The Villainous Noble Tried His Hardest to Break the Original Storyline, and Now the Heroines Are Acting Weird - 17

Chapter 17

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There were voices of concern in the mansion that Rubest had been acting strangely. Naturally, reports had also reached me, and there were even suggestions that I should talk to him about it.

It was true that he seemed to be overdoing his training lately, and I had been worried about him too. However… I figured, if this was my genius son we were talking about, he’d notice before something went wrong. So, I secretly went to observe his training.

…And ended up holding my head in my hands out of perplexity.

Rubest… What is happening to you?

He ran, then cast magic on himself, then ran again… over and over again, in a series of incomprehensible actions. I had no idea what to make of it. Liana, who had come to watch the training by chance, saw Rubest’s antics and watched with sparkling eyes, clearly enjoying herself.

Then she imitated him. She began running like Rubest, then placed her right hand on her chest and collapsed. Apparently, it was incredibly fun for her. She wore a smile like an angel’s and repeated the same movements again and again.

So cute…

I could have watched her forever, but this wasn’t the time to escape from reality. Right now, the issue at hand was Rubest. Our Fortas family had the mission of protecting and guiding the Hero.

Of course, we had no way of knowing when the Hero would be born into this world. Still, just as has happened several times in the past, the Hero would surely be born again someday. When that time came, the Fortas family must be ready to protect them. That meant Rubest would have to carry on the family legacy.

As for Rubest’s behavior… Since I couldn’t figure it out just by watching, I had no choice but to ask him directly. I was a bit nervous, but I steeled myself and summoned Rubest to the study.

“What is it?”

Rubest tilted his head slightly. Unlike me, Rubest was smart. How should I approach this kind of person…? I hesitated, but I had to ask directly.

“…Lately, there’ve been a lot of reports of people spotting you around the mansion.”

That said, jumping straight into the topic made me uneasy. He might be troubled by something. So, even if it was roundabout, I decided to start with small talk.

“Well… I do live here, after all.”

He replied with a wry smile.

No. That’s not it. That’s not what I meant, my son.

Silence settled between us. Rubest looked at me curiously.

…I knew it.  I’m no good at this kind of roundabout approach.

I took a deep breath and stared directly at Rubest.

“…Let me be blunt. Lately, you’ve been using magic on yourself a lot… What happened?”

“Well…”

Is this… Is this something difficult for him to say? …Could it really be…? Rubest is my son. It might be… Genetic. I can’t force my son to say something that’s hard for him to say. In fact, it would be better if I told him first…

“Sorry. If it’s something hard to talk about, you don’t have to say it. I… I understand how you feel.”

“…………Huh?”

“You see… Your father has some unusual preferences, too. I’m what you might call a masochist. I figured you were casting magic on yourself for similar reasons.”

“That’s not it.”

Huh?

The look in my son’s eyes was freezing cold. It felt like he had just doused me with water magic. I had been convinced he’d awakened to some strange kink, but Rubest firmly denied it.

Is he just being shy about it? 

So I thought to myself, but Rubest began to speak with a serious expression.

“…I was told that my magic is extremely powerful. I wanted to understand just how strong it is. There’s no doubt it has the power to kill a person easily, so I was training to learn how to control it.”

“…So that’s what it was.”

That hesitation earlier… Maybe he had been unsure whether he should say anything. And there I was, imagining the worst while my son was grappling with something so honest and serious. I had even pictured myself getting whipped by my wife and getting excited over it… Of course, I absolutely couldn’t tell him that.

I couldn’t possibly tell him that was how Rubest and Liana were conceived. I let out a small sigh, forced a serious expression onto my face, and asked him.

“Are you hurt at all?”

“I’ve learned to use healing magic, so I’m fine. Actually, I was practicing that too.”

Ah, I see. Healing magic, huh? I see. Yeah. You’d have to take damage to test that. Makes sense, makes sen—wait, what!?

I jumped to my feet before I realized it, stunned by his casual tone.

“W-What did you say!? You can use healing magic!?”

Healing magic… Healing magic was famous for being incredibly rare. Just being able to use it would guarantee someone a lifetime of comfort and stability. And now, Rubest was saying he could use it.

He shouldn’t just toss around information that important so casually! It nearly gave me a heart attack.

“Yes, I can use it now.”

“…Could it be… No, I see. That’s… That’s certainly wonderful news.”

I did feel a tiny bit of suspicion, but I remembered what I’d seen during Rubest’s training. Despite all that magic he used on himself, he didn’t have a single wound. Without healing magic, that would’ve been impossible.

I smiled.

Just as I thought, my son really was different from me… He was a genius. For a moment, I thought even my tastes had passed down to him, but it looked like I had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

“…Well, I’ll let everyone know about your training, but don’t push yourself too hard, alright?”

“Yes. I understand. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

Rubest bowed gracefully and left the room.

…Still, healing magic, huh.

If only the Hero could be born in Rubest’s generation… Maybe this time, we really could defeat the Demon Lords. That thought lingered in my mind for a while.

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