Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

6 – Regret and Questioning in a Small Room (Revised)

Late afternoon.

An hour that could just as well be lunchtime.

The rough, almost crude

sound of military boots echoed down the hallway.

Thump, thump—

Even though the servants must have loathed

the thought of their freshly cleaned floors

being marred by boot prints,

they quietly avoided eye contact and discreetly slipped away.

Because of who he was.

Because he was a being they dared not confront.

Duke Kyle Reinhardt,

he was walking down the corridor.

“…Honestly, those who act so self-willed

are the most useless of all.”

He muttered something incomprehensible.

Well, even if he weren’t the Duke,

the servants wouldn’t have

dared to address him anyway.

The expression on his face screamed, ‘I’m annoyed,’ to anyone who saw it.

And his already intimidating face…

A face like that,

naturally, no one would dare approach.

“Tch, doing so well, and now what’s this again…”

Thump, thump—

Footsteps, a little heavier than before,

he was headed toward Jennison’s

room.

The room of his “rascal” son, the one he’d issued secret orders to.

Suddenly, this morning, he’d displayed the oddity of

attending breakfast, and then

dropped a literal bombshell, declaring he would leave the family.

“Suddenly leaving the family,

what sort of stain does he intend to put on the family name?”

To be clear, the Duke

wasn’t about to

stop Jennison from leaving the family.

From the start, he never cherished his son enough to take such an action.

“I’m sure I’ve warned you

countless times not to act as you please.”

Of course, that didn’t mean

he’d actually allow the boy to leave the family.

How dare he act so recklessly, without understanding his place.

Did he even grasp the impact

his actions would have on the family’s reputation?

He merely needed to remain

locked away in his room.

How dare he so arrogantly

decide to leave the family;

did he think the family was such

an easy place to simply depart from?

‘If so…that notion

will need to be corrected as of today.’

That he could never

escape the family, ever.

A thought that, if heard by others,

would undoubtedly cause them to writhe in chilling terror,

yet the corners of the Duke’s lips and his cheekbones

He didn’t so much as flinch.

As if this action was perfectly natural, completely expected.

Thump-thump─

And so he continued to walk, finally reaching the very front of Jennison’s room.

He could see it.

The girl with raven hair, waiting there before him.

“Father.”

“Aria, why on earth

are you here?”

“..Seeing, Oppa.”

That was all the answer that came.

And he couldn’t hear anything more, even if he wanted to.

Because Aria, overcome by her own embarrassment, had already turned her head away first.

She pretended otherwise, but

deep down, she was concerned about that lad, wasn’t she.

Though he couldn’t be sure, the two of them

had been really close when they were younger, after all.

“Yes, well then, wouldn’t it be best if you

returned now?”

“Huh? Why..”

“Since your objective and mine

seem to be the same, I don’t think

there’s a need for both of us to be involved.”

“N..No, wait a moment.”

“Go back and

leisurely prepare for your next class.”

Aria couldn’t understand

why she had to,

but the Duke dismissed her without a care.

There was no particular reason.

He was simply trying to eliminate potential instability.

‘Just in case that boy

utters some nonsense to Aria..’

This was the Duke for you.

A man whose every action was meticulously calculated.

He was the type to account for even the pebbles rolling on the roadside as variables,

so the very concept of a variable

was fundamentally inapplicable to him.

‘First, starting with that remark today…’

“Tell them to cancel it, forthwith…”

*Needs* retraining, it seems.

Still hidden behind that unyielding mask,

the Duke tapped a pair of brisk knocks on Jennison’s door.

“Who… Your Grace?!”

“…And *you* are?”

Instead, emerging from within was none other than

a maid with hair like spun silver.

*

“Left, you say? And you, a simple wretch,

know not where he directed his steps?”

“Yes…”

“…You are aware of what awaits you, should you

speak a fabrication?”

“I… truly, I am not!”

Jennison had departed the estate.

It was a reality that held firm, no matter how much

the Duke pressed and prodded.

And the instant the Duke sought to

exit, call for assistance—

*Crrraack*—

“…?!”

With an ominous groan,

the floorboards directly beneath the Duke’s feet buckled and gave way.

Fortunate for him, his innate

sense of balance and physical prowess

allowed him to evade the ungainly spectacle of

tumbling before his inferiors.

Even so, the mere *possibility*

struck a jarring note of displeasure in him.

It spoke volumes: that his

family’s very residence was

decrepit and decaying, like some hovel.

“…What in blazes is–”

“I… I am terribly sorry…!!”

“Is this room… never subject to upkeep?”

“W-Well, Master Jennison has always been adamant,

demanding we never enter his chamber unbidden, so…”

How curious… night after night, some–

“I heard sounds of shattering and breaking,” he said.

Was it coming from this room?

“…Tch. Why would that rascal, who played the tyrant so well, utter such words today?”

“Then, the cleaning? How have you

been managing the cleaning all this time?”

“The young master only allowed me to enter, so I took care of everything…”

“…And yet, you claim to not know

where he has gone?”

A brief, but unmistakable wave of killing intent,

a quantity so small,

yet lethal to the average person.

As if to prove it,

Ella’s body began to tremble.

Her legs shook like aspen leaves, and soon she fell to her knees,

as if seized by a sudden chill,

wrapping her arms tightly around herself.

All because of a single sentence from the Duke.

“Y-y-yes!! I…I re-really…I…!!”

Despite it all, she continued to

insist that she truly didn’t know,

a pitiful sight, like a small, fragile animal.

Even the Duke, who seemed as though you could prick him with a needle and draw no blood,

eventually withdrew his killing intent,

and let out a deep sigh.

No, in truth, the more accurate reason

was that he didn’t want to deal with a corpse inside the manor.

“…Then, where are the servants

who used to attend to that fellow?”

An eye for an eye, or rather, a gum for an eye;

the Duke shifted his focus.

If she didn’t know, he could simply

ask someone who might.

Although the child before him was

the one closest to the young master,

perhaps there was at least one more to be found,

a servant who had been friendly with that fellow,

who would raise all sorts of a fuss if you so much as touched him.

“…Who used to attend to the young master?”

“If you’re speaking of the servants…”

“They’ve already been dismissed, and have left the manor… already.”

“…What?!”

A murderous intent bloomed once more, entirely unexpected.

This time, it wasn’t a killing intent born of petty annoyances and frustrations,

but of the displeasure of being ignorant

of events occurring within his own house.

“Young…Young Master…said he would

take care of everything…so he fired them…!”

“…Ha, thorough, aren’t we…

I’m not sure since when, however.”

He must have known that I would

order the servants to follow him,

and dismissed them all

beforehand.

He probably gave them generous severance pay as well.

Even if that wretch appears a scoundrel to the world, he did receive

an allowance each month to maintain the family’s dignity.

I’ve been completely outmaneuvered.

By the very one I thought I had so well in check.

‘…Very well, have it your way.

But the instant your actions tarnish

the family’s honor, even in the slightest…’

I will tear you limb from limb and display you on the ramparts.

Because from this moment forward, you are no longer

part of our family, anyway.

*

“…If, by chance, he contacts you later, report it to me immediately.”

“Yes, I will.”

“…Nothing is going right!!”

*BANG-*

The old door slammed shut, and

a sigh, heavy with resignation, echoed loudly.

A sigh from the lips of a

woman with eternally beautiful silver hair.

“Haa…I think I was not discovered?”

At long last, she released the tension she had been

straining every muscle to contain.

Ella sank onto the worn mattress, just so.

Truth was, she knew

where Jennison had gone.

Jennison himself had told her, before

leaving the estate for good.

‘Hmph, to give the Young Master such an order

and then what, you expect to just do as you please now?’

But she didn’t feel the need

to mention that little fact.

As much as Jennison detested the Duke, so did she.

“Oof! Best be finding myself

another situation, then, eh?”

She had to, if she wanted to follow

the Young Master, her other family.

*

“..Brother, gone away?”

After the Duke slammed the door

and retreated to his chambers,

a cascade of raven hair, hidden

until now, shimmered in the light.

Accompanying eyes the color of rubies.

“..I must find him. First.”

Clack, clack, clack, clack─

And another set of footsteps

echoed down the hallway.

*

Leaving the estate, I headed straight for the Academy.

For my future, at least,

I’d need a place to stay.

‘Back at the Academy,

the first things I need to do are…’

So lost in thought, I arrived at the Headmaster’s office in no time.

A massive, oak door,

ornamented with a silver handle.

I lowered the handle, opened the door, and the first thing to greet me was a mountain of paperwork.

Then, a desk positioned before a huge window, back to the room.

Sofas and a low table, clearly

intended for visitors, sat in the center.

And a woman diligently

organizing documents.

The women I’d seen until then were all beauties, without exception.

Women like Aria, Lianna, Ella—

they were beautiful beyond measure, even considering my entire life.

But I couldn’t deny the woman before me was equally stunning.

Unlike Aria’s raven tresses,

hers was platinum blonde, imbued with a subtle golden sheen, perfectly suited.

A slender, graceful physique,

with a pronounced chest and hips to prove its allure.

A black suit only served to

further accentuate her beauty,

and finally, her skill—

one of only five Ninth Circle mages in the entire Empire.

The phrase, “a beauty accomplished in both letters and arms,”

seemed tailor-made for her.

As if sensing my gaze,

she rose from her seat, leaving the piles of documents behind,

and slowly approached to sit on the sofa.

“Please, have a seat. You appear to have come with something to say.”

Without a word, I walked to the

sofa opposite her and sat down.

Presently, she took a sip

of tea, which I hadn’t even noticed her pour, and began to speak.

“What is your business, Student Jenison?”