The Forest Race Clonne

Chapter 76

“Hey, are you alright?”

A low voice reverberated from above. Struggling to lift my eyelids, I saw a figure bending over to look at me. At first, from his large build, I thought he might be a Demonic Beast, but upon closer inspection, his skin tone was different. He lacked a mane and claws. Though he wore fur clothes inappropriate for the season, he didn’t appear to be one of the Demonic Beasts.

Then, suddenly, my gaze stopped at his face—more precisely, at his hair. I blinked a few times, wondering if I had seen it wrong, but it was real. His hair was tied up haphazardly and had a deep green hue.

‘Clonne?’

The man clicked his tongue briefly. His upper body leaned closer to me. As soon as his strong arm touched my body, I lost my tenuous grip on consciousness. Darkness as deep as an abyss engulfed me instantly.

* * *

“Did you see? That young master brought in by the Head of the family.”

Voices from nearby reached my ears. Usually, I wouldn’t have paid attention to someone’s conversation, but this was unmistakably about me. I looked up from the book I was reading. A bit farther away, a few household employees were gathered, cleaning a window.

“That young master is the child of the late Lady, right?”

“Probably. I heard they said he’s Miss Salvia’s child.”

“Then he’s the grandson, isn’t he? But don’t you think the Head of the family and the other Masters are acting a bit strangely? They’re treating him so distantly, as if he were a stranger.”

“Well, that’s understandable. Even if he is a grandson, they weren’t on familiar terms. They’re only seeing him for the first time after hearing he was born.”

Judging by their clumsy movements, they were probably new hires. Hence, their loose talk about the family matters.

“Moreover, I heard that the young master has been pushed out of the line of succession. They said the son of the second wife has taken the inheritance rights.”

“What? Is that true? Why?”

“I don’t know. There must be some issue, right? I heard that even when the Lady was alive, they were practically living in the back room.”

“Probably true. I looked into it a bit myself and heard there was something wrong with his head. Apparently, he has some emotional instability.”

“My goodness, how terrible. He looked fine on the outside.”

“Fine, you say? He looked so thin and had such a dark impression that it was quite gloomy.”

“Shh! Everyone, be quiet. The young master is over there.”

One of the employees, having spotted me, whispered urgently. Only then did the others realize and quickly swallowed their words. Without showing any reaction, I closed my book, which I had finished reading, and stood up. As I slowly moved away, the conversation resumed a little while later.

“You scared me. He was so quiet, I didn’t even notice he was there.”

“Do you think he heard us?”

“Nah, no way. If he did, he wouldn’t just leave like that.”

They seemed confident that I hadn’t heard anything due to the distance. Normally, it would have been out of earshot, but I had better hearing than most. Relieved, they laughed and continued their conversation.

“By the way, did you see the young master’s hair color earlier? It’s jet-black. Completely different from our young master Camille’s silver hair.”

“Really. He looks just like a crow.”

“Haha, then does that make our young master a swan? A perfect nickname—the pitiful crow and the noble swan.”

“They say crows and swans don’t swim together. I just hope our precious swan doesn’t get splashed with dirty water.”

I thought I was managing to keep a low profile as much as possible. But I couldn’t help but feel like I was being treated as dirty water. I bitterly tasted it in my mouth.

I knew why they were acting this way. One day, the family Head brought in a boy, the same age as the young master, seemingly out of nowhere. They were wary that the boy might become a threat to the promising future of the young master. There were even baseless rumors that the family Head intended to have them compete for the heir position.

Despite the employees’s words crossing a line, I decided against going back to reprimand them. I had no intention of acting like a master in someone else’s house, and it wasn’t my place to worry about their loose tongues.

“Sei!”

Someone called my name as I passed through the garden. A boy with silvery-gray hair was running toward me with a flushed expression. Now that I think about it, the training grounds were nearby. Judging by his clothes, covered in dust, it seemed he was returning from practice. “You need to tidy yourself up, young master!” A flustered servant shouted from behind, but it seemed like the boy was so focused on me that he didn’t hear anything.

“I was actually on my way to see you, but here you are! Where are you headed?”

I gazed quietly at his brightly smiling face. Camille Rouster. Like me, he was the grandson of Duke Rouster, my cousin of the same age. But unlike me, who had come into the family unexpectedly, he was undoubtedly the legitimate heir of the family. He was the “swan” that the employees had been talking about.

To be honest, I’d only known of my cousin’s existence for a week, knowing neither his face nor that he existed at all. We were less acquainted than strangers. Even with all the rumors floating around about me, Camille had been unusually friendly from the start. I wasn’t sure if he was just overconfident and didn’t perceive me as a threat or if he was skilled at managing his emotions. Regardless, he was more difficult to deal with than those who were openly antagonistic.

“Sei?”

“Ah, sorry. The weather was nice, so I was reading in the garden. I was just heading back to my room.”

“A book? Wow, you like reading, Sei? What are you reading?”

I showed him the book I was holding without much thought, and Camille’s face stiffened for a moment. I had taken it from the first-floor library, which I’d been told was available for anyone’s use. Did I make a mistake? But thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case as he began to fuss over it.

“Ugh, this is ancient theology! How can you even read something so difficult?”

“Ah… it’s not really tough. I just read it without trying to understand too much.”

“How can you read it if you don’t understand?”

“That’s what I mean, I just… read it.”

“That doesn’t make sense. If you’re just reading without any understanding, isn’t that boring?”

“That’s precisely what makes it interesting.”

“I have no idea what you mean. What exactly is so interesting about it?”

What makes it interesting? I had never really thought about that question before, so for a moment, I was at a loss for words. After a brief contemplation, I answered.

“It’s just the fun of discovering phrases and words that I didn’t know existed.”

“…Hmm, Sei, I’m really sorry to say this, but you’re kind of weird.”

“I hear that a lot.”

I wasn’t particularly affected by such comments since I’d heard them many times before. Hearing it here as well just made me think I really might be odd. I shrugged, and Camille, who was looking at me with a bewildered expression, smiled again.

“But still, you’re amazing. You’re definitely my little brother.”

“…We’re cousins.”

“A cousin is still a brother. Being an only child, you feel like my real sibling.”

I stifled the laugh that almost escaped me. If I were a bit more naive, I might have taken his words at face value. But I knew all too well how fragile blood ties were. My half-brother, who could arguably be closer, always frowned at the mere sight of me.

The Count Lavant, who believed I was his biological son, and the Duke of Rouster, my maternal grandfather, were no different. They likely saw me as slightly more useful than a stranger at best.

When people openly show kindness, it’s usually because they have plans to use you or they want to make you lower your guard to gauge your true feelings. I wondered which side Camille was on.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…It’s nothing. Judging by your appearance, you must have been training.”

“Yeah! Oh, do I smell sweaty? I meant to shower first, but I spotted you passing by…”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Really? That’s a relief. Oh, guess what? I won in a sparring match today!”

“Sparring… with whom?”

“Sir Hamel. Though it was with wooden swords. Wow, I was so nervous. It was my first time sparring with someone else. My master suddenly told me to try it out; I was so flustered.”

“…”

“Sei?”

“Ah, sorry. It surprises me. To defeat a Knight, that’s really impressive.”

“Ah, it’s not that big a deal. Sir Hamel is still a rookie, after all. I have a long way to go before I can truly be praised.”

“They say it’s disrespectful to praise oneself too much. Even if he’s a rookie, he’s a Knight who has passed the formal training. For someone our age to beat a Knight is incredible. If you downplay it, how would Sir Hamel, who lost to you, feel? I think it’s okay to be proud of yourself.”

“Ah, you’re right. Sorry! I didn’t mean to insult Sir Hamel. Actually, I’m quite proud of how well I did.”

Camille quickly corrected himself and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. I watched this with an odd sensation. He was just ten years old, an age when most only begin their training. While history is filled with warriors who commanded great respect, I had never heard of someone so young defeating a Knight. So the descriptions of him as a unique swordsman unparalleled in history must have been accurate.

“Hehe, this is great.”

“What’s great?”

“Being told off. If it’s not my grandfather or parents, everyone’s too intimidated to say anything, so they never point out when I’m being rude. I like that you speak so freely, Sei.”

“…”

Camille’s tall stature, resembling his grandfather’s, caught my eye. Impossibly tall and well-built for a ten-year-old, his forehead slightly covered by his hair that shone brightly, the very feature everyone admired. His hair had a different light from mine, which was dark and dreary—a bright and confident hue that matched the way he looked at me.

‘…So he’s not even considering me as a threat.’

With such talent, a stray stone like me wouldn’t pose any threat. A bitter smile flickered across my face while I felt a sense of relief. If he didn’t consider me a concern, there was no need for me to be overly tense. Constantly analyzing and deciphering someone’s intentions can be quite draining. I, too, wanted to live comfortably if possible.