Frederick Byron.
The second son of the Byron Viscountcy, a prodigy who showed talent in Aura.
But at the same time, that’s all he was.
“Long time no see, but you still haven’t fixed that rude way of speaking. Your temper is something else.”
“Of course, I’m not the only one like that.”
“You haven’t forgotten that I’m… your older brother, have you?”
“I forget sometimes. Seeing the stuff you’ve been pulling since way back, you seem more like a brat than an older brother.”
“………You little punk.”
He has talent in Aura. His brain works decently enough. He’s not bad-looking either.
He could have been someone who would lead the family just fine if he inherited it.
But unfortunately, Frederick was the second son, and he had an older brother.
An older brother who was a genius in both magic and Aura.
“……Guess we need to strengthen our brotherly bond, huh? How about we use Aura on each other, fair and square?”
“Don’t you remember getting scolded by Grandpa Charles for that?”
“…………”
In the end, realizing that no matter what he did, he couldn’t inherit the family head position, Frederick turned his target to me.
The third son, the younger brother, the one with no talent—he vented his frustrations on me.
Of course, I didn’t just tremble and take it. I used my brain to mess with him, but in the end, thanks to his Aura, I always ended up getting physically beaten.
If it weren’t for Grandpa Charles, who was in charge of Frederick’s education, taking my side, I would’ve broken a limb or two by now.
‘Good thing I sent Sally to the annex.’
It wasn’t for nothing that I sent Sally to the annex. That guy kept getting craftier, falsely apologizing to Father and Grandpa Charles, and only showed his true colors when we were alone.
Father probably only knows about Frederick’s gambling problem, not this kind of temper.
That’s why Frederick’s reputation isn’t too bad, despite this kind of temper.
So, I also speak informally to Frederick when we’re alone. He gets really riled up by that.
“I’d love to instill some respect for your older brother right now.”
“Go ahead.”
“………I’ll let it slide this time. I have business with Father. You’re just a useless brat anyway.”
*Tap. Tap.*
Annoyingly, Frederick pouted and tapped my shoulder as he walked past.
Of course, it was just a tap, but the impact I felt was completely different.
‘Now I have a bruise.’
What a jerk. Using Aura to shake up the inside of my skin in that brief moment?
What kind of shady stuff did he learn while studying abroad?
‘Well, go ahead and laugh all you want.’
I don’t plan on putting up with you for long anyway.
Whether I pack my bags tomorrow or get a lifetime of house arrest, I’ll make sure you pay the price.
Chuckling, I watched his back as he headed to Father’s office, then turned my steps.
To the training ground.
“……Oh? Young Master Kyle? Are you back from the Everts Dukedom?”
“Long time no see, Knight Commander.”
The training ground.
This was the place I was sure of… but.
*Clang! Ding!*
“Haha! I won again!”
“Why is that shorty so good at this…?”
“Hey! Go call Baldy over! We need that guy!”
“Victor hurt his hand. He injured it while practicing swordsmanship alone.”
“……You injure the back of your hand while practicing swordsmanship?”
……They’re playing Kyle Galli. In broad daylight.
Except for the Knight Commander, who was resting separately, almost all the knights were passionately playing Kyle Galli.
Watching the knights lounging around, sweating, with their armor thrown off, I turned my head to the Knight Commander.
“Training time… isn’t it?”
“It’s break time. Even in that short while, they’re at it. It’s a full-blown trend, Young Master.”
“…Really?”
*Thud! Crash!!*
Just by the sound, you’d think it’s a full-on brawl… but is it really like that?
Watching the knights play a board game(?), it seems like more people are getting the taste of board games… or not.
‘Is this really a board game…?’
The basic rules are Hali Gali, but with the knights maximizing physical elements as they please, it feels like watching some intense sports match.
At this point, wouldn’t it have been better to just teach them real sports?
‘Well, whatever works.’
Anyway, that’s a custom rule for knights who use Aura. It’s a hybrid created to feed board games to those who aren’t satisfied with just sitting at a table.
When they made that house rule, board games had just been allowed, and to satisfy the knights who found Kyle Galli boring, they used Kyle Galli as the base, and that’s how it ended up.
“Haha! Is there no knight who can beat Hansen’s throw?!”
“Hey, old man! That’s cheating!!”
“So I paid the penalty? It’s a game where even a legal throw is fine… it’s the best!”
Well, as long as they’re enjoying it, it’s fine.
Anyway, it’s a rule others won’t use, so forget about versatility. Maybe I’ll make a dedicated set and cards.
While thinking that and watching the knights enjoying something between sports and board games, something unusual caught my eye.
“Knight Commander? What’s that under your feet?”
“Ah, that’s a rule we added. Starting from the same position gave an advantage to those good at sprinting and wrestling. So we imposed a penalty to make the distance longer. The board under the feet is fixed to prevent the starting position from changing during the game.”
“…So it’s a house rule you came up with?”
“Yes.”
Board games have set rules. But as I once did, they’re not absolute.
In official tournaments, it’s different, but in board games played purely for fun, sometimes breaking or changing the rules adds to the fun.
Especially seeing the knights set their own house rules and evolve the game… it’s quite… heartwarming.
Is this how parents feel watching their children grow?
Never been in love, but I’m feeling this emotion from a board game.
“Anyway, there are more rule changes. Like being able to look at the cards when only two are left, banning sliding, and penalties like giving up half your cards for fouls like throws. Oh, but why are you at the training ground…?”
“Ah.”
I got so caught up watching the knights play Kyle Galli that I forgot for a moment.
Glancing at the knights too engrossed in Kyle Galli to notice my arrival, I quietly approached the Knight Commander and whispered.
“You know the second brother is back, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
“I’ll get straight to the point. Do you know any knights who gamble with him?”
“…How did you know?”
“Those who did it once won’t do it twice?”
During the yacht incident, only one knight who first used the yacht for gambling was dismissed.
Considering the rest just got pay cuts, it means they’re still in the knight order.
‘That knight who bet heavily even wagered his salary for the next 10 years in the family documents.’
They ran a gambling ring of that scale. Even if they restrained themselves out of fear of our father, what if the second brother, back from forced study abroad, sweet-talks them?
Even if not all fell for it, it’s hard to say none did.
The Knight Commander, perhaps sensing the underlying situation, quietly gritted his teeth.
“…I don’t know exactly how many are involved. I can’t just go around unsettling the knights by asking each one if they’ve been gambling…”
After the yacht gambling incident, the condition of “no gambling experience” was added to the knight order’s entry requirements, so the Knight Commander seemed quite cautious.
Clearly, if I just bluntly asked all the knights, it would only stir up strange rumors.
But to my eyes, it was crystal clear.
Who the gambling participant was.
“There’s one guy I’m sure about. Can I interrogate him?”
“…Actually, the Head of the Family has already given the order. Just please keep it as quiet as possible.”
“Don’t worry.”
Reassuring the Knight Commander, who looked worried about strange rumors spreading in the knight order, I walked towards the spot I had been eyeing from the start.
While everyone was playing Kyle Galli, sitting under a tree with a gloomy face.
To Victor, with his circular baldness.
“Hey, Victor.”
“Y-young Master…? L-long time no see.”
“Indeed. But seeing you after so long, you’ve changed a bit, haven’t you?”
“What… do you mean…?”
Victor, one of the knights who participated in creating the exclusive Kyle Galli for knights, had a much wider bald spot than last time.
…And his right hand was bandaged.
“Where did you get hurt?”
“Uh, yesterday while practicing swordsmanship alone…”
“Hmm, let me ask you again.”
“Young Master…?”
Having played Kyle Galli, or rather Hali Gali, a lot, I knew.
Hali Gali, being a game where multiple hands come together around a single bell, is prone to injuries. However, the types of injuries are almost standardized.
Fingers getting tangled and broken.
Nails getting scratched and bleeding.
Bruises forming.
Or wrist ligaments getting stretched.
And finally.
‘Cracks on the back of the hand.’
A knight swinging a sword and getting a crack on the back of his hand, not his fingers? Even the other knights or the Knight Commander would think that’s odd.
But they hadn’t yet connected it to gambling using Kyle Galli.
It wasn’t strange. Knights often got injured while training alone. It’s just that a crack on the back of the hand was unusual.
Moreover, Kyle Galli had only been around for less than a month. Unless someone had played it as long as I had, it would be hard to associate the hand injury with Kyle Galli.
Given more time, someone might have noticed… but since Victor had injured his hand less than a day ago, only I could know for now.
So, smiling at Victor, who couldn’t hide his panic.
“Where did you get hurt?”
“………”
I just asked again.
Over and over.
*
Late at night when the moon rose.
At a time when I would usually be asleep or playing a board game, I quietly left my room.
Thanks to thoroughly interrogating Victor, the circular baldness sufferer.
‘The gambling happens every night at 12:20 in Frederick’s room.’
Getting information from Victor wasn’t hard. With his cracked hand bone and the added stress, not to mention his worsening baldness, he surrendered quickly.
In fact, once he started talking, he confessed pitifully.
──I didn’t know it was gambling! I got this bald spot from yacht gambling, why would I go? I even injured my hand there…
According to Victor, the knights invited him to play Kyle Galli, and thinking it was just house rules, he followed and ended up sitting at the gambling table.
The moment I first saw the gambling table, I knew something was wrong, but after not gambling for so long, I got a little carried away for a moment.
But just two days later, I lost all my spare money, and when I bumped hands with Frederick from Kyle Galli, my bone cracked, which made me realize the reality.
——Young Master Frederick said that if I wanted to keep my position as a knight, I had to keep it a secret…
But since I injured my hand, I can’t work as a knight for a while. I was anxious that if I kept hanging around gambling, my knight career might really be over.
Of course, I begged them to keep it a secret that I had revealed it.
…Still, even though the gambling was supposed to be secret, Frederick’s way of keeping it quiet seemed a bit sloppy.
“Is there some reason for this?”
It’s not like I can figure it out by worrying about it now.
I was about to head to Frederick’s room, fully prepared to settle things once and for all, when…
“………Sally?”
“Heh, hehe……….”
There was something black crouching in front of the room.
It was Sally, giving an awkward smile.
“Sally, you…?”
“I-I’m sorry. I know you’re worried, Young Master, but still, I…”
“…………….”
“I learned magic for you, Young Master… I practiced it for times like this.”
“……Sally.”
She must have known it could be dangerous for her too after hearing my warning, but her actions were more about protecting me.
I couldn’t just send her back without giving her something to do after all this.
“Alright, let’s go together.”
“Young Master…!!”
It’s not like Frederick’s room is far anyway. It’s less than a minute’s walk.
Still, Sally was smiling so happily that it made me feel a bit awkward.
After avoiding the patrolling maid and getting near Frederick’s room, I stopped Sally.
“Sally, you know you can’t follow any further, right?”
“………B-but I can’t let you go alone…”
“Who said anything about going alone?”
“Huh?”
“……If you really want to help, just cast Silence Magic for me one last time. There’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
“O-okay. If it gets dangerous, call me right away.”
“Of course.”
Sally chanted the Silence Magic and nodded, signaling it was okay.
I smiled at her in gratitude, then stood in front of Frederick’s room and…
BAM!! BAM!!! BAM!!!!
“What, what’s this!?”
“Kyle…!?”
“Frederick, your little brother just came to visit your room, why are you so surprised? Oh.”
I kicked the door open with all my might. Ah, that felt good.
Inside the room were Frederick, some people I didn’t recognize, a knight I’d seen a few times at the training ground, and…
Familiar Kyle Galli and a sizable pile of gold coins.
“You little brat.”
Busted.
