Chapter 1: Chain Of Grace
"――That's just a child's quarrel."
Days later, my father, Henry, found me practicing magic in a corner of the garden and called me to his study.
Apparently, Daryl had cried to his mother, Kathryn, and Kathryn had cried to dad.
"I heard you bullied him with magic, is that true?"
Dad had been informed by Kathryn but didn't seem to intend to reveal the details. He probably wanted to confront me and get a rough idea of what had happened.
Kathryn might have exaggerated the story. Even when Daryl told her, she might have added some spice to it.
Maybe my father thought he would only believe Kathryn's side of the story, once I explained my side.
"It was him who pushed me into the canal first. I only fired a warning shot at his feet. It was Daryl who threw a stone, intending to hit me. I just protected myself. Should I have endured being hit by the stone?"
I had nothing to be ashamed of. I really thought it was just a childish quarrel and it was nothing to me now.
If I had really tried my best, even basic magic would have had a deadly effect, and I felt that even during practice.
After all, I retained the sensation of manipulating magical knowledge and power as memories. I thought that the only thing lacking was the amount of magical power, but I knew how to increase it.
"But, Theodore," my father said.
"Can you show me some evidence?"
"Do you have any?"
I shrugged my shoulders, took off my jacket and showed him my back.
"This is..."
I can understand that Father's voice was tense. There should be several relatively new bruises on my back. Not so many as to be countless, but an unnatural number to claim that I simply bumped into something, maybe.
"Don't say that it's not good to fight violence with violence. I just protected myself. When I think about the future, I knew that I would have to do this sooner or later. I'd like to be praised for putting away the spear with just a child's fight without going too far, but..." I emphasized the part about it being just a child's fight.
"Okay. I'll talk to Byron and Daryl."
"And also with the lady of the house."
"What?..."
Father's complexion changed.
"Of course. If you don't remember teaching those two to hate me like that, it's obvious who was inciting that hatred towards me."
"Did... Katherine hit you directly...?"
"Well, not with her hands, but she hit me with a riding crop. I think there were still marks on my back from two days ago. She also seemed to have been restraining Grace's actions. She was using her ring for that. I was a little surprised when I heard that from Grace."
Father widened his eyes slightly. He must have recognized the marks he saw earlier, so he didn't check my back again.
The fact that she was restraining Grace's actions seemed to be a new piece of information to him, and he held his forehead as if he had a headache.
For example, to prevent me from being helped. For example, to prevent me from reporting to Father. If the owner has malice, Grace's ring, which she wears on her at all times, can give those kinds of orders.
To be precise, it was a cursed object in the shape of a ring.
Originally, it was meant to eliminate weaknesses as well as strengths of a race. In practice, it was a derivative of magic that prevented disobedience, escape, and rebellion during slave contracts. However, by accepting it and entrusting the control to others, she was allowed to live among people and blend into everyday life.
"Dampira," which means a hybrid of human and vampire, has three "masters" who can command her with a ring. My father, my deceased mother, and finally Kathryn. That's all. Byron and Daryl are not allowed.
Of course, Kathryn is not foolish enough to let her children hold the leash.
"...I'm sorry I didn't realize, Theo."
"It's okay. You're busy, Father."
He tried to say it emotionlessly, but he gave an awkward smile.
"Is there anything you want me to do?"
"...I just want to live quietly somewhere far away. It's like walking a tightrope to live under the same roof as people who can use magic and those who hate me. Most of the servants are on the side of the mistress. Grace is the only one on my side, and I've felt like a needle in a cushion ever since I came here."
"...I'll consider it."
I'm worried that Father's stomach will develop a hole. But now's the time. I'll say everything I've been holding back until now.
"Oh, as a personal hope, I'd like to go to Termwills."
"Why?"
"I think it's reached the limit to secretly read books in the study and learn magic by myself. I'm sure I'll make progress there. It's a pretty dangerous place, so I think the mistress and those two would agree."
Father let out a long, long sigh.
"...I had misjudged you quite a bit. Theo... not just about magic, but I didn't expect you to be so eloquent with words."
"I was being cautious. I didn't want to be disliked by you, father."
The part about being cautious was true for me, too. And as for magic, there's no way you can cast spells without incantations using only books from the study. Before my past memories resurfaced, I could only do basic spells with incantations.
But oh well, let's just leave it at that. Children are unpredictable to adults, after all.
To cut to the chase, my wish was easily granted.
Boundary City Termwills, or even Labyrinth City Termwills, I'm currently traveling there by carriage. My father arranged for a considerable amount of funds, connections over there, and escorts for the journey. Personally, I consider it as severance pay since I don't want to rely on them too much or strengthen my ties with my family.
The residence of Count Gardner in Termwills... if I were to run into my family at some point, it would be the same thing, so I refused to use it. It's obvious that questions would be raised about how I use the residence.
There are also acquaintances of my father over there, so it's not a complete break, but it's better to have as few ties as possible.
Now then, it is said that the labyrinth in Termwills is connected to another world. A living labyrinth that changes its structure and the paths connected to the phases of the moon... that is the Great Labyrinth of Termwills. If you delve deep enough, you may find valuable treasures that drifted from another world. However, the deepest parts have not been explored because no one who has reached there has ever been recorded.
It's the same with BFO, with the deeper parts being implemented through updates. So of course, I don't know what the deepest part of that labyrinth is like.
But if it's only the shallow floors, there's not much of a threat. It's a perfect place to conduct various experiments or hone your skills. On the other hand, if I were to say that I couldn't even handle that, then there's no place for me anyway.
Well, if it comes to that, I'll think about it then. It's better than living in the Gardner's house.
There are several reasons why I chose Termwills as my destination... one of them being that it's a place where children who can use magic are relatively inconspicuous. Termwills is a place where various races gather because of the labyrinth. It's not unusual to find a magician's apprentice, and with the strong martial arts atmosphere, if you're skilled enough, you'll be recognized naturally. Well, I'll just do my best.
It's not a lie that I told my father that I can learn magic here. The magic I learned from Keiki is focused solely on combat purposes, and honestly, it's not very practical for everyday life. So, I thought it would be nice to learn something else as well.
"Grace, is this really okay? This was your chance to leave home and be free."
"I am with Theodore-sama. Since I was picked up by Lisa-sama, I have decided to serve Lisa-sama and Theodore-sama for life. Or, am I in the way?"
Grace, who was sitting in the seat opposite the carriage, said so while looking down. Lisa is my real mother who died of illness.
It seems that my mother took care of Grace when she was in trouble. That's why Grace feels a strong sense of gratitude towards my mother.
Due to these circumstances, when Grace heard that I was going to Termwills, she strongly requested to come with me.
"No, I have no other intentions. I'm counting on you. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about my magic."
"No, I'm the one who feels sorry for not being able to protect Theodore-sama and Lisa-sama properly. Despite that, I am grateful that you allowed me to accompany you."
"Good, good. Your nature makes it difficult for you. You are not good at stopping someone. It's either on or off with you. You doesn't have anything in between. It's even more difficult when the other person is your employer or their child."
Even so, if Grace had tried to protect me directly, the only option would have been for her to continue being a wall. I don't want that.
Katherine and the others seemed to be mainly focused on bullying me, so I'm glad the target didn't turn towards Grace. I also tried to avoid involving her to prevent any harm coming to her.
There were childish reasons based on my pride that I didn't want her to know that I thought of her as an older sister. But those feelings seem like a long time ago now.
That being said, Grace may have been worrying unnecessarily about Katherine because there were times when she herself was afraid of her.
"I'll show you that I can be helpful this time. Please let me stay close to you."
Now I am the only manager of the cursed objects. Only I can give orders to Grace.
She seems to be excited about the idea of being able to fight once the restrictions of the cursed object are lifted. I haven't actually seen her in action, but for now, let me ask about her weapon.
"What kind of weapon does Grace use?"
"An axe."
...An axe?
"An axe?"
"Yes. Like this."
She pulled out a bundle from under the seat of the carriage, which contained a double-edged axe called Loveless.
The blade was thick and large, but the handle was short, giving it an unbalanced feel.
A thick chain extended from the end of the handle. Perhaps it was a weapon that could be swung with arm strength at close range and thrown with the chain at long range.
There were two such unique weapons. I wonder if she uses them for dual-wielding?
Also... she's quite wild, or rather, what should I call it?
She looks like a graceful beauty, but once her restrictions are lifted, she displays incredible strength.
If she's bound by a curse, she only has the physical functions of a normal girl, but if she's released, she exhibits the same strength as a vampire.
If I say I'm going to explore the labyrinth, she might come with me... I don't really know her skills, and she doesn't know my magic skills either, so I can't say for sure at this point.
She brought such weapons, so she seems to be fully prepared to fight if necessary.
She's indirectly protected me in various ways with her limitations so far. Even without mentioning the labyrinth, perhaps she thinks it's not safe for me to go to Termwills alone. This applies not only to Grace but also to my father.
I don't want to be overly protected, but people's impressions are not easily changed, so I have to tolerate it for now. I've been showing an obvious change in my behavior to my father, so hopefully I can gradually change his evaluation of me.