Chapter 62
<64화>
The next day.
“On that note…”
My dad, who had called Kyle and me to his office, made a sudden declaration.
“I’m going to raise Kyle to be a talent for our knights.”
Dun-dun-dun!
“Whoa.”
My mouth fell open in a little ‘o’ of surprise at the sudden announcement. As for Kyle…
“Then do I get to stay with Aisha?”
He didn’t seem to realize the grim future awaiting him, his round eyes sparkling with excitement.
A few days later.
“Oh. Kyle changed into a human. Your eye color is different today, too?”
“Hi. The ahjussi told me I have to take this potion every day from now on.”
I learned more about Kyle from Dad.
The fact that Kyle was a Majin—half-beast, half-human. That he could communicate with monsters, which would become a great ability later on.
And so—
“You’re going to your lesson today, right?”
“Yeah.”
Even the fact that Dad intended to raise the young Kyle properly.
“My feet feel weird.”
“Your feet?”
“They put something over my feet.”
Kyle pouted, tapping the floor with the tips of his toes.
He was dressed in a neat shirt and shorts. Naturally, he was wearing shoes as well, but since it was his first time, he seemed a bit awkward.
“Those are shoes. You have to wear them when you’re living as a human, so you need to get used to them. Okay?”
“Hmph.”
He pouted, but he nodded his head vigorously.
‘Hmm.’
What’s wrong with me? Why am I the one feeling nervous about him going to a lesson?
Kyle felt like a child being left by the water’s edge. Since he had been a kitten to me only a few days ago, it was a natural feeling.
‘Since it’s his first lesson, I should drop him off.’
Clap!
I clapped my hands at Kyle, who was still performing a strange tap dance with his shoes.
“Kyle. Focus.”
“Huh?”
“If people ask you, ‘Who are you?’, how should you answer?”
“Um…”
Kyle’s eyes rounded at my question.
After thinking it over carefully, he raised his eyebrows and answered bravely.
“I am the King of Monsters.”
“Nooo!”
He’s going to get himself in big trouble saying things like that.
Narrowing my eyes, I gave him an order.
“You mustn’t say that. Now, repeat after me.”
“Okay.”
“I’m Kyle. Nice to meet you.”
When I reached out a hand and greeted him, Kyle looked back and forth between me and my hand awkwardly.
Then—
“…I’m Kyle. Nice to meet you.”
He said, taking my hand.
Shake, shake.
I shook our joined hands as a sign of praise. Then, his eyes widened, and his earlobes began to turn slightly red.
“Well done! You have to greet everyone like that from now on, okay?”
“Why?”
“The class you’re taking today is Noble Etiquette and Character Building. This is the first step of character. To be a good person, you need to have good character.”
“Then am I a bad person if I don’t have character?”
“Essentially, yes. So starting today, you’re going to learn from the teacher. To find your character.”
“Oh.”
Fortunately, my pre-schooling was somewhat effective.
Because Kyle’s expression, which had been dull because of the shoes, turned motivated.
‘I’ll have to stick with this kind of rote learning for a while.’
“Let’s go to class now. Since it’s your first day, I’m going to watch.”
“Okay.”
Holding Kyle’s hand, I slid open the door to ‘Classroom 1,’ the site of today’s lesson.
“Hello, Lady Aisha. And Kyle, today’s student, has arrived as well.”
The tutor greeted us with a kind smile and a bow.
And—
“Dandelion?”
A familiar voice echoed through the classroom.
‘Huh? The only person who calls me Dandelion is Lucas.’
Surprised, I poked my head into the room.
“What are you doing her—”
Lucas’s welcoming gaze, which had been directed at me, shifted toward Kyle.
And then.
“That brat… How dare he hold Dandelion’s hand? Hey! Who are you!”
Crash!
Lucas abruptly knocked over his desk and stomped toward us.
“How dare you.”
Ah. Now that I think about it.
“You just grab Dandelion’s hand like that?”
I forgot they said Kyle and Lucas would be taking the same class!
‘And this must be the first time Lucas is seeing Kyle…’
“Brother. It’s not like that…”
I sweated as I tried to hide our joined hands behind my back.
“Young Lord.”
Someone massive blocked Lucas’s path.
“This is Kyle, who will be attending lessons with you.”
It was the tutor, wearing a polite smile.
“What? Kyle?”
Stopped in his tracks by the teacher, Lucas frowned.
He crossed his arms with a rebellious expression and glared at Kyle.
“Who is he to take lessons with me? Is he direct blood, too?”
“He is not of the direct line, but it so happens that Young Lord Lucas and Master Kyle need to take the same subjects. His Grace instructed that it would be good for you to study together since the timing worked out.”
“Father said that himself? No, forget that.”
Swish—
“Lu, Lord Lucas!”
The moment the tutor showed a lapse in concentration, Lucas used a swift hand-chop to separate my hand from Kyle’s.
“…….”
Then he tilted his head back with an ‘I hope you saw that, that’s my skill’ kind of look.
“What are you, a branch member if you’re not direct blood? How dare a branch member try to take classes with me?”
The innocent Kyle blinked.
Then—
“I’m Kyle. Hi.”
As if he hadn’t heard a word Lucas said, Kyle reached out his hand for a handshake.
“What? Hah!”
Smack—
Of course, Lucas, who couldn’t possibly like that, slapped Kyle’s hand away.
“…Oh.”
Kyle’s eyes went wide as he watched his hand drop into the air.
But Kyle’s strange behavior wasn’t over. In fact, it was just beginning.
“Where did your character go? Did you lose it?”
“…What?”
“Aisha said people who don’t accept handshakes have no character. If you lost it, you have to find it quickly. Hurry up and find it.”
“Are you done talking? I don’t think talking is going to work with this guy—”
“Young Lord Lucas?”
It was then.
The teacher, blocking the two of them once again, stuck a red sticker onto a report.
“For not accepting Master Kyle’s handshake. And for using bad words. I will be applying two penalty stickers for those two actions.”
“Agh! Teacher!”
“You must use formal titles for me in the classroom. Including that, three penalty stickers.”
“Gah, Teach… er!”
As another terrifying red sticker was added—
“What’s a penalty sticker?”
Kyle, curious about everything in the midst of this, perked up his ears and approached the teacher.
“Um… It’s lost character. You have to earn smile stickers to find your lost character.”
“Oh. Then is Lucas a character beggar right now?”
“Hey! I’m not a beggar!”
Lucas would yell, Kyle would look puzzled, and the teacher would apply a penalty sticker.
The same situation repeated for a while.
‘There’s no room for me here.’
I left the classroom quietly, feeling proud.
I was glad Kyle seemed to be adjusting well to his lessons.
As time passed, Kyle began to grow accustomed to the Crost Duchy Castle to some extent.
Evidence number one:
Kyle and Lucas finally got along well enough to at least greet each other!
There was one decisive turning point. Not long ago, I was walking down the hallway with Kyle to drop him off at class.
‘Dandelion. Are you still looking after that moron?’
Lucas, who had arrived early for the lesson, suddenly shouldered Kyle aside.
‘Lucas. Have you still not found your character? What if you get another penalty sticker?’
But Kyle didn’t even look hurt and replied with clear, bright eyes.
From Lucas’s perspective, it must have looked like a ‘stupidity beam’ was being fired at him.
‘…Hey! If you’re going to keep talking about character, then you call me Hyung, too!’
‘Hyung?’
‘Yeah. I’m older than you! So why don’t you call me Lucas-hyung? Did you lose your character, too?’
‘Okay, Lucas-hyung.’
‘……?’
A startled Lucas blinked his eyes wide.
On the third day after meeting Kyle, my brother finally realized it.
That Kyle was much sillier and more innocent than he had thought.