Since I have already described Ragfrid’s general appearance.
To be fair, if I were to describe Valtraus’s appearance as well, his features seemed to inherit half from his father and half from his mother.
His hair was curly, just like my Possession Body, but it was short in length.
With that style, he wouldn’t be able to fix it by tying it up even if it got frizzy.
Unlike me, who lives in a Dormitory, I suppose it doesn’t matter for him since he can receive care from servants at any time.
“……”
While I was scanning Valtraus’s appearance and contemplating matters related to his hair.
He just stood still at the entrance of the Dining Hall, staring at me and Yor.
They said he hated Karbaldr, and indeed, the gaze he directed at me, who possessed that body, was not very pleasant.
“What on earth were you thinking, seating that thing at the table we all use together?”
Did this man just refer to my lovely baby Dragon as ‘that thing’?
The moment I realized that fact, my expression crumpled automatically.
No matter how much he hates Karbaldr, what fault does a newly born Aegihwansu have for him to use such foul language?
“Don’t take it out on me. My Familiar and I simply sat in our designated seats. So if you have a complaint, protest to the person who gave the instructions.”
“Even if Father gave such instructions, if you had any sense, you should have told the butler to prepare a place on the floor. Are you planning to display the fact that your defect is so great it even affects your Familiar in front of Father?”
“The fact that a portion of my eyes is sky-blue is not a defect. It is because I was born with a different characteristic instead of ‘poison’.”
“The very fact that you did not fully inherit the family’s power is a defect in itself.”
As if that mere ‘poison’ mattered.
Compared to the power to change the weather, it was nothing more than a trivial ability.
In fact, the ability of the Sky-Blue Aether did not stop at changing the weather.
Therefore, Valtraus’s remarks felt incredibly laughable, but……
‘It wouldn’t do to claim that the Sky-Blue Aether Characteristic Ability is far superior to such a thing!’
Perhaps the opponent was trying to provoke me into making such a statement out of irritation.
If I were to belittle one of the family’s Aether Characteristic Abilities by comparing it to another in the middle of the Duke’s Territory, I would surely incur Hard’s wrath.
It was a different case from when I said in Episode 16 that ‘the core ability of the family is the Buff side that can even strengthen others’ physical abilities, not the ability to grant toxicity to Aether.’
That was, at any rate, a comparison between two characteristics possessed by the Purple Aether.
‘And above all else. Snapping back at an older sibling is behavior that deviates from the image I want to show the people here!’
Thus, in order to maintain my existing positioning strategy, I stared straight into Valtraus’s eyes and asked the following question.
“Is that why you hate me, Elder Brother? Because I was born with a ‘defect’?”
Perhaps he hadn’t expected me to ask so bluntly.
I saw a moment of embarrassment flicker across his face as his body flinched.
However, he soon hid his agitation and crookedly lifted one corner of his mouth, pretending to be composed.
“…Yes. It seems you’ve finally realized your place.”
“I don’t understand. If I am a defective product as you say, Elder Brother, I think that should be a reason to like me, rather than the opposite. Since you don’t have to be wary of me as a rival, wouldn’t it be logical for you to like me as a younger brother, fully acting as an elder brother?”
“What kind of nonsense is…!”
“Why is it nonsense?”
“Because you are the child who was born after devouring our mother.”
I had merely repeated the question with an expression that said I couldn’t understand at all.
Nevertheless, Valtraus spat out words that were nothing short of malicious in a sarcastic tone.
As if he had been waiting for this, as if he had determined to wound his younger brother’s heart by any means necessary.
‘What Yon said was true.’
To think he had been hating a younger brother much younger than himself even after becoming an adult, for such a measly reason.
It seemed that even though he knew rationally it wasn’t his brother’s fault, it was difficult for him to accept emotionally.
Especially since the being born upon the sacrifice of their mother was branded as a ‘defective product.’
Perhaps he was ashamed that he couldn’t process his own grief and instead blamed his innocent younger brother, but he didn’t want to admit his own fault.
Or perhaps he had gained momentum in the emotion of hatred.
Since maintaining this state was familiar and comfortable, he might be continuing to hate his brother.
Valtraus hating his brother is something fully understandable in terms of narrative probability.
However, that doesn’t mean his actions are ethically right.
And….
‘It’s not exactly a correct attitude for a successor candidate either.’
Not based on rational logic, but for purely emotional reasons.
Who would want to serve someone as a superior who sincerely hates a brother seven years younger and does not hesitate to speak such wicked words?
If he is like that even to his brother, a member of the same Dukedom, how much would he despise someone of lower status? One couldn’t help but think of such things.
After I deactivated the [Character Analysis] skill that had been triggered automatically.
Being conscious of the gazes of the butler and the maids waiting to serve the meal, I cast my eyes down and murmured gloomily.
“I know that Mother passed away while giving birth to me…. Because of that…, I felt grateful, thinking that I was able to be born through her love….”
“How dare you, the one who killed Mother, speak of her love…!”
Whether his nerves were grated by my remark and he flew into a rage.
Or whether he wanted to plant a sense of guilt in the head of his ‘younger brother who lost his memory’ during this opportunity.
It was just as Valtraus was about to raise his voice.
“Second, you… what do you think you are saying to the youngest right now?”
Ragfrid intervened in the conversation at the same time as her appearance.
As an older sister, she could establish her authority by scolding her younger brother, Valtraus, and at the same time, she probably didn’t want to miss the chance to point out her rival’s fault.
It seems I can now step back, watch the show, and enjoy the benefits.
“You heard everything, so why are you pretending not to know?”
“As an older sister, I was giving my younger brother a chance to correct his slip of the tongue, but it seems I did something unnecessary. To think you wouldn’t even realize your own mistake.”
“Since when did you care about your brothers, Sister, for you to say such things?”
Unlike me, who had settled into spectator mode comfortably while hugging and stroking Yor.
The maids had very anxious expressions and glanced at the old butler as if they should step forward and stop them.
However, seeing his face, the old butler seemed just as troubled as the maids.
‘They’re getting so flustered even though the argument hasn’t escalated much.’
According to Yon, the first and second didn’t consider each other arch-enemies.
Indeed, it seems that the two of them confronting each other like this is a very rare event.
If I were an eccentric and lively character, I would have shouted, ‘You two! Please don’t fight because of me!’ and turned their fluster into absurdity.
Regrettably, since that was an action that contradicted Karbaldr’s characterization, I decided to stay quiet.
“Since I haven’t cared until now, shouldn’t I start caring from now on?”
“What exactly do you intend to care about, and how?”
“First, I intend to make you apologize for the remark you just made to the youngest.”
“I didn’t say anything wrong, so why should I apologize?”
“I thought you were a fully grown adult. I didn’t know you were this childish.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
As Ragfrid and Valtraus engaged in a psychological battle, the two beasts standing close by their sides also began to growl at each other.
If it were a fight between a Leopard and a cheetah, the cheetah would move to a disadvantageous position.
It seems Valtraus, while hating his brother, cherished his own Familiar dearly.
That’s why the cheetah-type Familiar bared its teeth even at the Leopard-type Familiar, which was bound to be stronger than itself.
However, not to mention the cheetah Familiar, which did not diminish its aggression so its master wouldn’t lose heart, even Ragfrid’s Leopard Familiar.
They both became docile when a growl containing a deep and powerful resonance was heard from somewhere.
The way they bowed their heads made them look like subjects welcoming a king.
Ragfrid and Valtraus didn’t take as low a posture as their Familiars, but they stopped their argument and prepared to greet the person approaching with a polite stance.
Reluctantly, I also stood up from my chair.
While the sound of a growl that felt like a vibration echoed lowly.
The sound of sharp beast claws scratching against the floor and the sound of a person’s footsteps were heard.
When all those sounds vanished, the King of Beasts and his master revealed themselves.
“What are you all doing here instead of going inside?”
As soon as Hard said that, Valtraus apologized, saying “I’m sorry!” and hurriedly moved out of the entrance.
However, Valtraus wasn’t the only one who had been standing as if blocking the entrance.
“I was about to scold the second because he was criticizing the youngest, blaming him for Mother’s death.”
Ragfrid snitched while still blocking the path in front of Hard.
Valtraus showed both embarrassment and horror at his sister’s action, and though not as much, the old butler and the maids also widened their eyes in surprise.
It seems Ragfrid is doing something she doesn’t usually do.
“…Talk after we sit down first.”
“Yes.”
Ragfrid also moved to the side with her Familiar, standing opposite Valtraus.
Thus, Ragfrid, Valtraus, and their Familiars ended up standing on the left and right as if facing each other.
Hard passed between them and took his seat at the head of the table, and his White Lion lay down comfortably on the rug closest to Hard’s seat.
Only then did the others find their seats.
Ragfrid next to me, Valtraus on the opposite side.
The Leopard right next to the lion, and the cheetah next to that Leopard.
‘Since the Leopard Familiar and the cheetah Familiar were baring teeth and fighting just a moment ago, the lion might have taken a seat in the middle for mediation…. It seems the Familiars’ seating follows the seniority as well!’
I can understand why Valtraus showed displeasure at seeing Yor’s place prepared next to mine.
But his feelings are none of my business.
If it is truly so frustrating for him that Yor, who should sit in a lower position than his Familiar, is sharing a meal with people, he should teach his own Familiar how to handle cutlery and seat it next to him.
“Everyone leave except for the butler.”
Once the dishes containing food and fodder were placed on the table and in front of the Familiars, Hard spoke as above and sent the maids away.
Then, he ordered the butler to report what had happened.
“Upon seeing the seat where the Young Lord’s Familiar was sitting, the Eldest Young Lord…”
The butler did not add any personal opinion and spoke only the facts as they were.
Hard listened quietly to the content while drinking the champagne served as an aperitif.
When the report was finished, he spoke as follows while glaring at Valtraus.
“How can you say such a stupid thing in front of the subordinates?”
It was clearly a remark rebuking his eldest son.
However, it was also a statement that contained no concern whatsoever for his youngest son, who might have been hurt by those ‘stupid words.’
Since I was not the real Karbaldr, I was not hurt by Valtraus’s words.
If the real Karbaldr had been in this spot, he would have been moved and delighted even by such words from Hard.
Even so, the fact that it was quite unpleasant remained unchanged, so I kept an indifferent expression and moistened my throat with plain water.
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