Chapter 4: The Fourth Son’s Skill

The following year, the day of Ren’s younger brother—the fourth son, Lewis—“Blessing Ceremony” arrived.

In the cold early morning entrance hall, Ren noticed Lewis standing there with a tense expression and was just about to step forward to call out to him.

Lewis glanced up at him, narrowed his eyes slightly, and then curled the corner of his mouth into a grin.

“Good morning! Brother! I’m definitely going to get a better skill than you!”

Ren stopped in his tracks at his younger brother’s cheeky tone.

“Lewis…”

“Hehe! I can’t wait!”

Still smiling brightly, Lewis ran toward the carriage.

“Lewis, fifth child of the Cream family.”

“Yes!”

The priest’s voice echoed clearly through the church. Lewis answered energetically and stepped forward.

The family watched his back with bated breath.

From a slightly distant spot, Ren observed as well. He hadn’t moved away because he disliked being with his family. He simply couldn’t see well from where they were standing, so he had moved to a position where he could properly observe the Blessing Ceremony.

His younger brothers stood protected behind their parents’ backs. When his older siblings had received their blessings, Ren had been in the same position—but now he was not allowed to stand in front of his parents, and there was no space beside them. From behind, he was too short to see properly.

He also simply wanted to see the details of the ceremony more clearly.

When the priest finished the sacred chant, the crystal on the pedestal in front of Lewis began to glow.

The light illuminated Lewis’s face, giving him an almost mystical appearance.

“—Skill: Earth Magic!”

“Whoa!”

As the priest loudly announced the skill, Lewis’s shoulders jolted.

Their father raised his voice in reaction, while their mother let out a deep sigh of relief.

“That’s great, Lewis! That’s a useful skill!”

“Ah… yeah!”

The eldest brother, Ryan, approached and patted Lewis on the shoulder.

Lewis, who had looked slightly disappointed, nodded after Ryan’s encouragement and began looking around restlessly.

His eyes met Ren’s.

Lewis lifted the corners of his mouth again. Then he looked away and turned up toward Ryan.

“Yeah, I’ve got a better skill than Ren-niisama, right?”

Those words pierced Ren’s heart a little.

It wasn’t so much that his skill was being dismissed—it was more that Ren’s skill had been deliberately brought into the conversation that bothered him.

(Does Lewis want to be above me…? Is that what this is? …No, but…)

A vague uneasiness swirled within Ren’s chest.

Ryan patted Lewis on the shoulder again and gently pushed him toward the rest of the family. Then Ryan glanced at Ren and jerked his chin slightly.

It was probably a signal meaning, “You come too.”

Ren interpreted it that way and stepped forward.