Chapter 22

"Ah, is Lord Gong angry?"

"Am I angry?!"

"Is that so?!"

Squeak squeak!

The twins finally moved me to the first floor and, after setting me down, ran off laughing.

As a result, I was left to see their backs without even having time to be flustered.

'I was trying to praise them.'

What clever kids.

Should I praise them tomorrow?

Thus, instead of heading to where the carriage was, as I usually did, I walked in a different direction.

'Now that I think about it, this way leads to the intermediate institution, right?'

The story I heard from the maids at lunch today.

Thanks to that, I planned to go a bit further to check something out.

'Anyway, the footman will wait for me until I come, so it’s fine.'

This is the area of the beginner institution, and there’s almost no danger now.

If it were like the old days when I was treated like a nobody, it might be different, but now that I’m famous, there’s no danger at all.

'The thought of those older brothers wasn’t for nothing today.'

I already knew how they were living around this time.

'I need to keep track of them.'

There’s a family meeting coming up soon.

'First, all three of them should be in the intermediate institution...'

The beginner and intermediate institutions are located close to each other.

They share the same garden, and if I keep going this way, I should reach the intermediate institution.

Soon, I had to stop walking and stand still.

'Sound?'

I heard voices coming from somewhere.

I tiptoed in the direction of the sound.

Thanks to Pierre’s recent efforts, my agility had improved, making it easy to move quietly.

Peeking out from the bushes, I saw a group of boys gathered not far away.

'Hmm? Are these the kids from the intermediate institution?'

The estate of Aquasiadel is as vast as a small town.

All educational institutions follow the law of the jungle, where the strong take everything.

Thus, opportunities are given to everyone.

Theoretically, even a collateral line can rise to the position of a successor candidate based on their achievements in the educational institution, standing alongside the direct line.

The ‘power of water’ influences this, and the collateral line must awaken this power to compete with the direct line.

The kids in the intermediate institution range from 8 to 9 years old to 17 years old.

After that, they are considered adults and are given a status.

'This place isn’t where the kids usually gather. What’s going on?'

The boys, judging by their size, seemed to be from the intermediate institution.

However, the atmosphere was quite hostile.

"Hey, can’t you hear us? This guy’s ears must be broken."

"What? Are you an idiot? Are you ignoring us?"

As I mentioned earlier, the direct line is structurally superior to the collateral line.

Currently, all the direct line members, officially excluding me, have awakened the power of water.

And my older brothers, who are above me, are all the right age to be in the intermediate institution.

'So...'

I frowned.

'This is a situation where it wouldn’t be strange for him to be bullied.'

Why is that guy being ostracized there?

Among the boys who had gathered, I saw a boy crouching.

His hair was a grayish color for some reason.

His skin was as white as ivory.

His eyes were like precious blue gems.

...I couldn’t mistake him.

That crouched boy is my third older brother.

Agenor.

'Let’s see, I’m five or six years younger than him, right?'

So he must have just left the beginner institution not long ago.

I recalled Laïla’s words.

"Lord Gong’s third older brother, after him, you are the first to make me so flustered."