CH 3.2

“Hey.”

Lane opened the door and called me.

I stiffened at the sight of Lane and Lizzy.

Their eyes had a fierce look about them. 

Born with arched eyebrows, their natural features only cemented their terrifying gazes even more. 

“Why is she behaving so foolishly?”

“Duh, she is a fool.”

Lizzy giggled and looked at me. 

Lizzy’s azure hair, which went down to her collarbone, swayed whenever she laughed. 

I couldn’t care less about their conduct. Right now, I’m more worried about that boy. 

“But I heard her talking to someone. Was I mistaken?”

‘D-did he get caught?’

My very first friend asked me to keep the fact I saw him today a secret. 

It was a dubious request, but I wanted to comply. 

‘He seemed like a good person.’

He looked at me with a pure gaze, no malice whatsoever. I inhaled while looking at the twins and then exhaled. 

“…Who could she have been talking to?”

“I’m not sure, there’s no one here.”

They giggled as they chattered among themselves. 

‘Nobody’s here?’

I sighed and glanced around me. There verily was no one else. Where’d he go?

The closet? Under the bed? Or…Teleportation?

In any case, I sighed again and turned my head. 

“Why are you both here?” I asked, my gaze alternating between Lane and Lizzy. 

They looked at each other, their expressions obnoxious. 

Matching purple eyes glistened while azure hair bounced to the tune of the twins’ laughter. 

They proceeded to reveal something, holding it in front of me. 

“Look at this. Jealous yet?”

“Mother gave these to us as presents. The other presents are all so wonderful, and you haven’t even seen them, but I couldn’t bring them all, so I just brought this.” 

I was wondering why they came here when the birthday party wasn’t finished. 

The instant I saw the twins’ hands, I knew why they came here. 

‘They came to brag about their presents.’

I blinked. 

I tried not to see what the twins had gotten. 

But I couldn’t help but look at the presents they kept showing off in front of me.

“It’s beautiful…”

It was a lustrous, dainty pendant with a sapphire embedded in the middle. 

For the life of me, I never wanted to compliment it, but the words inadvertently came straight from my mouth. It bruised my pride because it truly was beautiful. 

“These are artifacts with properties. We can use each of our three abilities about three times.” 

“Mine is water, electricity, and wind. Hers is water, ice, and teleportation.”

“……Good for you.”

“Good? Of course, it is.” 

I stared blankly at the pendant that gleamed with a blue hue. 

I envied its beauty. 

But I was mainly envious that they could use abilities with it. 

It was limited to a number of uses, but for someone like me who had no ability, I couldn’t have one even if I wanted to. 

“What did you get, sister?”

“You dolt, she’s been kicked out of the family.”

“They could have secretly given it to her.”

“It’s been almost a year since she was kicked out of the house. She’s not getting a present. And who else would gift her a birthday present if not our parents?”

I couldn’t say anything because the twins were right. 

And I knew better than to lie and say, ‘I got it’ in a fit of rage. 

It was better to be silent. 

That way, things would wrap up quickly. I was more concerned about other things at the moment than this.

‘If he was hiding here, I would have noticed it.’

I hope he’s a teleporter and went somewhere far away.

Even though I was used to being treated like this, I didn’t want to have others see.

As I stood still, the twins pouted their mouths as if they had become bored.

Then Lane’s eyes shimmered, and he gestured to Lizzy. 

“Aren’t you the slightest bit curious if these genuinely came with abilities?”

“What? Mother gave it to us. Of course, these are genuine.”

“Nope, still curious. Do these truly work?”

Lizzy smiled subtly at Lane’s words.

What are they up to?

“Well, now I’m curious too. Will something actually happen?”

I have a bad feeling, so I stepped back.

* * *

Daikin, who was hiding under the bed, groaned.

The average fifteen-year-old boy would not be able to do this, but thanks to his scrawny and petite build, he could easily hide here.

However, as he crawled under the bed in a hurry, he bumped his knee. 

He held his breath, ignoring the throbbing.

He squinted upon seeing the feet of what seemed to be unwelcome guests entering the house. 

Unlike the shoes worn by the owner of this hut, those two pairs of shoes were clean and luxurious.

‘Fortunately, I didn’t get caught.’

If I had been, I wouldn’t just be in trouble, but I would have caused others trouble too.

It was abundantly clear that if he was found out to be Daikin Blanche, Duke of Blanche’s ailment would be revealed. 

“Look at this. Jealous, yet?”

“Mother gave these to us as presents. The other presents are all so wonderful and you haven’t even seen them, but I couldn’t bring them all, so I just brought this.”

“What did you get, sister?”

Sister?

He thought she was a gardener’s daughter or maid who was left alone because she lived isolated.

Daikin remembered passing through a luxurious fence in his hazy memories.

He also knew that he was staying near Count Lizziana’s territory.

‘This family did not have the financial resources to buy artifacts. No way……’

He had taken history lessons and heard about noble families. 

He was only 15 years old, so his memory was strong, and as the heir, he had to remember those kinds of things.

In particular, he knew about Count Lizziana because the rumors were so unusual.