"Be kind, my dear."
That was just a little before the farewell with his mother arrived.
Lying in bed, Mother gripped Rest's hand and spoke in a frail voice.
"Be strong. Be resilient. Have many friends. Be happy."
"Mom..."
"I'm sorry I won't be here to watch you grow into a man. Thank you for letting me be your mother. Thank you for being born..."
It was Rest who wanted to say those words.
In his past life, Rest had been born and raised without ever receiving his parents' love, and his life had ended at the hands of the man who should have been his father—stabbed to death.
For such a Rest, the ten years he had lived receiving his mother's love in full measure were days that shone like jewels.
Even though he was a child who had never been wanted, even though he was the child of that cold and irresponsible man, he felt nothing but gratitude toward the mother who had loved him.
Thank you for giving birth to me.
Thank you for loving me.
When he told her that, his mother's face broke into a blissful smile.
And then... she passed away with that smile still on her lips.
"You must not hate the world, Rest."
The priest, a familiar face, said to Rest after he had lost his mother.
"Many trials will surely come your way from now on. But... they are not meant to make you unhappy. The Goddess only gives people trials they can overcome."
"............"
"Live strongly and straight. Don't let yourself be consumed by hatred or resentment. Help someone, and live on with a smile. If you do that... people will surely gather around you. Loneliness will be forgotten in no time."
The priest's words had been at least half true.
Shortly afterward, Rest was taken in by his father, and many trials came his way.
Sleeping in a stable, eating scraps of food... he had been thrown into days far harsher than when he had lived as a commoner.
Honestly, it felt like a miracle that he had managed to live without hating his father, his stepmother, or Cedric.
If even a single thread had been woven wrong somewhere, Rest would surely have become a demon of vengeance.
He would have turned the blade of revenge upon them, insisting that the blame for his wretched life lay with them.
(But... that was not what happened.)
It was not what happened. He had stopped himself at the very last moment.
He still harbored the desire to best his father, to outwit his stepmother, to surpass Cedric by leaps and bounds—but he did not wish to kill them.
Probably because doing so would grieve his mother and the priest.
In order not to bring sorrow to the people who had treasured someone like him, and in order to hold his head high and prove that their love for him had not been in vain— Rest resolved to forge ahead and carve out his own life, straight and true.
"...Huh?"
"Oh, you're awake, Rest!"
"Lord Rest, is there anywhere that hurts?"
He had the feeling he'd been seeing a familiar dream.
When Rest opened his eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted him, and each of his hands was being clutched tightly by a different girl.
"Viola... Primula...?"
The sisters of House Rosemary were peering down at his face with worried expressions.
When he called their names, Viola and Primula smiled through tears welling at the corners of their eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Rest… Our butler seems to have gone too far…"
"We invited you to our home to thank you, and this is what happens… I'm truly sorry…"
"No, it's fine. I learned a lot from it too."
He released their hands and sat up.
Nothing hurt. There wasn't a scratch on him.
Someone must have cast healing magic on him while he was asleep.
"I'll make sure to give Father and Diebl a piece of my mind! Seriously, I won't forgive either of them!"
"I won't forgive them either."
Viola's face burned with a fury like a raging demon, while Primula's expression carried the bone-chilling cold of a witch dwelling in a frozen wasteland.
The twins, whose faces looked so alike, wore perfectly opposite expressions — and Rest shuddered from head to toe.
"N-No, really, I'm fine! Nothing hurts at all, not even a little… And I meant what I said about learning a lot, honestly!"
In truth, his fight with House Rosemary's butler had taught him a great deal about his own shortcomings.
His lack of experience in person-to-person combat.
The gaps in his close-quarters fighting skill — those were things he needed to improve going forward.
Being able to identify his weaknesses this early on was, if anything, a blessing in disguise.
"But… I still lost. Does that mean I won't be getting a letter of recommendation?"
"What are you talking about? Of course you will!"
"Huh?"
"That letter of recommendation is absolutely happening. That butler… Diebl is a former court magician. There was no way you could have won from the start."
Viola planted her hands on her hips and declared it without a shred of doubt.
No wonder I thought he was strong — turns out he really was a veteran magician.
(Minimal experience fighting other people is another weak point of mine… Since Cedric's the only magician I know, I have no way of judging how strong anyone else is.)
"Father promised to write the recommendation letter. Starting next year, we'll be classmates."
"Of course, that's assuming both of us pass the entrance exam!"
Primula smiled at Rest in a reassuring way, and Viola proudly puffed out her chest with delight.
"I see… Thank you. You two have opened up a path for me."
"We saved your life, so it's only natural. But more importantly… you'll definitely pass the practical magic exam, but have you been studying for the written one?"
"Uh… not really…"
"Then I'll lend you our reference books."
"Um… is that okay? I don't want to put you through that much trouble."
"Of course it's okay. Right, Primula?"
"Absolutely. Actually, why not have Rest live at our house? That way, we could help him study whenever he has questions!"
"Oh, that's a great idea! Good thinking!"
Viola snapped her fingers at Primula's proposal.
The conversation was heading in a completely unexpected direction. Rest hurriedly spoke up.
"W-wait! I can't impose on you that much! A house with young girls in it — I can't just…!"
"Oh? Why not?"
"What do you mean, why not…"
"Our father and mother live there too, and the butler and maids all live on-site. There's no need to fuss over something like that, is there?"
"That's right. It'd definitely be more fun with Rest around. Going to all the trouble of carrying reference books all the way to the honorary viscount's residence would be nonsensical."
Viola and Primula pressed their case in forceful tones, cutting off any escape Rest might have had.
"Rest, you're an illegitimate child and haven't been treated all that well, have you? I'm quite sure Eberun, the honorary viscount, wouldn't refuse."
"I don't like the idea of going to the honorary viscount's residence just to see Rest, either. That awful person is there, after all."
The awful person they were referring to was almost certainly Cedric.
He seemed to have been thoroughly despised by both sisters.
"I-I understand. If the marquis says it's all right, then I suppose I can impose on you..."
In the end, Rest was essentially pressured into agreeing to the sisters' proposal.
One could say he had dumped the entire matter on the marquis to sort out.
"Then it's settled! Now we need to go speak with Father!"
"We'll have to prepare a room as well! Oh, this is going to keep us busy!"
Viola and Primula rushed out of the room, practically competing to see who could move faster.
Left behind alone, Rest stood staring blankly at the door, stunned by how dramatically his life had shifted in a single day.