04. Return Home in Gold.

 

 

Kwang!

 

 

“For a man, your work is awfully sloppy.”

“….”

 

Aran stared blankly at the documents scattered on the desk.

Those documents contained hours of his effort.

 

 

Huana flipped through them one by one, as if showing off.

 

 

“The layout is a mess, the strategy is a mess, and the supplies are a mess. Do it all again.”

“….”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“I… I understand.”

 

 

 

She treated Aran as if he were a stranger.

Even though it had been almost a month since they became family.

 

 

“Oh, and a warning: don’t hang around Iliana-unni too much. It’s unpleasant to see.”

“Huh? Why is that….”

 

 

She let out a sneer.

 

 

“Do you really have to ask? I don’t particularly like Unni, but I can’t tolerate her being seen with someone like you, who has no background, and becoming the talk of the town.”

 

 

It seemed she hated Aran from head to toe.

No, rather than hate, she didn’t like the fact that a commoner had suddenly risen to prominence.

 

 

“Why aren’t you answering again? Do you think I’m easy to push around just because I’m using polite speech with you?”

 

 

She seemed to harbor a venomous snake.

Her eyes, raised as if symbolizing pride, stared directly at Aran.

 

 

‘…She’s a bit of a pain…’

 

 

Aran didn’t feel bad so much as annoyed.

He could understand her reaction, as it was the reaction Aran had initially expected.

He actually thought this was a relatively mild response.

 

 

‘Accepting a complete stranger, this much hazing is nothing….’

 

 

 

“Huana, are you now trying to drive a wedge between Aran and me?”

 

 

Iliana appeared, opening the door.

Questioning her with her usual cold face, she looked quite displeased.

 

 

“Unni, perfect timing. I wanted to ask why you’re always with this man.”

“What reason is there to give? It’s only natural for siblings to get along.”

“Oh my. Hehehe.”

 

Huana laughed as if she was dumbfounded.

Iliana frowned slightly.

 

 

“To recognize a man with no background as your real brother….”

“Then are you disobeying Mother’s words? Mother clearly told you to get along with Aran.”

“Ahahahahaha!!”

 

Huana burst into laughter, cutting Iliana off.

 

 

“Unni!! You’re making me laugh too much!”

 

 

She pointed at Aran with her index finger.

 

 

“Get along with this lowly bastard? I don’t think so. A princess has her dignity. Don’t you know how much people are whispering outside?”

“I don’t give a damn about that. And Aran is not lowly. What kind of country’s prince is called lowly?”

“He wasn’t originally!! What’s so great about a guy who suddenly rose to prominence! Oh, fine, I’ll step back and say he’s great because he has outstanding talent in swordsmanship. But does that change his bloodline?”

 

She lashed out as if she had some kind of resentment towards Aran.

 

 

“No matter what anyone says, this man is just a lowly commoner. His roots are like that!!”

 

 

Iliana was silent for a moment.

It wasn’t that she had nothing to say, but that she had too much to say.

 

 

 

 

“If you truly think that way, then you are sorely mistaken.”

“Hmph. About what?”

“Mother was originally a farmer from the countryside. According to your logic, Mother is also a lowly person, and we are also lowly people.”

“Mother built all of this with her own strength!! It’s completely different! What has he done?!”

“He is the child that your mother, who achieved all this on her own, desired.”

“Hmph. Desired? Don’t make me laugh. She just brought him in to replace Merlin.”

“You….”

“What? Did I say something wrong? It’s true, isn’t it? This guy was just brought in as a Merlin substitute? Well, I’ll admit that Mother’s been looking brighter lately thanks to this man.”

 

Iliana shook her head, feeling that there was no point in saying more.

 

 

“Haa… Let’s go, Aran. There’s no point in staying here.”

“Ah… well…”

“No. That man still has work to do.”

“Are you talking about listening to your nagging? If that’s the case, I’ve heard plenty, so stop it.”

“…Are you really going to do this?”

 

Iliana didn’t answer and dragged Aran out.

The furious Huana clenched her fist on the table.

 

 

Kadeudeuk!

 

 

Her fingers dug into the wooden table.

 

 

“…Suspicious. There’s something going on.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Aran. You don’t have to keep listening to her.”

“Uh… but she’s my second Nuna, isn’t she?”

“Does that mean you’re going to keep listening to meaningless nagging? Those documents from earlier were just Huana’s spite, right?”

“Yeah… well…”

“Call me if she does that again. No, just stay with me. Huana is a very venomous woman.”

“She seems like it.”

 

With that kind of spirit, she’d chase you to the ends of the earth.

 

 

“Anyway, Aran, is there any progress with your Mana?”

“Um…. It’s ambiguous.”

 

After returning from the Ainu region, the lock was released.

It was a little strange that it was released even though he didn’t seem to have done anything, but he subscribed to Mana this time in case it disappeared.

 

 

[Would you like to subscribe to Mana?]

 

 

What a heart-stirring sentence that was.

 

 

He felt like he had everything in the world.

 

 

-This world is made of Mana, and it communicates through Mana.

 

 

It’s a very famous saying. And it was also the truth.

He was now able to learn such Mana as an ultimate skill, so how could he not be happy?

 

 

However, he hid it appropriately, as suddenly becoming too good at handling Mana could be seen as strange.

 

 

“I see. Don’t be impatient, Aran. You will surely awaken someday. No, you are definitely using Mana unconsciously. You just can’t bring it up to your consciousness. That’s usually the case with geniuses.”

“Yes, Nuna.”

 

 

She nodded and suddenly wrapped her arms around Aran’s waist.

 

 

“Ah…!”

 

 

She pulled him into her soft yet firm body and pointed at a spot with a distant gaze.

 

 

“Do you see it, Aran? The sea is truly mysterious and beautiful. Doesn’t it seem like it’s holding jewels?”

 

What she pointed at was the waves reflecting the sunlight.

 

 

The seawater sparkled like it was holding pearls, appealing to its appearance. It looked calm at times, and boisterous at others.

 

 

“It does….”

 

He couldn’t answer properly because of her body stimulating him softly.

Whether she knew it or not, she continued her words.

 

 

“How about it, Aran? Traveling the world with this Nuna.”

“Huh?”

“After this war is over. You’re not interested in the throne anyway… and this Nuna has no desire for the throne either. I just want to see the end of the sword while traveling the world.”

 

There must be many seas like this in the world.

 

 

She added.

 

 

“Aran, if I’m with you, I feel like even my lacking self can grasp at least the hem of the end of the sword.”

“Nuna….”

“Hehe. If I stay here, I’ll get wrinkles from Huana’s nagging.”

“I-Is that so.”

 

She laughed, saying yes.

The sea breeze blew strongly, scattering her bobbed hair.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

“Hmph. The lowly love affair between siblings is audible even here. You filthy bitches.”

 

As Aran entered the room, the cynical former Duchess greeted him.

 

 

She was in a state where she was restricted from using Mana.

 

 

As Aran ignored her and cleaned the table, she continued to speak.

 

 

“It’s disgusting. Well, Cornelia-that bitch-isn’t normal, so how could her children be normal? Oh, you weren’t that bitch’s child. My bad, kekeke.”

 

Aran ignored her words.

 

 

 

Originally, he was going to bring Estelle to torment her, but unfortunately, she was attending knight school, so he gave up.

So, the one he brought was the former Duchess.

 

 

Stripped of her title and even her name deleted due to treason, Aran gave her the name ‘Marie.’

Since then, whether she liked it or not, her name became Marie.

 

 

“Marie, do you want to do it with your ass again?”

 

 

As Aran said one word, her muttering disappeared.

 

It was already upsetting to be defeated by this young punk, but to be defeated from behind?

Could there be such shame?

That alone was something she vehemently refused.

 

 

 

Aran, who had finished cleaning the table, went to the bed and sat down.

 

“You don’t want to do it with your ass, do you?”

“……You son of a bitch…”

 

Marie glared at him venomously before kneeling down and going between his legs.

 

 

 

She lowered Aran’s pants and underwear and buried her face in the base of his large, erect member.

 

 

Chureup..chuuup..

 

The moist stimulation made his member grow even larger.

 

 

Marie opened her mouth, took one of his balls into her mouth, and rolled it around.

Even so, her gaze was fixed on Aran.

 

 

It was truly a commendable gaze.

 

 

“Huana……”

 

 

The name of a woman suddenly slipped from Aran’s lips.