I Possessed the Heroine’s Teacher

“Oh… Don’t come any closer! If you do, this child’s life will be in danger!”

Werner wrapped his arm around my neck and concentrated his magic power in one hand. I was sure that if he cast a simple spell with that hand, I would die. But Media clicked her tongue and sighed, despite the threat.

“Werner… Our youngest… Why are you acting like this lately…?”

“It’s my choice where I go and what I do, right, sis?”

“You used to be such a good kid, but now you’re going through puberty…”

“Why don’t you go home and take care of your child?”

Werner grabbed me and ran to the window. He leaned against the railing and smirked. He had a playful smile, but… to me, he looked a little sad. It was as if he was forcing himself to smile while crying behind a mask.

But the person who looked even sadder than him was no other than Media.

“If you repent now, I’ll let you off easy. Come back right now.”

“Can you and the others even catch me?”

“What?”

Werner raised his right hand. An extraordinary amount of magic power gathered in his right hand, and Media rushed towards us, but Werner jumped out of the window with me in his arms before she could reach us.

“Mist Curtain, spread widely.”

At that moment, my vision became blurry. Something hazy obscured my sight. But the cry that followed soon after told me that the hazy substance was not just obscuring my vision.

“Hey Werner! What the hell is this!!!”

“It’s a new magic I developed! If you can find me through the mist that covers the entire city, go ahead and try!”

His face was hidden by the mist, and the only sensation I could feel was his hand holding my shoulders and legs. Then he started running with me in his arms.

After about five minutes, the door opened with a creak, revealing a small room. It was smaller than the attic in the mansion where I lived or the attics of the other heroes’ mansions. There were clothes and papers scattered everywhere, and a painting on the table.

“Werner…I have no value as a hostage… so please let me go…”

“Earth, gather and strike.”

Before I could finish my sentence, a heavy impact struck my forehead. The shocking pain caused me to unconsciously grab my forehead and swallow my dry saliva.

“…It hurts.”

“You do have value as a hostage.”

“That’s because I’m neither here nor there, a half-wit. I’m not as strong as my father… and I’m not as good at magic as my mother…”

“What? Who’s been spreading such nonsense?”

“Other people…”

“Damn, what are those bastards expecting from a six-year-old? Do they want her to catch a dragon by herself?”

Werner clicked his tongue and made an annoyed sound. He was frowning, but I could tell that he was worried about me. He wasn’t as meticulous as people thought, and he wasn’t as cold as his reputation suggested.

The public’s opinion of him was vastly different.

‘The greatest magical genius in history.’

‘The perfect example of a magician.’

‘A genius among geniuses, perfect in character, ability, and personality.’

And

‘The ruthless and meticulous dog of the Imperial Family.’

But while he was indeed a magical genius, he was neither ruthless nor meticulous, and he didn’t show any loyalty to the Imperial Family. So, the parts of the title ‘The ruthless and meticulous dog of the Imperial Family’ should be removed. But then, nothing would be left.

“Hey, do you want something to drink? Coffee? Cocoa? Or maybe some tea?”

“… Cocoa, please.”

“Okay, let me find the kettle…”

Werner opened the cabinet to look for the kettle. As soon as he opened it, various items fell on his head. With a loud noise, he started rubbing the bump on his head.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just sit still.”

He searched through the rubble and found the kettle, then started heating water in it. Before the water in the kettle started boiling, I decided to take a closer look at the room. It was a small, musty room with a single bed, dusty furniture, and household items. If there had been a maid or servant, they wouldn’t have left the room in such a mess.

“Excuse me… Is there no maid or servant in this room?”

“This place is too small for me to live in, let alone have servants.”

That meant this wasn’t his villa or office. But something was strange, because I knew he lived with Sieg and Media. I wondered why he was living in this small room instead of a spacious villa.

“I heard that you live with Lord Zig and Lady Media…”

“Oh, that place? I ran away from there.”

“What? You ran away?”

This was the first time I heard such a story. I had heard that he followed Lord Sieg like a father and Lady Media like a mother. But it was hard to believe that he would run away from them.

“That’s their house, not mine.”

“But I heard that the three of you have a very close relationship…”

“Yeah, my brother and sister are kind. They always put me first.”

“But why…”

Werner poured the boiling water into a cup, added cocoa powder and sugar, stirred it, and placed it in front of me. Since I couldn’t drink hot drinks well, I took a small sip and found that it was lukewarm, just the right temperature for me. Werner must have used magic to adjust the temperature for me.

“Even though my brother and sister treat me like family… in the end, they’re still just ‘like family’.”

At that moment, I began to understand the meaning of his words. At some point, he started feeling distant. And since Zig and Media have a daughter, he must have felt even lonelier.

He was in a similar position to me, a half-wit.

“In that sense, I’m envious of you.”

“Me…?”

I’m just a half-wit, neither here nor there. I wasn’t born with great magical talent like Werner, nor with innate strength like my father. I couldn’t understand why he was envious of me.

“Melchior and Melissa only think about you. They’re crazy about their daughter, and they’re just crazy in general.”

“Haha…”

There’s no one else in the world who can call their father and mother crazy like that. I started to feel attracted to his confident attitude.

“By the way, who are the people who call you a half-wit?”

“Mostly my cousins and some of the servants…”

“Then just rip out their tongues.”

“What?”

I expected him to say something like, ‘Work hard to overcome it,’ or ‘You’re not a half-wit.’ But instead, he advised me to rip out the tongues of those who spoke ill of me.

“So what if you’re half-and-half?”

“But I…”

“This cocoa, for example. Cocoa powder doesn’t become cocoa until it’s mixed with water. Hot water alone is just hot water. When you mix the two, you get proper cocoa. Tell those purebloods to just drink hot water.”

Werner drank the cocoa in one go. Even though he was only fourteen, he seemed more mature than most adults. With his handsome face, attitude, and voice, he seemed like an adult. I was attracted to him for the first time.

“Your father asked me to help you because you were feeling down. I’m so busy…”

“Aren’t you lonely, Werner?”

“Well, I’m so busy that I don’t even have time to feel lonely…”

He said this, but his eyes told a different story. I knew that he was lying when he said he was fine being alone, because he was the same age as me. He was feeling lonely.

“Don’t you have any family, Werner?”

“Why are you poking at my sore spot?”

“If you had a family, what kind of person would you want them to be?”

“Family… hmm…”

Werner rested his chin on his hand and started thinking deeply. The fact that he took so long to answer showed that he hadn’t thought much about this topic before.

“Someone who sees me as ‘me’.”

“… What does that mean?”

At the time, I couldn’t understand what it meant to be seen as oneself. I thought that people looked up to him and that his colleagues cared deeply for him.

“There’s no one like that. No one.”

“What if I find someone like that for you?”

“Hmm… If you find someone like that, I’ll grant you one wish.”

As we talked, my eyes slowly closed. It was natural, considering the warm cocoa I drank and the warm blanket I was wrapped in.

Werner covered me with another blanket as I dozed off.

“Hey, if you’re tired, just sleep. Don’t force yourself to stay awake.”

He carried me, half-asleep, and laid me down on the bed. It was a small and hard bed, but it felt softer and more comfortable than any bed I had ever slept in.