Just by holding hands, that Gem had stabilized his rampaging mana. She was his jewel.
Dressing once more, the moment Callix stepped out of the bedroom, he walked down the corridor at a near-sprint.
He issued an order to a passing servant to bring yesterday’s Gem back to him.
Arriving in his office, he waited for Charlotte while reading through the stack of invitations piled on his desk.
Because he felt like he would soon meet his jewel, the contents of the invitations failed to register properly in his mind.
Thus, twirling a fountain pen between his fingers, he stared fixedly toward the door.
Without even realizing it, he held his breath and kept an anxious watch on the office door.
The moment a knock sounded, Callix instinctively leaped up from his chair, only to force himself back down out of a firm resolve to maintain his dignity.
“Young Duke, it is Charlotte.”
“Come in.”
A young man stood behind a bowing Charlotte.
Callix strode right up to the Gem and clasped her hands together.
Yet, as if yesterday’s experience had all been a dream, not a single sensation stirred.
“By any chance, were there any other Gems besides this one?”
“No, I was only able to secure this one. I am terribly sorry.”
It was a lie. Yesterday, Callix had undoubtedly met his Gem.
“There were definitely other Gems. I warn you, if you are hiding him, I will not let you off—tell me the truth.”
Terrified to see the young Duke draw the sword at his waist, Charlotte dropped straight to his knees.
“It’s the truth! Young Duke, why would I ever lie to you? If you’re angry because I only managed to secure this one, I will definitely find another Gem for you.”
Given how profusely he was sweating as he begged, Charlotte didn’t seem to be lying.
The Gem moistened her dry lips, looking as though she had something she wanted to say. Noticing that shift, Callix widened his eyes.
“You… you saw it yesterday, didn’t you? My Gem. Where is he?”
“By any chance… do you not remember what happened yesterday?”
“That’s right. So if you don’t want to die, talk.”
Callix leveled the edge of his blade right against the Gem’s throat.
Terrified, the Gem shook in her boots yet stubbornly kept her mouth shut.
“If you give me a travel pass, I will tell you who that Gem is. Otherwise, I can never tell you. Without my help, Young Duke, you will undoubtedly never be able to figure out if he is your Gem or not.”
“You insolent wretch! How dare you threaten the Young Duke?! Hurry up and tell him who it is!”
Kneeling on the floor, Charlotte raised his voice with veins bulging furiously at his neck.
Callix stared hard at the Gem for a long moment.
The Gem’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down nervously under the extreme tension.
Withdrawing his sword, he accepted the bargain.
“First, swear by the name of Vesper.”
“I swear by the name of Vesper to grant you a travel pass.”
Believing that she could finally escape the hellish Adamantia Empire and live like a human being, the strength drained from the Gem’s legs, causing her to collapse right onto the spot.
Remembering the harrowing hardships she had suffered until now, she wept softly, then pulled herself together and snapped her head up.
“It was a pink-haired child. It’s a rare hair color, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding him.”
His younger brother was his Gem.
The moment he learned that fact, Callix severed Charlotte’s neck.
Blood fountained high into the air from the cleanly severed neck.
Screaming in terror, the Gem dropped to her knees, pressed her palms together, and begged frantically for her life.
Pulling a handkerchief from his jacket, he wiped the blood splattered across his face and tossed the soiled handkerchief onto the floor.
An individual so wealthy that even items costing the equivalent of a commoner family’s monthly living expenses could be used once and casually discarded.
The Gem felt sheer terror toward the noble boy living in a world she could never even begin to imagine.
“Spare me, please, please spare me, Young Duke. Didn’t you make a promise with me?”
“Ah, that’s right. I did say I would give you a travel pass.”
Flipping over a document filled with writing on his desk, he swiftly and elegantly scribbled words onto the blank reverse side.
Hope blossomed in the Gem’s eyes as she saw it.
Callix tossed the paper down to the Gem.
“Farewell.”
He could not afford to keep alive anyone who knew a secret that absolutely must not be known by a single soul.
Severing even the Gem’s neck, he issued an order to the guards stationed outside his office.
“I have executed a criminal guilty of high treason. See to the disposal of the body.”
“Yes, Young Duke.”
Having witnessed the corpse, the guards went about their business with the same casual calm as maids coming to change bedsheets.
Watching to ensure they carried out their work properly, Callix turned on his heel.
‘Damian. It looks like we’re going to be extremely affectionate brothers from now on.’
Radiant with the joy of finally having found his jewel, the mage’s red eyes gleamed with madness.
The older brother’s footsteps heading toward his younger brother were brimming with fluttering excitement.
Shushu woke up to a loud, rumbling growl from his stomach.
He was so starved he couldn’t even lift a single finger.
Desperate to survive somehow, he shoved the carrot he was holding into his mouth and chewed.
“Ugh.”
This wasn’t enough to pull him out of his hypoglycemic state.
As his consciousness flickered in and out, sweet water flowed into his mouth, and he eagerly gulped it down.
Somehow, Callix had laid him across his own lap and was feeding him sugar water with a spoon.
“Damian, are you alright?”
Shushu blinked his large eyes, utterly unable to make sense of the current situation.
When a handsome alpha smiled with his eyes gently curved, the world felt as though it were brightening up.
The person who had treated him like a pebble rolling on the side of the road during their first meeting was suddenly acting affectionate—he must be plotting something.
Naturally, he’s figured out I’m a Gem, right?
Yet why was his reaction different from the original novel?
Could it be because the timing of discovering he was a Gem had changed?
Right now, that was the only thing different from the original story.
That tiny change—being found out as his Gem long before his name manifested—seemed to have triggered a massive shift, much like a butterfly flapping its wings over the ocean and creating a storm.
What on earth was this guy planning by coming to find him?
Surely he didn’t intend to treat the person he believed to be his younger brother as his Gem, did he?
That would be completely insane.
It was a disgrace to the family, a monstrous taboo worthy of being stripped of his heirship and chased out by the Duke.
In any case, right now he had to play the part of a clueless five-year-old Damian.
“Big bro?”
“That’s right, I’m your older brother. My little brother, did you sleep well?”
Seeing him smile with that gorgeous face at the end of every sentence made him look utterly shady.
Yet even though his brain warned him that he needed to be on guard, whenever he looked at Callix, he found himself getting dizzy and spacing out.
Being handsome was truly dangerous.
“Damian, you almost had a terrible mishap. This won’t do at all. We need a nanny to look after you.”
“No. I like bein’ alone.” (Baby talk)
“What kind of nonsense is that? How is a five-year-old supposed to manage entirely on their own? You need someone to serve you meals on time, dress you, and wash you.”
Firmly declaring this, Callix scooped Shushu up into his arms.
His eye level suddenly shot up as if he were riding a theme park ride soaring into the sky.
Terrified of falling, Shushu wrapped both arms around Callix’s neck.
