Chapter 7
“Why Kirhausen?”
At Furas' question, my eyebrow twitched slightly.
“There are other families recruiting enrollnt assistants this year besides Kirhausen. Dickens, for one. So why choose Kirhausen?”
His follow-up question was as sharp as his gaze.
As everyone watched my mouth with tense eyes…
“That’s… an odd question.”
“What?”
My clear voice and Furas' sharp tone rang out with a slight delay.
And his furrowed brow.
That kid… what’s he doing!
Seeing Furas' mood clearly sour, even Butler Ronan couldn’t hide his tension.
But…
“Why would the head of Kirhausen ask such a thing?”
“…”
“Because it’s the great magical family Kirhausen. That’s the only reason.”
“…”
“For an orphan who wants to beco a magician, what greater honor is there than enrolling under Kirhausen’s na? Other riffraff families don’t even register.”
My bold words flowed without hesitation.
And…
“…”
Furas only glared at with a stone-hard expression.
No other reaction.
How much ti passed like that…
After a brief silence…
Pfft-
A small chuckle broke the hall’s silence.
Furas' furrowed brow smoothed out.
A faint smile even played at the corners of his mouth as he picked up the teacup.
And soone was shocked again.
Father’s… smile?
It was Marcel, again.
His father, quietly sipping tea.
And that smile on his lips.
It wasn’t mockery but a smile of satisfaction.
Setting down the teacup, Furas stood slowly.
Without taking his eyes off , he gave an order.
“Ronan, give this boy a room on the second floor.”
“A second-floor… room, sir?”
“Yes. Ensure he lacks nothing to assist Marcel, and proceed with other preparations.”
“Yes, Master.”
The second floor, where the mansion’s parlors were located.
Assigning a parlor as a room for a re enrollnt assistant was unprecedented.
“Oh, and prepare the gift for that riffraff without delay.”
“Yes, understood.”
After giving his final orders, Furas left the hall.
The family mbers and Marcel followed, but…
Halt.
For so reason, just before leaving, Marcel stopped and turned back.
“…”
“…!”
Our eyes locked, as if he’d been waiting.
And in that mont…
…Huh?
Marcel felt a fleeting illusion that my eyes glowed golden.
It was only for a mont.
Grin.
I flashed a bright smile and lightly bowed to Marcel.
***
“This will be your room from now on.”
The deputy butler opened the door, gesturing for to enter.
A room converted from a parlor, per Furas' orders.
As expected of a Shainborough parlor, it was filled with luxurious items.
“You’ve really made it. An orphan getting a Kirhausen parlor as a room.”
“…Yes, I suppose so. Thank you.”
If you thought about it, everything in this mansion was built on the wealth I amassed in my past life.
But the deputy butler had no way of knowing that.
“Young Master Marcel’s room is right above. Be extra careful not to make noise.”
“Yes.”
“Especially after dinner, as he focuses on his studies.”
“Yes, understood.”
He continued explaining the mansion’s rules, mostly about not upsetting the head or heir.
As I listened, maids entered, carrying simple clothes, shoes, and a hat.
Not flashy, but high-quality items befitting an enrollnt assistant.
“Change into these and throw out what you’re wearing.”
At the deputy butler’s words, I glanced at my attire.
It was indeed filthy.
‘Right… even as a tail, this is Kirhausen. I can’t go around looking like this.’
“Once you’ve changed, co to the first-floor lobby. We need to asure you for your uniform.”
“Yes, I’ll be down soon.”
After the servants left, I changed into the new clothes.
Shedding the traces of an orphan, I beca acutely aware of my situation.
… a tail.
Live long enough—or twice—and you see everything.
I’d spent my life criticizing families that took in tails.
But I’d brought this absurd situation upon myself.
To build the strength for revenge, becoming an insider in the family was the most effective path now.
So, absurd as it was, I had to accept and use my position as a tail.
So I can tear down this ss of a family.
Vowing revenge again, I stepped onto the balcony.
“…”
The cool breeze soothed the heat in my eyes.
The second-floor parlor-turned-room was well-positioned.
From the balcony, I could see Shainborough’s garden clearly, and Marcel’s room was right above.
Keeping tabs on the heir won’t be hard.
But the most important thing…
The artifact on the rooftop, the key to the pocket dinsion, was still far away.
“Ugh!”
I gripped the railing, leaning back to look up at the mansion’s top.
As expected, my line of sight couldn’t reach the rooftop.
First, I need to pinpoint the artifact’s exact location and shape. It’s likely disguised as a rooftop decoration.
I pulled my gaze from the rooftop and straightened.
Looking down at Shainborough’s vast garden, I muttered to myself.
“I should ask to tour the mansion.”
***
“Tour the mansion?”
“Yes.”
After being asured for my uniform, I asked the deputy butler to show around the mansion.
The bold attitude of a tail making demands so soon.
The servants looked at with curiosity.
The deputy butler pondered for a mont.
It’s not an unreasonable request for a tail.
But he hesitated, recalling Ronan’s earlier instructions.
The Master was pleased and even gave the assistant a parlor room. So if the boy shows any signs of getting cocky, make him know his place.
Ronan had ordered him to teach the family’s rules and treat strictly for now.
“Hm…”
The deputy butler stroked his chin, deep in thought.
Then, a nearby voice resolved the situation.
“You may look around.”
It was Marcel.
Entering the lobby with Butler Ronan, he gazed at calmly.
“Young Master.”
“Greetings, Young Master.”
The deputy butler and servants bowed to Marcel, and I, after eting his gaze, bowed as well.
“You’re practically part of the family for the next six years. You shouldn’t get lost on the mansion grounds.”
His tone was mature and calm for his age.
But his gaze held a deep-seated sense of authority.
He knows all too well he’s a high noble.
Marcel instructed the deputy butler.
“Show this boy around the mansion. Let him get familiar with the servants’ faces.”
“Yes… Young Master.”
The deputy butler hesitated briefly but quickly complied.
And I didn’t miss where his gaze flickered.
Ho… The heir gives an order, and he glances at the butler?
That ant the butler’s influence in the family was greater than expected.
I glanced at Ronan standing behind Marcel.
“Let’s go.”
“Alright.”
Step, step.
Without further words, Marcel and Ronan left the lobby.
“Phew…”
As they disappeared, the deputy butler let out a relieved sigh.
He’d nearly had to navigate between the young master and the butler.
“Co on. We need to hurry to cover the mansion grounds by today.”
***
Seeing Shainborough again after 30 years, as a tail.
There wasn’t a trace of or my descendants anywhere.
Yet, not a single corner was unfamiliar.
Even if the family and mansion were stolen, Shainborough remained the mansion I, Edmund von Kirhausen, built.
I had chosen every step, every doorknob with care.
No matter how much ti had passed, no one knew this place better than I.
“No intense movents or noise in the third-floor training hall.”
Of course. The walls aren’t thick, so noise would reach the head’s study.
“The Master’s study is nearby. And if you open the garden’s back gate…”
It connects to the annex with the servants’ quarters.
“It connects to the servants’ quarters.”
Everything the deputy butler explained was already familiar.
So, as I nodded and toured the mansion, I discreetly cast the Search spell again.
Fortunately, the only notable aura in the mansion ca from the rooftop.
After confirming the underground vault, once used for secret techniques, was now a storage room, I followed the deputy butler outside.
The external facilities revealed the current scale of Kirhausen.
The family’s single airship has grown to three.
The garden’s outdoor banquet hall has been lavishly expanded.
The sparring stage in the mana training ground rivals Ratmol’s grand plaza stage.
More training grounds an they’ve increased the number of knights.
A scale rivaling a kingdom, not just a family.
And all this was possible because they sold off my past life’s achievents.
Clench!
As I surveyed the lavish upgrades, I gritted my teeth.
My accomplishnts… used for Ivan’s descendants!
Bloodshot eyes.
A pale face.
Nails digging into my palms.
The boiling anger was hard to suppress.
But…
Not yet… not yet…
I forced myself to look away.
.
.
.
After circling the exterior, I reached the mansion’s garden.
The garden, too, was more extravagant.
But…
“Oh…”
The central fountain…
It was unchanged.
As I approached the fountain, my steps slowed.
The deputy butler’s voice faded, but I ignored it and walked toward the fountain.
“…”
Staring at it, my eyes filled with bitterness and deep longing.
The statue spouting water.
It held traces of my grandson, Noah.
Noah, who perford his first Swish in this garden with a wand gifted by his grandfather, .
The Swish stance Damian taught his young son.
Noah, wielding the wand with a determined expression.
And the mana bolt from his wand shattered the statue’s tip.
“…Yes.”
Recalling that mont, a faint smile touched my lips.
One of the happiest monts in Shainborough.
Delighted by my grandson’s extraordinary mana, I had rejoiced, and the servants sincerely celebrated Noah’s first successful Swish.
Overwheld, I closed my eyes tightly.
“Damian… Noah…”
My voice trembled as I whispered my son and grandson’s nas.
The current Kirhausen was lavish inside and out.
Yet my descendants, who should enjoy it all, were nowhere to be found.
I must regain my past strength. And set everything right.
Opening my eyes, I slowly turned.
Facing away from the fountain, I looked at Shainborough.
“…I will.”
My gaze rose to the rooftop.
A small statue glead in the sunlight.
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