Noah clutched his trembling heart and breathed heavily in excitement. Being more sensitive than humans, Raul could tell the child was in a state of great excitement.

“Y-young master! Those guys are just talking without knowing anything—”

Raul tried to step in, but Noah made a slow gesture to push him back and took a step forward.

It was a wordless action asking them to say more.

The excited special unit member chattered on.

“If they were going to just keep you as a foster child, our lord would have said something first. That’s the kind of person he is. But he’s staying quiet? That’s one hundred percent certain.”

“……R-really?”

Noah’s voice trembled.

“Of course!”

“But… it might not be true.”

“It is true. Because actually, I asked our lord. About what would happen to the child Lady Offensa is fostering.”

The special unit didn’t know that the engagement was fake.

So they didn’t notice the subtle distance hidden in Lynen’s answer.

“He said it would be better if the lady adopted the foster child after marriage. That’s what needs to be done to properly take responsibility for a young child, he said.”

“What else could that mean? It means they’ll adopt young master right away when they get married!”

Adoption!

That word hit Noah’s mind like the discovery of a new continent.

“If you get adopted, does that mean you become family? What if it’s canceled?”

“Come on, once you’re adopted, you can’t just cancel it as you please.”

“……!!”

Thump!

Overwhelmed by such surprising news, Noah’s legs gave out and he sat down.

“There was such a way……”

The special unit members were grinning, pleased to see the child so moved.

But Raul had quite a headache.

“You guys, go run twenty laps around the training ground!”

“What? The training ground isn’t even finished yet, so the boundaries are unclear…”

“Then twenty laps around the annex grounds!”

Raul chased away the screaming special unit members as if he would bite them, then turned to Noah.

The child’s eyes were already dreamy, as if lost in a fantasy.

Raul clicked his tongue. Knowing that it was all a fake relationship, he wanted to prevent the child from getting hurt later.

“Um, young master. Don’t believe those guys too much. Noble… I mean, nobles’ marriages can fall apart at any time.”

“Fall apart…?”

Snapped out of his dream, Noah became anxious.

Though it hurt his heart to trouble the young child, there was no choice. Raul steeled himself.

“You know how our lord and Lady Offensa weren’t on good terms before, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Couples who suddenly start dating can also suddenly break up. There’s a high chance that could happen with our lord and Lady Offensa too.”

“……”

“Others think they’ve been dating for a while, but you know that was just for show for the grand conference, right?”

Raul whispered and patted Noah’s shoulder kindly.

“Still, you’ll continue to be a foster child. If Lady Offensa says anything, our lord will help.”

“……”

It was strange. Until just a moment ago, he had wanted to continue being a foster child.

‘…I don’t want that.’

Now that he knew there was a more certain way, he didn’t want to remain a foster child.

Noah, biting his lower lip, slowly got up.

“…Then they just shouldn’t break up.”

“What?”

“They could get married without breaking up, right?”

“W-well… that could happen, but surely that won’t…”

Raul laughed “hahaha” while hiding his troubled feelings.

“They were just momentarily captivated because of the monster incident, but the two don’t really match, right? Right? Hahaha.”

“……You’re mean!”

“Eh?!”

Noah pointed at Raul.

“Bad dog! I really hate dogs!”

“……! Y-young master!”

Noah ran away from the spot as if he couldn’t stand the sight of the pale-faced Raul.

‘I can’t let Lady Calliphe and the Duke break up. But how?’

He had no idea what to do.

‘Adults might know better.’

For the first time, Noah sincerely wanted to receive help from adults.

That’s when Head Maid Lina came looking for him.

“Young master, there you are! Lady Calliphe is looking for you. She says there’s a guest.”

“Who is it?”

“Well… for now, they’re supposed to be your new imperial language teacher.”

Teacher?

Noah tilted his head at Lina’s disapproving expression.

* * *

“Benefactor—!”

Dovion shed tears of gratitude before me.

I had called him to give him the sponsorship money I had extracted from Dietrich when making the contract.

This sponsorship would continue to be fine.

Even though Dietrich had become poor, his business and territory hadn’t failed.

“To think you’d actually clean up that illegal organization! Thanks to you, Dovion is now free!”

“Don’t drip snot. It’s dirty.”

“Now I can research with peace of mind. When I create a masterpiece, I’ll definitely show it to you first! So, can I come visit often?”

I pushed away Dovion with my foot as he suddenly tried to get friendly because I had dealt with the organization.

“More importantly, there’s something I want to ask.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Um… is it possible for another type of magical power to be mixed with one’s original magical power?”

I spoke while recalling what I had seen during the magical power verification at the grand conference.

“…Like black magical power?”

“Ah, black magic?”

“No! It might not necessarily be that!”

Dovion crossed his arms and tilted his head.

“If it’s black magical power, it’s usually corrupted magical power. Whether you use black magic or are affected by it, corrupted magical power appears. But why do you ask?”

D*mn it.

If discovered, I’d be perfectly set up to be branded as a black magic user.

Seeing how things were still quiet, it seemed that neither the other vassals nor Vice Archmage Marcel had witnessed it.

Marcel, who was excited about my golden magical power, had returned to the magic tower saying he would look for a way to fix the magical power incompatibility.

He hadn’t forgotten to tell me what he had observed before leaving.

‘Judging from opening the potion and activating the magical power verification tool by hitting it… I think your magical power flows out when given a certain level of impact. Like water spilling little by little when you tap a glass.’

That seemed to be why my ability had manifested through punching too.

‘But why didn’t it appear in the previous Calliphe? It’s the same body.’

Though I was curious, this wasn’t an answer I could get from Marcel.

Even if I had gained Marcel’s favor, he was still someone who would choose the magic tower over me. I didn’t know how he would react if he found me suspicious.

“Go home now, Dovion. I need to go greet a guest soon.”

“A guest?”

“Noah’s new imperial language teacher is supposed to come.”

Yesterday, Young Marquis Caiman had arranged a teacher for Noah without permission.

Though it was obviously not with good intentions, since other vassals of the Young Marquis’s faction had also recommended this person, I decided to at least have an interview.

Of course, I would find fault and drive them away.

“Look into corrupted magical power too. Not just the commonly known stuff.”

“If it’s my benefactor’s request, of course I will! But this…”

Before leaving, Dovion held something out to me.

“Is this yours, benefactor? It was lying on the floor.”

It was a black stone. The Young Marquis’s item that Noah had given me.

‘I definitely put it in a pouch and stored it deep in my bedroom drawer. And locked it with a key…’

I felt a bit creeped out.