<Episode 8>
Father’s warhorse was dragging an enormous corpse behind it.
“…My god.”
“That really is a dead dragon.”
The knights murmured in awe from all around.
At Father’s signal, the dismantlers who had been on standby rushed to the corpse and began taking it apart.
I smacked my lips as I watched the scene, thick with the stench of blood and guts.
How much is all that even worth?
I’d heard that dragon-type beasts sold for a high price, from their wings to their tendons.
Especially the heart—it was a condensed core of explosive power.
Of course, since it came from a beast, it would be highly impure and require refinement, but just one of those could let a mage cast magic endlessly. Mages would likely bring astronomical sums, begging to purchase it.
If only we had one of those for Rossi…
It’d make an incredible power source.
“Always whining about not having enough—and now you’re drooling over it?”
Only then did I realize, thanks to Lawrence’s scornful remark, that my desire was literally dripping from my mouth.
But seriously, why has he been lurking around me all day?
Wiping my mouth, I shot an annoyed glare at Lawrence.
That evening, I headed to the dining hall with a vague sense of unease.
How long had it been since I’d had a meal in the same room as Father?
Two months? No, maybe three—ack!
The moment I stepped into the dining hall, my eyes flew wide open.
A boy sat there, his long silver hair tied up neatly, his chin resting lazily on his hand.
His beautiful face and height—already as tall as a grown man despite only being fourteen—belonged to my eldest brother, Edward Sergenev.
What’s he doing here?
Edward might’ve been part of the Sergenev family, but it was rare to run into him within the estate.
His favorite hobby was gallivanting across monster-infested battlefields, like some bloodthirsty maniac.
Edward’s piercing blue eyes landed on me for a moment, then passed right by as if I were thin air.
“As of today, I will be evaluating your progress in training,” Father said, in a tone that was strangely dignified for someone nicknamed the Butcher.
It was like lightning struck inside my head.
Candidates for the Sergenev family’s successor were to demonstrate their progress before the current head once a year.
And that date was supposed to be a month from now.
“F-Father.”
I raised my hand and spoke carefully. His gaze turned to me—cold and blank, like he was looking at a rock.
But I had to say it.
“I thought that was scheduled for a month later…”
I had been preparing something to show him too.
This year, I thought I could finally present a proper version of Rossi.
The knowledge of modern Earth’s mechanical engineering—sparked by that accident—had helped greatly in improving Rossi’s design.
“A month more won’t turn a brick into a diamond.”
Lawrence snorted.
I glared back, ready to snap at him, but surprisingly, he didn’t follow up with more insults. He just looked at me, silently observing, as if testing my reaction.
Then came a lazy voice that cut through the tension.
“What kind of contest is it this time, Father?”
It was Edward. He was the only one in the family who didn’t fear Father in the slightest.
Not because he was stronger than Father, but because he’d spent so much time on bloody battlefields from such a young age that he probably didn’t know what fear even was anymore.
“We could skip the formalities and just begin the succession war right now.”
A smirk curled one corner of Edward’s mouth.
“It’s not like anything will change if we wait a few more years anyway.”
I felt Lawrence tense beside me.
What Edward was suggesting was basically this: let’s get rid of all the heirs right now.
If a succession battle started now, both Lawrence and I were as good as dead.
Clink.
At the sound of a dropped teaspoon, I turned to see Eloise, pale as a ghost.
Eloise, who was too frail to even be considered for succession, would never dream of a future where siblings had to fight and kill each other. For someone as kind as her, it must be a nightmare.
“The procedure is absolute, Edward,” Father said coldly.
“There will be no succession battle until Lilien comes of age.”
“Yes. I apologize for speaking out of turn,” Edward said, bowing his head.
“There just seem to be too many leeches draining the family’s food without offering anything useful in return.”
Edward’s cold blue eyes—distinctly Sergenev—swept across me and Lawrence.
He looked at us like bugs. Aside from faint irritation, there was no emotion in that gaze.
This was why I always thought of Edward as a psychopath.
Eventually, we’d be forced to hurt each other for the sake of “succession.”
Regardless of whether we got along, we were siblings. Even I, who found Lawrence annoying, didn’t exactly feel thrilled about the thought of killing him.
But Edward… He genuinely seemed to be looking forward to it.
He must’ve broken something in his brain from all the blood he’s seen since childhood…
Maybe the part responsible for empathy, or sibling affection.
I glanced up at Lawrence. His face had gone even paler, and his fists were clenched tight.
He was clearly terrified.
As annoying as he is… this is kinda sad.
Unlike me, Lawrence had no other path in mind. His future consisted of one thing: fighting that monster, Edward, to the death.
It must be like watching a nightmare draw closer with every passing second.
Our eyes met. Lawrence looked like he wanted to say something, but then quickly looked away.
“What will the event be, Father?” I asked as casually as I could.
Please, let it be something I can actually compete in…
If it was archery, mounted combat, or hunting like last time, I’d be screwed.
Rossi wasn’t ready for that level of combat yet.
“We reconvene at the training grounds in one hour,” Father said in his usual icy tone.
“The event will be announced then.”
So it was a secret. And one hour wasn’t enough time to prepare for anything.
I slumped and dragged myself out of the dining hall.
Sergenev “tests” don’t really care about rules or fair play.
Yes, it’s a swordsmanship family, but that doesn’t mean you have to pass using swordsmanship.
That worked in my favor. It meant I could use Rossi or any other magi-tech machine to help me.
But… not today.
I groaned, tugging at my hair as I stared at the half-rebuilt remains of Rossi.
Damn that Olga for delaying the upgrade process.
Still, I could at least try something.
An idea had come to me just before I fell asleep last night.
“Hey.”
I was going to add a new gear to joint number 17.
That would give it far more freedom and flexibility in movement.
I’m sorry, Rossi. Why didn’t your mom think of this sooner?
“Hey!”
The problem was, friction might occur between the two materials.
The elasticity I had calculated might exceed its limit.
There were too many variables. But still, I felt it was manageable.
“Master!”
“AAH!”
The sudden shout made me jump about 3 centimeters off my chair.
“What the hell?! Don’t just yell like—!”
I whipped around, fuming—then froze, eyes widening.
Hah…
And I stopped breathing for a moment in awe.
Last night, I had ordered the maids to fill the tub with hot water.
They’d grumbled, but even they had to admit Eden looked gross, so they complied without protest.
Eden had bathed.
I’d offered to help, figuring he couldn’t wash properly on his own, and he just gave me a look of utter disdain. Rude.
Anyway, the Eden now was completely scrubbed clean.
“No illustration could do this justice…”
Even the original artwork of Eden in the novel was high quality—so gorgeous you could skip meals and just stare at it.
But the real thing? Even better.
Pale skin like porcelain, perfect facial symmetry, golden eyes like melted sun, and hair that shimmered like black silk.
Yep. That face is a cheat code.
“What? Illustration?”
Eden frowned in confusion.
I waved my hands. No point in telling him—he’d have people fawning over his looks constantly once he grew up.
“Wait. What did you just call me?”
“Master.”
“Don’t call me that! It’s creepy!”
I yelled, goosebumps rising all over.
“You.”
Eden tilted his head sideways, a bit of attitude in his voice.
“You’re not seriously thinking of me as just some doll you brought into your room, are you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You said you’d help me escape.”
Eden furrowed his brow angrily.
“Have you even been thinking about me at all?”
“Pfft.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
The way he said it—like a sulky little kid—was unexpectedly cute.
