Chapter 34
Simon spoke in a stiff and upright tone.
“I want to know why Darius suddenly changed. Around the time of the victory celebration at the royal palace, it feels like that guy completely fixed his mindset.”
Kyleus did not understand the question. He only frowned slightly.
From his point of view, Darius had always been the same lazy and annoying bastard.
What change was he talking about?
“Ah.”
Now that he thought about it, about three weeks before the victory celebration, there had been a formal family dinner where they reunited after two years. At that dinner, Darius had been harshly scolded by Father.
Did he start focusing on his studies after that?
“Seems like something comes to mind,” Simon said.
“Why are you even curious?”
“Is it strange to want to know what made my rival awaken?”
Simon rubbed his chin and gave a crooked smile. The expression looked sly and snake-like. Kyleus felt disgusted.
To think Darius called someone like this a friend.
Should he really reveal his family matters to a man like him?
But at the same time, imagining Darius—who trusted Simon completely as a friend—being stabbed in the back felt strangely thrilling.
After thinking deeply, Kyleus slowly opened his mouth.
“…Father ordered Darius to aim for early graduation. He said if he doesn’t keep first place, he’ll personally educate him.”
“Personally educate?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he plans to take him to the Diern territory in the North.”
At Kyleus’s blunt reply, Simon muttered something to himself and nodded.
“Good. Next question.”
“…Speak.”
“That guy Darius. He doesn’t care about honor, status, or power at all. But he says he will definitely inherit the Diern family. He never tries to step far away from the path set for him.”
“……”
“If it were simply duty, I wouldn’t question it. But sometimes he shows a strange attitude. Do you know if something happened in the past?”
With the continued interrogation, Kyleus felt like his insides were turning upside down.
That was something he himself wanted to question Darius about.
If he truly hated duty and responsibility so much and longed for freedom, then why not hand everything over to him and leave?
Why hold onto it tightly and act like the victim?
But what Simon just said—
“He said he will definitely inherit the Diern family.”
That was the first time Kyleus had heard that.
So he would never give it up.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him directly instead of digging around like this behind his back?”
Simon closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
“If that smooth-talking guy had spoken honestly, would I be asking you? So in short, you don’t know the reason either.”
Tapping his chin with his finger, Simon crossed his legs arrogantly.
“Last question. This one is about you, so surely you know the answer.”
Kyleus trembled and glared at him silently.
To think green eyes—the same color as Riez’s—could look so hateful.
His vision spun and his stomach churned.
“What method did you use to lure Riez?”
“Ha! She was the one who begged to be friends with me!”
“So it seems. That’s why I’m asking. What does she like about you?”
“……”
Kyleus was speechless.
Riez had clung to him, saying she wanted to be friends, but she had never clearly said why.
He wiped the sweat running down his cheek and gave a crooked smile.
“…Well. At least I’m better than you in many ways.”
Simon growled threateningly.
“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t call me ‘you’?”
“Ugh—!”
At that moment, Kyleus suddenly covered his mouth tightly, then quickly leaned over the side of the boat.
“Blergh.”
For the first time in his life, he experienced seasickness.
It was terrible.
We stared at each other with our mouths slightly open.
Then Darius suddenly shook his shoulders and burst into bright laughter.
I watched him blankly.
He laughed so hard that tears formed on his long golden eyelashes. After a while, he finally stopped.
What was so funny?
Of course, the situation was absurd.
“Ha… I’m sorry. I keep showing you such an embarrassing side of me, Lady Riez.”
He wiped the corners of his eyes, still smiling.
“Embarrassing? It was the bird’s fault.”
No matter what, seeing Darius laugh so freely was nice.
He lifted the broken oar and examined the split surface.
“It seems the wood had rotted and weakened.”
Then he grabbed the wider broken piece and rolled up his sleeves.
“I’m sorry. You wanted to leave this place quickly, but please endure it a little longer.”
The cracked wood piece crumbled more each time it moved through the water.
When the broken oar finally lost its function, Darius threw it away and began rowing with his bare hands.
“Ah! Please don’t! I’m not scared!”
Even though I tried to stop him, he continued pushing the water with his arms.
The boat slowly began to move, but rowing with his palms was extremely slow.
“Darius oppa, your hands must be cold! If we wait, won’t my brother come looking for us soon?”
When I stopped him again, he smiled faintly and pulled one arm out of the water.
“…You’re really not scared, right?”
“Yes!”
He shook the water off his arm and leaned back.
Lying on his back facing the sky, he closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
“Then I’ll enjoy this little moment of peace. Like you said, Simon might come find us.”
“That’s right.”
“I quite like this place, actually.”
Yes. If this place was healing for Darius, then a silly legend meant nothing.
The cries of water birds echoed, and the boat gently rotated in place.
The curtain of willow leaves swayed softly in the breeze, letting sunlight slip through.
While enjoying the quiet moment, Darius suddenly spoke.
“Lady Riez, earlier you said I must have seen many beautiful sights.”
“Yes.”
“…Actually, this is the first time my mother has accepted an invitation from another family. Every summer, we only went to the Diern territory.”
“Oh? Why?”
Unlike our Brante territory, which was perfect for vacations, the Diern territory was different.
It was vast, but barren and mountainous. Because it bordered the frontier, most of its residents were miners or soldiers.
The entire atmosphere resembled its master, Selfius Diern.
It might be good for escaping summer heat, but it was not a place to enjoy a vacation.
Sitting up, Darius smiled bitterly.
“When I was little, we used to go to villas and resorts. But the last time was… when I was six.”
So after Kyle was officially registered into the ducal family, family trips stopped. I could roughly picture it.
“It’s been almost ten years since we truly traveled somewhere to play. For Kyle, this is probably his first time. My mother likely accepted your invitation specially because it was from you, Lady Riez.”
“…I’m honored.”
So when Kyle was moved by the Milky Way last night, and when Darius felt joy seeing this lake—it was all sincere.
I had already planned to give them a wonderful vacation, but now I was even more determined.
Darius gave a deeper bitter smile.
“Lady Riez, thank you for keeping your promise and being friendly with Kyle.”
“It’s nothing special. I enjoy playing with him too.”
“I know better than anyone how difficult he can be. So you deserve thanks.”
His lowered voice carried complicated emotions.
This was the perfect setting for an honest talk. After gathering courage, I carefully asked:
“Darius oppa, you seem to want to get along well with Kyle. Do you like him?”
I already knew the answer.
From everything I had seen after possessing this body, it was obvious.
I just wanted to hear it from him.
Darius widened his eyes in surprise, then rubbed his twisted lips.
“Yes. But… when we were young, I treated Kyle badly. I bullied him terribly and hurt him deeply. Even if I apologized, hoping to get along now might be selfish.”
“But back then, you had no choice either!”
Because I knew what kind of incident young Darius had experienced from the original story, I sympathized with him even more.
When I suddenly burst out in anger, his eyes grew twice as big.
Ah.
Kyle being an illegitimate child was a top secret of the Diern family.
Although rumors had quietly spread, I had spoken as if it were certain while defending Darius.
‘What should I do…?’
