Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

People have a desire to remain righteous and good.

That’s why I started making excuses in my mind even as I widened my eyes at Julia’s question.

“Why are you here?”

Last night…

That is, right after Professor Klaus Müller left me behind…

Following a butler who had approached at some point, I went up one floor and was guided to an extravagant guest room.

At first, I found it hard to believe that this space was a guest room because the size of just one room was larger than the living room of the Oslo house.

Moreover, the bed with pure white sheets was about three times the size of my bed, and it was so fluffy it was almost scary. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

In the end, I fell asleep as soon as I laid my tired body from the journey.

Only after having slept soundly did thoughts like whether Julia slept well last night cross my mind.

Dressed in clothes that had been suspiciously neatly washed, I immediately went to Julia’s room and was about to knock on the door…

“―Eek!”

And now we’re here.  

I was startled for a moment when Julia suddenly opened the door before I could knock.  

My gaze instinctively dropped below her face, which bore the signs of just waking up.  

It wasn’t intentional, but it wasn’t exactly forced, either.  

Julia was leaning on her cane, unable to cover herself. 

If she let go of the cane, she wouldn’t be able to stand for long and would collapse.  

In a split second, Julia’s face displayed a thousand emotions before she finally said, half-sobbing:

“Don’t look…”

As soon as I heard those words, I immediately covered my eyes.

Moments later, Julia seemed to try to retreat to her room, but without the aid of magic, her movements were slow and clumsy.

I heard a bang as the cane hit the door. After the door somehow closed, there was the sound of fabric rustling, like a blanket being thrown.  

About five minutes passed like that.

―You can come in…

Permission was granted.

I carefully opened the door and entered.

The room was still filled with the scent of roses.

On the bed occupying one corner of the room, Julia, now changed into clothes, greeted me with a bright red face.

“Did you sleep well?”

“…Yeah.”

I wasn’t thick-skinned enough to start a conversation casually, and Julia still seemed flustered.

It was understandable. She still didn’t seem to know why I was there.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to explain the reason in detail.

“Young lady, did you cough?”

Along with a polite voice, the head maid entered and explained what had happened last night instead.

Julia listened attentively to the explanation while half-buried in her blanket.

She asked back.

“So, you’re saying Father told Eugene to stay the night?”

“Yes. It’s the master’s order.”

“…Why?”

Only Klaus Müller himself would know the answer to that question.

Therefore, the head maid’s answer was speculative in tone. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“I suspect he seems to have more to discuss with Mr. Eugene.”

I, who had been awkwardly standing near the bed, suddenly raised my head.

Wasn’t it simply because it was late at night?

“Discussion, you say?”

“Yes. The master instructed when he left early this morning that he has something to discuss with Mr. Eugene, so he recommended that you stay at the mansion until evening.”

“Huh.”

“Also, he said you are free to browse the books in the mansion, including those in the study.”

“……”

I was about to protest but then closed my mouth.

It was quite a sweet offer.

Julia, seemingly having calmed down a bit, soon gestured to the head maid with the attitude befitting a young lady of a noble family.

“Head maid, is everything prepared?”

“Yes. You can go down right away.”

Even without a subject, the conversation made sense.

Wait… What do you mean by preparation?

As I was about to ask that, Julia forced a slight smile and said to me:

“You haven’t had breakfast yet, right?”

“Oh.”

“Let’s go to the dining room together. The meal should be ready.”

This was my second time setting foot in the Müller family mansion, following my visit three years ago.

At that time, I had only literally visited after receiving Julia’s letter, so I didn’t receive proper guest treatment.

And now, after three years, staying overnight as a guest and even having a meal, I thought.

Something is a bit…

“It’s a bit empty, isn’t it?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Eugene, don’t lie in the future. It’s all obvious.”

Julia smiled bitterly.

She was now wearing a brooch with sufficient magic power on her chest.

As I walked alongside Julia, who could now move freely again, towards the dining room on the first floor of the mansion, it seemed I was a bit excessive in looking around while going down the stairs.

It couldn’t be helped.

The only image of a family I knew was that of a bustling two-story house.

And now, with rain pouring outside, the interior of the Müller mansion was too different from that.

This impression intensified even more after reaching the dining room.

“Here we are; this is the dining room!”

Julia introduced the dining room quite cheerfully, spreading her arms.

I blinked my eyes.

Why is the dining table so big?

Its size could easily seat twenty people.

Matching such a table, the dining room itself was also very spacious, which also made it difficult to shake off the feeling of emptiness.

Not knowing the etiquette for a table with twelve chairs, I asked Julia.

“Where should I sit?”

“Hmm. Next to me?”

“……”

Has she completely regained her composure now?

Just as she did in the first-class train compartment, Julia took her seat first and then tapped the seat next to her. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

She seemed to believe without a doubt that I would refuse, feeling uncomfortable. I could tell just by looking at the raised corner of her mouth.

I wanted to betray that expectation.

When I really sat down heavily in the seat next to her, Julia’s eyes widened.

“Why are you sitting here?”

“You told me to.”

“Since when did you start listening to what I say……”

Julia said this while slightly avoiding my gaze, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Soon, the food came out.

Despite the chef’s enthusiastic explanation of the menu, I couldn’t understand anything other than that it was a fish dish.

As the sound of handling cutlery echoed in the dining room, Julia carefully asked.

“How is it?”

My expression alone was probably good enough of an answer. The flavors of various spices and the moist texture filled my mouth.

It tasted heavenly.

But why?

Why did I feel that the sausage sandwich we shared during yesterday’s trip tasted even better?

After finishing the meal, under Julia’s lead, the mansion tour continued.

First was the garden.

“If you go out the main gate, you’ll immediately see the garden. But……”

Swoosh―

“It’s raining heavily.”

“Indeed.”

Thus, to avoid getting soaked in the downpour, we moved to the next location, and I continued to be introduced to new places. The mansion was vast, and there were many spaces to introduce accordingly.

“This is the main hall. There’s not much to introduce anew, but what do you think?”

“It’s big.”

“Right?”

Passing the first floor to the second floor…

“This is my room, and next to it is the reception room.”

“It’s big.”

And then we went up from the second floor to the third floor.

“This is the bathroom.”

“It’s big.”

As I kept giving the same response with variations, Julia gave me a somewhat reproachful look.

It couldn’t be helped. I knew nothing about the art trends or architectural styles decorating the mansion, so marveling at their sizes was the best I could do.

Finally, after passing the guest room where I had stayed, we reached a dead end.

Near the dead end, there was one door. A double door as elaborately decorated as the ones in Julia’s room or the study.

Julia introduced that place with a grin.

“This is a place you shouldn’t enter.”

“Why?”

“Hmm, it’s a secret.”

After the mansion tour was over, I was about to head to Professor Müller’s study, since I had received permission.

In fact, I had been eyeing the magic studies books there since yesterday.

Julia didn’t seem to like that very much.

“There are many books in my room, too, you know?”

That was true, but I shook my head slightly.

How could I say it?

Three years ago, when I thought of you as just a strange classmate, I entered that room carelessly, but now I realize that no matter how I think about it, it would be difficult to be comfortable in a space permeated with your scent.

So, I made up an excuse.

“There don’t seem to be many magic studies books.”

“Well, if you compare it to Father’s study, that’s true.”

“How about we go to the study together instead?”

To that question, Julia shook her head instead.

“That’s okay. I don’t want to disturb your reading.”

I was about to ask her intention but stopped myself.

For no other reason than that, the head maid, who suddenly appeared behind me, called Julia first.

“Young lady. Just a moment……”

To summarize the head maid’s words, it was something like, ‘You need to attend the Frauzen Federal University of Magic’s Special Budget Committee meeting as the President of the Student Council this afternoon. You haven’t forgotten, have you?’

At those words, Julia’s expression, which had been smiling all morning, turned cold.

“Has it already been that much time?”

“As the rain has intensified, the time it takes to board the carriage……”

In short, it meant she had to leave earlier than planned.

Watching that conversation, I realized anew. Not just Lena, but Julia too had prepared for the trip by making time in her busy schedule.

Feeling grateful and sorry at the same time, Julia approached me a few steps and said.

“Did you hear?”

“Yeah. You need to go out now, right?”

“Yes. It’s troublesome. I can’t leave a guest alone.”

“I’ll be here until evening anyway, and I won’t be bored if I’m in the study, so don’t worry.”

“…You’re not going to rummage through my room or anything, right?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Hahaha, then I’ll see you again in the evening. Don’t enter my room or that room on the third floor……”

With those final words, Julia finished preparing to leave.

As if she had lingering attachments, she kept glancing this way, so it took twenty minutes before she completely left the mansion.

Soon after, all the servants, including the head maid, also withdrew.

“……”

Thus, I was left alone in this vast mansion.

Rain pours from the gloomy sky. Depressing weather.

As if resisting that, the mana lamps placed here and there and the beautiful decorations tinted the interior of the mansion in warm colors.

They didn’t want even a hint of gloominess.

Even with the rain, the mansion was still beautiful. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

But it seems they couldn’t prevent the hollow echoing of footsteps with every step.

Instead of going straight to the study, I wandered around the mansion’s interior a bit more.

The servants’ spaces are mostly on the first floor, in secluded corners. Probably to be as inconspicuous as possible in the eyes of the masters and guests.

Therefore, my impression deepened even more.

“Indeed……”

It’s empty.

Not just because it’s a large mansion.

Should I say it lacks any sense of living?

In all my wanderings so far, except for Julia’s room, there was no smell of people living anywhere.

One might try to understand that it’s natural for it to be empty since only two people live in such a large mansion, but even that was difficult. There wasn’t even a single portrait or family photo…

As I was moving aimlessly like that, I reached the end of the third floor.

In other words, I stood in front of that door.

The room Julia had emphasized, “Don’t enter.”

If Sally, the bookworm, were here, she might have been excited, saying it was like a scene from a detective novel. But to my eyes, it looked no different from the other rooms in the mansion.

It probably was actually like that.

Rather than the room itself being special, it was likely because of something inside that she had made such a request.

“Hmm.”

I crossed my arms and stared at the door.

I’ll be honest.

I’m curious.

For magic scholars, curiosity is life itself, and among them, my curiosity was particularly outstanding.

In fact, anyone would feel this urge if they stood in front of a room they’re not supposed to enter, even without making excuses.

After a moment of deliberation…

I reached out and gently pushed the door.

I didn’t want to deliberately disobey Julia’s request. So, if the door was locked, I was planning to give up immediately.

However.

Creeak―

Embarrassingly, the door wasn’t locked.

Had it not been used for a long time? The hinge screamed, but there was no problem with its primary function of opening the door.

So the door opened.

I peered through the gap.

“They’re……”