Conflict

His presence was imposing, and there was always a sharpness in his eyes. That was what someone accustomed to holding a position of power was like.

With his wild appearance on top of that, most people would instinctively avoid his gaze.

When faced with someone like that, Rudeus would instinctively back away. He was afraid of domineering people.

Especially people like this one, who were extremely hard to deal with and quick-tempered.

Roa ignored the little boy. His eyes stayed fixed on the other man. Rudeus might have been afraid, but Roa wasn't. Sholoss Boreas Greyrat was Eris's grandfather and the lord of Fittoa. He was a boisterous man who didn't care about conventions. Eris had been influenced by him and wanted to become a second Sholoss. Her domineering, unreasonable personality was also the result of his indulgence.

Roa didn't hold the other man's gaze for long. After a few seconds, he looked away. He was here to tutor someone, not pick a fight. He gave a noble's bow and said, "Hello, my name is Roa Greyrat. I'm Paul's son."

Sholoss looked surprised. He said bluntly, "How did Paul end up with such a girly kid?"

Roa's mouth twitched. He glared at the man, his expression unfriendly. Knowing Roa's personality, Rudeus hurriedly grabbed him. Rudeus knew Roa cared most about his looks. In the past, whenever he dared make fun of Roa's appearance, he'd been beaten so badly he couldn't get out of bed the next day.

Rudeus quickly said, "Hello, my name is Rudeus Greyrat. You can call me Rudeus."

Sholoss nodded and pointed at Rudeus. "Now that's what a boy in our family should look like. As for you, Roa, well..."

Rudeus felt Roa's arm tighten around him. This was bad. From what he knew of his big brother's temper, Roa was definitely not the sort of person to quietly put up with such an obviously mocking remark.

Roa took a few steps forward and said mildly, "What did you say?"

"Hm?" Sholoss sized Roa up. Their gazes met, and the cold, reddish-gold eyes narrowed slightly. Sholoss could sense the boy's intense displeasure. He bent down to look at the indignant boy. Roa wasn't short—he was tall for his age—but at just over 165 centimeters, he was still a little shorter than Sholoss. Sholoss asked, "Are you questioning me? Besides, what did I say that was wrong?"

Roa let out a breath and took off his coat, tossing it to Rudeus.

His mana began to stir. In an instant, his muscles bulged. Roa had a great physique to begin with, but his loose clothes usually hid his well-built frame.

Now, as he flexed slightly, the muscles all over his body came into view.

Mana coursed through his blood, and his bones crackled all over.

In an instant, Roa transformed from a slender, beautiful boy into a brawny man nearly 180 centimeters tall.

He radiated the presence of a powerful fighter. (Think Nezha from One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes. Yeah, about like that.)

Roa flexed his right arm, making his biceps swell. Explosive strength filled his entire body.

After showing off his muscular physique, Roa wore an utterly cocky expression.

Ghislaine stood to the side, looking a little grave. She could actually sense a hint of danger from the boy.

Roa grinned coldly. "Old man, don't underestimate me. You might get blown away with one punch."

He even struck a provocative pose.

→

Unfortunately, Roa's expression wasn't very intimidating.

The boy had grown into his looks, but he was still in the middle of changing. For now, he was somewhere between a mature woman and a boy—in short, his features were rather androgynous.

But it didn't matter if his expression wasn't intimidating. His body was more than enough.

Sholoss was a little taken aback. He ignored the sarcasm in Roa's words and patted his solid muscles. Roa shuddered with disgust. Why was an old man groping him? He slapped Sholoss's hand away.

Sholoss felt a powerful force strike his hand, leaving it numb.

The corner of Sholoss's mouth twitched, but he was a wily old man and showed no embarrassment. He said with some emotion, "You can't judge by appearances. Very good. You know how to talk back to me and point out when I'm wrong. You know how to stand up for your dignity. I approve of you. That's the kind of man we need in our family. You do look a little girly, but it doesn't matter. That's just a trivial detail. Go on in. Philip's been waiting for you for quite some time."

With that, he left with a loud laugh.

Only when Roa couldn't see him did Sholoss suck in a sharp breath. He looked at his swollen hand, feeling a little at a loss.

Roa frowned. What was this supposed to mean? He'd provoked the man and somehow won his approval? Had the provocation actually worked?

He was baffled. Rudeus quietly tugged at his sleeve and gave him a thumbs-up. Roa glanced at him and sneered. "You're such a coward. When are you going to change that about yourself?"

Rudeus replied with some embarrassment, "I'm not like you, big brother. Besides, I thought we were about to lose our jobs."

Roa didn't say anything else. Although Sholoss's reaction had been somewhat unexpected, having read the original story, he was sure Sholoss wouldn't hold this against them.

Roa reined in his immense mana. His height began to shrink, and he returned to his former self: a delicate, fair-skinned, beautiful boy, barely 160 centimeters tall and weak enough to be blown over by a breeze.

Rudeus, who had witnessed what just happened, twitched his mouth. The contrast was so ridiculous that he had no comment.

They entered the living room. A slender, easygoing-looking man with smooth brown hair sat in its center.

He wore the formal attire of a high-ranking noble, and at first glance, he seemed polite and refined.

When he saw them arrive, he stood and gave them a warm smile.

Roa stepped forward and performed a flawless noble's bow, leaning forward slightly. He said coolly, "Hello. You can call me Roa. I'm a boy."

He slightly emphasized the word "boy" to avoid any misunderstanding.

Rudeus followed Roa's example and bowed to Philip. "It's a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Rudeus."

The man nodded slightly. "Mm. I'm Philip Boreas Greyrat. To be honest, I didn't expect Paul to have such a 'pretty' boy, but it seems you've made my father very happy?"

Philip spoke with a teasing lilt, but Roa's reddish-gold eyes narrowed slightly. He looked thoroughly annoyed.

Rudeus silently felt sorry for the man. Was Philip about to get beaten up by Roa?

As it turned out, Rudeus had guessed right.

Roa had indeed had that thought.