"Even if you are illegitimate, you are still my child. I shall bestow a gift upon you for your birthday."
Father—that is, Duke Walther Von Krustein—continued speaking in a dignified voice.
A servant brought forth a sword.
It was quite a high-quality piece.
A scabbard engraved with silver decorations, and a well-balanced blade. This was no ordinary sword.
Perhaps this was only possible because Mother had received Father's favor, however slight.
"I will use it well, Father."
I accepted it respectfully.
"Good. Become an excellent knight."
Of course, that didn't mean His Excellency the Duke had any interest in me.
Just as with the other illegitimate children, he had no interest in me either.
That's why he said such things.
A knight?
I was a bookworm who even skipped sword training.
If anyone had interest in me, it would be my older brother Ernst.
Which was fortunate.
How much does a history professor make, anyway? I'd have to live off my brother's allowance.
After Father left, my siblings departed one by one as well.
"Adrian."
My older brother Ernst approached.
"Brother."
"Happy birthday."
He gestured, and a servant stepped forward.
It was a girl.
She appeared to be around my age.
Strangely, she had rare silver hair, and wore a black eyepatch over her left eye.
"This is my gift to you."
"...Pardon?"
I was momentarily speechless.
Ernst explained.
"I bought her cheap at an auction. She's a former enhanced human, but defective—can't even be used as a knight."
"......"
"But apparently she can work as a maid. Well, since you're weak in combat, keeping her as a bodyguard might help."
Ernst patted the girl's shoulder.
The girl said nothing.
She simply kept her head bowed, staring at the floor.
"Thank you, Brother."
I bowed my head for now.
Ernst left with a satisfied smile.
And what remained was...
Me and the silver-haired girl.
I looked at her.
She's quite pretty.
Pale skin, slender frame. She didn't look well-nourished.
Her right eye was a clear gray, but her left eye was covered by the eyepatch.
"What's your name?"
I asked.
"......"
The girl didn't answer.
She only bowed her head lower.
"Is she mute?"
I asked the servant beside me. He was one who frequently attended my eldest brother.
"Not at all, Young Master. Though she is one-eyed, that's true."
"......"
I sighed.
Enhanced human.
In this world, an enhanced human meant someone whose body had been modified through magic.
Usually they were used as war slaves or dangerous test subjects.
And "defective" meant...
An enhanced human who had failed the experiments or become useless.
'Brother Ernst, really...'
Buying her because she was cheap—she probably cost less than a few gold coins.
A child destined to be discarded, bought as my birthday present.
"Silver hair—could she have noble foreign blood mixed in?"
"Haha, hardly."
The servant chuckled.
"It just happened during the experiments. The mana heart modification went well enough that the Little Duke bought her to raise as a knight, but... it didn't work out. So he's giving her to you as a gift. Well, she should manage as a bodyguard at least."
"The mana modification went well but she still couldn't become a knight?"
"That's right. She has the skills, but her personality... well."
The servant trailed off ambiguously.
*Hic...*
*Hic...*
The girl made a strange sound.
It was like a hiccup, or perhaps a whimper.
Her body trembled faintly as she repeated the sound continuously.
"......"
I looked at the girl.
Probably a personality issue.
She reminded me of the pink-haired protagonist from some band anime I'd seen in my past life.
That character who was extremely shy around people and couldn't speak properly in front of strangers.
The difference was that one had pink hair while this one had silver.
How was I supposed to use her?
She was supposed to be a bodyguard, but I doubted she could guard anything in that state.
Still, though.
Not bad, I suppose.
I thought to myself.
A life with a beautiful maid.
Something I couldn't even dream of in my past life.
"Did you say she's ten years old?"
I asked the girl.
Still no answer.
Just the repeated *hic hic* sounds.
"From now on, I am your master."
I spoke gently.
The girl nodded.
It was a tiny movement, but she definitely nodded.
'At least she's not deaf.'
I felt relieved.
"Then, your name?"
"......"
Still no answer.
I turned to the servant.
"What's her name?"
"Well... the Little Duke said he didn't know either. At the auction she was just called 'Product Number 17.'"
"......"
I headed to my room with the girl.
As we walked down the corridor, she followed with quick little steps.
*Hic. Hic.*
The sound continued.
Servants passing in the corridor glanced at us.
*'What strange thing did the Little Duke give Young Master Adrian?'*
That's what their looks said.
It would be a lie to say it didn't bother me, but I was already branded as the "bookworm illegitimate son" anyway.
Getting a bit stranger wouldn't matter.
I arrived at my room.
Opening the door revealed a familiar space.
It was better than the other illegitimate children's rooms.
A spacious bed, sturdy desk, and bookshelves filling the walls.
Thanks to Mother receiving Father's favor and me earning my eldest brother's trust.
"Come in."
I told the girl.
She carefully entered the room.
*Hic. Hic.*
Still trembling.
At first, I thought it was cute.
Her small, slender body shaking—it somehow triggered protective instincts.
It felt like the "beautiful maid" fantasy I couldn't experience in my past life had become reality.
But.
*Hic. Hic. Hic.*
The continuing sound gradually started to grate on my nerves.
After five minutes.
After ten minutes.
It didn't stop.
I sat at my desk and looked at her.
The girl stood by the door, head deeply bowed, staring at the floor.
As if she wanted to become a wall.
*Hic. Hic. Hic.*
And yet that damn hiccuping showed no signs of stopping.
I sighed and opened a book on my desk.
『History of Tax System Changes』
The book I'd planned to read today.
But.
*Hic. Hic.*
I couldn't read a single line properly.
The words wouldn't register.
That sound kept drilling into my ears, making concentration impossible.
Damn it.
How am I supposed to read like this?
I closed the book and turned to the girl.
She still stood by the door, head deeply bowed, trembling.
*Hic. Hic.*
Like a broken clockwork doll, repeating the same sound.
I stood up. I had to calm her down somehow.
In that state, I couldn't function, and the child looked miserable too.
I slowly approached the girl.
"Hey, calm down a bit..."
I reached out to grasp her shoulder.
That moment.
*Click.*
The girl's hand moved.
Lightning-fast movement.
Before I could react, her slender hand lightly twisted and caught my wrist.
"Ugh!"
Sharp pain shot through me.
The feeling of my wrist joint being bent.
Without even applying force, I felt pressure like my bones might break.
The girl still had her head bowed.
*Hic. Hic.*
The trembling didn't stop, and that strange sound continued.
But her hand perfectly restrained my wrist.
It seemed like an unconscious reaction.
As if her body had been trained to automatically subdue anyone who approached, like a conditioned reflex.
The angle, position, force distribution. Everything was perfect.
If the girl had applied just a bit more force, my wrist would have snapped.
The girl released her grip. She bowed her head even deeper, freezing like a wall.
*Hic. Hic.*
The trembling intensified.
She probably realized what she'd done.
I rubbed my wrist.
Red marks remained.
Enhanced human. Mana heart modification.
I'd experienced firsthand what that meant.
Protective instincts my ass.
She was given to me to protect me, after all.
"I-I'm sorry!"
That was the first proper words she spoke.
And she started trembling violently again.
*Hic. Hic.*
I rubbed my wrist and thought.
How can I even scold her like this?
I couldn't win by force.
Even if she was a terrified girl, her reflexes and combat instincts were above mine.
If I handled this wrong, I could get hurt.
I sighed and sat at my desk.
"I'm not going to hit or scold you. So stop trembling."
The girl continued trembling.
*Hic. Hic.*
A moment of silence passed.
I fiddled with the history book on my desk and spoke.
"...Want me to tell you an interesting story?"
I ventured carefully.
*Hic. Hic.*
But then.
*Hic... Hic...*
The intervals between sounds grew slightly longer.
It was a subtle change, but definitely noticeable.
Her head was still deeply bowed, but her ears perked up slightly. As if waiting to hear what I'd say.
What story should I tell?
Imperial history?
Hmm... but I don't know it that well myself.
History books in this world weren't very detailed.
They just recorded things like "who won where and when."
Creating a proper imperial history book.
That was one reason I wanted to become a history professor.
I wanted to turn this world's history into stories people would actually want to read.
Then... a story from my past life.
That story I'd experienced as a game, read as a novel, and watched as an anime.
"Long ago, in a distant eastern empire, there was a time when it split into three."
I began speaking slowly.
The girl's trembling subsided a bit.
"That empire had been peaceful for hundreds of years. But as the emperor grew incompetent and eunuchs seized power, the nation rotted."
I leaned against my desk and continued.
"Then one day, the people rose up. It was a rebellion called the Yellow Turban Rebellion."
*Hic...*
The intervals grew longer.
I continued the story.
"Amidst that chaos, three men met. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. The three became sworn brothers beneath a peach tree."
That's right.
The story I was telling her was none other than...
Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
"The Peach Garden... Oath...?"
At that time, I couldn't even imagine. That I was raising a monster.