Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 5.1
“Count Lorraine neglected someone who could have been a valuable asset to the nation. They’ll be stripped of their qualification as a sponsoring family. And that’s not all.”
His smile grew even deeper.
There was something chilling about it, almost enough to give me goosebumps.
“Come to think of it, the Count’s son was also registered as a potential Manifester. Well, that’s none of your concern anymore.”
In other words, House Lorraine would be utterly ruined, and that he intended to assign a new sponsoring family to Hyacine and me.
“I’ll make sure you’re released soon. House Lorraine will soon be stripped of their title, so don’t worry. Half of the confiscated assets will be deposited as compensation into your brother’s account for this incident.”
What?
I just let His Highness talk, and now there’s even compensation?
I was determined to get whatever I could, but this was going too smoothly… It felt a little suspicious.
“Once I leave, you’ll be released as well, so don’t worry.”
“Uh… Thank you?”
Still unable to shake off my suspicion, my words of thanks came out sounding almost like a question.
Apparently, Prince Isadore picked up on that.
“Why does that sound like a question?”
“I’m just a bit taken aback. Uh… I’m honored?”
“You know, the more I talk to you, the more… unusual you seem.”
“Your Highness, you’re the first person to call me unusual.”
“Pfft…”
I had no idea what he found so funny.
Barely holding back his laughter, the prince soon composed himself, put on a gentle smile again, and stood up from his seat.
I unconsciously tried to get up too, only to remember I was still trapped in a cell and couldn’t move at all.
“In any case, after I leave, someone from your new sponsoring family will come for you. They said you—and your brother—are more than welcome.”
“That’s fast.”
“I’m a bit clever, you see. I had a good idea of everything even before we spoke.”
Ah, I see.
But the prince’s next words completely derailed my plans. It’s as if he’d grabbed me by the collar and thrown me straight into my next destination.
“Brondearn will be different from Lorraine, so don’t worry. Your own rank isn’t bad, and your brother is a promising talent, so you’ll both be welcomed.”
Because I heard a very familiar surname.
Like an idiot, I repeated the name Prince Isadore had just said.
“…Brondearn?”
“It’s the very family you know. The renowned ducal house of Rydel, known as the cradle of Transcendents.”
Having said that, the prince waved his hand and left, saying we’d meet again later.
Left behind, I slowly rolled the name of the new sponsoring family around in my mind.
…Brondearn?
“…Am I supposed to be happy about this?”
I don’t think so… Am I supposed to be happy?
I really don’t think so… but maybe I should be happy…?
Why do I have a bad feeling about going there?
No, it’s a place I have to go anyway. But it was all happening so suddenly, I couldn’t help but be flustered.
Because the Brondearn Duchy is…
“…Acteon’s family?”
The one and only Acteon Brondearn, our male lead responsible for my fatal accident, lives there.
On top of that, it’s a crazy family crawling with high-ranking Transcendents.
* * *
By the time I finally got out of the cell, the sky was already dark.
I decided to sit quietly in the break room inside the Awakener Management Bureau until Hyacine arrived.
Left alone, all sorts of knowledge about Brondearn—the family His Highness had personally arranged for us—came to mind.
“…What a crazy, hopeless family.”
Transcendents are lunatics capable of wielding endless amounts of mana beyond human means, but they also carry immense risk.
Their bodies are miracles that can draw in and use atmospheric mana at will.
It’s a godlike blessing, but their minds and hearts are terribly fragile for such overpowered bodies, easily disturbed or shaken by shock or emotion.
The so-called ‘ocean sunfish mentality’.
The cause, of course, is the mana they handle.
T/N: Sunfish – KR internet slang for a character who’s weak and prone to death from the littlest things
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