Translator: Nox

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

He seemed to be a highly influential vassal, positioned not far from the Duke.

'No matter how I look at him, he seems familiar.'

Just as I was tilting my head, a memory from my first life suddenly surfaced.

[Please send me abroad quickly. How long must I wait!]

'Ah, could it be that person from back then?'

The old man who had visited Duke Amitié late at night.

He had shouted so desperately that he was the very person who had prompted Duke Amitié to personally intervene in the middle of the night.

As I recalled who Duke Teramore was, the scene from the day I saw him flashed through my mind.

The old man's urgent face visible through the slightly open door.

The butler's voice grumbling as he handed Duke Amitié his coat.

[Even if he is a witness, he is not someone worth our master personally sheltering.]

[…….]

[His life is in danger as a result of his own actions. He abused a child while avoiding the guardian's gaze, so isn't it understandable that the child would seek revenge on him when grown?]

Seeks revenge when grown.

Abuser.

'Noth said that Duke Teramore doesn't have any children. What child…….'

At that moment, Isaac, who was having an intense staring contest with a carrot, and Henri, who was clutching his fork tightly and burying his face in his plate, came into view.

'The only children within Teramore's reach are Isaac and Henri…….'

And if the child who becomes powerful enough to make Teramore, one of Dubled's senior vassals, flee to another country, it would have to be a Dubled heir.

Thinking that, I shook my head inwardly.

'No way. Unless he's lost his mind, there's no way the Duke would abuse the Dubled heirs behind everyone's back.'

That should be obvious, but strangely, I felt uneasy.

'It's not like there are no cases of people losing their minds.'

I often heard stories of crazy tutors who would hit children when their parents weren't around.

And then, if they were caught, they would even claim it was a loving punishment for the child's education.

And it seemed that this wasn't just a story from our world.

When the butler was trying to dissuade Duke Amitié from helping Teramore escape, Mina said.

[Such things happened where I lived too. A maid would abuse a child, and a kindergarten teacher would hit children in front of the other kids. The parents always found out too late. It's terrible.]

Thinking about it that way made me feel even more uneasy.

If Teramore really is abusing the young masters, which one is it?

According to the Amitié butler, it seemed that only one child was being abused.

Henri is smart, so it doesn't seem like he would be easily targeted.

An child who makes slush funds, examines domestic and international affairs, and invests wouldn't just stand by and be abused.

Then, is it Isaac?

But Isaac seems much more impulsive than Henri, so he endured the abuse until he grew up?

'Or maybe the butler just didn't know, and it's both of them.'

Just then, Noth called me from beside me.

"Baby?"

When I turned my head with an anxious expression, he smiled gently.

"Is the meal not to your liking? Shall I have something else brought out?"

I said, "No, it's yummy……." and gripped my fork again.

'It's highly likely that this is a premature assumption…… but let's check it out first.'

Whether they're really being abused.

And if they are, which one of Henri and Isaac it is.

That afternoon.

I stuck close to the corner of the hallway, glancing around, and when I spotted someone coming out of the door, I ran towards them.

"Noth. (Noth.)"

I clung to his leg and looked up.

Noth was startled for a moment when he saw me, but soon he grinned and squatted down.

"What is it, Baby?"

"There, wanna go. Training ground. (There, I want to go. Training ground.)"

Henri and Isaac had holed up in the training grounds as soon as lunch was over.

If I wanted to see them, I had to go there, but I didn't know where the training grounds were.

Noth's eyes widened as he asked.

"The swimming pool in this weather?"

"Train-ing-ground! (Training ground!)"

"Swim~ming~pool?"

"Train……."

I sighed, placing my hands on my hips.

This darn pronunciation.

I was naturally slow to develop, so no matter how much I practiced, it didn't improve.

"Sword like this, like this, you know. (Sword like this, like this, you know.)"

I said in the easiest sentence I could manage, waving my arms wildly. Only then did Noth say, "Ah," and nod.

"The maids told me not to take you to the training grounds."

He said regretfully, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

I clasped my hands together neatly with a pleading expression. And I looked at Noth with sparkling eyes.

"Please. (Please.)"

Then Noth groaned, clutching his chest.

Soon, he reached out to me.

"Let's go. Let's go."

Noth, who hugged me tightly, skipped along.

When we arrived at the training grounds, I saw Henri and Isaac holding wooden swords.

I jumped out of Noth's arms, and the children's eyes widened when they spotted me.

Isaac asked.

"Why are you here?"

"Isaac, gonna play with Henri. (Isaac, I'm going to play with Henri.)"

"Seriously. Did you come all the way here because you missed me? How annoying."

Isaac said that, but he cleared the way for me to walk easily. It seemed like he meant I could follow him.

I followed Henri and Isaac, carefully examining their sleeves and necks.

No bruises or injuries on their necks.

None on their ankles either.

Under their sleeves…….

'I can't tell if the scratches are from training or from being hit.'

Besides, both of them had scratches.

I was so focused on observing them that I didn't notice a rock. My vision blurred, and my body tilted.

'I'm falling-!'

Someone caught me.

"Thank you, Henri. (Thank you, Henri.)"

"You're welcome, Baby."

Henri smiled gently, but he maintained a polite distance.

'But he doesn't seem like a bad child.'

Even though he seems cold, he responds when I talk to him and doesn't overly restrain me.

Isaac glanced at me. And then, "You can't even walk, idiot," he said, stomping on the rock I had tripped over until it was buried in the dirt.

What about these children did Duke Teramore find so offensive that he abused them?

How scary it must have been.

Thinking that made my throat tingle.

Just then, someone approached us.

"Were the three of you together?"

It was Duke Teramore.

He bent down to meet my eyes.

"You are even more lovely up close."

"……."

"I am Austin Teramore. I have served Dubled for a long time."

"……."

"Shall we shake hands?"

He took my hand and patted my palm, chuckling.

"A child's hand is so soft."

I could feel a sharp glint in his eyes hidden beneath his bushy eyebrows. He looked down at my hand and whispered.

"You are docile."

"……."

"If you continue to be this docile, there will be no need to use the rod. Isn't that right?"

He smirked at me and then looked at Henri and Isaac.

"I will be assisting Henri in his studies from now on. I have come to greet you today, so let us go to the study together-"

He's trying to take the children away?

'I can't let that happen.'

I shouted.

"Noth! Noth!! (Noth! Noth!!)"

Hearing my shout, Noth, who was standing some distance away, rushed over.

Why else would I have brought Noth to the training grounds without any other servants?

Because Teramore was in the estate, I needed the Duke's closest aide to protect the children.

Noth's face hardened when he saw Duke Teramore.

"What brings you here? You must be busy with your duties at the main estate."

"I had some free time, so I came to greet my adorable pupils."

Noth's face immediately stiffened.

"Are you in charge of their education again this time?"

"It seems there is no one better to help the two young masters unleash their full potential."

Duke Teramore stroked his beard slowly and looked at the two children.

"It seems it would be best to postpone our greetings until next time."

With those words, he bowed lightly and disappeared.

Noth stared at Duke Teramore as he walked away with a hardened expression, and I was examining the children.

There was no need to look for the abused child separately.

There was a child whose neck had turned pale after meeting Teramore.

It was Henri.

Henri and Isaac's training resumed.

I sat on the chair that Noth had prepared for me on one side of the training grounds, tapping my skirt.

'So, what do I do now?'

Should I tell the Duke?

But there's no proof.

If they say the bruises and injuries on their bodies are from training, what can I say?

In these cases, the abused child has to speak up, but Henri seemed to be hiding the fact that he was being abused.

Otherwise, there's no way this smart child wouldn't be able to shake off Teramore.

'But why is Henri hiding Teramore's atrocities?'

As I was thinking that, a gasp erupted from the training grounds.

Wondering what it was, I turned my head and widened my eyes in surprise.

As Isaac gripped his sword, the ground rumbled-! The ground vibrated, and small pebbles and dust rose around the child.

Then, as Isaac stepped on the ground and leaped forward quickly, the sword instantly turned red.

'Goodness. Is that aura?'

I knew that Isaac used aura, but I didn't know that he had manifested it at such an early age.

How could he use aura, which only the most elite of the Holy Knights of the Order could use, at that age?

I couldn't believe it even though I saw it with my own eyes.

As Isaac closed the distance in an instant, his opponent quickly turned his body.

Just as he was about to miss his opponent, Isaac quickly kicked out his opponent's leg with his left foot, and soon his opponent's posture collapsed.

"You're dead."

He smiled wickedly and lightly tossed the sword imbued with aura, then flipped his wrist to catch it again.

His hand was positioned close to the hilt, so his weight must have been heavily applied.

And he charged towards his opponent in an instant.

"I surrender! I surrender, Young Master- Ack!"

"Where's the surrender? If you fight and lose, you die."

Bang-!

The opponent barely managed to dodge, but the armor that had been struck by the aura-filled sword was tattered like a rag.

But Isaac really didn't seem to have any intention of showing mercy. He raised his sword once more.

I muttered unconsciously at the terrifying scene.

"Scary……. (Scary…….)"

Isaac's sword twitched.

Startled, he looked at me and cleared his throat.

"Not fun."

Then he tossed the sword away and stepped away from his opponent.

'That opponent was lucky.'

It was fortunate that Isaac had lost interest.