Huh?’
Zeldryn stared at Kera standing behind the kitchen door.
Something felt very strange.
In fact...
This scene felt familiar.
‘I've seen situations like this in the novels I've read before.’
Someone was about to reveal a secret.
Then, right before the secret could be spoken...
A powerful character appeared and forced them to stay silent.
Usually, characters like that were cunning.
Hard to read.
And powerful enough that others wouldn't dare oppose them.
Zeldryn looked at Kera again.
“...”
‘And now this bastard fits every single criterion.’
Strong?
Obviously.
Cunning?
Zeldryn didn't even need to think twice about that.
After all the frustration that had piled up since earlier, Zeldryn no longer had the energy for small talk.
He asked directly.
“Why did you block her voice using mana?”
The servants around them immediately became even more tense.
But Kera didn't answer.
The man simply stood there.
Silent.
With the same faint smile as always.
“...”
Zeldryn grew even more suspicious.
‘What the hell is with that smile?’
But Kera simply continued staring at him.
And inside his mind...
The memory of what happened last night resurfaced.
A short while after he managed to save Zeldryn.
The boy's body had already returned to normal.
The darkness that had almost swallowed his entire body had disappeared.
The wounds and bruises covering his body had also been healed.
Zeldryn was now lying on the bed.
Unconscious.
His breathing had returned to normal.
But not long after that...
The sound of footsteps came from outside the room.
TAP!
TAP!
TAP!
Several guards and servants rushed inside with panicked expressions.
Before this, they only knew that something strange had happened to Zeldryn.
And after seeing Kera suddenly enter through the window with one of the servants, there was obviously no way they could simply wait calmly outside.
One of the guards stopped a few steps away from the bed.
His eyes immediately landed on Zeldryn.
“...?”
Zeldryn's body looked perfectly fine.
The boy even looked like he was sleeping peacefully.
The guard stared at him in confusion.
“What happened...?”
Then his gaze shifted toward Kera.
“Sir Kera.”
Kera turned slightly.
The guard looked hesitant, but still spoke.
“I know you came from the main residence.”
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“And I also know you carry an official letter from the Giorry family's main residence.”
The guard looked at Zeldryn for a moment before turning back to Kera.
“But you suddenly headed toward Lord Zeldryn's room together with a servant.”
He swallowed.
“As a guard of this mansion, of course I would be worried.”
Kera simply stared at him.
“...”
Then a strange smile appeared on his face.
“What did you just say, idiot?”
The guard fell silent.
Kera pointed toward Zeldryn lying on the bed.
“You think an ordinary healer could've saved him in that condition?”
“...”
The guard couldn't answer.
Kera continued,
“You aren't even a Manholer.”
His smile didn't disappear.
“Yet you're talking as if you understand what was happening.”
Kera tilted his head slightly.
“How impressive.”
The guard's expression immediately changed.
“Y-yes, I know I'm only an ordinary person.”
He tried to maintain his courage.
“But still, if something happened to Lord Zeldryn, wouldn't I be the one blamed for...”
Before he could finish his sentence...
Kera raised his hand.
His fingers snapped.
SLAP!
!!??
The mana particles around the room immediately moved.
In an instant, the mana enveloped the guard's body.
“EUUGGH!”
His eyes widened immediately.
His hands instinctively grabbed his throat.
He tried to breathe.
He couldn't.
His mouth opened.
But it was as if air simply refused to enter his lungs.
“...!”
The guard tried to scream for help.
No sound came out.
He couldn't even produce a single word.
The other servants and guards who witnessed it immediately froze.
No one dared move.
No one dared speak.
Kera remained standing where he was.
His smile hadn't even disappeared.
“You talk too much.”
The guard began dropping to his knees.
Both of his hands were still clutching his own throat.
“Even though you don't even understand the consequences of what you almost did.”
Kera then looked at everyone inside the room.
His voice wasn't loud.
But that only made his words sound even more threatening.
“Tell everyone in this mansion.”
“Don't talk about what happened tonight to anyone.”
No one answered.
Kera continued,
“Not to outsiders.”
“Not to anyone from the main residence.”
“And especially...”
His gaze shifted toward Zeldryn's body.
“Don't tell this brat anything.”
Several servants immediately looked toward Zeldryn.
Kera turned back toward the guard, who was still struggling to breathe.
“If even one person leaks it...”
His smile widened slightly.
“Especially to this kid...”
Kera pointed at the guard.
“The person who leaks it will experience the same thing you're experiencing right now.”
He paused for a moment.
“And you...”
Kera's gaze returned to the guard.
“Will experience something far worse than this.”
Kera snapped his fingers.
SLAP!
The mana surrounding the guard's body immediately disappeared.
“HAAAAH!”
Air rushed back into his lungs.
The guard immediately bent forward.
“Huff... huff... huff...!”
His breathing was a mess.
His body trembled.
Sweat poured down his face.
He didn't even try to respond to Kera.
There was no room in his mind to think about anything else.
Only one thought kept circling inside his head.
‘I'm going to die.’
‘I'm really going to die.’
Kera watched him for a moment.
Then he let out a small sigh.
“Relax.”
Several people slowly raised their heads.
Kera turned toward Zeldryn, who was still asleep.
“I won't do anything bad to this brat.”
His gaze remained on Zeldryn for several seconds.
“Because...”
A faint smile appeared again.
“That person entrusted him to me.”
Back to the present.
Zeldryn was still staring at Kera from the middle of the kitchen.
“Why did you block her voice using mana?” he asked once again.
Kera finally raised an eyebrow slightly.
“What are you talking about, little bastard?”
“...”
‘This bastard.’
But before Zeldryn could respond...
Kera raised his hand.
And snapped his fingers.
SLAP!
!!??
The mana throughout the kitchen immediately surged.
Zeldryn instinctively stepped back.
Mana particles rapidly moved toward everyone inside the kitchen.
Hera.
The servants.
Even Kera himself.
All of them were enveloped in mana.
Everyone...
Except Zeldryn.
Then, in an instant...
They disappeared.
“...!?”
Zeldryn froze.
The kitchen that had been filled with servants only seconds ago was now completely empty.
No Hera.
No servants.
No Kera.
Only him.
“...What?”
Zeldryn immediately looked left and right.
There was no one there.
This was exactly like when Kera had hidden himself in the room before.
‘What the hell is actually happening?’
The longer Zeldryn knew Kera...
The harder that man became to read.
Sometimes he acted like a lunatic.
Sometimes like a teacher.
Sometimes he helped him.
Sometimes he beat him.
And now he had openly prevented a servant from telling Zeldryn something about what happened last night.
‘What the hell are you hiding?’
Questions began filling Zeldryn's mind.
But while he was thinking about everything...
An idea appeared.
‘Wait.’
Hadn't Kera previously told him to direct mana toward his eyes so he could see him?
Zeldryn immediately looked at the mana particles around him.
This time, he didn't want to be reckless.
Vomiting blood earlier had already taught him enough of a lesson.
He selected only a few particles.
Just a small amount.
Then tried to control them.
‘To my eyes.’
The particles moved.
Slowly approaching his face.
Zeldryn concentrated.
‘If this really is how it works...’
The mana reached both of his eyes.
Zeldryn waited.
“...”
Nothing happened.
The mana particles merely gathered around his eyes.
As if they were simply covering the surface with a thin golden glow.
But the kitchen remained empty.
Kera was nowhere to be seen.
Neither was Hera.
Nothing changed at all.
“...”
Zeldryn's expression immediately twisted.
‘Shit.’
Once again, reality slapped him in the face.
Being able to move mana didn't mean he automatically knew how to use mana.
He could indeed move the particles.
He could even make several particles collide and explode.
But that didn't mean mana would do whatever he wanted just because he moved it toward a certain part of his body.
Zeldryn clicked his tongue.
“Tch.”
‘Even though I can move it...’
‘Even though I can make it explode...’
He clenched his fist.
‘That doesn't mean I can use it however I want, damn it.’
And right when Zeldryn was complaining...
The mana around the kitchen began moving again.
!!??
Zeldryn immediately raised his head.
One by one, figures began appearing again.
Hera.
The servants.
Then Kera.
The kitchen that had looked empty returned to normal.
But something immediately caught Zeldryn's attention.
The female servant who had almost told him about what happened last night...
Her expression had completely changed.
Pale.
Sweat covered her forehead.
Her body trembled slightly.
She didn't even dare look at Zeldryn.
She looked like someone who had just experienced something that had truly terrified her.
Zeldryn stared at her.
‘...What did you do to her?’
But before Zeldryn could ask...
Kera spoke first.
“Hey.”
Zeldryn immediately turned toward him.
Kera wore his usual unreadable smile.
“Looks like you really were looking for me, huh, little bastard?”
Kera tilted his head slightly.
“Why?”
His smile became even more irritating.
“Is this about mana?”