Chapter 7: Parting and Decisive Battle
One month had passed since the entrance examination.
The exam results arrived by mail at the Marquis Rosemary townhouse.
Although the examination dates differed for the noble and commoner slots, the timing of the acceptance announcements was identical.
Three notices were delivered to the mansion, addressed to Rest and the Rosemary sisters respectively.
"I... I passed!" Viola exclaimed.
"Me too! It says I passed...!" Primula cheered.
Inside the mansion's parlor, Viola and Primula let out sighs of relief as they scanned the notifications detailing their results.
"U-Um..." Viola stammered hesitantly.
"Lord Rest...?" Primula asked softly.
Then... both sisters turned their eyes toward Rest, looking timid and apprehensive.
"..."
Meeting the sisters' anxious gazes... after a brief silence, Rest broke into a warm smile and opened his mouth to speak.
"...I passed! I made it in!" he announced.
"Hooray!" the sisters cheered in unison.
When Rest showed them his notification, the two girls joined hands and let out delighted, bright cheers.
"With this, we'll all be classmates starting in the spring!" Viola squealed happily.
"I'm so glad! I'm truly, incredibly happy...!" Primula gushed, overcome with emotion.
Both of them wore beaming smiles, tears of joy glistening at the corners of their eyes.
Seeing the two of them celebrating even more passionately than he was, Rest felt a warm glow spread through his chest.
...I'm so relieved... I really managed to pass...!
Now he could finally take a new step forward in life.
He had also managed to live up to the expectations of Viola, Primula, Deeble, and Marquis Rosemary and his wife.
"This is all thanks to the two of you... Thank you so much for taking me into this house," Rest said earnestly.
"Rest..." Viola murmured softly.
"Lord Rest..." Primula breathed.
"Meeting Viola and Primula in that forest on that day was the greatest stroke of luck in my entire life. I'm so glad I got to meet you..." he continued.
"!"
As he shared his honest feelings, Viola and Primula looked deeply overcome with emotion.
Large tears welled in their jewel-like, beautiful eyes.
"Rest, does that mean..." Viola asked hesitantly.
"A-Are you telling us that you're accepting our proposals...?" Primula asked, her eyes trembling with hope and anxiety.
The two of them pressed him with trembling, expectant gazes filled with apprehension.
"As for my answer... I want to give it to you properly with my own lips after I settle one final matter," Rest replied gently.
"Settle one final matter...?" Viola asked in confusion.
"Yeah. A final settlement," Rest affirmed.
He nodded firmly.
His decision had long been made. He had already steeled his resolve.
However... before he could answer their proposals, there was something he absolutely had to take care of first.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to pay a visit to the Eberne Honorary Viscount household... to bring a definitive end to things with my family," Rest declared.
"!"
Both sisters gasped simultaneously.
He felt terrible for postponing such an important answer, but... for Rest, this was something of paramount importance.
Unless he settled the score with the Eberne Honorary Viscount household, Rest would never truly be able to move forward.
To take a fresh new step into his future, a complete severance from that toxic family was indispensable.
"When I return, there's something I want to tell you both. So could you please wait for just one more day?" Rest asked.
"I understand, Rest...!" Viola promised.
"Lord Rest, please be careful...!" Primula added earnestly.
Viola and Primula snuggled close to Rest, smiling warmly as if wrapping him in their affection.
"..."
While the three of them were completely lost in their own little world... the parlor was also occupied by the sisters' parents, as well as Deeble and the other servants.
Faced with the overly sweet atmosphere, they all wore complicated expressions that hovered awkwardly between fond amusement and uncomfortable embarrassment.
◇ ◇ ◇
Rest decided to head toward his birthplace, the Eberne Honorary Viscount household, in order to report his admission into the royal academy.
"Are you sure about this, Rest? If you wish, I can accompany you as a witness," Albert offered.
"No, there's no need," Rest replied politely.
When questioned by Albert before his departure, Rest had puffed out his chest and answered with absolute confidence.
"I want to settle the score with that household with my own hands. No matter how much I owe you, Lord Marquis, that's one thing I refuse to yield!" Rest declared.
"I see... I have already dispatched an advance notice. I informed them that someone from the Marquis Rosemary household would be visiting, but I withheld your name. I imagine they are in for quite a surprise," Albert said with a sly chuckle.
Albert let out a mischievous, mean-spirited smile.
It seemed he had by no means forgotten his grudge against the family that had endangered his doted-upon daughters.
"Should anything happen, I will take full responsibility, so feel free to go wild as you see fit," Albert added.
"Understood. Thank you very much for your generous consideration," Rest replied with a bow.
While he had no intention of throwing a wild rampage... Rest bowed in gratitude for Albert's thoughtful consideration before departing for his former home aboard the Marquis Rosemary family carriage.
Although it was a distance he could easily have run on foot, Albert had lent him the carriage specifically so that the members of the Honorary Viscount household would not look down on him.
...The time has finally come, hasn't it...?Rest thought to himself.
Swaying along in the carriage, Rest lost himself in deep thought.
It had been one year since he was taken in by the Marquis Rosemary family. Five years had passed since his mother lost her life to illness and he was taken in like livestock by the Eberne Honorary Viscount household.
...No, that's not right. It goes back even further...
The ill-fated connection between him and the Eberne Honorary Viscount family had begun much earlier.
It went back to the moment Rest was born... no, even further back, to when his father laid hands on his mother, a working maid, and forcibly impregnated her.
And today, that twisted history would finally be settled. The Rest of today was no longer a helpless punching bag who would quietly endure abuse and cry himself to sleep. He had acquired more than enough power to ensure they could never mock him again.
...It's not as though I was driven purely by a desire for revenge. Even so, if I don't rub the noses of the people who trampled over me right into the dirt, I'll never be able to walk my own path in life...!
"We have arrived, Lord Rest," the coachman called out from the driver's seat.
"Thank you," Rest replied.
The carriage came to a complete stop as the voice addressed him from above.
Hearing a servant who had addressed him as "Rest" until recently now address him with "-Lord" made him acutely aware once more that he was stepping into a truly exceptional standing.
"Heh..." Rest let out a short, quiet exhale.
Rest exhaled a short breath, stood up, and stepped down from the carriage.
"W-Welcome!" a strained voice greeted him.
It was the mansion of the Eberne Honorary Viscount family, a place he hadn't seen in a full year.
Standing right outside the main gates of the estate was his father, Lucas Eberne, wearing a plastered-on smile. Because an advance notice had been dispatched, he must have been waiting at the front gate to receive their noble guest.
Beside him stood the mistress of the house. Lined up behind them, the servants bowed low in formal greeting.
"We are deeply honored by your presence today! Representative of the Marquis Rosemary household... huh?"
Lucas was spouting polite greetings with extreme deference, but the moment he realized the identity of the person he was bowing to, his face contorted in shock. His eyes widened to their limits as he froze on the spot.
...Ah. So he can at least tell it's me, huh?Rest thought with a cynical, bitter smile.
Rest chuckled quietly with a touch of irony.
The current Rest was immaculately groomed beyond comparison to his time in this mansion, and his physique had filled out significantly thanks to proper nourishment.
He should have looked like a completely different person from his days living in the stable, yet Lucas had apparently recognized him as his disgraceful son instantly.
...Rotten as he is, I guess he's still my father after all... How sickening.
"I-Impossible... W-Why... How are you...?!" Lucas stammered out, his voice trembling in disbelief.
"Good day, Lord Honorary Viscount," Rest offered with a faint, polite smile.
Rest offered a faint smile toward the utterly dumbfounded Lucas.
"Currently, I am under the care of the Marquis Rosemary family. Today as well, I was lent a carriage bearing the Marquis family crest to pay my visit. So... to what was that 'fool' just now directed, exactly?" Rest asked calmly.
"Ngh...!"
Lucas's face turned deathly pale.
No matter their biological relationship as father and son, Rest currently stood before him as a representative affiliated with the Marquis Rosemary family.
A mere honorary viscount had absolutely no right to address him with such disrespectful language.
"M-My apologies... Please forgive my slip of the tongue..." Lucas managed to squeeze out.
"W-What is the matter, Master? Who is this person...?" Liza Eberne asked in complete confusion.
It seemed she had not yet realized that the honored guest they were receiving was none other than Rest.
She had absolutely no idea that the young man in front of her was her husband's illegitimate son.
"Very well, I shall forgive it. Anyone can make a mistake, after all," Rest responded graciously.
"...I am deeply grateful for your mercy," Lucas choked out, his voice shaking as his face contorted in sheer humiliation.
Lucas squeezed out a trembling word of thanks while his expression twisted in intense humiliation.
The mistress beside him remained utterly bewildered, her eyes flitting back and forth between Rest and her husband's pale face.
...It's a good thing Cedric isn't here. If he were, he would've definitely pulled some stupid stunt by now.Rest thought to himself.
Come to think of it... why wasn't that man here?
Was he hiding away out of guilt for putting the Rosemary sisters in harm's way?
"Now then, would you be so kind as to show me inside?" Rest asked.
"...Understood. Please, right this way," Lucas agreed reluctantly.
Led by his grim-faced father, Rest stepped back into his former home—a place that held not a single fond memory.
Guided by his father, he was brought straight into the reception room.
"W-What?! No way! That man is the trash born from that filthy maid?!" Liza's screech echoed from the hallway.
"Madam, please compose yourself!" the butler hissed loudly, restraining her.
Out in the corridor, Liza had belatedly realized Rest's identity and let out a shrill scream before being restrained by the head butler... but Rest ignored the racket completely and sat down on the sofa.
On the opposite sofa sat the man he had once called his father. His pale face was a mixture of doubt and utter confusion, his hands resting on his knees trembling violently in tight fists.
"...It has been a while, Lord Honorary Viscount Eberne. Or perhaps it would be better if I called you 'Father'?" Rest inquired teasingly.
"..."
As Rest questioned him in a mocking tone, the deep wrinkles between Lucas's eyebrows furrowed even further.
In the past, he would have shouted, berated, or struck Rest for such insolence... but current Rest was a member of the Marquis Rosemary household.
Whether he held formal documentation did not matter. If Lucas dared to use violence against Rest, who had arrived in a carriage emblazoned with the Marquis's coat of arms, the Eberne Honorary Viscount household would be erased without a trace.
"To think... ah... that you would appear as the representative of Marquis Rosemary. It seems you are climbing the ranks smoothly... Which is splendid..." Lucas stammered out awkwardly.
"You seem to be doing as well as ever. By the way... I don't see Cedric anywhere around. Where might he be today?" Rest asked casually.
"That... well..." Lucas faltered.
"I was hoping to see him after such a long time. Is he away from home?" Rest pressed.
"..."
Lucas fell completely silent. His face twisted in bitter anguish, looking as though he had just been forced to swallow a mouth full of bitter bugs before getting punched in the face.
...Given the timing, it must have something to do with the entrance exam results, right?Rest surmised.
Guessing the reason behind Cedric's absence, Rest decided to move on to his main business.
"Well, no matter. More importantly... I came today because I have an important announcement to make," Rest stated.
"...I am listening," Lucas gritted out.
"You are aware that the results for the Royal Academy entrance examination were announced recently, correct? I took the exam as well and passed, so I will be enrolling as a freshman starting next school year," Rest revealed.
"W-What...?!"
"That's a lie!" Liza shrieked.
Lucas's voice cracked in shock, while Liza—still held back by the butler at the doorway—screeched with a voice like glass being scratched.
"Preposterous... I never heard anything about you taking the exam...!" Lucas gasped out.
In his panic, Lucas accidentally let slip the disrespectful pronoun "you" (お前), but Rest brushed it off and continued calmly.
"I took the examination in the commoner bracket, after all. Besides... my parental rights were legally transferred to Marquis Rosemary. There was no need for me to report anything to you, was there?" Rest pointed out.
"Guh... Ugh... That may be true, but a report as parent and child..." Lucas stammered defensively.
"As parent and child?" Rest repeated softly.
Rest narrowed his eyes dangerously. His lips curled into a cold, mocking smirk as he spat out the words with heavy sarcasm.
"As parent and child? Did a relationship of parent and child ever exist between us?" Rest asked bitterly.
After his mother passed away, he had been taken into the Eberne Honorary Viscount household... but any semblance of a parent-child relationship ended right there. In this house, he had been forced to live in a barn and subjected to the humiliating treatment of eating scraps off the floor like a dog.
Did they really think that after treating him like that, any parental affection could possibly exist between them now?
"Ugh... N-Ngh... That may be so, but..." Lucas trailed off, unable to refute it.
"That's completely impossible! Because... because Cedric failed! So how could a defect born from a lowly maid possibly pass?!" Liza shrieked hysterically from the doorway.
"S-Silence, Liza! If you're going to make a scene, get out!" Lucas barked at his wife.
Lucas snapped angrily at his wife as she spewed venomous insults.
As expected, Cedric had failed the entrance exam. His parents' reactions and the heavy atmosphere in the mansion had strongly hinted at it, but now it was confirmed beyond doubt.
...Cedric was always terrible at studying, after all. According to Viola and Primula, he messed up during the practical exam as well... So it's not really that surprising.Rest thought.
His half-brother's only redeeming quality was his magic, and because of his magical talent, he had been coddled his entire life.
That arrogant fool who had relentlessly humiliated Rest and endangered the Rosemary sisters had suffered a spectacular, humiliating downfall.
"By the way, my department is the Magic Department," Rest added, dropping an even bigger bombshell.
The moment Rest dropped that bomb, the couple exploded once again.
"The Magic Department, you say...? Preposterous!" Lucas roared.
"Lies! Lies, lies, lies! There's no way that could ever happen!" Liza shrieked hysterically.
For the Eberne couple, those words were utterly intolerable.
If Rest had passed into another division like the Knight Department or the Civil Administration Department, they might have been able to stomach it.
However, passing into the Magic Department was something they could never accept. In their minds, Cedric was their beloved genius son blessed with magical talent, while Rest was a useless defect devoid of magic power.
That was an absolute law to the couple—an unchangeable, immutable truth that could never be overturned.
"H-How... You were supposed to possess no magic power whatsoever... For someone without magic power to enter the Magic Department... This is a nightmare..." Lucas moaned, clutching his head.
"Why?! How?! Cedric failed the Magic Department, so how could a filthy, garbage child pass into the very same department?! It's a mistake! Something like this can't be allowed to happen!" Liza screeched, thrashing wildly against the butler holding her back.
Lucas held his head in despair while Liza squealed and thrashed like a wild animal, forcing the butler to pin her arms behind her back.
The bombshell Rest had dropped had hit them with devastating force.
They were so utterly pathetic that Rest felt tempted to see just how far their panic would spiral if he left them alone.
...This is bad. I'm actually starting to enjoy this... Who knew I had such a mean streak in me?Rest thought with amusement.
"It is absolute reality. Look at this, and you will understand, won't you?" Rest said smoothly.
As Rest raised his index finger, four spheres of red, blue, yellow, and green materialized and floated above his head.
Fireball, Waterball, Earthball, Windball... a simultaneous manifestation of four distinct elemental spells.
Even though they were all lower-tier spells... there was no way Lucas, a court magician himself, could fail to grasp the profound significance of what he was witnessing.
"A-A Quartet...?! How can you use an advanced technique that even court magicians struggle to perform?!" Lucas gasped out.
Fire, Water, Wind, Earth... the simultaneous activation of four elemental magic spells.
Seeing that display forced Lucas to accept that Rest's admission into the Magic Department was no lie. His eyes bulged out as his face twisted into a look of despair so profound it was almost pitiful.
"Y-You... Weren't you devoid of magic power...?" Lucas stammered out, his voice trembling.
"My magic measurement was conducted when I was a mere infant, wasn't it? You ought to know that magic power grows as a person develops," Rest pointed out calmly.
"B-But... for it to increase so dramatically... And to wield four spells simultaneously, what incredible talent... Far, far greater than Cedric's..." Lucas muttered in stunned disbelief.
Lucas stared blankly into space, muttering incoherently to himself for a long moment... before suddenly gasping heavily and turning back to face Rest with a sharp shift in demeanor.
"You... No, Rest..." Lucas began.
"?"
His father had just called him by his name. It was very likely the first time in Rest's entire life.
As Rest blinked in surprise, Lucas spoke up with an expression as bitter as if he were coughing up blood.
"...Return to this family. And become the heir to the Eberne Honorary Viscount household," Lucas commanded.
"Dear?!" Liza shrieked in outrage before Rest could even react.
Before Rest could even respond, Liza screamed in absolute fury.
"What are you saying?! Cedric is the one who is supposed to inherit the Eberne Honorary Viscount house!" she yelled.
"...It's impossible for Cedric," Lucas muttered coldly.
"N-No...!"
"Cedric failed the Royal Academy entrance examination. If he cannot enter the academy, becoming a court magician is virtually hopeless. Even if he inherits this house, our family will never be able to secure a permanent viscountcy..." Lucas explained grimly.
The title of honorary viscount was merely a temporary honor attached to an official position. It was a single-generation status granted solely because Lucas served as a court magician.
If Cedric could become a court magician, then three consecutive generations—starting from his grandfather—would have held the honorary title, allowing the family to receive a special decree bestowing a hereditary viscount title.
"If Cedric cannot become a court magician, our family is doomed to ruin. To prevent us from falling to commoner status, I need Rest to inherit the house!" Lucas insisted.
"How could you... Are you planning to abandon Cedric?!" Liza wailed in horror.
"Then what else am I supposed to do?! He's the one at fault for failing the exam!" Lucas snapped back angrily.
"Cedric was just off his game that day! If he were at his best, he definitely would have passed!" Liza defended blindly.
"Even if that were true, the failed result cannot be overturned! That boy will never become a court magician!" Lucas bellowed.
The husband and wife began arguing heatedly right in front of Rest.
Even without enrolling in the Royal Academy, it wasn't as though there were zero pathways to becoming a court magician.
One could achieve distinguished merits as a commoner and earn a title that way.
...However, that is an extremely narrow needle to thread. Unless a person possesses strength, wisdom, and extraordinary luck all at once, it's nearly impossible.Rest analyzed calmly.
If Cedric turned over a new leaf and put in blood-sweating effort from scratch, that might be a different story... but Rest couldn't imagine his half-brother possessing enough diligence to accomplish such a thing.
"Rest... Inherit the Honorary Viscount household. Graduate from the academy with top marks, become a court magician, and elevate this family to true viscounts! Fulfill my lifelong ambition...!" Lucas pleaded frantically.
Lucas's face was contorted in bitter desperation.
Clinging to the very son he had looked down upon for years must have been humiliating beyond measure for him.
...But I've suffered far worse humiliation than this! And not just me—my mother was subjected to terrible cruelty because of you...!Rest thought, his blood running hot.
"I refuse," Rest rejected flatly.
Rest denied him without a second thought.
He had not the slightest intention of granting even a single request from the man standing before him.
"W-Why...? It's not a bad deal for you either! You get to inherit a viscount household!" Lucas spluttered in disbelief.
"I would rather die than inherit a house like this. I'd much prefer remaining a commoner for the rest of my life over following in your footsteps to become a viscount," Rest sneered coldly.
"What... Y-You bastard!" Lucas exploded in rage.
"Bastard...?" Rest repeated softly.
Rest offered a cruel, icy smile.
Fixing his father with cold eyes completely devoid of warmth or affection, Rest slammed his hand onto the table.
"By 'bastard,' were you referring to me? Did you just call me a 'bastard'?" Rest asked quietly, his tone dropping several degrees.
"Ngh... G-Guh... T-That was..." Lucas stammered, choking on his words.
Only now did he seem to remember once again that Rest was currently a member of the Marquis Rosemary household.
Lucas's face grew rapidly pale.
"I am going to enroll in the Royal Academy. But not as a member of the Eberne Honorary Viscount house! You are no longer my father!" Rest declared vehemently.
Rest stood up from the sofa.
Looking down at the stunned, speechless Lucas, Rest issued his final cold decree.
"It's over... We will never have anything to do with each other again. Whether you fall to ruin or whatever else happens, feel free to do as you please. It's none of my concern," Rest said dismissively.
He had made his report. He had severed his ties. While this wasn't nearly enough to wipe the slate clean for how they had mistreated his mother and himself... he had no interest in kicking a corpse.
...Their prized son Cedric failed, and their lifelong dream of becoming viscounts has crumbled... I'm not entirely satisfied, but anything more would just be redundant.Rest reasoned.
"Well then, that is all I came to report. Farewell," Rest concluded.
"T-That's... U-Ugh..." Lucas moaned helplessly.
"...It's a lie... It's all a lie..." Liza sobbed, collapsing into tears.
Lucas clutched his head and hung his head in defeat, while Liza broke down crying.
Losing all interest in them, Rest turned away and stepped out of the reception room.
"..."
"Ah... Were you eavesdropping?" Rest asked.
Right outside, he encountered the final person tied to his past. Cedric was standing dazed in the corridor.
"You... passed...? You're going to... the Royal Academy...?" Cedric stammered out, his expression vacant.
"Yeah, that's right," Rest confirmed.
"Even though I failed... you...?" Cedric choked out.
"I'll be attending the academy as a new student starting this spring. Viola and Primula will be there with me as well," Rest added.
"!"
The vacant expression suddenly vanished from Cedric's face, replaced by a contorted mask of pure hatred.
"T-Those girls... Those women belong to me!" Cedric shrieked.
"Huh...?" Rest scoffed in disbelief.
"T-That's right... They were mine! They were supposed to become my fiancees! So why...?!" Cedric spewed madly.
"...Go talk in your sleep, you foolish brother," Rest snapped, his eyes sharpening in anger.
Rest glared at Cedric, who was delusional enough to claim ownership over the Rosemary sisters.
How could he possibly claim that girls he had only met once—and who clearly despised him—were his property?
Faced with his brother's grotesquely delusional ranting, fury welled up in Rest's chest.
"Those two hate your guts. There is zero chance they would ever get engaged to you," Rest stated plainly.
"...Lies!" Cedric shrieked.
"It's no lie. Even Lord Marquis... Marquis Rosemary detests you as well," Rest added mercilessly.
Seeing Cedric shaking his head in denial, refusing to face reality, Rest piled on the hard truth.
"You failed the academy entrance exam. You won't become a court magician. You can't engage Viola or Primula. And you won't become a viscount either," Rest laid out flatly.
"No... Lies! Lies...!" Cedric whined.
"It's not a lie. Face reality," Rest urged.
"Lies! Lies, lies, lies, LIEEEEEEEES!" Cedric shrieked hysterically.
Cedric thrashed his head violently back and forth as he screamed. He was acting like a total child.
Even though he was a hated enemy, seeing him act so pathetically brought a strange sense of pity to Rest's heart.
"If you feel even the slightest regret over your mistakes... then cast aside your arrogant delusion of being a genius and start over from scratch. Forget about being an honorary viscount's son, forget about being praised as a magical prodigy, and start over simply as Cedric," Rest advised coldly.
"..."
"Farewell," Rest said.
Turning his back on Cedric, who stood frozen with a soul-drained expression, Rest walked out of the Eberne Honorary Viscount mansion for the final time.
◇ ◇ ◇
"...It's a lie," Cedric whispered numbly.
Watching Rest's departing back, Cedric muttered in stunned disbelief.
The sound of his father and mother weeping echoed from the reception room... but without entering, he wandered aimlessly down the corridor in a daze.
"Cedric-sama, where are you going...? Gah!" the butler called out before being cut short.
"Shut up..." Cedric growled.
The butler had tried to speak to him, but Cedric slammed his fist straight into the man's face.
Struck by a fist reinforced with Physical Up magic, the butler collapsed in the corridor, his face turned into a mangled mess.
"Eeeeeek!" a maid shrieked in horror.
"C-Cedric-sama has gone mad!" an old manservant yelled in panic.
Maids and other servants screamed while rushing to tend to the injured man.
Without paying them any mind, Cedric continued walking down the corridor until he stopped in front of a specific room.
He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.
Inside the musty, mold-scented room stood large shelves housing numerous wooden boxes.
In this room known as the "Vault of Taboos," cursed magic items were kept under lock and key.
Court magicians had several duties... and the specific responsibility assigned to Lucas was the management of dangerous magic items.
The Taboo Vault served to seal away cursed items that were far too dangerous to be kept in the royal palace.
Lucas was naturally the master of the vault, but he had given a spare key to Cedric under the rationale that the boy would eventually succeed him.
"It's all his fault..." Cedric muttered bitterly.
He reached for a certain wooden box from the vault's shelves.
"Everything... everything is his fault! Ever since he left the estate, everything went wrong. So I have to set things right...!"
Cedric pried open the heavily sealed wooden box... revealing a jet-black staff inside.
This staff was easily the most perilous magic item stored within the Taboo Vault, said to house a demon sealed away in ancient times.
His father had shown him the staff once before, and ever since that day, an uncontrollable craving to possess it had taken root within him.
Lucas had strictly forbidden him from touching it due to its danger, and Cedric had managed to resist until now... but in his current unhinged state, he lacked the willpower to withstand its temptation.
"Ah... This power! This power alone is worthy of a genius like me...!" he gasped.
The moment he grasped the black staff, an unfathomable surge of energy overflowed from the deepest depths of his body.
A miasmic aura began to corrupt the right hand clutching the staff, yet Cedric wore an expression of sheer ecstasy.
"I have to correct the mistake... Yes, I have the power and the right to do it!" Cedric declared with a twisted smile.
Slipping the staff into his coat, he sneered in satisfaction.
He vaguely registered his mother and the servants shouting after him in the corridor, but he did not pause for a second, bolting from the estate to pursue Rest.
"My business here is done. Let us head back," Rest instructed.
"Understood, young master," the coachman replied promptly.
Climbing back into the carriage, Rest had the driver set off, having no further business with the Eberne manor.
"..."
Rest leaned his cheek on his hand against the window frame, quietly watching the scenery pass by.
His mind kept drifting back to what had just unfolded at the honorary viscount's estate.
His father plunged into despair, his stepmother screeching in hysterical madness, and Cedric standing there utterly stunned.
He had thoroughly bested the people who had abused him for years. He had wiped the smugness right off their faces.
It felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders, accompanied by a sense of refreshing accomplishment.
...Still, what is this hollow, unfulfilled feeling lingering in my chest?...
"Hah..." Rest let out a long sigh.
A quiet melancholy settled over him.
Even though he had finally severed the ties of his past, he felt as if a hole had been carved into the very center of his heart.
In books from his previous life, he had read that revenge never brings salvation to anyone—that it only leaves one feeling empty. It seemed those books had been telling the truth.
Just as Rest wondered if he would have to carry this emptiness with him forever, two faces surfaced in his mind.
"Viola... Primula..." he whispered softly.
He didn't know why, but an overwhelming desire to see them seized him.
He had no rational proof, but he felt certain that seeing them would fill the vacant space in his heart.
Rest was about to ask the coachman to hurry the horses, but a sudden intuition gave him pause, prompting him to give a different instruction instead.
"Excuse me, please stop the carriage," Rest called out.
"Huh? Oh, yes, sir!" the driver replied, pulling on the reins.
The carriage ground to a halt immediately.
"Please let me off here. You may head back ahead of me," Rest said.
"I don't mind, but... is something wrong?" the driver asked, looking back in concern.
"Yes, it seems a bit of unexpected business has come up. Sorry for the trouble," Rest replied with a small smile.
Offering his apologies to the coachman, Rest stepped down. The carriage set off once more, disappearing around a corner.
"Good grief... What a persistent fellow," Rest muttered, shaking his head.
Activating Physical Up, Rest kicked off the ground and broke into a sprint.
Sensing a presence trailing him from behind, he led the pursuer out of the Royal Capital and into a secluded forest.
"...This far out should be fine," Rest noted, stopping in his tracks.
"Haa... haa..." ragged gasps rang out.
"Hey there, Cedric. You look exhausted," Rest greeted casually.
Emerging before Rest, huffing and puffing, was his half-brother—Cedric Eberne.
It seemed he had run all the way, chasing the carriage ever since Rest left the estate. Had Rest not made a habit of maintaining Life Search, he might not have noticed the tail.
"Honestly, I didn't think you'd chase after me," Rest said. "Did you still have something left to say?"
"...I'll kill you,"
His reply was stark and simple. Bloodshot eyes glared at Rest with unmistakable murderous intent, as if staring at a sworn mortal enemy.
"...I don't recall giving you any reason to hate me quite that much," Rest remarked calmly.
If anything, Rest was the one with every right to harbor resentment and hatred.
After all, he was the one who had been blasted with dozens upon dozens of offensive spells and abused relentlessly since childhood.
"I'll kill you... It's all your fault! Everything! If you hadn't been taken in by House Rosemary, everything would have worked out perfectly...!" Cedric shrieked.
"Huh?" Rest squinted, baffled by the delusion.
"If you hadn't selfishly left our house, I would have passed the academy entrance exam! Viola and Primula were supposed to belong to me!"
"Don't address them so familiarly," Rest warned, his tone dropping sharply. "It's repulsive."
Rest fixed his foolish brother with a look of unadulterated contempt.
"They aren't your possessions, and your failure on the exam is entirely your own doing. I have nothing to do with it, so stop throwing a childish tantrum."
"Shut up!" Cedric screamed, stomping his feet on the spot.
His face contorted with rage as he threw an absolute fit.
"Dammit! It wasn't supposed to be like this! If not for you... if not for you, I would be a Court Mage by now! Damn it all! Don't look down on me! Every last one of you! I am the ultimate mage! I'm the man destined to claim status, honor, women, and everything else!"
"..."
"Father is disappointed in me, Mother keeps weeping... That's it! I'm not in the wrong! Everything fell apart only after you disappeared! So it's your fault!"
"...He's completely beyond help," Rest muttered under his breath.
Cedric was thoroughly broken. What a fragile, pathetic man.
Cedric Eberne had been pampered incessantly by his parents since infancy while lording over the weak. He had never known setback in his entire life, nor had he ever experienced decisive failure.
Even enticing the Rosemary twins into the forest and endangering their lives... in his warped mind, that was merely bad luck, not a personal failure.
That was why he was weak. Fragile. Pitiful. A mind that had never suffered the crush of defeat or squirmed in despair was so feeble that it shattered instantly at the very first sign of adversity.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you...!" Cedric howled, raving like a lunatic.
"Hmm...?" Rest narrowed his eyes.
As Cedric spewed his insane malice, he drew a staff from inside his coat.
It was an eerie implement, colored a pitch-black hue as though steeped in human malevolence.
An ominous, miasmic aura leaked from the staff, making it immediately obvious that this was no ordinary item.
"What's with that staff...?" Rest questioned. "It practically screams cursed artifact."
Mages in this world were capable of casting magic without staves.
If a mage ever resorted to a staff, it was either to compensate for a lack of raw skill or to act as a medium for casting specialized rituals.
...However, that staff is clearly neither of those things. It's not something a human should ever touch!
"Cedric, let go of that staff!" Rest barked a sharp warning.
"Shut up and die!" Cedric shrieked, swinging the staff.
Spellcraft erupted into motion as dozens of Thunderballs materialized around Cedric, surging violently toward Rest.
"Earth Wall!" Rest yelled, reacting reflexively.
He instantly deployed defensive magic to intercept the strike.
Lightning collided with the stone barrier rising before him, setting off deafening explosions.
"What is this output...?!" Rest gritted his teeth.
The defensive wall shuddered violently, threatening to crumble at any second.
Rest continuously funneled mana into the wall, reinforcing the collapsing earth.
Thanks to his bottomless pool of mana, he somehow managed to hold the line.
...This power far exceeds Cedric's true capabilities...! Rest realized.
He knew Cedric's strength inside and out.
After all, he had served as his target dummy for years. Rest likely possessed a far more accurate grasp of Cedric's abilities than their father, Lucas Eberne, ever did.
"Is it the staff's doing...?" Rest called out. "Does it possess the ability to drastically amplify its wielder's magic?!"
Of course, it was certainly no benign cheat item.
Anyone taking one look at that foul, sinister aura could understand as much.
"Thunderbolt!" Cedric bellowed in madness.
"Ngh...!"
Rest sensed an explosive surge of mana beyond the barrier, far eclipsing everything prior.
Leaping sideways to clear the barrier's shadow, he watched as a brutal shaft of lightning pierced the spot a fraction of a second later.
"Guh...!"
The Earth Wall blew apart into dust. Had Rest hesitated for even an instant, he would have been obliterated alongside it.
"Hahahahaha! How's that?! This is my power! The true strength of Cedric Eberne, the genius mage!" Cedric roared in exultation.
"In what world is that your power...?" Rest retorted dryly. "You're relying entirely on that cursed staff."
"Awhahahahaha! Die! Just die already!" Cedric screamed maniacally.
"Kuh...!"
Cedric began firing off magic completely at random.
Spells gouged deep trenches into the earth, ignited the surrounding trees, and scattered mindless destruction everywhere.
"It's powerful, sure... but it's hideous."
Ducking low to evade the onslaught, Rest muttered with deep disgust.
The staff's influence was plain to see; Cedric's features were warped into a grotesque caricature.
His eyes were bloodshot, his lips curled up in a monstrous grin, and bluish-purple discoloration was spreading from his right hand across his flesh.
Watching the corruption consume him, Rest felt a mix of sorrow and shame.
"To think this man is my brother... I don't know whether to feel sad or thoroughly embarrassed," Rest sighed softly.
The man once lauded as a prodigy had truly sunk to the absolute bottom.
It went beyond hatred—at this point, Rest found him downright pitiable.
"Stop running away! Just die already!" Cedric screamed at the top of his lungs.
He thrust the staff skyward, unleashing a massive volley of raw mana into the clouds.
Rest recognized the spell instantly—it was Thunderstorm, an advanced spell that summoned a deluge of lightning over a vast area.
...I only just realized it now, but... Cedric, you and I share the exact same affinity...
Though Rest could replicate any magic he witnessed, he still possessed personal proficiencies and weaknesses.
Lightning-element spells were his strong suit—and it seemed Cedric shared that exact trait.
...No matter how much we hated each other, I suppose blood will tell after all...
"Ah... how annoying," Rest voiced his irritation aloud.
A heartbeat later, the sky detonated with mana, raining down a torrential storm of lightning bolts.
Amplified by the cursed staff, the lightning strikes shattered the terrain, gouging deep craters into the forest floor.
"Hyahyahyahyaha! I killed him! I killed him!" Cedric screeched, his voice cracking with delight amid the swirling dust.
Cackling wildly, he danced in place.
"I killed Rest! Those women—Viola and Primula—are mine now!"
"Like hell I'd ever allow that... Are you stupid?" a flat voice cut through the noise.
"Wha—?!" Cedric gasped, his laughter cutting off short.
"Accelerator," Rest intoned calmly.
With a tone of absolute exasperation, Rest materialized directly in front of Cedric's face.
His right arm lashed out like a gale, burying a near-supersonic fist squarely into Cedric's cheek.
"Pugyah?!"
"Thunderstorm might cover a wide area, but its individual strikes lack concentrated power," Rest pointed out lecture-style as Cedric recoiled. "Isn't that the exact reason you failed your practical exam?"
Without pausing his critique, Rest's left leg whipped around.
A high kick sharp as a whip slammed into the side of Cedric's face, crashing him onto the dirt.
"Why?! How?!" Cedric shrieked like a spoiled child, flailing helplessly on the ground.
He bawled in confusion, but this outcome was entirely inevitable.
Thunderstorm was a spell meant for sweeping groups of enemies; the power of each individual bolt falling from the sky was actually lower than that of Thunderbolt, an intermediate spell of the same element.
Knowing this, Rest had ducked low to the ground, conjuring a quick dome of earth to shield himself. The moment the barrage ceased, he had lunged forward to punish Cedric's post-cast vulnerability.
"Your understanding of magic is shallow. Your duel experience is practically nonexistent. Your spellcraft is nothing more than a crude tool for bullying the weak," Rest declared coldly.
"Unfair! That's unfair! Why is it always you?!" Cedric sobbed.
"Quiet down already," Rest commanded.
"Bwuh..."
Conjuring a Water Ball, Rest blasted the pressurized water right into Cedric's crying face.
"You used me as target practice practically every single day," Rest said, his tone chillingly level. "So I'm returning the favor—all at once!"
Wind Ball! He hurled an orb of compressed gale straight into Cedric's chest.
"Guh-ack! Y-You bastard, how dare you!" Cedric sputtered.
"Oh, you're still full of energy," Rest noted emotionlessly. "Did that staff enhance your durability as well?"
In that case, there was no need to hold back. He would settle the debt completely.
"There's no way this is enough to settle the score. We're just getting started!"
Looking down with icy eyes, Rest began systematically invoking one spell after another like an automated machine.
Fireball! Wind Ball! Earth Ball! Water Ball! Thunderball! Poison Ball! Stone Bullet! Fire Cutter! Water Cutter! Wind Cutter! Earth Cutter! Fire Lance! Wind Lance! Earth Thorn! Water Lance! Burst! Explosion! Wind Control! Water Burial! Fire Burial! Earth Burial! Wind Burial...!
Every single spell launched was one that Cedric had used against Rest back during his miserable days at the Eberne estate.
Recalling the years endured under his brother and toxic parents, Rest unloaded the full back-pay of his suffering, wiping the slate clean spell by spell.
"Wah... It hurts... It hurts so bad..." Cedric sobbed whimpering.
By the time Rest finished delivering seventy-five distinct spells, Cedric was reduced to a twitching shell groaning in the dirt. Streams of tears poured from his eyes, which no longer held malice or hostility—only raw agony and despair.
"It's over," Rest declared, looking down at his pathetically weeping brother. "To the very end, you were a brother unworthy of a shred of respect."
Observing the broken boy, Rest foresaw that Cedric's life as a noble was effectively finished.
...He tried to murder me using some ominous cursed staff, fully aware that I've been taken in by Marquis Rosemary. If the Marquis learns of this, there will be hell to pay...
A mere petty honorary viscount family had bared its fangs against a great high noble like Marquis Rosemary. Neither Cedric nor House Eberne would escape ruin.
...It really is the end. Cedric, my useless father, and his wife... they're all done for...
"Hmm...?" Rest blinked.
As he turned to leave, Cedric's right hand caught his attention.
Despite being blasted by seventy-five spells, Cedric's hand was still tightly gripping the staff spewing foul miasma. Worse, his right arm had turned pitch-black, fusing flesh and wood together into a single entity.
"Wind Cutter!" Rest shouted without hesitation.
Recognizing the danger, he fired off a slashing spell to sever Cedric's right arm on the spot.
"Stop it!" Cedric shrieked violently.
"What...?!"
To Rest's shock, Cedric curled his body over his right arm to protect it.
The wind blade merely sliced open Cedric's back, missing its intended target.
"What are you doing, you idiot?!" Rest yelled.
"This is mine! It's my power! I won't give it to anyone!" Cedric screamed, clinging to the fused weapon.
"Tch...!"
Irritated beyond belief by his brother's tantrum, Rest kicked Cedric's body hard.
Flipping the face-down boy over, Rest prepared to slice off the arm along with the staff once and for all.
"ROAAAAAAAAR!"
"Wha...?!"
The next instant, a massive tidal wave of miasma erupted from Cedric's right arm.
The staff fractured into splinters with sickening crunches, and in its place, the right arm bulged and expanded from within. The monstrous growth didn't stop there—it swept across his entire torso until Cedric mutated into a giant nearly three meters tall.
"Is this... could it be a demon?" Rest gasped, taking in the towering monstrosity.
A gigantic form loomed over him, clad in poisonous bluish-purple skin. It possessed a terrifying demonic face flanked by twisted goat horns on either side of its head.
It was the incarnation of a true demon—a fiend depicted in ancient fables as an enemy of the gods.
"GRAOOOOOOOOH!"
"Gyahahahahaha! Amazing! It's incredible! Power is overflowing from inside me!"
Alongside the beast's roar, Cedric's grating laughter echoed across the forest.
Astonishingly, Cedric's face was embedded right in the creature's chest, speaking independently of the demon's head above.
"This is my true power! See?! I really am the genius mage!" Cedric screamed from the torso.
"I told you, that's not your power..." Rest deadpanned, shaking his head. "Can't you even realize what state you're in?"
Rest felt a profound, bottomless disappointment.
He thought he had already held Cedric in the lowest possible regard, but his estimation of his brother's foolishness seemed to have no floor whatsoever.
"No matter how you look at it, you've just been taken over by a demon," Rest remarked flatly. "It's past the point of being pathetic—it's almost funny."
The creature possessed two heads: the demon's main head and Cedric's face attached to its chest.
The demon was clearly the true host, while Cedric's face stuck to the chest like a parasitic tumor, gradually being absorbed.
"SHUT UP! DIE! DIEEEE!"
"GRAOOOOOOOOH!"
Yet the two heads seemed synchronized in their rage.
In sync with Cedric's furious roar, a tremendous pulse of mana erupted from the giant form.
Even Rest, with his infinite mana reserves, widened his eyes at the sheer intensity of the output.
"High Accelerator!" Rest shouted, springing into high gear.
He bolted at full speed across the terrain.
Colossal bolts of lightning struck at him relentlessly, which he evaded by a hair's breadth.
The destructive force far surpassed the staff's previous spells; trying to block it directly was out of the question.
Attempting to stop such attacks with a defensive barrier would only result in being obliterated along with the shield.
"Gyahahahahaha! Die! DIEEEE!" Cedric cackled madly from the chest.
...Tch! Getting ahead of yourself... Is this the true strength of a demon?!...Rest gritted his teeth while maneuvering rapidly.
He groaned as he stayed on the move.
In this modern age, demons were believed to be extinct.
Their ancient rampages persisted only as folklore and old myths.
...The legends were accurate... but why was a monster like this sealed inside that staff in the first place?
Deducing from the circumstances, the demon had been imprisoned within the cursed artifact stored in the Taboo Vault.
In his desperate greed for power, Cedric had carelessly unsealed the calamity upon the world.
"Once I kill you, those women are next! Hyahyahyahyaha!"
"I won't let them die easily! I'm gonna violate them over and over and over and over before beating them to death!"
"...Even reduced to a grotesque mutation, you never fail to infuriate me," Rest spoke in a voice cold enough to freeze blood. "You really are a genius at pushing my buttons."
The lingering soul of Cedric, spiteful even as a demon parasite, sparked a terrifying resolve within Rest.
The monster was bound to Cedric's lingering desires. If Rest fell here, it would undoubtedly rampage toward the Rosemary twins.
Marquis Albert, Marchioness Irishe, and Deeble would protect them, but their opponent was a demon straight out of legend.
Absolute safety could not be guaranteed.
"I'll put an end to you right here... I won't let you lay a finger on Viola or Primula!" Rest declared.
He would never allow a filthy monster to lay hands on the two girls who had rescued him from the abyss.
Steeling himself with fatal determination, Rest prepared to cast a singular spell.
"DIEEEE!"
"GRAOOOOOOOOH!"
The demon hurled a devastating column of lightning directly at the stationary boy... yet the moment it touched him, the lightning vanished into thin air.
Rest, who should have been charred to ash, stood there completely unblemished.
"Huh...?" Cedric gasped in disbelief.
"Hoshihami," Rest uttered calmly.
Unscathed and unburnt by the storm of electrical destruction.
Hovering over his right hand was a pitch-black orb roughly the size of a human head, aimed squarely at the demon.
"Hey, Cedric... Do you know what the highest honor is for a mage?" Rest asked in a measured voice.
"WHY?! How are you still alive?!"Cedric shrieked in panic.
"It's the creation of an original spell," Rest answered his own question.
"DIEEEE!"
Ignoring Rest's explanation, the demon spewed an immense torrent of lightning once again.
A tidal wave of electricity surged forward, but as Rest held up the black sphere, the attacks were sucked inside and erased instantly.
It was as if a miniature black hole were distorting and devouring light itself out of space.
"WHY?! Why won't you die?!"Cedric screamed hysterically.
"There are one thousand and seven officially registered spells listed in the Compendium of Magic. The developer's name is etched into magical history alongside their creation. And the organization that approves them is, as you know, the Council of Sages," Rest explained with detached composure.
Ignoring Cedric's frantic screaming, Rest continued his monologue like a scholar reciting history.
The Council of Sages was a supranational, extrajudicial body comprising archmages capable of swaying entire nations. To forge a spell recognized by them as a true new spell was the pinnacle of achievement for any wielder of magic.
"If one manages to develop a new spell, His Majesty the King would grant them a title superior to even a count, let alone a viscount. Though no mage of that caliber has appeared in this kingdom for decades."
Even if every Court Mage pooled their wisdom, creating a recognized new spell remained immensely difficult.
Anyone could churn out half-baked spells, but surpassing existing magic was another matter entirely. The Council of Sages officially sanctioned a new spell only about once every decade.
"A while ago, someone subjected me to an absurdly difficult trial," Rest reflected. "Realizing my inadequacy at the time, I went through countless trials and errors to forge a spell unique to myself—one that capitalizes on my infinite mana. And... this is the result."
"...!"
Gazing at the pitch-black sphere, Rest smirked self-deprecatingly.
"Spell name: Hoshihami... A unified offense-defense spell that manifests a dark star to swallow and annihilate all matter. I managed to achieve the desired effect, but it's a defective spell that only I can cast. It drains a ridiculous amount of mana just to maintain—the efficiency is utterly abysmal."
This spell would likely never be recognized by the Council of Sages or recorded in the Compendium of Magic.
It was a botched spell that burned one thousand units of mana to achieve one unit of output. Without bottomless mana reserves, invoking it was impossible.
"It's a spell perfectly fitting for someone who was dubbed 'the magicless good-for-nothing'... But if it's just to kill you, a defective spell like this is more than enough."
Lowering his stance, Rest held the dark star at the ready.
In that instant, memories of his life at the Eberne estate flashed across his mind like a revolving lantern.
His mother, who had been cast out of the viscount's household and raised him with desperate love in severe poverty.
The day at the chapel when he was branded magicless and discarded as useless trash.
The long, dark days of trembling in horse stables, being pelted with stones, forced to eat scraps like a dog, and blasted with magic under the guise of training.
It was all coming to an end right here. This was the final destination of a cursed fate that had bound him since before his birth.
"This is the end of our long connection... I didn't necessarily hate you enough to seek your death, but if I leave you alive, Viola and Primula will be in danger. So I'm going to kill you."
"AAAAAAAH!"
"GRAOOOOOOOOH!"
Hearing Rest's cold sentence, the demon and Cedric unleashed a frenzied double roar.
A deluge of lightning roared forth in tandem with their cries, only to be completely devoured and neutralized as it reached the dark star.
"WHY?! Why always you?! You're supposed to be a good-for-nothing!"Cedric screamed hysterically.
"The time for you to spout such nonsense has long since passed... though I suppose talking to you is a waste of breath," Rest said.
Kicking off the ground, Rest closed in on the demon instantly.
The monster flailed its limbs in wild panic, shooting off random spells, while Cedric did nothing but weep uselessly from its torso.
Hoshihami had poor fuel efficiency and short range, but at point-blank distance, missing was impossible.
"Farewell, Cedric," Rest stated simply.
"NOOOOOOOOO!"Cedric shrieked in terror.
"Hoshihami!"
The dark star consumed the flailing giant arms, then swallowed the massive torso, the head, and the legs.
Rest did not know what became of matter swallowed by the dark star...
As it was erased entirely, it would never return to this world again.
"Aaaaaah..."
Cedric's screams grew fainter and fainter... until at last, silence fell across the forest.
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