640 – 8. Last Will (14)
Dreams break through the vague past.
For the first time, the atmosphere of the busy mansion comes to mind. The day when the whispering voices, the nervous faces of the employees, and the always calm parents sighed incomprehensible.
A little boy turned around and was making a sad face.
As always, I was stuck in the corner of the library, searching for knowledge. Unlike the fragile body, the shining intelligence demanded its fair share every day.
Truly, things that are valuable require a higher price.
The intelligent brain endlessly demanded knowledge. To the extent that it would not be inferior to naming the desire ‘thirst’.
That’s why the boy’s expression couldn’t be good.
A thirsty person is quenching his thirst, and I didn’t even have to deduce what the mind was forcibly dragged into. Of course, the boy’s parents didn’t have anything to say either.
“Leto.”
“Yes, Father.”
Contrary to his rough attitude, it was a docile answer.
But Baron Einstern knew. That it doesn’t represent the boy’s mood.
He was a child who had matured before he knew it. At least that’s how he didn’t reveal his true feelings.
Should this also be called ‘precocious puberty’?
As a parent, there was nothing to show but a bitter smile.
“I know how you feel. However, the world is always outside the book.”
“Okay.”
That was commonplace advice. There was no way the naturally twisted boy would listen to this and nod his head obediently.
Moreover, isn’t Leto already learning all sorts of rhetoric from books?
Her son’s early adolescence deepened her father’s sigh.
“Sometimes is fine, so please come out and meet people. Abbie is afraid you will end up without one of her friends.”
“Do you really need friends?”
“Well, of course! Humans are inherently lonely beings, so there must be someone who will stand by them.”
Is it because he thought that his son’s mind, which had not moved, was shaken?
Baron Einstern immediately raised his voice and chimed in. There was even a faint anticipation in those eyes.
On the other hand, the son’s attitude toward his father was calm.
“That also means, on the contrary, that I have to stand by my friend.”
“How difficult is that? Friends are like that.”
“Because it’s hard to handle even Celine.”
And silence.
When the family’s sore finger was mentioned, Baron Einstern was speechless for a while.
Who is ‘Celine’?
She was a child staying at the Einstern Mansion through her in-laws’ connections. In her childhood, she showed a lively side, but her tragedy that befell the Hastur family was enough to turn one of her children into her vendetta.
After that, she only wielded the sword every day.
No one could touch Celine, not even Leto, who had grown up with her like her brother and sister. Even today, Celine did not attend family events because of her training.
‘It’s hard to handle even Celine.’
It must be sincere. Baron Einstern, who could not have known this, finally sighed for an unknown number of times.
“Anyway, let’s wait and see. Kids your age are coming too.”
“Looks like you have an important guest.”
Baron Einstein nodded his head obediently. It was a fact he would soon find out anyway, and if he was a clever son he would have been convinced of it long ago.
The baron’s lips opened slowly for further explanation.
“Yes, the Percus family… ….”
It was then.
“Lord, Master!”
Hana, a servant enough to fit the expression “Crazy tang tang,” Hurriedly entered the mansion.
The pale complexion spoke of her astonishment. As the attention of the crowd naturally drew, the servant stuttered and began to make a statement.
“Ah, lady… Lady Celine and the young master of the Percus family fight…… !”
“Oops.”
Just like that, right after Baron Ainstern’s eyebrows narrowed.
Leto immediately ran out of the mansion. No matter how much Celine’s last name is ‘Haster’, she was staying in the mansion as a family. Baron Ainstern could not be freed from the responsibility of that act.
No way.
No matter how much I thought I would touch a guest in the family.
Leto was surprised that Celine had become so reckless. Or, maybe it’s her turn to pay the price for being indifferent to Celine.
What should I say?
After the fall of Baron Hastur, Celine seemed to have become an empty human being. That risky atmosphere that seems to burst and disappear just by touching it.
So she couldn’t bear to touch her.
How Celine feels, what she wields her sword for. Because she thought it was too obvious.
It’s been a long time indeed.
I wonder what Celine is thinking.
Pak!
A wooden sword was flying in the sky.
At least that was the scene Leto saw for the first time. Why Celine, who should be in the backyard, is in her yard, she had many questions, but she soon disappeared.
Because she had a look that Celine had never seen before.
Grinding her teeth and burning her fighting spirit, yellowish eyes were not something an ’empty person’ could possess. Had her two hands holding the handle of her wooden sword ever looked so desperate?
A top-up cut that would appear in a textbook.
A posture practiced thousands or tens of thousands of times does not lie. Despite the difference in her weight class, she lifted a boy’s wooden sword that Celine’s wooden sword had never seen before.
That said, there was no way the boy was being treated calmly.
Kick.
The boy’s kick, which was walking backwards, hits Celine directly in the stomach.
“Kuu!”
The girl’s body, which had been wide open at the blow with all her might, was immediately closed, and she stumbled backwards.
But it was Celine who was holding her wooden sword. Anyone can see that the victory was long overdue.
Until the boy kicks the ground and runs.
Pak!
When Celine’s sword struck directly, the boy’s body leaned slightly with the sound of her leather bursting. However, thanks to her stance as soon as possible and rushing to her, the situation was quite digging into her range.
There was no way to properly display the power of the sword at this distance.
In the end, the boy who withstood Celine’s blow got entangled with Celine as if to attack him, and after that, a real ‘dog fight’ ensued.
How long to do that.
“…… Stop!”
With her arms twisted behind her back, Celine let out a sound that sounded like her scream as she gasped for breath.
Then the boy’s hand stopped.
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“Mandible, mandible… That, stop.”
At Celine’s voice following her, the boy slowly released her hand from holding Celine’s arm. Then she got her body up, staggering back a few steps.
Even then, Leto just stared blankly at the two fighting. Along with the onlookers who have gathered around.
Only then did the boy’s eyes turn to the members of the Ainstern family.
Black hair, golden eyes.
It was sweaty and scratched. The long-awaited formal dress was a mess, but the boy’s smile nonetheless had a strange power.
“Sorry. The fact that the party was late and came alone to deliver the news, somehow…….”
“What is it?”
It was a solemn voice.
Among the people watching Celine and the boy’s fight was Baron Einstern. As the owner of the mansion, he wanted to hear the circumstances of the strange boy.
Then the boy smiled awkwardly.
“That’s not a big deal. It was a simple sparring.”
“Why don’t you come and say hello to me first?”
“Sorry.”
The boy bowed his head politely as he said his second apology. Seeing that, Leto almost burst out laughing.
Is the brain made of muscle?
When a guest arrives, it is polite to greet the owner of the family first. It was to the extent of having sparring with the family member, isn’t it possible to do as much as you like after the greetings are over.
Baron Einstern seemed to have had similar thoughts.
It’s ridiculous, and it doesn’t look like it’s not particularly unpleasant.
They were children who hadn’t reached puberty yet. Baron Ainstern shook his head, as if he thought it was too much to wait for the ethics of an adult.
“Be careful next time. It won’t be easy to meet people your age who practice swordsmanship, but I understand.”
“Thank you, Baron.”
That’s the end of the story.
The soles of the Einstern mansion breathed a sigh of relief, and the only thing left was to go back and listen to the boy about the delay in the party.
If the boy hadn’t reached out to the girl.
“Come on.”
Baron Ainstern, who was about to stop and turn around, looked back. Celine’s eyes, which had been breathing heavily, turned to the boy with questions.
Ha ha ha.
The chest, which was still rising and falling, spoke of the fierceness of the sparring. The boy showed a faint smile instead of an answer.
“You are also from the Ainstern family. Isn’t that why you were waiting for me?”
That moment.
Some scenes began to play in Leto’s mind like lightning. Celine, who always practiced in the backyard, would not be so insensitive that she would not notice the raucous atmosphere of the mansion.
Unable to overcome her curiosity, Celine came to her front yard hesitantly. She can’t figure out what’s going on, and yet she can’t erase that awkward feeling from her.
Then she ran into a strange boy.
The boy was an absurdly far-sighted person. She must have said to the girl who pretended to wield her sword, startled.
Without any malice.
“Do you want to compete with me?”
Until then, no one answered the boy’s words. Moreover, no one guessed the boy’s intentions. No, maybe this is just Leto’s illusion.
“…… That’s right.”
It’s been a while since Leto spoke to someone other than his family.
The golden eyes that had been looking at Celine turn to him. Leto continued his words with a nonchalant expression.
“This is my family… My name is Celine Haster.”
Only then did the boy smile. Celine looks bewildered, and the boy’s hand changes direction and points at Leto.
“Then what is your name?”
“Leto Ainstern.”
A reflexive answer.
How long has it been since she brought up a story without even thinking about it? Leto had countless internal conflicts in just a few seconds, and then hesitantly asked.
“…… You?”
“Ian Perkus.”
The boy, Ian Perkus, smiled broadly and held out his hand.
Everywhere, including the forehead, was red. Cuts, wounds, bruises. How could a body with savage attributes be able to buy favors from a girl in a small room?
Nevertheless, why?
“Please take good care of me in the future, Leto.”
Leto had no choice but to intuit.
Irrevocably, I would have to be involved with that man for the rest of my life.
Yes, that was the day.
Celine Hastur became part of the Einstein family, and Leto Einstein’s life was forever changed.
It was a major event.
*
Thump!
The man woke up to the sound of a knock on the door.