Ch.188Time Flows #9

At first glance, it looked like a shy child who had just entered high society and was struggling to adapt, surrounded by women who seemed to be pleasantly conversing with him out of consideration.

However, Nix knew the reality was entirely different, and even while engaged in conversation with the group around him, he carefully observed Selen’s expression without being noticed.

The face that was gradually becoming tinged with melancholy as she accepted criticisms delivered with smiling faces.

“…Yes, I enjoyed it too. I hope we’ll have another chance to talk. Well then, please excuse me.”

So Nix, after finishing with the customary farewell, broke away from the group and approached Selen.

Helena’s advice to create a situation where Selen would rely on him and gain her favor by helping her had proven accurate, but he couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable about it.

Even when things go according to plan, it doesn’t always feel good.

Nix gained a life lesson as he very naturally inserted himself between Selen and the noble ladies.

“Excuse me. It seems I’ve interrupted an interesting conversation?”

“Yes. Ah… yes! Despite being somewhat younger, she’s quite knowledgeable and has been sharing informative and entertaining stories.”

“I’m glad to hear that. However…”

Did he not hear? He couldn’t have heard, right?

Scarlet was secretly relieved that Nix seemed surprisingly oblivious, and tried to laugh it off casually to move past the moment.

However, a cold sweat ran down the back of her neck as she realized her assumption was mistaken.

“I’m rather possessive, so… from now on, please make sure to get my permission before speaking with her. Don’t approach her carelessly and say whatever you want like today. Understood?”

For nobles, what matters is not the difference in age but the difference in status.

That’s why even though Nix might be more than ten years younger than Scarlet, it was natural that she couldn’t say a word against him.

While she was just one of many common children in her household, Nix was the only child of a duke renowned as a war hero and Sword Master.

“…Yes. I understand Lord Krauser’s words perfectly.”

Scarlet nodded obediently, intimidated by Nix’s bottomless eyes that were hardly childlike, the pressure emanating from his very being, and the difference in their status.

Seeing this, the other noble ladies seemed to take note and bowed their heads in greeting as well.

“Thank you for understanding. So I’ll specially overlook your behavior from earlier. Normally, I can’t stand people who bully those close to me… but since it’s your first time.”

When Nix said this with a grateful smile, all the noble ladies nearby shuddered with a chill running down their spines.

It wasn’t just his demeanor that clearly conveyed his anger despite his smile; they were frightened by the fact that he had approached them so smoothly while pretending not to know what was happening when he clearly did.

“Y-yes… Well then, we’ll take our leave now.”

“Yes. Take care.”

Scarlet was so terrified of the small Nix that she interpreted even his casually offered farewell as a threat against her life.

So she quickly left the place despite stumbling, and Selen watched her departure with blank eyes.

Seeing someone with strong power crumble before even stronger power felt relatable, but above all, she was too caught up in strange feelings to think about anything else.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t just say I disliked them without reason, so I stepped away briefly, but then this happened right away…”

“N-no. It’s fine. What they said was true anyway.”

Selen was well aware that sometimes words could be sharper than daggers, piercing the heart of the recipient.

So Selen, who had been feeling increasingly intimidated, was greatly confused that it was Nix who had rescued her from that situation.

The shock was all the greater because she had only seen his childlike yet sinister side until now.

And that shock grew day by day, eventually changing Selen’s deeply ingrained impression of Nix.

Just as the adults who had sent the two children into high society had predicted.

.

When someone helps a person in a difficult situation, they naturally feel grateful and form a good impression of their helper.

And this good impression was thought to be what Nix needed most right now, which is why they deliberately sent him out to the social gatherings hosted by various territories.

I was content to live quietly, and Helena only needed me, so we hadn’t felt the need to enter society and had delayed our debut, but this case was different.

The plan was to place Selen in an environment where she would have to depend on Nix, thereby changing her perception of him, and society was chosen for this purpose.

“It seems to be working out well, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed.”

I answered while keeping my gaze fixed on the documents in my office, standing shoulder to shoulder with Helena.

At first, I thought her advice that one should know when to step back if they want something was quite blunt, but seeing how well he followed it made me change my mind.

Perhaps because they shared the common trait of strong attachment to family, they seemed to understand each other well.

“But Helena, are you really alright with accepting that daughter from the Imperial Guild as your daughter-in-law?”

As Selen was falling deeper for Nix, a deeper relationship was only a matter of time.

That meant she would eventually enter this ducal family as a daughter-in-law.

So when I casually asked if there might be any opposition, Helena tilted her head and spoke.

“Why? Nix likes her. Isn’t that enough?”

Not only does the Krauser ducal family not consider status when choosing spouses, but Helena’s open-mindedness was clearly evident.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have so casually asked what the problem was.

“That’s true. I think so too. But she’s the daughter of the Guild that had a tense relationship with us. I wondered if that bothered you.”

“It’s been quite some time since they disappeared, and the only one who bothered me was the slave who was the Guild Master. What sin could the child have?”

But. Helena paused there, then hugged my arm tightly and spoke in a low voice.

“If that child ever bares her teeth and talks about rebuilding the Imperial Guild… then we’ll have to discuss it with Nix.”

“Cut her throat?”

“Of course not. Killing someone I love is absolutely impossible for me. That means that child can never make such a choice either. Of course, if someone else kills her, I’d kill that person. Just like I would.”

If Helena were to kill Selen with her own hands, Nix might turn on Helena with blazing eyes.

He wouldn’t be able to kill her right away, so he’d calmly wait for his chance.

Just imagining that scenario made me feel slightly nauseous, and I thought that such a situation must absolutely be avoided.

“We’ll need to educate her well.”

“If all else fails, we can have Eve help with some brainwashing to correct her thinking. It’s not that serious, and Nix would understand it as a compromise. She’s old enough to know how important the right background is for nurturing love.”

Torture and brainwashing. In some ways, that doesn’t seem like a good method either, but thinking it’s much better than killing each other, I silently nodded.

Later, I would be secretly relieved to hear Selen’s sincere declaration that she had no such intentions, but at that time, I didn’t know that, so only a bitter taste lingered in my mouth.

.

It’s very confusing when someone shows an unexpected side of themselves, especially a reliable one.

As someone who had directly experienced this over the past few months in high society, Selen was still struggling with her confused feelings.

“…so I got hurt again during training, but Clotho and Lachesis took good care of me, so I think I’ll heal quickly.”

Clotho and Lachesis. They are the daughters of two women who have been called the duke’s trusted retainers since before the war, having achieved great merit.

Selen, having not only heard their names but also conversed with them directly, knew that they were not only talented but also had excellent character.

Though young, they connected as women, which was like a breath of fresh air for her stifled heart.

Of course, by now that stifled feeling had largely dissipated, and above all, she found joy in Nix’s daily visits, making her feel comfortable.

“Um… but are you alright? Because of the rumors spreading in society…”

“Rumors? What about them? I actually like it.”

The son of Duke Krauser is so infatuated with the daughter of a fallen guild that he can’t think straight.

Nix was well aware of such rumors and the mocking undertones within them, but he didn’t bother to deny them.

He saw no need to get upset about what he considered an obvious fact.

“But it will tarnish your reputation… are you really not bothered?”

“Society loves gossip. The people who spread such things probably have plenty of flaws themselves. It’s just amusing.”

Although negative rumors naturally tend to bother people, there was no sign of concern in Nix’s expression.

This was because he knew there had been a time when even Helena had a poor reputation due to her madness, and he understood that such things eventually get overturned or forgotten.

Moreover, gaining practical benefits was far more important than such rumors.

Sensing his sincerity, Selen hesitated with her mouth tightly shut before asking a question she couldn’t have even imagined bringing up just a few months ago.

“Young master… what is it about me that you like so much?”

And that question was exactly what Nix had been waiting for, causing him to unconsciously smile with curled lips.

He was confident that the time had come for his efforts to bear fruit—following Helena’s teachings by honestly confessing his nature and then showing restraint.

“Hmm…? I just like you. But why do you ask suddenly? Has your mind changed a bit?”

If their genders had been reversed, things might have resolved much more easily, but still, it was worth the patience and waiting.

Thinking the time was ripe, Nix rose from his seat and slowly walked toward Selen.

With each step closer, a strange tension filled the air, and Selen, sensing it, swallowed hard.

Perhaps because Nix had spoken to them in advance, no one came to Selen’s room, and not even a plausible presence could be felt.

“Ah, well…”

With the subtle hints dropped by Helena and Zion, and her own emotional changes, fear had begun to be replaced by a strange sense of superiority, naturally changing her attitude.

One example was how Selen, who had once only trembled in fear as Nix closed the distance, now blushed shyly.

And when Nix, who had been watching her, placed his hand on her shoulder, she even fidgeted slightly in uncertainty.

Remembering Helena and Zion’s words that Nix’s feelings were neither casual nor false.

“May I?”

While an ordinary child might have tilted their head in confusion, not knowing what he intended to do, Selen vaguely understood what he wanted through the atmosphere, Nix’s expression, and his voice.

More precisely, she didn’t know exactly what actions happened in such situations, but Helena had kindly explained it to her.

However, considering that explanation came on the very night Selen returned from touring high society, she must have anticipated such a situation would arise soon.

In a way, this might have seemed like being played in the palm of someone’s hand, which could have made her angry, but Selen had no time for anger right now.

The best she could do was wait quietly, tense about what was to come.

“…Yes.”

With that brief response from Selen, Nix, as if he had been waiting for this, brought his lips close to somewhere on her face.

The delicate features and voice that she had only known intellectually until now pierced her heart, and she was entranced by her first kiss, which she had only read about in books.

Though the two children don’t yet know what further experiences await them due to their youth… that too is only a matter of time.

Perhaps, when they reach an appropriate age, they will desire each other as if it had always been so.

Just as someone else once did.