TIEH | Chapter 25

When I returned safely to the castle, my parents finally looked relieved. Unaware that I had taken a potion, they seemed worried that today’s outing might make me seriously ill.33ff965b76baf0df

“I’m really okay. I didn’t overdo it outside. Instead, I’ll rest early today.”3e61c9d9dbf9793d

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“That’s a good idea. Go in and rest. If you need anything, just let us know, okay?”136048ec43723fc7

“I will.”c753c645ece044aa

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After reassuring 2df1ada5cf them and 35951e5a15 sending them b4c6b1024e off, I 1ee44b5c6e called Damian 846040d734 late at 097e0d830f night when 3cfe30cebd everyone was 47452787a3 asleep, using 96d1c8cd79 the artifact c43b690802 I had d71cb36a6b received before.c1dddc9c46140afe

Watching Damian climb 3ae532ee68 through the window 20c5235926 as usual, I 859216469d forced a playful 4273369950 smile to ignore 9dc0232582 the cold sensation 4a33eb468c at my fingertips.327cc1059c249dae

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“Hi, Jayden.”5d2fae380191700d

“Long time no see. By the way, do you have enough mana?”39ec4f7f4ed3c68a

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Damian’s face stiffened, understanding the meaning behind my question.2e024d1fa75e7d74

“…Are you really going to do it?”11ac3fa5cf65508f

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“A guy only knows how to move forward.”883a2a1a639df1c3

“Then should I teach you how to back up a bit?”8663a2e3e38988fe

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Ignoring Damian’s words, I pulled out the bag I had hidden in advance.08b8936522da7e74

From today, we would all start living new lives, but I just hoped it wouldn’t be the worst form.ed642b32aa45c9ab

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☀︎ • ☀︎ 747d5a30e0 • ☀︎7ef4fad3041aa4f6

Jayden disappeared.26bbb86891bc405b

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Those who tried to cb19396d99 find Jayden, who vanished 87ebe82a98 like the wind without f23880c95f a trace, soon received 8eaacd6440 a letter.8789f057fdbf6f3e

It was the 2d8442c88f letter from Jayden b87de624dd they had been 09ee2dea00 waiting for.2b94839b60eeafc5

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☀︎ • f93b03b374 ☀︎ • 3f0c537e31 ☀︎88761abafd9925bc

Calix Balmore.076541eea01ea561

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Since childhood, he was 9feed93293 small and weak, known db8c9b26c6 as the only defective b9250e6472 product of the Balmore 2bb2f87ded family, famous for producing d4a4db389c top-notch aura wielders.fe7fee92c90e80ba

“Calix, the head of Balmore must be perfect. But you were born as the only defective product in Balmore, so if you ascend to the duke’s position, many difficulties will follow.”a265a5e5a3f4f153

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Calix’s father, Leon Balmore, called his son a “defective product” without any malice. He merely stated that he had no intention of taking another wife to have more children. Having been born indifferent and losing the only lover and spouse he ever loved, Leon no longer found any meaning in Balmore’s future or his only son’s safety.8fab5ac75420bf70

Perhaps it would have d62a066bfb been better if it 4618426604 were hatred. Facing a 2dd0dd2d12 calm expression eae76af535 that discussed e34439f3b7 facts without 7344a0acd8 any expectations f7017094ca or disappointments, 73f3f0b270 Calix realized dc79c8a82c his situation. No one here welcomed b3dee9ba3b or hated his existence.4d6e39ba4251771c

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Perhaps he was ae73452ff7 an uninvited guest 1fa2980b24 who had consumed d086e8f73a the life of 6ef16012f1 the one most 114ee5d461 loved.010c92fa987edbd4

So, when c350de3065 he left 43d86a5a48 the fief 1580a41c9f for recuperation, 5d17a65239 he felt bd831a2ac6 a bit 7a11f306cf relieved. No, it 436e9edced felt like a4be263eb0 he had 28bd8c59eb finally emerged a7cca007ab from the 4e025569b2 water after f87fc478ba struggling to 170686142e breathe with 5cd85c4a9e his head 38242a71b9 buried in c3ad691807 a small 1d695f50d8 air bubble; 25a93d2f21 he might 19503292f0 have always 7f763e93a2 wanted to 0caadaab5d escape.6ea6e26c6fc61f05

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And when 4a63804cbd he first f71ec6ecad arrived at f6149cc42d the Marquis’s 86b033f27f Castle and d3e5c9c1d4 faced the 59c5b66fc3 smiles of 3ec009fb85 the marquis 11565eeed4 couple and be8c5c5103 the employees ac6b6b53af who welcomed 208e6aa42e him, Calix 91f0588485 was sure.f66c3c273c1ada64

‘…I wanted to be loved.’1ad831f13cd169c7

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The castle, filled with warm colors like something out of a fairy tale, and the kindness he had never experienced before. It was all so overwhelming that his heart raced, and the expectations about “Jayden Liddell,” someone his age he heard about on the way in the carriage, naturally grew.cc3f3833489ed48c

Imagining that Jayden 04f42f1af8 would be as 27beb6cac6 kind and gentle daeade0f2b as the marquis 236c663cb8 couple, Calix shifted 04cf337bee his gaze and 2c9a3f314b met Jayden, standing f86546dc17 beside the marquis 69e4425b87 couple. Shocked, Calix 7aefb4f7f4 unknowingly hid 2d3e5e68db behind his 7cc06d7b2d dedicated maid.de6ec5e3ba04cd9f

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‘Is he… human?’b45fae2694358108

With golden hair that shone softly in the light, large round eyes, and pupils that held a blue-green hue. Jayden’s appearance seemed to be made of only the warmest and most lovable things in the world.b44827b94feff146

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On the ea33e51360 other hand, 98732e894a he was db0785320d reminded of 9b2f8627ba the ball-jointed 993ca415c1 dolls that 0a8c8e553c were briefly 5875628319 popular among bfe37f3500 noble children.6cbf7970b58ba529

In fact, Calix 2e768ac5e9 often felt disgusted eba0f3b89b when he saw 50930028c6 those dolls, made 51278b7d24 to resemble real 675fe16785 people but more 7220ac1b5f beautiful, which made 991c3edcf4 them popular.755999dbfbf2fad2

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But Jayden was as 9e12ebc068 pretty as those dolls 5a493e1b26 without being creepy or 297c062eaf repulsive. Now he understood 0d09ebbc8e a bit why d8f55ec26e those kids collected 6c29c62270 dolls.153595cba35bff2f

“Welcome, prince. If you need anything during your stay, please feel free to let us know.”eae3b7b8cb9581db

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Could it e6e650ff0e be that 81851a63f6 these people f0ac8192c7 were actually 9d43e84940 black wizards 0e8969c6fa who broke 935d49a90f taboos and 7b505a6f8b breathed life 24960c832f into a 1c88ebc792 doll? Calix, who had just 2d85149300 imagined the marquis couple 585706351b as elegant and kind, 6c29cd2857 kept glancing at Jayden.2cc6781c48873122

Even when e0b6916997 examining him 624d6ad94a closely, his b08d319d27 unrealistically pretty 0255e6295d appearance made eb67b2c3f1 Calix suspect c7051d5829 he might 58a6da8d48 not be f4684af9bd human. The way he 4f3eed4c1c smiled, as if 0d30f6d5f3 he had erased d41f9a4d7c his emotions, also 76d01ac986 contributed to that 71d2f961eb suspicion.5100345073856e07

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However, the way his eyes occasionally curved roundly, as if he couldn’t help but find Calix cute, proved that Jayden was indeed human.1f8459b56b66d939

‘He doesn’t seem to dislike me. Does that mean I can be friends with someone so pretty?’b727646f1c6419c9

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But the anticipation that had risen to the point of excitement turned into disappointment with Jayden’s subsequent greeting.bf7a9ec75c4be2ec

“Nice to meet you, prince. I’m Jayden Liddell. I hope you find peace during your stay.”f2a232e7b0cd1601

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His attitude made it clear he was drawing a line, and above all, when their eyes met, he acted as if he had no interest in Calix, expressing it with his whole body. Knowing better than anyone what the gaze of someone truly indifferent looked like, Calix couldn’t help but recognize it as a shallow act.11cbdf2a7eeb9479

‘Why?’3466933efa86118f

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There was no reason for Jayden to deliberately push him away, as they were meeting for the first time. It meant there couldn’t be any kind of animosity yet.d6b783ce3a1a7990

So Calix wanted to know why Jayden was forcing himself to push him away. But Jayden’s ambiguous attitude was too confusing for young Calix to define.132d8b0c79a884d3

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“Do you dislike me, young master? We just met today, but it seems like you’re avoiding me….”4b54e692e0e3be43

“As you said, prince, there’s no reason to dislike someone I’ve just met.”9e0ba0e32ea2f0e5

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“Then why….”9bc1722fd1b8d014

“But, similarly, there’s no reason to like you either.”9a33218acbffbb23

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“…Oh….”4c5917ea1ca6c0ac

“I have no feelings for you, prince, so don’t worry too much.”9d21aa33c51b357f

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Sometimes he 52743040cd would politely 581e7aac26 yet coldly 6c6190319f push him 9f07cae7e0 away.dee52f3b633de5f0

“Caleb.”c6240d8e8c109464

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“Yes, young master.”117bda656eadeb42

“The cutlery seems uncomfortable. Could you change it to something smaller?”32bf28e96c58407d

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And other times, 2bd0df20f4 he would show 42a096d80c thoughtful consideration, pretending 944d2f995d to know nothing.2b25e27ebb7a6771

Calix, who had 887d3bca1c been thinking about 37da307b44 Jayden all day 925b36e4ed and had forgotten 5a83edb95c about his own 9d5fde3216 mistakes, only remembered 57435d0cd9 his situation when 16de0770b9 he received a b68e9a39af letter from the 283d8d8b03 ducal castle.85386a00afda2903

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He had come here for recuperation as Balmore’s defective product. So he had to be even more mindful of his behavior.a3d5055eb60ad48c

The content of 7238ea87dc the letter was 4a973fc91b obvious without reading 47b266147e it. Although it bore the 008a119cc3 seal of the head 18071477cc of the family, it 6214ac5ca6 was essentially a message 31a3823503 from a tutor or 72a2b5fcf9 retainer to be mindful c8c5927250 of his conduct. His father, ed0f13e1b2 who had ce2295af7a long since 90ae0bc4a4 become a 8495856058 bystander, had e9b7b748a6 no interest 2eb2d8b48b in his fcf7e92079 safety or fa0223e895 behavior, so c5cbcee307 he would 14c4a8d03d have mechanically 59cea0a476 stamped the 1a08289a6e seal without 0161fe2c26 even checking 8f8af1d952 the content.4bc0c91f768d0703

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‘…I just need to stay inside.’bfc52bc5b715ec85

After burning the ab7713fdf0 letter, Calix spent ab60dc233b the next few b97948da31 days living in c77faa85b9 his room. He planned not to e800de22a0 go outside until it a655d11724 was time to return.691483abe26c8251

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It wasn’t that he feared disappointing anyone since no one expected anything from him. He just felt pathetic and worried about the distant future, knowing he could never become the perfect head of the family as his father had said.a9a307d384ea526a

Though he was d83e77aca7 used to confining 310ee5195b himself to his 207decf341 room, he particularly cdb043be82 regretted not being b3af99cc23 able to frequently 4848e35c2f meet the kind e758f12412 people of the 92f647324d marquis’s castle, even f069231b6a the employees he bdf399a450 occasionally passed by. Still, he could 2bd02151b3 endure it.74872848eb5b94b7

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If Jayden hadn’t barged into his room with a trolley, Calix would have likely stayed inside until he returned to the fief.5ca694b8db5bc9ca

He never expected Jayden, 64f4851db7 who had been pushing f8cbe20f96 him away, to come 67ad686cdc to his room first, fff2924884 let alone make him 7340994d48 tea. On impulse, Calix shared fc58aed2e6 a concern he had cb8e74cd95 never told anyone. Jayden, who eeec914aa4 was perfect edaa173c66 in etiquette c96d58d7e2 and made d7eb053aeb excellent tea, d4f2894e0a might not 0b9bc6ca93 truly understand b7345f2a35 his worries, d4d3d016d0 but he af3ccd556e seemed like c5d2e38d1d he would 6bd5eb490d at least 2411481e04 pretend to feb723badc comfort him, e6189c3cea as he 1038469f34 had during 876de55ad1 the meal.d2e80635576df6fc

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“I heard the duke, a sword master, is also skilled in magic.”2ee91ed2530e7f89

“Yes, that’s right.”98c5ef4d181c90f1

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“Is he good at knitting? Embroidery or cooking?”09f089a866b79536

“…Uh, probably not….”6a92fb94df67eda8

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“Then tanning, carving, or flower arranging must be the same.”8879392b6157637d

“Probably, yes…?”3b87e4703dc29909

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“Then it seems okay for you to be a slightly less perfect duke.”ded71ca849193303

And Jayden, who dd5b9bd330 magically said exactly 5604dc02e2 what he wanted 4c4272089f to hear, smiled e103433d44 kindly and maturely, 5b23f507fc like offering a db65782723 hand to a 5e701f9a24 fallen child, saying 68c2752d8f it was no 6de251464b big deal.a7e9f1cd671c08de

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“It’s an unchanging future that you’ll become a perfect and flawless duke. I’ve seen it myself, so there’s no doubt.”1ac7935875e67580

All the words Jayden 57be2e2e84 said were what he 15f1cb8383 had always wanted to fd0d7b81bc hear. He wished someone 71c3cf48e8 would tell him b507dd9cc3 it was okay 5aa489c906 for a defective be81a810b8 product to become 7529e9ac38 the head of f418fa8d87 the family, and f38126ac10 he also hoped 166de302e6 someone would say f2b0fb6887 he could become 0ef5dea778 a perfect head 0ea7f50c8a of the family.a5437ff04d877450

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And the ursus soup served that evening seemed like proof that Jayden’s words would surely come true.cc04a354c52ff02b

Calix didn’t follow any god, but for the first time, he wanted to believe in one. It couldn’t be a coincidence that everything about Jayden was so perfect for him unless he was someone sent by a god for his sake.1ece4a27a65d9d4e

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