Chapter 19
Mondri looked at me with a shocked expression.
“Boat, how could the Count mention that name…?”
Knowing Myohail’s true identity meant knowing the secrets of the Cremont Family.
But Myohail’s expression didn’t change at all.
“Hoho. I didn’t expect anyone to still remember the name I used in the mortal world.”
The Cremont Family, one of the seven prestigious magical families of the Empire with the longest history.
Myohail was the founding head of the Cremont Family and the first legendary magician to receive the title of Sage.
He had become a spirit and had been living ever since.
“However, I abandoned the name Cremont long ago. The Imperial Family wanted to seat this old man in the position of Chancellor, but I found it bothersome and passed it all to my unworthy disciple.”
“Master! It’s disappointing to hear you say that!”
Mondri flared up at those words.
“Why are you upset? Didn’t you desire both the position of the Cremont Family head and the University Chancellor?”
“I earned both positions through my own abilities!”
“You brat! So, did you eventually become a Sage?”
“Well, not exactly…”
Myohail clicked his tongue.
“Tsk tsk… It’s obvious. You’ve gotten older and stopped practicing magic, haven’t you?”
“Huh? Well, at my age, practicing magic is a bit…”
“Bah! Magic dulls the more you don’t use it! That’s why, even if I had no choice but to pass the Cremont Family head position to you, I intended to give the Chancellor position to William.”
An unexpected name came up.
“To that guy who couldn’t even use magic? The Chancellor of the Magic University? And he’s younger and less experienced than me!”
“Hmph. He was also my beloved disciple. Are you saying my judgment was wrong?”
“Master! That’s not what I meant!”
William was Myohail’s disciple?
This was the first time I’d heard of it.
Since William wasn’t a character in the original work, there was a lot of information even I didn’t know.
“Besides, that guy had a better eye for people than you.”
“Huh?”
“If it were him, he would have selected students without using such useless magical tools.”
At this point, I almost felt sorry for Mondri.
The sight of an old man with white hair struggling with a cat was bizarre beyond words.
Myohail clicked his tongue.
“Tsk… But don’t worry. Even if I went back to that time, I would have entrusted the Chancellor position to you.”
“Huh?”
“That guy had a big problem…”
Myohail slowly approached me.
“William judged the world solely by value. He was efficient and never took a loss. But there was no emotion in him. He was like an empty shell.”
His amber eyes stared intently at me.
They shone like the eyes of a wild animal.
“Isn’t that right, Count? Or should I say, William’s son?”
Myohail’s long beard twitched.
He was probing me.
Having lived over a thousand years in both human and cat forms, his animalistic senses were unimaginably sharp.
He could read even the faintest fragments of emotion from his opponent solely through his senses.
But I had no intention of showing even a hint of agitation to Myohail.
Likewise, my personality trait ‘Pride’ wouldn’t allow it.
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Personality: Pride
Rank: SS
Details: You are superior to anyone else. You are the best.
Thus, you never show any weakness, no matter the situation. Even in life-threatening situations, you never bend your pride.
This personality shines even more in the presence of someone stronger than you.
Even in the moment of destruction, you will remain the best in this world.
*This personality is one of the seven deadly sins.
+
[You activate ‘Pride’!]
Thump.
‘How dare…’
An unpleasant feeling rose.
A suffocating sensation as if I were being choked.
‘You dare…’
I met Myohail’s sharp gaze head-on.
Even if he, a legendary magician and Sage, were to discover my true identity, I wouldn’t care.
I wouldn’t tell him anything.
He is older than me.
He is inferior to me.
He is beneath me.
He dares… not to touch me.
[You activate ‘Patience’!]
[Your ‘Pride’ is suppressed by ‘Patience’.]
Applying the brakes with patience, I spoke.
“…Is this also part of the test you mentioned?”
“Hoho…? Well, well… My apologies. This old man sometimes stares at people absentmindedly… Hohoho.”
Myohail stroked his beard with his cat paw.
Then, with an innocent expression, he smoothly changed the subject.
“Hoho. Mondri and I will be the judges. You won’t find a more luxurious judging panel than this, will you?”
“…Do as you please. Wendy.”
“Yes!”
I slowly approached Wendy.
Until then, her large eyes hadn’t looked away from me.
“If you fail, I’ll kick you out.”
“Eek?!”
“Are you not confident?”
“W-well, can I be honest…?”
“Just asking that question shows you lack confidence, doesn’t it?”
“You’re right… This school is for high-ranking people, isn’t it…? Someone like me doesn’t deserve to be here…”
Wendy sniffled.
“Sniff… I-I’m too inadequate to serve the Count up close… I make a lot of mistakes… And I cry a lot like this… Sob.”
As she spoke, Wendy hung her head low.
I already knew.
+
Character Profile.
Name: Wendy.
Age: 12.
Occupation: Exclusive Maid of the Ruelberta Count Family.
Personality: Crybaby, Clumsy, Sickly, Unlucky
+
A pitiful set of personality traits.
A crybaby, clumsy, sickly, and unlucky maid.
A girl who seems utterly useless.
Moreover, a walking death flag for me.
But the reason I made her my exclusive maid wasn’t just to keep her by my side and ensure she didn’t die.
It was a waste.
Wendy, as a character, was too valuable to be treated as a disposable card.
The original author, Sora, once told me:
“Every character in a story exists for a reason. There are no characters without a purpose.”
Yes. I agree with that.
That’s why I loved this story so much.
Because there are no characters to discard.
Even Tristan is a necessary villain in the story.
“Wendy.”
“…Yes. Sob…”
Though her personality makes her seem like a useless character, Wendy is also a named character.
She has a personality… a reason to exist.
She has a reason to live.
I believe that.
“Don’t act spoiled.”
“…Sob!”
“How did you climb the Stairs of Truth earlier?”
“T-that… was because the Count helped me-.”
“Wrong. You climbed with your own two feet.”
“B-but before the Count grabbed me, I-I couldn’t even get up…! I-I’m a coward and a crybaby-.”
I sighed.
Recalling the lines I once said to her.
“You cry at the drop of a hat, you’re often sick, and you’re so thin you have no strength. You always fall and break a lot of dishes.”
“Sniff… I’m sorry…”
“But every time, even if I didn’t help you up, you always got back up, didn’t you?”
“…Yes?”
“That’s your talent, Wendy.”
“……”
Silence followed.
Eventually, Wendy spoke in a trembling voice.
“…That’s all I can do…”
“I know.”
“J-just… that one thing…?”
“Yes. That’s enough.”
“R-really…? Is that really enough…?”
“…I won’t say it twice.”
“Sob… Hehehe…”
Wendy laughed, her face smeared with tears and snot.
Then, wiping her tears with her coat collar, she said.
“If… if the Count says so, then it must be true…”
And with a smile I had never seen before, she said.
“I… I believe in the Count…!”
“…Do as you please.”
“Yes!”
“Hohoho…”
Then, Myohail, who had been there for who knows how long, laughed and stepped between us.
“Little girl, are you ready?”
“Yes!”
“Full of energy, I see. Since the Count is here, let me explain the test. The special talent test is…”
Myohail’s eyes curved like crescent moons.
“It’s a match against me. Hohoho.”
