"A-bu-bu."
Klaus let out a soft sigh.
'As expected, it isn't easy.'
There was no time to work on the Ten Eyes Mantra since his waking hours were short. Even then, he was mostly around other people.
But considering the progress was delayed by the short, one- to two-hour practice time and the darkness within him, the outcome was surprisingly decent. It was as if someone was helping him.
"Klaus, shall we move a bit more today?"
Elisabeth bent over and shook a colorful rattle toy. It appeared as though she thought he liked the rattle, as he continuously reacted to it.
'Playing with her is tiring.'
Frankly speaking, it was more tiring having to play with Elisabeth or the maids than it was tolerating the darkness within him.
Though, it couldn't be helped. After all, his was an adult's consciousness inside a child's body.
"Ah-ooh."
It was just as Klaus bobbed his head and was about to crawl towards Elisabeth...
Click.
The door opened smoothly, and an unfamiliar man in his mid-thirties, well-dressed and wearing silver cross earrings on his left ear, entered the room. His eyes were as clear as the river.
"Oh? Brother-in-law!"
Elisabeth ran to the door with a bright smile on her face, as if she recognized the man.
"It has been a long time."
"No, no. Raphael…"
"Aah-woong."
Klaus babbled in surprise before he realized it. He recognized the man from the silver cross earrings and his family name.
'Raphael Lionhart!'
Raphael Lionhart was one of Roman Lionhart's twelve sons, but he wasn't a successor because his ability was mainly focused on healing people.
"Not Raphael. Just call me 'Brother-in-law,' like before."
Raphael chuckled and approached the bed Klaus was lying on.
"I heard that my brother and you had a child, and popped over on my way by. Is this the child?"
"Ah, yes."
"Oho! Silver hair with blue eyes? Is he not the first since my father?"
"That's right. Isn't he beautiful?"
Elisabeth stroked Klaus's hair and beamed.
"That's what I mean. He is not even a year old and looks pretty. Completely different from a wild guy like Roman."
Raphael chuckled and wagged his finger in front of Klaus.
"What's his name?"
"It's Klaus…"
"Klaus?"
His face wrinkled up at the name.
"His name can't mean 'shadow'?"
"It does…"
"Whatever is Roman thinking, naming the child 'shadow'?"
Raphael referred to his own father, Roman Lionhart, as just 'Roman'.
'So the rumor that Roman Lionhart and Raphael Lionhart are equals in terms of authority is true, then.'
Klaus smacked his lips as he looked at the broom that was Raphael's hair.
Having lived as an heir candidate of the Zagerfield clan, he did have quite a bit of information regarding the affairs of the world.
It seemed that the information regarding the considerable closeness of Roman Lionhart and Raphael Lionhart was true.
"Klaus, allow your uncle to look at you for a bit."
Raphael gently massaged Klaus's shoulders, arms, legs, and chest area.
"Hmm…"
He chewed on his lips with a grave expression on his face, and finally spread out a white light. Upon basking in that light, a burning energy filled up Klaus's body, as if he had entered a hot spring.
"Phew…"
Raphael turned his body after a low sigh.
"How is he? He is more sensitive to the dark aura and grows slowly compared to the other children…"
Elisabeth walked towards Raphael, her hands clasped together.
"It is the Curse of Darkness."
Raphael knit his brows.
"C-curse? What do you mean by that?!"
"It is not an actual curse. It is the constitution where an intense darkness blocks the mana circuit."
"Ah…"
"It is a constitution rarely seen, typically among young Demi humans. It is my first time seeing a young boy born with the Curse of Darkness."
He surveyed Klaus's body with an odd look in his eyes.
"There should be no major problems as his mana circuit is open, but he may experience serious chill and pain when the mana circuit starts to close up—that is, once he reaches three years of age."
"Th-that…"
Elisabeth chewed her lips uneasily.
'I can fix it on my own, so don't worry.'
Klaus shook his head slightly.
Though it would take some time, he would be able to remove the darkness by using the Ten Eyes Mantra. There was no actual need to get treated.
"There are a total of nine chunks of darkness blocking the mana circuit. That is a number that even I have not seen in young Demi humans that I have treated before. And as each of the chunks of darkness are very potent, there is a possibility of mental slowness should a forceful attempt to drill through it be made."
"Wh-What about the method to cure it?!"
Elisabeth grabbed onto Raphael's sleeve, looking as if she might faint at any minute.
"Let him drink diluted elixir, containing the properties of light, once a day. Let him bask under the sunlight for two hours at noon, when the sun is at its highest."
"Will he recover if we do that?"
"As I have said, this is not an illness. It is a matter of constitution. He shall not return to heaven's bosom at a young age, at the very least, if you follow my directions. However…"
When Raphael cut his words short, everyone swallowed hard as he took his time answering.
"Because the darkness will eat at the child's constitution and strength, it will be difficult for him to become a skilled swordsman, even after treatment."
"That does not matter."
Elisabeth fiercely shook her head, as if to say that it was all fine, as long as he did not die.
"It is a relief that you think that way. Anyway, this child should…"
Knock, knock.
Just as Raphael was about to give additional advice, the door opened with a knock.
"Please excuse me."
A middle-aged man wearing posh formal attire entered the room and bowed his head.
"My lord is looking for Raphael."
"Let him know that I will find him later."
"He has said to come find him immediately."
"Hah. He has such bad timing."
Raphael clicked his tongue and turned his head.
"Elisabeth. I shall come by again later."
"Ah, yes."
Raphael left the room with the middle-aged man after gazing at Klaus for a moment longer.
'The Curse of Darkness…'
Klaus rubbed his fingers.
'I finally know.'
The identity of the darkness that had tormented him had been revealed. Only, nothing would really change.
He would cure the Curse of Darkness and develop an incomparably outstanding physical body and affinity for mana before he became an adult, and he would do it by continuing to practice the Ten Eyes Mantra and removing the darkness at the same time.
"Klaus."
The moment the door shut, Elisabeth hugged Klaus and scrubbed at her face. It was how she acted when anxious.
"Mommy promises to save you. Whatever it takes."
Her eyes, which were always smiling, filled up with tears.
'What's this…?'
As Elisabeth's trembling was conveyed to him, his heart felt suffocated.
Though he did not know what the emotion was, he did not want to continue feeling that tingling sensation.
Which was why—
"A-bu-bu."
With his small hands, Klaus wiped away the tears welled up in Elisabeth's eyes.
"Ah…"
"Young Master!"
"My-my goodness…"
Elisabeth narrowed her eyes, and the maids gave a short shriek.
"Klaus…"
She lowered her head and caressed Klaus's hand, wet with her tears, for some time. Suddenly, she jumped to her feet.
"I must go find the Patriarch."
The hesitation on Elisabeth's face was gone.
***
For the first time since Klaus was born, Elisabeth made her way to the place where the head of House Lionhart resided.
The way there was wide open, as Raphael had passed by earlier.
"M-Madam Elisabeth!"
"The head of the house is currently with…"
"Move aside!"
She forcefully pushed past the attendants and maids blocking her way and knocked on the door of the audience chamber.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The enormous door started to open after five punch-like knocks.
"What is it?"
Roman, who was sitting opposite Raphael and having tea, frowned.
"I beg you."
Elisabeth clenched her teeth hard and knelt.
"Please save Klaus!"
Though there were attendants behind her, she lowered her head to the ground as if she were a slave submitting to her master.
"..."
Roman watched Elisabeth bow her head without batting an eye.
"You must have heard, yes? That it will be difficult for him to live as a skilled swordsman, even if his constitution were to be treated."
Roman knew of Klaus's condition as if he had already heard of it.
"It will be fine if we do not raise him as a skilled swordsman!"
"For one with the name of Lionhart to not become a skilled swordsman? Why should I give help to a child without any value?"
"Because he is your grandson."
"That grandson is the child you brought back with one of my numerous bastard sons, you should be happy enough that I even gave him a name."
"That…"
Elisabeth's trembling eyes were fixed on the floor.
"The only thing I can do for the child is giving him the name of Lionhart. Once is enough for any act of foolishness."
Roman's face was cold as if covered by a sheet of ice.
"Lionhart is a place where only the strongest survive. It is better to not have such a weak grandson. And won't you be able to obtain the elixir yourself?"
"The elixir in the family repository would be much more effective than obtaining it from outside…"
"Those are for the ones that improve the family name. There is nothing for a child who does nothing, even if he is my grandson. Get out, now."
"Patriarch! Please!"
Elisabeth dug her fingers into her palm as if to draw blood, and hit her head against the floor again.
'I cannot back down!'
If she were alone, she would have returned. She would have left without turning back before, due to her pride.
But she now had a child she had to protect. She had to hang on until the end, for Klaus.
"Drag her out."
Soldiers in black stepped out from behind the pillar at Roman's stern orders. They grabbed onto both of Elisabeth's arms and dragged her to the door.
"P-Please! Klaus!"
Elisabeth screamed Klaus's name until the end, but Roman turned his head away as if he wasn't interested.
Raphael, who was observing everything, let out a sigh.
"Your acting is good, considering you were the one who called for me to check on your grandson's condition. Is it that hard to treat him honestly?"
"You're being unnecessarily noisy. Just speak of his state, in detail."
"As I have said, the darkness is blocking the mana circuit in nine places. Although it is fine now, it will become more dangerous as he grows older."
Raphael sipped his tea and continued.
"But I do not think there will be a major issue, thanks to you pushing away the darkness with your aura."
Roman and Raphael did not know that Klaus was practicing the Ten Eyes Mantra, even though they had personally checked his body.
The Ten Eyes Mantra was a method from a thousand years ago, and did not make use of the lower abdomen. It was difficult to identify the Ten Eyes Mantra, even if one could be said to have absolute abilities.
"Young Demi-humans with the symptoms of the Curse of Darkness make use of darkness of the highest purity and can become excellent sorcerers or skilled swordsmen, but it is different for young humans with warmer energies. As I said, it is close to impossible for your youngest grandson to become a skilled swordsman."
"It does not matter if he does not become a skilled swordsman. As long as he lives."
"You browbeat Elisabeth, and now you say it does not matter? Even the Highly feared ruler of the North must love his grandson."
Raphael chuckled heartily.
Roman ignored Raphael and drew his finger in the air.
Buzz…
As the space cracked open in a cross(十) shape, a golden dimension opened up. Three wooden boxes popped out of the fiery space.
"I assume you know how to do it?"
He spoke as he passed the boxes over to Raphael.