Chapter 61: The Perfect Heir
"SS."
I blinked.
"Potential?"
"Yes."
I looked at him again.
SS.
That was...
Actually extremely impressive.
Among ordinary people, even A potential was exceptional.
S was rare.
SS belonged to the small group of talents who could potentially stand near the top of the kingdom.
SSS simply made everything else look smaller than it actually was.
I nodded.
"That’s excellent."
Marco’s eyes narrowed.
I frowned.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That looked like something."
"You don’t have to pretend."
I stared at him.
"Pretend what?"
"That you’re impressed."
Ah.
There it was.
I glanced at Penelope.
She suddenly found the wall interesting.
Elara’s amusement disappeared too.
So this wasn’t new.
Marco continued.
"You’re SSS."
"Correct."
"With a unique title."
"Also correct."
"You awakened three special constitutions."
"Unfortunately."
His expression finally cracked.
"Unfortunately?"
"They made Master Valerian considerably more creative."
That didn’t seem to help.
Marco’s hands tightened slightly at his sides.
"SS probably doesn’t look impressive to you."
I tilted my head.
Why wouldn’t it?
"I’ve spent years surrounded by soldiers."
He said nothing.
"Most of them would celebrate an A potential for a month."
Still nothing.
"SS is extremely rare."
"I know."
"Then why would I think it isn’t impressive?"
His jaw tightened again.
"Because everyone compares us."
Ah.
That explained it.
Elara looked downward.
Penelope remained silent.
Marco’s voice stayed controlled, but now I could hear something beneath it.
Years.
Not one conversation.
Not one insult.
Years.
"You awakened SSS."
He looked directly at me.
"I awakened SS."
"Yes."
"You are Father’s firstborn."
"Unfortunately."
His eyes flashed.
"You are heir to House Vortex."
"Also unfortunately."
"You spent your childhood sleeping and avoiding every responsibility that came with that position."
"That part was intentional."
Penelope pinched the bridge of her nose.
Marco took a slow breath.
"I trained."
His voice tightened.
"Every day."
I said nothing.
"I studied swordsmanship. Politics. Territory management. History. Finance. Military strategy. Etiquette. Everything Mother told me an heir should know."
That word.
Heir.
There it was again.
Marco continued.
"Then you awakened SSS."
I could see where this was going now.
"Suddenly none of it mattered."
"Marco..."
Elara reached toward his sleeve.
He gently moved his arm away.
Not harshly.
But firmly.
"Every tutor compared me to you. Every visiting noble asked about you. Even at my Awakening ceremony, when I received SS potential..."
His mouth tightened.
"...people talked about how remarkable House Vortex was to have an SS son after already producing an SSS heir."
That sounded annoying.
Extremely annoying.
I could understand why he disliked me.
Actually...
I would probably dislike me too.
"They called me talented," Marco said.
"Then immediately asked when you would return."
Silence settled between us.
I glanced toward Penelope.
She met my eyes.
Didn’t intervene.
Good.
This wasn’t something she should solve for me.
I looked back at Marco.
He stood rigidly.
Proud.
Angry.
But beneath both...
Tired.
That surprised me.
He was thirteen.
He shouldn’t look tired in the same way Father did.
Then I understood.
Ah.
Mother.
Inheritance.
House Vortex.
My existence.
He had spent years competing against someone who wasn’t even present.
Worse.
Someone who didn’t know there was a competition.
That was almost impressive.
Also deeply inefficient.
"Marco."
"What?"
"I think there’s been a misunderstanding."
His expression turned cold.
"Of course."
"No. A very large one."
He waited.
I shifted Dream Haven beneath my arm.
"You think I want to become Duke."
Silence.
Marco stared at me.
Elara stared at me.
Penelope...
Penelope slowly began smiling.
She knew.
Of course she knew.
Marco frowned.
"You’re father’s heir."
"That wasn’t what I said."
"You are his firstborn son."
"I am aware."
"You have SSS potential."
"Still aware."
"Then House Vortex..."
"Wait."
Something occurred to me.
Something so obvious that I genuinely couldn’t understand why anyone had ever worried about this.
I looked toward Marco.
"Why would I want Father’s job?"
He blinked.
I continued.
"Have you seen Father?"
Marco’s expression became confused.
Good.
Progress.
"He barely sleeps."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Penelope covered her mouth.
Elara’s eyes widened.
Marco stared at me as though I’d begun speaking another language.
I gestured vaguely toward the estate.
"Father wakes up early."
No response.
"He attends meetings."
Still nothing.
"Constant meetings."
Penelope’s shoulders began trembling.
"He reads reports."
Elara made a small noise.
"Signs documents."
I counted on my fingers.
"Handles territorial disputes. Military matters. Trade negotiations. Noble gatherings. Royal summons. Taxes."
Marco’s expression had become completely blank.
"People interrupt him while he’s eating."
I shuddered.
"Sometimes while he’s sleeping."
Penelope lost the battle.
She laughed.
Marco looked toward her.
She raised one hand.
"Sorry."
She wasn’t sorry.
Not even slightly.
I continued.
"Father’s life is terrible."
"He’s one of the most powerful men in the kingdom."
"Exactly."
"People respect him."
"That seems like more work."
"He controls one of the greatest territories in the kingdom."
"Which means everyone complains to him when something goes wrong."
Marco opened his mouth.
Stopped.
Opened it again.
Nothing came out.
I nodded.
"See?"
"I don’t see anything."
"I have no intention of becoming Duke."
His entire expression changed.
Not relief.
Not yet.
Suspicion.
"What?"
"I don’t want Father’s position."
"You’re the heir."
"People keep saying that as if repetition will make the job appealing."
"You can’t simply decide not to inherit."
"I’ve decided not to do considerably more difficult things."
"That isn’t how succession works."
"Then succession needs improvement."
"Alash."
Penelope’s voice carried laughter.
I looked at her.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Everyone keeps saying that today."
"Because there’s often nothing useful to say after you speak."
Unfair.
I returned my attention to Marco.
He looked genuinely unsettled now.
Interesting.
Perhaps he’d prepared himself for arrogance.
Or confrontation.
Or me declaring that House Vortex belonged to me.
Instead he’d received a pillow and career rejection.
"You really don’t want it?"
"No."
"At all?"
"No."
"What if Father chooses you?"
"I’ll refuse."
"You can’t refuse the Duke."
"I refused to return home for two and a half years."
Elara’s mouth fell open slightly.
Marco stared.
Penelope nodded.
"He did."
Traitor.
Although technically supportive.
Marco looked at Dream Haven.
Then at me.
"Then what do you want?"
That question was unexpectedly difficult.
Five years ago?
Easy.
Sleep.
Now?
Still sleep.
But not only sleep.
There were demons.
The Akashic Key.
The four vessels.
The countdown.
People I wanted to protect.
People I’d already failed to protect.
My eyes lowered slightly.
"Not that."
Marco frowned.
I looked at him again.
"If you want Father’s position, you can have it."
His eyes widened.
I thought about it.
"Actually, I’d appreciate it."
"Appreciate it?"
"Very much."
Penelope laughed again.
Marco looked genuinely offended now.
"You make it sound like you’re giving me unwanted furniture."
"No. Furniture doesn’t require meetings."
Elara burst out laughing.
This time she bent forward.
Marco’s ears turned faintly red.
Interesting.
He was easier to embarrass than his expression suggested.
"I trained my entire life for this."
"And that’s why you’re better suited for it."
That stopped him.
I hadn’t meant it as anything dramatic.
It was simply true.
He wanted it.
He had trained for it.
I didn’t.
Complicated political reasoning seemed unnecessary.
Marco stared at me.
I shrugged.
"You know territory management."
"Yes."
"I don’t."
"You could learn."
"I could."
"You have intelligence far beyond mine."
"That doesn’t mean I want to spend it reading tax disputes."
His eye twitched.
I continued.
"You understand noble politics."
"So do you."
"I understand that I dislike noble politics."
"That’s not the same thing."
"It’s enough for me."
Elara straightened again.
She looked between us.
Then suddenly pointed at me.
"Wait."
"What?"
"You really don’t want to become Duke?"
"No."
"Then why does Mother always say..."
Marco turned sharply.
"Elara."
She stopped.
Ah.
Interesting.
Mother.
There were obviously conversations I’d missed.
Many conversations.
Possibly years of them.
I could guess the contents.
Alash was heir.
Alash was a threat.
Marco needed to work harder.
Marco needed to surpass me.
Marco needed to prove himself.
That sounded exhausting.
My childhood arrangement with Duchess Vortex had apparently been significantly more peaceful before my Awakening ruined everything.
I decided not to ask.
Not yet.
There would be time.
Probably.
Unless I managed to return to the border before then.
A reasonable goal.
Marco’s shoulders had relaxed slightly.
Only slightly.
The rivalry hadn’t disappeared.
Of course not.
Years of resentment didn’t vanish because I disliked paperwork.
But something had changed.
He was looking at me differently.
Less like an enemy.
More like a confusing problem.
I was accustomed to that.
Master Valerian looked at me that way often.
"So..."
I gestured toward him.
"SS potential."
He nodded cautiously.
"Congratulations."
His eyes searched my face.
"For what?"
"Awakening SS."
"That happened three years ago."
"I didn’t congratulate you then."
"You didn’t even ask what I awakened."
"Exactly. I’m correcting several years of negligence at once."
Elara immediately raised her hand.
I looked at her.
"What?"
"My birthday was three months ago."
...
Marco looked away.
Penelope looked away.
Cowards.
All of them.
"Happy birthday."
"Three months late."
"Time is flexible."
"No, it isn’t."
"It feels flexible when you’re asleep."
She narrowed her eyes.
Then pointed at Dream Haven.
"Is that really the pillow?"
I froze.
Finally.
A sensible question.
"The pillow?"
"The one everyone talks about."
My opinion of my sister improved dramatically.
"People talk about my pillow?"
"Yes."
I looked at Penelope.
She shrugged.
"Nobles gossip."
Apparently that phrase explained everything.
Elara stepped closer.
Her earlier frustration vanished beneath obvious curiosity.
"Penelope said you carry it everywhere."
"I do."
"And you sleep on it?"
"Yes."
"And it’s magical?"
I hesitated.
Mundane Veil concealed Dream Haven’s actual rank and nature.
To everyone else, it should appear like a relatively ordinary enchanted pillow.
Technically, saying yes wasn’t dangerous.
"Very slightly."
[Lie.]
’Selective truth.’
[It is an SSS-rank artifact.]
’Details.’
Elara leaned toward it.
"Can I touch it?"
I immediately pulled Dream Haven away.
"No."
She blinked.
I narrowed my eyes.
"There are boundaries."
"It’s a pillow."
"It’s my pillow."
"I wasn’t going to steal it."
"That’s what Penelope said."
Elara slowly looked at Penelope.
Penelope raised both hands.
"I also wasn’t allowed to touch it."
Elara looked back at me.
Then smiled.
Oh no.
That smile.
I recognized it.
Not from her.
From several beastkin women who had discovered that irritating me was entertaining.
"Can I use it after my Awakening tomorrow?"
"No."
"I might be tired."
"No."
"I’ll be emotionally exhausted."
"No."
"What if I awaken SSS?"
"Still no."
"What if I awaken higher than SSS?"
"That doesn’t exist."
"So you’re saying you’d consider it if it did?"
"That’s not what I said."
Marco sighed.
"Elara."
She looked at him.
"Stop bothering him."
"I just met him."
"Exactly."
She considered that.
Then nodded.
"Good point. I have five years of bothering him to catch up on."
...
I looked at Marco.
"Is she always like this?"
"Yes."
"Good luck."
"I’ve needed it."
Elara gasped.
"Traitor."
For the first time, something resembling a smile appeared on Marco’s face.
Small.
Barely there.
But real.
Interesting.
The severe thirteen-year-old apparently wasn’t severe all the time.
Only most of it.
Elara noticed too.
She grinned triumphantly.
Then her expression changed.
Just slightly.
Her eyes moved toward me.
"You’re really coming tomorrow, right?"
The question was quieter than everything else she’d said.
I blinked.
"To your Awakening?"
She nodded.
There it was.
Beneath the energy.
Beneath the jokes.
Nervousness.
Of course.
Tomorrow she’d stand in front of the Orb.
Nobles would watch.
Her mother would watch.
Father would watch.
Marco, an SS potential, would watch.
And me.
SSS.
I suddenly understood something else.
Poor girl.
She hadn’t even awakened yet, and people were probably already comparing her to both brothers.
"What if I get something low?"
Marco immediately spoke.
"You won’t."
Elara glanced at him.
"You don’t know that."
His expression tightened.
"No. I don’t."
At least he corrected himself.
Good.
She looked at me.
I thought about Penelope.
B.
The silence after her Awakening.
The pity.
The years she’d spent thinking that one letter somehow changed what she meant to me.
Potential mattered.
Pretending otherwise would be stupid.
But it didn’t matter in every way.
I adjusted Dream Haven beneath my arm.
"Then you get something low."
Elara frowned.
"That’s it?"
"What else would happen?"
"People would talk."
"People always talk."
"Mother would be disappointed."
That one landed differently.
Marco’s face changed.
So did Penelope’s.
I looked at Elara.
"Would you still be you?"
She blinked.
"What?"
"After the Orb."
"I..."
She hesitated.
"Yes?"
"Then I’ll still know your name."
Penelope immediately laughed.
Elara stared at me.
Marco closed his eyes.
I frowned.
"What?"
"That was almost sweet," Penelope said.
"Almost?"
"You ruined it at the end."
"I thought that improved it."
Elara tried not to smile.
Failed.
"You’re really terrible at this."
"I’ve been informed."
She looked at me for another moment.
Then nodded.
"Fine."
"Fine?"
"You can come tomorrow."
I blinked.
"I was already invited."
"Now you’re invited by me."
Apparently there were levels of invitation.
Interesting.
I nodded.
"Then I’ll be there."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Awake."
Unreasonable conditions already.
"I’ll be there."
"Awake."
"Present."
"Alash."
Penelope joined her.
I looked between them.
This alliance was concerning.
"Fine."
Elara smiled.
"Good."
Then she looked toward Marco.
"See? He’s not that bad."
Marco stared at her.
"You met him five minutes ago."
"And?"
"He forgot your name."
"Yes."
"He called me Marcus."
"Also yes."
"He thought you were my fiancée."
Elara paused.
Then slowly turned toward me.
I looked at Penelope.
Betrayal.
She had clearly told them while I was distracted.
Elara’s eyes widened.
"You thought what?"
I immediately began walking.
"Wonderful meeting everyone."
"Alash!"
"I have somewhere to be."
Penelope followed, laughing.
Elara’s voice came from behind me.
"Your room is the other way!"
I stopped.
...
Marco laughed.
Actually laughed.
It was short.
Quiet.
But unmistakable.
I slowly turned around.
He immediately stopped.
Our eyes met.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then his mouth twitched.
"Your bedroom is west."
I looked toward the corridor I’d been confidently walking down.
East.
Right.
Nearly five years.
The estate was unnecessarily large.
Anyone could make that mistake.
I turned around.
Walked past all three of them.
And continued west.
Penelope fell into step beside me.
Behind us, Elara was still laughing.
Marco told her to stop.
She didn’t.
I hugged Dream Haven tighter.
Less than one hour home.
I had forgotten Penelope’s Awakening.
Misnamed my brother.
Failed to know my sister’s name.
Mistaken said sister for my brother’s fiancée.
And gotten lost inside the house where I’d spent ten years of my life.
[Impressive.]
’Quiet.’
[Your performance as eldest brother has been remarkable.]
’I said quiet.’
A few steps passed.
Then Penelope spoke.
"Alash?"
"What?"
She was smiling.
"You know Marco still wants to surpass you."
I glanced backward.
My brother and sister were still standing together.
Elara was talking rapidly again.
Marco was pretending not to listen.
But he was listening.
I could tell.
I looked forward.
"That’s fine."
"You’re not bothered?"
"No."
"Even if he becomes stronger than you?"
I thought about it.
Then shrugged.
"If he becomes strong enough to handle Father’s job, that’s excellent news."
Penelope laughed again.
I frowned.
Nobody appreciated practical thinking.
Still...
Marco.
Elara.
I repeated both names silently.
Twice.
Just in case.
I wasn’t making this mistake again.
Probably.