The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive

Ardion instantly covered his mouth and looked carefully at the surroundings.

“Yes, Young Master. The casino is almost finished. You’ll be able to see it soon.”

When Ardion heard the butler’s voice, his face turned serious as he continued listening.

“Ah, that father of mine, he doesn’t know how to use money and nitpicks on me all the time.”

“But you, Young Master, are managing the finances well.”

“Without you, Butler, it wouldn’t be possible. You’re taking care of the paperwork, so I’m certain my father will never become aware of it, even on his deathbed.”

A chuckle sounded.

“I am very honored about your praise, Young Master.”

Both people spoke in flowery words towards each other. It turned out that the butler was colluding with Jonok behind Duke Orchid’s back. Jonok basically planned to run a casino under his father’s name.

I thought it was Duke Orchid… The corners of my mouth curled up. This whole family is the definition of a mess.

In the original story, it didn’t say these two were like this. Regardless, it didn’t matter to me. I knew that the father and son had never been on good terms. Either way, it wouldn’t bring anything negative to me.

On the contrary, I found it very interesting. If I planned it well, I could put both Duke Orchid and Jonok into a pit at once.

I laughed silently as the voices continued to speak from the bookshelf next to me.

"Isn't it up to me to handle the finances if our family is to survive?"

"Yes, that's right. Young Master, you are doing a truly excellent job."

"Exactly. If I don’t do this, how can our family maintain any sort of prestige? From what I hear, there's no way our family will be able to stay intact just by listening to Rowell."

"But isn’t Rowell the crown prince, Young Master?"

"So what if he is? I’ve heard that his brother has every talent you can imagine. They say he’s blessed with mana."

"Oh, the one who came recently…"

"Yes, the one Laila is supposed to take care of. You must have seen him too, haven’t you?"

"Yes, I’ve met him."

When they brought up Ardion, I felt uncomfortable. Ardion’s expression became stiff, and he looked displeased.

“Heh, Laila is a lucky woman. If it weren’t for my father, who knew where she’d end up.”

I wanted to run up to Jonok and confront him, but I held back. I’d gain nothing by doing that.

“Young Master, it’s not time yet,” the butler said calmly.

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"Still, we’ll need to keep an eye on him later. My father just keeps creating unnecessary problems, increasing the number of people we have to deal with for no good reason."

"Well, it can’t be helped. It seemed he was ordered to do it."

"Yes, we’ll see what comes of it later, but for now, who knows what we’ll have to do." Jonok paused for a moment and then spoke again. “Nevertheless, it’s a good thing my father trusts you and signs the papers. If not, I would have burned down this mansion by now. I’m sick of everything."

“If we run the casino well, we’ll be fine. Will Duke Orchid live long?”

A shrill, terrifying laugh sounded.

“Yes, he won’t live long if he keeps smoking cigars like that. By the way, what time is it right now?” Jonok asked.

The butler quickly answered, “It’s almost lunchtime.”

“Let’s go. I’m starting to get sick of the smell of old paper.”

Jonok spat on the floor, while the butler hesitated and stepped back. Soon, I heard footsteps.

We still had to be careful, so I grabbed Ardion’s shoulder and crouched down.

If we stayed standing behind this bookshelf, we would have been caught.

Fortunately, Ardion quickly crouched down when he noticed my intention. Soon, the sound of footsteps grew distant.

When the footsteps were no longer audible, I slowly got up. Then I checked my watch. It was lunchtime, just as the butler had said.

“So, do they meet at this time every day?”

It was important to note whether they met often to prevent running into them.

Derol popped his head out of my pocket. “Master, should I find out?”

“Could you, please? Today is Wednesday, so finding out their meetup time is vital.”

“Yes, I will right away.”

“Derol, be careful just in case, especially since Jonok is involved.”

“Don’t worry. I know all the mouse holes in the mansion. One of the safest mouse holes is here.”

Hearing what he said made me feel a little better. After all, Derol was a mouse and knew passages in this mansion that I didn’t.

“Those people just now…”

At Ardion’s voice, Derol and I turned our heads.

He continued, “That person implied he’d do something bad to us, right?”

I smiled at his concern. “Don’t worry about it, Young Master. Despite the way he talks, he has never actually done anything like that.”

Ardion’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. “Still, it doesn’t feel good hearing that.”

“That’s just how Jonok speaks.”

“If someone spoke about me like that, it’d make me feel uneasy.”

“Even if that’s the case, he would only go after me. He wouldn’t harm you, Young Master.”

I turned around and found a book about mana. I felt a strange gaze, so I lowered my head. Ardion was still looking at me.

“Young Master?”

“Isn’t that more dangerous?”

“Well, nothing of that sort has happened to me, so I don’t feel threatened by it. Sometimes, I just let it go even if it’s dangerous.”

Anyway, since I knew the original story and who he was, I had nothing to be afraid of.

Ardion said, “You speak like you know this place well.”

“I’ve been working here for a long time, so I know a lot.”

“Now that I think about it, you don’t seem to be intimidated at all.”

“Really?” I found the statement funny.

Ardion nodded.

“Where do you get your confidence?” He seemed really curious, his gaze intent.

Never did I think I was that confident, so I was clueless as to how to answer him.

However, since it seemed like we were about to make a breakthrough in our relationship, I had to answer him. So I just blurted out the words floating in my head. “Um, I think it ultimately comes from the trust I have in myself. Why do you ask, Young Master?”

Ardion looked at me calmly. “Because I want to learn too.”

His voice was sincere, earning me a smile.

I was vague earlier because, honestly, it was difficult for me to explain it. Still, I wanted to help Ardion.

“Honestly, I’m just acting like that. Eventually, you’ll be better than me.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you’re the one who received the blessing of mana.”

Ardion lowered his head, looking bitter.

I carefully gazed down on him. “Young Master?”

“… That’ll only make my life worse.”

Derol interjected, “Then you should hide your mana.”

Ardion immediately raised his head. “What?”

“Derol is right. For now, let’s start by learning how to hide your mana. Then you can fool Duke Orchid like me.”

“But I don’t even know how to handle mana.”

“But you threatened me with your power earlier.”

“That came out without me knowing. If you asked me to do it again, I wouldn’t be able to.”

“So, you use mana based on instinct?”

“I don’t know exactly. It’s just that when I get angry, sometimes my mana works without me knowing, and magic comes out.”

“Hmm…”

While I was thinking, Derol looked at me and said, “Then isn’t he a genius?”

I nodded. “That’s right. Young Master, you are a genius.”

“A genius?”

“Yes! Actually, I can use water magic, but I don’t use magic subconsciously like that. When I get angry, I’m just angry.”

Ardion shook his head. “I’m not a genius. I just have too much mana in my body.”

I followed behind Ardion with the book I had chosen and closed the library door behind me. “Young Master, do you know that having a lot of mana can make you the object of envy for some?”

Ardion suddenly stopped. “Object of envy?”

“Yes, some people don’t have mana even if they want it. Furthermore, Young Master, you can create mana on your own.”

Ardion’s eyebrows immediately furrowed, and his tone sharpened. “How do you know I’m that kind of person?”

My eyes darted around, and I answered as if nothing had happened, "It was when I saw your fever. Sometimes, those blessed by mana can experience such fevers. The food I brought that day wasn’t spoiled, so no matter how much you ate, it shouldn't have caused a fever, just a stomach ache at most."

“…” Ardion’s eyes narrowed.

What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?

Suddenly, he said, “So, were you sent by Rowell too?”

“Huh? Rowell sent me? I’ve been working here for a long time.”

“You seem to know me too well.”

“Young Master, I just…”

“You can pretend to be nice for a while, but eventually, you’ll backstab me.” Ardion clenched his fist, looking angry

I quickly explained to sooth his anger, “Everything I said is from books. It’s not like I’ve done research on you thoroughly.”

“…” He stared intently at me, his suspicions still clouding his mind.

I sighed and raised the book I had brought. “The reason I quickly found the bookshelf with this magic book is because I’ve been there often.”

“So, you’re knowledgeable about the subject of mana?”