Rest was led by his father, Lucas, and shown into the sitting room of House Eberun.
The madam, who had belatedly realized who Rest was, shrieked at the top of her lungs as a butler held her back, but Rest ignored her and walked along the manor's corridors.
He sat down on the sofa in the sitting room, facing the man he had once called Father.
"...It's been a while, Honorary Viscount Eberun. Or should I call you 'Father'?"
"......"
When Rest asked in a mocking tone, Lucas's brow furrowed deeper.
Before, he would have been yelled at, berated, or perhaps even struck—but today, Rest was an envoy from House Rosemary.
If Lucas so much as laid a hand on Rest, who had come as the Marquis of Rosemary's representative, he could lose his head.
"No way—ah…
you— So you've become the Marquis of Rosemary's representative. I'm glad to hear you've been doing well… indeed…"
"You don't seem to have changed much… Oh, wait—I don't see Cedric anywhere. Where is he today?"
"That's…"
"I'd love to see him again. Is he out?"
"......"
Lucas fell silent.
Rest gave a wry smile, wondering if his question had been too cruel.
I heard from Marquis Rosemary that Cedric failed the entrance exam for the Royal Academy.
If I had to guess, he'd probably been locked in his room and forced to study for next year's exam.
"Well, that's fine. More importantly... I've come today to deliver a report to the Honorary Viscount Eberun."
"...Let's hear it."
"Starting with a small piece of news. I recently passed the entrance exam for the Royal Academy. I'll be enrolling as a new student starting next year."
"Wha—?!"
"That's a lie!"
Lucas's voice cracked, and from the corner of the room where a butler was holding her down, Lisa let out a high-pitched shriek like fingernails scraping glass.
"That's absurd... No, I never heard anything about you taking any exam...!"
He had inadvertently slipped into calling me "you" there, but I decided to let that slide and move on.
"I'm enrolling through the commoner quota. Besides, my parental rights have already been transferred to Marquis Rosemary, so there was no need to report it, was there?"
"Guh... ugh... that may be true, but as your parent, I should have been told..."
"As my parent?"
Rest narrowed his eyes.
He twisted his lips and spoke with biting sarcasm.
"As my parent? When exactly did a parent-child relationship ever exist between the two of us?"
After my mother passed away, I was taken in by House Eberun — but any semblance of a parent-child relationship ended right there.
In the honorary viscount's house, I was made to live in a stable the entire time, and was subjected to the humiliating treatment of being fed like a dog.
Did he really think there was still any parental affection left for us after all that?
"Ugh..."
"That's impossible... Cedric failed, didn't he? And yet a good-for-nothing born from a lowly maid somehow passes...!"
"Sh-shut your mouth, Lisa! If you're going to make a scene, get out of the room!"
Lucas snapped at his wife for spouting such vile words.
With Lisa still present, she was bound to make even worse blunders. He ordered the butler to escort her out of the room.
"Incidentally, the department is the Magic Department."
But when Rest dropped yet another bombshell, the Eberun couple erupted once more.
"The Magic Department, you say...!"
"That's impossible!"
Lisa, who had been on the verge of being dragged out, immediately raised her voice.
"Why!? How come!? The Magic Department exam that Cedric failed—how does that filthy, garbage-stinking brat pass it...!? This has to be a mistake! There's no way something like this should be allowed to happen!"
"I told you to shut up, didn't I!? This one is an envoy of Marquis Rosemary!? Will you cut out the insolence!?"
Lucas hurriedly tried to reprimand his wife, but calling Rest "this one" was really no better on his part.
The bombshells Rest had thrown were clearly doing their damage.
The couple was so wretched that it almost made him want to push further, just to see how far they would unravel.
(This is bad—I'm starting to have fun with this... I really am this twisted, huh...)
"It's the truth. This should make it clear enough?"
Rest raised his index finger.
Four spheres of red, blue, yellow, and green materialized above Rest's head.
"
Quartet !? How could you perform such advanced magic...!」
Fire, water, wind, earth... the simultaneous casting of four elemental magics.
The spectacle — something even court magicians would find nearly impossible — left Lucas staring with an expression of despair so pitiful it was almost heartbreaking.
"You are... you were, no — were you not supposed to have no mana...?"
"I had my mana measured when I was an infant, surely. You should know that mana grows as one matures."
"B-But... to increase this dramatically... and to wield four magics simultaneously — what kind of talent is this...?"
Lucas stood dazed for a moment, muttering under his breath... until he finally sucked in a sharp breath and faced Rest once more.
"Lord Rest... no, allow me to call you Rest, here and now."
"What is it, 'Father'?"
"...Come back home. Become the heir to the honorary viscount family."
"............"
"You...!?"
Before Rest could react, Lisa screamed.
She was still resisting, even as the butler tried to drag her away.
(They should have just left already... no, wait — are they actually being considerate?)
The butler holding Lisa back was someone Rest recognized.
Back when he had lived at the mansion, they hadn't talked much, but this man had occasionally shared food with him.
"............"
When Rest's eyes met the butler's, the man winked at him.
It seemed this fellow had quite a pleasant personality as well.
"What do you mean, 'Father'? This household should already have an exceptionally capable heir."
"...Cedric failed the academy's entrance exam. Even if he passes next year, there's no guarantee he'll become a court magician. But... you, on the other hand, can certainly become one."
"Well... I suppose I could, yes."
"Inherit the honorary viscountcy. Become a court magician and elevate this house to a full viscountcy. Fulfill my lifelong wish for me."
"............"
It was an utterly selfish demand.
After treating him coldly for years, the moment he learned Rest was talented, the man did a complete about-face.
It was the kind of shamelessness that would be almost impressive, if it weren't so infuriating.
(But... this is who Lucas Eberun is.)
For a man who had climbed the ranks purely through his ability as a magician, magical talent was everything.
If someone had talent, he would treat them with respect regardless of whether they were a bastard or a commoner's child. But if they couldn't produce results, he would cast them aside without hesitation—even his own son.
In a sense, you could call it a man with unwavering principles.
(But... those principles are fundamentally incompatible with mine.)
At the very least, he had no use for a family like this.
The moment his mother had been abandoned, the existence of a father meant nothing to Rest.
"I appreciate the generous offer, but I must respectfully decline, *Honorary Viscount Eberun*."
Rest reverted to the formal address and let out a cold laugh.
"Why not? This wouldn't be a bad deal for you either. You'd be inheriting a viscountcy?"
"I'm afraid that's impossible. You see... I already have a house lined up to inherit."
"What? What exactly do you mean by—"
"I have been accepted as a son-in-law into House Rosemary. That is why I will not be inheriting this house."
Rest declared firmly, then smiled warmly.
"That's the other piece of news. Since I'm going to be the next marquis, a mere viscountcy is something I'm quite happy to pass on."
—————————— Thank you all so much for your continued support of this work.
I've posted two new novels, so if you're interested, I'd appreciate your support there as well.
• The Curse-Eating Magic Swordsman Burdened with the misfortunes of the entire nation and cast out to sea, he has no interest in revenge. He couldn't care less — he only aspires to become the strongest.
• The Monkey King's Tale After reincarnating as a monkey, he builds a harem and lives life however he pleases.