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IBP 26
Looking at the girl standing still, his heart fluttered slightly.
Just then, her purple eyes gazed at him tenderly.
“I didn’t get hurt at all, so please don’t worry!”
Caligo furrowed his brows and put on an even angrier expression.
“Who said I was worried about you? Get out, now!”
“Okay! I’ll come back to save you later!”
How many people had told him they would save him until now? Did she think he would fall for it again?
Thus, the young Caligo glared at Coco and turned his back on her.
“Forget it. Just get lost.”
He trudged back into the annex.
Then, the girl shouted loudly behind him.
“By the way, don’t get treated by Lady Theresia! If she says, ‘Ouch, it hurts,’ you have to run away!”
“......What does that have to do with you?”
“Because I’m going to come save you, so just endure it and wait until then!”
He didn't have time to respond to every single piece of nonsense.
Ignoring Coco, he stepped inside the annex.
But it was at that very moment.
Coco shouted loudly toward the back of his head.
“What is the nanny saying?”
“......What?”
By the time he barely managed to turn his head.
Coco looked at him with a clear gaze and spoke.
“The nanny said you’re a nuisance! While making you drink that tasteless drink! But that’s all a lie!”
For a moment, his body flinched.
“......Stop talking nonsense and get out! I don’t need someone like you at all!”
Caligo hurriedly entered the room, mindful of where the nanny might be.
Behind him, he heard her voice: “Don’t drink that drink either, and you have to avoid Theresia!”
Soon after, he heard the nanny’s voice telling Coco that entry was forbidden and ushering her out.
He pressed down on his pounding heart.
* * *
Grand Prince Caligo Rivera is terminally ill.
There is no one in the Rivera Grand Duchy who does not know this fact.
“I wonder what the cause of the Grand Prince’s illness is?”
“They say nobody knows. It could be an ability rampage, or it could be a real disease.”
“The important thing is that it can’t be cured.”
The symptoms were consistent.
Every minute and every second, mana raged inside his body.
Whenever a bone-carving pain consumed his entire body, he simply wanted to die.
He pulled the blanket up further and let out a sigh.
‘Is that why Brother abandoned me?’
Not long ago, his brother had placed him in a carriage while he rubbed his sleepy eyes.
His brother had meticulously dressed him in fluffy clothes.
“Brother, where are we going......?”
“An order has come from His Majesty. I must subjugate the magical beasts of the North.”
“Then what about me? Do I go with you to subjugate the magical beasts?”
The great Grand Duke Rivera.
His brother, who was admired by everyone for subjugating magical beasts.
He had been happy, thinking he would be able to help such an amazing brother.
However, his brother whispered softly to him.
“Caligo, listen carefully. I’ve made a contract to receive help from someone with purification abilities.”
“Huh? Why.......”
“......What do you mean?”
“That person will treat you. Go to the mansion with Duke Ardos and stay there for a while. Okay?”
“.......”
“Brother will be back after a hundred nights. So, wait for me while receiving treatment.”
He wasn't coming back.
Just like his mother and father who eventually died, his brother would also die and disappear.
......That was what he thought.
And yet, hope continued to grow in his heart.
‘Still, still, Brother promised he would come after a hundred nights.’
Because his brother was a knight. Because he was a man who knew the weight of a promise.
Perhaps his brother hadn't abandoned him after all.
Caligo roughly wiped away the tear stains and looked around.
Just then, the door opened.
“I have sent the child away. Do not lend your ears to such useless voices, Young Lord.”
The nanny who had followed him from Duke Ardos's estate.
She was the only person who came near him.
Even so.......
‘I wonder if I can talk to that girl more.’
She probably hadn't completely left yet.
“Yeah. Um, you know. Can I go for a walk outside?”
“You cannot.”
“Why? Brother said I could go for walks.......”
“It is because your health is poor, Young Lord. Furthermore, Grand Duke Rivera would not wish for you to go for walks.”
“But Brother......”
“If you have any sense, you should stay quietly.”
“.......”
The nanny brushed back his hair as if she felt pity for him.
“Since Young Lord Caligo is the only flaw of the Rivera Grand Ducal family, the Grand Duke sent you to this House of Duke Ardos. So, even if you feel stifled, please stay quietly for the time being. How pitiful, our Young Lord.”
The more he listened, the more the nanny was right.
The Rivera Grand Ducal family was the most powerful among the empire's noble families.
Not only did they possess numerous ability users, but every direct descendant possessed an outstanding supernatural ability.
In particular, his brother was a great magic swordsman.
Great swords and magic tools were born from his fingertips. And with that sword, he personally defeated magical beasts.
But Caligo was different.
“Until now, I’ve never gone outside the Ducal Palace, and I’ve never participated in a war, but.......”
“Indeed. People on the outside call you the ‘most useless noble.’”
Caligo’s expression crumbled.
This, too, was correct.
What was the point of having the ability to manipulate shadows?
Since he couldn't use it because of his illness, it was useless.
Moreover, his mother passed away while giving birth to him, and his father closed his eyes a year later.
He heard that his brother had struggled immensely taking over the Grand Ducal house from a young age.
He was a nuisance even to his family.
“......I understand. I want to be alone.”
“Oh dear, you seem distressed. Then please get some deep rest, Young Lord.”
The door closed, and after a short while.
Caligo opened a fairy tale book he had hidden by his bedside.
It was a small fairy tale book featuring a little puppy princess and a prickly cat hero.
The puppy princess defeated the witch of the evil tower. She also cured the cat hero who was suffering from a curse.
The little puppy princess proposed by putting a ring on the prickly cat's tail.
The boy's cheeks flushed slightly as he turned to the last page, where the puppy and cat were kissing.
He never believed people who said they would save him.
Because people only made him hurt more.
‘Still, someday.’
Could someone actually cure him of this evil disease?
But it seemed that even that small wish was not permitted for Caligo.
He clutched his chest.
Again. Once again, it felt as if his internal organs were twisting.
* * *
“To be kicked out twice in one morning.”
“.......”
“Oh, how pitiful. It seems your role ends here.”
“.......”
The mouse continued speaking intelligently.
“Huh? First, report the nanny. You have the evidence, don’t you? Then, point out the bruises on your body to make Theresia stop the treatment, and delay the rampage.”
“.......”
“It’s a terminal life, but at least you’ll live the rest of your days in peace.”
“.......”
“There’s nothing more you can do now. Try to persuade the kid well, and send your sister or someone else far away. Looking at Theresia, she seems vicious enough to frame your sister too.”
The mouse was smart.
Yes, that might be my best option.
If I do as the mouse says...... my sister might survive.
So, I can achieve all my goals.
“But.”
“Hmm?”
“That kid, he wanted to live.”
The prickly cat Caligo, who reminded her of her stray cat friend, Bom.
But she had definitely read it in those eyes.
The longing for life.
“If he dies like that, it’s too sad.......”
“......You absolute soft-hearted puppy. Honestly, puppies are a problem because they love humans too much.”
“......You know. I’ve thought about it carefully......”
“Yeah?”
“There is exactly one way.”
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