Chapter 6

In front of him, a sumptuous feast was laid out.

Raising his eyes from the low table where the dishes were arranged, he saw a handsome young boy, Cain, sitting on the sofa in front of him.

Ilvaleno, with his knee immobilized by a splint, sat diagonally on the sofa, facing Cain across the food, and frowned at the situation.

"Don't look so scared. Grandma Sakae always said it's not good to be alone and hungry. Let's eat first."

"Who's Grandma Sakae...?"

"If you don't know the manners, don't worry about it. You can even eat with your hands if you want."

At Cain's words, Ilvaleno felt annoyed. He picked up a knife and fork from the cutlery and carefully cut a piece of chicken, bringing it to his mouth. He did so without making a sound, and his movements were graceful.

Cain raised an eyebrow and exclaimed in admiration, then started to eat as well.

"Maybe you were trained to assassinate nobles in the future? Or perhaps you really are a noble's child?"

"..."

"Or are they planning to adopt you somewhere?"

"..."

"Say something, will you? Let's enjoy the meal."

"..."

Despite Cain's attempts to start a conversation, Ilvaleno remained silent, continuing to eat without a word. The reason was that the assassination-related matters were confidential, and he couldn't answer Cain's questions.

"Anyway, I don't intend to let you leave the house until your injury heals."

"What?!"

"If you want to go home quickly, you should eat a lot and get better soon."

"..."

Cain didn't want to risk Ilvaleno being sent away and possibly meeting the protagonist again before he was fully healed. If Ilvaleno was energetic, he would likely return home without collapsing in front of the protagonist.

Ideally, Cain wanted to make Ilvaleno quit being an assassin. If Ilvaleno returned home this time, there was no guarantee he wouldn't get injured again on his next mission and be picked up by the protagonist. The game's mechanics were uncertain, but there were still ten years until the game's start. If past events were created during this time, it would be problematic. Cain wanted to keep Ilvaleno under his control.

"Big brother!"

The door opened with a bang, and Dianna rushed in without knocking.

"Why aren't you having lunch with me? I'm angry!"

Reaching the sofa where Cain was sitting, Dianna pounded the armrest with her palm.

"Sorry, Dianna. Were you lonely? I really wanted to have lunch with you too."

As he said this, Cain lifted Dianna by the side and placed her between his legs. He gently stroked her hair, kissed her hair and ears, and sniffed the top of her head, saying "cute, cute" with a happy smile.

Seeing this, Ilvaleno was taken aback. The Cain who had been expressionless or sarcastic just moments ago now seemed like a completely different person. His tone of voice was also completely different, incredibly sweet.

"Did you eat the same thing as me, Dianna?"

"I ate the same thing as big brother."

Pointing at the vegetables on the plate, Dianna said proudly, "I even ate the carrots!" and looked up at Cain.

Seeing this, Cain's face softened even more. He ruffled Dianna's hair and praised her, "Good job! It's amazing that you can eat things you don't like!"

What was he seeing? This didn't seem like the same person who had brought him in, injured, and threatened to keep him locked up until he healed. Despite being raised as a noble's son, Cain had seemed cold, but this gap was surprising. Ilvaleno shivered, feeling like he might catch a cold from the temperature difference.

Dianna's cheeks were drawn to the dessert on the table. Cain gently lifted her chin to meet her eyes and smiled warmly.

"Can you brush your teeth properly after this, Dianna?"

"I'll brush my teeth!"

"Can you keep it a secret if I give you dessert?"

"It's a secret with big brother!"

After praising her, "Good girl," Cain gently pinched her cheeks and fed her dessert with a spoon. Seeing this, Ilvaleno was completely deflated. He sighed and focused on his own meal. He was hungrier than he thought and finished quickly. As he reached for the dessert plate, he felt a gaze and looked up to meet the eyes of the little girl.

"..."

"..."

It was very difficult to eat. As he brought the dessert plate closer, Dianna's gaze followed.

"..."

"Want to eat?"

Her face lit up with a smile. With that smile, Dianna looked up at Cain.

Cain made a show of thinking, "Hmm," but the answer was already decided. He moved his plate to make room for the dessert.

"Take your time."

"Okay!"

"Thank you?"

"Thank you! To the unknown big brother!"

"..."

Placing his dessert plate in front of Cain, Ilvaleno leaned back against the sofa, relaxing. With Dianna sitting between his legs and eating dessert, Cain's meal had barely progressed. Still, he watched his sister enjoy her dessert with a loving and satisfied look.

(Why does this guy know my name? Even though I was dressed all in black, why did he assume I was an assassin? How did he learn the techniques to sweep my legs and throw me, causing a dislocation, even though I was trained and not at my best? I need to find the source of this information before I go back, or the boss might kill me...)

Ilvaleno decided to take the opportunity to investigate the source of the information, now that he was told he couldn't leave the house until he healed. He had no way of knowing that Cain knew from his past life's memories.

That evening, Dianna got a stomachache from eating too much dessert. Both Cain and Ilvaleno, who had indulged her by giving her their desserts, were scolded by their mother.