Chapter 45: What Are You Hiding?

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'Huh?'

Zeldryn stared at Kera, who stood near the kitchen entrance. Something about the situation felt strangely familiar, and it did not take long for him to realize why.

'I've seen situations like this in the novels I've read before.'

Someone was about to reveal a secret, only for a powerful character to appear just before the truth could be spoken and force them into silence. Characters who did things like that were usually cunning, difficult to read, and powerful enough that no one around them dared to interfere.

Zeldryn looked at Kera again.

'And now this bastard fits every single criterion.'

Strong? Obviously. As for cunning, Zeldryn did not even need to think twice about that.

After all the frustration that had already piled up since earlier, Zeldryn no longer had the patience for small talk. “Why did you block her voice using mana?”

The servants around them immediately became even more tense, but Kera did not answer. He simply remained near the entrance with the same faint smile he always wore, silently staring back at Zeldryn.

'What the hell is with that smile?'

While Zeldryn's suspicion continued to grow, Kera's thoughts drifted back to what had happened the previous night, shortly after he had managed to save the boy.

Zeldryn's body had already returned to normal by then. The darkness that had almost swallowed him completely had disappeared, while the wounds and bruises covering his body had been healed. He now lay unconscious on the bed, breathing normally and looking almost as though he were simply asleep.

Not long afterward, hurried footsteps sounded outside the room. Several guards and servants rushed inside with panicked expressions, unable to remain outside after everything they had witnessed. They knew something strange had happened to Zeldryn, and seeing Kera suddenly enter through the window with one of the servants had only made the situation more alarming.

One of the guards stopped several steps from the bed and immediately looked toward Zeldryn. Confusion spread across his face when he saw that the boy appeared perfectly fine.

“What happened...?”

His attention shifted toward Kera. “Sir Kera.”

Kera turned slightly toward him.

The guard hesitated before continuing. “I know you came from the main residence, and I also know you carry an official letter from the Giorry family's main residence. But you suddenly headed toward Lord Zeldryn's room together with a servant.”

He swallowed before glancing briefly at Zeldryn. “As a guard of this mansion, of course I would be worried.”

Kera stared at him for several seconds before a strange smile appeared on his face.

“What did you just say, idiot?”

The guard fell silent.

Kera pointed toward Zeldryn lying on the bed. “You think an ordinary healer could've saved him in that condition?”

The guard had no answer.

“You aren't even a Manholer,” Kera continued, his smile never fading. “Yet you're talking as if you understand what was happening. How impressive.”

The guard's expression immediately changed. “Y-yes, I know I'm only an ordinary person, but still, if something happened to Lord Zeldryn, wouldn't I be the one blamed for...”

Before he could finish, Kera raised one hand and snapped his fingers.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

SLAP!

The mana particles throughout the room immediately moved, surging toward the guard and enveloping his entire body in an instant.

“EUUGGH!”

The guard's eyes widened as both hands flew toward his throat. He desperately tried to breathe, but no matter how hard he pulled in air, it felt as though his lungs refused to accept it. His mouth opened in an attempt to call for help, yet not even a single sound escaped.

The other guards and servants froze at the sight. No one dared to move or speak while Kera remained exactly where he was, his faint smile still present.

“You talk too much,” Kera said.

The guard's knees gradually gave way beneath him as he continued clutching his throat.

“Even though you don't understand the consequences of what you almost did.”

Kera shifted his attention toward everyone else in the room. His voice remained calm and quiet, which somehow made the warning sound even more threatening.

“Tell everyone in this mansion not to talk about what happened tonight. Not to outsiders, not to anyone from the main residence, and especially not to this brat.”

His gaze moved toward Zeldryn's unconscious body as he spoke the final words.

Several servants instinctively looked toward the bed.

Kera then turned his attention back to the guard, who was still struggling for air.

“If even one person leaks it, especially to this kid, the person responsible will experience the same thing you're experiencing right now.” His smile widened slightly. “And you will experience something far worse.”

Kera snapped his fingers again.

SLAP!

The mana surrounding the guard instantly dispersed.

“HAAAAH!”

Air rushed back into his lungs, and he bent forward while gasping uncontrollably. His entire body trembled, sweat ran down his face, and he did not even attempt to respond to Kera. There was no room left in his mind for anything except the certainty that had taken hold while he was suffocating.

'I'm going to die. I'm really going to die.'

Kera watched him for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

“Relax.”

Several people cautiously raised their heads as Kera turned back toward Zeldryn.

“I won't do anything bad to this brat.”

His gaze lingered on the unconscious boy for several seconds before the faint smile returned.

“Because that person entrusted him to me.”

Back in the present, Zeldryn was still standing in the middle of the kitchen, staring directly at Kera.

“Why did you block her voice using mana?” he asked again.

Kera finally raised one eyebrow. “What are you talking about, little bastard?”

Zeldryn's expression immediately darkened.

'This bastard.'

Before he could respond, however, Kera raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

SLAP!

Mana surged throughout the kitchen so suddenly that Zeldryn instinctively stepped backward. Countless particles rushed toward everyone in the room, enveloping Hera, the servants, and even Kera himself.

Everyone except Zeldryn.

Then, in an instant, they disappeared.

“...!?”

Zeldryn froze as the kitchen abruptly became empty. Hera was gone, the other servants had vanished, and Kera had disappeared along with them.

“What...?”

He quickly looked around, but there was no sign of anyone. It was exactly like the technique Kera had used before when he concealed himself inside Zeldryn's room.

'What the hell is actually happening?'

The longer Zeldryn knew Kera, the harder the man became to understand. Sometimes he acted like a lunatic, sometimes like a teacher. At times he helped Zeldryn, while at others he beat him without hesitation. Now he had openly prevented a servant from revealing something about what had happened the previous night.

'What the hell are you hiding?'

Questions rapidly filled Zeldryn's mind until another thought suddenly surfaced.

'Wait.'

Kera had previously told him to direct mana toward his eyes if he wanted to see through the man's concealment.

Zeldryn immediately focused on the mana particles around him. This time, however, he had no intention of being reckless. Coughing up blood earlier had already taught him enough about what happened when he pushed himself beyond his limits.

He selected only a small number of particles and carefully brought them under his control.

'To my eyes.'

The particles obeyed, slowly moving toward his face as Zeldryn concentrated on the process.

'If this really is how it works...'

The mana reached his eyes and gathered around them in a thin golden glow, but nothing else happened. The kitchen remained empty, and neither Kera nor Hera became visible.

Zeldryn waited another moment before his expression twisted in frustration.

'Shit.'

Reality had slapped him in the face once again.

Being able to move mana did not mean he automatically knew how to use it.

He could control the movement of mana particles, and he could even force several of them to collide hard enough to create an explosion. That did not mean the mana would produce whatever effect he wanted simply because he moved it toward a particular part of his body.

Zeldryn clicked his tongue. “Tch.”

'Even though I can move it and make it explode, that doesn't mean I can use it however I want, damn it.'

He clenched his fist in frustration, but before he could continue complaining, the mana throughout the kitchen began to shift once again.

Zeldryn immediately raised his head.

One by one, figures gradually reappeared around him. Hera returned first, followed by the other servants and finally Kera. Within moments, the kitchen looked exactly as it had before they disappeared.

Something, however, was clearly different.

The female servant who had nearly told Zeldryn what happened the previous night had gone completely pale. Sweat covered her forehead, her body trembled slightly, and she refused to look in Zeldryn's direction. She looked like someone who had just experienced something genuinely terrifying.

Zeldryn stared at her.

'...What did you do to her?'

Before he could ask, Kera spoke first.

“Hey.”

Zeldryn immediately turned toward him.

Kera wore the same unreadable smile as always. “Looks like you really were looking for me, huh, little bastard?”

He tilted his head slightly, and his smile became even more irritating.

“Why? Is this about mana?”