IPAMB 6

Chapter: 6

Before he even had time to be surprised, the girl slew the monster.

“……!”

At that moment, Cain sharply inhaled.

But the breath he had drawn in felt stuck in his throat and wouldn’t come out properly.

His hands trembled violently, and a chill ran through his entire body.

Only when death had come right up to him did he realize it.

So… I didn’t actually want to die.

Had he merely wanted to escape this situation so badly that he thought he wanted death?

But someone like me, even if I lived…

He was confused. His thoughts refused to settle.

Just then, the girl said something to him—then suddenly collapsed.

“……!”

Cain’s heart dropped.

No way…

Had he brought misfortune again and hurt this child too?

Overcome with guilt, Cain couldn’t even bring himself to touch her and instead reflexively called for others.

“Save her. No matter what.”

His heart felt heavy. Watching the girl collapse after saving him was unbearable.

Fortunately, her life was not in danger, and two days later, she regained consciousness.

“Lady Winiel wishes to see you.”

As soon as she woke up, the girl asked for Cain.

“Tell her to say what she wants and leave.”

Cain had no intention of meeting her.

Even though he now realized he wanted to live, his guilt remained.

He didn’t want to see anyone. He didn’t want to spread his misfortune.

Even if his savior asked to meet him, nothing would change.

He would repay her for saving the heir of the Argent family—for the sake of the family’s honor—but that was all.

“Um… I don’t know what kind of misfortune you carry, but I think meeting you was a blessing.”

That was all she said.

“We’ll have to change the plan. Let’s put the matter of repayment on hold.”

I ripped the paper apart and threw it into the trash.

After talking with Cain yesterday, I’d realized several things.

The moment I ask him to take down the villain organization, I’ll be kicked out of this duchy.

Cain wanted me gone as soon as possible.

To be honest, that would’ve been fine.

My original goal was to ask Cain to deal with the villain organization.

Being chased out afterward—if I could just make the request—would be disappointing, but acceptable.

But… is that really okay?

Given Cain’s current state, asking him and leaving didn’t feel reliable at all.

His cooperation was crucial.

To defeat the villain organization, I need Cain’s help.

More precisely, I needed his power.

The reason was simple.

Cain’s awakened aura is said to have the power to stop them.

It was a common fantasy novel trope.

Only the protagonist could face the villains.

So even if Cain tried to push me away, I had no choice but to ask for his help.

It’d be great if I could save my brother without completely wiping out the villain organization—but I have to prepare for the worst.

To save my brother for sure, I had to be ready to destroy the organization entirely.

Even if I beg him sincerely before leaving, I’ll still feel uneasy.

Cain didn’t seem interested in what I had to say at all.

He must have heard that I was a saint candidate and that I came to speak to the duchy—yet he showed no curiosity whatsoever.

His emotional wounds must be so deep that my presence alone makes him uncomfortable.

I remembered that his backstory wasn’t pleasant, but seeing it firsthand, he was in far worse condition than I’d imagined.

I can’t leave him like this. With a wounded heart, he won’t be able to awaken.

Of course, in the original story, Cain eventually overcomes this trauma.

But that’s in the future.

If I wait for that, my brother will die exactly as the story dictates.

No! He has to overcome it sooner than in the original!

Looks like I’d have to step in.

I’ll stick right by Cain’s side and help him overcome his trauma quickly!

There was a way.

I just had to bring forward the method by which he healed in the future.

Get him to have an honest conversation with Duke Argent.

The duke and duchess were among the people Cain kept emotional distance from.

He believed his misfortune caused his father’s illness, and he carried deep guilt over it.

His recovery begins when that belief is shattered through a conversation with the duke.

But it won’t be easy.

It sounded simple, but at this point in time, it wasn’t.

The duke is often away in the north.

They barely had time to face each other, let alone heal old wounds.

And Cain wouldn’t initiate the conversation himself.

But with a helper, things could change.

If I stepped in, brought them together sooner, and created the atmosphere for a serious discussion—

He could recover much faster than in the original.

Alright. Let’s do it.

I left my room immediately and went to find a maid.

Fortunately, unlike yesterday, I found her quickly in the kitchen—though she looked extremely busy.

“Do you need something, Lady Winiel?”

“No, I just wanted to ask. When will Duke Argent return?”

“The duke is… we don’t know when he’ll return.”

Same answer as yesterday.

But this time, I couldn’t let it slide.

“Why? Did something happen? The young master almost got hurt.”

The maid set down the plate she was wiping.

“……The young master instructed us not to inform the duke about this incident.”

“!”

Cain did?

Just how deep is the rift?

I really did need to intervene.

“But a dark magic attack is a serious matter.”

“He said he didn’t want to worry the busy duke…”

“But he’ll find out eventually. Wouldn’t he worry even more then?”

“That is… true.”

The maid agreed quietly.

Got it—she’s being persuaded!

I pressed on.

“I believe the duke should be informed. And as a saint candidate, I also have something urgent to discuss…”

“Stop.”

A firm voice came from behind us.

“Young master?”

Startled, I turned around to see Cain standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

He was holding a sword, probably on his way to sword training.

“Good morning, Young Master.”

“I told you to say what you wanted and leave.”

Ignoring my greeting, Cain glared at me coldly.

The atmosphere made it feel like I might be thrown out at any moment.

But this was exactly when I had to stand my ground!

“Yes! But I haven’t said it yet, so I can’t leave!”

“……”

“You’re not going to suddenly change your mind and say you won’t repay me unless I speak right now, are you? From the heir of House Argent?”

Cain frowned in disbelief.

“…I will repay you. But even if you’re a saint candidate, you have no right to interfere in family matters. If you want something, tell me—not the duke.”

With that, he tossed out his words and left.

Did he really come all the way here just to stop me from calling the duke?

I let out a frustrated sigh.

“Haah…”

“Haah…”

Huh?

I turned toward the sound of another sigh beside me—it was the maid.

“Are you alright?”

“It’s nothing…”

She shook her head and resumed washing dishes.

But her face clearly said, I’m very worried.

Something’s going on.

I quickly softened my voice.

“It doesn’t look like nothing. If something’s bothering you, you can tell me.”

“It’s not something to say to a child…”

“I may be eleven, but I’m a saint candidate. I’m not an ordinary child. I’ve been to the temple library more than most priests.”

“But…”

She still hesitated.

Well, no choice.

“This is a secret.”

I glanced around and whispered.

“I came here to deliver information about House Argent’s future.”

“The future… you say?”

“Shh!”

I nodded seriously.

“That’s right. So if something happened, I’d like to hear it. If it’s connected to the future I saw, I may be able to help.”

“……”

My words seemed to work.

After a moment of deliberation, the maid slowly closed and opened her eyes, then set down the plate.

“…Please just listen lightly and don’t take it too seriously.”

“Of course!”

I grinned and sat on a chair in the corner of the kitchen.

“At first, the young master didn’t try this hard to hide things from the duke. Although the duke often had to leave the estate, he used magical communication devices to contact us from time to time.”

“Magical devices? You mean communication artifacts?”

“Yes.”

Wow. I’d heard those were incredibly expensive.

They were large, non-portable, and only worked with paired devices—basically luxury items.

As expected of a ducal family.

I’d imagined how nice it would be to use one to contact my brother.

But even aside from the cost, holy power and magic didn’t mix well, so the temple couldn’t use magical tools anyway.

“However, last year, when the young master was targeted in an assassination attempt, we contacted the duke using the device—but there was no response.”

“What? Wasn’t it broken?”

“That’s what we thought, but after inspection, we were told it wasn’t malfunctioning.”

“Then… a mistake?”

As the atmosphere grew heavy, I trailed off carefully.

The maid placed freshly baked cookies in front of me.

“It happened several times afterward. Eventually, the young master came to believe it wasn’t important enough to report.”

“But… still…”

“Later, when the duke visited the estate, the matter of communication was brought up once, but…”

“Stop wasting time on pointless talk.”

“…After that, the young master stopped sending messages altogether.”