Episode 7
I rushed over to Rossi, who was lying on the desk.
“I’m sorry, Rossi.”
After a brief moment of silence, I grabbed my tools and began dismantling our lovely Rossi.
I carefully salvaged her circuit board, then smashed her shell with a hammer until it was completely destroyed—making it look like the explosion had started from the inside.
Eden silently watched me the entire time.
Several minutes later…
“Ugh…”
With a groan, Olga finally opened her eyes.
Lying on the floor, I quickly signaled to Eden with my eyes.
Once I confirmed he had closed his eyes, I shut mine tightly too—so it would seem like I’d been unconscious the whole time.
“Ugh, my head…”
Olga groaned and reached up to touch her head.
Moments later, her hand froze midair.
“Huh? M-My hair…?”
Frantically, Olga’s hands scrambled over her scalp, patting and feeling.
She pulled a small mirror from her coat and screamed at the reflection staring back at her.
“Aaahhh! M-My hair!”
Pffft.
I nearly burst out laughing, remembering the perfectly round bald spot on Olga’s head.
“What the hell is going on?”
She muttered in confusion, glancing frantically around her.
She’d see me and Eden lying on the ground, and the shattered wreckage of Rossi at the center of it all.
“This… this cheap little toy.”
Her voice now carried a note of fury.
“It finally blew a fuse, didn’t it!”
Crack. Crunch.
The angry sound of Olga stomping on Rossi’s remains rang out.
“How am I supposed to fix this hair?! Aaargh!”
Sorry, Rossi…
I apologized to her silently with my eyes still shut.
You’ll be reborn—better than ever.
I’d already salvaged the circuit board. Rossi’s soul was still intact.
Thankfully, Olga seemed to think the explosion was Rossi’s doing—exactly as I had planned.
With no suspicion of magic crossing her mind, she kept stomping on poor Rossi’s remains. And I let out a quiet, relieved sigh.
I’ll avenge prototype Rossi Unit 007…!
Not just 007. Units 001 through 006 had all met their ends at Olga’s hands too.
Clutching that desire for vengeance for all the Rossis lost before her, I continued pretending to be unconscious.
The next morning.
I was poking at my breakfast listlessly in the banquet hall.
Today’s menu: a fragrant herb salad. It was being chewed in my mouth, but I couldn’t taste a thing.
Because my mind was entirely preoccupied—with Eden.
How do I get him out of here?
I had to get Eden out of the estate as soon as possible.
As long as he stayed within the fortress, it was becoming harder and harder to keep him from encountering my sister. Yesterday had been a close call.
If I can just smuggle him beyond the estate borders…
There weren’t many monsters beyond the territory. He should be able to survive on his own out there.
He is the male lead, after all. That much should be within his capabilities. Not that I had the strength to help him any more than that.
But the real problem is—how the hell do we get out of this place?!
The Hero of the Empire. The Sword of the Empire. The noble and ancient house of Duke Sergeneb.
The citizens of the Empire showered our family with such praises. But I, a member of the Sergeneb family, was essentially imprisoned within the estate.
Not metaphorically—literally.
Sergeneb children are bound by a curse that prevents them from leaving the estate until they come of age.
Probably to keep us from fleeing the succession wars.
Ugh… what do I do?
I was burying my face in my hands when I heard an annoying sound in the distance.
“Hyaa! Hyup!”
The loud battle cries carried all the way from the training grounds to here.
Seemed the knights were training even harder than usual with the Hunting Festival approaching.
Wait. The Hunting Festival?
Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
The Hunting Festival was the largest event in the North. Not only northern knights, but ambitious fighters from all over the Empire participated.
To accommodate them, mass teleportation gates were opened.
Dozens at least. If you picked the right one, you could be transported just about anywhere on the continent.
Hmm…
If I played it right, I might be able to use that to smuggle Eden out.
I was lost in thought over this promising plan when—
“What the hell is this?”
A sneering voice broke my concentration.
Startled, I looked up to see a familiar face.
Shimmering silver hair and sky-blue eyes like flawless glass. A face like it belonged in a classical painting.
The boy who had inherited the Sergeneb bloodline’s signature looks—my second-oldest brother, Lawrence.
Ugh, perfect timing. Just my luck.
Why did I have to run into him now of all times?
“Hey, freak. Not going to answer me?”
I didn’t even want to respond. I just turned my body the other way.
A loud, mocking snort came from behind me.
“Still rude as ever. Is this your way of doing me a favor so I don’t have to see your ugly mug?”
“Get lost.”
“Was going to pay you a visit anyway. This saves me the trip.”
I heard the sound of Lawrence plopping into the seat across from me.
“I heard you tried to mess with our sister again.”
“…I didn’t.”
“The hell you didn’t. You climbed a tree to dump cold water on her, didn’t you? Then you fell like an idiot and got off without any punishment.”
No sign of concern about how I fell and ended up bedridden for three days.
If it were the old me, I’d have thrown a dish at him by now.
Back then, I would’ve screamed that he only ever cared about Eloise. That she was perfectly fine while I was nearly killed.
That not once had he even come to visit me.
Screw it. Doesn’t matter anymore.
I was past all that now.
As if he’d ever show up at my bedside.
Lawrence and I weren’t even close enough to be called siblings anymore.
We ignored each other, and when we did speak, it was only to trade barbs like this.
And to be fair, I had been planning to dump cold water on Eloise. That one was on me.
“I told you last time. One more stunt, and I wouldn’t consider you family anymore.”
Lawrence’s voice was cold and laced with contempt.
Did that mean he had considered me family up until now?
In the Sergeneb family, anything not considered “family” was like a weed by the roadside. If it got in your way, you stepped on it.
I sighed.
“You’re right.”
“…What?”
Lawrence frowned.
“I did something terrible to our sister. With her weak lungs, getting hit with cold water might’ve seriously hurt her.”
“…”
“I acted like trash. I regret it. I even apologized to her yesterday.”
Lawrence stared at me like I’d grown another head.
“What kind of new strategy is this?”
“It’s not a strategy. I really regret it.”
“Ha! You? Regret? I’m supposed to believe you of all people?”
He sneered openly.
It would probably take years to convince him I’d changed. And even then, I might never succeed.
I sighed again. I was too mentally exhausted from dealing with Eden to waste any more energy on Lawrence.
“Believe it or don’t. I don’t care.”
Before, I would’ve screamed and cried that no one believed me.
But now, I genuinely didn’t care whether anyone did.
All that mattered was that Eloise understood my sincerity.
I didn’t give a damn about a useless brother like Lawrence.
“I won’t hurt her anymore. In fact, I’m going to protect her.”
Despite everything, our sister had cried for me.
For every moment I made her suffer, I’d repay her tenfold.
“….”
Lawrence was speechless.
Then, narrowing his eyes with a mix of suspicion and surprise, he finally spoke.
“Hey, you…”
At that moment, the head butler entered the banquet hall.
“Young Master Lawrence, Lady Lillian. The Duke has returned.”
“What?! Father?”
“He just left yesterday—already?!”
I jumped to my feet. Lawrence looked equally shocked.
Our father spent more time on the battlefield than in the castle.
Returning so soon after leaving was highly unusual.
“Yes. Thanks to the Duke’s efforts, the dead dragon that had been ravaging the border was slain within a day.”
The butler’s voice held barely disguised reverence.
A dead dragon, huh.
A top-tier S-class monster, killed in a single day?
Truly, Father was a monster beyond all reason.
“A dead dragon? Are you sure?”
Lawrence asked, face stiffening.
“He is returning now, dragging the corpse behind him. You can see for yourselves.”
When we stepped outside the main building, dozens of knights were already gathered to greet Father’s return.
Seated on a pitch-black warhorse, Father was soaked in blue blood.
The stench of battle clung to him—and in the eyes of the knights, awe and fear mingled equally.
To be continued…
