Chapter 12

“Aaagh, it hurts!!”

Of course it does.

Nothing hurts quite like having a handful of your hair ripped out.

I pressed my knee into his solar plexus and grabbed his hair like I was riding a horse, yanking it wildly in all directions.

Rip, rip.

I could feel chunks of hair coming out with every pull.

“Waaah! Look at you, early balding~!!”

Crack.

Finally, a whole tuft came out.

“Aaaaagh, that hurts, you damn…!”

Wham!

His arm swung out and my body flew like a piece of paper through the air.

“Ow…!”

I tumbled across the floor, pain spreading through my body and a sharp sting blooming on my cheek.

“You, you little brat!!”

“Oh please, look who’s calling me small! You’re tiny too! What are you, a mushroom?! We’re the same height!”

“What…!”

“No, actually mushrooms are taller than you! And your head looks like a mushroom too. Oh look, now you’ve got a bald spot! Your marriage prospects are done for!”

“……!”

I opened my clenched hand dramatically.

Rustle.

The silky golden hair I’d torn out scattered across the floor.

“Hahaha! No one’s going to like you anymore. You’ve got a hole in your head! You’ll be known as the Bald Spot Young Lord of the social scene. Once hair is forcibly ripped out like that, it never grows back. The roots are dead forever!”

“……”

Of course, his hair would grow back. I was just spewing nonsense.

Maybe because he was still a kid, the sharpness in his eyes began to fade, replaced by a watery, trembling look.

Elliot stared at me, eyes glistening with tears.

“You, you… you…!”

“What. You stuttering now?”

Hiccup. Hiccup.

I stared at those teary eyes, my hair disheveled, and smirked deliberately.

‘Maybe this is a bit childish, but…’

They say you can tell a rotten tree from the sprout. I could already see this brat growing into a nasty tree in the future.

‘He really did openly disrespect Dad when he got older.’

Remembering how this boy acted toward me and Dad when he grew up, this was honestly too mild.

‘How should I crush that rotten attitude deep into his bones?’

I narrowed my eyes at him.

But then I sensed movement. I dropped to the floor in an instant.

“Waaah!”

I burst into tears.

“What on earth is going on here!”

Grandpa appeared with a raised voice.

“Hic…”

Thanks to being flung earlier, my clothes and hair were a complete mess.

Grandpa scanned Elliot and me with a sharp gaze.

Surprisingly, I looked worse off than Elliot.

He only had some hair sticking up, while his clothes were still neat. Mine looked shabby and dirty by comparison.

‘Well, they were old clothes to begin with.’

No way to compare with his fancy new outfit.

I lowered my gaze, let my eyes well up, and hiccuped.

‘It’s petty and a bit underhanded…’

But I knew how to turn public opinion my way.

I’d lived to sixteen once, after all.

“My dad’s not trash!”

Elliot’s eyes widened the instant I shouted it.

“Not trash? Everyone calls him the useless uncle! A disgrace to the family! He’s worthless!”

“……”

That one hit hard.

To hear my precious dad described that way by others…

‘Just because…’

Just because he was born with the wrong ability.

What’s so wrong with having the power to make plants grow fast?

“That kind of trash ability is useless in this world! Grandpa hates your dad too!”

I froze and turned to look at Grandpa.

“……!”

His eyes were wide with surprise.

Elliot, worked up, clenched his fists.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Hearing the commotion, people had gathered, and someone pushed through the crowd.

It was a tall man with black hair and red eyes, his brow slightly furrowed.

“Hic…”

Elliot’s face changed immediately.

“Dad—! Waaah!!”

“Elliot!”

The man rushed over and scooped him into his arms.

“What happened? Why are you such a mess? And your hair, what’s going on?!”

“Huaaah! Dad… I’m going bald… waaah…”

Elliot broke down crying miserably.

‘Guess it really did shock him.’

I slowly picked myself up off the floor.

‘If Elliot’s dad is here… that must be the second son of the Tigreto family.’

His name was… Run Tigreto.

‘I heard he’s a telekinetic ability user.’

Some kids have dads.

Seriously.

I let out a snort of disbelief, but then something warm trickled from my nose.

‘Snot?’

Panicking, I wiped under my nose with my hand.

‘Gasp.’

When I looked down, my mouth fell open.

It was blood.

“No way…”

I quickly tried to tilt my head back, but then

“You shouldn’t tilt it back. Bend forward.”

A large, calloused hand gently pinched my nose.

“Elliot!”

“Hic!”

Grandpa’s thunderous voice made Elliot flinch.

“Who told you to raise your hand against someone weaker than you!”

“No, no…”

“How dare you lay a hand on your cousin! Lay a hand, of all things!”

Elliot trembled in fear.

“When did I ever teach you to strike the weak! She’s not only younger than you but also frail. How could you hit someone who’s sickly!”

“It’s not true! It’s not! She… she hit me first! She grabbed my hair first… waaah…”

“She hit you?”

Grandpa looked down at me with a furrowed brow.

I let my shoulders droop and shook my head sadly.

“Valux. You tell me. Who started this.”

Uh oh.

The question was thrown to Valux. I frowned.

‘He’s obviously going to side with Elliot.’

They were close.

‘Any lie I tell will fall apart here.’

I clicked my tongue regretfully, but then Valux tilted his head.

“I don’t really know. I stepped away for a moment.”

Valux, who had been there the whole time, said that.

I glanced at him. He met my eyes, gave a small grin, and turned his head casually.

‘Did he just cover for me…?’

Valux Tigreto?

Over his beloved cousin?

Surprised, I decided to go with the flow. I pouted.

“…He called my dad trash first. My dad’s not trash.”

Honestly, if he hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have gotten into this childish fight.

“That’s true! Everyone said so! Uncle is…!”

“Elliot! That’s enough.”

Thud.

The sound of a door opening echoed.

Everyone turned toward the entrance of the main residence.

Naturally, my gaze followed. And I froze.

At the entrance stood Dad, disheveled and out of breath.

“Ledeia.”

“Dad!”

I broke free from Grandpa’s hand and ran to him. The moment I saw his face, all the emotions I’d been holding back came rushing in.

“Waaah…”

The tears burst out as soon as I was in Dad’s arms.

I’d fought a kid younger than my mental age, but somehow…

It hurt to think that even a child like that looked down on my dad.

‘Dad’s so pitiful…’

He was just born.

We were just born. That’s all.

‘I’m not holding back anymore.’

I glared and turned to Elliot.

“Hey. If you apologize for badmouthing my dad, I’ll fix your bald spot.”

I’d planned to keep my ability a secret from Dad, but I didn’t have a choice now.

“You don’t want to be bald for life, right?”

Now was the perfect time to use my power.