That day, after we came out of the basement, Peruere and I washed our hands again. The stench of blood was overwhelming. After apologizing to Citra and Cravie, who had been waiting for us, for taking so long, Peruere and I said we had something to do and would head back to the House of the Hearth first. Cravie and Citra said watching the matches would be boring without the two of us, so our group of four returned to the House of the Hearth together.
Peruere and I had bloodstained clothes, so I took them down to the river and washed them. Since both our clothes were black, I somehow managed to keep the others from noticing. I brought the washed clothes back to the house and hung them on the drying rack. Thankfully, all the blood came out.
The problem began the following day. Peruere started sticking to me constantly. She had always been somewhat like that, but now she was glued to my side for the entire day, from meals onward, except when we slept.
I thought this way of life would end soon enough. But... as a week passed, then a month, then two months, I started to feel afraid.
"Um... Peruere? I can eat by myself, you know?"
"..."
"Hey, Pel... Avrora is having a hard time. Everyone around us is looking at us strangely too..."
Perhaps they had grown close in the meantime, because just as in the story, Cravie had begun calling Peruere by the nickname Pel. That was a good thing. Surely.
"Peruere! Mother might say something if you keep this up! It is not as if Avrora is a king and you are volunteering to be his servant!"
"A servant... that might be all right..."
Did she seriously eat something weird? What was all right about being a servant?
"Peruere? Go play with Cravie today. If you keep sticking to me, Cravie will feel left out."
"I do not particularly feel left out..."
"Mm... all right, Brother."
She did listen whenever I told her to do something. But she needed to get closer to Cravie. If she kept clinging to me like this, I was afraid of what would happen to the story.
"Hey, Avrora. Mother wants to see you."
One of the kids from my class told me. It seemed Crucabena was calling for me, and when I looked at the clock, it was time for another session of hellish training. Peruere seemed to realize I was going to train, so she went outside with Cravie to play.
"Have fun playing with Cravie while I am gone."
With that said, I headed for the director's office. It was another tedious, tiresome training session.
Cravie and I came outside. That bitch had dragged Brother away, so I would not be able to see him again for several hours. I wanted to kill her quickly, but I was still weak. Then again, if I killed her, would Cravie not be sad? She was her real mother, after all.
"Cravie, do you know what happens to children who are weeded out from the House of the Hearth?"
"Huh? Why are you curious about that?"
"Brother said that if someone is weeded out, they get taken to a terrifying place. I was wondering if that was true..."
"Ah... Avrora already knows everything, does he?"
Just as expected of Brother. He knew everything.
"This place is a prison. No one can get out of here alive. Sometimes people from the Fatui come and take children away, but the children who are not chosen there can only wait for the day they are handed over to someone named Dottore as test subjects. I could never count all the deaths I saw while living with Mother. Honestly, I do not really want to see Mother like that... She is not a good person."
Cravie seemed to hate that bitch too. Then would things go as I thought?
"Cravie... there is something I want to tell you."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Let us kill Mother together."
"...Huh? What did you say, Pel?"
Before spring arrived, the cold night wind swirled around the two of them, as though the lingering winter were proving it still existed.
"So, what is this?"
Contrary to expectation, Crucabena did not drag me down to the basement today. Instead, she summoned me to the director's office and placed several extraordinarily thick law books before me.
"What do you think it is? They are law books."
"I understand that, but... why are you showing me these?"
"You must become a spy who infiltrates deep into Fontaine. If I place an orphan with no particular abilities before Neuvillette, he is bound to become suspicious. So I gave some thought to what could prove your ability."
"First, become a duel agent with a high win rate. Winning every time would earn you fame and wealth, but you would only be going from one battlefield to another. You would hardly ever see Neuvillette."
"Second, become a Fontaine administrator. If you work at the Palais Mermonia, Neuvillette will be your superior, so you may have opportunities to speak with him. But if you are assigned outside the Court of Fontaine, it would be nothing but exile, and that would inevitably interfere with my plans."
"And the most certain third option."
Crucabena pointed at the law books with a finger.
"Become a Fontaine prosecutor or lawyer~"
What the hell was this bitch saying to me right now? She threw law books at a nine-year-old and expected me to take the bar exam? Did that make any sense?
"Um... what does being a lawyer or prosecutor have to do with meeting Neuvillette...?"
"Neuvillette is the Chief Justice. Almost every case is handled by the Court of Fontaine and the Court of Justice around Neuvillette, while prosecutors and lawyers meet at the Opera Epiclese to handle verdicts. And trials are held only at the Opera Epiclese. Do you understand what that means?"
"If I become a lawyer, a prosecutor, or someone from the Court of Fontaine, it is practically guaranteed that I will meet Neuvillette and be able to build a connection with him?"
"You truly are king material. You are quick-witted, at least."
"With such exceptional quick thinking, you will pass Fontaine's bar exam faster than most. There is an age limit, of course, but if you study until then, somehow..."
"Then when will I play with the other children? If I train at night and study during the day, I will have no time to play with them..."
"Child, who said you had to start studying law right now? And even I find Fontaine's damned laws headache-inducing. They are not something a child like you can easily understand."
"Then when do I start studying?"
At that, Crucabena began to smile viciously.
"Should you not at least possess the skill to kill someone for certain before you begin studying? You handled that special guest I sent before quite well, did you not??"
This bitch... She had kept her mouth shut until now, but she was finally saying it. I had learned that Crucabena sent him thanks to Peruere, but hearing it from her own mouth carried a different weight.
"Though it has been proven that you possess that much skill, it is still not enough. Should you not kill at least ten people?"
She still treated human lives like flies.
"Then where am I supposed to find those people to kill?"
"Do you already want to kill people? Your eyes have truly opened at such a young age, have they not?"
Was she insane? Would any normal person think that?
"Still, since you are only nine, putting you into operations would be useless in terms of combat strength... Let us see when you are twelve, shall we? You should be all right by then."
"May I leave now?"
I just wanted to get out of there quickly. Talking to this bitch felt like it was shaving years off my life.
"Yes, you may go now. But..."
Crucabena handed me a thick book titled Constitution. It was fucking heavy. Having a Vision had improved my physical abilities, but it was still heavy. If I actually struck someone with it, I might be able to kill them.
"Early education is necessary, is it not? Put it on the bookshelf in your room and read it whenever you have spare time."
"Understood..."
My shoulders grew heavier and heavier.
Unlike the other children, who had bunk beds, I had been assigned a private room. It was a privilege I had gained due to Crucabena's favoritism, but the price for it felt thoroughly unpleasant. Once inside my room, I put the Constitution on the shelf, then took out the [Empty Vision] Capitano had given me, which I had hidden inside it.
Having two Visions made me think of that Ittou Maddor, but I did not know whether the time would ever come to use it. Normally, only one Vision awakened, did it not? Being able to use multiple elements like the Traveler was an outsider's privilege... but when I thought about it, perhaps that applied to me as well. That hopeful thought began to spin through my head.
Ningguang awakened an [Empty Vision] and obtained the Geo element too, did she not? I could do it too. But since it was an empty shell, I could not even guess what element it had once been. I hoped it would be Cryo or Hydro, so I could stay cool in the summer...
I was imagining such things as I tried to lie down on my bed, but for some reason, it was bulging beneath the covers. Surely not...
I cautiously grabbed the blanket and pulled it back. Then, from inside—
"Brother. You are back?"
I covered her with the blanket again, placed my right hand on my forehead, and felt my soul leave my body. Now she was worrying about where I slept too?
I tore the blanket away and demanded an explanation from Peruere, who had been under it.
"Was not Cravie your roommate? Why are you crawling into my room?"
"I talked to Cravie today, and afterward she seemed awkward around me, so I ran away."
It seemed Peruere had said something strange to Cravie. What could she have said to make her react like that?
"What did you say? You did not tell her spiders do not eat cake again, did you?"
"No... not that. I only... told her we should kill that bitch together."
"Oh, hell..."
I thought it was a shallow pitfall, but it seemed I had stepped on a landmine.
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