Chapter 11

Part 11: The Culprit Found (1)

The awakening ceremony proceeded quickly.

When the duke declared the awakening, people were surprised, and my mother was delighted.

After returning to my room, I heard that I would be taking a test again, just like before.

After hearing this, I left the room.

While the test was important, I needed to confirm the facts I had discovered before I died.

The first person I wanted to meet was my sister, Lady Elena.

No, I needed to confirm something first.

I asked Flora, who was walking in front of me, “Do you still meet with my sister Elena often?”

“Yes, of course. Unlike the other young lords, she always cares about you. She’s really kind.”

Her words left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Really? What does she usually ask?”

“Well, she asks if you’re doing well, what you’ve been up to lately, if you’re not too stressed, and after the awakening ceremony, what abilities you’ve gained.”

It sounded like a sister’s concern for her beloved brother. In the past, I might have been grateful for her concern.

However, now that I viewed everything with suspicion, it all sounded different.

“Isn’t she a bit too quick to share information about me?”

My words carried some emotion. Flora’s smiling face stiffened slightly.

“Well... Ah... I’m sorry. I was thoughtless.”

It seemed she was reminded of when I was a baby.

I had lived a peaceful life for a few years before the awakening day, but before that, I had faced several life-threatening situations.

Of course, I had died a few times, but that was something only I knew.

I had been too lenient. I needed to change my approach.

Making allies was important, but if I only did that, I would just be a beloved child.

I pondered my next steps as I walked, and Flora led the way with a dejected look.

“Come in!”

A cute reception room. A young girl greeted me with a bright face.

It was a luxurious yet adorable reception room befitting the duke’s daughter.

“Is this the first time Alex has come to my reception room?”

Thanks to the prior notice, the table in the center of the reception room was set with delicious pastries.

I was led to a chair by my sister’s hand.

Her personal maid poured tea, and while doing so, Elena continued to gesture and talk.

“...I was so nervous watching Alex and Dad. When Dad said the awakening was correct, I was really happy!”

Her face was still full of joy.

Could such a kind child have been trying to extract information to kill me?

Besides, she was still a child, not particularly intelligent.

But there were no other suspects.

The conversation continued with casual chatter. I answered vaguely while looking for an opportunity to ask questions.

The opportunity came quickly.

“...Ah! Right. So, what ability did you awaken? Have you already confirmed it? Or are you taking a separate test?”

Finally, the question came. It was an unusual one.

“Wow, you know a lot about awakening?”

I asked innocently, and Elena’s face turned red.

“No, well...”

She hesitated and stuck out her tongue.

Embarrassed, she bowed her head and spoke in a small voice.

“I don’t know much. Mom told me.”

I also bowed my head. It was better if the maids didn’t hear, so I lowered my voice.

“The duchess?”

“Yes. She told me a lot after seeing Alex’s awakening. She said to ask about the awakened ability in case it might be helpful.”

The back of my neck stiffened. I tried to hide my stiffened voice as I continued questioning.

“So, the questions you’ve been asking Flora weren’t just your own thoughts?”

Elena pouted at my words.

“No. Mom asked me to find out, but I also wanted to help!”

I looked at my sister, who was speaking passionately with a red face.

There was no trace of deceit in her expression.

Unless she was a master con artist or had reincarnated like me, the young girl in front of me had merely been used.

By her mother.

“Thank you for taking care of me all this time.”

I hid my stiffened expression and expressed my gratitude to the girl as sincerely as I could.

“No, you don’t need to thank me. Just being friends is enough... Hehehe.”

I continued with my head bowed.

“If I didn’t know, it would be one thing. But now that I know, I can’t just let it go. I need to thank the duchess too.”

“Really, Alex, you sound more formal than the older brothers.”

Elena muttered this and then spoke.

“Should I ask? Mom would always welcome Alex.”

“I’ll make a separate appointment. Ah! Right. I want to surprise her. Please keep it a secret that I’ve figured it out.”

“Sure! It sounds fun. I’d like to see it too.”

“No, that’s not possible. I have a test, and you’re busy too. We’ll find a separate time for the three of us to meet.”

Elena nodded with a regretful look.

After some more casual talk, I left her room.

Had she noticed something? Flora looked a bit confused.

But she didn’t say anything.

The next day, I took the test.

The test was held in the same place as the first one, the mansion’s training ground.

“Huff, huff, huff. Is the test over now?”

I collapsed on the ground, panting.

In front of me, Miguel and the captain of the knights looked at me with surprised expressions.

Miguel quickly answered my question.

“Ah... Yes, yes! We checked your stamina and strength with the running, and we also checked your sword skills. Your inherited ability is really impressive.”

Unlike the previous test, I gave my best effort this time.

I clenched my teeth and ran, leveling up several times during the run, and when wielding the sword, I used my past memories to show the cleanest swings possible.

I kept the mana I had learned by chance a secret, but even without it, I was enough to surprise the two of them.

Was that why?

The captain, who had stayed until the end, asked me in a more polite tone than before.

“Have you ever learned how to use a sword?”

I shook my head.

“Huff, huff. You can ask Flora. This is the first time I’ve held a sword.”

I had been holding a sword for more than two months, but only I, or rather my memories, remembered that.

Flora nodded at my words.

“I’ll report this to the duke immediately. Hmm, I think you’ll continue training from now on.”

Unlike before, the captain seemed to have already made up his mind.

“I’ll look for a good knight to take charge of the young lord’s education.”

Perhaps because I had tried so hard. Or perhaps because I wielded the sword so well. The captain said something unexpected.

No, that’s a bit...

It would be difficult to receive training from another knight now.

“No, I want to be trained by Knight Miguel here!”

At my hasty words, the captain looked bewildered, and Miguel scratched his head.

“Is that okay?”

The captain looked at me with a puzzled expression at Miguel’s awkward words.

“Can I report this to the duke?”

“Yes!”

I couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.

I couldn’t imagine there being another knight like this in the duke’s household.

The day after the training.

As the captain had said, it was decided that the training would continue.

The training would start tomorrow, and today, I had to meet the second duchess, Maria de Grecia.

After greeting my mother, I headed to the second duchess’s room with Flora.

I steadied my mind as I walked down the corridor. This was the third time I had repeated this.

The pain of death was painful, but the meaningless repetition of the same life was even more difficult than I had imagined.

This time, I had to settle things.

However, despite my resolve, the duchess’s reception room, which we reached after crossing the mansion, was very calm and beautiful.

“Alex, you’re here. Come in.”

The duchess was sitting on a sofa in the center of the reception room.

Seeing her usual gentle smile, my confidence wavered a bit.

She had always smiled at me, even in my short life.

The only adult in the duke’s family I was grateful to, besides my mother.

Pull yourself together!

I steadied my mind again and bowed.

“I greet the duchess.”

“Call me Maria. You can even call me Mom.”

Her playful voice wrapped me in warmth.

I bit my lip and sat in the chair opposite the sofa where she was sitting.

As usual, pastries were placed on the table in front of me.

After I sat down, Flora and the other maids left the reception room, and the duchess got up to pour tea into my cup.

She always liked to serve tea herself to close guests.

‘But this way, it would be easier to have a private conversation, right?’

With the maids gone, only the duchess and I were left.

‘No, surely not to that extent.’

I shook my head at the premature thought and opened my mouth.

“I haven’t been able to properly thank you for everything you’ve done. I came to express my gratitude, even if it’s just words.”

“What are you talking about? What have I done?”

At her words, I brought up what I had heard from Elena.

“I heard that you’ve been keeping an eye on me through my sister Elena. I didn’t know about it until now, but since I found out, I wanted to thank you.”

“Oh!”

The duchess looked surprised at my words.

But the surprised look quickly disappeared, and her usual smile returned, even brighter.

“You found out? I was worried it might make things awkward, so I told Elena to keep it a secret. Did it hurt your feelings at all?”

Her cautious words made me feel a bit guilty.

Did I misjudge? Was there something I didn’t know?

The more I talked to her, the more confused I became.

Perhaps it was due to the duchess’s atmosphere.

No matter how I looked at her, I only saw someone who loved everyone and was loved by everyone.

I couldn’t imagine her as a scheming person who wanted to kill me.

I was in trouble.

It seemed I had been mistaken. I needed to start over from the beginning.

It couldn’t be her.

My mother liked her, the maids liked her, the mansion’s employees, the first duchess’s sons, and I liked her.

Everyone liked the duchess.

Even our duke...

Wait?

Did the duke like her too?

I had heard that he loved her so much that he insisted on marrying her despite her family being only a baron.

What about now?

I had never heard such a story.

Did the duke, the cold-blooded duke, treat all his wives equally?

Or had his love faded?

As I thought about this, I felt a bit strange.

The soft atmosphere in the room started to feel uncomfortable.

The duchess’s smile in front of me...

It seemed off.

The guilty feeling grew, but I couldn’t stop thinking.

And then.

Boom.

A surge of energy began to stir deep within me.

The energy known as mana suddenly shot up.

It passed through my chest, up my neck, enveloped my eyes, and rushed to my head.

In the next moment.

Zing!

A loud noise echoed in my head. A piercing pain surged and then disappeared.

“Are you okay? Is something hurting?”

A worried voice reached me, but it sounded different from before. It wasn’t as warm, and it sounded like an act.

I lifted my head.

The reception room was the same, but it had completely changed.

The soft atmosphere that had enveloped the room was gone.

A beautiful but cold reception room.

In the center, the duchess was looking at me with a stiff smile.