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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: The Snake's Eyes
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My sister frowned.
"So you're really telling me you're not bothered by it?"
"Yes. I'm not bothered at all. I've stopped expecting or being disappointed by anyone in the Mayol family."
At my words, my sister looked as if she'd been struck.
She seemed to realize that no matter how many times I called her 'sister', a solid wall had already been erected between us.
The wind wasn't unbearably cold, so I took off my hat.
I let my hair flutter in the sea breeze, and my sister spoke in a slow voice.
"...If I had as much power as you, I would have taken revenge on our parents. And on myself."
"Oh? How so?"
"I-I don't know! But I would've been cruel about it. I would have paid them back tenfold for what they did."
Hmm.
Now I was starting to understand why my sister acted so strangely.
In , Muria Mayol had played the roles of both heroine and villainess.
She had the kind of personality that always paid back any wrong done to her.
But I hadn't done that.
To be precise, I *couldn't* do that.
But for my sister, who didn't know I was Del in a past life or that my physical body couldn't handle my supernatural ability, my inaction must have been baffling.
I put my hat back on and asked.
"So, you want me to pay them back tenfold?"
"Well..."
My sister hesitated.
Suddenly, I saw a glowing tendril behind my sister, undulating on the wind.
My eyes widened.
Wasn't that what I saw in the underground passage at the marquis's estate?
The luminous thread was flowing toward the area people had cordoned off.
Could the same thing be happening here?
My heart began to race.
My eyes followed it as I pulled on my sister's arm.
"Sister, let's go over there."
"What?"
"You can fly, can't you? Hurry!"
"Ah, all right."
My sister lifted me into the air.
"Why are you so light?!"
I ignored her and urged her on.
I had a place in mind.
The cave Eugenie and her friends from the sea had mentioned.
"There should be a cave somewhere over there."
Her friends from the sea had spoken of a cave that seemed to swallow the wind.
And Eugenie had said the children told her the inside of the cave sparkled.
"This is my first time flying while carrying someone, so tell me if it's uncomfortable."
My sister took a path clear of people and headed toward the cliff's edge.
We soon found the cave.
Seawater was lapping at the cave floor, but we could still move around without any trouble.
My sister tested the ground with a few steps before setting me down.
The cave was damp, and our footsteps echoed around us.
My sister looked around as well.
"Is this the place that woman mentioned?"
We didn't have to go very far inside.
We walked toward a faint, flickering red light, and a triple-layered magic circle soon came into view.
Why is one of these here, too?
"Oh, look. There's one here, too."
My sister muttered, as if voicing my own thoughts.
I whipped my head around.
"You know what that is?"
My sister shrugged.
"In short, it's a device that disrupts the ecosystem, or so I've heard. I overheard the old man talking about it. There are a ton of them across the empire."
"...A ton of them?"
"Yep. And he said their numbers are only going to increase."
She said it nonchalantly.
I asked, bewildered.
"And the Temple is just letting it happen?"
"They're apparently in the evidence-gathering phase. The old man seems to think it's the work of Del or her followers."
What?!
"That's not true."
I denied it.
Once wasn't enough, so I stressed it again.
"It's not true."
I was Del.
My follower, Cheshire, had actually been helping to eliminate the magic circles behind the scenes.
So why were they making such baseless accusations?
"Is there any reason they believe Del is involved?"
Contrary to my bewilderment, my voice came out low and steady.
My head was spinning.
The animal friends I met in the Waning Moon Forest had asked Kivrin for help because of those magic circles.
Kivrin had reacted as if he were completely fed up with them.
And now, of all people, *I* was the prime suspect?
And what was this about disrupting the ecosystem?!
I tried to calm myself, but it wasn't easy.
The sight of that magic circle began to infuriate me.
My fingertips trembled, and I clenched and unclenched my fists.
Just then, my sister gasped.
"Your nose is bleeding...!"
A light formed in my sister's hand.
But as it neared me, it flickered out like a candle in the wind.
The same thing happened even when she summoned a stronger wave of divine power.
I stopped my sister, who was grinding her teeth in frustration.
"Sister, that's enough."
"If I just keep trying everything, something might work eventually!"
Her agitation had the opposite effect on me, and I grew calm.
Strangely, I even felt a little refreshed.
"Don't waste your divine power. Just lend me a handkerchief."
In the end, my sister pressed her handkerchief to my nose.
My sister asked.
"Are you always this sick?"
"Mmph..."
Uh, you're covering my mouth, too.
I tapped her arm, trying to signal that she should only cover my nose.
"What? You want me to press harder?"
No!
Fortunately, someone entered the cave just before I started having trouble breathing.
It was Winter.
"Step aside, Saintess."
Winter gently pushed my sister aside and checked on me.
My sister blinked.
"Duchess? How did you get here...? And what's with the binoculars around your neck?"
Winter pretended not to hear.
"We need to leave. I assume the Saintess can find her own way out?"
Though flustered, my sister answered clearly.
"I can take care of myself."
"Good."
Winter scooped me into her arms.
With a strange feeling, I fiddled with the binoculars.
Hmm, had she been watching us this whole time?
Then again, it was understandable that she'd be concerned, since Muria and I had gone out alone.
Over Winter's shoulder, I saw the fading afterimage of the magic circle and the mana stone, which had shattered on the floor.
My head throbbed.
D-don't tell me... does destroying one magic circle cost one massive nosebleed?
If I destroy just ten of them, I'll die of blood loss!
I shivered.
Appalled as I was, I tried not to get blood on Winter's clothes, but she noticed and pulled me even closer.
As if she knew the area well, Winter ran straight back to the Coral Villa.
"Young Mistress?"
"Good heavens, what in the world happened?"
Seeing my already ruined dress, Mera and Yelena were speechless.
Menelik looked just as concerned.
Winter set me down on the sofa.
Yelena administered first aid, and as Kivrin stroked my forehead, the bleeding quickly stopped.
After that, I was forcibly sent to my bedroom.
While my sister met with my parents-in-law, I lay under the covers, belatedly worrying about the consequences.
"That magic circle isn't going to make me fall apart, is it?"
After explaining everything to Kivrin, I defended myself, just a tiiiny bit.
"I really do try not to get angry, you know? I even make a vow every morning and every night to live as a good person... I mean, I sometimes forget, but I do try!"
My reflection was captured perfectly in Kivrin's golden eyes.
"You had, every reason to be angry. I... I'm a little annoyed myself."
"..."
I gazed up at Kivrin.
As if he'd made a decision, Kivrin told me to rest and left the room.
A good while later, my sister came up to my bedroom.
But she had started packing a bag.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yeah. The Temple contacted me. They said all the 'Snake's Eyes' have suddenly vanished."
She picked up her bag and perched on the edge of my bed.
I asked, bewildered.
"Snake's Eyes?"
"It's a nickname we use. Those magic circles always have a decoy mana stone set in the center. Supposedly, it looks like an eyeball."
"..."
I unconsciously touched the corner of my eye.
I suppressed the urge to point out that my eyes were purple and looked much nicer than any mana stone, and my sister continued her explanation.
"The Temple was monitoring a few of them, so the information is solid. Apparently, they all suddenly burst."
So it wasn't one massive nosebleed per magic circle?
My face lit up as I asked.
"How many of them burst?"
My sister raised an eyebrow.
"You seem awfully pleased about that. ...Then again, considering the Young Lord, I guess I can understand why."
"..."
"Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, you're a snake, too, aren't you?"
I have no idea.
I played innocent and kept my mouth shut.
My sister gave me a suspicious look.
"Did you do this?"
I plead the fifth.
I just tilted my head with an innocent expression, and my sister started reasoning it out herself.
"That's impossible. You didn't even touch the magic circle."
"That's right. I didn't touch it."
"And you're so frail you just stood there getting a nosebleed."
"Not just a nosebleed. A massive one. A whole lot of blood."
By adding the right interjections, I made my sister rule me out as a suspect.
"Right. It couldn't have been you. But why do I still feel so suspicious?"
It's just your imagination, I'm sure of it
