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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: 24화
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Aselt, unfamiliar with the word, asked again, lifting the eyewear Kellik had given him.
"This?"
"Yes! That's right, that's it!"
Aselt asked Mabel, who brightened up and her eyes sparkled.
"I was going to ask about it anyway. What exactly is this? It looks like... glasses."
In this world, while glasses existed, sunglasses did not.
So when he commissioned it at the workshop, the owner had a look that said he was asking for all sorts of bizarre things.
But as the saying goes, seeing is believing.
"Try them on."
Mabel immediately encouraged Aselt to put them on like he would glasses.
Aselt, a little hesitant, but trusting Mabel, put on the sunglasses.
"Oh..."
He'd thought the dark lenses would block his sight, but he could see surprisingly well.
The world's colors were just a bit muted?
He wasn't sure about indoors, but it seemed they would be quite useful outdoors in strong sunlight.
Aselt, wearing the sunglasses, looked around the room before turning his gaze back to Mabel.
"But why are you giving these to me?"
"Uh... actually, they were meant as an alternative to an eye patch."
"An alternative to an eye patch?"
"Yes. I heard that because you kept wearing the eye patch, your wound wasn't healing. But even with the eye patch on, you could still see, right?"
She figured if he could read text, the transmittance must be quite high.
"If having a single barrier means your gaze won't turn people to stone, then I thought perhaps creating a barrier with glasses would be okay..."
She didn't know that it was actually possible because Aselt knew how to control his abilities.
Mabel fidgeted, pressing her fingertips together, and continued.
"But now you can perfectly control your abilities... so, well, I actually hesitated a lot whether to give them to you or not!"
She also thought giving a gift that was no longer needed might be a bother.
"But while I was hesitating, Young Master Kellik caught me..."
It was almost as if they'd been extorted from her, but in a way, she also thought it was for the best.
After all, she'd made them to give to Aselt anyway.
"If you don't need them, you can just throw them away-"
"Why?"
"What? Uh, well, because now Young Master can completely control his abilities, and the Grand Ducal family members know that too."
"But you made them for me. On purpose."
"Oh, um... that's true, but..."
"Then I should wear them. And I actually quite like these?"
Aselt grinned, still wearing the sunglasses.
Indeed, perhaps because of his high nose bridge and pale complexion, they suited him incredibly well despite their somewhat clunky appearance.
"And Mabel, as you said, the Grand Ducal family might not be afraid of me anymore, but what about other people?"
"Huh?"
"When I go out, I mean."
"But I heard Young Master doesn't particularly like going out."
Mabel tilted her head in confusion.
Just yesterday, upon hearing the sunglasses were complete, she had gone out into the inner city with Ella.
Hishin was with them then, and both of them said that Aselt had only left the Esclid Grand Ducal Castle a handful of times.
Mabel simply thought that he must be an enormous homebody, as if to confirm he was a snake.
But was that not the case?
"Who told you that? I like going out. To be precise, I like basking in the sun."
As if reading Mabel's thoughts, he added, "I'm a snake, after all."
"And the reason I didn't go out was because of the eye patch. People stared at me intently."
"Ah..."
Indeed, if it were her, she probably would stare if a handsome young man walked around wearing a black eye patch.
At first, one might think he could just take off the eye patch when going out, but Aselt was Sigmund Esclid's disciple.
Moreover, as a legendary Basilisk Beastman, he likely couldn't walk around alone without an escort.
'He kept wearing the eye patch for the sake of the Grand Ducal family members who accompanied him.'
From now on, he wouldn't have to, but then again, who knew?
The fear that the Basilisk species instilled was immense.
Even if Aselt could control his abilities, the fear wouldn't easily dissipate.
"But with these, I can go out freely."
"Certainly... they'll look less suspicious than an eye patch."
"Right?"
Aselt chuckled, taking off the sunglasses.
It seemed his words about liking the sunglasses weren't empty, as his touch on the temples was already quite tender.
Aselt gazed down at the sunglasses for a moment, then spoke softly in a slightly choked voice.
"Thank you. For... understanding my pain."
No one had acknowledged the pain Aselt was enduring alone.
No one had tried to share the burden.
They seemed to think that such suffering was natural if one possessed such an ability and wished to live among people.
But Mabel was different.
In just a few days, she had recognized the emptiness and loneliness hidden within Aselt's actions.
And she had sought to share it and help him.
Grateful and happy for that, Aselt's pale eyes grew moist.
Mabel watched Aselt silently, then deliberately spoke in an even brighter voice.
"Thank you? Of course! I'm a member of the Grand Ducal family too!"
As she emphasized the words 'Grand Ducal family member,' Aselt let out a small laugh.
He then reached out, stroked Mabel's hair, and replied.
"That's right, you're part of the Grand Ducal family."
'It's late, but welcome to the Grand Ducal family.'
* * *
Meanwhile, Kellik, who had rushed into his room, was sprawled on his bed, futilely punching his innocent pillow.
"Brother, you idiot, dummy, chicken-head, duck-head, turkey-head, goldfish-head, and, and..."
Attaching the only vulgar word he knew, 'head,' to various animals.
But no more animals came to mind, and insulting Aselt only made him feel more uncomfortable.
"Damn it..."
In the end, Kellik couldn't even properly insult Aselt and just sat down, sniffling.
He had often felt hurt by Aselt's usual cynical demeanor, but never as much as today.
'Brother hated her too. He said he got hurt so badly because of her!'
So he tried to chase Mabel away for him, but instead, Aselt got angry at *him*!
'How worried I was!'
As he thought about it, a surge of resentment welled up inside him again.
His hatred for Aselt and his attempts to calm down lasted less than ten seconds.
"Brother, you're a real idiot, I hate youuuu!"
Kellik, erupting in indignation once more, gnawed on his pillow this time, screaming.
Hearing the sounds from inside the room, the maids standing outside exchanged worried glances.
"They say he was kicked out by Young Master Aselt?"
"Yeah... Young Master Aselt apparently sided with Young Lady Mabel instead of Young Master Kellik."
"Oh, really? What's gotten into Young Master Aselt? He didn't like the Young Lady, did he?"
"I don't know... but maybe he's come to know Young Lady Mabel's true nature?"
"If that's the case, that would be wonderful. It would be good if our Young Master Kellik also tried talking with the Young Lady."
However, contrary to the maids' wishes, Kellik had no intention of doing so.
Instead, he huffed, clenched his fists, and reaffirmed his resolve.
'Even Master, even Dane, even Brother! I don't know what trick she used to charm them, but I'm not a fool. I'll never fall for it!'
No matter what Mabel does, I won't fall for that cute, innocent face!
However, exactly 24 hours later.
'What kind of, what kind of girl...'
Kellik felt a shock as if his world had been turned upside down.
'She's *this* easy to talk to?!'
Playing with Mabel was much more fun than he'd expected!
This morning, Kellik went to Aselt's room to eat breakfast with him as usual.
He had cried so much because of Aselt yesterday, but that was that, and this was this.
But shockingly, Aselt wasn't in his room.
"- Oh? Aren't you going to the dining room?"
"- Huh? No, I'm eating here with Brother..."
"- Oh! Didn't you hear? Young Master Aselt went to the dining room. He said he'd be having a meal with Young Lady Mabel?"
"- What?!"
He rushed to the dining room with a clatter, and indeed, Aselt was eating with Mabel!
How could this be?!
What's more, after eating, they were going to have a picnic in the garden with Aselt!
'Leaving *me* out completely!'
This was unacceptable.
'But I, Kellik, am a smart man who knows how to think.'
Kellik suppressed the urge to immediately run in, throw himself on the floor, and cry as he thought.
'A picnic? Just you wait!'
This time, he intended to cause such a ruckus that she would leave the Esclid Grand Ducal Castle on her own.
That's why he went to her, with a caterpillar dangling from the tip of his wooden sword.
"- Hey!"
Kellik deliberately aimed the wooden sword with the caterpillar dangling from it at Mabel.
'Scared, aren't you? Surprised, aren't you? Gross, aren't you?!'
Kellik thought Mabel would be terrified, crying and making a scene.
But Mabel, with a perfectly calm expression, shattered Kellik's expectations.
"- Oh, there's a bug on it."
Far from being startled, she grabbed the bug with her bare hand and casually tossed it away!
