Count’s Youngest Son is a Warlock

—Ratta isn’t a fox. It’s Ratta.

Tak. Tak.

Ratta complained by hitting the floor with her front foot.

“I picked it up,” Lucion replied.

Carson asked back, “You picked it up?”

“Yes, I picked it up,” Lucion replied the same way.

Carson’s eyes shook for a moment, but he didn’t ask any more questions.

Lucion, who refused to bring anything, had something for the first time. No matter how dark the fox was, he could let it go.

“Can’t we raise him?”

When asked by Lucion, Novio opened his mouth.

“Why not? Raise it.”

Now that Novio, who owned the land and the estate, allowed it, no one would be able to complain anymore.

“Thank you,” Lucion said with sincerity.

“By the way, Lucion. Did nothing really happen in the room?”

“Yes, no matter how many times you ask it nothing really happened. Look, do I have even a single scratch on my body? Or is the room in a mess?” 

Lucion pointed to himself and his room in response to Novio’s question.

“Yes, as long as nothing happens.”

Novio got up from his seat.

In the first place, the power that he and Carson felt appeared and disappeared in a very short period. The problem was that Lucion’s room was within that range. Because Lucion was an ordinary member of the Cronia family.

‘Is that a warning from the enemy? These days, I’ve been sitting still, and the fear from the name Cronia has weakened, hasn’t it?’ Novio thought.

Novio struggled to leave as he pondered about it and headed outside.

“Take a rest.”

Carson also followed Novio.

Only after the two left did Lucion take a long breath.

“It was only a brief moment when the darkness turned into a fox, is it possible to notice that?”

[Two people are possible. No, I’m sure the others have already noticed.]

“Is my family that strong?”

Russell was rather embarrassed by Lucion’s question.

[You didn’t know that?]

“I didn’t know.”

[Well, maybe you don’t know. You can’t know everything just because you live under the same roof.]

Russell quickly frowned.

Lucion kept himself away from people because of ghosts, but he was close to his family.

It was impossible to sprinkle ash on Lucion’s behavior for it to change.

“So what is the relationship between me and Ratta like in your eyes?”

Lucion pointed to Ratta.

It was a good question to change the subject just in time.

Russell referred to the fact based on how he saw it.

[When you use darkness, as the divine beast said, it will support your control over darkness.]

—Ratta isn’t a ‘divine beast’, she’s Ratta.

Ratta kept her tail up.

[What this means is. Divine beast, no, it means that Ratta’s growth affects you, and your growth affects Ratta too.]

“You mean I can grow my strength faster, right?”

[Right!]

Russell flicked his finger with a big smile.

It was almost like a few jewels in the world came into the palm of your hand while you were sleeping. But Russell didn’t think it was complete luck because he was not aware of what a divine beast meant to a warlock.

[Now, then, let’s continue the training.]

Russell struggled to shake off his thoughts.

Having a good companion was one thing, training was another.

“Teacher, I want to ask you something before we start.”

[Say it.]

“How can she grow up?”

Lucion grabbed Ratta’s back and put it on his palm.

[I don’t know. Let it eat well and sleep well?]

The documented information about divine beasts was far too little. So, it was not surprising that even Russell himself lacked knowledge regarding this.

“There’s something you don’t even know.”

Russell flinched at Lucion’s words. He didn’t expect a harmless and casual comment could hurt him like this.

* * *

“Ugh.”

Lucion groaned as soon as he opened his eyes.

His whole body was in pain to the point he felt like screaming.

Ratta, staring at Lucion, stretched as hard as she could as she woke up.

—Wow!

Lucion shuddered and forced his upper body to rise.

Perhaps because his mind was too spent and tired due to yesterday’s training, he felt like his head was about to explode and that it could kill him at one point.

[It’s a serious start from today. Can you do it?]

Lucion stared at Russell floating in the air. He could see Russell’s mean smile.

Recalling yesterday’s event, he had repeatedly used the darkness with Ratta to move the chair up and down.

Then, squeezing his last strength, he managed to climb up to the bed, but he couldn’t think of anything after that.

Lucion sighed as he saw the birds chirping and the sunlight coming through the curtains.

It was the morning when the training began again.

[I’ve been looking at Ratta all night.]

When Russell uttered her name, Ratta opened her eyes wide.

“Let me tell you first.”

Lucion brought up the facts he had found out before listening to Russell.

[Okay, go ahead.]

“I couldn’t feel any change in my whole body as well as in the legs except for a body pain.”

[If you don’t see any changes, that means you’re the same as a divine beast.]

“What did you find out, Teacher?”

Lucion staggered toward the flowerpot where Ratcho was located.

Ratta curled up in bed, came down, and tried to stumble like Lucion. 

Seeing this, Lucion said, “You don’t have to copy even that.”

—Ratta has a lot of questions. Why does Lucion stumble and move so feebly? Why do you close your eyes at night? I’m curious about everything!

“Yeah.”

Lucion answered sourly and picked the Ratcho.

Knock. Knock.

At the sound, Ratta came running in a hurry and freaked out.

—Oh, my god!

As he stood on alert, Lucion held out the Ratcho in his hand.

Ratta, who bounced off like a spring, moved quickly and hid behind Russell.

[I’m a ghost, so it’s no use hanging on.]

Russell giggled.

—Ratta hates that flower! I don’t want it!

Lucion left the room with the flowers in his pocket as he saw Ratta shivered in fear.

“Please keep talking.”

Lucion swallowed a groan every time he walked.

[You used all your darkness to train yesterday, didn’t you?]

“I did.”

At the thought of training, Lucion’s forehead furrowed on itself.

‘I didn’t perceive that the darkness would run out.’

[Ratta absorbed the newly filled darkness, and took only a portion and gave it back to you. Then I looked at how the darkness changed, and used the same path that the existing darkness used.]

‘Didn’t you say that if you used up all the darkness, you’d have to make a new path to adapt?’

When Lucion was lost in thought, Russell opened his mouth as if he was disappointed.

[I told you that new darkness would create a new path, but thanks to Ratta, you don’t have to.]

—Ratta was born thanks to Lucion, so I can do that.

Lucion looked back, startled by Ratta’s voice.

When did Ratta leave the room?

Born out of darkness, Ratta seemed to be just as quiet.

[Anyway, I’m sure you two have a win-win relationship. You give Ratta the darkness and Ratta will help you adapt to it quickly. Oh!]

Russell soon bent his knees and looked at Ratta to see if something had come to mind.

[Can you control the darkness Lucion has?]

—I can teach Lucion to behave and listen to me.

“In other words, it means you can control my darkness.”

Lucion glared at Ratta with an uncomfortable face.

—No! Ratta can’t do that!

Ratta shook her head urgently.

“Lies.”

[Divine beasts can’t do that. It was born in your darkness in the first place, and it’s impossible for her to hurt you.]

Russell interrupted Lucion.

“All right, if that’s what the Teacher says.”

Lucion shut his mouth and walked back to the bathroom at the sight of his servants in the distance.

Lucion washed his face lightly and chewed on the Ratcho.

Unlike Russell, who got used to seeing it being chewed like gum every time, Ratta freaked out and hit Lucion on the leg.

—Spit it out! That’s dirty. It’s dirty!

“…Ah.”

Lucion belatedly remembered Ratta.

He couldn’t even spit it back after habitually swallowing it.

“Does it affect her, too?”

[I won’t know until I check.]

Russell was not sure. Lucion and Ratta were connected, but they were still separate individual beings.

“Cough!”

—Hop!

Ratta opened her eyes wide at the sight of Lucion vomiting blood.

[Fortunately, it doesn’t affect her.]

Russell said, turning his head away.

He would never get used to seeing his  disciple in pain. He also couldn’t swear at Lucion for being ignorant because it was him who said it was groundbreaking.

[‘It’s poisonous anyway. Poisonous.’]

Shouldn’t it be time for Lucion to quit now?

Shoot!

Lucion turned on the water and washed away the blood around his mouth.

‘That’s a relief.’

Lucion put the pre-prepared candy in his mouth to remove the bloody smell that had spread in his mouth.

On the road.

When Lucion arrived near the room, playing with the candy in his mouth, he saw a man hanging around in front of his room.

It was Anthony, the butler of Novio.

“What happened? Why are you here this early?”

“Good morning, young master.”

Anthony said his greetings first, rather than an answer.

“Oh, is that the fox you picked up this time?”

“Yeah.”

“It looks so cute.”

Anthony commented as he gazed at Ratta.

As Lucion always stopped her to do anything and would just turn his head away, the fox he owned had no choice but just to make herself pretty.

‘How did he change his mind?’

Anthony opened his mouth wet with joy.

“There’s a letter for you, young master.”

There was one more piece of good news.

“A letter?”

‘No way.’

Lucion looked at Anthony with an unhappy expression.

So far, letters sent to him have been anonymous and only pour out curses and accusations.

‘I have someone to write to me.….’

[Did Tella send it?]

Russell spoke up.

Somehow he looked more excited.

“It’s not that kind of letter this time. The envelope bears the Luteon family’s crest.”

Anthony smiled softly and held out the letter.

It was Lucion’s precious first letter, so Anthony came running like this with excitement.

“Young master.”

“Yeah,” Lucion said as he grabbed the letter.

“I am always ready to welcome whoever you bring.”

When Anthony told him to keep his servant around, Lucion said nothing.

“Young Master, it’s my fault that you don’t trust your servants.”

“That’s all you need?”

Lucion didn’t want to hear the pathetic old stories from the morning.

“Breakfast is ready.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

“Yes, I’m leaving first.”

“Yeah.”

Lucion went inside with a simple answer.

“…Ha.”

Anthony sighed deeply as he looked at the tightly closed door.

No one could blame Lucion.

Lucion, who was young, must have been deeply hurt because the servant —who was supposed to hold and serve his Master closest to him—  betrayed him. 

Anthony exhaled deeply again.

* * *

—Hello, Young Master Lucion. I’m the Young Master’s friend, Tella Luteon. First of all, I am very excited and sorry to tell you the news in a letter. 

Lucion read the letter as soon as he entered the room.

He was relieved that it was not a slanderous article.

—Thanks to Young Master, I was able to get back the opportunity I lost. I’m ecstatic that I feel like I’m flying into the sky.

‘That’s great.’

-( – -) …so I proudly said to those who slandered the Young Master at a banquet a few days ago. “I’m a close friend of young master Lucion!”

There were some underlines written under the word “friend.”

‘Did she really say that?’

Lucion’s eyes shook greatly.

—This time, ‘Divine Beast’s Birthday Banquet’ will be held. If the Young Master doesn’t mind, if you really, really don’t mind, why don’t you join me at this banquet? I personally want to go with you.

The handwriting got smaller as it went on.

‘Invitation to the banquet…’

Lucion muttered the strange word.

[Banquet?]

Russell freaked out as soon as he saw the word “banquet.”

Lucion turned his face in surprise.

Russell and himself were only a step away from each other.

Lucion took two steps back and made an impression.

“Teacher, at least respect my privacy.”

[Gee, hmm. Ghosts improve eyesight. You’ll know when you’re a ghost. You don’t have to look at it, but you can see it.]

Russell coughed in vain at Lucion’s pathetic gaze.

[By the way, you’re not going to that banquet, are you?]

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