Chapter 97 : Chapter 97

Chapter 97

With gratitude for breaking the ice, Eddie readily continued.

"First, the answer to the first two questions is simple. It's because my current strategy is to keep a low profile."

"..."

"I've already secured enough fame to leave the Kirhausen family. But people are more curious about my next move."

"..."

"I don't want to leak any clues about my next move. That's why I'm faithfully playing the role of your tail right now."

To Marcel's astonishment, who had demanded an answer, Eddie's reply was unhesitating.

It was a confidence that suggested he had nothing left to hide.

Marcel looked at Eddie with a slightly dazed expression.

His attitude towards him was no longer that of a tail.

He even felt a sense of being looked down upon in his tone and expression.

Like their argument at the Valcon Ruins, this was clear insubordination.

But both then and now, for some reason, he didn't feel much anger.

What he felt more strongly than anger was the feeling of 'being taught by an adult'.

No, he had actually felt this since he first met Eddie.

He had just been trying to ignore it all this time.

But now he knew he couldn't ignore it any longer.

"Hah..."

The end of Marcel's sigh trembled.

Soon after, he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, his gaze had changed.

"Then it's time for you to answer the third question."

"Go ahead."

"What's the connection between the family not casting you out and my mana?"

The question finally reached the heart of the matter.

Eddie's fingertips twitched slightly with rising excitement.

But having waited for this moment for so long, he showed no sign of it in his expression.

Looking straight into Marcel's eyes, Eddie spoke the truth.

"The Kirhausens took me in not because they needed a tail. It was because they needed a mana source to have you absorb mana from."

"...What?"

"There was never any 'selection of an admission aide' in the first place. It was all a play to find the most compatible mana source for you, Young Master."

"What... is that..."

Marcel staggered, unable to withstand the shock.

But Eddie paid him no mind and continued to tell the truth.

That Sylvia was Circe.

That a spell called 'Well and Deer' connected their mana.

And.

That the medicine the family had been giving him, claiming it was good for his stamina, was in preparation to turn Marcel into a deer.

After hearing everything, Marcel staggered backward.

Then he collapsed onto a chair behind him as if his legs had given out.

"Heok... heok... heok..."

Marcel slowly slumped forward, trying to catch his breath.

He felt as if his whole body had suddenly been beaten, and it was hard to maintain his posture properly.

Eddie's tone, as he asserted the truth, was low.

But its content was like a raging storm.

And Marcel, like a leaf torn helplessly in the storm, could only listen without being able to interrupt Eddie's words.

Of course, in the middle of it, he couldn't bear it and wanted to shut Eddie's mouth.

But he couldn't.

It was because the doubt about his family that had been accumulating without him realizing it had taken over his whole body, preventing him from stopping Eddie.

"Ugh...!"

Marcel, who had been catching his breath, suddenly retched.

Violently, as if he could vomit up the medicine he had been forced to take by his family right now.

He retched painfully for a long time, gasping for breath.

But it was still too early to be surprised.

He hadn't even mentioned the most important part.

Eddie waited for a moment for Marcel to calm down.

Perhaps after regaining his composure, Marcel would ask about that part himself.

And a short while later.

As expected, a calmer Marcel asked Eddie.

"In that case... how did my temporary mana increase happen? The fact that you know all of this means you weren't affected by the mental manipulation or the 'Well and Deer'."

"That's right. I've never had my mana absorbed by you, Young Master. Instead, I injected a portion of my mana into your body."

"My... mana?"

"I controlled the power of your magic by manipulating it whenever necessary. It was possible because my mana refinement level is much higher."

"Don't tell me... when we had the Wall of Ether class, the period when my mana was unstable was also your doing?"

"Yes. I repeatedly added and withdrew my power with my mana."

"What was the purpose of toying with me like that? If you were to continue acting as the well, my mana shouldn't have become unstable."

"..."

At that question, Eddie paused for a moment, considering how to answer.

The reason he had made Marcel's mana unstable at that time was to confirm Sylvia's identity.

But he couldn't reveal that fact to Marcel right now.

He wasn't yet sure how much Marcel would believe this revelation.

"It was so that you, Young Master, would realize that your mana was not normal."

In the end, Eddie decided to tell only half the truth on this subject.

He continued speaking to the bewildered Marcel.

"And, during the last holiday in Shainborough, I retrieved the mana I had injected into you, Young Master."

"Retrieved it? Completely?"

"Yes. The reason your mana hasn't been 'unstable' since returning from Shainborough is because of that."

"Right. The instability stopped. It's just been consistently low."

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

"..."

Marcel bit his lip.

'Then... does that mean that low level is my true capability?'

A dry laugh escaped from between his bitten lips.

Everything Eddie said, from one to ten, was hard to believe.

But if his words were true, it explained so many things.

His own mana growth trajectory, which was definitely not normal.

But his family members who said it was natural.

And the family's attitude of holding onto Eddie instead of casting him out.

Along with the numerous circumstances so far, one voice came to Marcel's mind.

"Always keep that child by your side and take good care of him."

The words his father, Furas, had said to him the day before he left for the entrance exam.

At the time, Marcel couldn't understand those words.

To keep a tool of the family by his side and take good care of him.

At the time, he simply thought that his father had taken a liking to Eddie.

He had even felt jealous.

But if what he said now was true...

'Was he telling me to always keep him by my side so that Eddie's mana, the well, could be absorbed well...?'

Considering his father's coldness, who even considered the family tutors as tools, this made more sense.

Finally, when he recalled his recent conversation with Ronan, Marcel's vision went dizzy.

As if conspiring with Eddie, Ronan had precisely touched upon the spark of suspicion that Eddie had planted.

'His attitude of not letting Eddie go easily... and then he immediately asked about my mana.'

All the puzzles fit together.

But Marcel couldn't bear to imagine the completed picture, so he squeezed his eyes shut.

Looking at Marcel, Eddie said in a low voice.

"In your third question, you asked, 'Why aren't you asking anything now?'"

"...Right. Why didn't you ask anything? Weren't you curious about what choice I would make after hearing those words?"

"I was curious. But there was no need to ask first."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If you thought my words might be true, you would have come to me and asked first anyway, Young Master."

"..."

Marcel clenched his fists at Eddie's confident attitude.

Two fists filled with defiance, as if he couldn't accept it.

But Eddie's next words instantly extinguished that defiance.

"You felt it vaguely too, didn't you, Young Master? That even if you told the family what you heard from me first, you would never be able to know the truth."

"..."

Words that had pierced his psyche with perfect accuracy.

Now, he felt not anger or shame, but only a sense of emptiness.

From beginning to end, he had been in the palm of Eddie's hand.

Even the fact that he would eventually not tell his family about this confusion and would come to Eddie first.

He knew it all.

"Ha... haha... hahaha..."

Marcel laughed, his whole body trembling slightly.

After laughing like that for a while, he fell silent.

And a short while later, he staggered to his feet.

Eddie confirmed that within Marcel's pained expression, his gaze had become firm.

"You're right. My faith in my family has been shaken, and the stories you've told are convincing, given the circumstances."

"Yes."

"But the important thing is this."

Marcel stopped trembling and spoke in a voice as firm as his gaze.

"Clear proof that your story is true."

"...Proof..."

"I am the next head of the Kirhausen family. I cannot believe your words that disparage my family without clear proof."

"Of course not."

Agreeing simply, Eddie took a step closer to Marcel.

Eddie's gaze also became heavier than ever before.

"Proving it won't be difficult. But for that to be possible, you must follow my words, Young Master."

"..."

"If you don't want to, you can quit. You can even report this entire conversation to your family, I don't mind."

"..."

Marcel couldn't answer right away.

This moment felt like he was at a crossroads, making a once-in-a-lifetime choice.

Marcel's gaze, which had been fixed firmly on Eddie, wavered.

Then, his wandering gaze landed on his desk, visible over Eddie's shoulder.

It was Eddie's wand, with its leather handle worn and tattered.

There were more signs of use than when he had seen it a few weeks ago.

The tassel decoration had fallen off, leaving only the string, and the leather on the handle was worn away in the shape of his grip.

It was a stark contrast to his own, whose handle still had a sheen despite all his training.

His resolve hardened.

'If I don't know the truth, I can't improve.'

The immense mana he had tasted for a moment was by no means his own skill.

That was a certain fact, whether Eddie's words were true or not.

So he couldn't just keep worrying.

Marcel turned his gaze back to Eddie and said.

"Fine. I'll do as you say, so go ahead and prove it."

Even as he made his decision, Marcel hoped and prayed.

That Eddie's story was a misunderstanding or a malicious slander.

That his family had not resorted to such corrupt methods for his sake.

And Eddie, looking at Marcel's hardened gaze, curled his fingertips into a fist.

'Done.'

While inwardly celebrating a small victory.

* * *

The next night.

The day before the midterms, Eddie summoned Palamedes.

Thanks to Marcel's decision the previous day, the meeting proceeded at a rapid pace.

"Then Marcel won't be going to Shainborough for the holidays even after the midterms are over."

"And the current Kirhausens, unaware that Marcel is listening through a Tracker, will reveal their true colors to you, sir."

Rick and Brenda summarized what they had heard from Eddie.

They were right.

The Kirhausens would be determined to deal with Eddie this holiday.

If the mental manipulation failed, they would try to hold him with stronger manipulation, or if that didn't work, they would try to damage his mind.

It was obvious just from the fact that they had launched a public opinion war to prevent him from going to Leodimir.

If they couldn't have Eddie, they would try to break him.

And after thwarting all those attempts, Eddie planned to reveal it.

That he had never been affected by the 'Well and Deer' in the first place.

If that happened, the one Eddie would eventually face would be him.

The current head of the Kirhausen family, Furas von Kirhausen.

That was also the main agenda of today's Palamedes meeting.

How to prepare for the imminent clash between Eddie and Furas.

Eddie raised his head and looked at the Mercuries lined up on one side of Corkis.

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