Ch.6262. Someone Might Mistake You for My Daughter

“Child, what’s your name?”

“….It’s Lucien.”

Lucien was dragged into the reception room.

How this happened was, from what I gathered, Leonard had picked a fight with Jawill Wilson at the training grounds.

Something about him being the loser who was defeated by ‘Selden Alphonse.’

And then.

Lucien, who was standing nearby, talked back, and Leonard’s anger turned toward the child.

It seems he got hit by a breath attack in the process.

As Baron Byron questioned Lucien, Leonard squirmed indignantly.

“This, this isn’t human!! He breathed fire at me!! Can’t you tell just by looking at my burned face?”

Baron Byron let out a hollow laugh, seemingly dumbfounded.

“Haha, child, can you really breathe fire from your mouth as my son claims?”

“How could I do that? I’m not a dragon….”

“Then why would my son misunderstand?”

“Perhaps because of this?”

Lucien then made a fist and extended his index finger. A small flame appeared at the fingertip.

“Has, has this child learned magic?”

What’s this?

When did he learn fire magic?

There are magic-related books in the study, but did he learn magic just from reading?

Well, he is a dragon, so perhaps he naturally knew how to use magic from birth?

As Baron Byron showed surprise, Leonard shouted again in outrage.

“That’s a lie! Earlier, fire definitely came out of his mouth!”

It would have been better if he had acted more cautiously….

But what can I do?

He follows me as his father, for better or worse, and he’s not even a month old yet.

I let out a short sigh and turned my gaze to Baron Byron.

“I taught him magic.”

“You taught him magic?”

“Yes, there were some unfortunate circumstances, but I allowed him to stay at the mansion because he has magical talent.”

Leonard grabbed my collar with a reddened face.

“D-don’t be ridiculous! How could you teach magic when you don’t even have the ability!”

“Fireball!”

Controlling my magical power, I made a fireball float above my index finger just like Lucien had done. Leonard backed away in shock.

“That’s impossible…. I couldn’t even learn magic….”

“Please don’t assume that what the older brother can’t do, the younger brother can’t do either.”

“…I definitely saw fire coming out of that child’s mouth!”

“You probably mistook it because of the fire that suddenly appeared before your eyes.”

“That’s not possible!!”

What can I do when he cries out in indignation?

I mentioned magic and even demonstrated casting it, so no matter how frustrated he is, he has no way to prove his claim.

Baron Byron rubbed his forehead and waved his hand.

“Leonard, you look tired. Go in and rest.”

“Father!”

“Leonard.”

When he called his name in a heavy tone, Leonard opened and closed his mouth before storming out of the reception room with a “hmph!”

Then, Baron Byron turned his gaze to me.

“You said this child’s name is Lucien?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“With this level of talent from such a young age, it would be appropriate to send him to a magic academy.”

At Baron Byron’s words, Lucien strongly hugged my thighs with both arms.

“I, I want to learn magic from young master.”

Baron Byron stared at me intently at Lucien’s sudden action.

“…Anyone would mistake her for your daughter.”

“Haha, this child is very attached to me.”

“I can see that.”

“Besides, Jawill Wilson is the only family this child has. A magic academy would be good, but since the child is quite lonely, it seems better for me to keep her by my side and teach her, at least for the time being.”

“To think that a rascal like you would now be someone’s teacher, it’s quite moving.”

After that, the conversation with Baron Byron ended smoothly.

I thought he would interrogate me about how I could use magic, but he didn’t even ask about it, perhaps having already heard from Brighton.

And the good news that he would leave early tomorrow morning….

I feel lighter knowing that he’s returning to the family estate sooner than expected.

Well, there’s still an issue I need to address.

Sitting askew in the study chair, I narrowed my eyes at Jawill Wilson.

“Do you want to die?”

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to take Lucien to the training grounds while my father was at the mansion??”

“Well, Lucien seemed so restless… I couldn’t just keep her in the room all the time, could I?”

“No, you could have taken her to see the village instead. Why did you have to go to the training grounds where you’d be noticed!!”

“…Ah! I didn’t think of that!?”

Did I really make the right decision entrusting Lucien to this guy?

It’s maddening having to explain everything from A to Z.

Unlike Lucien, who understands twenty things when taught one, Jawill Wilson forgets even that one thing, which is frustrating.

“Haaa…. Maybe I should just entrust Lucien to Rio instead?”

Jawill Wilson flinched in surprise and clenched his fists.

“N-no!! I’ll work hard!!”

“Let’s say Lucien gets a pass because she’s still young, but how can I trust you when you cause trouble every other day?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“We’re lucky that Lucien was quick-witted enough to pretend she learned fireball, but what if someone had realized she was a dragon today?”

Though nagging isn’t a solution, every time I open my mouth, frustration mixes with irritation.

Jawill Wilson, knowing he was at fault, kept bowing his head.

“I have no excuse. I’m truly sorry.”

“Haaa…. Fine, but know that there won’t be a second chance.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Now call Lucien in.”

A moment later, Lucien scurried into the study following Jawill Wilson.

Her shoulders were drooping as she cautiously observed the situation.

“Lucien, do you know what you did wrong today?”

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. Uncle Jawill Wilson did nothing wrong.”

At Lucien’s words, Jawill Wilson’s eyes reddened with emotion.

I continued with an indifferent expression.

“Why would he have done nothing wrong?”

“Because I begged him to take me to the training grounds.”

“In the end, Jawill Wilson was wrong to allow it. And if you went to the training grounds, you should have just trained quietly and returned, not breathed fire after someone provoked you.”

“I didn’t breathe fire on purpose. I got angry and shouted, and suddenly the breath leaked out…. I won’t do it again.”

Unlike with Jawill Wilson, my anger toward Lucien subsided quickly.

Seeing her dejected appearance also made me feel sympathetic.

“Sigh…. I hope you never do this again.”

“Yes, I’ll be good.”

“My father is scheduled to return to the family estate tomorrow morning, so you just need to endure for one more day.”

“I understand.”

“Good, you can go now.”

After Lucien left, only Jawill Wilson and I remained in the study.

I let out a short sigh and stood up.

“Jawill Wilson, let’s go.”

“Where to, sir?”

“I feel like I’ll collapse from stress if I stay still, so let’s go hunt some monsters.”

“It will be dark soon. Wouldn’t it be better to go tomorrow morning?”

“Never mind that, get ready.”

“…Understood.”

I also prepared simply for monster hunting and waited for Jawill Wilson in front of the mansion.

Then, a familiar voice came from behind.

“Where are you going, Selden?”

When I turned around, it was Miria Alphonse.

She seemed to have been exploring the village, as both her hands were full of food.

“I’m going monster hunting.”

“M-monster hunting?”

“Yes, I need to hunt monsters periodically, don’t I? I haven’t been able to do so recently because of my visit to the imperial palace.”

“You can order knights to do such dangerous things! How can someone as delicate as you hunt monsters!?”

…Delicate?

Well, Miria Alphonse has never hunted monsters with me, and she’s probably only heard rumors about me getting stronger.

So it’s natural for her to be worried?

“Haha! Didn’t I tell you? I’ve been consistently practicing swordsmanship lately.”

“Without any talent for swordsmanship…. if your skills improved after just a few months of practice, you would have been called a genius from the start! You can’t go!!”

“Why are you being like this? The strongest monsters in Lake territory are just hobgoblins and orcs.”

“Do you know how strong hobgoblins and orcs are!?”

“I’ve hunted even stronger monsters than those.”

Jawill Wilson, who had arrived late after preparing, was standing quietly, observing the situation.

Seeing that I wasn’t backing down, Miria Alphonse made a groaning sound as she contemplated, then spoke.

“This won’t do. Then I’ll go with you.”

“…What!?”

“It doesn’t matter whether there are two or three people, right?”

“That’s true, but will you be alright?”

“Are you worried about me now?”

Just as Miria Alphonse doesn’t know my abilities, I don’t know hers either.

But being a child of the Alphonse family, she probably won’t hold us back too much?

After thinking for a moment, I nodded.

“Then let’s go together.”