This Novel is not my Novel

"Myaaow~."

As soon as I settled into my seat, Yor made that incredibly cute and adorable sound before burrowing into my arms.

She then stared warily at Valtraus.

It seemed my wise baby dragon also expected Valtraus to have nothing pleasant to say to me.

That was hardly surprising. In Episode 145, Valtraus had not hesitated to call my possessed body "a child born after devouring his mother" to his face.

Any hostile remarks he made were directed solely at his younger brother, "Karvaldr."

They were not truly meant for me, so if I tried to let them go in one ear and out the other, it would not be impossible.

Even knowing that, I was deeply grateful for the tender heart of this baby dragon who worried about me.

I hugged Yor tightly and stroked the soft fur growing along her spine, expressing my gratitude.

At the same time, I looked Valtraus directly in the eyes and asked a question.

"So, what did you want to say to me?"

"There are thorns in your voice."

"And your voice could hardly sound any colder."

"That is because you treated me like a villain first."

"If we are going to discuss which came first, were you not the one who hated me and treated me as 'a child born after devouring his mother'?"

"......"

Valtraus flinched and fell silent, the muscles in his face stiffening until his expression turned rigid.

Apparently, being called an idiot by his father had made an impact.

Or perhaps Ragfrid's "lesson" after sending me out of the dining hall in Episode 147 had produced results.

"Haa...."

Valtraus pressed a hand to his forehead as if nursing a headache and heaved one sigh after another.

I had no idea what he found so difficult when he had done nothing worthy of praise in the first place.

Perhaps it was worried about its master, wretched though he was.

A cheetah-shaped spirit beast with a striking white body covered in purple spots rested its head on his lap.

That spirit beast's name was... Laskatl, wasn't it?

Valtraus came from a family in which bonds between relatives were nowhere to be found.

Perhaps that was precisely why he had formed such a close bond with his spirit beast. He stroked Laskatl's head with practiced ease before speaking.

"I heard that the second son of the Ofraushi family treated you with disrespect.... Why did you not mention that in your letter?"

It was a truly unexpected question.

My eyes widened automatically in surprise, but I maintained that expression for no more than three seconds.

What Valtraus said next was the reason.

"Whatever else may be true, you are still a member of the Austri ducal family. If you tolerate being treated with contempt by the son of some vulgar nouveau riche family, did it not occur to you that others might begin looking down upon our family as well? Apparently, when you lost your memory, you also forgot that you must not bring harm to the family."

Of course. I should have known.

Was he worried that it might affect him as well?

Then again, Valtraus would have had no reason to raise the matter otherwise.

"I apologize. I failed to consider that. Since you regard me as someone who killed his own mother by being born, I assumed you would take great satisfaction in seeing others treat me with contempt."

"...Do not be sarcastic."

"How unfortunate that my tone sounded sarcastic to you. I was merely explaining my honest feelings."

"You truly thought that?"

"Yes."

"......"

He must not have liked my answer at all.

That much was obvious from the irritable way Valtraus twisted his face.

"I knew you had entered a rebellious phase... but I never imagined you had become this bitter."

"A rebellious phase? It seems you do not even know your own brother's age. I am hardly young enough for that. And if I am bitter, it is not because of some rebellious phase. It must be because I grew up in a family that gave me every reason to become so."

"...You refuse to concede even a single word."

"Before I lost my memory, I must have always yielded to you without ever talking back. Even while you hated me."

"......"

Once again, Valtraus pressed his lips firmly together, unable to respond at once.

Had seeing me argue back so fiercely made him miss his real brother, who had apparently remained obedient to his family, at least?

You should have treated him better while you had the chance....

But even as that thought occurred to me, Valtraus still was not treating me particularly well despite mistaking me for his biological brother.

Even if the real Karvaldr returned, I doubted Valtraus would treat him any better.

"...In any event, be more careful from now on."

"There is no need for you to concern yourself. I do not wish to be treated with contempt either. I let it pass this time only because there were few people around to see or hear when the Ofraushi family's second son ran his mouth at me. Did I not handle matters perfectly well on my own at the beginning of last semester?"

"At the beginning of last semester...?"

"Ah, perhaps you do not know. On the day Yor was born, in the men's dormitory lobby...."

"The dormitory lobby? What happened there?"

The extra who could be considered the instigator of the dormitory gossip incident had withdrawn from the academy immediately afterward, before anyone could hold him accountable, and shut himself away at home for a self-imposed period of reflection.

The matter had not escalated, so apparently word of it had never reached Valtraus.

Even so.

If Valtraus had possessed even the slightest interest in his younger brother's affairs, he would never have missed the rumors surrounding it.

Come to think of it, even Ragfrid had not seemed aware of what had happened.

"...Never mind. It happened a long time ago, and the matter was resolved, so let us leave it there. I do possess some pride, and I have no wish to repeat with my own mouth the things I heard back then."

With that, I abruptly turned my head and looked out at the scenery shifting beyond the carriage window.

Since the incident concerned Karvaldr, my supposed pride was merely an excuse.

I simply questioned whether there was any need to explain the matter at all.

If Valtraus was genuinely curious about what had happened, he could investigate it himself.

If not, he would immediately erase it from his mind and lose interest.

"Why did you... send me that letter?"

Less than five minutes after I began leisurely watching the scenery outside while stroking Yor, Valtraus asked the question in a dissatisfied voice.

I turned back toward him and found a strangely complicated expression on his face.

"Because I thought it was the quickest and most reliable method. Father obviously would not read a letter from me, and I happened to hear that you were close to the Ofraushi family's eldest son...."

"I have never counted a man from such a vulgar family among my friends."

"Yes, that appears to be the case. But there is still a connection between you, is there not? And since the matter could, in a sense, be considered related to Mother, I thought you would never remain idle once you learned of it."

That assumption had been half right and half wrong.

Valtraus had acted immediately and gathered the villainous brothers and me in one place.

But once we were there, he had done nothing but sit in silence and drink tea.

"Was that your only reason?"

"What a strange question. Did you imagine that I relied upon you and wrote the letter because I firmly believed you would help me?"

"I suppose not."

"Of course not."

A brief silence followed.

Although I had finished answering, Valtraus did not speak again immediately.

However, he continued staring at my face as though he still had something to say, so instead of turning back to the window as I had before, I kept my gaze fixed on him.

Just as I began to feel as though we were having a staring contest—

"Why did you remain idle?"

—those words left Valtraus's mouth.

"Pardon?"

"You heard that the Ofraushi family's second son had been running his mouth about the head of our family's remarriage, and you believed his remarks were not unrelated to our family. I am asking why you merely sat down and wrote a letter instead of confronting him yourself."

Had he truly failed to realize that the remarks about remarriage were nothing more than a pretext?

Then again, I was not a member of the Austri family, so I could not have cared less about the ducal family's honor.

I had only ever seen the mother of my possessed body in a portrait. She was a complete stranger whom I had never met.

And to me, Hard was merely a heartless man who had neglected his children and a bastard of an old man who had slapped me across the face upon our first meeting....

But the real Karvaldr could never feel that way.

Perhaps Valtraus had misunderstood.

Maybe he thought I had intended to endure the confession villain's contempt in silence, only to reach the limits of my patience when I heard the remarks about remarriage.

If so, he could not have been more mistaken.

But I have to act as Karvaldr, so I cannot tell him the truth.

I devised a suitable excuse, arranged what I needed to say in my mind, and then slowly parted my lips so that I would not appear to be improvising in haste.

"If I wished to argue that the head of a family's decision to remarry had nothing to do with that family's prestige, I would need some basis for the claim, would I not? So I considered why Father might have chosen not to remarry. But...."

"But?"

"With two candidates for succession already available, he likely had no wish to bring another person into his life who would pester him for affection.... Beyond that explanation, I could think of nothing whatsoever."

"......What?"

"Saying such a thing would essentially be spitting in my own face, would it not?"

"......"

"That is why I had no choice but to foist the matter upon you."

"........."

My words seemed to have shocked him profoundly.

Valtraus froze with a blank expression.

The only movement came from his purple eyes, which trembled as though caught in an earthquake.

"Father... loved Mother. Truly. That is why he never took another wife. He did not wish to give her place to anyone else."

"Truly? He was not merely pretending in front of others to preserve his image?"

"Absolutely not. If you had seen how tenderly and warmly Father looked at Mother, you never could have said such a thing."

It seemed Pret had been telling the truth in Episode 266.

I could hardly believe that Hard had not only fallen for the duchess's beauty but continued loving her throughout their marriage.

I was genuinely astonished.

"Even after hearing that... I cannot believe it. I know all too well how indifferent Father's gaze is when he looks at me, despite my having inherited an appearance almost identical to Mother's. He has even struck me across the face."

"That was because Mother sacrificed herself to give birth to you, yet you dared try to end the life she had given you!"

...What had Valtraus just said?

Had he blamed Karvaldr entirely for trying to take his own life?

And all to defend someone like Hard?