IRVB 10

Chapter 10

Rodi’s eyes widened into perfect circles.

“Uncle?”

The boss is Lexiard’s uncle?

His mind started spinning rapidly.

Then… he’s not a new recruit like me?

Curiosity and disappointment hit him at the same time.

Earlier, he had praised Ikllis, but he had also complained that Ikllis had kicked away his shoes and that his personality seemed really bad.

He thought they were both new and spoke freely like friends—but that wasn’t the case at all.

But really… uncle?

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Rodi looked back and forth between the two.

Now that he looked closely, they did seem a bit alike.

If you crumpled Ikllis down and shrank him, he felt like he’d end up looking like Lexiard.

He wished someone would explain it.

But no one paid any attention to Rodi.

“I left you at home—why did you crawl out again?”

“You told me I could come whenever I wanted.”

“You never listen.”

“Since when did you start liking kids?”

“Mind your own business.”

“Planning to raise one?”

“Want me to tell you why I came?”

As the two talked as if he didn’t exist, Rodi squeezed himself right between them.

“Are you two family?”

Ikllis and Lexiard both looked down at him at the same time.

“No.”

“Yes.”

They answered simultaneously—but with completely different answers.

So… are they family or not?

“You just called him uncle.”

“I didn’t.”

At Ikllis’s denial, Lexiard smiled brightly at Rodi.

“He is my uncle, Rodi. I think he just doesn’t like me.”

Rodi blinked in surprise.

He had seen Lexiard smile with just his lips a few times today—but this was the first time his eyes smiled too.

It was incredibly, unbelievably pretty.

At that smile, all of Rodi’s lingering disappointment vanished in an instant.

If he finds out I badmouthed him, I’ll just get scolded!

The slight distance Rodi had felt disappeared, and he quickly took Lexiard’s side, standing in front of him as if to protect him.

“Boss, then Lexiard will feel sad!”

“Hah.”

Ikllis’s eyes grew even sharper.

“Who did you meet first?”

“Y-you, Boss…?”

Rodi’s confident voice grew smaller and smaller.

“Then whose side should you take?”

This isn’t right…

“U-um, well… but you’re his uncle, Boss. Family shouldn’t fight. It makes people sad.”

At the orphanage, Rodi had seen many children who were abandoned after their parents fought and separated.

Kids like him, who never had parents to begin with, adapted well enough.

But those who were abandoned like that cried for days and suffered far more.

Family was something truly precious.

People who had families from the start would never understand.

How much those without one wished for it.

Rodi looked back and forth between Lexiard and Ikllis with a worried expression.

The two fell silent.

They were indeed uncle and nephew—but not particularly close.

This kind of exchange was no different from their usual interactions, almost like a greeting.

But Rodi’s serious reaction left them both a bit taken aback.

No one in Cheils had ever interpreted their relationship this way before.

Standing right behind Rodi like he was using him as a shield, Lexiard smiled again.

“You heard him, uncle.”

He even emphasized the word “uncle,” acting deliberately weak.

Ikllis ran a hand through his hair, looking incredulous.

“Ha… you sly little fox.”

His words were still rough, but the atmosphere had clearly softened.

Sensing that, Rodi edged closer to Ikllis.

He had spent his whole life reading the room at the orphanage while protecting younger kids, so he was quick to pick up on changes in mood.

“What?”

“Why is there no bread today?”

“Do I look like a bakery? If you’re hungry, go eat in the dining hall. Don’t squeak around here.”

“That bread was really good, though.”

Just then—

“Ikllis-nim.”

A slender man with short, neatly cut wheat-colored hair approached Ikllis.

His features were delicate and refined, and his eyes were a beautiful sky blue.

“Jin.”

“I just returned. I heard you were looking for me, so I came right away. Do you have an order?”

At that, Ikllis placed a hand on top of Rodi’s head.

“Huh?”

Rodi wobbled under the weight.

As he tried to look up, Ikllis grabbed his head and turned it toward Jin.

“Uwah!”

Rodi spun helplessly.

“Take care of this one.”

Thud!

Rodi and Jin locked eyes.

‘A new person.’

Both of them stared at each other with curious, shining eyes.

Rodi remembered what Gembil had said—that someone new would be assigned to him starting today.

‘It must be him.’

After examining Rodi, Jin turned his gaze back to Ikllis.

“Is this an official duty, or a personal request?”

“It’s work. He already wanders around well enough, so just teach him what he needs. He’s a new recruit who joined yesterday.”

“So this is the child Padreed mentioned. Understood.”

“Good. Then that’s settled. Now, shall I have a word with my troublesome nephew?”

“Rodi.”

Lexiard placed a hand lightly on Rodi’s shoulder.

Rodi tilted his head back to look at him.

“I’ll tell you the rest next time. I should go for now.”

Rodi’s big eyes blinked twice.

“Can I see you again? Even if you’re not a new recruit?”

“Yeah.”

“Then… can we still be friends?”

“Will you?”

Lexiard asked with a slightly apologetic expression.

Then he bent down a little to match Rodi’s height and whispered softly into his ear.

“Let’s keep today’s conversation a secret between friends.”

Rodi’s face lit up.

Looks like he won’t find out I talked badly about him!

“Okay!”

“See you next time.”

“Will you follow me?”

Jin, who had been standing beside them, spoke to Rodi.

Rodi nodded and waved both hands energetically at Lexiard.

“See you!”

It was time to part, even if he didn’t want to.

Back on the third floor, Ikllis reached for a cigar out of habit.

Seeing that, Lexiard used black mist to snatch it away and toss it straight into the trash.

“I’ll have a carriage prepared. Go home.”

Ikllis rubbed his eyes, already looking tired.

“Uncle, should I just stay here?”

“Why are you acting like an idiot again?”

“If I stay here, won’t it make it easier for you to get your revenge?”

Ikllis, who had been playing along until now, suddenly turned sharp.

“Go back.”

Normally, when Ikllis showed this level of anger, people would quietly back off.

No—most wouldn’t even let things reach this point.

But Lexiard seemed to enjoy it.

He flinched slightly at the killing intent in the air—but only slightly.

At his core was the belief that Ikllis would never truly harm him.

“Haah…”

In the end, Ikllis half gave in, rubbing his forehead.

Lexiard von Hikerman.

The only link connecting the current Ikllis to the Hikerman ducal family.

Lexiard was the only child left behind by Ikllis’s half-brother—the only family he had somewhat acknowledged.

Ikllis, who had abandoned the family name—never even properly permitted to bear it—and Lexiard first met four years ago.

It was during the kidnapping incident that shook the Hikerman family, one of the most powerful houses in the Empire, second only to the imperial family.

“Save my son. I beg you, brother.”

At the time, Ikllis was only seventeen.

He had just founded Cheils and risen as its leader after leaving the family.

For Ikllis, who hadn’t even known of Lexiard’s existence, this was the first—and last—request from his brother, Katiron.

So he risked his life to save him.

That was also when Katiron—the brother he met again after years of living like a stray—died.

After that, with the death of Katiron, the heir of Hikerman, Lexiard became the next in line—and with that came threats to his life.

From then on, Ikllis could no longer completely sever ties with him.

If he ignored him, a mere ten-year-old child could die at any time.

But if he acknowledged him, it meant digging up the past and becoming entangled once more with the Hikerman family he wanted nothing to do with.

To Ikllis, Lexiard was like a thorn lodged deep in his fingertip.

Something he couldn’t pull out completely, yet couldn’t ignore either.

“Uncle, there’s an empty room, right?”

“No.”

“I’ll use the second floor. Where’s that kid’s room?”

“I said there isn’t one.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to make sure the room next to his is left empty.”