After realizing that almost everyone there was watching him, Zeldryn finally began walking toward the wooden platform.
“...”
Their gazes felt strange.
The moment Zeldryn moved...
Dozens of pairs of eyes seemed to move along with him.
TAP.
One step.
TAP.
Two steps.
Zeldryn tried to ignore it.
But after only a few steps...
!!??
His ears caught quiet voices from somewhere within the crowd.
“Ah... he'll definitely pardon them...”
“Yeah, definitely...”
“...”
Zeldryn's steps slowed slightly.
‘Huh?’
‘What do they mean?’
Pardon?
‘Pardon who?’
Zeldryn almost turned toward the source of the voices.
But he stopped himself.
There was no point suddenly stopping just to question some villagers about their whispers.
He continued walking.
But those words didn't immediately leave his mind.
‘Pardon...’
Zeldryn's gaze shifted toward the three people standing on the platform.
‘Them?’
If those three really were Gerald's family...
Why did the villagers sound so certain that Zeldryn would pardon them?
‘Strange.’
Before he could find an answer...
One of the three people on the platform finally raised his head.
A man.
His face had been lowered this entire time.
But the moment he saw Zeldryn approaching...
!!
His expression immediately changed.
His eyes widened.
Even his gloomy face seemed to brighten with a little hope.
“O-Oh, Zeldryn...”
“...”
“You're finally here. I've been waiting for you,” the man said.
TAP.
Zeldryn stopped walking.
“...”
He stared at the man.
‘Huh??’
‘Who the hell are you?’
Not a single fragment of memory surfaced.
The man's face was unfamiliar.
His voice didn't stir anything from the remnants of the old Zeldryn's memories either.
But...
Something else caught Zeldryn's attention much faster.
‘Wait.’
‘He just called me by my name?’
No Lord.
No Young Master.
No form of respect at all.
Ever since he entered Zeldryn's body...
Almost everyone had used some kind of formal title when speaking to him.
Servants.
Guards.
Even people far older than him.
So far, the only person who casually called him by his name was...
‘That bastard Kera.’
And now...
This stranger on the platform was doing the same thing.
Even his tone sounded like they had known each other for years.
Zeldryn frowned.
“What are you talking about?” Zeldryn asked.
!!??
The man looked confused instead.
“Zeldryn... what do you mean?”
He slightly raised both hands.
Only then did Zeldryn clearly see the shackles around his wrists.
“Forget that. Hurry up and release me.”
“...”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from NovelPhoenix; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
‘Huh?’
‘Why the hell would I release you?’
Zeldryn didn't even know who he was yet.
But the man wasn't asking for help.
He wasn't begging.
He wasn't even trying to explain the situation first.
He simply told Zeldryn to release him.
As if...
That was obviously what Zeldryn was going to do.
“...”
‘This guy's pretty damn confident.’
Before Zeldryn could respond...
The man spoke again.
“I'm deeply saddened that my father was declared dead,” he said with a gloomy expression.
!!
‘Huh?’
‘Father?’
Zeldryn immediately studied the man a little more seriously.
They had come here because of Gerald's death.
And if the three people on the platform really were Gerald's family, just as he had been suspecting...
‘Wait.’
‘Then... is he Gerald's son?’
Zeldryn's gaze moved toward the well-dressed woman standing beside him.
‘And that woman is probably his wife.’
Her age seemed about right.
The way the two stood close together also made that possibility seem even more likely.
Then Zeldryn's gaze shifted toward the last woman.
Her clothes were much simpler than those of the other two.
“...”
‘Then who's the woman in the worn-out clothes?’
Before Zeldryn could finish assessing them...
The man spoke again.
“It seems... it's finally time for me to replace my father as the Mansion's Head Administrator.”
“...”
Zeldryn stared at him.
‘Huh?’
Now there was almost no reason to doubt it.
‘So he really is Gerald's son.’
But...
Something else felt even stranger.
His father had just been found dead.
His head was even missing.
And this guy was currently standing on a platform with his hands shackled.
Yet in a situation like this...
The thing coming out of his mouth was the position of Head Administrator?
‘This kid's way too confident.’
‘Even if you're his son, who the hell said you're going to inherit his job, bastard?’
But before Zeldryn could say anything...
The well-dressed woman beside the man suddenly joined in.
“Y-Yes, my dear Zeldryn.”
!!??
Zeldryn immediately looked toward her.
‘Huh?’
Strangely, the woman didn't look particularly afraid of him.
Instead...
She sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
“Come on, release us...”
The woman then sharply looked toward one of the guards standing beside them.
“And punish this guard.”
“...”
??
‘Who the fuck are you to order me around?’
Zeldryn nearly answered immediately.
But something suddenly made him hold his tongue.
‘Wait.’
Gerald.
He remembered the information he had received earlier.
Hera had told him that Gerald had been very close to the old Zeldryn.
He wasn't merely a Mansion official who handled administration.
Their relationship seemed to have been genuinely close.
And now...
Gerald's son called Zeldryn directly by name.
His wife called him...
My dear Zeldryn.
Neither of them even questioned whether Zeldryn would help them.
They simply assumed that Zeldryn definitely would.
And then there were...
The villagers' whispers from earlier.
‘He'll definitely pardon them.’
“...”
Several pieces started connecting.
‘Hmm...’
Zeldryn's gaze changed slightly.
‘Gerald was very close to the old Zeldryn.’
‘And his family is clearly acting way too familiar with him too.’
Judging from how they treated him...
Their relationship seemed to go beyond that of an official's family and a noble child.
Almost as if they had deliberately placed themselves in a certain position within the old Zeldryn's life.
Someone who had grown up...
Without living with his father.
Without living with his mother.
Without any siblings in the Mansion.
Surrounded only by servants and guards.
Then there was Gerald.
An adult man who became extremely close to him.
Then Gerald's wife, who now casually spoke to him with affection.
And their son, who treated him with absolutely no distance between them.
!!
A possibility appeared in Zeldryn's mind.
‘Wait...’
‘Were they playing the role of a family for the old Zeldryn?’
“...”
Zeldryn's eyes narrowed slightly.
He wasn't certain yet.
But...
It would be easy to test.
‘Hehe.’
The corner of Zeldryn's mouth slowly rose.
A small, somewhat strange smile appeared on his face.
He wasn't sure when he had started smiling like that.
Or...
Maybe he had simply spent too much time around someone who kept wearing strange smiles lately.
Zeldryn looked back at the man on the platform.
Then said,
“Big Brother.”
!!
The man's expression immediately changed.
Zeldryn caught it.
Clearly.
The face that had looked slightly confused just moments ago immediately brightened.
Zeldryn maintained his smile.
“Why did they arrest you, Big Brother?”
“...”
He carefully watched the man's reaction.
Not missing a thing.
And...
The man immediately smiled in relief.
“Y-Yeah, Zeldryn!”
!!
‘Oh?’
“They framed my father for embezzling money!”
He slightly raised his shackled hands.
“There's no way he could've done something like that, right?”
“...”
“You know him very well, don't you?”
‘GOTCHA.’
Zeldryn's smile nearly widened.
‘Caught you, bastard.’
There was no need to question it anymore.
The man's reaction was far too obvious.
Being called Big Brother by Zeldryn didn't seem strange to him in the slightest.
If anything...
He accepted it as though it was completely normal.
‘So I was right.’
‘They really were playing the role of a family for the old Zeldryn.’
Zeldryn still didn't know exactly how deep that relationship had gone.
But at least now he understood why this man dared to speak to him without any formality.
And perhaps...
That was also why the villagers had been so certain they would be released.
The man continued speaking.
“My mother and I were at home when they suddenly arrested us.”
He looked at the shackles around his wrists in irritation.
“They said we would be punished by you.”
Then he looked at Zeldryn again.
“You're going to release us, right?”
“...”
Zeldryn smiled.
The same smile.
Slightly strange.
“Of course.”
!!
The man's eyes immediately filled with even more relief.
Zeldryn continued,
“Just a moment, Big Brother.”
He started walking again.
“Wait for me there.”
“Y-Yeah!”
The man nodded quickly.
Zeldryn continued toward the platform.
TAP.
TAP.
As he approached the wooden steps...
The villagers' whispers entered his ears again.
“See? I told you... he's definitely going to defend them.”
“Yeah, I guessed it too.”
“Shh! Be quiet, they'll hear you!”
“...”
Zeldryn didn't turn around.
But this time...
Their words became another piece of information.
‘So it's not just them.’
‘The villagers here also know about the old Zeldryn's relationship with Gerald's family.’
If everyone considered their release to be the obvious outcome...
Then their relationship clearly hadn't been a secret.
Zeldryn climbed onto the platform.
TAP.
The wood beneath his feet made a small sound.
The moment he reached the top...
Both guards immediately looked much more tense.
One of them even seemed like he wanted to say something.
His mouth opened slightly.
Then closed again.
Zeldryn noticed.
“What's wrong?”
!!
The guard immediately straightened his posture.
“N-Nothing, Lord...”
“...”
He looked hesitant.
“It's just...”
The guard briefly glanced at the man Zeldryn now knew to be Gerald's son.
Then he looked back at Zeldryn.
“Ah... no, Lord. Please forgive me.”
“...”
‘Hmm?’
There was clearly something he wanted to say.
But apparently, he didn't dare.
Zeldryn didn't push him.
The guard eventually stepped aside and opened the way.
The moment he saw that...
The man in front of Zeldryn immediately smiled.
“Hurry up, Zeldryn.”
He slightly raised his shackled hands.
“My hands are really starting to hurt.”
“...”
The well-dressed woman beside him also looked increasingly confident.
She turned toward one of the guards.
Then...
Her expression twisted into a sneer.
“You're fucking dead.”
!!
The guard's face immediately turned slightly pale.
The woman wasn't even free yet.
But she already seemed to be imagining what would happen once those shackles came off.
Zeldryn watched all of it while continuing to walk.
‘Wow.’
‘They really are completely convinced they're getting released.’
No hesitation.
No worry.
They were even starting to threaten the guards now.
Zeldryn became increasingly curious...
Just how far had this family taken advantage of their closeness with the old Zeldryn?
He kept walking.
Passing beside the man.
Then moving behind him.
Every eye in the crowd once again followed each of Zeldryn's steps.
No one spoke loudly.
Only quiet whispers occasionally drifted up from below the platform.
Finally...
Zeldryn stopped directly behind the man.
The man slightly raised both of his shackled hands.
“Y-Yeah, right there, Zeldryn.”
He sounded increasingly impatient.
“Hurry.”
“...”
Zeldryn looked at the back of his head.
Then at the shackles around his wrists.
Then at the guard standing nearby.
“You really can't wait, can you, Big Brother?”
The man chuckled.
“Of course.”
Zeldryn smiled.
“Alright.”
!!
The guard standing beside Zeldryn immediately moved.
His face still looked slightly pale.
But he seemed to understand something different.
His hand slipped into part of his clothing.
Then...
He pulled out a small key.
The guard stepped closer.
“H-Here's the key, Lo...”
!!??
THWACK!