Chapter 82: Will

The day broke.

The children of the branch families gathered at the pre-announced time.

At the end of the line, my direct bloodline sibling Leo and I stood side-by-side, slightly apart.

“It seems everyone is here.”

The current head of the Rosegarden family.

My grandfather walked, examining each person one by one with a dignified stride.

When his steps reached the end of the line, my grandfather looked at me intently and gently placed his large hand on my head.

I appreciated the affection, but being treated like a child even in a formal setting was a bit embarrassing.

He had only given my one-year-older younger brother, Leo, who stood right next to me, a casual pat on the shoulder.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, my lord.”

A gardener, summoned to create the test environment, answered.

True to the Rosegarden family’s nature of omitting unnecessary formalities as much as possible, there was no long-winded speech.

Under my grandfather’s command, the family gardener slowly began to explain the test.

“Then. I will now explain the format of the test that the young lady, the young master, and all of you from the branch families will be taking.”

The content of the test, conducted internally within the Rosegarden family, was incredibly simple.

To pass through a labyrinth created by illusion and reach the end.

Due to the nature of a labyrinth, flying or breaking walls was prohibited.

Even if such an ability existed.

It was only natural, as this was a test, not a real battle.

There would surely be tests that simulated real battles, but it didn’t seem to be the case right now.

“……Tsk.”

“As expected. You were planning on breaking through every wall, weren’t you?”

As soon as I heard the word ‘labyrinth’, I put the grenade launcher I was holding back in its place.

Seeing that, Leo looked at me as if he had expected it.

But the grenade launcher itself was still useful, so I didn’t go so far as to throw it away.

“Of course. Dispelling the illusion for the test is also prohibited. Well, for you all right now, you couldn’t do it even if you wanted to.”

The gardener, skilled in illusions, smiled faintly.

The gardeners of the Rosegarden family were among the most skilled in the empire, so no one denied his words.

“In that case, does that mean the first person to pass through the labyrinth is the winner?”

One of the children from the branch families asked.

Unlike Leo, who turned his head, I could easily guess their identity from the familiar voice.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Roslin Gardner.”

“…?”

“The one who passes through the labyrinth is the victor. That is the self-evident fact that the one who passes through the labyrinth is the victor.”

Roslin made a momentary dumbfounded expression at the sudden jab from another child.

“Truly, a girl who asks a comical question.”

As if in great shock, she froze in place.

“However, it is appropriate as a light jest before a match.”

“……”

“At the same time, I pity you. A sad commoner, born in the same era as I…”

A strange fellow who smirked.

Simultaneously, a large blunt weapon was flying towards the back of his head at a terrifying speed.

Thwack─!!!

“I-I’m sorry…! My younger brother is just going through that phase…!!”

Judging by her words and actions,
the one who had swung the steel mace at the back of his head was none other than his older sister.

She had hit him so hard that blood from her flesh and blood was dripping from the striking surface of the mace.

‘Hey… is he okay?’

‘Wouldn’t it be better to treat him first?’

“You apologize right now!”

“Aargh!”

But she didn’t care whether her brother’s head was turning red or not, she grabbed it with her hand and pressed down.

The way she ignored her brother’s pained screams as if it were nothing showed that this was not a one-time occurrence.

“Is it that phase…”

“If it’s that phase, it can’t be helped.”

“There’s one every year without fail.”

Similarly, my grandfather and the other family elders nodded and moved on as if they were used to it.

His wound seemed to have healed naturally in an instant, and he appeared to be fine.

His recovery ability was so immense it was as if he had potions flowing through his veins instead of blood.

“Anyway, that girl must have it tough too.”

Having such an immature younger brother, a sister would naturally have her hands full.

‘Well, at least that boy, unlike my weakling Leo, seems to know how to recite a cool poem or two.’

Leo looked down at me, agreeing with my words.

He seemed to know the hardships of this one-year-younger older sister, and he had a rather apologetic look in his eyes.

“I understand the rules. So, when exactly does the test begin?”

Roslin, who had regained her composure, asked the gardener.

She looked calm on the outside, but her eyes were burning with a small fire of revenge.

“That’s good spirit. However, this test is one that everyone will pass through cooperation.”

“What?”

One of the Gardners reacted to the news that it wasn’t a competition.

He looked back at the audience, where his parents were sitting and chatting, to see their child’s skills.

There, most of the adults had expressions of disbelief, murmuring amongst themselves.

“That’s right. As you just heard, we have decided to slightly revise the test format starting this year.”

The head of the family, my grandfather, who was sitting in the center, stood up and answered everyone.

The audience fell silent in an instant.

They just listened to my grandfather’s words.

“When you enter the academy, you will inevitably have to compete with other families whether you want to or not.

I believe it is not right to measure skills among family members in such a way, so I have changed the method.”

My grandfather’s logic was this.

Since they would have to live in endless competition at the academy anyway, like it or not.

Was it really necessary to conduct a test in a format that would inevitably lead to family members growling at each other about who was stronger?

If that was the case, it was more in line with the traditional values and principles of the Rosegarden family to cooperate, strengthen the bonds of kinship, and help each other to develop their skills.

“Indeed. The family head’s words are right.”

“The academy is just one period in life. In the end, the only ones you can trust are your own family.”

“In the long run, this is a much more beneficial method.”

The other adults and Gardners, convinced by my grandfather’s logic, nodded their heads.

Regardless of the degree of kinship, they recognized that this method was more fitting for the Rosegarden family, which was bound by strong family ties.

They had never had much interaction with other nobles, but the recent trend of being ostracized out of jealousy for their increasing wealth surely played a part.

***

“You’re being quite overprotective.”

“…It’s not overprotective. Everyone else agrees, don’t they?”

Amidst the murmuring of the people.

The Rosegarden family head, Richard, and his wife whispered.

“Our Lin can’t use magic. Now, think about her competing with the children of the branch families.”

“Given the nature of the Gardners, they would protect her more, not look down on her.”

“They may have just become adults, but they are still young children. An age where they are full of themselves. And above all, what would happen to our Lin’s heart?”

His wife let out a short sigh at Richard’s overprotectiveness.

“One day, she must leave the nest.”

“You’re right. Of course you are. But not now, while she’s in my castle.”

“Even Edwin is quiet about it. Why are you, an old man, making such a fuss?”

Even Lin’s father, Edwin, wasn’t this overprotective.

His wife shot back, asking why he, a generation removed, was making a bigger deal of it.

Richard, who had inherited the bloodline of being as henpecked as he was a doting father, swallowed uncomfortably and said nothing for a moment.

“It’s because that guy isn’t doing his job as a parent properly…!”

“Looking at his eldest son, Leonard, he seems to be doing just fine.”

“That’s…!”

“Don’t you dare say it’s because Leona raised him. You remember it too. The atrocity of throwing a newborn into the lake, saying he was teaching her to swim.”

At his wife’s words, Richard briefly recalled the past.

But to them, who only knew Melusine as an old family legend, it was just one of her many eccentricities.

“Anyway, she swam well, so there was no problem…!”

“……I trust you don’t mean that sincerely.”

Surprisingly.

Whether it was thanks to Melusine, or just natural talent.

The newborn Leonard had paddled around the lake, and the disaster everyone worried about did not happen.

It was just that Leona’s back had been thoroughly beaten by her own mother.

While the couple was conversing, the test finally began.

A square light emitted from a crystal ball, displaying the test’s progress in real-time, like a giant photograph.

Lin and Leo, carefully surrounded by their branch relatives.

Looking at Lin’s face among them, Richard’s hand trembled unnaturally, hidden from his wife.

[Dad…. Please….]

The worst memory surfaced simultaneously.

How could he possibly forget.

Holding the newborn Lin, drenched in amniotic fluid and blood, in his hands.

[There’s no one else to ask…. but you….]

He had been on the continent of Albion at the time and couldn’t even be there for his wife’s final moments.

She couldn’t even look at the face of the husband she had loved since childhood.

[I’m sorry…. My hands are shaking too much…. I can’t do it now….]

[Stop, stop talking….]

The sight of his precious daughter succumbing to a death that neither magic nor faith could prevent.

[Please…. This child’s, Lin’s….]

‘Please destroy her circuits.’

The one whose future and potential were stolen by his own hands,

‘So that she can never use magic from the moment she is born.’

The image of a newborn, who couldn’t even open her eyes properly….