Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 18.3
I was just about to bring the conversation to a close.
“Ah, Senior. There you are.”
Acteon, coming into the office, greeted both the Duke and me as he strolled in, acting perfectly at ease.
For a moment, the Duke’s gaze sparkled with subtle anticipation.
“Acteon, what brings you here?”
“A custodian from the Management Bureau stopped by. They said they’ll escort us to the academy the morning after tomorrow, so we should be ready on time.”
“What for? Usually, when a custodian comes to escort someone personally, it’s only for families who are on the watch list.”
Acteon looked at the Duke, then turned to answer me.
“They said it’s by order of His Highness the Crown Prince.”
I froze at the name that came out of his mouth.
It was actually not that uncommon for a custodian to personally escort new cadets entering the academy.
Most of the time, it was for those like me—commoners or orphans—but sometimes even high-ranking nobles were involved, and in those cases, there was always a common reason.
‘It means they might try to whisk them away somewhere else or run away.’
Anyone suspected of harboring resentment toward the Manifester Management Act would be on the list.
That wasn’t all.
To prevent someone from being spirited away before enrollment, if a cadet disappeared on the day of entry, it was treated as defying a royal decree, and they’d be executed.
If this was just one of Prince Isadore’s usual pranks, I’d have just brushed it off.
‘But it’s not Prince Isadore.’
This was the crown prince, Sibellin, who outranked even the second prince in line to the throne.
He was the one who, in the original story, had driven Hyacine’s life into the gutter.
‘It must be because of Hyacine. Since he had his first awakening not long ago…’
…Of course the word would have gotten out.
Otherwise, this wouldn’t make sense.
The Brondearn Ducal House has produced the most Transcendents and has always been loyal to the royal family.
‘That decrepit old brute… Who does he think he’s targeting?’
I felt my fists clench unconsciously.
At that moment, Acteon deftly stepped in, positioning himself between me and his father.
“It’s probably because of Brother.”
What?
I turned to Acteon in surprise at his unexpected words.
“After what happened, Brother was absolutely refusing to return to Estra. Maybe the sudden change of heart has caught their side’s attention.”
“Ah, I see. That would make sense.”
“But you don’t have to worry, Father. Nothing will happen like you’re fearing.”
“Hmph, worry, you say. It just bothers me that a son of mine could be so weak. Compared to that, Acteon, you’re…”
The blatant favoritism left me feeling foul.
The way the Duke looked at Acteon was like a jeweler admiring a flawless gemstone.
“I always have high expectations for you. At first, we never had a problem child like your older brother.”
And Acteon, for his part, was used to ignoring that kind of gaze.
“All thanks to your guidance, Father.”
But what I sensed from Acteon wasn’t just obedience. It was something else.
‘Contempt? No, not quite. It’s closer to self-mockery…’
I’m not sure what, exactly.
Even just standing there beside them was enough to make me feel uncomfortable.
Sensing my discomfort, Acteon gently tried to wind things down with the Duke.
“Well, I’ve delivered the message about the custodians, so I’ll be going now. Senior, are you finished here?”
It should have been me answering, but the Duke cut in before I could.
“Yes, I’ve kept you too long. Miss Ortis, you may go as well. If we keep chatting, my butlers might start crying.”
“Ah, yes…”
His meaning was obvious. He was dismissing me because he couldn’t be bothered anymore.
“If your younger brother needs anything, let me know anytime.”
“Ah, yes…”
As soon as I stepped outside, the first thing I did was struggle to calm my simmering anger.
‘The Duke, the Crown Prince… all they ever think about is using my little brother…’
I let out a long breath, trying to collect myself.
A large, warm presence cautiously touched my back, then pulled away.
“It’s kind of funny, isn’t it? Their intentions are so obvious you could call them transparent. The problem is, those intentions are always so base…”
Acteon murmured, patting my back.
It was perfectly clear who he was talking about: his own father, the Duke.
“But my father, he…”
Despite what he was saying, Acteon’s smile was almost too serene.
Eventually, he said, as if to reassure me,
“Well. They’ll all be betrayed by every expectation they’ve placed.”
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