Good News and Bad News Arrive Simultaneously

While waiting alone in the castle for dinner to be prepared, Sylvia heard the news that Kyle and Vermillion had returned, and she rushed out to greet them.

What greeted her were two people with strikingly contrasting appearances.

“…Um, you two. Did something happen?”

“Ah, no. What could have happened? Haha! Nothing happened at all.”

“Yes, don’t worry about it, Gongnyeo-nim.”

“……?”

For some reason, Vermillion looked like he had tumbled down a mountainside, with his clothes torn in several places, and even a blue bruise etched near his right jaw.

In contrast, Kyle had a very refreshed expression, but when asked about the details, he was quick to change the subject very blatantly.

Vermillion’s expression, in particular, had a smile on his lips, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

I thought they just went for a brief sparring session, but how did it end up like this?

“I, well, I’ll go change my clothes for a bit.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

Vermillion greeted them and then headed to his room as if running away.

Kyle, who had kindly told him where the room was, faced Sylvia again with an expression that seemed even more refreshed than when he had dealt with her earlier.

“By the way, Gongnyeo-nim, what brings you here?”

“Ah, I heard that dinner is almost ready.”

“I see. Then I’ll take Vermillion, so please go ahead and wait.”

Buu, Sylvia’s cheeks puffed up at those words.

Of course, it’s the host’s duty to care for guests, so there’s nothing strange about his words.

However, what she didn’t like was that when she had followed him to the training grounds earlier and suggested they go eat lunch together, he had avoided it with the excuse that he needed to wash up.

Yet, he’s going to personally bring Vermillion, even making him wait; isn’t the treatment too different?

Even if you think about it, she’s also a guest in her own right.

“It’s okay. There should still be some time left, so I’ll wait with you.”

“No, there’s really no need to….”

“Why? Are you uncomfortable with me being here?”

“…….”

Kyle wondered why this woman was acting like this again, given her sharp tone.

But the moment he questioned it, a blade would surely be hanging over his neck again, so he decided to nod obediently.

Sometimes, knowing when to yield is what makes a true man.

Of course, it’s ironic that the frequency is particularly high only in front of Sylvia.

“Of course not. Then, shall we sit on the terrace for a while and chat?”

“Okay.”

Her face brightened at his suggestion, and she followed Kyle like a chick chasing after its mother hen.

‘Huh?’

Then, suddenly feeling a sense of incongruity, Kyle looked down at his feet.

Is it just my imagination?

I’m sure that when Vermillion and I left for the training grounds earlier, and even just a little while ago, my pace seemed quite fast.

Now, it felt so slow that she could easily catch up without having to speed up her pace.

With a thought of ‘Could it be?’, Sylvia continued to observe Kyle’s stride as if studying it, and then, with a mischievous smile like a little devil, she slyly moved her body closer to Kyle’s side.

“…Um, Gongnyeo-nim? It’s a bit difficult to walk if you stick so close.”

“Hehe, sorry. But I thought that since Layard-gongja was matching his pace for me, that’s what you meant by doing this.”

“……!”

Kyle’s eyes widened at the sharp remark, and for a fleeting moment, a faint blush spread across his face.

Apparently, Sylvia had been cooped up in her room since she was young, so even if she wasn’t as weak as her mother, Marian, her stamina was a bit low.

So her stride is narrow, her pace is slow, and when she walks for a long time, she’s busy breathing heavily, ‘Hek. Hek.’

Since Kyle had known this from the start, he always naturally slowed down his pace to accommodate her when walking with her, but he never expected to be caught.

It’s not exactly a flaw, but from Kyle’s perspective, it was more embarrassing than having a flaw exposed.

“Ah, no. It’s not that I was trying to match my pace….”

“You were just annoyed that I was following so slowly. Right?”

“…….”

So, he tried to offer even a pathetic excuse, but even that was caught by Sylvia, and he had to avoid her gaze.

Meanwhile, Sylvia, looking up at him from below with a bright smile, couldn’t hide her affection.

‘Look at him blushing. Kyle has this side to him too.’

How many women could suppress the maternal instincts that welled up when seeing a man who always seemed cold only become shy in front of her?

Kkog.

“It’ll be much easier to match our pace like this.”

“…I don’t know about matching our pace, but it’ll be very uncomfortable to walk.”

“Well, what does it matter?”

Still, because Sylvia had some self-control, she was able to endure the surging desires somehow by clinging to his arm.

Kyle tried not to focus on the soft sensation that kept touching his elbow.

How could someone who had been cooped up in a room and barely making ends meet with food that came out like rations have such good development, geez.

“By the way, you still call me by my family name, but you call Drake-gongja by his first name so comfortably.”

Soon after arriving at the terrace and sitting across from each other, Sylvia threw a rather pointed remark.

Kyle, sweating nervously, tried to act nonchalant and replied.

“There’s a difference between calling someone of the same gender by their first name and calling someone of the opposite gender by their first name, isn’t there?”

“Does that mean you’re thinking of me as the opposite gender?”

“…Let’s drop it.”

“Tch, just when it’s about to get interesting, you try to slip away like that.”

I just want to ask whose fun it is, but Kyle knew that he would only suffer if he said more, so he sighed and stopped talking, then paused.

Sylvia, who he thought was just making playful remarks, was looking down with a rather troubled expression.

It seemed that she was quite concerned about the matter in her own way.

She was just afraid that if she spoke too seriously, it would burden him, so she spoke jokingly.

Kyle continued his internal conflict and finally spoke cautiously.

“…Sylvia.”

“……!?”

“Is this enough?”

From the beginning, it was strange that he called her mother, Marian, by her first name, but stiffly called her Eleanor Gongnyeo-nim.

Originally, he was stubbornly insisting on calling her by her family name to express a sense of distance, but at this point, even that wouldn’t be of much use.

So, Kyle surrendered, calling her name and watching her expression.

In a situation that unfolded so quickly without warning, Sylvia showed a rare look of embarrassment and jumped up from her seat.

“W-wait a minute! I didn’t quite hear it! Just once, no, please say it about ten more times…!”

What do you mean you didn’t quite hear it? If that were the case, you wouldn’t be so surprised.

In the meantime, the act of stubbornly changing the number made Kyle’s head throb.

Since when has Sylvia become so brazen?

At least in the old days, even if she had a slightly brazen side, she didn’t seem to be so thick-skinned.

“I refuse.”

“Aww, that’s so unfair! Layard-gongja…. No, Kyle!”

“I said I would call you by your first name, but I don’t think I ever allowed Gongnyeo-nim to call me by my first name.”

“That’s also unfair! You should allow this much in an engagement relationship!”

“We’re not even in an engagement relationship.”

In the end, the two people’s bickering continued until Vermillion returned.

Still, Sylvia got what she wanted, so it wasn’t a bad result.

Maybe tonight, she’ll feel full even if she doesn’t eat dinner.

＊＊＊

That night, Kyle carefully left his room.

It’s not exactly because he had too many thoughts, like before, and wanted to wander around aimlessly.

He just had a prior engagement to meet someone tonight, so he’s doing it to fulfill that.

“You’ve arrived. Calling someone out and being late, you have quite the nasty personality.”

When he arrived at the empty reception room, Vermillion, who had arrived earlier, threw a rebuke at him.

However, Kyle, without any guilt about being late, shrugged his shoulders and instead chided Vermillion.

“You just came out unnecessarily early. And can’t you do something about that tone?”

“Unfortunately, it’s become a habit now.”

“What a shitty habit.”

It’s okay to use honorifics, but unlike Sylvia, who is naturally like that, Kyle was subtly annoyed by the fact that a sly guy like Vermillion was always using polite speech.

Anyway, since he didn’t come here to fix his tone, he set up a soundproof barrier and sat directly across from Vermillion.

“I saw earlier that you seemed to be making good progress, so you’re doing what I told you properly, right?”

“Yes, somehow. At least, I think I can reach the 5th Circle within two years.”

“That’s good news.”

Is he indeed one of the most talented people in the Vermillion family?

Although he borrowed the power of the Eyes of Dawn, it’s still an unprecedented speed, even considering that.

Perhaps if Kyle hadn’t experienced the miracle of regression, their positions would be reversed now.

That’s how much he couldn’t help but praise Vermillion’s talent when it came to magic.

“Honestly, I was a bit surprised. I didn’t think you would really help me.”

“That was the agreement. Besides, if you get stronger and help me, things will be easier as a result.”

“Don’t you think I might betray you?”

“Then I’ll just kill you. Why, are you thinking of doing that?”

Gooo.

The moment he mentioned the word betrayal, Vermillion swallowed as the mana began to surge around Kyle.

No, that’s almost murderous intent rather than mana.

What kind of hell has he gone through to be able to unleash such dense murderous intent at that age?

“…Let’s just say no for now. It’s most beneficial for me to work with you to achieve my goals.”

“Your goals, now that I think about it, I haven’t heard them.”

“There’s nothing particularly grand. I just want to obtain the position of Magic Tower Lord and the Empire’s greatest magician, both of those positions together.”

Vermillion said it casually, but that was only based on his standards.

To others, it was a goal worthy of being called an ambitious person.

One significant thing in all of this was that the position of head of the Drake family didn’t exist in his goals.

Of course, depending on how you guess, you could assume that the position of head of the family is practically decided, so that’s why he said that.

But Kyle thought that there was a separate meaning contained within it.

“…You’re saying you can abandon the family for the sake of your dreams, is that it?”

“Yes. Do you think I’m ruthless?”

“Not really.”

Without even making eye contact with Vermillion, who was asking back, Kyle shrugged his shoulders.

From the beginning, he had guessed that he was that kind of person, so he proposed the contract to Vermillion.

Because he was an ambitious person who could abandon his family, his relatives, and his lover for the sake of his dreams, he was able to obtain his loyalty in exchange for power.

“Anyway, let’s stop with the personal stories. I happen to have an important matter to tell you.”

“An important matter, is it about Sylvia?”

“It’s similar. To be exact, it’s about you and Eleanor Gongnyeo-nim.”

“…….”

From the fact that the two people’s names were tied together, Kyle already guessed what story would follow.

“Assassins will probably be coming soon. They’re aiming for your and Eleanor Gongnyeo-nim’s heads.”