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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: A Strange Welcome Home
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“We'll continue as we have, applying pressure to the ducal house from time to time...”
“No. Leave them alone for now.”
Muria muttered, her voice exhausted.
Cheria had said she would come whenever she was called, but if Muria could help it, she never wanted to get involved with her again.
Cheria's power struck its target with precision, without any warning signs.
It was impossible to avoid, impossible to even perceive until it was too late.
What's more, Cheria herself didn't seem to know she was using her power. The look on her face as she thanked Muria for letting her go had been the picture of innocence.
If she hadn't seen that premonition, she would have been completely fooled and foolishly suspected Menelik.
Nocturne wore a puzzled expression.
“But is it not the will of the gods to ostracize the snake? Have you perhaps received a new revelation?”
*What a witless question, typical of a man who's the epitome of incompetence,* Muria thought.
He wanted only to live as someone's servant, hating to make any decisions on his own.
Muria suppressed the urge to unleash a torrent of curses and said.
“The god said to ostracize the snake only when we can handle it, right? He said he refuses to let his followers die pointless deaths. And from what I saw of the Duke today, he cares far more for his son now than he did ten years ago.”
*And for my sister, too.*
Muria swallowed the rest of her thought.
At the mention of Menelik, who already had a history of killing priests, Nocturne quickly agreed.
“I see.”
“He said he would descend in glory once I come of age, so stay alive and wait.”
“Well, well... To think the day would come when the Saintess worries for me.”
*Idiot.*
Muria let his words go in one ear and out the other, biting her nails.
*Right, there must be a way then.*
But instead of relief, she felt as though she'd been struck in the head.
*...What way? A way to report my sister, who's beyond my power to handle, to the god and get rid of her?*
Nocturne's chatter no longer registered.
Instead, her mind was filled with the image of her sister, drifting alone through a starlit ocean.
—*You came to see me because you were worried?*
The voice was filled with an unmistakable hint of pleasure.
The friendly crinkle of her eyes, the corners of her mouth turned up in slight satisfaction.
—*My dear sister, how thoughtful of you.*
...Her sister should not have reacted that way.
Muria had never felt pity for her weak little sister.
She'd felt no guilt when she pushed away her sister's hand, a sister who had nothing and yet asked for help.
It was her sister's fault for being born that way, not hers.
She believed people were treated according to how they were born.
Just as she, who possessed power, was revered by all.
Therefore, she thought it was wrong for her future sister to still be smiling at her.
As someone who only knew how to look out for herself, Muria found her future sister's reaction all the more difficult to understand.
Why did she call her 'sister' when she had gained so much power?
Why did she welcome her without a shred of caution?
Shouldn't she have been preparing a revenge plot even grander than Muria's own plan to report her to the god?
If Muria had been born like her sister, endured such a terrible time, and finally obtained power, she certainly would have done so.
She would have paid them back in kind, killed them miserably.
Thus, the more she mulled it over, the more confused she became.
Was she toying with her?
Or had she forgiven her?
She truly didn't know.
Perhaps... the most important part of the premonition wasn't that her sister was the snake, but that she still called her 'sister'?
It was absurd, impossible.
And it shouldn't be.
* * *
Even though we'd hurried, it was dawn by the time we arrived at Crescent Moon Castle.
My eyelids kept drooping with sleep, but they snapped wide open the moment I saw Winter.
“Mother!”
“Come here, Cheria.”
Winter opened her arms to me.
I quickly ran into her embrace.
“I missed you!”
Winter laughed softly and caressed my cheek.
“I found it quite empty without you following me around. Hmm, you don't seem to be hurt...”
“Why are you still awake?”
“How could I not be concerned, knowing you were coming via warp gate? Besides.”
Winter let out a short sigh.
I quickly lifted my head.
“How is the Young Lord? Is he in a lot of pain?”
Winter, who had been tickling my cheek with her fingers and the back of her hand, hesitated for a few seconds.
“Kivrin is sleeping in another bedroom. You can... see him later.”
*Another bedroom?*
“Is there something wrong with the Young Lord's bedroom?”
She blatantly avoided my gaze.
“For now, you should see Yelena and then get some sleep. We can talk when the sun is up; it won't be too late.”
*What... what is it?*
I went to see Yelena obediently, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was strange.
But Yelena only checked my health and said nothing about Kivrin.
In the end, just as Winter had said, I met Kivrin after sunrise and heard the story from Viscount Rose's lips.
“You heard he collapsed because of the sealing spell, right? He woke up soon after, but then he threatened to smash the servants' heads one by one if you weren't brought back immediately. I had to knock him out when no one was looking.”
“...”
My eyes went wide at Rose's revelation.
*So is that why they let me see Kivrin, on the condition that Rose was present?*
But Kivrin himself looked even more shocked.
“I-I don't remember.”
Kivrin seemed the same as usual. At least on the outside.
He must have been lost in thought, because he hastily hid the paper he was looking at as soon as we arrived. I caught a glimpse of the words 'renowned doctor'.
There was also a randomly spread-out map and documents about personal assets, but I pretended not to see them for now.
“Then what about that... rambling thing you said to the Duke...”
“I remember that. I d-don't regret it.”
“...”
It was a resolve that could kill Menelik several times over.
Rose crossed their arms.
“Anyway, this isn't good. At this rate, Del will wake up.”
At those words, Kivrin tilted his head in confusion, while I flinched.
—*There's a snake sealed inside Kivrin's body.*
—*Is that why scales appear on his face?*
—*Exactly. And that snake has a very nasty personality. The worst.*
If they'd only said its personality was nasty, I would have just accepted it and moved on.
—*At the time, I was far away from Kivrin, and when I finally found him, all I heard was that he'd gone mad and died. So, if Kivrin regains his memories, he might become quite unstable.*
Rose asked Kivrin.
“Did something happen yesterday? Did someone piss you off so much you wanted to kill them? No matter how imperfect the sealing spell is, it shouldn't act up like this all of a sudden.”
I thought of a terrible possibility.
“Could it be that the reason you demanded I be brought back immediately was because you were pissed off and wanted to k—”
“No! E-Even if I don't remember, that could never be the reason!”
“That's right, of course not!”
Kivrin and Rose denied it at the same time.
I slumped over the table in relief.
*Ugh.* It's a relief that Kivrin is okay, but I have no idea what's going on.
In fact, I was the one who wanted to kill someone yesterday.
I was already on edge because of the pink-haired statue, and the moment I heard my sister's words, something in my head really just snapped.
A-And I even lost the locket with the scale inside...
I darted my eyes around, sneaking a glance at Kivrin.
From the circumstances, it seemed I'd lost it at the temple, but Menelik wouldn't let me go look for it, so I had no choice but to come back.
*What do I do? I feel so bad.*
If Kivrin hadn't given me the scale, I might not have made it back safely.
I felt like a shameless wretch who repaid kindness with evil.
“By the way, Rose, why are you speaking so ca-casually to Lady Cheria?”
“W-well... it just sort of happened...”
Whether Rose was flustered or not, I sniffled with guilt.
Come to think of it, I didn't have any warp aftereffects this time.
My body felt light, too.
Could this also be thanks to carrying the scale around for a while?
Unable to come up with a decent excuse, Rose shot up from their seat.
“I just remembered something I have to do, so I'll be going now. Anyway, Young Lord, try not to get too stressed!”
For someone who was worried Del might wake up, they sure left me behind in a hurry.
Suddenly left alone with Kivrin, I squirmed and straightened my posture.
*Ugh, I should hurry and apologize.*
“...Um, Young Lord. Actually, I lost the scale on my way back from the Grand Temple.”
The locket, too.
I-I'll have to apologize to Winter later, too...
As I stared glumly at the floor, Kivrin's reply came.
“I have plenty more. Would you like another?”
“Eek, no!”
“...”
I grabbed Kivrin's hand before he could pluck another scale.
“I was trying to apologize! I really did carry it with me so carefully...”
“It's all right. You came back to my side, after all.”
Kivrin nuzzled my hand against his cheek. A smile played on his lips, as if a long-held desire had been satisfyingly fulfilled.
“...”
“We are destined, after all... I believed we would surely meet again.”
*Huh?*
Kivrin isn't stuttering.
The atmosphere seemed to have changed a little, too.
That is, since Rose left.
As if he had been waiting for us to be alone.
