Chapter 6

“If someone saw this, they’d think this was your room, not mine.”

“…….”

“No, but you shouldn’t even be able to open the door, so how did you get in—?”

Esteban’s gaze shifted behind my back, as if he couldn’t believe his own suspicion.

Striding toward the doorway as if unable to trust his eyes, he discovered the small pet door installed at the bottom of the bedroom door, and his face instantly crumpled.

“Who gave permission to mess with someone else’s door—”

“…….”

“Why stop there? Why not just tear the whole door down?”

Even though I wasn’t the one who did it, he directed his sarcasm entirely at me. I tilted my head as if to say it wasn’t my fault.

His face contorted further, clearly displeased by my brazen attitude.

And seeing that expression on his face, an inexplicable sense of satisfaction welled up from deep within my heart.

‘Seeing how I enjoy this, maybe I really am a pervert?’

As I grinned mischievously, Esteban narrowed his eyes at me. Then, hearing a knock-knock, he looked up.

Once the room’s owner gave permission, Rendel entered. He looked quite pleased to see me sitting in front of the door with Esteban sitting across from me.

“It seems the two of you have become quite close.”

“Whose wishful thinking is that?”

“It is everyone’s wish.”

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint. I don’t think that wish is ever going to come true.”

Esteban dusted off his pants and stood up.

He jerked his chin toward me as I sat there and said, “So, take that thing out of my room. It’s almost time for my lesson with Ellen.”

*Ellen?*

I glanced at Rendel, hearing the name for the first time.

Noticing my gaze, Rendel added in a kind voice, “Ellen is one of the most skilled mana manipulators in Idelio. They are teaching Young Master Esteban how to control his mana so he doesn’t lose control.”

Well, it made sense. The Winchesters wouldn’t hire someone incompetent as Esteban’s tutor.

‘Then they must be really talented… Wait, if they’re good at mana manipulation, could I learn too?’

Since I was also unskilled at handling mana and thus unable to humanize, my eyes sparkled as I looked at Rendel.

Startled by the sudden glimmer in my eyes, Rendel asked cautiously, “Are you perhaps hungry?”

“Pyat?”

‘No, not that! Me too! Can I learn from that Ellen person too?’

“I shall tell Lani to prepare some fruit and bring it to your room—”

“Pyapyat!”

‘No, no, that’s not it… Well, I wouldn’t say no to fruit, but still!’

“What are you two doing?”

“My apologies, Young Master. It seems the Lady has something she wishes to say to me…”

“Whatever, just both of you get out of my room. I’m going to rest a bit before the lesson.”

At Esteban’s words, Rendel seemed to remember why he had come and added in a troubled voice, “Actually, that is why I am here. Teacher Ellen had a family emergency today and asked to reschedule the lesson.”

“An emergency?”

“Yes.”

The corners of Esteban’s mouth twisted at Rendel’s answer.

“They probably got scared after a few lessons and are trying to run away.”

“Pardon? No, that is not it! You know well that Ellen has an ailing mother, do you not?”

“There’s no better excuse than that. All the tutors who ran away from this position were the same. First, they change the lesson time, and then they stop showing up altogether.”

“Yo-Young Master.”

“I don’t even need to point it out. You probably know it better than anyone.”

Listening to their conversation, it seemed that the teachers who tried to teach Esteban mana flow had all accepted the offer lured by a large sum of money, only to flee with all sorts of excuses once they realized the sheer scale of his mana.

‘One wrong move and you’d be swept away by his rampage and sent to the afterlife, so it’s natural to be scared.’

And it seemed Esteban had realized that their reasons were just covers for their fear of his instability.

After a moment’s hesitation, Rendel spoke with a firm expression, as if he had made up his mind.

“Teacher Ellen is not such an irresponsible person, so you may trust them, Young Master.”

“…….”

“Furthermore, they are not quitting the lesson; they simply asked to move the time to around three o’clock this afternoon.”

Hearing the specific time and the fact that Ellen would return in the afternoon, Esteban’s expression softened slightly.

Seeing his face go from dark clouds to calm in an instant made me realize that Esteban, too, was still just a child.

Feeling relieved, Rendel glanced at me sitting on the floor and said to Esteban, “So, while you have some free time, why don’t you show Lady Poblian around the mansion?”

The moment Rendel suggested the tour, Esteban’s softened expression turned into a face that looked ready to strike with thunder and lightning.

“Why should I?”

“Is the Lady not the one who came all the way from Anif to this place just for you, Young Master?”

“Be accurate, Rendel. She didn’t come just for me. She came to get the Bluebell.”

As Esteban remained prickly, Rendel blinked and replied in a calm, steady voice.

“No matter how rare the Bluebell is, no child as young as the Lady would want to be separated from their parents. Especially not if it means going to a place where someone dislikes them.”

“What do you mean?”

“The maid assigned to the Lady told me. This morning, Cooker served her spoiled meat to eat.”

I hadn’t expected that to be brought up now, so I peeked at the two of them.

With a stiff expression, Rendel spoke again to Esteban, who was waiting for the rest of the story.

“Of course, the Bluebell is important to her, but she wouldn’t have come to human territory while unable to humanize properly if that were her only reason.”

That was true.

If I hadn’t come, my family would have been destroyed, and I would have died too.

Seeing me nod with a solemn face, Rendel spoke with the confident tone of a political candidate gaining a voter’s support.

“As you can see, with such a tiny body, it must be difficult for her to protect herself.”

Rendel looked at me as if seeking agreement.

However, having just chased away Cooker with Lady Aria’s help, I felt a pang of guilt and avoided his gaze.

As Rendel looked confused, Esteban—who had crossed his arms over his chest—let out a scoff.

“I don’t agree with that.”

“Pardon?”

“I was wondering why she was wagging her tail at my mother, and so that was it?”

“What do you mean…?”

At Esteban’s words, Rendel looked at me as if to confirm the facts.

I pointedly ignored his gaze.

Esteban looked at me and smirked.

“Cooker holds a high rank compared to his actual skill. He’s also quite the shrewd type.”

“…….”

“A guy like that wouldn’t have pulled something without leaving himself a loophole. If he couldn’t get away with it, it means someone snitched on what he did.”

“…….”

“A mere maid wouldn’t have had the guts to report the Head Chef for every little thing, which means the culprit is you…”

Hey, calling me a “culprit” when I didn’t do anything wrong is a bit much…

“Why don’t you teach me too? I want to know how a fox who can’t even talk managed to tell my mother she was being treated like that.”

“…….”

“I’m asking because I genuinely want to learn.”

“Ppi-ppi-ppik!”

‘How do you think! I did just like I did when I told Lady Aria that you were bullying me, why!’

I protested by thumping my tail against the floor, but Esteban only responded with a sneer.

Rendel looked utterly bewildered, seemingly having never imagined that I had handled the matter myself.

That’s why he was saying such things, not realizing Esteban was being sarcastic.

“I-Is that so? A-As expected, she is wise! Truly, the best relationship between friends is one where they can learn from each other—”

“That’s enough, Rendel.”

“M-My apologies.”

Sighing, Esteban turned his gaze back to me.

After staring at me for a moment, he left the room without a word.

Seeing Rendel rubbing his face in embarrassment, I figured he’d only feel more awkward if I stayed, so I followed Esteban out.

Standing in front of the door, Esteban said in a grumpy voice, “You’re slow.”

Slow for what?

“I’m not going to be kind and explain what’s what. So just look and guess for yourself.”

“…….”

“You’re wise, after all.”

Seeing Esteban tease me using Rendel’s words, I felt a sudden urge to bite his finger.

However, unlike before, I noticed his pace had slowed down to match mine. I decided to let it slide just this once.

‘Maybe he is a little cute…’

“Your legs are really short.”

Never mind.

I definitely need to bite at least his pinky finger.