Chapter 27

A Visitor to the County (2)

Beyond the frosted window stretched snow-covered fields. A large desk made of black wood stood before the window, its surface strewn with documents and maps. Beside them, a quill and an ink bottle had been neatly arranged.

A small fire burned in the fireplace opposite the desk, but its meager flames could not seem to warm the entire room. A chill hung in the air. For some reason, however, Seraphia's face felt hot regardless.

'Why has Brother suddenly...?'

Adrian had come to her room without warning. She could not be certain, but if she looked in a mirror now, she was sure she would see a face full of flustered confusion.

She could not even remember the last time she had been alone with him. A brief search of her memories brought nothing to mind. Barely managing to calm her fluttering heart, she stole a glance at Adrian, who sat before her.

His jet-black hair gleamed softly in the light. The fringe falling lightly over his forehead accentuated his well-defined features, and his deep, sharp eyes held an intense charisma, as though they could see straight through things.

His physique was muscular without excess, strong and firm. There was no lie in the claim that he had slain the Gelu Drake alongside Kai. Perhaps that was why his long lashes and sharp jawline gave him an air both ruthless and mysterious.

'He really does seem like a different person....'

He was so unlike the Adrian she knew. His appearance had not changed much. Yet his presence—or what should she call it? He was far more mature than before, and so much more handsome.

"Do you intend to leave my question unanswered?"

Above all, that voice, not particularly deep, fell sweetly on her ears—

"... Y-yes?! Y-yes!"

"I asked who the visitor to the county was."

"O-oh! D-did you...!"

Her face grew redder still. She took a deep breath and pressed a hand to her chest to calm her startled heart. Then, clearing her throat with a couple of light coughs, she spoke.

"He was someone from House Veneron, the viscount's family."

"House Veneron?"

Adrian tilted his head, apparently unfamiliar with the family.

"Well..."

Taking the hint, Seraphia explained.

"They're the noble family whose territory borders our own House Whitewolf's."

The north was broadly divided into tundra, snowfields, and snowy mountains. House Veneron held its territory in the tundra.

"Their domain is relatively rich in resources, too."

Since the tundra could support vegetation, activities such as hunting and fishing were possible there. Animals such as reindeer could also be raised.

"Above all, timber is their specialty. There's practically no one in the kingdom who hasn't heard of Veneron timber."

The trees grew in defiance of the tundra's bitter cold. Their timber could justifiably be called the finest not merely in the kingdom, but on the entire continent.

All of this was knowledge Seraphia had studied day and night to acquire. She had sacrificed sleep to study, and continued to do so, hoping to be of help to Whitewolf county—to Adrian.

"What was the visitor's name?"

But Adrian did not seem particularly interested. His attention was focused solely on the visitor.

She had not expected praise, but she had not imagined he would show no interest at all.

... It hurt a little.

Still, she did her best not to let it show.

"I'm not sure of his name... He was a messenger from House Veneron. He left as soon as he'd delivered the message."

"I see."

With that, Adrian fell silent. Seraphia caught a glimpse of indescribable disappointment in his expression.

"Aren't you going to ask... what message House Veneron sent?"

"Should I?"

He truly had no interest whatsoever.

"No! If you aren't curious, you don't have to ask!"

She hastily waved her hands.

'... Thank goodness.'

Inwardly, she felt relieved. If Adrian had asked why House Veneron had sent someone, she would have been hard-pressed to come up with an excuse.

At last, he rose, apparently ready to leave now that his business was concluded.

"W-wait!!"

Seraphia called him back. Fortunately, he paused.

His eyes looked as though they held bright red blood. Though they shared no blood, their eyes—their only similar feature—met, his red gaze meeting hers.

"There's something I'd like to tell you!"

Instead of answering, Adrian gave a slight motion of his chin. Gathering her courage once more, she spoke.

"Well...!"

But her wildly pounding heart made her voice waver uncontrollably. Her eyes kept darting from side to side with anxiety.

"W-what I wanted to tell you was..."

She wanted to say something, but her lips trembled and her words kept tangling. Awkwardness and embarrassment mingled, reddening her face. Unable to look straight at Adrian, her gaze wandered everywhere else.

"W-well, ummm..."

She managed only a few words before biting her lip shut again. No matter how hard she tried to stay calm, she kept shrinking back as though someone had seized her heart in a crushing grip.

What if he strangled her again, like last time? The dark bruises on her neck had only just faded...

"If you've nothing to say, I'll be going."

Unable to watch any longer, Adrian turned away.

Finally, Seraphia threw caution to the wind. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she summoned every last scrap of courage in the world and shouted,

"L-let's have a meal together!!"

Once she had blurted it out, she felt more than relieved—she felt wonderfully unburdened. Unable to lift her head, she fidgeted with her hair and waited for his answer.

But even after a long while, no reply came. She cautiously raised her eyes.

"Hah...?"

Adrian's face was grotesquely contorted, as though he were looking at some repulsive creature.

* * *

Seraphia's heart was pounding so hard she thought she might go mad. With good reason: she had never expected to be having a meal with Adrian right this moment. She had meant they might eat together someday, not immediately.

But, as they said, there was no time like the present. Adrian had arranged a meal on the spot.

'What do I do...! What do I do...!'

Her mind had gone utterly blank. It had taken courage to ask, but she had never dreamed it would actually happen like this.

She could not say a word, and Adrian said nothing either. The silence stretched on. Only the clinking of cutlery could be heard in the dining room.

This was her first meal with him. She could not let it end so fruitlessly. More importantly, she had not yet accomplished her purpose in asking him to eat with her. Summoning her courage, she spoke.

"Um... Brother."

As Adrian speared a piece of meat with his fork, his eyebrow suddenly twitched. Apparently, being called Brother had made him furious.

Sure enough, the eyes he turned on her held considerable irritation, along with a disgust akin to looking at an insect. She had never meant to upset him, but... somehow, she seemed to have earned his hatred.

She hurried to speak.

"It's just that I'd like to return the lordship to you, Brother."

A different light entered the eyes that had held only irritation. This time, he did not grow angry at being called Brother. Seizing the opportunity, Seraphia used the word once more.

"If it's all right with you, Brother, I'd like to give this to the royal messenger when they arrive."

She discreetly handed him a written pledge she had prepared in advance. It declared that she would relinquish the positions of lord of the county and head of the house.

In truth, she had intended this from the very beginning. She had no desire to become either the county's lord or the head of the noble house. As House Whitewolf's eldest daughter, and as Adrian's younger sister, she would be content simply to be of help to him.

Lordship, headship—none of it meant anything to her.

Adrian picked up the pledge. As he began calmly reading through its contents point by point, Seraphia's heart fluttered with apprehension. Would this help him understand her feelings, even a little?

She waited anxiously for his answer. Soon, it came.

"I have no intention of becoming the head of House Whitewolf."

But it was nothing like the answer she had expected.

"... What?"

"And even less intention of becoming lord of the county."

"B-but...!"

"Isn't that good news for you?"

"No, it isn't!"

Seraphia shouted and sprang to her feet. Then, startled by her own behavior, she hastily clapped both hands over her mouth.

"... Ah!"

She quickly sat down and bowed her head. Fortunately, Adrian said nothing. When she slowly looked up, he was moving his cutlery about with an indifferent expression. He did not seem particularly convinced by what she had said.

"Is it... because of me?"

"Yes."

He did not bother to deny it. He did not even seem to consider denying it.

That hurt. It hurt so very much.

"Then why did you return to the family? If you don't intend to become its head or the lord, why—"

"I have something to do."

"Something... to do?"

This time, her question received no answer. He merely concentrated on eating, his cutlery clinking. He did not seem inclined to explain what that something was.

Even so, she wanted to ask. But the coldness of his expression silenced her. Her gaze dropped without her realizing it. Biting her lower lip hard, she spoke.

"... Will you leave the family once you're finished?"

"Once I'm finished..."

Adrian gently set down his knife and fork. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and rose.

"One way or another, you and I will never meet again."

So until then...

"I'd prefer that we stay out of each other's way."

With that, Adrian left the dining room. Seraphia remained seated, all alone. Whenever she tried to take one step toward him, he moved ten steps away.

She had not even hoped to be a beloved little sister. But couldn't they at least live like ordinary siblings?

"..."

Apparently, even that was too much to ask.

... Her heart ached as though it were tearing apart.

Yet she did not give up. If this much were enough to break her resolve, it would have broken long ago.

'He said he had something to do.'

Adrian had clearly said he had something to do here with the family. She had no idea what it was, and he did not seem willing to tell her.

But until then...

'That means he'll stay here.'

She could live under the same roof as him. That meant there was still room, still a chance, to change his mind.

'No matter what.'

She would change his mind. Seraphia vowed it to herself again and again.

* * *

It happened the moment I stepped out of the dining room.

◆Seraphia's affinity toward you is in the [Trust] state.

◆A person in the [Trust] state believes in and relies on you completely, and follows you in all things.

◆Seraphia will willingly accept personal losses for your sake.

... Frankly, I couldn't understand it.

There were two people in this house I had to kill: Seraphia and Kai.

My affinity toward both was the same: [Hatred]. I harbored an active aggression toward them, a determination to kill and destroy them both.

Their affinity toward me, however, lay at opposite extremes.

Kai's affinity toward me was [Loathing].

Seraphia's was [Trust].

Kai's reaction was normal. Seraphia's was utterly incomprehensible. I couldn't remember ever being particularly kind to her. From the moment she was adopted into the family, I had disliked and hated her.

So why did she actually feel [Trust] toward me? That also raised another question.

The Seraphia of today was by no means a fallen witch. She might possess the power of bitter cold, but she was not the Sovereign of Bitter Cold.

That was why I had accepted her sudden invitation to a meal. She was so different from the Seraphia I remembered.

Could she be putting on an act? Was she deceiving me, hiding some dark intent? Back when I was a wastrel, I might easily have been fooled. But not now.

As Chief of Covert Operations in the special warfare unit, I had interrogated and tortured imperial soldiers countless times. I had been on the receiving end, too. To exaggerate just a little, I could tell whether someone was lying just by watching their damned eyes move.

So I could say with certainty:

... She wasn't.

The contents of her pledge, her affinity—both proved it. She genuinely felt [Trust] toward me.

But the Seraphia I knew had undoubtedly been a fallen witch. The Sovereign of Bitter Cold who had mercilessly slaughtered my comrades in the allied army, who had taken Ian's left arm.

What on earth had corrupted her into the Sovereign of Bitter Cold?

In my previous life, I had known nothing because I had run away from the family. I had roamed the streets like a vagrant. Driven by hunger, I had torn into hearts and eaten them, ultimately losing my mind. Until I met Ian, I had lived a life no different from a monster's.

After the day I ran away from home—the day I fled from the ice troll—what on earth had happened in Whitewolf county?

"... Forget it."

I shook off the thought. Nothing good would come of dwelling on it.

The sight of the Sovereign of Bitter Cold slaughtering my comrades in the allied army was still vivid in my mind. Seraphia could not be allowed to live. Ian was the only reason I wasn't killing her right now.

Besides, I currently had no intention of becoming House Whitewolf's lord. Once Ian came to find me, we would begin preparing to form the allied army. In the meantime, I also needed to use Predation to acquire the abilities of rare monsters scattered across the continent. In every respect, I had neither the time, the leisure, nor a reason to hole up in this remote northern territory.

But...

"So it wasn't Ian."

The visitor who had come to the county this time was not Ian.

It had been nearly a month since I returned to the past. Ian should have found me long before now. Yet there was still no sign of him...

"I don't think he knows I've returned to the past."

Apparently, Ian was unaware that I had come back.

Predation[S+].

My ability to acquire a living creature's abilities by devouring its heart. But I didn't know whether it absorbed those abilities or copied them.

If it absorbed them, then I had taken Ian's abilities away from him. If it copied them, we both possessed those abilities.

But whether it was absorption or copying, one thing was certain: Ian had the ability to return to the past. After all, I had no skill such as Return to the Past[EX].

"Ian definitely returned to the past with me."

But he might not know it. There was a chance he was unaware that I had come back with him. I could infer that from something he himself had said to me.

After our defeat in the final battle against the Emperor, before Ian handed me his heart, he had said this:

["Adrian."]

["What?"]

["I have one last favor to ask. Will you do it for me?"]

["If you leave out the word 'last.'"]

["..."]

Ian had not agreed.

Last.

He had used the word "last" with me.

But why had he called it his last favor? If he had the ability to return to the past, he should never have used that word.