Chapter 41

So, for the past few days, I’ve been smashing wooden dummies in the training ground to vent my anger. Back when I was younger, I used to train by smashing iron, but now I guess this is enough.

Still, moving my body like this reminded me of the days when we trained together, and it washed away a bit of my frustration.

Those days under that damn father of mine, enduring all sorts of inhumane training while sweating buckets… Now that I think about it, I don’t really miss it.

If we skipped training and got caught, Father would grab us, jump high into the air, and then slam our faces into the ground. Strangely, we never died or got seriously injured, but the pain was real.

Whether we sneaked out of the designated area, got caught eating snacks, messed with the wheels of Father’s carriage, or tried to poison his food, Father would grab us and jump high into the air.

Now that I think about it, we probably flew up about four times a day on average.

Recalling those memories, I ran straight to my older brother’s study and kicked the firmly locked door, smashing it to pieces.

“…Hey. Where’s Father?”

“It’s rare for you to be looking for that scoundrel.”

“I’m feeling like committing some patricide.”

It wasn’t just me who wanted to kill Father. Asel and Penelope also declared they’d kill him if they got the chance.

Even Raul, whenever Father was mentioned, would start trembling while gripping his cane. It wasn’t anxiety—it was murderous intent.

Even the late Empress sharpened her weapons on the battlefield, waiting for the day she could kill our father.

“That scoundrel, as you know, wanders the Empire like a mercenary. He’s always drunk and abandons everything.”

Honestly, it’s a miracle that trash of a human raised us and fought in wars.

“Ever since Mother abandoned him, he’s been like that. It’s long past the time to be surprised by his vulgar behavior.”

“Want to stab him together when he comes back?”

“…I’d rather not. If blood spills, cleaning up would be a hassle. Poisoning him and throwing him into the sea would be more efficient.”

“You’re more ruthless than you look.”

“And clean up the door you smashed. We’ll have guests soon.”

“Guests?”

Given his nasty personality, my brother had no friends, let alone women around him. The idea of him having guests was as likely as a dog freezing to death while eating grass.

“You don’t have any friends.”

“…It’s Her Majesty the Empress and the new head of the Berze family.”

“Penelope has always worked with you, but why the kid? Don’t tell me you’ve got the hots for that brat?”

“Don’t judge my actions with the eyes of a beast. The new head of the Berze family simply asked for our guidance.”

Indeed, this man and Penelope were geniuses in their own right.

Penelope excelled at grasping the big picture from fragmented information, while my brother was skilled at managing people and resources.

In short, Penelope was great at diplomacy and politics, and my brother excelled at personnel and internal affairs.

“That idiot really said he wanted to learn…?”

“Yes. He came himself, bowing his head and begging. I was going to refuse, but considering he’s the brother of that man, I accepted out of respect for the one who saved the nation.”

“So you and Penelope are tutoring him here? You, who barely have time to sleep?”

No way. Right after the war, they were so busy they barely had time to eat, let alone teach that idiot.

Especially my brother, who slept about four hours a day, working tirelessly to rebuild after the war.

“…I’ve just reduced my sleep and rest time a bit.”

“That’s a waste of time. What does that idiot even know…?”

“His memorization skills are impressive. On par with mine. In terms of application, he’s about as good as a crab or an octopus. But he’s got enthusiasm.”

Enthusiasm, huh.

Well, that’s enough. Enthusiasm is the most important thing. We endured Father’s inhumane training with just that.

Even if Penelope is strict and my brother is indifferent, as long as he has enthusiasm, he’ll pull through.

—

Thirty minutes later.

I think I need to take back what I said about enthusiasm being enough.

Just a moment ago, Rizel’s face, which had been bright when she greeted me, was now contorted in frustration. To exaggerate a bit, it looked just like Raul’s usual expression.

The cause was clearly those two teaching her.

“Hey? Isn’t this simple? You learn one thing and only know one? If I teach you one, you should figure out two on your own. Last time, you almost died because you didn’t bring guards. Did you get crap in your brain? Were you born with crap in your brain? Or did you open your skull, remove your brain, and stuff it with crap just to piss us off? Hey, tell me, which one is it?”

“You’ve only memorized what was taught. I can’t understand. If you thought just a little, you’d get it. It’s like learning a formula in math and applying it to other numbers. Is it a lack of understanding? If not, tell me what the problem is. If your brain works properly, you should understand this. It’s just a slight modification of what I taught you last week. The documents needed for work are all different, so this level of application is essential. If you can’t do that…”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

I thought about siding with her, but I’m terrible at that sort of thing, so I’d probably just get scolded by those two.

I never thought I’d say this, but for the first time, I felt sorry for Rizel. Being stuck between those two and hearing all that abuse was horrifying.

They say being between a handsome man and a beautiful woman is like holding flowers in both hands, but this was like holding flames in both hands.

It’s pitiful, but… the alcohol I drank while watching this was so sweet. It felt like a decade of constipation was finally relieved.

What felt like a short time for us must have felt like a thousand years for Rizel before a short break finally came.

—

Even during the break, all we did was enjoy some black tea and sweets. Of course, even this would be a luxury for some.

“I like to pour alcohol into my black tea. Could you bring me some?”

That woman… no, Penelope was planning to pour a full glass of alcohol into three drops of black tea and call it tea.

If that’s tea, then I’ll pour a few drops of water into my alcohol and call it water.

“Hmm, the tea leaves must be different because of the Duke’s wealth. The aroma is deep and rich.”

“…She must be really drunk today, that crazy woman.”

“Camilla, what did you just say?”

“Nothing, sigh… I’d rather die than argue.”

Maintaining sanity among these mentally unstable people is no small feat.

“By the way, kid.”

I remembered meeting this kid’s mother a few days ago and decided to probe a bit.

“Is your mother doing well lately?”

“Hmm… She seemed a bit upset after coming back from an outing recently. But other than that, nothing special.”

Clearly, their mother, Latri, had called Rosie, Raul’s former fiancée, a wicked woman.

I don’t know what their relationship was like before, but she wasn’t the type to curse someone without reason.

I don’t know what happened, but it must have been something serious.

“Camilla, are you thinking right now? You, who would rather swim across a broken bridge than test it?”

“It’s rare. You, thinking?”

“Shut up before I kill both of you.”

And Rosie mentioned something about the anniversary of Raul’s father’s death.

…Thinking about it, there’s a severe lack of clues. How am I supposed to figure anything out with just this?

If they’re up to something shady, I’ll just beat them half to death. That woman might be one thing, but beating up that kid is no big deal.

—

But before the break ended, I found out what Rosie was up to. And in the worst way possible.

The start of it was the Berze family’s butler rushing into the study.

It was unlike him, who usually valued etiquette, and he delivered the urgent news without even catching his breath.

“Miss, it’s terrible! Rumors about the former head of the family are spreading all over the capital…!”

“What about my late father?!”

“A woman is claiming that he raped her and she bore his child…! And that the former head, your father, pressured her to hide the truth…!”

At that, Rizel dropped the teacup she was holding.

“No way… Father and Brother would never…!”

“Exactly. They wouldn’t.”

Cutting in was none other than our brother, the wallflower.

“The late Count Berze would never do such a thing. Considering his conduct and past, it’s impossible to believe. Raul isn’t the type to pressure someone either. For him, killing would be easier than pressuring.”

“Th-that’s right. Our father and brother would never…”

“It seems like someone’s trap.”

Given the circumstances and my gut feeling, there’s only one person who would do this.

“That damn bitch…!”