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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Chapter 22
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The emotions that had been churning in his mind descended to his chest, feeling as though they were tearing at his very heart.
"Why... why did it have to be you?"
Aselt murmured softly.
Mabel, who had been about to rise, paused at his words.
The glass shards embedded in her palm stung enough to bring tears to her eyes, but she endured it.
Because right now, she wanted to hear what Aselt had to say.
Mabel pricked up her ears.
"I won't acknowledge you. I won't ever acknowledge you."
Agony laced Aselt's voice.
Aselt knew well the magnitude of the sin Sophia had committed against Sigmund, and how much Sigmund had suffered because of it.
He could never forgive Sophia.
And so, he could not accept her daughter, Mabel.
Even if Mabel was the one person who didn't discriminate against him based on his appearance or his Beastman race.
Even if she was the one he had waited for, the one who understood his heart.
'As long as I continue to hate Sophia, that woman, things will inevitably go wrong someday.'
If that were the case, he didn't want to start at all.
But then...
"It's fine if you don't acknowledge me. I don't particularly intend to be acknowledged by you, Young Master."
"...What?"
"Well, that's just how it is, isn't it? I'm the Head of Household's assistant, not yours, Young Master."
At her audacious words, Aselt felt his tension completely drain away in utter bewilderment.
"And you know what? The truth is, I don't like my mother either."
This was Mabel's true feeling, one she had never even told Sigmund or Ella.
No, in truth, she hadn't had the chance to.
The adults never brought up the Ashilonia Family to Mabel.
She knew it was out of consideration for her feelings.
But precisely because of that, she couldn't express what she thought about the Ashilonia Family.
Just as Aselt had been "considerately" left out, unilaterally.
"So, it means you can hate my mother as much as you want, and it has nothing to do with me."
Listening to Mabel's laughter-tinged words, Aselt nearly lowered his hand.
Aselt, whose lips had been trembling, managed to force out a voice.
"Why are you..."
It was just as he was trying to squeeze out the question from a throat that felt completely constricted.
"Young Lady!"
With the sound of urgent footsteps, Ella and Hishin arrived.
The two gasped at the sight of Aselt, whose legs had turned to stone, and Mabel, who was slumped on top of glass shards.
"Sister!"
Hearing Ella's voice, Mabel, who had instinctively opened her eyes, hurriedly closed them again.
"I'm fine! This is just me... Ah!"
Mabel, eyes still closed, tried to awkwardly stand up, lost her balance, and swayed.
'I'm falling!'
If she fell like this, the glass shards would embed themselves even deeper!
Anticipating the pain, Mabel flinched, curling her body.
But no matter how much time passed, she didn't feel the sharp glass piercing her clothes and skin.
"Huh...?"
Thinking it strange, Mabel slowly blinked her eyes open cautiously, only to hear Ella and Hishin's screams.
"Oh no!"
"Young Master!"
Mabel was flustered to see Aselt's face right in front of her.
"Young Master...?"
"You..."
Aselt, his eyes and cheeks stained with blood and tears, grimaced and groaned.
"Be a little more careful..."
It was then that Mabel realized Aselt had wrapped his arms around her as she slipped, falling with her, and she hurriedly got up.
"I'm so sorry!"
"Ugh..."
As Aselt stood up, the area where glass fragments were embedded, stained red, became clearly visible.
Aselt, enduring the throbbing pain, suddenly widened his eyes.
"My legs...?"
His legs, which had been petrified just moments ago, had returned to normal.
"Oh no, Ella! Ella, un— huh?"
Mabel, who had been panicking and calling for Ella in the urgent situation, also heard Aselt's murmur and looked down at his legs.
Come to think of it, if his legs had been stiff as stone, he wouldn't have been able to embrace Mabel, would he?
Aselt, forgetting to stand up, carefully tried to move his feet.
The petrification had truly been released.
"Young Master, you... you were able to release your ability?"
"Ah, no. This is the first time for me too..."
Aselt replied, bewildered, to Mabel's question.
Until now, Aselt had only ever activated his ability; he had never once released it.
Because of this, people who turned to stone had to wait for hours until the transformation wore off.
The same had been true for Kellik, who had been turned to stone multiple times.
But there was no time to ponder what on earth had happened.
"Quick, get a doctor!"
"The Young Lady and Young Master are seriously injured!"
Starting with Ella and Hishin's shouts, the Grand Ducal Castle, which had been frozen as if time had stopped, began to bustle with activity once more.
"Wait, my eye patch...!"
As Aselt hurriedly tried to cover his eyes, Hishin, who had rushed over, grabbed his hand and stopped him.
"We need to examine your eyes. You're bleeding so much!"
"But what if I turn the doctor to stone again—"
"It doesn't matter. It'll wear off eventually. And more importantly, Young Master, you can now fully control your ability, can't you?"
On Hishin's face, as he spoke, there was only worry, apology, and unwavering trust in Aselt.
Fear or terror were nowhere to be found anymore.
Whether they heard Hishin's words, or if Aselt's injuries were simply more pressing, people rushed into the activity room, vying with each other.
"Here! I've brought warm water and towels!"
"And tweezers to remove the glass fragments!"
"Benson just went to call the doctor, so he'll be here soon!"
And beneath the feet of those who fussed over Aselt, their faces etched with worry, lay the eye patch.
The eye patch, trampled by many and torn by glass shards, rendered unusable.
***
Aselt awoke three days later.
Fortunately, the wound on his back only required about four stitches, but due to his ability's rampage, he hadn't woken up for several days.
Opening his eyes, Aselt instinctively reached for the nightstand, searching for his eye patch.
But the nightstand was empty.
'Ah, right.'
The last place Aselt had seen his eye patch was trampled under people's feet.
This time, unlike before, his memory hadn't vanished.
"Do I need to get a new one..."
Aselt murmured, gazing at the empty nightstand.
Just then, a knock sounded from outside.
"Brother, are you awake?"
It was Kellik.
"Yeah, I'm awake."
As Aselt slowly pushed his stiff body upright, Kellik immediately entered.
"Broother!"
Kellik's face and eyes were swollen.
It was clear he had been sobbing relentlessly day and night while Aselt was unconscious.
Aselt chuckled, stroking Kellik's hair as he ran to the bed and collapsed, weeping.
"Looks like you cried a lot?"
"Of course! You scared me half to death!"
Kellik, still with a tear-streaked face, lifted his head sharply and retorted.
"Suddenly I heard a loud noise and smelled your blood, and then they said you were seriously hurt!"
Kellik, who had been training with a dummy at the Training Ground at the time, received the news late.
He immediately tried to go to the activity room where Aselt was, but he was blocked by the servants, who cited the danger.
"The doctors were panicking too! And then, then you weren't waking up... and they said your power went wild! I was worried you'd lost your memory again!"
"Huuuuh..."
Kellik burst into tears again.
Kellik, now ten years old, was a different Beastman race and rank from Aselt, but they were like true brothers.
In fact, Kellik had been placed in Aselt's cage as food when Aselt was still young.
This was because Kellik was severely injured and couldn't even transform into a human.
But instead of devouring Kellik, Aselt had carefully nursed him back to health.
Since then, they had never been apart for a moment, making their bond closer than that of blood brothers.
"Yes, you must have been very scared."
"It wasn't just 'very'! If I really didn't have you, Brother...!"
Kellik, overcome with emotion, sniffled loudly and lifted his head, when a clinking sound was heard.
At that sound, Kellik's expression, which had been about to say something, instantly turned blank.
"Oh, right."
Kellik, who had stopped crying in an instant, rubbed his eyes with his sleeve and then put his hand in his pocket.
Kellik's emotions didn't last more than ten seconds.
While this simple-mindedness was Kellik's strength, Aselt, who had been feeling touched, became a little sullen.
"Here."
As if knowing or not knowing Aselt's feelings, Kellik handed over what he had taken from his pocket and said,
"She told me to give you this."
"She?"
At Aselt's question, Kellik nodded with a displeased expression.
"Yeah, Sophia's daughter. She told me to give it to you, Brother. She said you might not need it now, but she still made it for you."
"For me...?"
Aselt carefully took what Kellik handed him.
It was a pair of glasses.
What made them slightly different from other glasses was that their lenses were painted black.
