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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Not an Assassin
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‘Huh?’
I threw open the door and stepped inside.
It wasn't a mistake.
There was truly no sign of anyone.
The lodgings provided at the Ivory Tower weren't very large.
I could survey the entire room just by standing in place and looking around, so I couldn't imagine him being in a blind spot.
‘What's going on…?’
Just as I was tilting my head in confusion, a powerful force lunged at me from behind.
“Whoa!”
I tumbled to the floor.
The shadow of my attacker fell over me.
It was Eugene Kroiche.
‘I didn't sense his presence at all!’
Of course, I'd lost the keen senses of my past life after becoming a child, but I could still feel a person's basic presence.
Not sensing him meant Eugene had deliberately hidden himself before pouncing on me.
I didn't know what trick he'd used, but his skill was astounding.
My heart pounded in shock, as I'd never imagined something like this would happen.
Eugene was not the listless boy I had seen at the temple.
His jet-black hair and skin so pale it seemed translucent were just as I remembered.
But his eyes shone so brightly that for a moment, I wondered if he was a different person entirely.
‘But…’
Even though I was completely pinned down, I didn't feel scared at all.
And for good reason.
‘The kid is trembling like this.’
It was impossible to be scared looking at a child who was trembling so noticeably, making me wonder if he was really the one who had so fiercely subdued me.
His emerald-green eyes were also filled with fear.
“Are you…”
After staring at me for a long while, the trembling boy cautiously opened his mouth.
“Are you here to kill me?”
“Huh?”
Here to kill him?
I was so taken aback by the unexpected question that I couldn't answer, and he seemed to take my silence as a yes. His eyes grew moist.
“P-Please, could you not kill me?”
“Um… dat…”
“I know I'm a dirty kid. But… but I receive the purification rites every day. They said I've gotten much cleaner…”
Before I knew it, the boy's eyes were brimming with tears.
Like a great spring overflowing, the tears could no longer be held back and streamed down, falling onto my cheeks.
“If you let me live, I'll only eat a little bit of food. I can eat just a tiny bit.”
Hearing that, I realized just how slender the boy's frame was.
I could barely feel his weight, even though he was on top of me.
“Also… I'll walk quietly so I'm not a bother, and I'll breathe like I'm dead. So much so that you'll think, ‘Oh, he must have died.’”
I was so dumbfounded by the story he managed to stammer out while trembling that my jaw dropped.
I had no idea what any of this meant.
I couldn't take it anymore and shot up.
The boy, who was shedding tears, fell backward, and in an instant, our positions were reversed.
“Why wouwd I kill you? Do I wook wike I can do dat? I'm dis tiny.”
I thrust my hands toward the boy, telling him to take a good look.
They were small like cotton balls and soft like jelly—hands that anyone could see were utterly harmless.
Seeing my soft, jelly-like hands, Eugene seemed to realize something was off. He looked at me, his fear subsiding.
“And we met at da temple. Don't you wemember?”
Eugene shook his head.
It seemed he didn't remember at all.
‘Right. He was completely out of it back then.’
I sighed deeply and took Eugene's hand.
‘His hand is so cold.’
Aren't children supposed to be warm?
My hands are always toasty.
Every time I kneaded his hand with a frown, his shoulders flinched.
His eyes were filled with confusion as he looked at me.
“Hey, I'm weally not here to kill you.”
“…”
“Weally. Dis pwace isn't scawy at all.”
Even after I said all that, he didn't seem to fully believe me.
“Sigh.”
Frustrated, I let out a deep sigh and shot up, still holding Eugene's hand.
“If you don't bewieve my words, I'll show you.”
I pulled Eugene with all my might, and the dazed boy rose to his feet with a bewildered expression.
I lifted my chin confidently and exclaimed.
“C'mon, wet's go!”
* * *
Holding Eugene's hand, I walked right out of the Ivory Tower.
Leaving the quiet Ivory Tower, where classes were in full swing, we were greeted by the sight of the sun-drenched Elpinade estate.
The blowing wind, the hurried footsteps of the servants, the flapping of a bird's wings in the sky.
The gentle hum of noise was actually rather peaceful.
“See? Does dis wook wike the den of bad guys who kill chiwdren?”
Instead of replying, Eugene continued to survey his surroundings with a dazed look.
He squinted slightly, as if blinded by the pouring sunlight.
“It's not over yet!”
I started running again, pulling Eugene's hand.
If Eugene resisted, there was no way I, being so much smaller than him, could drag him along.
But Eugene didn't resist and obediently followed my lead.
Our next destination was my room.
“Lily!”
“Young Lady. We've moved almost all of your things, so now to the main building…”
At my sudden cry, Lily approached happily, but her words trailed off when she noticed Eugene standing next to me.
Her expression clearly said, *Who on earth is this little boy?*
“He's my fwiend from da Ivory Tower.”
“You've already made a friend?”
“Yes. My fwiend is hungwy.”
“Oh, my. What to do.”
Lily looked at Eugene with sympathy.
The Ivory Tower provides meals regularly.
However, the mealtimes were set.
At this hour, breakfast was long over, and it was too early for lunch.
“It seems you missed your mealtime.”
Lily smiled kindly and bent down to meet my and Eugene's eyes.
“Then you can eat here before you go. If you wait just a moment, I'll have something prepared.”
“Okay. Pwease give us wots of yummy food!”
“Don't you worry. Since this is the first friend the Young Lady has brought over, I'll make sure he's treated properly.”
Lily gestured to Rose and Daisy with her eyes, then looked back at me.
“The Sapphire Room is ready. Would you like to eat there? You can also show off your new room to your friend.”
“Okay.”
I didn't particularly want to show off my new room, but I felt it was necessary to show Eugene the lively side of the estate.
Guided by Lily, Eugene and I moved from the annex to the main building.
The whole time we walked, with me holding his hand, Eugene was on guard like a kitten with its claws out.
‘Well, not that he's very threatening.’
No matter how sharply he extends his claws, he's still just a kitten, isn't he?
“Here. This is the Sapphire Room.”
When the heavy door—the kind I'd only seen leading to the Duke's office or Axel's room—opened, my vision was filled with bright sunlight.
As the dazzling light faded, the image of a blue room, like a sapphire, came into focus.
‘Is it blue because it's the Sapphire Room?’
Mesmerized by the ocean-like blue, I walked inside.
Forced by my grip on his hand, Eugene hesitantly walked beside me.
“Didn't I tell you? The rooms named after jewels are decorated using those very jewels.”
Lily said, pointing to the wall with the fireplace.
“Do you see how the blue of that wall is slightly different from the blue of the other walls?”
“Yes.”
The wall Lily pointed to was a clear, transparent blue, while the others had an opaque feel.
“That's because this wall was made by processing real sapphires.”
