Parents Losing to Their Child?
Valak spoke first, in a decidedly resolute tone. "Elijah. No matter what reason you give, I cannot permit it. Even with your consent, it's impossible."
Righteous words. No matter that I'd saved Elijah, there were lines that simply could not be crossed. He couldn't allow a commoner—an outsider, no less, and a young man like me—to reside in his daughter's home. Moreover, I'd already spent several days in the annex of this mansion. Even if it had been for the sake of the moon deer, that alone was an extravagant favor.
But Elijah's resolve was ironclad. "If I say I'll do it, then I will."
"This isn't something that can be settled that way. Even if this is your mansion, the answer is the same. I cannot allow that thing at your side."
"Why not? Among all the male servants handling every menial task, there's no one who matches Judah."
"They're merely servants. Not the same as that one."
"Fine, then. I'll hire this child as a servant in my mansion."
...Pardon?
"A trainee commuting to the training camp and a servant—wouldn't that work?"
Uh... It kind of made sense... But it really shouldn't.
"Haa... Elijah. Surely even you know that argument is pure sophistry. You're far too clever not to."
"I don't."
Elijah crossed her arms and replied with cheeky defiance. Valak rubbed his temple, looking positively vexed—like a father steeling himself for his daughter's teenage rebellion. His deeds were loathsome, but outwardly? Well, whatever.
"Enough of this nonsense!"
The silently fuming Duchess Narcissus suddenly bellowed.
"Why must you act like such a petulant child with this ridiculous stubbornness!"
Well... because Elijah was a child...
I had plenty to say but held my tongue for the moment.
"I didn't raise you to turn out like this!"
"Ah. True—the Marquis of Sardis was one of the fine teachers you selected, Duchess."
Narcissus bit her lip fiercely. Valak waited in silence for her response, his posture saying he'd watch her every word. I stole a glance at Elijah. She'd been trembling uncontrollably back during the incident. Just uttering that name must pain her—yet a cold smile now blossomed across her doll-like face. Perfectly painted, just like always. Or did it seem more like a mask? Imagination, perhaps.
"About that...! I recognize my error—I admit it. But this has nothing to do with it! I cannot allow this!"
"If you cannot allow it."
Elijah leaned back against her chair. Legs crossed, arms folded in haughty arrogance. A venomous smirk as she tilted her chin up, gazing down at Narcissus.
This pose... she's done it since she was little.
The very stance Elijah took whenever she despised someone.
"What will you do about it? What can you do, Duchess? Kill me?"
"You...!"
"I warned you, Duchess. Complacency gets you nowhere. It might be a touch late to kill me now, but..."
Elijah trailed off, cocking her head at a sharp angle. Her upturned gaze slowly kindled with an eerie gleam.
"It could be the perfect moment right now. Before I've fully mastered this power."
Orange swirled in a vortex, rippling within her crimson irises. At the center, her pupil blazed a golden yellow.
"Elijah!"
Valak slammed the desk with a thud and shot to his feet.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Crimson light flickered in his eyes as well. The two mages locked in a lethal glare.
"I merely thought the Duchess should know. Everything has its moment—and miss it, and it's gone forever. The chance to kill me is slipping away even now, second by second."
Valak, lips pressed thin, exhaled a deep, nasal sigh before sinking back into his seat. Anger at her outburst, yes—but mingled with clear dismay. I felt much the same. Whatever my feelings toward Valak and Narcissus, Elijah's words sat wrong. And was I even meant to be here for this?
Narcissus, mouth clamped in fury; Valak, sighing as he dragged a hand down his face. A heavy silence.
I ventured in cautiously. "Miss. I'm sorry, but... I think they're right."
"...What?"
"As you know, I'm a commoner. Associating with me would only tarnish your reputation. I'm grateful for all your kindness so far... but..."
I faltered. Elijah stared at me, utterly blank. Her eyes stabbed like daggers.
Don't look at me with those mad fire awakened eyes...! Scary...!
Was it okay to fear a 13-year-old girl? Absolutely. It was Elijah. Mages' power ignored age.
"Why?"
Elijah leaned abruptly toward me. Repeating herself.
"Why?"
"Y-Yes?"
"I asked why."
"Well, because those two..."
"And you? What do you think?"
"I..."
A sudden memory flickered: Elijah, whining as she clung to me. Whether she recalled it or not, it was her rare vulnerable side slipping through. Why did that surface first, above all else? What did it mean?
"It's an honor, but... far too much for someone like me."
"It's not."
Elijah cut me off. She seized my hand. Small and warm, so brazenly.
"Stay. Don't go."
I couldn't pull away. Her face remained impassive, serene as ever. Yet her grip felt desperate somehow. Intentional? Or unconscious?
Valak eyed our joined hands like he might cleave my wrist.
"Elijah. Do you think I have no choice but to threaten you directly?"
Now he was holding my fate hostage. Shrimp between battling whales. Unlike my mounting headache, Elijah stayed utterly composed.
"Go ahead."
No—don't.
"If you can."
She beamed up at Valak. As if he'd have to overcome her first. Mad fire still danced in her eyes. I was the one losing it, sandwiched there.
Narcissus cut in abruptly.
"That's not all! That thing insulted me openly in front of everyone!"
She jabbed a finger at me.
"I overlooked it amid the chaos, but it deserves punishment! A criminal at your—"
"Not particularly invested in your honor, Duchess."
"Will you listen to yourself."
I interrupted her. It synced uncannily with Elijah's quip, but retreat was impossible now. Mouth already open.
"And enough with 'this' and 'that'—am I furniture?"
I bolted upright. The three nobles gawked up at me, dumbfounded. I zeroed in on Narcissus.
"And you, lady. Did I start shit with you? You shoved your nose in the crap first—why pin it on the crap?"
"Wh-What? Sh-Shit? Nose in...?"
"And what about the 'teacher' bit? You should be mortified, doing handstands in shame—yet here you are, bragging? The same woman who slapped the kid?"
"...!"
Narcissus's eyes bulged. How do you know? Valak narrowed his gaze at her reaction. He hadn't known that part either, apparently.
That infuriated me more. I knew their loathing for her illegitimate birth. Fine. But ignoring her life entirely, then meddling now?
"Mister, you just watching like you're above it all?"
"...?"
Valak's turn. He registered mild shock—restrained, as expected. This was Valak di Bebel. No bland pushover like Narcissus; a menacing mage. Elijah's potential outstripped his, but his current prowess dwarfed hers. He'd claimed his seat through raw power. For trash like me, even eye contact was blasphemy.
So what.
Not my concern. Duke this, whatever that—if they grated, I couldn't play nice.
"Fact: I saved the miss. Even lowly trash deserves better than this."
"Ri-Right now, you're speaking to me like...!"
"Not fishing for thanks or rewards. You lot could've hashed it out yourselves and notified me. Why drag me in, tossing 'this' and 'that' like I'm nothing?"
"Y-You... truly... see-seeking... death...?"
Valak and Narcissus both sat slack-jawed, staring. Pure cognitive dissonance. Even their stunned faces pissed me off.
It gnawed at me. They likely had no clue what Elijah murmured in her sleep at dawn. Just yesterday? Really?
I'd tried ignoring it. Bearing others' weight is grueling. Cheap pity fixes nothing. Help the pitiable? Console? Solve their messes, share loads, dispense wisdom. Tried it all. Nosy fool flipping tables mad-dog style at the slightest prod.
Not unique to me. I'd bulldoze in on impulse, like now. Learned the hard way: toothless virtue is empty bluster. Hypocrisy's lesser evil.
Yet that raw, tear-streaked face lingered. Unbearable, a 13-year-old casually musing suicide.
The gym where I'd scrapped for pay. Near homes, all ages trickled in. Years on, I'd seen plenty of kids—most stuck the ones from rough homes. Strays, somehow shrunken. Stories peeled back layers. Parents shelled out for lessons but... neglected. Not broke—emotionally starved homes.
Not all parentless. But the bad ones echoed now...
Why dredge this up...!
Head a whirlwind. Elijah torching lives. Elijah sobbing into me. Mirage visions overlapping, parting. Looping.
Who was Elijah?
"Ignoring the kid's life forever, now playing parents—not embarrassed? Huh?"
Had to vent or I'd choke on it. Not built to swallow bile. Only post-spill did I clock it: defending her.
"Pfft!"
Laughter erupted beside me. Elijah clapped a hand over her mouth, dissolving into giggles. Tears beaded her eyes from sheer mirth.
"Ah, this is just..."
She dabbed her eyes with her knuckles.
"Utterly unforeseen delight."
She flashed me a bright, unfeigned grin.
"Never dreamed I'd witness this in my lifetime."
Her pure, radiant laugh held me spellbound for a beat.
"Hear that, Duke? Duchess."
She turned that leisurely smile on them.
"This one's mine."
...Out of nowhere? How?
"People aren't propert—"
"Spare me. You summoned us over yesterday, right?"
Narcissus flapped her mouth fishlike, still dazed. Pleading eyes to Valak. He fared little better.
"Duke?"
Valak, gaping at me like a freak show, dragged a hand over his face. Cleared his throat.
"Indeed. We've gathered ample evidence. Sardis stands guilty. However."
His gaze hardened anew.
"This fellow's suspicions remain unchanged."
Of all timings, me in the annex spotting Sardis? Cosmic joke, even to me.
"Facts only—no conjecture."
Elijah splayed her small fingers, folding them deliberately.
"One: Sardis meant me harm. Two: Judah intervened. Three: Without Judah? Unthinkable."
She fixed Valak with a stare: Need more?
Valak ground his molars. An audible grind.
"Elijah... You're truly unyielding?"
"Completely."
"Haa... Hoo..."
Valak squeezed his eyes shut, heaving deep sighs. Then cracked them open. Exhaustion shadowed his sunken gaze.
Like a sigh, he murmured: "...I'll handle briefing the guests on yesterday."
Surrender, plain.
"Do."
Valak rose. Narcissus trailed, resentment wafting. They'd grasped the futility of swaying her.
No parents best their child. Felt that adage far too viscerally.
At the door, Valak glowered down, words gritted: "I'll watch you. You'll stay etched in my memory."
Still picking fights post-loss? I parried.
"Enviable recall."
Elijah dissolved into fresh peals—bright as birdsong.
Valak scowled, tone sharpening.
"Surely Elijah's presence emboldens you? Think she'll shield you?"
Absurd.
"A backer as solid as the miss? Dream come true."
Past-life grudges sans one? Innumerable. Uncountable.
So? I met his glare head-on. He scowled, sighed, departed. Headache incarnate.
Frankly, my gall merited execution. Elijah's grace alone spared me.
But I hadn't banked solely on her. Even sans, I'd have spoken. And died.
"Fascinating."
Elijah propped her chin, eyes locked on me.
"How do you always choose what delights me most?"
What did I...
Just bit back at barbs, raged at rage-bait...
"You seem tailor-made for me."
No flutter from a kid's words. Peak noble arrogance, though.
One puzzle. This mansion. Its staff. All arrayed for her, illegitimate or not.
Why me...
"But... multiple lives, perhaps?"
"Not quite."
I just despised arbitrary judgments, oppression. Once lumped kin in there. Sometimes aided the needy-looking. Now...
"Craved a backer like me that much?"
"...Pardon? What? Uh?"
Wait—not that intent.
"Nothing stopping me."
"Not what I—"
"But now? Can't leave even if you wanted."
Valak, Narcissus: routed. I'd bend to Elijah's will. No say, no strength to refuse.
Escape chance later. Training camp runs mean outings. Info guild smooths it...
Steadying, her stare pinned me. Mad fire eyes clashed. Intent, piercing—then a chilling grin. Mocking my resignation. Not mere note of residency.
"You'll live here from now on."
Reflex swallow. Froze like frog before serpent.
Familiar smile. Perilous. Venom dripped from her amused tone.
"If you leave."
She rose. Steps measured, languid. Approaching.
"You."
One pace away, she bared teeth in a grin.
"Die."
The fragile Elijah incinerated. Arsonist killer. The villainess of legend loomed.
Why the flip...?!
Cause unknown. Verdict clear.
Run!