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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Making People Feel Good
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“Ah.”
At the sound that escaped my lips, everyone at the dining table turned to look at me.
“What is it?”
Edmond’s eyes were the first to flash. His cool expression made it seem like he was interrogating me, but his gaze was laced with concern.
“Bite your tongue?”
Isaac asked in a playful tone.
Yulia immediately jabbed her elbow into Isaac’s side.
“Do you think Emily is you?”
As she snapped at him, Isaac grumbled and pouted.
“Sis, awe you okay?”
Andrea mumbled, his mouth full of food. It was nothing, but all the attention was making me feel a little awkward.
“No. It was nothing. I just remembered something I forgot.”
It had suddenly occurred to me that if the Lemegeton contained information about the demon Penelope contracted with, I might be able to find out the extent of its abilities.
I had the Lemegeton right here, and I’d forgotten about this method.
“Something you forgot?”
“Yes.”
I answered while cutting my steak.
“What is it?”
Andrea peeked over, his curiosity piqued. The child’s eyes were sparkling.
“It’s nothing special. You’re eating so well these days, Andrea. What a good boy.”
“Hmph. Don’t treat me like a kid.”
Andrea whipped his head away, which only made his chubby cheeks more pronounced.
“Pfft. Is our little one sulking? Huh?”
“Don’t say I’m sulking!”
“Looks like you are.”
Isaac snickered, teasing Andrea. Yulia clicked her tongue, seeing him act just like Andrea at his age.
“Aww, let me pinch our baby’s cheeks. Come here!”
Isaac pulled Andrea into a sudden hug. He was about to rub their cheeks together as usual when Andrea shuddered violently.
“Ah, you’re cold!”
A momentary silence fell over the table.
“What? Why are your hands so cold, big brother?”
Andrea reached for Isaac’s hand in surprise. Isaac slyly pulled his hand back, avoiding his grasp, but that only raised more suspicion.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh~! Uh, well, I’ve developed poor circulation lately! That’s why my hands and feet are as cold as ice.”
“Poor circulation?”
The term seemed difficult for Andrea, who furrowed his brow and tilted his head. It was an adorable sight, but a cold sweat ran down the backs of everyone watching.
“Your face is super pale too! Your lips have no… no color! Not at all!”
“Ah, this isn’t a real illness. It’s a look, like I’m sick. It’s the trend in the capital these days. They call it the ‘frail beauty’ look….”
“Is that it?”
“That’s it.”
Andrea tilted his head to the other side.
“Trends are weird. Before, you were all wearing strange things on your wrists.”
“Adult trends are always weird.”
“Then are Edmond and Yulia following the trend too?”
The spark suddenly jumped sideways. Damn. We’d let our guard down a bit at home, and Andrea had caught on.
“Huh? Oh, oh! Yeah! We’re trying out the trend!”
“Ahem.”
Yulia and Edmond were suddenly turned into trend-followers.
“But why aren’t you doing it, Emily? Is Yulia the only one dressing up? That’s mean.”
“Ah, no, it’s not like that…!”
“I’m just not interested in trends. It doesn’t really suit me, either.”
Yulia was flustered and rambling, so I continued for her.
“Should I try it too? If Andrea wants to see it, I suppose I could.”
“No! Don’t do it! Trends are weird.”
It seemed we had accidentally instilled a prejudice in the child that all trends are weird. Still, it was endearing how the youngest sibling accepted whatever his older brother and sisters said, no matter how absurd.
‘Did we get past it for now…?’
Andrea went back to focusing on his meal. We exchanged glances and let out sighs of relief.
We were about to continue with our own meals.
“But when did you all get your powers?”
Andrea suddenly looked up again.
“Huh?”
“Well, the other kids keep asking. They ask why I’m a Walker but I’m not good at anything.”
A dejected look crossed Andrea’s face.
Who on earth were these kids? A list of noble children Andrea’s age who might attend the academy with him flashed through my mind.
“I’m eleven now…”
Andrea mumbled, fiddling with his fork. It tapped against the plate, making a small noise.
That noise felt like a ripple spreading through our hearts.
‘Ah. They don’t have to worry about me.’
I could feel Edmond and Isaac subtly checking my expression. The topic of Divine Grace was a semi-taboo in this household.
Andrea didn’t know the specific reason, but he must have vaguely sensed it, bottling it up until now.
“Andrea. It would be best to discuss that after we’ve finished eating.”
Edmond indirectly warned him to stop.
“Why? You can at least tell me how old you were…”
“Andrea.”
“Okay…”
The child mumbled his reply and hung his head low.
*Hmph.* A small, sulky sound escaped him.
“Why are you discouraging the boy?”
I stepped in to defend Andrea. It was also a signal that they didn’t need to be so cautious.
“I don’t know the exact ages, but I think Edmond was ten, and Isaac was eight. Yulia was around seven.”
As I told him what I knew, Andrea’s face fell. He seemed bothered that he hadn’t awakened his ability by the age of eleven.
“But our mother awakened her ability at fourteen, and our grandfather at fifteen. You know how incredible they both were, right?”
“I know! You said Grandpa earned a lo~t of money, and Mom was a hero!”
“That’s right. So there’s no need to be impatient. The age you awaken it doesn’t matter.”
At my words, Andrea’s face gradually brightened, like a flower blooming in the dark.
“How old were you when you found out, Emily?”
“…Huh?”
But that sudden, unexpected question was something I hadn’t anticipated,
and I was at a loss for words.
The sole blemish of House Walker, the heretic. Had that name not yet reached this young child?
“I…”
When I couldn’t readily continue, Andrea’s eyes widened.
“Why? Wasn’t that your ability, Emily?”
Andrea asked again with a voice full of conviction, then added.
“The power to make people feel good!”
I was stunned by his completely unexpected words.
I had never heard anything like it before, so I didn’t know how to respond.
As I hesitated, Isaac threw an arm around Andrea’s neck and pulled him into a hug.
“Our little one is so smart, huh? Figuring it out without anyone telling him!”
“Ah! You’re cold! And that huuurts!”
“You clever little rascal!”
Isaac kept his arm around Andrea’s neck and ruffled his hair wildly. Thanks to him, Andrea, now sporting a bird’s nest on his head, glared daggers.
“Grr. I’m really not playing with you anymore, Isaac!”
While Isaac and Andrea were roughhousing, Yulia sidled up next to me.
“Are you okay?”
I couldn’t miss the deep concern packed into her blunt words.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
I replied with a deliberately bright smile.
“No matter what others say, I knew it myself. That I, too, have proof that I’m a Walker.”
I looked down at my palm and clenched it into a fist. There were certainly times when I was younger…
…when the harsh, sorrowful gazes of others made me resent my parents on lonely nights, wondering why I was so different from my twin.
Days when it felt like I couldn’t go on unless I could somehow prove my ability, even if only to myself.
“And now, you know it, Edmond knows it, and Isaac knows it too.”
Though the circumstances were rather shocking.
“Besides, it seems Andrea knows about my other ability. So that’s enough for me.”
“If you say so…”
“Yeah. It’s a selfish thought, but sometimes I feel this way. Before, I had to suffer alone with this secret, but now we can all talk about it together.”
Why I got a fever and felt sick whenever I went to the temple as a child. Why I trembled like a mouse before a cat whenever I stood before a cleric.
My siblings probably never suspected a thing. They must have just thought I was frail.
“So, I actually feel more relieved now than before.”
“…”
“It’s strange, isn’t it? Even though we’re being chased from all sides. The fact that I’m more at ease now.”
Yulia didn’t say anything in response to my words. I wondered if my confession had been too selfish.
‘Then again, we’ve had several close calls already. Was I being too carefree?’
Feeling a little self-conscious, I forced a smile and turned my head.
“But of course, it would have been best if none of this had ever happ… Yulia?”
I stopped mid-sentence and called her name. And for good reason—Yulia was silently shedding thick tears.
