Lucius remained in the library until noon. As for what he was reading, that was not important—what truly mattered was his company: Tales.

  They were difficult hours for the knight, as could be seen in his expression. Over the course of those few hours, Lucius attacked him five times, all of them failures. That is, if Lucius’s objective was to defeat Tales.

  That is very easy.

  Lucius could do whatever he wanted; all he had to do was attack Tales the moment he lowered his guard. The knight had already realized this, which was why he now kept a constant, watchful eye on Lucius.

  But that’s not something you can do forever, is it?

  Lucius looked at Tales, who, in response, took a step back.

  “Come on,” Lucius said as he gestured for the knight to follow him. It was time for lunch.

  Returning to the dining hall, Lucius once again found his family.

  The atmosphere was a little better than it had been during breakfast, but to say it was not strange would be a poor judgment.

  During family meals, Lucius was merely an observer, almost never interacting with anyone unless someone addressed him first. Today, he broke that unwritten rule.

  “Father, how has your day been so far?” he asked while looking at Cedric.

  His father seemed surprised that Lucius was speaking to him. Both because Lucius rarely spoke during meals, and because of the discussion they had had yesterday—if that could even be called a discussion.

  Well, that’s what happens when the two sides aren’t on the same level.

  But Cedric’s look of surprise lasted only an instant, so brief that no one besides Lucius likely noticed it.

  “A normal day,” Cedric said in his usual dry tone. “Busy, but productive. And yours?”

  He’s really asking…

  Lucius had to restrain himself from laughing. Was this Cedric’s sense of humor? After forbidding him from doing what he valued most, his father should have known very well how his day had been, and yet he still asked.

  “I spent the entire morning in the library,” he replied indifferently.

  “Studying?” Cedric asked, almost with a sarcastic smile.

  “Hardly.” Lucius returned a cold smile.

  Cedric did not get irritated by the answer; he merely nodded.

  “That’s fine. Sooner or later, you will realize the futility of your actions.”

  “That remains to be seen.”

  The two stared at each other for a few moments and then returned to eating, ending the brief interaction under the attentive gazes of the other family members.

  After lunch, Lucius decided to take a walk around the estate. Breathing deeply, he felt the cool air cleansing his lungs.

  He had no destination in mind, so he simply began to walk. Tales followed silently behind him, always two steps away.

  Before he realized it, Lucius found himself in the old garden of the estate.

  I said I would come here more often.

  And yet, since that day, I never came back.

  Well, now I have plenty of free time.

  “Tales.”

  Lucius gestured for the knight to come closer.

  Hesitant, Tales obeyed, stopping beside Lucius.

  “What is it, young master?” he asked cautiously.

  Lucius’s gaze was not on the knight, but on the garden before them.

  “What do you think of this view?” he asked.

  The knight frowned, pondering Lucius’s question—or perhaps wondering if this was just another ploy to make him lower his guard.

  “It’s a… very beautiful garden,” he said after several seconds.

  Lucius nodded.

  “Yes. This garden belonged to my mother. Well, not belonged to her, but she was the one who loved it the most and took care of it.”

  The knight remained silent, so Lucius continued.

  “When I was younger, and my mother was still alive, I used to come here with her all the time.”

  He still had memories of that time. They were incomplete and hazy, but they were still there.

  “But since she died, I never came here again.”

  “Young master…”

  Tales opened his mouth but could not find the words needed to comfort Lucius.

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  “I—”

  He lowered his head awkwardly, and the moment he took his eyes off Lucius, he was struck in the face by a punch, falling backward onto the ground.

  “Agh…!”

  Lucius then leaped toward him, coming down with his feet aimed at Tales’s head. That would certainly have caused serious damage if it had landed. At the last instant, Tales rolled his body to the side, avoiding the blow.

  Lucius tried to follow up with a kick to the knight’s head, but Tales used the momentum of the roll to get back on his feet.

  “Very good,” Lucius said, nodding in approval. Despite being caught off guard, Tales had recovered remarkably well. Most people, placed in his position, would not have managed that.

  “What is the meaning of this?!” Tales shouted, his eyes blazing with anger.

  Hm?

  Lucius tilted his head in confusion. What exactly did he mean by that question?

  “You lowered your guard, so I attacked you,” he said indifferently.

  The answer did not satisfy Tales, who seemed even more irritated.

  “That’s not what I’m talking about!”

  He spread his arms aggressively.

  “You were talking about your mother, about how this place mattered to her. Was all of that just a trick to make me lower my guard?!” Tales shouted.

  Lucius replied immediately.

  “Exactly.”

  Tales’s expression darkened.

  “Do you have no heart? No feelings? What kind of person are you?! What kind of demon would use the memory of his own mother like that?!”

  What kind of question is that?

  Of course he had a heart. Of course he had feelings. Were his actions not living proof of that?

  Ah, I see.

  Thinking it over, Lucius understood what Tales meant, and that understanding made him want to laugh.

  A limited mind, indeed.

  He shook his head before turning his gaze back to Tales.

  “Get this into your head. No matter the circumstances, as long as you are by my side, I will attack the moment I see an opportunity.”

  His words made Tales grind his teeth in frustration, but the knight said nothing, perhaps because he did not know what to say.

  “I’ve already gotten what I wanted here, so let’s go,” Lucius said as he cast a cold smile at the knight.

  Tales silently continued to follow Lucius. But now, his expression held none of its former lightness. And so they continued this game of cat and mouse until late afternoon, when another person appeared.

  “Until tomorrow, young master,” Tales said with a restrained expression as he walked away, though not before exchanging a few words with the person who had arrived.

  Lucius did not even bother to watch Tales leave. Instead, he focused his attention on the knight who had arrived.

  “So now you’re the one who’s going to be my babysitter for the rest of the day?” Lucius looked at the knight with a cold smile.

  This knight was the same one who had previously accompanied Tales—the one whose nose Lucius had broken.

  I think his name is Liam, right?

  At least, that’s what Tales said.

  “Is your nose better?” Lucius asked while pointing at Liam’s face.

  The gesture made the knight arch an eyebrow, his hand unconsciously rubbing the bandages covering his face.

  “You really did a number on me yesterday, young master,” the knight said in a harsh voice. “Don’t think that will happen again.”

  This man…

  In Liam’s tone, Lucius sensed none of the respect that should have been shown to his master’s son. Of course, that did not bother him—but it made him think of something.

  In that case…

  Lucius took a step toward Liam, causing the knight to raise an eyebrow.

  On the next step, the knight’s expression hardened.

  “What do you want?” he asked, almost hostile.

  Lucius said nothing, only took another step—

  “You…”

  Instinctively, Liam shoved Lucius with his hand, knocking him to the ground.

  “You won’t be able to hurt me again… young master,” Liam said with an ugly expression, the last words coming out almost against his will.

  A small smile appeared on Lucius’s face. Ignoring Liam’s irritated glare, he brushed the dust off his clothes and stood up, turning his back on the knight and beginning to walk away.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” the knight asked as he grabbed Lucius by the shoulder.

  Yes, this will do.

  Lucius nodded to himself as he turned his gaze back to Liam.

  “Your mission is to watch me to prevent me from training, not to restrict other forms of movement. So take your hands off me, humble servant,” he said in a disdainful tone.

  Liam’s eyes widened in surprise, the feeling quickly replaced by anger.

  “What did you just say?” he asked after taking a deep breath.

  “Didn’t you hear me the first time?”

  The look Lucius gave Liam was not one directed at a human, but at an insect—something inferior.

  “I told you to remove your hand from me, inferior servant—”

  Liam’s fist struck Lucius in the face, sending him rolling across the ground.

  “You think that just because you’re the duke’s son you can talk to me like that?” Liam clenched his fists as he glared angrily at Lucius. “You’re just His Excellency’s useless, talentless son. Don’t get ahead of yourself, you bastard.”

  In response, Lucius spat the blood that had pooled in his mouth.

  Liam merely grunted before turning his gaze away.

  Stupid man.

  Getting up once more, Lucius left the flower garden. This time, Liam did not stop him; he merely followed behind him.

  So transparent.

  Even without looking, Lucius could tell how uncomfortable Liam was. For the knight, this assignment must have been just as undesirable as it was for Lucius himself.

  No, not even close.

  Lucius shook his head. Yes, there was no comparison.

  What to do now?

  Truly, nothing came to mind, so he simply wandered around the estate until it was time for dinner.

  Once again gathered with his entire family, the meal began.

  “What happened?”

  At some point in the middle of the meal, Cedric pointed at the wound on Lucius’s mouth.

  “You already know the answer,” Lucius replied indifferently.

  His response displeased Cedric, who snorted in disdain before turning his attention away from Lucius and instead toward his other two children, Alex and Camille.

  “How is your training going?” he asked.

  Normally, Cedric’s attention was a source of joy for the two siblings, but this time, his question caused only discomfort—especially for Alex, whose gaze wandered before finally settling on his father.

  “It was… normal,” he said in a restrained tone.

  “The instructor said we’ve made good progress, and that if we keep this up, it’s only a matter of time before we’re able to sense our Aura,” Camille suddenly said.

  After speaking, Camille looked at Lucius, who nodded in response. But his action seemed to irritate his sister, who clicked her tongue and looked away.

  “Very good. Keep it up,” Cedric said, satisfied.

  After that, Yuria spoke about what she had done during the day, not failing to mention how well Lilia was doing in her magic studies, to which Cedric also nodded in approval.

  When dinner ended, everyone went their separate ways, and Lucius, once again accompanied by Liam, returned to his room.

  “Tell me,” he said, looking at the knight, “what mistake did Tales make to be punished like this?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Liam looked confused, so Lucius explained.

  “As you yourself said, I’m just the duke’s useless son. In that sense, watching me all day can hardly be called work—it’s more like a punishment.”

  Lucius smiled disdainfully as he looked at Liam.

  “Short temper and low intelligence. It’s easy to see why you’re stuck here with me. But what about Tales?”

  Rather than focusing on the question itself, it seemed the only part Liam heard was the one referring to him.

  “You little brat…!”

  He grabbed Lucius by the collar and lifted him until his feet left the ground.

  “You think you can say whatever you want and people will just listen in silence?”

  Lucius’s response was to spit in the knight’s face, which was enough to make Liam lose what little patience he had left.

  “You’ll regret this!”

  Dropping Lucius, he punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

  “Say any of that shit again and I’ll finish you. Are you hearing me?!” he shouted, out of control.

  Yes, I’m hearing you.

  Lucius caressed his injured face.

  So predictable.