Was it because of the strangely chilled atmosphere? The child, after speaking, flapped their hands in bewilderment and pleaded innocence.

“Ah, no, I mean…”

“…”

“…”

The child rolled their eyes. Would the droplets that had formed on the surface of the juice glass on the table have trickled down by now?

The trembling servant cautiously opened their mouth.

“If I may… Father passed away, and not long after, Mother followed. I believe neither of them had any close relatives.”

“…”

“I dare not presume how the young master knows this, but… perhaps this wasn’t what you meant to say…”

As if realizing their interjection might have been presumptuous, the servant’s words trailed off towards the end.

The child nodded vigorously, as if to prevent Lutis from adding anything.

“Th-that’s right! That’s what I was going to say!”

“…”

−…

It was questionable how the child could know such things, as the servant had mentioned.

Sharing Aeli’s doubts, Lutis, who had been silent until now, turned his head to look down at the child.

Feeling the gaze, the child blinked rapidly for a moment, then rubbed their forehead while adding:

“Yes, long ago… when I lived in the building next door, I heard people talking.”

“…”

“They said he was kind and worked well, but he had to quit because he hurt his leg trying to protect me…”

“…”

“They said he was someone who took what Father gave me and left… but that wasn’t elder brother’s doing, was it? He got hurt because of me, so how could he be punished…”

As soon as the child finished speaking, a cracking sound was heard.

Aeli, following the source of the sound, turned her gaze and opened her mouth slightly in surprise. The armrest of the couch where Lutis was sitting had crumbled, covered in cracks.

Thud―

As Lutis’s hand moved away from the couch’s armrest, the broken pieces fell in a shower.

Lutis, seemingly not even thinking of brushing off the debris on his hand, immediately asked the child. The veins on his neck were visibly protruding.

“They… told you that?”

“Uh, ah, well… it’s not exactly like that…”

The child, who had witnessed the couch being shattered under Lutis’s grip just like Aeli, mumbled a response, clearly either frightened or shocked.

Seeing this obvious reaction, Lutis sighed and covered his eyes with his hand.

Only after a few seconds passed did Lutis speak again.

“…If you’re trying to cover up the fault because of what you heard, there’s no need. It wasn’t your fault to begin with…”

“…”

“You can’t fully understand a person’s character based solely on what others say.”

Aeli looked from Lutis to the child, then turned her gaze to the servant who was still watching cautiously.

−…

Even if everything else could be overlooked, this didn’t seem right. Aeli’s brow furrowed.

The situation where the servant took the blame for the head servant’s fault, and the child vehemently opposing punishing such a servant… it could be understandable.

‘From a public perspective, according to current imperial law, the servant should rightfully be punished.’

However, since the child was essentially the victim, the opinion of the involved party was also important.

So, it was understandable that they might want to turn a blind eye out of sympathy.

Hadn’t Aeli herself been unable to decide and ultimately chosen to follow the child’s wishes?

But…

“Ah, uh… that… that is…!”

If external influence had played a role in forming that opinion, it was a different matter.

If the result now was that the servants in the annex had pressured the child into self-blame when neither Mari nor Aeli were around…

‘That’s no different from coercion.’

Feeling a headache coming on, Aeli closed her eyes tightly.

If this was true, it had been a mistake to only punish some of the servants in the annex as an example, instead of dismissing them all.

This was true whether the words were meant for the child to hear or if it was a private conversation among themselves.

The most important thing for servants working in a noble household was to watch their words.

−…Huh.

It was no different from saying that everything had gone wrong from the start. Aeli pressed her lips together.

The child fidgeted with their fingers before asking Lutis again.

“…You won’t?”

“…”

How could he?

However, unable to resist the child’s gaze, Lutis covered his eyes with his hand and let out a deep sigh.

“…”

“Father…”

“…Even if there are no remaining relatives, my opinion remains the same. We can’t bring him back to the mansion.”

“If you don’t bring him back, you won’t punish him?”

“No.”

“…”

“…”

Sigh. In response to Lutis’s firm attitude, the child finally puffed up their cheeks. Their protruding lips were full of resentment.

Whether aware or not that their fate hung on this conversation, the servant remained silent, holding their breath.

Aeli’s gaze turned to the servant’s legs, which were trembling, relying solely on muscle without a cane.

“Hah…”

As the child, seemingly having forgotten yesterday’s promise to stay quiet, kept pestering, Lutis spoke.

“As I said earlier, it’s impossible for working as a servant to substitute for penal labor. Moreover, he’s not even in a condition to work properly, so there will surely be talk.”

“…”

“Is there a solution that can cover all of this? I can’t indulge in irresponsible whims, even from my child.”

Though he spoke this way, Aeli knew what Lutis truly wanted to say.

It couldn’t be easy for him to simply disregard the opinion of the child, who was the immediate victim.

However, as Aeli worried, it was impossible to be certain that the servants’ influence hadn’t played a role in forming this judgment. And once an exception was made in the verdict, it was impossible not to worry about others who might develop different thoughts.

In a world where many people would try to find loopholes if there was a precedent.

Even if nothing happened now due to fear of Lutis, the future was unpredictable.

“That, that… with magic…”

“…Magic?”

Moreover, if the child’s nature was this kind, there was nothing more to say.

Lutis asked in response to the child’s hesitant answer. To which the child added:

“Soul… reformation? Transformation? If we do that, it won’t be dangerous, and also…”

“…How on earth do you know about such things―”

“Book! From a book! It’s all written in books.”

“…”

It’s not that kindness and compassion are bad. What better mindset could there be for cultivating a good and warm world?

However, if there are such people, there are also those who would try to use and wield them as weapons.

While the child now had Lutis as a shield, since that couldn’t last forever.

The child needed to develop not only kindness but also cold rationality to lead a family in the future.

‘…I think it’s okay to be a bit more lenient since Adi is still young.’

Lutis seemed to think a bit differently. Perhaps he took the stance that it was better not to give any excuse now rather than letting bad habits form and causing trouble later.

Though their positions differed, his reaction wasn’t incomprehensible.

There were not a few cases where parents indulged their children’s every whim in infancy, only for it to become fixed and uncorrectable even into adulthood.

Whether it was a weak and kind nature, or a cruel and merciless one.

‘In such cases, they usually try to correct it as much as possible, and if it can’t be fixed, they change the successor to another child, or if there are none, bring someone from a branch family.’

Unfortunately, Rattliffe had neither option. So the only choice was to raise their one child well.

Lutis looked at the child for a moment before speaking.

“…It’s not a bad idea, but it’s impossible to implement, so that method won’t work.”

“Why, why not? We can just call someone who uses magic, right?”

“Most of them belong to the magic tower.”

“Then how about asking the magic tower?”

“…”

“Father?”

“…Currently, Rattliffe is not on good terms with the magic tower.”

In short, it meant they couldn’t summon anyone, so they couldn’t use magic.

To this, the child, who had been wiggling their toes as if deep in thought for a while, rolled their eyes to look at Aeli. Their expression was somewhat resolute.

…Surely not?

−Adi, don’t…!

Before Aeli could finish her exclamation, having sensed what was coming.

Flash!

“…!”

A bright light burst from the child’s hand.

“…What is this…”

“I can do it! If you give me paper and ink, I can make a refor- reformation charm!”

Not understanding his shocked state as he stared with wide eyes, unable to continue speaking. The child kept flapping their glowing hands in front of Lutis.

‘Didn’t I tell you so many times not to use it in front of others!’

All the rote education during visits to the study had been in vain. Aeli lamented, slapping her forehead with her hand.

It wasn’t simply because the child could use high-level magic without a circle that she had cautioned them. Nor was it just because a descendant who could use magic had appeared in Rattliffe, where magical power couldn’t be inherited.

The unusual form and unprecedented situation were perfect for becoming the subject of gossip.

‘I know better than anyone what kind of talk this will lead to.’

As soon as this fact leaked out, all sorts of rumors would run rampant.

That the Duke hadn’t confined his child and gone to war for no reason. That given the absence of a circle, they must have used some dubious method. Such talk would surely spread.

…And among them, there would certainly be words like this:

“…”

Lutis met the child’s eyes.