Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 3.3
Hyacine clung to the hem of my skirt, while the servant, who had been hitting on me earlier, completely changed his attitude and ran off to report this to the Count.
‘Ugh, this is burning hot, seriously.’
In the meantime, my skin showed signs of a burn from the control stone, which had grown scorching. By now, an alert had probably been sent to my professor and the custodians at the Awakener Management Bureau as well.
They’re in charge of custodianing unauthorized mana use by Transcendents and Guides. It probably wouldn’t take even ten minutes before they’d arrive here.
“S-Stop…! It hurts! I said it hurts!”
“You seem to understand your own pain very well.”
I lifted the frightened Hyacine to his feet, gripping his hand tightly, and sneered at the Young Master, who was still convulsing from the current.
“Apologize for what you did.”
“…I’m sorry! I’m sorry, really! I’m sorry!”
“An apology isn’t something you just say that easily.”
He was so frightened now that he was crying with snot and tears streaming down his face.
He was still just a child, so maybe this was too harsh. But still, that doesn’t erase the fact that he abused and beat someone.
This was also a warning to Count Lorraine, that he would get payback for the way he’d treated my little brother.
“Lippey… Lippey, I’m fine, so stop. Your hand…!”
I was planning to drag it out a little longer, but at that moment, the smell of something burning rose from my wrist, where the control stone bracelet had left a burn.
Only then did I stop channeling mana and take off my gloves. The Young Master, still sprawled on the ground and shocked from the current, curled up and sobbed with his face covered in tears.
“Huhk, your hand… I’ll go get medicine, just—just wait… wait…!”
“I’m fine, calm down.”
“How can you be fine? Are you crazy? You could have just told him to stop! If you lay a hand on the Young Master, Count Lorraine will…!”
“Oh, the Count.”
Nonchalantly, I finished taking off my other glove, paying no more attention to the Young Master.
You have no idea, Hyacine. I actually saved Count Lorraine’s life. If this had kept up, not just him but his whole family would have died by your hand.
But Hyacine, who knew nothing of the future, couldn’t do anything about my hand and barely managed to hold back his tears as he asked me,
“What’ll I do if you get locked up in the dungeon?”
“What do you mean, what’ll you do? You’ll just have to live on your own.”
“You’re insane! I don’t want that! I don’t want to be alone again…!”
Oh, you’ve grown up in the meantime, huh? Even though you’re already twenty.
…No, twenty is still a kid, I suppose.
Making a newly adult kid go through something like this? Now I’m getting angry again. Just then, the people I’d both been waiting for and hoping to avoid started arriving one after another.
“R-Ridmun! What on earth is going on here?!”
The Count came running in, furious.
“That woman tried to harm the Young Master! She’s crazy!”
The servant who’d been hitting on me before was now slandering me as a crazy woman.
“Liliope Ortis! We have received a report of unauthorized mana use!”
Three or four custodians from the Bureau burst into the training yard at the Count’s estate.
Receiving all their attention at once, I suppressed the stinging pain in my wrist and turned to the custodian.
“Esteemed Custodian.”
It’s always best to speak first in these situations.
Apart from shooting a cold glare at the Count, I ignored him completely. The custodian seemed to immediately realize that there was a reason for this.
She had her long hair flawlessly tied up, and after taking a look at Hyacine, whom I was protecting, and quickly glancing at the Count and his son—who had likely caused this—she waited for me to speak.
“I have no excuse for my punishment. However, Custodian, you are well aware that His Majesty the King pays special attention to children who might one day belong to the nation.”
“Under His Majesty’s generosity, we custodians do our duty to protect them. What do you want?”
“I wish to formally accuse the entire Lorraine family of ongoing violence, abuse, and humiliation against a prospective Manifester.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
