letar's heart, and your odds skyrocket."
It was a tactic I used often.
—Grey. We need to screen the surrendered nobles. True Empire loyalists from the fakes.
—Send an Empire-born maid. Pretty, young virgin.
—...I'll check the academy for suitable talent.
Snagged a lot that way. Front: long live His Imperial Majesty. Back: secretly funding revolutionaries. Fallen kingdom loyalists.
'Everyone weakens at the pillow's edge.'
Humans craved love—and often fell to it.
"Straight up: you crushing on Letar?"
"......Prettier than anyone I've seen."
"Yeah, makes sense. Gibraltar blood plus Mother's beauty."
The day Letar died.
Everyone cheered the wicked bitch was gone, but some regretted it. If she had to die like that, at least let me have her once—
"...Tch."
"......."
"Ah, no worries. This stem's rotten."
I spat out the half-chewed flower.
"But you—got the skills for that spot?"
"Learned the sword since I was little."
"Your rivals have had Gibraltar training for months at least."
"...I can win."
"Oh yeah?"
Kid versus adult, pre-regression versus now—the gap existed.
"Guts, at least, you've got."
In the future, Ethan Sezar endured sadistic torture from the villainess Letar and held firm.
Whatever feelings brewed in that torment were speculation, but thinking back—
"Just take it as it comes. Personally, I'm grateful to you for one thing."
"Pardon...?"
"Just listen. Thanks for falling for Letar."
"......??"
Had to be why. Otherwise, no explaining enduring ball-busting torture yet acting that way.
I handled Letar's body myself.
Empire coroners and magitech investigators concluded: killer was Ethan Sezar.
Autopsy results:
—The lady was slain while intoxicated on silver dust.
—Meaning...?
—She went painlessly. That's one way to interpret it.
Letar died high on refined silver dust, stabbed without feeling a thing.
Even:
—Bit awkward to say, but her chastity wasn't violated. This mad dog just killed in revenge—no corpse desecration.
—Magic confirms she remained pure...
"Mm. Chit-chat ends here."
As Ethan shoved three more into his mouth, I yanked the basket away.
"Thirty minutes up. Bedtime for me."
"Ahh...?!"
"Too focused on my stories to notice time flying."
I hadn't monologued nonstop—gave breaks to chew and swallow.
"Lemme see. I ate some, but looks like over fifty left."
"G-Give them to me! One more chance!"
"Told you, bedtime."
"I'll stay up all night and finish them! Please, let me stay...!"
"No. Can't... look at this."
The moment Ethan lunged:
"Don't kill him."
"Gahk?!"
A hulking figure flashed out like lightning, stomping Ethan's back.
"Sir Robert. You'll crush the kid."
"Kids can threaten Young Master too."
My personal guard knight, Robert. He stayed invisible as air until a threat to me triggered instant action.
"P-Please...!"
"Guts seem solid? Still squirming under Sir's foot."
"Young Master's excited, so you skipped the conclusion."
"Me, excited?"
"Otherwise, why chat so long with this punk?"
"Hm..."
Fair point.
"True enough."
Planned to boot him if needed, but taming a future Sword Master? Got me hyped without realizing.
"Let him go. If he lunges again, smash a fist in his face."
"Yes, sir."
Robert lifted his foot; Ethan rose shakily.
"Good, no lunge. This is mine—you passed my test. No eviction. You pass. Got it?"
"Pardon...?"
"Swearing to be Letar's guard in front of her big bro, claiming you 'fell for her'? Proves you're crazy enough. Heh."
I thumped my chest lightly with my fist.
"That fearless attitude, the courage. Love it. Tomorrow'll be worse than me—give it your all."
"Uh..."
"Today's prep. Heh heh, orphanage life ahead'll be rough. This was special treatment from me."
No clue if a Grey Gibraltar seminar helped, but whatever.
"Tomorrow morning's harsher than today."
I grabbed the basket and headed out.
"As expected of Merilly."
No one outside the door—Merilly waited at a distance.
"Saw his guts charging me—won't kick him out. Follow procedure."
"Yes."
Merilly eyed the hall end and stairs. Probably some curious kids lurking.
Handle it? Help them out, or let 'em figure it?
Hm.
"Merilly."
"Yes."
"If that punk Ethan Sezar needs 'discipline' sometime."
I raised my voice cheerfully, on purpose.
"Send him to me. I'll thrash him personally."
The next morning, in the count's castle reception room. A chill wind blew.
"So you want to be my daughter's guard knight."
"I asked your dream. Other kids said they want to be Gibraltar knights, work for us, repay the favor if raised. But you? Protect my daughter Letar at her side. Right?"
"Yes."
The future hero tortured as Letar's dog.
"Why?"
"Love at first sight."
Truly a mad dog.