"So, what was that? Hm?"
The man, Duke Acacia, bit his lips together and stepped ahead. His shoulders hunched and neck stretched, he was only missing unkempt clothes to complete a gangster image.
"You're being loud. Dim. Wit."
I, for one, wasn't going to back off from a challenge.
Kai looked at me and gasped. Like a gossip king, he covered his mouth and mumbled some wows.
"D-d-dimwit... again...? I-I don't approve!" the duke screamed. "I don't approve of this union—"
"—Honey."
Like moles popping out of a whack-a-mole machine, more people came streaming into the room one after the other. This time, a woman with fluttering long hair reminiscent of the lady stepped inside.
The duke froze in his tracks.
"Do you want me to hit you with a chair?"
"That's the duchess," Kai whispered.
The woman's moves were enchanting, just like Lethe's, but she couldn't compare to the level of her daughter. She also didn't wear any veils to hide her face.
I remembered well.
Lethe reciting the incident of how her mother and her brother, in an attempt to protect her from a fall when she was a child, ended up seeing her face. At that time, her curse had already bloomed and they were well aware of the risk. Yet, to keep her safe, they willingly went ahead and lost their minds to become husks that could not think of anything but her orders.
And now, that same mother of hers had turned back to normal.
No one.
No one in this world had any more memories of my Lethe.
That cruel fate was her blessing. That cruel outcome had allowed her to meet her loved ones again.
How ironic, that 'Lethe,' was the only one who would remember.
But, I was here too. I wasn't going to let her carry any burden on her own.
A faceless person waiting for me. A faceless person to trust in with all my heart, to share all my sorrows and joy with. What I could only find repulsive mere weeks ago now seemed natural.
The duchess turned to me and gave me a short wave.
With a wry smile, I lightly shook Lethe awake.
"Hm... Eugene..."
She rubbed her eyes through the veil as she sat up. Her other hand was stuck to mine as she looked around aloof, I didn't want to wake her up, but this was more important.
Lethe's gaze finally turned to the door. She froze in her tracks.
I heard a soft sob from the duchess. At the same time, Lethe stood up at once.
"M-mom...?"
I gently let go of her hands as she ran around and charged into the duchess. The duchess opened her arms and Lethe dived in, embracing her tightly.
This ever-cool lady.
"M-mom!!"
"Lethe... my darling..."
"I am sorry... It was all my fault... I am sorry..."
Tears started pouring out of them both.
This ever-cool lady could also be cute and emotional.
Seeing her cry again, for a reason different than before, made my heart riddled with pangs of guilt.
No. I felt pity.
I could tell from her mother's tone and the way she hugged her daughter. It was all clear.
No one remembered her. They had no choice but to make memories now. And the lady knew so too. Mixed within that embrace, was an obligation that the duchess felt toward her supposed daughter. Whether it was a blessing or a curse.
It had already happened.
They had no choice but to overcome it. No, they will overcome it.
I smiled and turned back to Kaiser.
"So, about that thing."
"Wait, seriously?" he looked at the crying duo and the father that was embracing them both with a slightly troubled gaze. I assumed. "Don't you have your priorities sorted?"
"That's the secret to a long life, Kai."
He shrugged.
Before he could continue, though, the father was kicked out of the embrace. He walked over to us with his head lowered. The duke walked over to the bed.
I scooted to the side as the man crossed his legs and took a seat, careful to not touch the fairies.
All of them could see fairies, it seemed.
"So, what are you talking about with my son-in-law?" the Duke asked. He quickly raised his head and looked at us with renewed vigor, as if ready to let out his rage on us now.
"Ah, nothing big," Kai replied. "You remember Charlotte, senior?"
"Charlotte? What of her—"
The duke stopped.
He suddenly turned to me. His jaw dropped open.
There it was. I knew it. I fucking knew it.
"Oh, my god," he spoke. "You're Charlotte Fonias' son?!"
"Eeyup, that'll be an autograph for you I assume?"
"What, no?"
It was my turn to go 'Oh, my god.' This was the first person to not have gone crazy over the mention of my mother's name.
"Anyway," Kai interjected. "You remember that strange form of energy she used in the academy?"
I could put some pieces together now. It seemed Kai and the duke both went to the academy at the same time, with Kai being his junior.
"I inspected Eugene's powers, and it seems he's using something similar. It's not the same, but its structure is almost identical."
"Structure, inspection... I don't think I understand all these powers well beyond Ki and Mana," I crossed my arms and made my observation.
This realization was like a truck hitting me straight in the face.
In my previous world, I was probably one of the most informed people about mana, and my research had led me to great lengths about Ki too since I wanted to compensate for its lack.
Since I had come into this world, I had been so absorbed in learning to apply my knowledge that I completely ignored expanding it. Mana and Ki weren't the end of things, the refined forms, Demonic Energy, Holy Energy, and the energy of the End that I had created, all of these were worth learning about just as much as everything else.
I had been short-sighted.
Once again, the words of the branch Manager rang in my head. Recklessness without having the ability to back it up.
I had been reckless once again in all my pride and ignored more basic things.
The Duke looked at me and nodded. "That much would usually be good for someone who is learning to fight with just those two, but you have some deeper goals."
I nodded at the Duke's words.
Kaiser calling me weak now didn't seem annoying, but rather helpful.
It was a learning opportunity. I had to change my outlook as soon as possible.
"Well, senior. Do you have any ideas about it?"
The duke crossed his arms and leaned back. He hummed as he fell on the bed and lay down next to my feet.
Kaiser took the moment to rest his legs on the bed too while sitting comfortably on a chair. The two of them were thinking, so I decided to join them in doing the same.
Pizza, yes. I missed pizza.
"Ah!" The duke suddenly exclaimed as he sat back up. His daughter and wife continued having a heartfelt moment at the back from which he was excluded, maybe that was why he was so serious here.
"Before you came of age, there was an event when Charlotte whipped everyone in the academy into the library."
I and Kai leaned ahead as the duke continued.
"She made us scour the entire library to find any texts related to some dark energy."
"The entire library?!" Kai screamed. "All hundred floors?"
I almost drooled at the thought of a hundred-floor giant library.
"It's a vague memory, but the incident was crazy enough. It took every student three days and nights and we couldn't find anything yet."
"What happened then?" I asked.
"Hm, she called it off after finding something. I think the one who found it would still have that book."
"Found something, huh?" Kai added. "Who was it?"
"You know him, Ban Ket Hall..." the duke spoke while nodding his head, he seemed to be remembering his school days. "That poor guy was bullied endlessly by Charlotte. I wondered what happened to him after that. Maybe he escaped her clutches."
"Uh... about that." Kai spoke and pointed at me again.
The duke shifted his gaze and thought for a few seconds again.
"Oh no. You're Charlotte and Ban's child!?"
I nodded.
"Honey!" the duke turned to his wife who was still holding a crying Lethe. "Listen to this, son-in-law is Marquis Hall's child!"
No seriously, what was this about a son-in-law?
"Son-in-law...?" it seemed that I wasn't the only one thinking of it.
Lethe sniffled and looked at us. Her eyes were fixed on mine.
I could sense it. Under that veil, she was smiling a smile that would send chills down people's spines.
"Haha... son-in-law, huh?"
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