The Villainous Lady Doesn't Speak chapter 245

Arcadia

Chapter 245. Entwined Intentions 6

Belasta Draco was incredibly nervous that day. When he walked, his right hand and right foot moved forward at the same time. He bumped his face trying to open a door. He tried to get on a shared carriage and realized halfway through that the destination was different—it was all a mess, but it was all because of the upcoming entrance exam for the Ministry of Magic.

"Uuugh, I'm so nervous... my stomach hurts..."

As if in prayer, Belasta rubbed his hands together and got off the shared carriage. He felt like the people riding with him were watching him with great interest, but for him right now, he was so worried about the content of the exam that he couldn't help it.

"He said there’s an interview too, right... Big bro said he’s not the interviewer, but I wonder who it is."

There was no point in thinking about who it was. The only "people working at the Ministry of Magic" Belasta knew were his brother Ben and Petra. No matter who the interviewer was, he was bound to be nervous.

The Draco clan were all of the researcher type and didn't place much emphasis on interpersonal relationships. Belasta was no exception, and his social circle outside the clan was extremely limited. Therefore, setting aside the written and practical exams, the interview was the biggest headache.

In the end, he was taught how to answer and speak for the interview by his brother Ben’s butler, Paul. It was so strict he almost gave up, but from experience, it was clear that escaping would result in even more terrifying consequences, so he somehow endured it. Even so, he almost buckled many times, and each time he was comforted by Tania, who was usually harsh even to Belasta—Belasta’s honest opinion was that he never thought Tania would be that kind.

"If I fail, Paul’s gonna lecture me for sure after he helped me practice..."

What on earth did you learn from me? or Did you waste the time I spent on you by cutting into the time I use to make sweets?—there were any number of things Paul might say floating in his head. That fanned Belasta’s fear even more. Honestly, the one he was more afraid of for failing the entrance exam might be Paul rather than Ben Draco.

Above all, a mad Paul wouldn't let him eat snacks. That would be very problematic. There was no way he could stand just watching Tania and the others happily eating snacks right in front of him, sucking his thumb.

While letting out a heavy sigh for what felt like the umpteenth time, Belasta looked up at the gate of the Ministry of Magic. The gate, which was usually tightly closed, was open, perhaps because of the entrance exam. There were more applicants for the entrance exam than Belasta had thought. One person after another was sucked into the gate.

"—Were there this many sorcerers?"

Belasta reflexively tilted his head. There were a fair amount of people who could use magic, but it wasn't like there were that many. Especially if one was going to use magic as a profession, the required level would become even higher.

He had heard in advance that this entrance exam would be the largest-scale recruitment of personnel since the Ministry of Magic was created. So he had expected a large number of applicants, but even so, just a quick look revealed people who didn't have enough magic power to even become a sorcerer.

"Ah, I see. They're recruiting more than just sorcerers."

Belasta finally nodded to himself in understanding.

The occupations being recruited this time were not just sorcerers but also civil officials to handle administrative work. Most likely, those without much magic power were aspiring civil officials.

"—Well, even so, it doesn't change the fact that I'm nervous."

Belasta shuddered slightly. Even if he escaped reality a bit, the fact that the time for the exam was drawing closer by the second didn't change.

Even as he looked around, there were no applicants around the same age as Belasta. Most were far older than him. Even the young ones were almost twenty, and Belasta was the only one in his early teens. Perhaps because of that, most of the applicants glanced at Belasta with suspicious eyes as they passed by.

Thinking it couldn't be helped that he was drawing attention, Belasta let out a sigh and walked past the grim-faced guard with a wobbling step. Since something even more terrifying than the guard was waiting for him, being glared at a bit wasn't scary at all.

The grounds of the Ministry of Magic were vast, but signs were posted along the path so people wouldn't get lost. The signs were magic tools, and the characters displayed changed as a certain amount of time passed. It seemed the exam venues were divided by the applicants’ reception numbers, and Belasta hurriedly pulled a letter out of his pocket. It was his reception certificate for the entrance exam, and his reception number was written there.

"Um—"

"Hey."

While he was flipping through the paper, wondering what his examinee number was, someone called out to him from behind. Belasta, caught off guard, jumped in surprise, his shoulders shaking. When he hurriedly turned around, a young man wearing a robe was standing there. Belasta’s eyes went wide.

"A-Ah! Sorn-san!!"

"It is you, after all. You remembered well. Belasta, what are you doing here?"

"There’s no way I’d forget. The tools you looked at for me were really easy to use!"

Belasta replied brightly. Sorn Greed, standing before Belasta, slightly relaxed his cheeks. It was a rare expression for him, one that would make his colleagues at the Ministry of Magic widen their eyes in surprise.

But Belasta didn't notice such a thing. To answer Sorn’s question, he continued.

"Um, I came here for that... the entrance exam. Sorn-san, were you a Ministry of Magic person by any chance?"

Sorn nodded. But his expression seemed somewhat complicated. When Belasta tilted his head, Sorn was momentarily at a loss for words. Then, he asked a question suspiciously.

"—I thought you said freedom was better?"

"Huh?"

Belasta blinked. He tilted his head in wonder. Sorn furrowed his brow. He looked displeased, but he also looked like he was worried about Belasta.

"You said it when we met before. 'It's better to be free from constraints,' right?"

"Eh? Ah, ahh! You mean what my big bro said?"

"That’s right."

Suddenly, Belasta became embarrassed and scratched his head. He hesitated for a bit, but he wasn't naturally suited for keeping secrets. Especially if it were a total stranger or someone he should be wary of, that would be one thing, but the opponent was Sorn, who had been kind to him when they happened to meet before. Moreover, he knew the current question was being asked because he was concerned about Belasta. It was even harder to deceive him. However, it would probably be a problem to tell the truth. If it had been a time when he didn't know Sorn worked at the Ministry of Magic, that would be one thing, but now Belasta had heard directly from Sorn that he worked at the Ministry of Magic.

"Um... my big bro told me to take it."

He wasn't lying. But he wasn't telling the whole truth either. He wondered if this much would be permitted as he timidly looked up, but Sorn’s face had become even grimmer. He was clearly in a worse mood than before.

"Your brother? He said that to you?"

"Yeah, but why?"

Belasta tilted his head innocently. He didn't understand why Sorn was so angry. But Sorn kept his mouth in the shape of a 'he' character. He let out a snort and muttered low, "What kind of man is your brother?" Belasta had no idea what was going on.

"Um... are you mad?"

"It’s not your fault. I just hate people who deceive and people who are unreasonable."

After spitting that out, Sorn cut the conversation there. Then, he returned his grim expression to his original expressionless face and asked Belasta.

"You're likely the youngest. What is your examinee number?"

"It’s probably this, right?"

Belasta showed his examinee certificate. At the tip of his finger, a number spanning several digits was written.

But Sorn didn't answer. He was staring at the letter as if in shock. Belasta blinked.

"Sorn-san?"

"Ah—ah, no. Right, that’s the examinee number."

"Then the place is—over there?"

Receiving Sorn’s response, Belasta checked the sign again. Fortunately, his examinee number and the location of the exam venue were just being displayed. Maintaining a near-expressionless face, Sorn replied mechanically.

"That’s right. It’s the closest, so you won't get lost."

"I see! Thanks, that was a big help."

Belasta thanked Sorn with a smile. Sorn, while remaining somewhat suspicious in his behavior, gave a stiff nod.

Belasta headed toward the exam venue in high spirits. Thanks to meeting an acquaintance, even if they had only spoken once, Belasta’s tension had somewhat eased.

Belasta was in a good mood, thinking that at this rate he wouldn't get a failing grade due to carelessness. Because of that, he hadn't noticed that a stunned Sorn, left behind, was watching his retreating back.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Sorn, having seen off Belasta’s small back, covered his mouth with a trembling hand.

"—You’ve got to be kidding me."

No way. That pure boy.

"He’s... Belasta Draco...?"

Come to think of it—Sorn remembered.

When they met at the magic tool shop, he thought he had a memory of seeing him somewhere. He wondered why he hadn't immediately remembered when they met at the magic tool shop, but Belasta Draco was certainly the boy he had seen in the corridor leading to the research building. Since Director Nicolas Bergson had called for him and entrusted him with urgent and important work, and because work was so busy he had hardly even looked at his face, he was almost certain.

And to think he was the younger brother of that detestable Ben Draco... who on earth could believe such a thing?

He had wondered why there was a child at the time, but he hadn't tried to solve the mystery, using his busy schedule as an excuse. But if he was called by Ben Draco, it made sense. Ben Draco must have been using his young brother like a servant.

When Sorn thought of that, his gut burned, but as he gradually regained his composure, Sorn’s head cooled down. He gritted his teeth.

"I see—it's certainly like Ben Draco."

Using a young and naive boy like a servant, making him go to a magic tool shop in the slums alone, and then trying to have him join the Ministry of Magic at such a young age. To Sorn, it seemed like he was being completely self-centered and using his brother as he saw fit.

Belasta had said, "My brother told me to take the entrance exam." But Belasta was too young to join the Ministry of Magic. Although there was no specific age limit for joining, the tacit understanding was that it should be after passing fifteen. Despite that, Ben Draco was trying to have Belasta join, surely because he was plotting something.

He was at an age where he didn't even know how to doubt what his kin said. He probably didn't even understand how strange his brother’s words were.

"That man—does he intend to use his own brother?"

Sorn burned with a flame of anger in his heart, thinking such a thing was unforgivable. He wasn't aware that he was overlapping his relationship with his second brother with the relationship between Belasta and Ben.

If Sorn were the interviewer, he could use that authority to decide to pass on Belasta’s admission. Sorn was certain that was the only way to rescue Belasta—that pure boy—from Ben Draco’s clutches.

But unfortunately, Sorn had been removed from the interviewers. When he thought that even that might be Ben Draco’s conspiracy, his gut burned.

"Damn it—!"

I won't let things go as you wish, Sorn spat out internally. However, it was too late to lobby the interviewers now. Sorn started walking with a fast pace, suppressing his irritation as he wondered what he should do.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Around the time Belasta was meeting Sorn Greed, in a secluded part of the Ministry of Magic, Ben Draco and Petra Muirulainen were facing each other with difficult expressions. Before them was an ordinary white wall. However, that wall undoubtedly had a sorcery array applied to it.

"—I can’t see it."

"I can feel a faint presence, though."

"Only enough to notice because I know there’s an array here."

The two spoke in low voices. Although they had forbidden entry to others, there was no telling if someone might come by just in case.

The array that had appeared on the wall had a trick applied to it so that it couldn't be recognized unless one had a certain amount of magic power. On top of that, it was unstable and had times when it was visible and times when it wasn't. That was why Petra had brought multiple magic stones filled with magic power, but it seemed luck wasn't on their side today.

"Shall we shift the time?"

At Petra’s suggestion, Ben furrowed his brow. He looked like he wanted to nod, but couldn't easily agree.

As long as they didn't know what purpose the array applied to the wall served, they couldn't just leave it alone. That said, there weren't many solutions.

Petra, having read Ben’s expression, started listing the possible options one by one in a flat voice.

"If there’s no time to spare, Belasta is at the Ministry of Magic today. Since he’s got a bit more magic power than us, he might be able to see it."

But he might not be able to. This was something that couldn't be judged unless the person was directly on the spot.

"But even if Belasta can see it, he probably can’t find a solution. He knows a lot about magic, but he hasn't studied curses yet."

Ben didn't argue with Petra’s words. It was all a fact.

Thinking about it that way, the only remaining choice was one. Ben furrowed his face with a bitter expression. Petra also wore an expression that could be seen as displeased, letting out a sigh.

"If you can't choose either of those, this is the last one."

"――――Yeah."

Ben replied as if groaning.

The last one—it was to request the cooperation of Liliana Alexandra Clark.

—-

Toc

Chapter 246