* * *
Having memories of my past life was quite convenient at times like this.
“I can roughly guess what my brother told you. He probably promised you a good position once the job was done.”
“How could a mere knight be blinded by greed and power? I act solely for the sake of the Hestian family…”
“I was given that Hestian name as well, you know.”
In the absence of the Count and his wife, the duty of managing the mansion fell to the eldest son.
But what happens when even the eldest son leaves the house?
It meant that, depending on the situation, I also had the authority to punish them.
“I am sorry. This is also for your protection, Young Master, so I cannot move regardless of what you say.”
“I never ordered protection, so move.”
“I am sorry.”
As I tried to force my way through, he didn’t speak; instead, he held his blade more firmly.
In my past life, I felt relieved that I wasn’t the head of the family.
I didn’t want to shoulder the heavy burden of a noble house in an unfamiliar and difficult-to-understand society.
Besides, there was already someone else who was desperate to become the head, so why bother?
But I just realized something.
I realized how a noble who fails to win the struggle for a title is treated in a feudal society.
The cold logic of the world quietly embedded itself into my mind.
“Is what you’re doing right now really protection? I think it’s a bit different.”
“…”
“You mean I’m just an existence that will disappear from this house someday.”
The knight didn’t answer, but it was the same as having heard the answer already.
I glared at the knight blocking my path and spoke in a firm voice.
“You’re wrong. I’m not disappearing.”
I grabbed the blade blocking me.
The sharp edge dug into my skin, and red blood dripped from the cut.
“Lord Cedric!”
“Do you feel like moving now? Or would you rather stay like this until Father returns?”
The knight trembled, not even daring to withdraw his sword.
If he pulled it back carelessly, he might injure my hand even more.
Even if I held no real power, I was still the son of Count Hestian.
“I—I had no intention of hurting you, Lord Cedric. Your grabbing the sword was purely your own…!”
“If you hadn’t drawn your sword in front of me, I wouldn’t have grabbed it. So? Have you changed your mind? You don’t want things to get noisy either. You have a family to feed, after all.”
“If I step aside here, that family might starve to death.”
“You see the spark but not the fire.”
“Pardon?”
“If the person inside turns out not to be a heinous criminal, my brother—who ordered him to be locked up—will be severely punished by Father. As you know, Father and Mother absolutely hate tormenting innocent servants.”
“That is true, but…”
“But there is one way for my brother to avoid punishment. Just one. And the brother I know is exactly the type of person to carry out that method immediately.”
“What method are you talking about…?”
“He just has to kill everyone who knows he locked the guy up.”
The knight’s face turned pale.
Any knight who had observed Cedric from his side would know.
They would know his cruelty.
I swore to the knight that if he stepped aside now, I wouldn’t hold him responsible since he was just doing his duty.
And if a problem arose, I promised to do my best to protect him from Cassian’s attack.
In the end, the knight had no choice but to hand over the key to the iron bars and make way.
Screeeak—
As I pushed open the old iron door, a musty smell wafted out.
I ran straight into the solitary cell without even taking a breath, worried about Locke.
“Locke!”
With restraints on his hands and feet, wearing a damp robe, he lifted his head.
The light from the lamp flowing through the gap in the door wavered in his eyes.
“Let me see!”
Before my regression, his neck had been branded with the family seal.
That, too, was Cassian’s doing.
Seeing him locked up brought back old memories, so I rushed to him and, without hesitation, pushed back his hair and lifted his robe.
“Are you crazy? Why on earth are you doing…!”
Locke flailed his arms as if shooing away a bug, looking horrified, so I couldn’t see his neck well.
Without thinking, I slapped his thick forearm as if he were my younger brother.
“Stay still for a second.”
His neck was pale and clean.
There were no signs of serious injury or scars.
Since it was a time when people were active, it seemed they hadn’t started the torture yet, perhaps fearing his screams might leak out.
It was a huge relief, but once night fell, they might move Locke to another secret location to harm him.
That’s why I had to hide him as soon as possible.
“Sigh… thank goodness.”
Now that I confirmed he was safe, I felt relieved.
My legs lost their strength, and regardless of being a noble or not, I flopped down onto the dirty prison floor.
Suddenly, a large hand reached up and grabbed my wrist, twisting it as if to break it.
“Ow, ow, it hurts!”
Only then did I realize the impolite thing my hand had done.
I let out a gasp and pulled my hand away.
Then, I lowered my gaze slightly to avoid his cold stare.
“I—I only looked because I thought Cassian might have hit you and hurt you. I didn’t have bad intentions.”
“And here I thought there was something on my neck.”
“There’s… what would be there? Nothing. Anyway, you’re in this mess because of me, right? I’m sorry. People would have found me the next day anyway once they realized I was gone; you should have just left me…”
“Hah.”
Locke’s eyes, which were staring intently at me, slowly narrowed.
He let out a dry laugh before speaking again.
“It seems you’ve already forgotten that you asked for a chance. I was quite curious. How exactly the young master, who bullied me for over a year, would treat me well.”
Of course, I hadn’t forgotten what I said.
I just hadn’t expected him to actually listen to my request.
If Locke really brought me back to the mansion because of that, it meant my efforts so far hadn’t been in vain.
“Is it true? You really came because of those words? Does that mean you came to give me a chance?”
Overwhelmed with emotion, my eyes welled up with tears as I grabbed both of Locke’s hands.
“Thank you. I’ll definitely keep my promise. I’ll really do my best to treat you well!”
Locke made his dislike obvious and tried to pull his hands away, but I held on tight and smiled brightly.
Seeing that, he seemed to give up and relaxed his arms with a sigh.
In my joy, I began to ramble about how I would treat him well from now on.
“First of all, I’ve been thinking about it, and I think you find me difficult to deal with because of the difference in status.”
“I do?”
“Yes. So I thought that’s why you didn’t take the orange I gave you and why you felt burdened when I asked you to be on my side. That’s why I’m asking—from now on, can’t you just think of me as a normal person your age? We need to break down the walls between us to become true allies… no, let’s just be friends. I think that’s better.”
“Isn’t the status gap a bit too large to break down? How on earth am I supposed to treat a young master of a Count’s family comfortably?”
I looked around and leaned a little closer to Locke.
Then, I whispered in a small voice near his ear.
“As you know, I went through manifestation pain. That means I’m someone who will manifest, right?”
“Go on.”
I felt strangely like I was talking to a boss.
“Uh-huh, if I can just stay alive until I manifest, I will definitely become the head of the family. Once I’m the head, I’ll have the authority to appoint the person in charge of the household, and I plan to give you a high position. When that time comes, no one will say a word about us being close.”
“Ah, so you’re telling me to wait around with my neck craned for a time that might never come?”
“No, no. That’s why I’m asking how it would be if we just acted comfortably when it’s only the two of us until then.”
“When it’s only the two of us, huh…”
Hmm. Locke rubbed his sharp chin and sank into thought for a moment.
“Why? Is it bad? You don’t like it?”
“I was wondering if that ‘only the two of us’ thing…”
“Yes.”
“Includes a situation like this.”
The door was slightly open, but it was quite a distance from the stairs where the knight was standing.
“It should.”
At my answer, Locke gave a faint smile.
“That thing about treating you comfortably as a friend my age…”
Slide.
Moving closer as if pushing his body toward me, he quietly gripped the tip of my chin.
I stopped breathing in surprise and stared at him, then slightly shifted my gaze to the side because his stare felt overwhelming.
“Is worrying about wounds also something a friend does?”
“Huh?”
“It’s because I’ve never had something like a friend. And I’ve never really had a human I could treat comfortably.”
“Oh wow!”
An exclamation of pity for Locke’s past years escaped me automatically.
“I see. It’s okay, you can learn one by one. Friends can do anything. A relationship where you can understand everything is what you call a friend.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Locke gently rubbed my lower lip with his thumb.
“It’s very swollen.”
It was my first time having someone touch my face so tenderly.
So, I was stunned and flustered. I was the one who suggested being friends, but since we had lived as servant and noble for so long, I thought it would take a long time to adjust.
‘But he’s coming in this strong already?’
I was dazed.
As he rubbed my lip, he tilted his head slightly to the side.
“Are you the type with sensitive skin?”
“I don’t think so? I’m physically weak, but my lips have never really chapped…”
“Or did I do it too hard?”
Locke, who was looking at me, quietly smiled with his eyes.
At that time, my tongue had rolled back and was blocking my airway.
Locke had no choice but to use force with his fingers.
I actually felt grateful for that part.
Wait a minute, no, no.
Back then, it wasn’t just a simple illness, it was a heat caused by manifestation pain.
For that to subside in just one day…
Gasp!
I covered my mouth with both hands, my eyes growing as wide as fists.
“I guess you finally remembered.”
The corners of Locke’s mouth curved softly.
* * *
