IJSMC 14

Chapter : 14

So that was how he had been able to get engaged again even after killing so many fiancées.

Sirius had sometimes been forced into unwanted engagements under pressure from the emperor, but there were also times when he himself had seduced women in order to eliminate opposing factions first.

One such woman had said that although she suspected his ulterior motives, she was so captivated by his looks that she simply could not refuse the engagement.

And that wasn’t all.

There was even an account of another woman who had approached him with the goal of assassinating him, yet hesitated at the crucial moment because it felt too wasteful to kill someone as handsome as Sirius.

Of course, he slaughtered that woman mercilessly without a second thought.

In any case, his long history of murdering his fiancées posed no obstacle whatsoever to him getting engaged to women.

That was because, true to his role as the male protagonist, there had never been a single moment in his life when Sirius was not handsome.

Still, I don’t remember ever seeing a description of him being this cute when he was young!

His childhood had always been used merely as a stepping stone to make his future shine brighter, filled to the brim with hardships and adversity.

At most, it might mention that the seeds of his good looks were visible, but there was never any room for a description calling him “cute.”

Flip.

Elena carelessly turned the pages of the book she was holding.

Her emotions were unsettled to the point that she wasn’t even sure why she had picked up this book in the first place.

In the meantime, time kept slipping away aimlessly. She began to feel self-conscious.

Could he still be waiting?

Elena felt uneasy.

It would be best not to get involved with Sirius, but that didn’t justify irresponsibly leaving him unattended.

Should I crack the door open just a little and check whether he’s gone or not? If he’s gone, that’s a relief, and if not…

She didn’t have a concrete plan, but hoping for the former, Elena closed the book for now.

Just as she was about to slip out between the bookshelves—

“Hey, you.”

She ran into Joseph.

He looked to be in the worst mood possible, probably because he had been summoned by their father and something unpleasant had happened.

Elena subtly put a bit of distance between herself and the mist-like pressure that seemed to creep toward her.

Normally, because of their father’s strict instructions, Joseph limited himself to verbal abuse or pinching, but when he was in a bad mood, he could become unbearably erratic.

“You’re close with Sirius, right?”

Fortunately, it seemed Joseph wasn’t actually looking for her.

If Sirius were still outside the study, there was no way Joseph wouldn’t have seen him—so had he really left?

Elena shook her head at Joseph.

“Then I don’t know either. He wasn’t outside the study.”

“That’s not what I’m asking right now.”

Joseph’s voice was openly laced with irritation, clearly unhappy with her answer.

Seriously, what did he want her to do?

Elena didn’t want to deal with Joseph, but she had enough sense not to say that out loud.

It might feel a little satisfying if Joseph blew up after she provoked him first.

But she didn’t want him venting the anger he got from their father onto her.

Elena’s way of surviving in the Duke of Rode’s household was simple.

She didn’t meddle, thinking she could change anything, and she didn’t stir up trouble.

She simply endured, waiting for the Duke of Rode’s family to fall apart in due time.

But Joseph, knowing nothing of that, found her behavior laughable.

He had a nasty habit of poking at someone who was minding their own business, just to see how long they’d stay that way.

Even now, he was openly looking down on Elena as if she were some insignificant creature.

“Whatever. Just deliver this to Sirius. And tell him it’s from Father.”

What Joseph held out was a long rod wrapped in cloth.

Why was he making such a fuss about having someone else run his errand?

Elena didn’t take it right away and instead asked,

“What is it?”

It was a perfectly reasonable question.

But as if some switch had been flipped, Joseph suddenly erupted.

“How dare a piece of trash talk back? Just do as you’re told!”

Before Elena could react, Joseph flung the item in his hand.

Bang!

It looked quite heavy, and it struck the floor with a loud noise as it bounced.

That awful temper of his!

“Eek!”

Elena let out a short scream and jumped aside.

It’s flying this way!

But contrary to her expectation of getting hit, she felt nothing at all.

Instead, she felt a soft warmth wrapping around her.

Elena lifted her head. Sirius—whom she had thought had left after waiting too long—was right in front of her.

Blink.

She closed her eyes and opened them again, but nothing changed.

He was really there, his cheeks flushed and his expression complicated.

“Sorry.”

Why are you apologizing?

Dumbfounded, Elena looked up at Sirius.

It was surprising enough that he had appeared out of nowhere, but she never expected to hear an apology from him.

Had he thrown something at her?

No. On the contrary, the object that had nearly hurt her was now calmly held in Sirius’s hand.

“I said I’d wait outside, but….”

“Oh, no, it’s fine.”

So that was what he meant.

Elena felt a sharp twinge in her chest.

Then there was even less reason for him to apologize. She was the one who had made him wait.

Feeling guilty, Elena reached out toward his silver hair, trying to comfort him.

In truth, whenever she felt sorry for him, she had always wanted to pat him like this.

“Just wait here for a moment.”

But her hand was caught by Sirius and stopped.

And before she could even react, she felt a gentle touch brushing her hair aside.

Instead, Sirius was the one soothing her, stroking her head as if to calm her.

…Huh? Something feels different.

While Elena stood there absentmindedly, fiddling with the hair his hand had just passed through, Sirius straightened up.

Joseph, who had been staring blankly at the suddenly appeared boy, flinched.

“Looks like the item was delivered safely.”

Joseph said in a pale voice, his gaze skirting awkwardly past Sirius.

Instinctively frightened, he chose to speak to Elena instead of Sirius.

Of course, his pride also wouldn’t allow him to address Sirius politely.

It was a petty move, but very much like Joseph. Stepping back hesitantly, he added to Elena,

“I’m leaving.”

“You think you can just throw something like that at Elena and leave?”

“Gah!”

Bang!

As expected, Joseph didn’t have the temperament to endure Sirius flinging the object back.

Startled by the sudden projectile, Joseph yelped and flared up.

“Should I apologize then? To something like that…?”

“Apologize?”

Sirius smiled.

But unlike the smiles he had shown Elena before, this one was closer to a cold sneer.

Strangely enough, it suited his fairy-like face.

Only then did Elena realize why Sirius’s cheeks were flushed.

He hadn’t been blushing out of guilt.

His body was heated with boiling anger.

He’s really angry about what Joseph did.

Elena cautiously guessed at Sirius’s feelings, seeing him step in for her.

Maybe he intended to force an apology on her behalf.

But that thought was far too ordinary to grasp Sirius’s true intentions.

“What would I even use something so useless for?”

Sirius strode straight toward Joseph.

Then, lifting his leg, he kicked Joseph squarely in the chest.

In an instant, Joseph crashed into the middle of the bookshelves.

“Ugh!”

A groan escaped Joseph as unbearable pain tore through him.

Before he could even regain his senses, books came raining down over his head.

“Aaah!”

With a shrill scream, dust billowed into the air, and a mound of books piled up.

“Keugh… you hit me over something so trivial?”

Joseph growled as he shoved books aside and staggered to his feet.

The spot where Sirius had kicked him throbbed sharply, but he could barely still move.

Clutching his chest, he glared at Sirius.

But Sirius, indifferent, spoke in a voice far too calm for a child.

“You look better than I expected. Try to hold out from now on, too.”

“What? …You crazy bastard!”

Joseph’s vision went red at Sirius’s words.

The pain was so intense it nearly made him dizzy.

And then Sirius said something incomprehensibly infuriating, and his anger exploded.

Losing all reason, Joseph lunged at Sirius.

“Urgh!”

But the attempt was easily blocked.

The hand that had shot out as if to tear out Sirius’s hair was caught far too easily.

Joseph struggled wildly, trying to shake off the grip on his arm, but it was useless.

“What… what is this?”

When no amount of effort worked, panic began to spread across Joseph’s face.

By now, even he had no choice but to realize it—there was an overwhelming difference in strength.

As he grasped that no matter what he did, he couldn’t escape Sirius’s hold, his face went deathly pale.

Yet, as if it were all a joke, the monstrous strength crushing his wrist only grew stronger.

It felt like his wrist would snap at any moment.

Realizing the situation had turned against him, Joseph spoke in a trembling voice.

“Let go of this! Let go and let’s talk.”

“Why would I?”

A faint smile spread across Sirius’s previously expressionless face, as if he’d just heard something ridiculous.

Before Joseph could even register that smile, he was slammed into the floor.

“Ugh….”

His body twitched against the ground, unable even to scream.

Sirius frowned.

This time, not even a hollow laugh escaped him.

Someone like this, who would crawl on the floor with just a casual swing of his hand, had nearly hurt Elena.

That thought alone made his anger surge even more.

“Aaah!”

Sirius kicked Joseph in the abdomen.

If he hadn’t broken his promise and come inside to stop it, the one screaming wouldn’t have been Joseph—it would have been Elena.

That realization naturally fueled his rage further.

“How dare you….”

He clenched his teeth, struggling to rein in his reason.

Joseph had tried to lay a hand on the only person who mattered to him.

This couldn’t end as mere venting of anger—he needed to carve into Joseph’s mind who truly held the upper hand.

Sirius kicked Joseph again as he tried to stagger back to his feet.

With each blow growing more violent, Joseph finally raised the white flag.

“I’ll apologize! Isn’t that enough?!”

He had never imagined he’d end up crawling before a boy smaller than himself, but this was reality.

Joseph’s face was already a mess of tears and snot.

The thought that he had picked an impossible fight flashed through his mind.

It was hard to breathe, as if his ribs were broken.

But compared to what might come next, even this was nothing.