Chapter 139
"Hey, Bion."
When his classmate Elliot Howard called out to him that way, Cyril assumed Elliot had mistaken him for someone else.
It had already been a week since Cyril transferred into the middle school division at Serendia Academy. Surely no one would still be getting his name wrong.
But Elliot stood directly in front of him, looking down at Cyril with a smirk. "Are you hard of hearing?"
So Cyril replied, confused.
"You must have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Cyril Ashley."
"You're Bion, Simeon's son, aren't you?"
"...What? My father's name is Vincent Ashley, though..."
When Cyril answered with a perplexed expression, Elliot burst into laughter.
It wasn't just Elliot. About half the class was looking at Cyril and snickering, too.
Cyril finally realized that he'd given the wrong response. But he had no idea what he'd done wrong.
Elliot stared rudely at Cyril's face, grinning maliciously. He was clearly treating Cyril as someone he could be rude to without consequence.
Elliot spread his arms in an exaggerated gesture and said,
"'Bion was a young man dressed in splendid clothes by his father. He cannot speak. Why? Because Bion is nothing but a doll. Simeon, a man without a son, dressed the doll and treated him as if he were his own child.' You don't even know the popular comedy playing in the capital? Where in the countryside did you crawl out from?"
Only then did Cyril understand that Elliot was using the popular play to mock him for being adopted.
He was being taunted as a doll dressed up by Simeon, a man with no son.
"You have just insulted not only me, but my father as well."
Cyril had always been fiercely competitive. He had no intention of keeping quiet while Elliot said whatever he pleased.
When Cyril glared sharply at him, Elliot put on an exaggeratedly surprised expression.
"Hey, you're not allowed to talk, remember? Bion's a mute doll, so sit quietly in your chair."
"Can't you even remember your classmates' names, Elliot Howard?"
"You're not worth remembering."
Elliot spat the words out in disgust and yanked Cyril's ribbon tie roughly.
"No matter how much you dress up your appearance, it's meaningless if there's nothing inside to match. Don't think someone like you belongs with us, you upstart."
There's nothing inside to match. Those words left Cyril at a loss for a reply.
Before transferring to Serendia Academy, Cyril had studied furiously, but even so, he couldn't match Claudia's knowledge.
(Claudia would surely have known about this Bion Elliot was talking about. She would have been able to get through this without embarrassing herself.)
When Cyril fell silent, Elliot seized the opportunity to pile on more insults.
"If they're going to dress you up, they should've gotten you a dress. It'd suit you far better than that uniform, miss."
Heat rushed to Cyril's head. He was small and slight, the shortest boy in the class.
But whenever anyone commented on his appearance, Cyril couldn't say a word in return.
When people mocked his looks, which resembled his father's, it made him angry, as though they were insulting his father—and he hated himself for feeling that way.
He didn't look up to that man. He didn't want to resemble him. He hated him. No, he didn't really want to hate him... At that point, his mind refused to think any further, and his thoughts went blank.
(No, no, no. That man has nothing to do with this. I have to say something back. Anything. Anything...)
As Cyril stood there in silence, Elliot started to say something more, but then—
"I see. You're Marquis Hioone's 'Bion Who Brings Happiness.'"
A clear, carrying voice rang out.
Cyril turned and saw a tall boy standing in the classroom doorway.
Vivid golden hair, handsome features, and graceful manners. Though still so young, he already had the air of someone born to lead others.
(The Second Prince... His Highness Felix Arc Ridill!)
As Cyril stared in astonishment, Elliot let go of his ribbon tie and spoke with an air of nonchalance.
"Bion Who Brings Happiness? Surely you mean the decorative Bion, Your Highness?"
"Elliot, don't you read classical literature? The comedy 'Simeon's Son' was originally titled 'Bion Who Brings Happiness.' It's a classic."
Felix smiled and began to speak without hesitation.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was the kind that lingered in the hearts of those who heard it.
"—Simeon, a man without a son, dressed the doll Bion in splendid clothes and cherished him as his own child."
"It's a comedy about the absurdity of that, isn't it?"
"Recent productions seem to emphasize only that part. But in the original, the goddess gives Bion a soul, and he becomes human. Once he's human, Bion repays his adoptive father, who gave him so much love."
Felix looked at Cyril with blue eyes. They were a different shade from Cyril's deep blue—a clear, bright color like pale blue with a drop of green mixed in.
His beautiful face turned toward Cyril with a gentle smile.
"I'm sure you're the Bion Who Brings Happiness to Marquis Hioone."
Cyril felt a rush of heat through his whole body. It wasn't anger, but something else entirely.
His heart pounded. His face burned. The person before him seemed to shine.
(I want to serve this person.)
At that moment, Cyril felt it with all his heart.
＊ ＊ ＊
"I like him."
In an empty hallway, Felix—Isaac Walker—spoke to Wildianu, his contracted spirit.
Wildianu, who had taken the form of a white lizard, climbed onto Isaac's shoulder and answered in a quiet voice.
"Do you mean Cyril Ashley?"
"That's right. I took a look at the results of the academic assessment they gave before he transferred. His written answers are excellent, especially in the history of the kingdom. I'd rather have him than the younger sister of the 'Walking Library'... And he seems much easier to handle, too."
"Lady Claudia is difficult to handle," Isaac added under his breath, shrugging. Wildianu asked cautiously,
"Are you considering him as a candidate for next year's student council?"
"That's right. The Duke of Clockford appoints about half of the student council members. Elliot Howard is practically a sure thing. That's why I want to be selective about the remaining positions."
Elliot's father, Count Darsvey, was a close confidant of the Duke of Clockford. He would certainly be ordered to get Elliot onto the student council.
Elliot was close to the real Felix, and was therefore the only person who had realized Isaac's true identity. The Duke of Clockford, however, didn't know that.
Isaac rather disliked Elliot, so he had high hopes for Cyril, who could stand up to him directly.
"Wildianu, what do you think gives rise to the strongest loyalty?"
"...The nuances of human emotions are difficult for me to understand."
At Isaac's sudden question, Wildianu shrank back apologetically.
Isaac secretly smiled to himself. Even Wildianu, who wasn't human, was far more sensitive than he was.
"I believe trust is what gives rise to the strongest loyalty. Loyalty born from ruling through fear is fragile. Sooner or later, it will be betrayed."
Just as Isaac himself was planning to betray the Duke of Clockford.
Using power to reward and punish people was a quick and easy method, but it couldn't earn genuine loyalty.
What Isaac wanted was true loyalty, born from a foundation of trust.
"—I want the pure trust and loyalty of 'Bion Who Brings Happiness.'"
Isaac thought that was the kind of person he wanted at his side.
"Oh, right. Did you know, Wildianu? 'Bion Who Brings Happiness' has a sequel."
"Doesn't it end happily, with Bion and Simeon, his adoptive father?"
Wildianu tilted his little head, and Isaac began to tell the rest of the story.
He told it with a gleeful, sardonic air, as if recounting a particularly ridiculous comedy.
"A man who lived next door envied Simeon's happiness and copied him. He dressed a doll in fine clothes, named it Basileos, and tried to make it his son. But the doll Basileos wouldn't move. The man flew into a rage and kicked it, and the doll gained a soul and began to move..."
His blue eyes glinted ominously, and a darkly delighted smile crept across his lips.
"The doll killed the man. A lovely ending, don't you think?"
If Cyril Ashley was Bion Who Brings Happiness, then Isaac Walker was Basileos Who Brings Ruin.
Isaac was certain that one day he would take the Duke of Clockford's life.