Chapter 8

* * *

I wasted no more time writing the letters demanding my family cut ties with me and cancel the engagement. It didn’t take long for the letters covered in graceful handwriting to be placed in envelopes.

I did not doubt that if I sent these letters to House Babelloa and House Hessman tomorrow, my ties with the past would be completely severed.

Everyone already despises me anyway. Thinking about the families made Meldenique’s childhood memories, which hadn’t been included in the novel, flood my mind.

“She’s from a cursed bloodline!”

Meldenique pressed her small hands to her face in an attempt to stop herself from crying.

“No. I... I’m not cursed. I’m completely normal!”

“Liar! She stinks! I bet she doesn’t even wash properly.”

“They say she’s just a burden to her family.”

The other children relentlessly teased and bullied Meldenique. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the ordinary teasing that happened among children. This bullying had actually been instigated by Hildegard, her stepmother, who had just moved into the mansion.

“I could have you killed, but I’m letting you live. Just stay out of my sight and don’t draw attention to yourself.”

“All right...”

Meldenique nodded blankly as she looked at Hildegard’s swollen belly. Since her stepmother hated her so much, she tried going to her father for help.

“Um, the other kids don’t like me. I wish I had a f-friend.”

“You’re being a nuisance. If they’re bullying you, I’m sure you did something to deserve it.”

“What?”

“How foolish must you be acting for people to look down on you like that? Just get out!”

The bully is the one who should be blamed, but that wasn’t the case in Duke Babelloa’s mansion. All the blame was placed solely on Meldenique. For better or worse, Duke Babelloa had a strong sense of self-esteem. As his daughter had inherited his blood, he wasn’t too harsh on Meldenique himself—but only for the sake of his own honor.

People would treat her as a noblewoman while under his watchful eyes, but that was all. No one faced any punishment for bullying Meldenique when he wasn’t present. Duke Babelloa disliked distractions and had little interest in his daughter.

Although the bullying stopped as Meldenique grew up, the emotional scars remained. To protect herself, she sometimes resorted to acting out. In a world where no one sided with her, she had to act arrogant and high-handed to try and assert herself.

Once I had possessed Meldenique, her memories had gradually merged with my own, as if they had always been there. Her memories were always of being scorned and looked down on, which was upsetting.

I wish I could kill that whole horrible family. Of course, I had no right to carry out some grand revenge plan on behalf of Meldenique. Even if I wanted to, I lacked the necessary power to do so, anyway. The male protagonist, Duke Hessman, was written as an overpowered character, and the family of the female protagonist, House Babelloa, had considerable influence as well.

There was only one thing I could do right now—waste no time severing ties with that wretched family. But what would I do if they refused to do so and instead turned on me? Would that give me the right to seek revenge on behalf of Meldenique? I still didn’t know for sure.

I pulled myself out of my reverie. I rubbed my stiff neck and whispered softly, “I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

“Me too,” said Dominic.

How would Duke Hessman, who would be receiving my official demand to break off our engagement—practically a declaration of war—react? And how would House Babelloa react to me demanding they disown me?

I stretched my arms up high before closing the curtains. In this uncertain world, at least one thing was certain.

Tomorrow was going to be a very busy day.

* * *

The next morning, we headed to the central post office to send both of the letters I had written. Nobles in the empire typically exchanged letters through their household servants. However, when nobles exchanged official documents, they required certification from a formal institution.

The central post office was an institution established independently from the imperial palace for that very purpose. Fortunately, it was located near the academy, so sending the letters would be easy.

I hope this is enough for us to completely part ways. I calmly sent off both letters and was on the way out of the central postal office when Dominic spoke to me in a hushed tone.

“That guy we saw yesterday, Duke Hessman? He’s disgraceful.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been spotting spies all morning. I think he might have sent them.”

I looked around us, but since I had no special abilities and no idea what to look for, I didn’t see anything particularly suspicious.

“There are about five in total,” Dominic whispered.

Five people, huh? Come to think of it, Lady Hildegard and Duke Hessman would often send people to spy on me.

Probably to keep an eye on me in case I harassed Sheria.

I sighed heavily and said, “Yeah, they were probably sent by House Babelloa and Duke Hessman. They’re monitoring my every move.”

“How underhanded. If they try anything funny, I’ll take them down.” Dominic, the apostle of justice, trembled with fury as he spoke.

“Sure... thanks.”

It was good to know that there were spies nearby, I figured.

They’ll reveal themselves to me soon enough, anyway. Hildegard and Lennox’s spies would not hesitate to reveal themselves. They had nothing to fear from Meldenique, after all.

“Can you keep them from watching us?”

“That’s no problem for me. I’m an expert at these things.”

At Dominic’s enthusiastic words, I paused in my attempt to flag down a rental carriage. “Since it’s close by, shall we walk? A short stroll might be nice,” I said.

“Sure. After such a long time in the sword, my joints are quite rusty.”

Suppressing a smile at Dominic’s words, I nodded.

“I know a shortcut. It shouldn’t be dangerous with you around.”

“All right,” he said.

I chuckled softly and started walking. Just as I was about to discuss what items we should bring into the stationery store, Dominic, who had been walking silently beside me and counting spies, spoke up with a frown.

“Mel.”

“Yeah?” I stopped walking and turned to look at Dominic.

“Look at that.”

“What is it?”

Even as I asked the question, I followed his gaze. Ahead of us was a darkened alley with the surrounding buildings blocking out the midday sun. And within the alley, I could see something on the ground.

Is that a person? Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a small boy on his knees. His pants were covered in dirt from where he was kneeling. I couldn’t see his face, but I imagined he might be crying.

Strangely enough, the child was wearing ornate clothes not typical of a commoner. Though the attire lacked embellishments, I had dealt with enough high-ranking nobles throughout my life to notice.

Despite wearing relatively plain clothing, the quality of the fabric made it obvious how expensive it was. Having experienced both the life of a commoner and that of a noble, I could sense the subtle difference.

Judging by his clothes and overall appearance, the child was probably the son of a wealthy merchant or minor noble. I’d had encounters with numerous nobles in my business dealings, and his face did not resemble any of theirs, meaning it was unlikely for him to be from a high-ranking noble family.

Even so, why would the child of a noble family be kneeling on the ground here? He could be a student from the academy, but it was still strange.

This street is close to the academy, I guess, but still. I wondered if we had wandered into the middle of a fight, or perhaps a boy getting his lunch money stolen.

“Dominic, wait here for a moment.”

If this were a case of school violence, the child would likely be afraid of seeing a grown man. That meant that having Dominic approach with me could be risky.

“All right.”

Dominic seemed to realize the meaning behind my words and hung back. Leaving him behind, I briskly walked toward the alley where the child was. When the boy finally met my gaze, I found myself taken aback.

“Ugh...”

It was heart-wrenching to see him groaning in pain. I extended my hand toward the blond-haired boy on the ground.

“I’ll help you get up.”

“I c-can’t walk...”

He seemed to be around ten years old. The child barely managed to grab my hand and attempted to stand up before wincing and slumping back down. He seemed to have hurt his leg.

Looking into the child’s azure eyes, I asked, “Shall I call a doctor?”

“I don’t want a doctor.”

I studied the child. He seemed particularly wary when I mentioned a doctor. Was he afraid that his family might scold him if I called for someone?

“I just fell. Mmph... It doesn’t hurt.” His timid, small voice echoed in my ears, interspersed with occasional pained groans. He certainly didn’t look fine to me.

I exchanged a brief glance with Dominic. As he met my gaze, he promptly approached us and lifted the boy onto his back.

“Hey, kiddo. Come with us. We’ll take care of your wounds ourselves. No doctors,” Dominic said solemnly.

Despite his youthful appearance, he had a long history on the battlefield as a seasoned knight. The boy’s injuries seemed minor enough that Dominic could easily take care of them.

From Dominic’s back, the boy groaned and struggled to speak through his discomfort. “I-I’m not a kid! I’m a junior knight! That means I’m almost an adult!”

Even through the pain, he seemed unwilling to be treated like a child. This mysterious boy was adorable!

Dominic and I exchanged glances and chuckled softly.

“Of course, Little Knight.”

The boy glanced at us without answering, but he couldn’t hide the satisfied expression on his face.