When Rudy heard Eris's remark, he reflexively wanted to snap back at the young lady. But in the next moment, he heard Allen's soft laughter.
He blinked and turned to look at Allen.
He noticed that Allen's expression had finally eased up a little, and he even let out a subtle sigh of relief.
'Allen looks a bit better now. Earlier, the pressure he gave off was suffocating… he had this constant tension on his face that made people nervous. When we first met, he also had a scary expression, but today's was different—it felt heavier, more intense.'
'Back then, it was just that he didn't like to smile. But today, there was this stifling aura coming from within him.'
As Rudy was thinking, Alphonse had already instructed the maids to bring in another chair from the next room, clearly resigned. Seeing that the thorny Rudy was now compliant, Eris wore a proud expression.
She immediately began striding off to lead them to the next spot for "sightseeing."
Footsteps echoed as they all followed her.
Eris took the lead, with Allen just behind. Rudy followed Allen instinctively, eyes falling on the back of his boots.
Still stained with Thomas's blood.
'This strange aura around Allen—could it be from killing someone? Is he, like me, still adjusting to it?'
'No. That's not it.'
'Allen's not someone who's shaken by death. He's not the kind who would feel disturbed after killing someone. He's incredibly decisive. Sending people off on their final journey is as natural to him as eating or drinking—never hesitating. Whether it was taking care of that bounty problem on his own, or slaughtering his way through a valley full of beasts for a full day and night, or last night's chase where he dragged the assassin's head back—he's never once shown hesitation.'
Their steps continued down the hallway as Rudy's thoughts deepened.
'Such powerful decisiveness must come from equally strong resolve. Allen… has that kind of will.'
Thud. Rudy's head bumped into Allen's back, interrupting his train of thought. He looked up and realized that Allen had stopped in the doorway.
Everyone behind had halted, too, their eyes turning to Allen.
Allen was standing still, head slightly tilted, staring toward the far corner of the hallway.
The next moment, he lowered his gaze to his shoes.
At that moment, everyone could hear it too—soft sounds drifting from the corridor, like fabric brushing against the floor. A faint rustling accompanying soft footsteps.
Rudy blinked.
It was the sound of a skirt hem dragging across the floor.
The thought had barely formed when a figure appeared from the corner.
Wearing a crimson gown, with flaming red hair.
It was Hilda.
She had changed outfits since the morning—this dress was far more refined, with a high collar accentuating her noble elegance as she walked down the hall.
Eris shouted "Mother!" and dashed into her arms.
Rudy glanced at Hilda's trailing skirt and then at the floor ahead of them.
Allen had paused in just the right spot—not blocking her path, leaving room for her to walk through.
He looked up at Allen's face.
It had returned to its previous impassive state.
In his peripheral vision, he saw the mother and daughter speaking.
"Okaa-sama, are you going to eat?"
"Ah, I… still need to think. What about you, Eris?"
"I'm taking them to the library before eating! Sylphy's really interested in it!"
"…I see. Then go ahead. Don't forget to join us for lunch afterward, alright?"
"Okaa-sama, can I eat with them?"
Normally, hired tutors weren't allowed to dine at the Boreas family's main table with Hilda, Philip, and Sauros. Meals for guests were typically prepared separately by the servants.
Hilda seemed slightly taken aback, then gave a small nod.
"…Alright."
"Yay!!"
Footsteps resumed. The red hem of Hilda's dress brushed past.
Allen and Sylphy both bowed respectfully. Rudy, however, kept his eyes fixed on Hilda.
As they passed, their eyes met for a fleeting moment. And somehow—Rudy felt as if he saw a flicker of… loathing in her gaze. But it wasn't pure hatred—it was muddled with confusion and helplessness.
Was she disgusted by him?
But if someone truly hated you… would their expression look like that?
Rudy wasn't sure. If it were the old him, he probably would've believed that.
But ever since meeting Allen—especially after the Snow Valley incident—his perspective had shifted. From that moment he began to see Allen as a "lifesaver," Rudy often found himself dreaming of the time he was cast out of his own home, reliving the expressions of his siblings as they shut him out.
Before reincarnating, he always believed the only thing in their eyes was disgust and hatred—only cold scorn in their voices.
But that moment in the Snow Valley—when everyone ran toward Allen—those faces, those expressions… he remembered them clearly.
Joy, relief, gratitude, guilt, confusion…
Human emotions are complex, never just one-dimensional.
Why could he perceive so much then?
Because he had been standing among them, surrounded by that rush of emotion.
He knew exactly what he had felt then.
With that realization, his dream "vision" became clearer.
His siblings' expressions gained depth.
Scorn? Hate?
And beneath those surface emotions…?
There was hope in their eyes when they opened the door—only to be met with the disappointment of seeing him still clinging to his eroge and yelling not to take his stuff.
That disappointment turned into rage, exploding in fury and yelling.
It wasn't just rejection—it was the culmination of disappointment layered upon disappointment.
But what had they hoped for? What were they disappointed in?
Rudy, using Allen's style of questioning, had interrogated himself again and again in his dreams—just like Allen had interrogated Lilia during the Snow Valley incident.
And he reached a conclusion.
His siblings had hoped—that maybe their NEET brother didn't attend the funeral because he was too ashamed to show up directly, but had quietly gone to say goodbye from afar. Even that could've given them a reason to grant him one final chance.
But sadly, the old him didn't surpass their expectations. That was why their disappointment exploded.
If, back then, he had sincerely apologized, taken them seriously, begged for forgiveness—just like Allen had demanded Paul and Lilia do after the affair—
If he hadn't clung to his computer and games, sobbing "Don't do this to me"…
Would the result have been different?
Rudy didn't know. He'd never have the chance to find out.
But at this moment, he could clearly see something similar in Hilda's eyes.
He sensed it.
Layer upon layer of emotion stacked together.
Not just disdain.
There was something more beneath it.
What was it?
Lost in thought, Rudy realized Hilda had already walked away. On instinct, he looked to Allen's face again.
The smile that had briefly appeared earlier was now gone.
A father who had given him trial after trial.
A grandfather who immediately turned him away.
And now?
A tearful mother who instinctively wept—
Upon seeing her son for the first time.
(End of Chapter)
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