Chapter 46
Chapter 46
I kicked his foot under the table as I pointed it out.
"You're not supposed to eat the finger food before the person who invited you arrives."
"Ah, yeah. Sorry. Didn't know."
"Didn't I tell you to avoid saying you didn't know and to avoid apologizing as much as possible? That's admitting a shortcoming. The head of a marquessal house can't humble himself so easily."
"Then what am I supposed to say at a time like this? I already reached for it."
"Say it seems you've been placed under Black Magic and are being controlled, and shout that it's an emergency and everyone should evacuate immediately."
That was when it happened.
"Brisa, you got here before Leopold?"
It was Gilav, who had already changed clothes.
Gilav lifted his chin and walked in elegantly.
"Dinner is being prepared. Wait just a little. Father is currently away, so Mother and my eldest brother will be attending."
"I see."
His eldest brother was Ethan Dibostan, the Young Duke.
He had two older brothers, and Gilav was the youngest son, with a large age gap between him and the other two.
The peculiar thing was that only the second son of House Dibostan was illegitimate.
He was the child of the duke and a commoner merchant-company head, and under imperial law, that second son had not received the Dibostan name.
But even so, he was being raised in the ducal household with a proper noble education. That was because his birth mother was the owner of a massive merchant company spanning the East.
In other words, he was illegitimate, but his birth mother's wealth was so immense that the ducal house could not discriminate against him.
'With circumstances like that, I can't even ask whether his second brother is attending or not.'
Alpheus smiled brightly and spoke.
"Brisa, at the academy, the two of you got along......"
Gilav glanced at Alpheus, then completely ignored him and sat down in front of me. Then he grinned and spoke.
"I heard you've taken up a hobby of associating with pitiful, inferior people lately, Brisa."
Alpheus's expression stiffened slightly. He had finally noticed that Gilav was someone who 'ignored' him.
He also seemed to have guessed who the 'pitiful, deficient people' Gilav spoke of were. It was the effect of his education.
But Alpheus could not get angry. Because Gilav was young.
Alpheus was weak against the weak and against children. It was because he suffered from a protagonist complex that was not easily cured.
Actually, I had noticed for some time. Gilav had not introduced himself to Alpheus, had interrupted him rudely, and refused to engage him in conversation.
"Sure."
I nodded calmly.
"That's why I gladly accepted your invitation."
Gilav's brow furrowed sharply.
He had probably expected me to go along with his mockery.
Well, by eastern common sense, that would have been the natural situation. To anyone's eyes, I was someone who had been robbed of the heir's position by a half-brother with commoner blood.
On top of that, Gilav treated his own second brother as though he did not exist because of his commoner blood. The duchess had taught him to think that way since childhood.
"Don't lower your own standing."
Sure enough, Gilav narrowed his eyes and offered advice.
"Even if your engagement was broken off, you haven't fallen that far. I think there's somewhere else you ought to be. Consider this repayment for the mana stones, so don't feel burdened and hear me out. Why not stay in the East, where you belong?"
He was assuming I must be ashamed to remain under Alpheus's protection.
Anger rose from deep inside me.
I shrugged elegantly.
"Thanks for the romantic, roundabout proposal. But even after having my engagement broken, I haven't fallen low enough to get engaged to you. Following your advice, I've decided not to lower my own standing."
Wendy, who was behind me, finally couldn't hold it in and let out a "pfft" of laughter.
It was truly ill-bred behavior. But it was effective at provoking Gilav.
"Ha!"
He shot to his feet and began walking out of the reception room.
I shrugged at Alpheus as if to ask whether he had learned well.
That was when it happened. Gilav suddenly turned back around. Then he strode back over to me.
After that, he lowered his voice and whispered covertly.
"Have you ever seen a monster?"
"Sure."
I answered indifferently.
"One was sitting across from me until a moment ago."
"Don't talk nonsense. I mean a real monster. Something that is neither human nor a Monster..."
"Here, shall we take a vote on who's actually talking nonsense? At least I had some wit about it."
A monster—what was this, a fairy tale?
Gilav, who had been frowning, spoke quickly.
"Brisa, the truth is, I liked you. Perfect, arrogant, and indifferent—that was exactly what a noble aristocrat should be."
"You're trying hard. But if you want to get engaged to me, you'd better get on the good side of the new head of House Sears rather than me."
"Soon you'll find the filthy blood in that vaunted head of House Sears unbearable. Soon. Very soon."
Gilav glared grimly at Alpheus, then added solemnly.
"So join our side as quickly as possible, before it's too late."
"Good heavens. You're fourteen, Gilav. Don't you think you're past the age for playing at factions?"
"I'll be waiting to hear from you. Don't repeat what I said today in front of Leopold."
After carrying on a conversation without context to the very end, Gilav really did turn around and leave.
Alpheus let out a strange sigh—"whoo"—then blinked and spoke.
"The kids sure have a bloodthirsty atmosphere."
Of course, when he whispered at the end, Gilav had lowered his voice as much as he could.
But Alpheus's senses were all developed to a superhuman degree. Naturally, he had obviously heard all of it.
"Kid? You want to call someone who called you 'filthy blood' that?"
"He's just a child who talks nonsense about absurd monsters. Everyone makes all sorts of mistakes when they're young. An adult ought to overlook that much."
Alpheus laughed carefreely.
"He'll learn as he grows. That there are values more important than bloodline. Then he'll end up feeling ashamed of today and feel newly grateful to me for just letting it pass."
The protagonist complex was good for his mental health. Of course, that wasn't what mattered right now.
I murmured, lost in thought.
"......Gilav isn't the type to talk about absurd things."
Gilav was lacking in many ways, but he wasn't a fool. He, too, was a direct descendant of one of the Founding Five Houses who had outgrown fairy tales by age five.
'There's no way he just blurted out something pointless.'
That was when it happened.
With a loud bang, the residence was instantly thrown into commotion.
Alpheus and I shot to our feet.
"What's going on?"
But it was not proper etiquette to leave the reception room until a servant of the Duke's Residence came to fetch us. Then, suddenly, a chilling sound rang out.
"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!"
Without realizing it, I clung to Alpheus.
"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!"
It was a shriek unlike anything I had ever heard, almost as if it were not human...
Alpheus lifted me into his arms.
"We have to run right now."
He looked at the maid and Wendy and shouted.
"Follow me!"
Wendy immediately slung the maid over her shoulder. Then she bolted out of the reception room.
We ran out along the path we had come by. All the while, the unidentifiable shrieking continued.
"Ah!"
At that moment, we encountered a silver-haired middle-aged man running toward us in a hurry.
And I knew that man.
"......Duke Dibostan?"