Chapter 136

Oh, for heaven’s sake.

The feeling of facing that stubborn little kid from long ago made my chest tighten all on its own.

“Poisonous weed? That’s Count Rowan. Northerners aren’t the only people in the world, so watch what you say.”

It had been ten years. Surely only his body hadn’t grown?

Is the same little brat Kyle still inside that ridiculously impressive body?

“Aisha, you haven’t changed.”

But for whatever reason, he smiled instead as he said it.

“You’re the one who hasn’t changed, so what are you—”

“Princess, this is dangerous. I don’t think that man is an ordinary person.”

That was when it happened.

Count Rowan stepped between us and hid me behind his back.

“What are the knights doing?! A man with such ominous eyes has appeared in a banquet hall where only nobles should be present. Why haven’t you thrown him out yet?!”

“That’s right. He doesn’t even seem to be a noble...! What are the knights doing?”

“Does Duke Kreutz know about that strange man?”

At Count Rowan’s words, murmurs began spreading through the room.

“S-Seize that man! He wasn’t invited!”

Apparently even the gatekeeper had not been informed about Kyle, because he belatedly rushed into the banquet hall to stop him.

At that moment, a neatly dressed woman caught him by the shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

She was a royal attendant.

“...W-What did you say?”

“We intended to make the formal announcement today, but he appeared so suddenly that even we weren’t expecting it...”

“Huh?”

The gatekeeper’s eyes darted around as they exchanged a few hurried words.

Then he abruptly scanned the guest list, cleared his throat as though he had found something, and shouted loudly,

“Th-This gentleman is Lord Kyle of House Schletz!”

Schletz...

“Isn’t that... the King’s family?”

The noise filling the hall fell silent in an instant.

“Count Rowan. So, who did you call ominous?”

The one who broke the heavy silence was Kyle.

He leisurely tilted his head, his chilling gaze fixed on Rowan.

In a space so quiet that even breathing seemed audible, everyone stood frozen with their mouths open in shock.

I was just as bewildered.

Only Count Rowan’s smile deepened, as though Kyle’s identity had made him even more intrigued.

“...You’re a young lord of House Schletz? I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of House Schletz having a young lord.”

House Schletz was King Grace’s family.

Everyone clearly wanted to question whether it was true, but when Rowan openly asked what no one else had dared to, sharp gasps sounded around us.

In the original novel, he was described like some fresh-faced young man of the new kingdom...

Why is he acting like some secret mastermind?

No matter how I thought about it, something was strange.

He was definitely different from the Count Rowan I knew.

“I believe I can answer that for him.”

At that moment, the enormous doors along one wall of the hall opened.

Grace and Calypse appeared beyond them.

Startled by their sudden entrance, the nobles all bowed respectfully.

Kyle merely inclined his upper body slightly before returning his attention to Rowan, while Rowan likewise gave a brief nod and stared back at him.

These two really must be insane.

One was half monster, and the other was acting half like a secret mastermind.

Caught between the two men, I finished my greeting while sweating profusely.

“!”

Then my eyes met Dad’s directly.

Calypse looked from Kyle to Rowan in turn, gave a quiet sigh, and silently mouthed,

Where’s Lucas?

He was looking for Lucas, who should have dealt with this mess long ago.

I don’t know.

I mouthed the words with pursed lips and shook my head.

It felt as though cold sweat was spraying from the top of my head like a fountain.

We’ll talk after this.

I had no idea what exactly he intended to do when we talked, but after mouthing that with narrowed eyes, he returned to being the cold and composed Duke Kreutz and took his place beside Grace.

Even in this situation, he seemed more displeased by the fact that I was stuck between two men than anything else.

“I had intended to announce this during today’s banquet, but Lord Kyle has appeared earlier than expected, so I’ll take this opportunity to do it now.”

The moment Grace began speaking, the atmosphere around us grew heavy.

Someone being adopted into a family was major news in high society.

And if that family was extremely close to the royal household, such an announcement meant that a new figure was about to establish a position in society.

But why Kyle...?

Grace’s gaze did not waver in the slightest as she looked at his violet eyes.

That meant she, too, had intended to reveal Kyle’s identity someday.

“A new kind of power user has appeared. A power capable of controlling monsters. The first power user with violet eyes. Kyle.”

“...What?”

“A new power user? That man... no, that young lord...?”

A new power.

The debut of a new noble.

The gazes directed at Kyle changed in an instant.

Ten years ago, the atrocities committed by House Pose and its poison power had thrown things into confusion for a time, but even so, that was still how power users were regarded in this world.

Protectors of the world whom anyone would treat favorably.

Some people were already looking at Kyle with something approaching reverence.

But all I could do, knowing the truth, was stare in shock.

They disguised a demon as a power user...?

There could only be a handful of people here who knew the truth.

Grace and Calypse.

And Knox, perhaps.

No, does Knox even know about this?

Whoever had come up with it, the plan was certainly inventive.

And dangerous.

But what if they find out?

I looked at Kyle in alarm, but his cold violet eyes remained fixed on Grace.

As though he were merely checking whether the plan had gone off course.

“He was originally a member of House Rirrita, a baronial family in the north, but I felt his position there was too limited for such a remarkable power to fully bloom. So I brought him into the direct line of House Schletz. And thus, the Frozen Kingdom has now received the protection of two powers.”

Grace spoke calmly, smiling only with her lips.

“What a splendid thing.”

As her utterly soulless exclamation continued, my mouth fell open even farther.

They even created a fake identity for him from before the adoption?

Goosebumps rose along my skin at how unexpectedly airtight the plan was.

Splendid?

No.

This was a warning.

A warning to the opposition forces hiding somewhere in this banquet hall, showing them the military strength of the royal family.

“A social debut ought to be this spectacular. Now then, I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the evening.”

After dropping that bombshell, Grace and Calypse disappeared.

The nobles exchanged glances for a moment before beginning to crowd around Kyle one by one.

“Lord Kyle. A pleasure to meet you. My introduction is rather late, but I am Count Hiddin of House Longstail.”

“Lord Kyle. I am Odi of House Perta.”

Before I had even recovered from the shock, the area around him had become noisy.

I backed away from Kyle as people surrounded him and stood there blankly.

He listened to the nobles’ praise with effortless composure.

“To think your power allows you to control monsters... truly remarkable.”

“But you really do possess such a power, I assume? I’m curious to see how you use it.”

At that moment, one noble threw out a remark that sounded rather rude.

The instant I saw Kyle’s sharp gaze snap toward him, I started reaching out to stop him.

No. If he causes another problem...!

“If you wish to see it, you’ll first have to face a monster in person.”

But Kyle merely responded with an easy smile.

“Quite right! You’ve become far too arrogant for a man who’s never even faced a frightening monster, Baron Luita!”

“Ah, haha. My apologies. I suppose I should build up my courage first and ask you again afterward.”

The people around them had briefly watched the situation cautiously, but laughter soon broke out, making the atmosphere noticeably warmer.

Just a moment ago, I had been worried because Kyle seemed exactly like the Kyle I remembered.

But now he seemed like an entirely different person.

Not the little boy from ten years ago.

Someone completely different.

Come to think of it, at some point Kyle had shed his worn hood and was now standing there in flawless formal attire.

I had been too overwhelmed to even notice.

Beneath the brilliant chandeliers, casually conversing with nobles, he looked every inch an aristocrat.

Several young ladies were already blushing as they waited for a chance to speak to him.

Kyle...

He was no longer the little boy I had known.

Over the course of ten years, he had grown into a full-fledged man.

And not just any man.

He looked as though being the center of a crowd came naturally to him—arrogant to the bone, polished and capable, perfectly suited to the highest ranks of nobility.

This is strange. He feels unfamiliar. And...

I glanced at his flawless profile and felt something I couldn’t quite name.

For now... maybe I should get out of here.

I thought I needed some time to think.

More importantly, I still had an unfinished conversation with Count Rowan.

“Kyle. I think I should at least go finish saying goodbye to Count Rowan, so I’ll be back.”

I whispered so I wouldn’t interrupt his conversation, then tried to move.

“......?”

But the lace-trimmed sleeve of my dress refused to budge, as though it had been fixed in place.

Wondering what was going on, I looked down—