"You really should've seen Avrora's face then, you guys! What a shame you missed such a spectacular sight. Hehe~"
As she ate, Citra regaled the children beside her with the tale of her glorious Joker-drawing victory. Was she really that happy about it?
"The moment I shouted, 'Avrora, you suck so bad!' His whole body started trembling. You have no idea how good that felt~!"
Crunch!
As I crushed a piece of chicken cartilage between my teeth, Citra's voice from back then echoed in my ears like an auditory hallucination. Ah, this was probably going to last a while.
"Big Brother... are you all right?"
Peruere had looked dejected ever since earlier. She probably thought I was acting like this because of her. She was right, but... still....
"No, Peruere. Let's just keep eating turkey."
"Okay..."
A huge turkey sat before us. I had no idea where they had caught something that large, but it looked enormous. Maybe it only seemed bigger because I was a child?
The older children carved the turkey with knives and set portions before us. After taking a bite, I found that while the outside was crisp, the inside was dry as hell. So much for crispy outside, juicy inside. Now I understood why they had put gravy on the side. Still, I couldn't stand how dry it was, so I kept swallowing turkey porridge rather than eating the meat itself. Peruere silently picked the meat off the turkey, but as if by instinct, she set aside the heavily seasoned skin before eating. Ah, but that was the tasty part.
"Peruere, give me the skin. It's the only edible part."
"Really...? The meat inside tastes better..."
You're probably the only one who eats that without even dipping it in sauce, Peruere.
"Hey! Loser! Is Peruere your servant or something? Ordering her to hand over the tasty parts?"
Citra was picking a pointless fight again. How was Peruere a servant? She was just my little sister from another mother. And calling me a loser? Her mood really was at an all-time high.
"Just you wait. Tomorrow, during sparring, I'm going to beat you into a pulp."
"Hmm? I can't hear you very well. Must be because it's the wailing of a loser~?"
Ah, this brat just kept getting under my skin.
"Hey, let's play another round. This time, I'm teaming up with Cravie."
"Idiot~ Why would I play a boring match when it's obvious I'll win? Unless Mother says otherwise, I'm not playing Joker Draw with you. Bleh!"
Hoo... calm down... I absolutely could not fall for her taunts. I was an adult, an adult... I couldn't let her get to me....
"Servant..."
Perhaps the word servant was bothering her, because Peruere looked back and forth between me and herself. What was wrong with her now? One mountain after another.
"You've always been glued to Peruere's side. Now that I think of Peruere as the Demon King's servant, even the way she looks is a perfect mat—"
I had no choice but to explode at that point.
"Hey. Follow me outside."
"What? We're eating right now. Why outside—"
I walked over to Citra's seat and threw away her food and utensils.
"No food now, huh? Then you'll have to come with me, right?"
"Uh... Avrora... are you angry? Then I was wrong... Aah!"
I grabbed this brat by her twin tails and dragged her outside.
"I-I was wrong! I'm sorry for insulting Peruere! Aaaah!"
The children stopped eating and stared blankly as I dragged Citra outside.
"Has Avrora ever gotten that angry before?"
"No... He's usually so quiet. Why is he like that today...?"
"Big Brother...."
"So Avrora is that kind of child...."
Peruere walked up to Cravie and refuted that remark.
"No, my big brother is kind. As long as you don't provoke him, there won't be any problem."
"Is that so...?"
The children stared vacantly at the door I had gone through for a long while.
"How far are you dragging me?! You're going to pull all my hair out!"
"Why should I care about that? Just shut up and fight me...."
While I dragged Citra down the hall, I ran into Crucabena.
"My, my? Why are you being so rough with your friend?"
"Mother! Avrora is trying to beat me up! Save me!"
Citra flailed like a fish in water as she cried for help. But the Crucabena I knew was absolutely not the type to help her.
"Well, children your age do fight with their friends sometimes. Normally, I would have let you fight, but today is a little different."
Huh? This wasn't the scenario I had expected.
"Avrora? Didn't I clearly tell you to come see me after you finished eating?"
"This brat picked a fight with me while we were eating, so I came out before I was done."
"Hmm. Is that so? Then let Citra go and follow me."
"Ah... yes, understood."
I let go of Citra's hair and followed Crucabena.
"Sob, sob... Just you remember this!!!"
Citra shouted a villain's line and fled with her tail between her legs. Crucabena and I then entered her room, the director's office.
"Normally, I tell children not to come in here, but I called you in as a special exception. We have something important to discuss."
"If it's important, then it must be about Cravie, right?"
"That's right. You remember my promise to give her to you as a slave, don't you? But I never expected that you would become close with the child who was to be your slave from your very first day."
Apparently, she had watched us playing Joker Draw. Where had she been observing us from?
"I was disappointed. It seemed you had learned the wrong way to treat slaves. But seeing the way you treated Citra earlier put my mind at ease. The way you grabbed her by the hair and dragged her along—it looked just like pulling a dog by the leash when it tries to run away. Isn't that the bearing of a true master?"
This woman really did have a warped way of thinking. Where and how had she been raised to develop thoughts like that?
"So I wondered whether I needed to give you special instruction, but it seems there is no need. You already possess the qualities of a tamer in your heart. Making Peruere call you big brother, for instance. Looking at the way Peruere behaves, she appears to be your faithful servant."
She was repeating exactly what Citra had said earlier. So that was how it looked in Crucabena's eyes too.
"Peruere was a child I had my eye on before you came here. Though she may be cursed, that child has talent above all else. Didn't you notice it during sparring? Her training progress is vastly faster than that of the other children."
I thought that was because I had been training her, though? Still, I had to admit that Peruere learned quickly.
"When I imagine a child like that becoming a loyal servant, with you as her king commanding her as your hands and feet, it paints quite an entertaining picture. So I reconsidered something. From now on, I will entrust you with the right to decide the fates of the children of the House of the Hearth."
What? Had I heard that wrong?
"Um... I don't understand."
"Must I say it again? Whether they are your seniors, juniors, or peers, if there is a child you don't like, I will let you erase them from this world. And if there is a child you do like, I will ensure they become your servant or slave. Of course, nothing can be done if they are cast out during the intermediate tests, but if they are going to become a cancerous growth in the kingdom you build, shouldn't you nip it in the bud? So if there is a child you dislike, let me know. Do you understand?"
Just like that, the power of life and death over the children in this House had been placed in my hands. Faced with such an abrupt proposal, I could only ask:
"Should I take that to mean you trust me that much?"
"Trust? That is not a word you should use yet. Because...."
The moment she finished speaking, a kick flew into my right side.
"Gah?!"
I was sent flying straight into a bookshelf. The shelf wobbled, then toppled over on top of me.
"Because you lost at Joker Draw."
I crawled out from beneath the bookshelf and was about to make an excuse to Crucabena when—
"Joker Draw is purely a matter of luck—Urk!"
Crucabena's foot forcefully pressed down on my head.
"Be grateful I wasn't wearing shoes today, Avrora."
"And luck? Have you never heard that luck is a skill too? You could manipulate the cards, or use a clairvoyance skill to figure out what cards your opponent has, couldn't you?"
"That's completely cheating—Urgh!"
"You see, cheating only counts as cheating if you get caught. If you don't get caught, it becomes technique and skill. Of course, it is even better if you kill your opponent so they cannot expose you."
"So, Avrora? Whenever I hear that you lost from now on... I am very much looking forward to what comes next."
"There is a saying that great power comes with great responsibility, isn't there? I have given you the great authority to decide the fates of the House's children, so you must bear the responsibility that comes with it, yes?"
That wasn't what that saying was for. Was this power something I had even wanted? She had heard the phrase somewhere and was using it like this, that bitch.
"You know that the year-end test will be held in one month, don't you? A special guest is scheduled to attend, so look forward to it."
With that, Crucabena helped me to my feet after I had crawled out from under the bookshelf, then threw me out of the director's office.
Ha.... She was giving me the right to choose slaves? I was already Crucabena's slave, yet now I was in the position of choosing slaves for myself. This place was completely insane. Somehow, I would bring it all down.
That Thanksgiving, my hostility toward Crucabena burned even hotter.
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