After that, the Duke of Esclara kept going with things that had no discernible context, like, “How have you been lately?”, “You’re not sick anywhere, are you?”, and “This is what I’ve been doing these days.”
Only after talking away for quite a while and noticing the irritation on Ravi’s face did he finally get to the point.
“I had something I was curious about.”
So it was about Camilla.
Not realizing he had completely gone down the wrong track, Ravi clicked his tongue lightly. He dragged that out just to ask about that?
“If you’re curious about Camilla, ask her yourself. I really have nothing to tell you.”
He had no desire to casually talk about that brat to that man.
What if I did, and that brat found out about it?
Ravi shuddered without meaning to.
How exactly was he supposed to deal with the aftermath of that?
“Not Camilla. You.”
“...Me?”
Something unexpected came out instead.
“Yes. There was something I wanted to ask you.”
Ravi’s brow furrowed even more.
What could that man possibly be curious about when it came to him? Was he about to start spouting nonsense again about coming to the Gracia Empire?
“I already told you last time. I have absolutely no intention of going to the Gracia Emp—”
“I was wondering if your friends are still beating you up.”
“What?”
Ravi, who had been about to firmly refuse him again, could only gape blankly at the utterly random question.
His friends were beating him up?
“What are you even talking about right now?”
“I was wondering whether you still come home after getting beaten up by the neighborhood kids and lie that you fell over.”
“Ha! How long ago was that...!”
Ravi spoke without thinking, wearing a look of disbelief, then abruptly froze.
“How do you...?”
Getting bullied by the neighborhood kids was something that had happened when he was really little.
How did this man know that? Even Camilla probably didn’t know much about that.
Then Ravi realized something and sucked in a shaky breath.
“No way... you...”
“It’s been a while, squirt.”
His memories had come back?
The look in Ravi’s eyes slowly filled with shock.
“I’m getting them back, little by little. Camilla sent me that portrait of you and Tia.”
“A portrait?”
So when he had said he wanted to sort through Mother’s things himself before, it had been because of that?
“The first thing that came back to me was the sight of you coming home in tears.”
“I did not cry!”
The moment he snapped, a small chuckle came back through the orb.
Damn it! Why did he have to remember that of all things!
“I’m sorry.”
“...What?”
But the words that followed from the Duke of Esclara made Ravi’s eyes widen into circles.
“For forgetting you and Tia.”
“......”
...He had not expected an apology.
He had nothing to say to that. Ravi merely fell quiet.
“I don’t remember everything, but one thing is certain.”
“What is?”
“That I liked you a fair bit more than I expected.”
“...I didn’t like you much.”
A small laugh came from the round orb.
“You’re still prickly.”
At the sound of that laughter, Ravi’s face flushed slightly. He had never imagined he would end up sharing memories of his childhood with this man of all people...
“But I think that was why I liked you even more. You were a mouthy little brat, but a pretty sharp one.”
Once again, Ravi could not say anything.
Then again, wasn’t it too ridiculous to honestly tell him that he had liked him a fair bit too back then, that he had liked the man who had scolded the neighborhood kids for him?
He would rather die than say something like that.
“By the way.”
“By the way?”
“If anyone bullies you or hits you again, contact me.”
“What?”
“I’ll come running right away and straighten them out.”
“......”
Was this man actually in his right mind?
Ravi kept rubbing at his burning face with his hand. How old did he think he was, treating him like a child?
“Let’s end the call.”
“See you again, my son.”
“......”
My son.
At those words, Ravi once again could not answer.
The connection cut off while he was still sitting there blankly stammering, but even after he realized it had ended, Ravi could not bring himself to let go of the communication orb.
“...Ha.”
Only then did Ravi let out an empty laugh and roughly drag a hand over his face again. His face was still red.
“What is with that man...? Calling me his son out of nowhere.”
Still grumbling under his breath, he finally tossed the orb aside.
“He really was irritating right to the end.”
Ravi clicked his tongue in displeasure.
But he himself did not realize that a faint smile had formed at the corner of his mouth.
Chapter. The Divine Beast Runs Away From Home
“...What did you just say?”
“Please take a look at this.”
Duke of Jayvillan snatched up the document his aide handed him and skimmed through it quickly. Before long, his hand began to tremble.
“So then...”
He let out a large breath for a moment, as though it were not easy for him to continue.
“You’re telling me... that from the mine that girl purchased this time, they found diamonds again?”
“Yes. That is exactly what I’m saying.”
“And of this quality, and in such absurd quantities?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The aide nodded calmly.
For some reason, the sight of that calmness was especially irritating today, but that was not what mattered right now.
“And on top of that...”
Duke of Jayvillan crumpled the papers in his hand as he slammed them down.
“This mine is that coal mine we sold off dirt cheap a long time ago?”
“That’s right. You personally handed it over to someone else, saying you had absolutely no intention of dealing in coal.”
The aide put particular emphasis on the word personally. If any of the fallout splashed onto him, that absolutely would not do.
At the time, he had clearly tried to stop him. He had asked whether there was really any need to dump the mine that cheaply. He had suggested waiting until someone came along who would pay a proper price.
But the one who had said, What difference could it possibly make, and Why drag it out, just sell it already, had unquestionably been the very superior now trembling in front of him.
Perhaps the shock was that great, because Duke of Jayvillan’s hand shook violently.
“But how could a mine that shabby, that worthless...!”
Produce diamonds? Diamonds, of all things?
“H-How can this make any sense?”
Duke of Jayvillan could not even speak properly.
Meanwhile, the aide merely gave a light nod, looking as calm as {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} before, as though it made perfect sense.
“They say it was already practically an abandoned mine after all the coal had been exhausted. It had been left there all but discarded, and then the young lady of House Sorpel came in person and said she wanted to purchase it.”
Not long after they had handed the mine over to someone else, the yield had dropped sharply and it had officially been designated a dead mine.
And then, not long ago, Camilla had come in person to buy it.
Since it was basically a dead mine, the deal had naturally gone through at a very low price.
“That girl really is... really...!”
How could one person have luck this damned good?
And somehow, every single time, she was perfectly picking up the things he had let slip through his fingers.
[Ho. I told you from the start she was extraordinary.]
He was so worked up he kept gulping down cold water, and at that moment a mocking voice struck his ears.
[I recognized what she was right away.]
“......”
At the words of Jeti, the divine beast who was very openly pouring oil on a burning fire, Duke of Jayvillan’s expression turned even uglier.
[Her spirit is clear, so the luck she was born with is naturally good. I do have an eye for people, after all.]
“What do you mean, born with it!”
At Duke of Jayvillan’s shouted roar, Jeti’s face twisted into a fierce scowl. The red eagle clicked its beak sharply, not bothering to hide its displeasure.
[Well, look at that. Did you just raise your voice at me?]
“Yes, I raised my voice! So what!”
[Why are you taking your temper out on me, idiot? I said her spirit was clear, so it was clear. Why are you the one throwing a fit? Feeling guilty? Huh?]
“W-What? Idiot? Did you really just say that? You were the one who said it weird in the first place!”
[When did I do that!]
“You said she was lucky because her spirit was clear! Then what, does that mean I’m unlucky because my spirit is filthy?”
[So you do understand.]
“What?”
Jeti looked at the bellowing Duke of Jayvillan as though he were too pitiful for words.
[Don’t put yourself on the same level as that girl. You’re not even remotely in a position to do that.]
Who exactly did he think he was comparing to whom?
Jeti circled around him in open mockery, as though ridiculing the fact that he still had not grasped something so simple, even while turning red and blue in the face.
[You really are a foolish human.]
“What? Foolish? Hey!”
[Did you think just anyone could become the Mirror of Truth? Can’t you tell just by looking? If the luck that girl was born with is this much, then the luck you were born with isn’t even this much.]
As he spoke, Jeti spread his wings wide when talking about Camilla, then only parted them by a paper-thin slit when talking about Duke of Jayvillan’s luck.
That was the last straw.
“Shut up, you bastard!”
[Bastard? Why am I your bastard! I’m a great divine beast!]
“Great, my foot!”
At Jeti’s exaggerated flapping, Duke of Jayvillan’s fury finally exploded.
