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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Olive Branch
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I hesitated in front of the head seat, the one closest to the communication stone.
Anyone could tell it was a seat only Menelik was allowed to sit in…
But the communication stone was connected to a strange device, so I couldn't move it.
[Sister? Won't you answer me?]
Ehh, whatever.
I’ll just call it… revenge!
I perched on the edge of the head seat.
My heart pounding, I glanced at the door and answered my sister.
“Why didn't you tell His Holiness what kind of future you saw?”
[It's just… a personal matter.]
My sister was being evasive, but I wasn't fooled.
“But you spread rumors about the future where the Crown Prince confessed to you, even getting other people involved.”
[…It's more personal than that. All right?]
Not wanting to drag it out, I got back to the point.
“So, since it wasn't your order, are you telling me to stop the Young Lord from leaving the castle?”
[Ah, seriously! I thought I was mentally prepared, but I'm not, so just wait!]
…What is she talking about?
My sister started to compose herself.
I glanced at the firmly shut door, then carefully leaned my back against the backrest.
Whoa, this is comfortable!
The family head's chair really is different!
The only downside was that my feet didn't touch the floor, but it was the most comfortable seat ever.
“Sister, are you ready yet?”
[J-Just a little longer.]
She was rushing me for an answer just a moment ago, and now she was the one dragging her feet.
I took out the financier that had been served for dessert.
Kivrin had packed it for me, and I was glad I'd taken it.
My eyes widened as I took a bite from the end.
I munched away without a care for etiquette for a while, until my sister finally mumbled in a voice devoid of confidence.
[Okay, I'm ready. I'll tell you now.]
I swallowed the rest of the financier and listened intently.
[The old man was convinced you were an ordinary person, so he wanted to keep pressuring the duchy. But I told him to leave you all alone.]
“You did? Why?”
My voice was laced with blatant disbelief.
[Y-You're a member of that family now, sister.]
“So what? With your personality, you'd kill me too if I got on your nerves.”
You'd even torture me. You'd do all sorts of things.
[I wasn't exactly thinking of killing you…]
Suddenly, my sister went quiet.
“You were.”
[Not anymore!]
“…”
I scoffed.
[I've started to do some self-reflection… or something like it. I guess it's similar? Let's just say I was a little impressed by the future you.]
“I take it I get on your nerves in the future?”
[I won't go into detail right now. This isn't a private communication stone, and I'm sure our conversation is being recorded.]
Aha, so that's what those wires were for.
She said she was only telling me, but it seemed my sister hadn't considered security either.
My sister sighed.
[Anyway, I thought the old man had more or less accepted it back then, but since I didn't tell him my prophecy and seemed to be hiding something, it looks like he went to see you using the duchy as an excuse. I've been avoiding public events to sort out my thoughts ever since I met you.]
I slowly mulled over my sister's words.
My sister added, clearly trying to gauge my mood.
[But rest assured, we really are going to leave you alone, whether the Young Lord goes out or not.]
…This is strange.
This was the first time my sister had ever been so deferential.
Did she see a future where I awaken some hidden power and defeat her?
For my sister, who ignored the weak and only grudgingly acknowledged the strong, to change this drastically, that was the only possibility.
I pouted without realizing it, but I didn't blame her.
My sister was the pillar of the Temple, the one with the real power.
Whatever the reason, if she was going to leave the duchy alone because she was wary of me, I had no reason to refuse.
I swung my feet and asked.
“By the way, if you had no intention of telling His Holiness, why did the maids report it?”
[Isn't it obvious? I don't have any tight-lipped, loyal servants.]
I deliberately adopted a worried tone.
“You can ignore this if you want, but if you're going to recruit loyal servants, leave out any maid named Doris.”
Doris was the name of the Temple maid who had been particularly cruel to Kivrin in the Snake Pit.
Don't underestimate the memory of the great Cheria.
[Fine.]
“If we're done talking, I'll just…”
My sister stopped me.
[Um, sister.]
She keeps acting out of character.
“Hmm?”
[…N-Never mind. You hang up first! I always hang up first, so me waiting for you is a huge favor, you know?!]
Wow, she's like a different person from the sister who hurled insults at me on my birthday.
“I don't know how to hang up.”
Again, I feigned innocence.
[You don't even know how to use a communication stone? Sister, what do you even… N-No, never mind. Should I teach you?]
No, thanks.
I let her words go in one ear and out the other, tapping the communication stone randomly.
A moment later, it clicked off.
I don't know what future she saw, but teaching me how to use a communication stone isn't nearly enough to make up for everything she's done.
Now, she was the one who needed something, not me.
I dusted off my skirt and went outside.
For some reason, the head butler was smiling, and when I saw Menelik later, he was just smiling too, which made me a little nervous.
D-Don't tell me they found out I secretly sat in the head seat?!
* * *
Kivrin was organizing a bookshelf.
There was a knock on the secret door from the other side.
When Kivrin opened it, a girl with gently downturned eyes and pupils like grapes gave him a bashful smile.
“I didn't have the strength to open it.”
Cheria wriggled onto the bed and claimed the spot where she always slept.
If Mera saw them, she would give them a look that said they should just use one bedroom, but there was already no corner of Kivrin's room that Cheria hadn't touched.
Kivrin, too, would occasionally tidy up Cheria's desk.
“So, um, here's what I talked about with my sister!”
Cheria chattered on, recounting the conversation Kivrin had tried his best to pretend he hadn't overheard.
Cheria's voice was filled with a kindness so tender it made his heart ache, and it was always a pleasure to hear.
It was less like the harsh sun and more like the gentle, seeping light of dawn.
“…Even though the Temple said they really won't interfere, you don't seem very happy, Young Lord.”
Kivrin tilted his head.
He used to be afraid of being killed by his father or locked away in the Temple.
Kivrin had to stay in the duchy.
Even if it meant confining himself to the Snake Pit.
That desperation had been clear, but the reason for it had been vague. He finally understood after the sealing spell broke once.
Kivrin had been subconsciously waiting for ‘her’.
Because there had been a prophecy that ‘she’ would come to the duchy.
Rose had heard the same prophecy and stayed in the duchy, but had failed to recognize her.
Because he didn't know the saying that snakes always travel in pairs.
It was never just one.
And there had been no guarantee that the first snake to appear was Del.
“I-I'm happy. Because you and Mother are h-happy.”
That was all Kivrin said.
He felt terribly sorry for lying to Cheria, for telling her he only remembered parts of his past life.
In truth, it wasn't just a part of it that Kivrin recalled.
It would be no exaggeration to say it was everything… minus one large piece.
But that didn't change the world.
It only made him like Cheria, whom he already liked, a little more.
However…
Kivrin picked up the old book he had been looking at just moments before.
Inside was a malicious illustration of Del, a composite of everything loathsome in the world.
The story went that the illustrator who drew Del later died after refusing all food and drink, claiming he was being watched by someone.
It was a truly pointless footnote.
‘Cheria would be so upset if she knew.’
Hadn't his own adopted son from his past life spouted the same nonsense?
Rose wasn't in his memories of his past life, so the time Del and Rose had spent together must have been short.
But Del didn't let just anyone by her side.
She must have cared for Rose a great deal.
Yet, the stories of Del left behind in history were all so similar that Rose firmly believed Del had gone mad and died.
Shockingly grotesque and savage.
She plundered from the rich, devoured children, destroyed nations that didn't offer her virgin sacrifices… The distortions were endless.
His eyes trembling, Kivrin shoved the book back onto the bookshelf.
He thought he understood why his past self had claimed to be Del in front of Cheria.
And why he had gone to such lengths to patch up the sealing spell once it had broken.
He would have done the same thing himself.
…As he thought, he couldn't reveal it yet.
Kivrin was still only ten years old. He hadn't yet learned how to speak without hurting Cheria.
At best, he would only end up hurting her ten times more by saying something like, “Your past life was a being who committed every evil deed imaginable, but that's actually a distortion. The only proof I have is my memory, though.”
“…”
