Chapter 63: Red Ears and Sincere Words

“…All gone.”

Clatter.

The porridge bowl was empty.

Whether it was true that she was hungry, Estroza ate the porridge without a break.

‘She eats well.’

Lying in bed with her mouth open, she chewed when Zion put a spoonful in her mouth.

In the meantime, Zion scooped porridge, cooled it by blowing on it, and repeated.

The thought that they looked like a mother bird and a baby bird almost made him laugh.

‘…So she really is sick.’

She almost dropped the doll when it nearly rolled off the bed.

Just looking at her face, flushed red with fever, and her clothes sticking to her body with sweat…

“!”

Zion quickly shook his head, dismissing the lewd thoughts.

Estroza’s figure was still vivid in his memory.

…It was a scene not easily forgotten, but still.

“What are you doing…?”

“Huh? Ah, nothing.”

“…….”

As Zion was cleaning up the empty porridge bowl,

“I hate you,”

Estroza suddenly said.

“…Are you talking about me?”

“Who else is here besides you?”

“Out of the blue?”

Zion was dumbfounded.

He didn’t expect her to say she hated him to his face.

Especially after she had been happily eating the porridge he gave her just a moment ago.

“I feel like if I don’t say it now, I won’t get another chance.”

“…What does that mean?”

“We’ve already seen each other at our best and worst… There’s no need to put on a pretense, right?”

“That’s true, but….”

“So, I’ll just say it. I hate you.”

Estroza didn’t beat around the bush with metaphors and analogies.

She simply expressed her feelings as they were.

…As she said, there was no reason to wear a mask to someone who had already seen her bare face.

She stared at the air and continued.

“I despise people like you… people who are only full of talent.”

“……People who are only full of talent?”

“People who rely only on their innate talent and don’t make any effort. Arrogant people who believe the world will turn as they wish…. That’s what people like you are.”

She spat out each syllable as if chewing it.

Zion shuddered at the voice filled with resentment.

It wasn’t a voice a person who couldn’t even support their own body due to pain should be able to make.

Without giving Zion a chance to argue, she continued.

As if she was spewing out all the words she had accumulated until now.

“I don’t know if you know, but I’m from a collateral line.”

“A collateral line…?”

“A lineage branched off from the founder of the Farewell family… A collateral line that is different from the direct line, just a name.”

The Farewell Marquis family, to which Estroza belonged, was so prestigious that it was called the ‘Empire’s Three Great Magic Families.’

They were even famous for producing court wizards for generations.

Naturally, their history and tradition were long, and as a result, the number of family members also increased.

That was why ‘collateral bloodlines’ were created.

Collateral bloodlines that branched off from the direct line.

“I can only have the name of the Farewell family… I didn’t receive the same treatment as the direct line in terms of opportunities to learn or basic necessities like food, clothing, and shelter.”

“…….”

“No matter how outstanding my talent is, no matter how much effort I put in. The modifier that follows me is ‘collateral’… I hated that fact so much it made me shudder.”

How much weight does the label ‘collateral’ carry in a rigid aristocratic society?

Zion, who was a modern person until recently, couldn’t even imagine such a thing.

All he could do was listen quietly to her boiling soliloquy.

“Wearing a mask, gathering followers, building up one’s power, and in the meantime, not neglecting magic studies….”

“…….”

“It’s a life you can’t even imagine. Receiving the attention of professors and students alike with just your talent! To you, who has decided on a smooth path, it will only look like the struggles of an ugly person—”

“No.”

Just as her voice was about to rise, Zion cut her off.

“I’m not that kind of person.”

“…Liar.”

“I’m serious. Rather, I also… had similar thoughts to you once.”

Estroza’s eyes widened for a moment.

Is it a lie or the truth? Her pure white eyes moved busily to discern the truth.

Zion didn’t avoid her gaze.

‘It reminds me of my school days.’

To summarize Zion’s school days, it was ‘studying, and more studying.’

While others played, he looked at textbooks, and he became addicted to the fun of solving problems rather than playing games.

Even he, who was so close to studying, experienced a slump.

–Doyun is number one in the whole school again?

–He’s really good at games too.

–Doesn’t he also play soccer?

–Wow… What can’t Doyun do?

Kim Doyun, the top student in the entire school.

He studied far less than Zion.

He even played soccer in the soccer club and enjoyed playing games with friends after school.

Nevertheless, he remained the top student.

Zion was always below him, in second place.

At first, Zion was also furious.

‘I also wondered why I should have lower grades than Doyun… and honestly, I felt a lot of inferiority.’

He even thought it was unfair that Doyun, not him, was the top student.

When did that thought break?

Looking back, it was nothing.

–Zion!

–…?

–You dropped this!

One day, Doyun stopped him.

The reason was to pick up the eraser he had dropped.

Doyun smiled at Zion, who was staring blankly at the eraser.

–Are you studying English even while walking?

–Huh? Uh….

–Be careful. You might get hurt if you don’t watch where you’re going. Then, I’ll be going!

Thump, thump, thump!

Zion stared at Doyun’s back as he ran down the hallway for a long time.

The warmth he felt from the eraser was still vivid.

‘I realized then. Being angry… might not be very meaningful.’

In his school days, he thought the world was a kind of marathon.

A long marathon where all the other kids ran towards the same destination.

A cruel marathon where the rest of your life was determined by the distance you ran until you were 20 years old.

But life is not a marathon.

“You don’t have to compete with the direct line. There’s no reason to compete with talented people either.”

“…What does that mean?”

“Those people are walking their own path. You are walking your own path well.”

“No, I know myself well.”

She gave a twisted smile.

“I have many followers, but not many who truly respect me. Just people who hover around me, trying to get some crumbs….”

“…….”

“That’s how the world works. Those of us who have no power, no backing, and no talent can only band together to create a force.”

“Look at your servants.”

Zion turned around and looked at the door.

Of course, there were no servants there, but beyond that, there were many servants.

Servants who worked only for Estroza.

All of them sincerely wished for Estroza’s happiness.

“If you weren’t really worth respecting… would the servants care about you this much?”

“…How do you know that?”

“You can tell right away by talking to them on the way here.”

The servants here all sincerely cared about Estroza.

From the relatively free atmosphere to the way they treated her like a real family.

Since there was no reason to lie where the master wasn’t present, it was purely their sincerity.

It was also proof that Estroza treated her servants well.

“You’re doing well.”

“…So don’t give me that kind of comfort….”

“So don’t get so worked up. You’re not feeling well.”

“…Ugh.”

Splash.

On the side table were a washcloth and a basin of cold water.

Zion put the washcloth on Estroza’s forehead.

She glared at Zion with a look of disapproval.

Seeing her just staring without being able to do anything made him think she was cute.

“You’re pretty when you keep your mouth shut like that.”

“Wh-What did you say?”

“I’m just stating the truth. I don’t really want to wear a mask either. I don’t usually wear one anyway.”

“…….”

She looked at Zion’s face with a sulky expression.

Zion, unperturbed, adjusted the position of the washcloth.

He had felt uncomfortable before entering Estroza’s house, but now he felt at ease.

As if he had met an old friend.

Why is that, if I think about it carefully….

‘Is it because she opened her heart first?’

Estroza had already been caught wearing her mask, so she had given up and bared her heart.

In the process, she had told Zion to his face that she hated him.

But Zion was rather comfortable with that.

When he talked to Estroza, he always felt like he was talking to a scarecrow.

“By the way, why didn’t you come yesterday?”

Perhaps Estroza felt the same way, her voice was also a little more relaxed.

“Didn’t come?”

“I told you to come to the Adventurer’s Guild!”

“Ah, right. I forgot. …Don’t tell me you caught a cold because of that?”

“Of course! It’s because of you!! …Hoo-eh-choo!!”

Estroza, who let out a cute sneeze even while getting angry.

Don’t tell me she caught a cold because of me.

He felt sorry for no reason.

“I’m sorry.”

“Even if you say that now….”

“Let’s go together next time. To the dungeon or wherever. Should I buy you food?”

“……!!”

Estroza widened her eyes as if surprised.

Soon, her eyes narrowed.

…Why is she suddenly like this?

“So the rumors in the community were true.”

“…Rumors? What rumors?”

“You use this kind of trick on other women too, right? But I won’t fall for it.”

“Tricks? What are you talking about? I’m not like that…?”

“That’s what they all say.”

“Huh….”

Zion didn’t know what rumors Estroza had heard in Bizanti, but it wasn’t true.

He was about to immediately deny her words when…

Bang! Rattle.

“Kyaa!”

“D-Don’t push!”

“Uwaaa!!”

“…??

Before that, the door opened without warning.

What came out of the door were… three or four people.

As if they had been leaning against the door and it had opened unexpectedly, they were sprawled on the floor.

“I told you not to hold the doorknob!”

“No, it opened because you kept pushing!”

“How can I hear if you don’t speak up? I even pressed my ear as close as possible…….”

“Ah, oops….”

“…….”

Anna, the chef, and even the head maid.

All the people he had talked to before coming were gathered.

…Were they eavesdropping on the door and it accidentally opened?

In the meantime, only the head maid stood up with a smooth motion, straightening her back.

“I apologize for showing such an unsightly appearance. Please don’t mind us and continue your conversation….”

“…Huh?”

“I’m sorry, Miss.”

Squeak- Thud.

The head maid took everyone else and left the room.

The room became quiet.

Zion turned his gaze from the door and looked at Estroza.

“…?”

Estroza was covered in blankets.

Her ears, which she couldn’t hide…

Were flushed redder than ever before.