The carriage traveled back under the night sky, a silent witness to the little criminal who slept with his head resting on his mother's arm.
"Poor Dylan must be tired," Anelia said warmly as she watched her son sleep.
"We mustn't take him to any more parties until he turns fifteen and his presentation date arrives. We mustn't allow them to intimidate him and turn him into a coward. That's what they want. They mock our son, but at the same time they fear his talent. We just have to guide him well, and no one will be able to humiliate him when his affinity with the water element increases. With the talent he has shown at such a young age, he has everything it takes to become a powerful water elemental wizard. Viscount Demian said this without taking his eyes off his son's beautiful face.
"Yes, you're right. We must support him so he can gain confidence. He's still very shy," Anelia added, stroking her little son's black hair.
••••
A few days later, everyone among the lower and middle nobility was talking about nothing but the strange deaths that had occurred at the Oiront marquisate mansion, even though initially the plan of many nobles present at the party had been to humiliate the Gray family.
In that world, only powerful nobles used magical devices to communicate and express their opinions about scandals in the noble world; the rest of the nobles, those who lacked power and excessive wealth, used letters, read newspapers, or organized small social gatherings to continue discussing a particular scandal, and occasionally embellished the scandal to make it seem more chaotic than it was.
••••
Dylan, who was sitting next to his father in the study, took the opportunity to pick up a newspaper and pretended to look at the black-and-white images, most of which were of poor quality.
Demian paused while reading a document, looked at his son, and found it amusing to see little Dylan pretending to read while sitting in a small, elegant chair. A few seconds later, Demian asked his son with a calm expression and tone:
"Dylan, aren't you bored?"
"No... no, Dad... I'm looking at pictures... and having fun," Dylan replied sweetly.
"Since I'm going to be bored, with the intelligence points I gained, I was able to quickly learn the language, and now I can witness how those stupid nobles resolved the deaths of those three people. Since the priority is honor and keeping up appearances, it seems they invested a lot in ideas to cover up what happened, and little in searching for the cause of the deaths. In the end, they only reported in the newspapers on the deaths of two servants whom they accused of stealing magic potions from the marquisate in an attempt to acquire mana, the result being fatal. The newspapers placed special emphasis on the fact that a normal person would face certain death when attempting to acquire mana, something that only those blessed with mana from birth possessed. Dylan closed the newspaper and got out of his chair.
"Dad, I'm going to see Mom," Dylan said in a tender voice.
"Go, your mother will be happy to see you." The viscount gave him permission, and Dylan left the study.
"Isn't it fun? I don't think I should worry about what happened at the party. Now, I just have to find a new way to earn more Perverse Points," Dylan thought with a sweet smile as he walked toward the gardens where his mother liked to spend part of her day.
••••
In the garden, Dylan was alone with his sister, who was in a luxurious white and gold crib with beautiful, comfortable sheets.
Dylan's mother left to attend to a visitor and left the baby and Dylan with Dylan's nanny.
"I want cake," said Dylan, looking sweetly at his nanny.
"My little Dylan. I have to take care of them..." said the beautiful nanny, who, seeing the sad look on Dylan's face, added, "I'll be back soon. Don't leave your sister alone."
The babysitter walked around the garden to make sure there was no danger, then quickly walked away to find Dylan's cake.
"Beautiful little thing. You won't cause your brother any trouble, will you?" Dylan murmured as he rocked the cradle.
"Goo...goo...ga," the baby babbled.
"I know... I know, I used to talk like that too. You're not a reincarnation, are you? If you are, don't accept a heroine system, be a villain. I can help you kill one or two problematic elements," Dylan said with a smile.
The baby smiled.
"Ha ha ha, it seems we're on the same wavelength. When you grow up, you'll be the perfect bait for me to have the perfect excuse to kill... I mean, to protect you. Just don't ever turn against me," said Dylan, subtly bringing his hand close to the baby's chest and introducing a small, thin magical drop of water with concentrated mana. "I don't want to be a fratricide."
[Perverse Acts: +2]
Dylan smiled and added:
"It seems you've given me a nice gift, my dear sister."
Dylan continued rocking the cradle after hearing his nanny's footsteps approaching.
••••
Dylan turned four and began to speak more fluently, pretending that he had only learned a few words so that he would be allowed to stay close to the library in the mansion. In the end, he managed to get a shelf placed in his room with children's books and simple reading material so that he could learn little by little.
"It didn't work out as well as I hoped, but it's not bad," Dylan thought as he sat on a comfortable cushion looking at a book in which a hero covered his body and sword with an aura to face an evil dragon.
"The aura is a form of mana, which optimizes the power of a weapon and the user's body," he thought after seeing three books with children's stories in which the heroes used the aura.
"I think that if I managed to imagine and crystallize the magic water, I should also be able to use mana to enhance my movements. Yes, I must try it. There's nothing this genius can't do," Dylan thought smugly as he looked up, but he felt embarrassed when he saw his nanny who had just entered with a delicious snack.