Chapter 67
It was close to three when I returned to the Earl's mansion. The Earl wouldn't be back until after sunset... Given what had happened yesterday, I supposed it wouldn't be strange if he came home late at night. I asked the chief butler to let him know that I wanted to see him.
Just as I was thinking that—
"Are you back?"
"Huh?"
The Earl was standing in the entrance hall.
"Reiji!"
"My lady—wha—"
My lady charged at me and hugged me. I staggered, but my upper body had enough spring to absorb the impact, and I held my ground.
"W-What happened...?"
"You said you would come back soon! And yet it's already this late..."
"Ah."
Had I made her worry? No, that wasn't it—my lady had been anxious... And yet I had leisurely eaten lunch and everything.
(What was I doing...?)
I had been so preoccupied with the Earl that I had forgotten about my lady.
"I'm sorry, my lady. I'll stay with you for the rest of the day, until you go to bed."
"Really...?"
"Of course."
So please loosen your hold on me... The chief butler was glaring at us with a demonic expression I had never seen on him before, and the head maid was holding a horsewhip—where did she even get that!?
"Reiji-san."
And the Earl's eyes were like permafrost!
"Calm down, Earl. Please, calm down..."
"Yes, I understand. I am calm, you know? Calm enough to be thinking about how to explain common sense to a guard who's been wandering around outside despite yesterday's trouble..."
A lecture was definitely happening!
"M-More importantly, who is that gentleman...?"
My attention was drawn to the lanky man standing beside the Earl. He looked less like a noble and more like a civil servant, and he wore a fairly fine brown jacket.
His skin, however, was a dark bluish color, and his silver hair stood on end. Behind his glasses were golden, catlike eyes.
He didn't seem to be human.
"Well, this is a fascinating sight. So even Earl Slyries is a parent, after all."
"...Specula, Second-Class Secretary, you shouldn't make fun of nobles like that."
"If I have offended you, I apologize."
Judging by the casual way he spoke to the Earl, he must have been quite an important official despite being called a secretary.
When I stood there not understanding what was going on,
"Eva, Reiji-san, come to my study."
the Earl said.
There were five of us in the Earl's study, where he held a report meeting every ten days: me, my lady, the Earl, Specula-san, and the chief butler. The chief butler was standing by the doorway, so perhaps he intended merely to watch over the discussion.
(What is this man, anyway?)
When I looked at Specula-san, he was looking back at me.
"Nice to meet you, Reiji-san. My name is Specula, and I serve as a secretary at the Capital Administrative Office."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Reiji, and I serve as Eva-sama's guard for House Slyries."
"Hmm..."
"?"
At that moment, I felt Specula-san's eyes narrow. What was that...? His gaze seemed to be probing me.
"...Earl, has Reiji-san's style as a guard remained unchanged?"
"Yes."
"I see. Then, please take a look at this."
What was going on?
Specula-san wrote something down on a sheet of paper and handed it to the Earl. The Earl received it, subtly furrowed his finely shaped brows, and gave a small nod.
"Then that's all."
"Oh, you're leaving already?"
"My work is finished."
Specula-san rose, bowed to the chief butler, and left the room—and the chief butler left with him at the same time.
"What was that about, Father?"
...
The Earl stared at the paper Specula-san had left behind, then held it out to us and said:
"Specula, the Second-Class Secretary, has been blessed with an exceptionally rare Talent in the Capital Administrative Office."
The paper read:
——No Talent.
"The Talent 【Orb Sight★★】 allows him to learn the Talent of anyone he sees. At his level, he cannot tell how many stars it has, however... I just had him check Reiji-san's Talent."
"Father!? Why would you do that—"
Though my lady sounded shocked and accusatory, she suddenly realized something.
"Reiji, you..."
"Yes. I haven't equipped a single Talent."
I told the truth.
(That was close...! I had a feeling there might be a Talent like that!)
The Earl had never once checked my Talents since I signed my guard contract. Perhaps he had decided that my abilities were sufficient after seeing me move like that when repelling the attackers, or perhaps he had some other motive. Alternatively, he might have guessed I was magic-oriented after seeing me use 【Dark Magic】 in my spar with Maxim-san.
But after yesterday's incident, the Earl knew that I had identified the poisoned plate. He must have concluded that I possessed some kind of special Talent. It wouldn't have been strange for him to wonder whether that Talent might be intended to harm him or my lady. The Earl was extremely cautious when it came to my lady.
(Just in case—really, really just in case—but I'm glad I removed 【All Creation】...)
The Earl possessed the Magic Eye of Adjudication. So rather than say, "I don't have any Talents," I had answered, "I haven't equipped any Talents."
I had won by not letting my guard down.
"I'm sorry, Reiji-san. I wasn't suspecting you of anything."
"No, I understand. It was just in case, right?"
"Yes. But we also learned something—something I'm sure Reiji-san didn't know."
"Something I don't know...?"
"Those who learn to use magic without Talent Gems apparently gain various advantages, such as faster activation and the ability to use magic in ways that differ from normal. Of course, the difficulty of mastering it is a disadvantage."
"—Magic activation."
"Yes. You used 【Dark Magic】's 'Playing Nightmare' in your spar with Maxim, didn't you? This explains why its activation was so fast."
"...Were you suspecting ever since then that I didn't have a magic-oriented Talent?"
The Earl gave me a smile that didn't suit him at all.
"I never imagined that you had no Talent at all, though... Is there some reason for it?"
"No. I can live without equipping one for now, so I'll equip one if I have no other choice."
That part of my answer was honest, too. Thanks to 【All Creation】, I was getting by for now, and six of the sixteen slots in my Holder remained empty. I wanted to save those six slots for when I truly had no other choice.
"Father, have you learned anything about yesterday's assassination attempt?"
"Well, yes. Regarding the poison found in Holy Prince Kurvshrat-sama's plate, some nobles suggested that Reiji-san might have put it there."
"Ah..."
Well, of course they would.
No one besides me had noticed it at the time...
"What!? Reiji would never put poison in it!"
"My lady, calm down. Earl, use your Magic Eye. I didn't poison it."
"...Yes, I have confirmed it."
So his eyes flashed for an instant when the Magic Eye activated.
The Earl must have intended to check at some point whether I was the real culprit; the Magic Eye activated with remarkable smoothness.
Conversely, that meant he hadn't used the Magic Eye even once today until now. Maybe he trusted me more than I thought? ...No, perhaps that was just a ploy to make me think so.