‘She knows it well. Her intuition is quick when it’s useless.’
Without taking his eyes off Sasha, Lionel gently pried her arm away.
Then, so she would not notice he had deliberately removed it, he placed a glass of apple juice in her hand.
“Sorry. I’ve been learning the sword lately, so I don’t have much time. I want to enter the Academy in the capital, so I’m preparing from now.”
“The Academy?”
Sasha tilted her head and blinked her blue eyes. It was a lovely gesture that anyone would fuss over as adorable.
“Yes. The Pelodian Imperial Academy.”
“You’re already preparing for that? A place you can enter at twenty?”
“It’s not a place just anyone can attend. I have to prepare diligently from now. There are only seven years left.”
“I see! I had no idea you were thinking something so impressive.”
Sasha pursed her pink lips in admiration. After a moment of thought, she clenched one fist and lightly struck her palm with it.
“That’s it! If you and I spend our Academy days together, we’d suit each other so well. I should start preparing diligently from now too.”
‘Ah…….’
Lionel regretted using the Academy as an excuse.
‘Surely she doesn’t actually intend to enter Pelodian?’
Until now, Sasha had acted like someone with no interest in academics whatsoever.
She was always busy talking about how cute and beautiful she would appear to others, how brightly the rosy future she and Lionel would share would shine.
‘Surely not. Pelodian isn’t a place just anyone can attend anyway.’
The Pelodian Academy was the largest educational institution in the empire, specializing in teaching the disciplines needed to face monsters—magic, swordsmanship, magical formula design, magical tool crafting, and healing arts.
For the children of noble houses who would inherit titles, a diploma from the Academy, the most prestigious school in the Flandel Empire, was essential.
Because it was believed that only those who had studied deeply in one field could illuminate the empire’s future with far-sighted vision.
“Yes. It would be wonderful if we could attend together.”
“I must start preparing right now!”
Sasha, her face brightening, left the spot at once with a thoroughly excited expression.
Haa. Lionel covered his face with his hand and rubbed it to hide his sickened expression, letting out a sigh.
How many more people would he have to deal with? Just dealing with Sasha alone felt as if he had already used up all of today’s energy.
Come to think of it, he had not seen Jaelin anywhere. Since she was his playmate, Jaelin had surely received an invitation to the birthday party as well.
The image of Jaelin frozen stiff as ice the last time he saw her was vivid. That day, Lionel had taken from Jaelin the thing she cherished most.
‘What’s so special about one lousy book? She says she likes me, and she got angry over something as small as that? Is that why she didn’t come to my birthday today?’
What had been carved into her face at the very end? Betrayal? Anger? No, none of those. What had risen on her face was sorrow.
‘Surely she didn’t realize I did it on purpose.’
The thought occurred to him that Jaelin might never come to this mansion again.
‘Hmph, so be it.’
It did not matter whether she did or not. After all, she would have no interest in him now anyway.
That incident must have killed whatever affection she had. She might even want to take back her confession that she liked him.
It was just a shallow feeling that amounted to nothing more than that. She was no different from anyone else.
It felt as if all the strength was draining from his fingertips.
It was boring. All of it.
Just then, someone strode up to Lionel. Sensing the presence, Lionel quickly changed masks and raised his head.
By the time Lionel had fully lifted his head, the expressionless face had already vanished without a trace.
In a voice full of joy, Lionel opened his mouth.
“Nathan, it’s been a while. Thank you so much for coming to my birthday.”
After that, Lionel had to deal with countless people.
While he was spending time in a whirlwind, the butler approached Lionel and held out a small box.
“Young Master. This is the birthday gift sent by the Duke.”
“Why is the butler bringing this……. Surely Father isn’t coming?”
“No. He had urgent business and departed for the capital at dawn today. He asked me to convey his congratulations to you, Young Master.”
“I see. Thank you for the gift.”
Lionel could not make any expression at all. Suddenly he could not remember. How to make a smiling face.
Even though it was his birthday, he could not even see his father’s face. Since when had it been like this? He could not shake the feeling that he was always alone.
Lionel tore off the wrapping and opened the box. Inside was a watch. This year, too, it was the same gift as last year.
The wristwatch, finished in black iron, overflowed with restrained elegance.
Where the hour hand was, a golden sapphire resembling Lionel’s eyes was set.
It was clear at a glance that it had been custom-made for Lionel.
Inside the box was a single card his father had written by hand. Lionel unfolded the card.
「Congratulations on your twelfth birthday, Lionel. You are always a son I am proud of.」
‘It’s my thirteenth birthday…….’
His father apparently had forgotten which birthday it was.
Lionel’s golden eyes rapidly clouded over.
“Please tell Father I said thank you.”
“Won’t you tell him yourself, Young Master?”
“He’s busy, so would he even have time to see me? Have the butler convey it.”
After that, Lionel forced down the food before him and smiled like a doll. It felt as though only an empty shell without a soul remained, moving about this place.
He greeted and conversed with the countless people who had come to celebrate his birthday, yet he could not even remember whom he had met or what conversations he had exchanged.
The lavish flower arrangements filling the garden, the golden ribbons draped between the trees, the party food that made one’s mouth water at a mere glance, and the birthday gifts piled high on the tables.
The mansion was filled with things meant to celebrate Lionel’s birthday, yet none of them meant anything to Lionel himself.
It was hollow.
It felt as if the inside of his body were completely empty. To fill his hunger, he mechanically shoved food that tasted of nothing into his mouth.
But no matter how much he ate, he was not satisfied. He was so terribly hungry. The hunger that would not fade swallowed Lionel whole.
The sun set and the party ended. The great mansion, once bustling with people, was now emptied out.
Father, whom he had hoped would stay by his side, ultimately could not even show his face.
This was not what he had wanted. The lavish party food, the countless people congratulating him on his birthday, the expensive gifts—none of it was what he had wanted.
Suddenly, a surge of nausea rose in him, and Lionel ran to the bathroom. He had to throw up all the food he had forced down.
He felt like a doll in a gilded painting. A doll that had to perform the role of the ducal heir, needing neither emotion nor thought.
A life where he need only wear the mask of the heir and smile.
He wanted to disappear forever, just like this.
Having wiped the saliva from the corners of his mouth, Lionel walked aimlessly.
He wanted to vanish somewhere, but the fact that he had nowhere to go on his own made him furiously angry.
His steps quickened and picked up speed. Before he knew it, Lionel was running. Hoping his two legs would carry him somewhere.
Please, anywhere.
Anywhere but here would be fine.
A single cold droplet cut through the hot summer air and fell on the bridge of Lionel’s nose.
The droplets that fell one by one had soon become a fierce stream, roughly striking and shattering against Lionel’s body.
A cold rain that would cool the midsummer heat was pouring down on the ground like a waterfall.
Having left the mansion, Lionel ran frantically without even looking ahead.
Lionel’s feet were automatically treading a familiar path. It was the path to the cave he always sought when he was feeling gloomy.
Thin branches mercilessly scratched Lionel’s body, and the rain-soaked grass was slippery, but Lionel could not stop.
After running for a long while, Lionel was forced to halt his running steps at the sudden chill he felt ahead.
Cold rainwater carrying the scent of summer soaked Lionel’s entire body and streamed down. The sensation of the droplets running down his fingertips and dripping off was vivid.
That brief moment felt as distant as an eternity.
Lionel drew a deep breath.
The thick smell of blood, hidden among the damp rain and unnoticed until now, finally forced its way into his nose.
Every sense in his body sharpened keenly, bristling with alertness.
Lionel slowly raised his head.
A house-sized black bear, which he had thought was gone from the forest, was in the middle of a narrow path through the woods, tearing apart and eating the carcass of a small animal.
The bear’s pitch-black fur, soaked through with rain, glistened eerily.
The bear’s thick forepaws, which looked five or six times the size of Lionel’s, were tipped with long, sharp claws. A single blow from those paws would surely reduce any grown man to a pulp.
‘It’s all right. It hasn’t noticed me yet.’
Gritting his teeth, Lionel quietly stepped backward.
No matter how much he had learned the sword, it was a beast that Lionel, who had just turned thirteen, could not handle alone. And right now, Lionel was empty-handed without even a sword.
Keeping watch on the bear’s movements, Lionel slowly backed away.
But perhaps because he could not see behind him, Lionel’s foot caught on a protruding tree root, and he tumbled to the ground with a grunt.
The bear, having stopped its meal at the sudden presence, slowly raised its head. Its chilling, red, inorganic eyes met Lionel’s.
‘Damn it.’
Without taking his eyes off the bear’s eyes, Lionel groped around and grabbed whatever his hand could reach.
It was a thin wooden stick. He had to struggle, even if it was futile. He could not die so meaninglessly like this.
