The Devil in the Nursery

No matter how many times I rejected him at first, he never faltered, remaining persistently kind. Even for an adult, such a situation would have been embarrassing, yet his demeanor never wavered, as if he took no offense at all.

Accepting his goodwill for the first time, I studied his fresh, clean face—unlike the other boys, there wasn’t a hint of sweat on him. It was impossible that he wasn’t hurt by the rejection. Had he been an adult, I would have brushed it off, thinking he was simply navigating power dynamics. But seeing a child act so excessively like a grown-up made my skin crawl.

I finally understood the “unsettling” feeling Elliot had described.

“Just… curiosity. I’ve been to most of the main streets. Lovenus is huge, so it’s a shame not to see all of it.”

“Then, would you like to go?”

It was Blodgett who stepped between me and Berinnon’s coaxing smile. The boy, with vibrant red hair that burned just like his uncle’s, contorted his face into a menacing scowl.

“Stop pulling your stunts. Why do you keep hanging around like a persistent fly?”

“Stunts? I just want to be friends with Llew—ah, sorry. With Edwill.”

Blodgett let out a sharp, incredulous laugh. The lackeys behind him were all casting hostile glances at Kyle Berinnon. Fearing it looked like a group of bullies ganging up on one person, I hurriedly intervened.

“Both of you, calm down—”

“Even this guy looks uncomfortable around you. What, you don’t have the guts to hang out with the rest of us, so you see a kid from another city as an easy target?”

“That’s a huge leap, Seth.”

“You think I haven’t seen you play the snake and stab people in the back a dozen times before?”

“Hey, guys.”

“Stabbing in the back? You make it sound like I’ve actually committed some betrayal. If I’ve done something to hurt your feelings, I’ll apologize, but making up lies as if they’re facts is…”

“Ah, f*ck! Stop talking like that!”

My efforts were useless. Blodgett finally lunged and grabbed Berinnon by the collar. Even though he was being threatened by a boy nearly a head taller than him, Berinnon maintained a relaxed smile.

“What? Are you going to throw a punch? Your father might find it harder to protect you this time.”

“Is that so? We’ll see about that. We’ll see how much effort the Lady puts in for a halfling…”

At those words, Berinnon’s relaxed face froze instantly. Blodgett seemed to realize he’d crossed a line and faltered for a moment, but he quickly clamped his lips shut. Unable to stand the escalating tension, I forced my way between them and shoved them apart.

“That’s enough from both of you.”

Blodgett huffed and turned away sharply. After watching him disappear with his friends, I checked on Berinnon. Having discarded his usual gentle smile, his face was rigid, radiating a sense of deep woundedness. I had no idea how to handle this.

Given his sensitive reaction to being called a “halfling,” it had to be that, right? The word “illegitimate” came easily to mind, and I found myself walking on eggshells around him. It felt incredibly awkward to have accidentally learned someone’s—especially a child’s—shameful secret.

“Look, Berinnon. I didn’t… well, I didn’t hear anything.”

It felt ridiculous to say I didn’t care. I didn’t even know if it would be comforting.

Berinnon, who had been listening in silence, let out a crooked laugh. Soon, his expression returned to something resembling his original smile, but his eyes were different.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah… don’t let it get to you.”

It was embarrassing to act all friendly and pat him on the shoulder after I’d been avoiding him the whole time, but I felt an instinctive urge that I shouldn’t let him leave like this.

The fact that Berinnon had offered to show me the alleys played a big part, too. I calculated that I might be able to get deeper into the city through someone like Berinnon rather than an upright guy like Blodgett. I felt a twinge of self-loathing for having such thoughts while facing a wounded child.

“Edwill, you really are… kind. I see why Elliot stays close to you.”

“I’m sorry for being so blunt before. You can just… call me Llewellyn.”

Berinnon’s lips trembled slightly before he responded with that angelic face.

“Alright. I understand, Llewellyn. Thank you for apologizing.”

His face didn’t look thankful at all.

Lady Berinnon seemed delighted that Elliot and I were getting along with her son, and she frequently invited us to dinner. Feeling a sense of guilt, I accepted every time.

Elliot, sensing that something had happened between us, accompanied me most of the time. I was glad he didn’t pry. If I had tried to give a clumsy excuse, he would have seen right through me. No matter how much of a friend he was, I couldn’t just blurt out that I thought Kyle Berinnon was illegitimate.

“Why don’t you stay the night? It’s getting late.”

When dinner ran longer than expected, Lady Berinnon suggested we stay over. Her reasoning was that once Elliot returned to the capital, we wouldn’t see each other for a while. I glanced at Kyle Berinnon, who was quietly wiping his mouth, and accepted. Elliot didn’t refuse either.

Kyle Berinnon, who I thought might cause trouble, acted surprisingly well-behaved. It made me wonder if I had been too guarded against him. If I had stood by him when Blodgett grabbed his collar, maybe things would be different. So far, Kyle Berinnon was perfectly cast as the victim.

When melancholy touched his pretty face, he looked so pathetic it felt like I should be the one comforting him. Perhaps his “off” vibe was just a defense mechanism because he didn’t have the chance to mingle with kids his age. I even started to feel sorry for him, thinking that being friendly while I was in Lovenus wouldn’t be a bad choice. I had nothing to lose, anyway.

But it didn’t take long to realize that was a—goddammit—absolutely ridiculous delusion.

“Agh! f*ck!”

I bolted upright at a scream that tore through the quiet just as I was falling asleep. Before I could process the situation, the door slammed open. Elliot, his pajamas in disarray, was gasping for air.

“What is it?”

“Are… are you okay? Nothing happened to you?”

“What happened?”

“f*ck, f*ck. That crazy bastard, seriously.”

Elliot rarely got this rattled, even when he was annoyed or angry. Seeing him react like this made me realize this was no ordinary incident. I climbed out of bed to go to him, but then I saw a silhouette behind him.

“Did you get a big fright, Elliot?”

The voice was gentle, but there was absolutely no goodwill in it. In fact, the soft tone paired with that angelic, smiling face felt so discordant it was sickening.

“You psycho.”

“Hmm?”

“What’s going on?”

As I pulled Elliot into the room and stepped between him and Berinnon, Berinnon broke into a loud laugh. What now? Seeing that bright, radiant face, as if he were genuinely overjoyed, sent a shiver straight down my spine.

From the Crown Prince and Annette to the rest of the Imperial family and Cedric Klein—I had met my share of certified psychos, lunatics, and people with rotten personalities. But I had never seen this type before.

“The crazy bastard… he put a skinned rat in my bed.”

“What?”

I stared at Berinnon in shock, but his laughter only grew louder. It was a voice as clear as a bird’s, yet he sounded like a madman. I found myself hugging Elliot, whose shoulders were trembling from the shock. Honestly, I was scared too. This brand of crazy was a first for me.

“Were you that scared?”

“What are you even saying?”

“Don’t worry. It’s fake. You don’t think I’d actually touch something as filthy as a rat, do you?”

“It was just a prank. I was happy because it’s been a while since we slept in the same place.” Berinnon’s smiling face looked less like a happy relative and more like a demon delighted to have found a new toy.

My mind was a chaotic mess. The budding goodwill and pity I’d felt for him tangled together and collapsed.

“You lunatic…”

“Ah. This reaction really is the most fun.”

What is this… I wanted to demand an explanation, but I kept my mouth shut to uphold my principle of never arguing with a crazy person. Instead, I focused on listening for footsteps. No matter how late it was, it was strange that no one had come up after such a loud commotion.

“No one’s coming. There’s no point in catching a madman’s eye, right?”

So he is self-aware about being a lunatic.

Elliot and I leaned on each other, taking two steps back from the madman. It wouldn’t be surprising if he suddenly snapped and did something even worse. At least the psychos I’d met before had some sort of context for their madness; Berinnon just seemed like a total wildcard.

I’d rather deal with the Crown Prince. Being choked by him was a trauma that still appeared in my dreams, but compared to the current Berinnon, that felt like a fairy tale. Right now, if the Prince appeared and dropped some cheesy 80s drama line like “My dear,” I’d gladly take his hand. That’s how terrifying Kyle Berinnon’s brand of crazy was.

“Mother went out. She won’t be back today. There are many banquets in Lovenus.”

Even though I knew the Baroness wasn’t to blame, I wanted to resent her. I couldn’t believe she’d left us alone with someone like this.

My god. I pressed myself closer to Elliot’s trembling arm and searched for a God I didn’t even believe in. If a God exists in this world, please have mercy on humanity.

“I like Elliot. Kids who act all indifferent to the world are the most fun to torment. Where’s the fun if they just tremble all the time?”

“Insane…”

“In that regard, Llewellyn, you pass, too.”

It was a smile as bright and beautiful as his blonde hair, but it made my skin crawl. Can I fail the test now, please? I had absolutely no desire to “pass” whatever he was grading.