Chapter 8
* * *
“More than 50 metal boxes are stored in the Luteon Bank alone?”
Lucion sipped tea, looking at the staff and branch manager whose heads were stiffed.
“Well, yes!”
The branch manager answered with difficulty as his face turned red.
In short, it was just a coincidence that the robber took his box.
‘It’s funny because there’s no such thing as a coincidence.’
Lucion grinned.
With that smile, Russell looked at him sullenly.
Russell thought Lucion had changed a bit, but then he began to see the latter’s old self again.
Lucion contemplated while fiddling with the hem of his clothes.
‘The blue thread was cut off, so I guess it was the root that took this earring away from me.’
But it changed. He kept these earrings.
These earrings were made by Russell and the same item didn’t exist anywhere else.
As a result, he became the only warlock who could identify negativities.
“Branch Manager.”
Lucion opened his mouth softly.
But the look on his face wasn’t very pleasant.
“Yes, sir!”
“Get up.”
“Thank you!”
The branch manager and staff staggered and struggled to get into their positions.
Their whole bodies were damp with sweat and even a stinky odor started to come out of their bodies.
“I’ve been drinking tea and pondering how I’m going to handle this.”
Both of them swallowed dry saliva at Lucion’s words.
In particular, the employee who sold Lucion turned pale white.
“I’ve decided that what he’s done to me is too great to ask a pardon about this case.”
Lucion himself was not an ordinary man.
“I’m an aristocrat. I’m not supposed to be treated like that by ordinary people.”
Lucion’s eyes turned on that staff.
“First of all, I’m the son of the Cronia family, the owner of the very land you’re standing on right now.”
The staff’s lips trembled.
“It’s Cronia itself that you sold off.”
“Si, si-r, sir! Well, I guess I’m just…. at that moment. I don’t mean to…….”
“That nosy mouth. Shut up.”
Lucion pressed his hand right up.
The violence was nothing but idle gossip.
“So, please wait for the results of the headquarters.”
Lucion stood up as he uttered that.
Gerno followed him, too.
[Oh! What’s up?]
Russell grinned again at the sight of Lucion solving the case without using violence.
Anyway, that employee wouldn’t be fine even if Lucion himself was generous.
Of all things he touched, he really chose to mess with the Count’s youngest child.
‘There’s no way my father would just stay still.’
“You son of a bitch! Why did you bother the Cronia family?”
Lucion directed his eyes toward the angry branch manager’s voice, leaking out of the bank.
[You’ve grown.]
Russell smiled gloatingly at Lucion’s new ways of dealing with this kind of situation.
“It’s a wise choice.”
Gerno, too, couldn’t resist the itch to praise his young master and opened his mouth.
Lucion couldn’t stand someone touching him.
Gerno kept looking at the timing to stop Lucion, fearing that it would create a mess again.
But Lucion had changed. As if it was someone else whom he had seen earlier.
“It’s embarrassing.”
Lucion waved his hand.
“You know that I can’t talk nonsense.”
“Noisy.”
Contrary to Lucion’s muffled voice, his pace suddenly accelerated.
* * *
Lucion found Novio as soon as he arrived at the mansion.
I thought I could handle it myself, but I better let my father know what happened earlier.
“Teacher.”
Lucion took a moment to ask before knocking on the door.
[Yeah.]
Russell’s brow narrowed slightly.
It was still strange to hear that he was a teacher.
“Does this have anything to do with you, Teacher?”
Lucion didn’t know Russell very well.
Who would invest that much in an intermediate boss’s teacher?
[No, it’s not related to me.]
Russell shook his head.
He didn’t appear to be lying.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t know you very well.”
[It’s the same for the both of us. It’s not like we had a situation where we could have a proper conversation other than just talking now and then.]
Russell didn’t know Lucion either.
Lucion’s heart of hatred for ghosts was too big that Russell had to be satisfied with just the former talking to him.
“My puberty was long.”
Russell laughed at the casual words of Lucion.
He thought that it was very shameless to rule out their painful past as puberty.
Russell, who was nothing more than a wild animal, has yet to forget the first appearance of Lucion. He wondered if it was like the look of a person who was hurt by a ghost or a person.
Knock. Knock.
Lucion knocked on the door.
“I’m here to see my father.”
The door opened quickly.
There were knights and butlers escorting Novio.
“Welcome, young master.”, said Anthony, Novio’s butler, with a gentle smile.
Like Gerno, he was one of the few people that favored Lucion.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you like this. This old man is very happy.”
“That’s a load of bullshit.”
Lucion gave Anthony a faint look.
“Is my father there?”
“Yes, he’s inside. The old man will be back soon with this news.”
“Anthony.”
“Yes, young master.”
Anthony gazed fondly at Lucion as if he were looking at his grandson.
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“I want you to take this old man’s shenanigans far and wide.”
Anthony smiled lightly and walked quickly to another door in the room.
Knock. Knock.
After knocking, Anthony heard Novio from inside and entered the room.
“What’s going on?”
Novio took a sip of a cold tea, putting down the brief document.
“The young master came back.”
Novio rolled his eyes at Anthony’s words.
Carson didn’t go patrolling the border today.
“What happened to the border?”
“Not the first, but the youngest.”
Anthony smiled with delight.
“…Poof!”
Novio stopped drinking tea and spit some due to the unexpected news.
Anthony hurriedly handed Novio a handkerchief.
Novio, who appeared to regain his composure, opened his eyes wide after roughly wiping his face.
“Gee, what did you just say?”
“The young master is here.”
“Did he look all right? Did he look bad?”
“He didn’t look very well, but there are no wounds.”
Novio swept his chest in relief at Anthony’s words.
Every time he forced Lucion to go outside, he would always bring a wound home. However, he couldn’t keep living at home, so Novio had no choice but to send Lucion away, so he could only swallow his regrets every time.
But this time, he didn’t go out on my order, so he came back without any wounds.
Aside from praising Lucion, Novio was strangely unable to hide his anxiety about when and how much bigger the accident would be.
“Anthony. “
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Why are you finally giving me a report that Lucion is back?”
Novio swallowed the fact that he had waited for Lucion until his throat fell out.
Anthony bent down on his back.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.….”
“No, I didn’t mean to push you, so don’t apologize.”
“I will ask Sir Gerno, who has returned with the master.”
“Why is Sir Gerno appearing all of a sudden?”
Anthony was also puzzled by Novio’s question.
“Wasn’t the Lord the one who gave the order?”
“…Ha. I think Carson got caught in the middle.”
Novio painted a light smile.
“Tell Lucion to come in.”
“Okay, sir.”
Anthony greeted politely, then went outside and called Lucion.
“What brings you to me?”
Novio first opened his mouth to Lucion upon the latter entering the room.
[…Hahahaha.]
As he had unintentionally listened to Novio and Anthony; conversation, Russell couldn’t hold back his laughter at the Count’s nonchalance.
Lucion looked at Russell for a moment, but he shook his head as if he had seen nothing.
Russell decided to pretend not to know because there must be someone he wanted to hide.
“I’m sorry to barge in without saying anything in advance.”
As Lucion bent down, Novio put down the paperwork in his hand and said, “No need to be so formal between a father and a son. You can just come and visit if you want, and you don’t have to talk nonsense.”
“Thank you.”
Lucion’s smile softened.
Novio got up from his seat and walked to the sofa next to the desk first.
“Sit down.”
“Yes.”
Lucion also sat on the sofa.
He didn’t know why, but Novio’s eyes were shining exceptionally.
Lucion was somehow pleased and bitter about Novio’s appearance, which he had never shown before.
“Father.”
“Yeah.”
Novio’s voice was low and soft.
“Something happened.”
When Lucion brought it up, Novio’s eyes trembled for a moment.
However, the eyes of Novio looking at Lucion didn’t waver.
Lucion calmly explained what happened at Luteon Bank.
Lucion didn’t stop talking despite seeing Novio’s distorted expression.
“…so I’ll really deal with it this time. Isn’t it different now from the banquet?”
Lucion acted like a dog at the banquet, but this bank case was different.
He was a pure victim, and the Luteon Bank was now on fire.
“If you need my help, just let me know.”
Novio didn’t stop Lucion like last time.
He wanted to go to the Luteon family himself and overturn it all, but he had to give Lucion a chance.
“Then, I’ll borrow Father’s seal right away.”
Lucion reached out his hand.
Wasn’t it obvious that the Cronia family seal works better than the name Lucion Cronia?
“Yes, I’ll lend it to you.”
Without hesitation, Novio went to the desk and took out the family seal.
“Some time later, the son of Viscount Horaon would come here under the pretext of an apology.”
Novio gave Lucion the family seal and said,
“What do you want me to do?”
Novio, who told me to be self-conscious, has changed.
Lucion’s mouth slightly went up as his chest tightened pleasantly.
“Was the man who I bit in his ear a knight? His power seems to be incredible.”
“Knight…?”
Novio snorted like a giggle.
“Right. If the knight was bought with money, it would be a knight.”
‘It’s not a knight…?’
A suspicious smile hung around Lucion’s mouth.
“There’s no harm in my pride in any way. Wouldn’t it be all right for my first match? So please put off the meeting a little bit.”
“…Hahaha!”
Novio liked Lucion’s confidence.
What he liked more than anything was the oozing faith in himself that was clearly reflected in his son’s eyes. Why would he hesitate as a father if your son said he would do it?
“Okay, I’ll wait and see when you’re ready.”
“Thank you. Well, I’m tired, so I’ll leave first.”
“Yes, the wound hasn’t healed yet, so you need to rest well.”
Novio stared at Lucion’s back as he retreated.
Even after the door closed, he stared at that place for a long time.
* * *
“Young master, I left Ratcho in your room.”
Gerno waited for Lucion in front of his room. He said that when he saw Lucion was coming out.
On their way back to the mansion, Lucion bought a Ratcho.
He couldn’t have many flowers from the start, so he only bought an amount enough to fit in a vase to test it.
“I told you to leave it in my room and go back. Do you have anything to say?”
Lucion looked at Gerno.
“No, I’ve been waiting for you because I thought you’d have something else to ask me to do.”
“Then, bring the stationery.”
“Yes! I will prepare it right away.”
[That’s great. I knew you didn’t have a servant, so I waited on purpose.]
Russell looked at Gerno’s back in action and said, “I can’t stand crowds.”
When Lucion frowned, Russell fiddled with his nose.
[Are you going to keep going without a servant?]
Lucion’s foot stopped in front of Ratcho.
“Even if I don’t want to, there should be servants that would be there at my command.”
Lucion grabbed one of the Ratchos.
“Let me try one first.”