TPCFE 08

Chapter 8

Cain led Luciella, who was carrying a tray, toward a room tucked away in a corner of the second floor of the mansion.

As Luciella walked down the long corridor, she suddenly stopped.

Despite it being the middle of the day, the atmosphere in the hallway was gloomy, and hardly any light came in.

The old carpet covering the floor was worn and faded in places, and the lack of footsteps from the servants made it seem as though only stale dust and a chilly draft lingered in the air.

Even the candleholders mounted on the walls had long since gone unlit, making it feel as though she were walking through a haunted house.

It was almost strange that a place carrying such a scent of death could exist in the heart of the Bellion Ducal Estate, a symbol of the empire’s glory.

“There’s… someone living here?”

“Yes.”

Cain answered without stopping.

“The owner of the room is my nephew.”

“……”

“In other words, he’s the direct grandson of the current duke.”

Luciella nodded.

She had a fairly good idea of which nephew Cain was talking about.

‘Has that child really been living in an environment like this…?’

Just as she was about to step inside the room, a woman wearing a white coat opened the door and came out.

“Lord Cain? You arrived at just the right time.”

She spoke in a tired voice, as though struggling to keep herself from falling asleep.

Her attitude was distinctly different from that of the other servants in the mansion, who constantly watched Cain’s mood and fawned over him. There was something almost equal and completely unreserved about her manner.

“Ayla.”

“Yes.”

“Did you stay up all night again? Isn’t it a problem for the family physician to be incapable of taking care of herself?”

“Haa… I’m so sleepy I could die. Please save the nagging for later.”

Even as Cain spoke, the physician called Ayla continued yawning.

When she pushed back her disheveled brown hair, her pale face and dark circles became visible. Her brows were furrowed, as though she had a great deal on her mind.

She had a face that could easily be called beautiful, but she looked as though she had been suffering from chronic fatigue.

“How is he?”

At Cain’s question, Ayla let out a deep sigh.

“Same as always. He forces himself to take the medicine I give him, but his temper hasn’t changed. And, of course, he refuses to listen when I tell him to rest.”

Cain’s gaze passed over the woman and turned toward the bedroom deeper inside the room.

He walked inside without hesitation, and I followed behind him, holding my breath.

The moment I stepped into the bedroom, a sharp killing intent that seemed to pierce my skin swept over my entire body.

Cain stopped and looked toward one corner of the room.

At the end of his gaze was a boy lying on the bed.

‘…Ah.’

I unconsciously widened my eyes.

The boy, who looked about my age, was like a beautiful doll that had been meticulously sculpted.

His translucent silver hair shimmered like jewels along every strand, while his flawless white skin looked as though it had been crafted from porcelain. Beneath it were vivid blue eyes, beautiful as though they contained an entire lake.

“Bael, don’t you have anything to say to your uncle?”

“……”

Silver hair, and blue eyes like a frozen lake.

A boy who looked vaguely similar to Cain, but whose eyes were much larger and more striking.

This was the child Cain had gone so far as to find and bring me here for.

And he was the very person from the game whom Mom had felt so terribly sorry for.

“He had an incredible amount of potential, but it was such a shame that his body was so frail. He was like a flame that went out before he could even show all of his talent.”

“Bael. Aren’t you going to answer?”

“Do I really have to answer, Uncle?”

The boy gave Cain a twisted smile filled with anger.

“What useless thing have you brought this time?”

The tragic genius who was destined to die before reaching adulthood.

The son left behind by the eldest son of the late Duke Bellion.

Bael Bellion.

Mom had once told me that the reason the rebellion had failed when she was a player was because Bael, who was supposed to be one of its central figures, kept dying.

‘Status Window.’

Luciella muttered the words inwardly without thinking.

If that boy was the owner of the food, she needed to find out everything she could about him.

With a pop, a small status window appeared in midair.

[Target: Bael Bellion]

Likes: Sweet foods and drinks that stimulate the brain, such as chocolate, honey, sugar, and other sweets.

Dislikes: Anything bitter, such as the lingering taste of medicinal herbs and the grassy flavor of raw vegetables.

His tastes are surprisingly childish.

Luciella narrowed her eyes as she read the status window.

She couldn’t see grand information such as the target’s magical power, level, or social status like Mom could, but Luciella’s status window displayed plenty of detailed information specifically related to the target’s taste preferences and nutritional needs.

As she checked the detailed status window that appeared next, Luciella’s brows furrowed.

[Condition: Severe nutritional imbalance and exhaustion]

Nutrient deficiencies: Vitamin D (insufficient sunlight exposure), essential amino acids and protein (long-term dietary refusal).

Special Note: Abnormally high sensitivity to taste.

Luciella’s eyes moved rapidly.

There was something written in tiny letters at the very bottom…

“You’re being rude, Bael.”

“This time, it’s a girl?”

Bael had been bickering with Cain, but his cold gaze slowly shifted toward me.

At the same time, the status window disappeared with a pop.

His glass-like eyes stared directly at Luciella for several seconds.

“…Is this some kind of beauty tactic?”

After remaining silent for quite some time, he finally spoke.

“What?”

What?

Luciella and Cain both stared at him with equally bewildered expressions.

“I’m right, aren’t I? The calculation that I’ll like her because she’s pretty.”

Bael’s lips twisted as he asked with a mocking smile.

Cain’s eyebrows twitched in embarrassment, while Luciella was left completely speechless.

It was certainly nice to hear someone who was actually beautiful call me pretty.

And, well, I thought so too.

But with such a wary look in his eyes, it didn’t exactly feel like a simple compliment.

“What?”

“Are you seriously resorting to something this ridiculous now? Have you become that desperate?”

“You idiot.”

Bael frowned at Cain’s words.

“She’s a cook. If you eat the food she makes, your strength will…”

“Ah.”

Only then did he seem to notice the soup in Luciella’s hands, and he gave a bitter smile.

“Strength? Or is it fuel to keep me alive a little longer?”

“…Bael.”

“I don’t need it. Take it away. I don’t want to force myself to eat something Uncle brought again.”

“Bael.”

“You promised. You said you wouldn’t force anything else on me if I obediently took Ayla’s medicine. I kept my promise, so take it away.”

“And if I refuse?”

“……”

Bael coldly stretched his right hand into the air.

At that moment, the air around him rippled and distorted like a heat haze.

Pop.

A magic circle appeared on the back of the boy’s pale hand.

It was a complex, intricate, and vivid silver magic circle unlike anything I had ever seen in a book.

That probably meant the sheer amount of magical power he could wield was overwhelming.

In an instant, the air sank heavily, as though it had turned into a massive stone.

The air surrounding Cain in particular grew sharp like a cold blade, threatening him.

“…You’ve even mastered Spatial Interference.”

Cain muttered quietly.

‘Spatial Interference…?’

Luciella’s eyes widened.

So this was it.

The advanced technique she had read about in books and heard Mom talk about.

It was her first time seeing it in person.

So a genius really can use such high-level magic before even reaching adulthood.

“Do you hate seeing my legs like this after two years? Is that why, every few days, you bring me a mage, a spirit summoner, an apothecary, and now even someone calling herself a cook, all the way to using a beauty tactic?”

“Bael.”

“I have to take disgusting medicine and perform meaningless training like some kind of clown… Can’t you hear me when I say I don’t want any of it?”

The marking on the back of his hand glowed once again, and the air inside the room grew so heavy that it seemed to choke the breath from my lungs.

“Bael Bellion!”

Cain shouted sternly as he took a step forward.

At the same time, the intricate silver marking etched into the back of his neck—far more complex and refined than Bael’s—flashed brightly.

Cain’s magical power sent out a wave, forcibly pushing back the Spatial Interference Bael had established.

“Don’t waste your strength. Don’t you understand that your body can’t withstand that kind of output?”

“I wonder. If it can’t withstand it, will I finally die?”

Bael twisted his lips into another crooked smile, and the furniture in the room began to tremble.

Creeeak—

The sharp friction caused by the disruption of the spatial alignment pierced my ears, and perhaps because of the excessive release of magical power, tiny blood vessels around Bael’s eyes burst one after another, staining them red.

Even so, he refused to stop defying his uncle.

Blue sparks crackled between the two of them.

Watching them glare dangerously at each other, Luciella couldn’t help but feel amazed despite her concern.

‘…Geniuses really are different.’

Cain’s overwhelming presence as a hero of the subjugation battles went without saying, but Bael was even more astonishing.

If his lower body really was paralyzed as he said, then he had achieved this level of skill despite being unable to use half of his body.

I didn’t know when he had become like this, but one thing was certain: even after becoming paralyzed, he must have trained himself somehow.

What must it have felt like to keep training yourself in a dark room like this, trapped in endless loneliness and frustration, without even clearly knowing why?

‘…Now I understand why Mom said it was such a shame.’

That wasn’t simply innate talent.

It was desperate perseverance—the kind that had made him struggle with his entire body to survive even while saying that he wanted to die.

…No.

Luciella forced strength into her trembling legs and gathered her concentration.

That wasn’t what mattered right now.

What mattered was the soup.