Chapter 96: A Cozy Deception

The estate, nestled on the outskirts of the capital city Ashilton, comprised several distinct sections. There was the main residence, home to the Lord of Veliki, a separate annex for the Viscount, and quarters for the household staff.

Ethan, whose luggage had already been sent ahead, entered the car emblazoned with the Veliki crest. Bliss’s expression visibly tightened, yet there was no challenging what was deemed standard procedure.

Consequently, Bliss arranged for the Moore family’s escort vehicles, led by Morgan Swan, to encircle Ethan’s car, moving in a protective formation.

The sight appeared almost as a veiled threat to Veliki itself. The Lord of Veliki, who had sent the car, frowned deeply as he watched their procession—seemingly besieged by the Moore family’s vehicles—approach.

“It seems the Lord’s temper has been ruffled by the Moore family’s rather excessive escort,” Viscount Samuel Gradis remarked.

He directed his accusatory words towards Morgan, watching the Lord of Veliki disappear inside after a perfunctory greeting. She, however, replied with unwavering resolve.

“This is the escort of the Moore family, one of the Aitoolia Empire’s most prominent houses. This level of protection is entirely appropriate.”

The Viscount found himself speechless.

As the Viscount remained silent, Morgan offered a polite bow to both Ethan and the Viscount, then departed.

“Welcome, Ethan.”

Ethan returned the friendly smile of the noblewoman.

“We meet again, Viscountess Lucy Gradis.”

“Soon we will be family. Perhaps a more familiar address would be suitable?”

“I am quite shy,” Ethan replied. “I will endeavor to grow accustomed to it quickly, Mother.”

Dongja, hovering beside the Viscountess’s face, pointed a finger at Ethan.

[You, who claim to be shy without even wetting your lips, are what truly embarrasses me.]

‘Lucky you, being a gwi means your face doesn’t flush with embarrassment.’

Having mercilessly retorted to Dongja, Ethan then greeted Viscount Samuel Gradis, whose expression was far from pleasant, despite Ethan’s continued smile towards the Viscountess.

“Thank you for understanding Lord Bliss’s somewhat excessive protection, born from having waited for his Guide for so long.”

Ethan’s aristocratic apology and etiquette—a subtle bow while offering unnecessary thanks—caused the Viscount and Viscountess’s eyes to widen in surprise.

They had distinctly heard he was a commoner, yet he displayed a sophisticated manner of speech, subtly elevating the Viscount’s family without offering an actual apology.

“Ahem, well, Lord Bliss’s suffering was quite well-known, wasn’t it?” the Viscount conceded. “Such things must be understood. Follow the butler; he will show you to your room. Rest for a while, then perhaps we can have some tea.”

The Viscount was not an Esper. His son, the heir, was also an ordinary person. Even the Lord of Veliki was not an Esper, which allowed the Viscount to casually save face by repeating what he had overheard.

The butler, who had been standing nearby, quietly stepped forward and led Ethan into the annex.

“This is Young Master Ethan’s room. I hope it meets with your approval.”

Ethan, having followed the butler to the second floor of the annex, surveyed his room.

“It’s rather cozy.”

As Ethan offered this seemingly factual observation, the butler’s brow furrowed. Bliss Moore had sent everything from the bed to the internal furnishings, even the decorations, forcing them to prepare a room far larger than originally intended.

Though slightly smaller than the Viscount and Viscountess’s own chambers, the room boasted far more expensive furniture, luxurious decor, and clothing. The Viscountess had ultimately betrayed a hint of jealousy at its opulence.

And yet, to describe such a room as ‘cozy’…

“Then, please descend to the tearoom in two hours.”

After he departed, Dongja’s chiding began.

[Hey, that butler isn’t like Dale at all.]

Ethan chuckled softly as he drew the curtains.

“You can’t compare him to Dale. All his emotions are so transparent.”

[But here, aside from the security personnel near the Lord of Veliki, there really aren’t any Espers. How can that be?]

“The place we were at was special. It had an indoor training facility for Esper guards, so isn’t it obvious?”

[The room is cramped. Tell Ilwol not to come out recklessly.]

Ethan stifled a laugh.

“You’re a gwi, and you’re complaining about the room? When I lived with Uncle Hans, my room was much smaller than this, you know?”

[I don’t care. I like Bliss’s house better.]

Ethan dismissed Dongja’s words and revealed the lampshade on the bedside table.

The lamp was supported by a sophisticated, matte-finish metal pillar. Around the top of the pillar, small, fingernail-sized hemispheres of the same material protruded in an evenly spaced pattern.

As Ethan pressed the lamp switch, the hemispheres simultaneously rose, and thin legs sprang forth from them.

Whoosh—

Frankly, the sight of fifteen hemispheres awakening into spider-like miniature robots and scuttling away into various corners of the mansion was quite unsettling. These were devices designed for information gathering.

Programmed to awaken and operate only at specific times, the bots could store fragmented voice recordings and image data.

While the estates of the central nobility, rife with intrigue, were equipped with security measures against such risks, a rented mansion—available to anyone with enough money—would certainly not have such expensive systems.

An Esper of A-grade or higher with electrical abilities might detect them, but as Dongja said, releasing them only within the Esper-free annex seemed to pose no issue.

After deploying the robots, Ethan calmly replaced the lampshade. He then spent a suitable amount of time before heading downstairs.

****

Though scattered with various trinkets likely brought by the Viscount’s wife, the tearoom itself was unremarkable, devoid of any distinctive taste.

Even if unremarkable, it was still more luxurious than a commoner’s tearoom. However, unlike some provincial nobles who ostentatiously decorated rented mansions in the capital to curry favor with the central aristocracy, this one maintained a modest appearance.

“I hope you found your room to your liking.”

The Viscountess, already playing the part of ‘Mother,’ instructed a servant to bring tea with a rather natural demeanor. It appeared the Viscount and Viscountess had already been taking tea, as cups were already set on the table.

While this might have seemed natural if they were truly his parents, it was a rude breach of etiquette when dealing with Ethan, a newcomer to their home.

They regarded Ethan as a commoner, believing mere words were sufficient. In their eyes, a childish sense of victory gleamed, having achieved a slight against not just Ethan, but the Moore family, by disregarding the etiquette they themselves knew.

Ethan calmly echoed the words he had spoken to the butler.

“It was rather cozy.”

The Viscountess’s face stiffened.

“…It seems the Moore family assumed we’d be staying in the capital for a long time,” Viscount Samuel Gradis said, his lips curling in what appeared to be regret. “It’s only a rented residence, after all. There was no need to send servants to completely furnish an entire room.”

His words implied that such extravagance was wasteful and unnecessary for merely occupying the annex of a rented estate.

Ethan offered a generous smile, as if understanding perfectly.

“It seems you don’t host guests in the annex,” Ethan observed. “In that case, ‘Bliss’ certainly seems to have been mistaken.”

Central nobles only visited the main residence, where the Lord of Veliki resided. Therefore, Bliss had erred in sending such lavish furnishings, assuming they were appropriate for the Viscount’s family, given there was no need to showcase their dignity in the annex.

This was typical aristocratic double-speak, yet the Viscount and Viscountess had addressed the future head of the Moore family—one who warranted the honorific ‘Lord’—by his given name alone. Ethan’s masterful, veiled insult, which effectively placed the Gradis couple—who had tried to diminish the Moore family and Ethan by asserting their parental authority—even below the commoners they disdained, was a high-level maneuver. The Viscount and Viscountess’s eyes, which had widened in astonishment, now trembled with shame and humiliation, while a new suspicion arose.

Had he truly lost his memory, or did Ethan Prescott perhaps have noble parents somewhere after all?

“E-Ethan,” the Viscountess stammered, recovering slightly. “I procured some fine tea to commemorate today. I heard you prefer Asian-style teas.”

Unlike the Western tea sets placed before the others, an Asian tea set lay before Ethan. He mused that simply drinking green tea once during an Elder Council meeting must have led to information spreading that he exclusively preferred Asian-style teas.

As Ethan skillfully poured out the first infusion of tea into a waste bowl, the Viscount and Viscountess’s faces stiffened once more. The young man before them no longer appeared to be a mere commoner.

[Ethan, Samwol says the water is strange. If you drink that, you’ll be poisoned?]

‘Damn it. How could they start this on the very first day?’

Ethan briefly closed his eyes, swallowing a silent sigh, then let his hand fall naturally.

CRASH—!

At their first tea time, ostensibly gathered to become a picture-perfect family, Ethan’s immediate action was to ‘accidentally’ shatter the teacup laced with an addictive drug, guided by Dongja’s interpretation of Samwol the water gwi’s whimpers.

“Oh, my!”

“Are you alright?! Someone fetch a cold towel!”

As they rushed forward, feigning concern, a look of utter dismay flickered in their eyes.

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