TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 6
What’s this sudden talk about?
“You said emotions can be controlled. There’s no need to rely on a curse.”
“Bianca, aren’t you misunderstanding something?”
Despite Kraush’s words, Bianca just shook her head.
“I’ll come often, even if it’s just me. If I talk to Father, as your fiancée, I can stay close by.”
“You don’t seem to like being my fiancée much.”
“Even so, I won’t abandon someone who’s been driven out.”
She doesn’t deny that the engagement isn’t welcome.
Kraush was dumbfounded for a moment before letting out a bitter sigh.
It seemed the Goddess of the North had seriously misunderstood something.
Bianca had always been prone to fixating on something and blindly believing in it.
Perhaps because she lacked emotions, she seemed unable to doubt her rational judgments.
‘There’s no helping it.’
Kraush activated the Black Hood under the table.
Then, a safe’s lock appeared over Bianca’s chest.
That safe represented the difficulty level of stealing with the Black Hood.
Bianca’s safe was secured with a double lock.
Originally, most curses don’t even have locks, let alone safes.
Bianca had lived with a curse since birth.
Thus, she doesn’t undervalue the curse like others might.
Just as she wouldn’t undervalue her own limbs, Bianca doesn’t undervalue her curse.
‘Value is always relative.’
The value of Bianca’s curse was quite high to her.
That’s why it manifested as a double lock.
‘Condition creation.’
So, to unlock that lock, Kraush created a condition.
For a double lock, there must be two conditions.
The first condition suddenly appeared before Kraush’s eyes.
[Become Bianca’s ‘friend’.]
A clicking sound of disapproval echoed in Kraush’s mind.
That’s why the difficulty of stealing varies greatly depending on the value held.
To steal something from someone, they must be off guard.
Therefore, one must fulfill the condition that would most significantly induce that carelessness.
For Bianca, the first condition was friendship.
‘Friends with a White Ghost?’
Being a fiancée is easy, but being a friend is hard.
Since she has no emotions, her interest is rarely piqued.
‘For now, it’s best to keep her close.’
Sending her back to Hardenhartz now would only bring her closer to becoming a White Ghost.
‘There’s no choice but to unlock the locks gradually.’
Not only to prevent her from becoming a White Ghost.
To use the Extreme Blood Immersion Poison, her curse is essential.
“Well, thanks. It’s reassuring to have my fiancée visit often.”
So, Kraush agreed.
He planned to take his time stealing her curse.
But then, an unexpected variable occurred that Kraush hadn’t anticipated.
Adults like to speed things up, and the Patriarch of Hardenhartz especially liked things to move quickly.
As a result, after discussions between Hardenhartz and Balheim.
Bianca was to stay in a room at the Green Pine Mansion.
“Hello.”
Seeing Bianca arrive with her luggage and maids, Kraush wore a bewildered expression.
He had heard the news, but he hadn’t expected her to actually stay at the Green Pine Mansion.
“Bianca, are you okay with leaving home?”
Bianca was only twelve years old.
Isn’t this the age when one still craves their parents’ embrace?
“I’m fine with it.”
And Bianca answered without any emotion.
To her, who lacked familial affection, it was a trivial matter.
What could be done?
She couldn’t refuse what the family had decided.
In the end, Kraush decided to think of it as gaining a younger sister.
Thus, a new family member was added to the Green Pine Mansion that day.
* * *
Time flies swiftly.
The summer weather had passed into autumn and now winter was approaching.
Moreover, there was a commotion about a new academy opening next year.
An academy established by the four kingdoms and the empire to train talents to combat World Erosion.
The opening of Rahelrn Academy.
‘Soon, huh?’
The minimum age for admission to Rahelrn Academy is fifteen, and the maximum is twenty.
So, Kraush, who would turn fourteen next year, still had some time.
‘I need to get stronger before then.’
Rahelrn Academy is filled with many members of the Skyborne Generation.
And what Kraush aimed for were the skills of those Skyborne Generation members.
Each member of the Skyborne Generation possessed incredibly powerful skills.
Moreover, having lived among them, Kraush knew their weaknesses best.
Thus, stealing their skills would be easier.
He felt no guilt.
Because the Skyborne Generation were the ones Kraush hated the most.
“Tsk.”
Kraush, who had been circulating aura within his body, opened his eyes as his thoughts distracted him and his aura stiffened.
A blue aura flowed out from Kraush’s mouth.
Kraush had reached the Expert level in a short time after entering the Expert stage.
However, even with the Secret Technique Book, he began to feel a lack of talent.
He needed to master the Extreme Blood Immersion Poison quickly.
‘That’s it for today.’
Kraush walked out of the training ground.
Then, he saw a girl sitting on a chair in front of the training ground, reading a book.
She seemed to sense his gaze, lifting her eyes from the book and raising her head.
Soon spotting Kraush, she bowed her head.
Her pure white hair flowed down as she did so.
Every time he saw her hair color, it reminded him of the White Ghost she would become in the future.
Because that pure white hair was the symbol of a White Ghost.
“Is your training over?”
“Were you waiting for me?”
“Yes.”
Seeing her casually admit to waiting, Kraush scratched the back of his head.
Since she said so, he had nothing to say.
Since the day Bianca started living at the Green Pine Mansion, she had followed Kraush around like a chick.
Her reason was the fear that Kraush might commit suicide due to depression.
Unlike her uncle, she did not properly understand things like depression.
So, she was only using the fragmentary information she had heard from her uncle.
That one should not leave a person suffering from depression alone.
That was the only thing she knew.
Having a tendency to blindly believe in one thing, she stared blankly at Kraush.
And Kraush, without much thought, stared blankly back at her before coming to his senses belatedly.
For some reason, whenever he was with Bianca, he felt dazed.
Was her dazed nature contagious?
“I’ll go wash up.”
“Okay.”
Bianca closed her book and stood up from her seat.
From her actions, it seemed she planned to wait in front of the bathroom again.
When would Bianca consider him a friend by her standards?
Kraush was just thinking that he might need to take her out soon.
“Young Master Kraush.”
Aliod appeared in front of Kraush.
Aliod seemed to have a task at hand.
As Kraush showed his doubt, Aliod handed him a letter.
“An invitation from the Holy Land of Stars has arrived.”
“Holy Land of Stars?”
Hearing such a grand name, Kraush slightly furrowed his brows.
Because he couldn’t remember what it was.
“I understand it to be a gathering of the youth from the Starlon Kingdom. It seems there’s a party every year.”
Kraush understood belatedly.
Come to think of it, there was such a thing.
Though he had never participated.
‘The memory at this point is too vague.’
It was a time when he spent his days lamenting his life without stepping a foot outside the Green Pine Mansion.
Kraush’s memory of events or incidents from that time was faint.
Because he had deliberately blocked out anything happening outside.
‘On the other hand, I know all about the incidents happening at the Academy.’
In many ways, he regretted the past.
“Decline it. I don’t have time for such things…….”
But then, something suddenly crossed Kraush’s mind.
“Aliod, how many young nobles from Starlon usually attend the Holy Land of Stars?”
“Unless there’s a special case, I believe most attend. Such parties are a way to pave the future.”
After hearing the honest answer, Kraush crossed his arms and tapped his index finger for a while.
Would that guy come too?
Glancing at Aliod, Kraush nodded.
As the master, he should at least play that role.
That way, Aliod wouldn’t have any other thoughts.
“Then tell them I’ll attend.”
“Understood.”
Without objecting to Kraush’s decision, Aliod looked towards Bianca.
“I’ll go too.”
And naturally, Bianca declared she would follow.
Bianca had no intention of letting Kraush, who might commit suicide at any moment, go alone.
“Understood. I will inform them that both will attend.”
“Yes, let me know the schedule later.”
As Aliod left, Kraush stretched.
Come to think of it, this would be the first time he went outside since his regression.
‘In a way, am I maintaining the state before my regression?’
Though the then and now were worlds apart.
Of course, the fact that he needed to resort to forbidden techniques to become stronger remained unchanged.
‘But I’ve learned one more secret technique recently.’
Kraush decided not to be impatient.
“Mr. Kraush.”
Kraush turned his head at Bianca’s call.
Looking at Bianca, who seemed dazed as usual, he wondered what she was about to say.
“When you go to the Holy Land of Stars, everyone will try to criticize you behind your back.”
Being emotionless, Bianca spoke her thoughts directly.
Her words were certainly true.
“I suppose so.”
And this was something Kraush had anticipated.
‘Though not to the extent of Rahelrn Academy, similar things will happen.’
Back then, the Empire’s Princess Sigrid was the enemy, but this time, it would be the young nobles of the Starlon Kingdom.
Everyone knew the rumor that Kraush was abandoned by Balheim.
No one would flatter Kraush, and few would say anything good about him.
“Bianca, wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t come along?”
As his fiancée, she wouldn’t hear anything good at the party.
“No. I’ll come.”
But Bianca did not change her mind.
“A fiancée protects her fiancé.”
Bianca was acting based on the education she had received so far.
Since she lacked emotions, her actions were driven solely by rational judgment and education.
The curse of the Doll’s Eye suited her well.
‘The vocabulary and actions that seem impossible for a twelve-year-old must be due to her lack of emotions.’
Perhaps because he had been harsh to Bianca before his regression, he felt a sudden pang of guilt whenever he saw her.
Kraush was particularly weak towards Bianca.
Kraush reached out and patted her head.
“I asked for your thoughts not as a fiancée, but as Bianca.”
Bianca looked up at Kraush, who was patting her head.
Kraush often looked at her with such a pitiful gaze while patting her head.
Over the past few months.
Unlike his behavior towards the butler and maids, he showed a particularly soft side to her.
Thanks to that, his impression had changed to the point where she no longer remembered their worst first meeting.
[Bianca, what about dinner?]
[You’re almost done with that book. Let’s go to the library.]
[You can sleep a bit more. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll train in front, so sleep more.]
After reflecting on their daily life over the past few months, she no longer disliked him.
Bianca, who hadn’t received such kindness even in Hardenhartz, found Kraush’s actions intriguing.
It was understandable since both were children sent for political marriages.
“I want to come along.”
So, Bianca said.
Even if not as a fiancée, she wanted to help Kraush.
“Even if not as a fiancée, Bianca wants to follow Mr. Kraush.”
Hearing this, Kraush blinked blankly before removing his hand from her head.
Did he feel bad?
Worried that she might have crossed the line as a fiancée, Bianca cautioned him, and Kraush turned away.
“Alright, then let’s do that.”
Then permission was granted.
Watching Kraush, Bianca once again followed him like a chick.
Following behind him somehow made her steps feel lighter.
She even tried to follow him into the toilet unintentionally and got scolded, though.