Next was Henry's turn.
He wasn't as fierce as Izik, but he was definitely a great talent.
Henry released his aura; on the contrary, he seemed more sensitive to the atmosphere than Izik.
However, when his training partner was replaced, he failed to show his strength.
Henry's new opponent was a grey-haired old man.
Despite the man being much weaker than his previous opponent, Henry, as a young man, fell to the ground several times.
“Do you treat me like a mere old man?” the opponent shouted at Henry, leaving the impression that he believed Henry was looking down on him.
“No! You're ignoring me!”
Henry quickly got up and avoided the old soldier, but soon his eyes widened as he saw something.
The child quickly dropped his head, and at the same time, the sword fell from his hand.
The old soldier forcefully lifted Henry's neck from the ground.
*He's going to get hurt!*
“No!” I screamed, rushing past the old soldier and spreading my arms in front of Henry.
“No! You hit Henry!”
“Baby girl, this game is fair,” the old soldier said with an awkward smile, but I frowned.
“Henry, why are you frowning?”
*The one who is frowning is Henry. The one who dropped the sword is Henry.*
“……”
“It is not a game for you, Grandfather!” the old soldier groaned, looking at the sword Henry had dropped.
“Oh, no... I think I was too engaged in the battle.” The old soldier extended his hand to lift Henry up.
But Henry stood up on his own and did not take his hand.
As Henry walked out of the training field, I hurriedly pulled his arm.
“What are you doing, Yen?”
“Henry is hurt. Put on some medicine.”
“No thanks.”
“What? Are you afraid of the doctors?”
*Oh, the doctor is a nice old man.*
He had treated me kindly when I was sick. I wasn't afraid of him.
“I'm not afraid of doctors! I just hate old people!”
The child, who had been screaming, suddenly closed his mouth.
I stood on the side of the road and stared at him.
*No, you're telling me that you don't like old people?*
I was aware of the Double family's hidden circumstances because I had been a child of the Duke a long time ago.
On the surface, the Double family was a wealthy family with power and fame.
But inside, it was a terrible battle.
From generation to generation, the Double children had to give up the warmth of their parents' care and instead enjoy the abundant wealth achieved by their ancestors.
The direct lineage of the Doubles was raised by their ancestors and close associates from birth.
At best, they only got to meet their parents on a few anniversaries.
From childhood, the system was designed to ensure absolute loyalty to the family and to appoint the most distinguished successor.
The children of the present Duke were all raised in the hands of the elders until the current ancestor died.
“Old men are scary.”
The Duke of Amity, the father of my first life, had shuddered at every mention of the Double tradition.
“Cain Double is a terrible man. Alice... he is a Satan who killed his second son, Chris, in front of his grandson. Do you know why I was charged with murder? Because I wanted to level the Doubles. I killed him because no child should have to live like that.”
What if Henry was the grandson who had been there when the second son was killed?
*That's why he's traumatized by old men.*
I clenched my fist.
Yes, no matter how smart you are, you are still a child.
This was a child who considered his trauma regarding elderly people a source of shame.
Henry must have been hiding the abuse because he felt it was shameful.
*Why? No one suspects the abuse because Henry hides it so well.*
Theramore must have been aware of Henry's obsession with perfection.
That was why he dared to mistreat the Duke's child.
*What a terrible old man. So, what do we do now?*
*The smart way is to just keep my mouth shut. Will people believe me when I'm this young?*
Unlike previous incidents in the Double house, this case involved a henchman.
People here had known Theramore much longer than I had. Of course, his credibility was higher.
*The trust I've built up until now might collapse.*
But Henry's hands were shaking.
I couldn't stay away from him. I patted Henry on the head.
Startled, the child pulled my hand away.
“What are you doing, Yen?”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
*What a living hell...*
*I will protect you, Henry.*
Henry narrowed his forehead with a confused look.
*I can't help it, I'll protect you. So pay me back later.*
***
Two days later, I went with Leah to the office.
When I peered through the crack in the door, Nous, who was with the Duke, approached me.
“Miss Small,” Nous said, bending his knees to make eye contact with me. “What brings you here?”
*I need to dig up information on Theramore.*
Knowing your enemies is the first step to defeating them. But I couldn't get any deep information from my current position.
*In this state, I need to find a person who has a lot of information.*
Duke Dubald possessed one of the greatest intelligence units in the Empire.
“I miss the Duke,” I said.
Nous looked at me and remarked, “As expected, Miss Small is the cutest...” Then he hugged me and turned to the Duke.
“LeBlin is here.”
The Duke quickly took me from Nous and placed me on his lap.
I put my hand on the table and glanced at the Duke's papers.
“What are you looking at so closely, Yen?”
I was surprised and quickly made an excuse.
“The writing! Wow! Your writing is beautiful!”
“You admire it? Yes, it is something...” Nous laughed.
“Do you know how the Duke writes, Yen? Alice did too.”
The Duke picked up a blank piece of paper from the desk, placed a pen in my hand, and covered the back of my hand with his large, warm hand.
I wondered what he was doing, but he began guiding my hand to write on the paper.
My hands didn't move well, so the letters were a bit crooked, but I could read them at a glance.
< LeBlin >
And again: < LeBlin Double >
“Can you read it?”
“LeBlin is my name.”
“I remember that the maids wrote it many times,” Nous said.
The Duke laughed and patted my head.
The Duke actually let me stay with him while he worked in the office. I listened to the conversations, keeping calm so as not to get in the way.
“How is the consultation with the new body going?”
“I will tell the followers today.”
Most of the conversations were about politics, but there were some instructive details.
There would be a vacancy in a high position; therefore, the Council would select new members for the committee.
The primary candidate was Theramore. Aside from him, there was Meshack.
***
That afternoon, I pretended to be playing, wasting time in the garden in front of the crowded entrance.
Sitting on Leah's lap and picking flowers, I peeked at my watch.
*It's four o'clock...*
It was said that Viscount Meshack had an appointment with the Duke at 4:30 PM, so he would be passing through the gate soon.
I craned my neck to see who was entering.
A man with brown curly hair, droopy eyes, and a small cut under his chin entered through the gate. He looked to be in his mid-thirties.
He looked exactly like the picture.
*He's cool.*
*So, should we go inside?*
“No, I'm going to finish this and give it to Leah.”
When I showed her the flower crown I was making, Leah puffed out her cheeks.
“Do you really want to give that to me?”
Leah flinched, looking around to confirm that the guards were far away.
“I will go get the coat and the blanket.”
“Yes.”
While Leah hurried inside, I saw Meshack approaching the gate. As he was about to enter, he spotted me and turned toward me.
“I see the famous child of destiny is here. My name is Karl Meshack.”
“I am LeBlin. Welcome.”
I greeted him as childishly as possible.
He looked me up and down, seeming curious as to why I had attracted the Duke's interest.
“What are you doing here, little one?”
*The atmosphere is perfect.*
That's right, I've been waiting for this question.
I laughed and said, “I'm waiting for Theramore.”
“Theramore?”
As expected, as soon as I mentioned the name, his face soured.
“He's giving lessons to LeBlin, Henry, and Izik. I'm waiting to ask for a class together.”
Meshack's mouth twisted when I said I wanted to request a class.
“You don't understand something. Theramore is not qualified to teach the Doubles. His knowledge is not that wide and...”
When I blinked innocently, Meshack let it slip easily.
“I mean, there isn't much you can actually learn from Theramore.”
“No, he's seriously smart!”
“What did he tell you?”
“He said he's wearing a great robe now.”
He was referring to the dark red robe worn by the Senate, which represented the Doubles.
*Meshack, you want that robe.*
When I spoke with my arms raised, his face immediately changed.
“What? He said that?”
“Yes, I heard it from another man. I heard it from LeBlin.”
“This is nonsense! That position...!”
“You mean... the Chairman of the Board?”
Meshack's face hardened.