Episode 32
"...Mmm."
When I opened my eyes, a rather familiar ceiling came into view.
It seems this is my room where I stayed before entering the Academy.
"Argh...!"
I felt slightly bewildered wondering why I was seeing my room's ceiling, but as I tried to sit up, terrible pain suddenly surged through my entire body.
Thanks to that, I was lying there trembling when someone quietly grabbed my hand.
"...Young Master."
"Kania."
We gazed at each other in silence for a while, then spoke simultaneously without either of us going first.
"It's all my fault..."
"Sorry, for showing you such a pathetic sight."
After finishing our words, we once again fell into quiet contemplation of each other.
"...What fault could there possibly be?"
Breaking the silence, I forced a smile and said.
"You didn't want to go to Kadia, but you held back, didn't you? Thanks to that, a mishap occurred, but if only your curse could disappear..."
"No, that's... that's not it..."
"Hmm...?"
But for some reason, Kania made a pained expression and started sobbing.
"Kania...? What's wrong...?"
"I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Young Master..."
"......?"
Kania prostrated herself before me on the bed and began apologizing with a trembling voice, and as I patted her back with a puzzled expression to comfort her...
- Step... Step...
"......!"
Footsteps began to sound from the corridor, and as they grew closer to my room, Kania and I hurriedly separated in surprise.
- Creak...
The door opened and my sister Aria entered, and seeing her, we quietly exchanged glances then naturally began acting.
"Young Master... just what did you do to my sister...?"
"Well, I told you I didn't do anything?"
"But... that medicine, what on earth..."
"Ah, just get out!!"
Shouting, I threw the pillow beside me at Kania, and the next moment it hit her face squarely.
"...Huh?"
I was momentarily flustered, then adjusted my expression and grumbled inwardly while fuming.
'...Why didn't she dodge?'
I had secretly given her a signal to dodge when I threw the pillow, but for some reason Kania didn't avoid it.
Did she miss the signal? Or did she deliberately take the hit to make the act more natural?
Either way, I feel terribly sorry toward Kania.
"...As you commanded."
While I was thinking this, Kania left the room with a very pained expression.
"...Disgusting bastard."
The moment she left the room, Aria's cold verbal abuse began.
"If anything happens to Kadia... I'll blow your head off... you trash bastard..."
"...Hanging out with a lowly wench, have you become lowly too? Aria?"
"What did you just say?"
"That's what happens when you play around with lowly wenches—you develop that kind of complacent mindset. Understand?"
Aria's face turned pale with rage at my words. Meanwhile, I snorted at her and continued.
"We are the children of the Starlight Duke family, boasting power beyond reckoning in the Empire. And Kania and Kadia are lowly commoners with no roots, picked up from some dirty back alley."
"...Ha."
"So instead of wasting time developing affection for such rootless things, learn some social graces for the family's sake..."
"Shut up."
Aria cut off my words with a fierce voice and began approaching me while gathering star mana in her hand.
"There's nothing you won't say to the Acting Lord..."
"Your mouth just spills disgusting words the moment it opens, doesn't it?"
"What?"
"I'll stuff that star mana you envy so much right into that mouth, so open up, brat."
Aria pointed her hand at my face, and a complex magic formula began to form above her palm.
'...As expected, she's a smart kid.'
Watching her, I fell into thought for a moment.
If I am a 'Star Swordsman' who harbors star mana within my body, my sister Aria is a 'Star Mage' who releases star mana.
Having inherited the abilities of my mother, who was the strongest 'Star Mage' in the history of the Starlight family, she will one day become a great mage and a star that protects the Empire.
Furthermore, my sister has a kind heart.
Unlike the rotten Empire nobles, she enjoys caring for and helping the impoverished citizens.
Even in the previous cycle, she used the Starlight family's wealth to support the citizens until just before the Empire fell. Of course, she turned away corrupt nobles who came seeking help.
And finally, my sister is extremely adorable.
When she was young, she always followed behind me, and when I turned around, she would make surprised rabbit eyes then smile bashfully and hug...
"Open your mouth, you trash bastard."
"...Mm."
Lost in memories for a moment, I came to my senses at the cold voice coming from in front of me.
Looking ahead, Aria had approached right to my nose and was pointing a magic circle at my mouth with an expression of contempt.
'...My karma, I suppose.'
The Aria who used to cry sorrowfully, who grabbed me when I threatened servants, who knelt before me when I committed evil deeds and begged me to return to my kind former self—she is gone now.
As my evil deeds continued for months, years, decades, her heart was gradually worn away, and now only contempt, hatred, and disgust toward me remained.
- Snap!
Thinking this, I snapped my fingers, and servants swarmed into my room.
"...Remove her."
""Understood.""
At my short command, the servants began rushing toward Aria all at once.
No matter how much of the Empire's greatest scoundrel I am, I was legally the highest authority in this house, so the servants had no choice but to follow my orders.
Of course, they would all be taken down by a single one of Aria's spells, but since the servants received orders, they were obligated to carry them out, so in this situation Aria would have no choice but to step back.
"Ha, so this is how you're playing it?"
As I expected, Aria, held back by the servants, withdrew her magic.
However, raising her hand to stop the servants who were trying to drag her out, she began criticizing me again with a cold expression.
"How does it feel to usurp Father's position?"
"...Fantastic."
"Crazy bastard, is that something a person would say?"
Continuing to deal with her was too painful for me as well, so I tried to dismiss her roughly, but she continued throwing words at me while using her star mana to resist the servants' strength.
"Sure enough... you're the one who did that to Father, aren't you?"
"...What?"
"Father was perfectly healthy, then suddenly collapsed on his way home and fell into a coma. Even the Empire's finest doctors all say they don't know the cause."
"........"
"If he collapsed simply from stress, that wouldn't make sense. That means someone is behind it... You know as well as I do that Father had no reason to make enemies, right?"
"...Aria."
"Don't say my name, you disgusting bastard. Anyway, there's only one person in the Empire who would want Father to collapse."
Saying this, Aria pointed at me with tears flowing from her eyes.
"You, who's now the Acting Lord with a smug grin on your face—what did you do to Father? That's it, isn't it?"
"...Take her out quickly."
"Am I next? You took Mother, then Father from me... now you'll take my life too?"
"...I said take her out."
"Mother in heaven would be wailing if she saw..."
"Get her the hell out of here, you bastards!!!!!!!"
Finally exploding, I shouted at the top of my lungs, and the servants, who had been subtly going easier on Aria, finally glared at me coldly and dragged her out of the room.
[Villainy Points 500pt acquired! (Family Ruined)]
"............."
I lay in bed staring blankly at the system window floating before my eyes, then quietly got up with my exhausted body and headed to my desk.
"...Hoo."
Taking out a family photo from the secret compartment in the drawer, I gently stroked the images of my mother and father, Aria and me, all smiling brightly, and murmured.
"...I can still endure. For now."
Thus, I spent some time recalling happier times in my mind.
.
"...Why are you sitting like that?"
"Ah, it's nothing..."
"Good, you look better sitting comfortably."
Time passed and evening came, marking dinner time for the Starlight family.
"...This is wine aged for 75 years, imported from the Western Continent."
"75 years?"
"Yes, grown personally by a renowned master..."
- Crash!!
"...Bring at least a 100-year vintage."
"...Yes."
Having caused a scene from the start of the meal, I dismissed the minor Villainy Point acquisition window floating before me, and seeing Kadia shrinking back again as soon as the wine glass broke, I spoke.
"...Your posture is disheveled again?"
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Never mind, you're cute so I'll let it pass."
Saying this with a greasy smile, Aria, sitting across from me, made an expression like she wanted to vomit and tossed out a remark.
"Hitting on a girl my age... psychopathic bastard."
Hearing that while feeling full, I cut the steak before me and casually asked Kadia a question.
"...Kadia, have you noticed any changes in your body lately?"
"Yes?"
"Hmm... how should I say? Like your body suddenly becoming hot... or your stomach tingling with pain..."
As I asked with slight tension, Aria's expression listening to my words began to rot, while Kadia quietly nodded and opened her mouth.
"N-now that you mention it... my body has been slightly hot and my lower stomach has been tingling since earlier..."
"...Oh!"
Hearing that, I smiled broadly and handed her the pre-cut steak, thinking to myself.
'...Finally, awakening the 'Power of Healing'?'
The symptoms I asked Kadia about are precursors that appear just before the 'Power of Healing' awakens.
By tomorrow morning, her 'Power of Healing' will likely be fully awakened, and then she'll be able to neutralize Kania's curse to some extent.
That means the frequency of me sharing my life force with her will decrease, and I should be able to breathe a little easier...
"Trash bastard."
".....?"
Suddenly Aria began trembling all over and started criticizing me again.
I've lost count of how many times I've heard her call me trash.
"...Kadia, sleep with me tonight for the first time in a while."
"Y-yes? But..."
"You, Kadia is sleeping with me tonight... so don't even come near. I'm warning you."
".....?"
Tilting my head at her, Aria answered while staring straight into my eyes.
"...If you come, I'll blow off your lower body, Acting Lord or not. Understand that."
".........."
Her eyes were so fierce that I unconsciously pulled my legs back, promising myself I wouldn't even accidentally approach their room.
"...Young Master, won't you have some?"
"...Hmm?"
Thinking this, Kania, who was sitting next to me at the head seat where I sat separated from my sister Kadia, quietly asked.
"...Right now Kadia is more important than me. She needs to eat well for her healing power to increase, you know."
"Is that... certain?"
"...I suppose so?"
"........."
She looked at my face coldly for a moment, then quietly rose from her seat.
"...Please excuse me."
Then Kadia disappeared somewhere. Where did she go suddenly in the middle of dinner?
"Just what disgusting things did you say to make Kania unni make such an unpleasant expression?"
"...Aria."
"This won't do. I really need to somehow remove Kania unni from your service..."
- Crash!!
"...Hic."
I was about to quietly let her words pass, but hearing her say she'd remove Kania from my service, I ended up shattering the cup I was holding.
"There's a limit... to tolerating your insolence, Aria..."
Looking at my blood-covered hand for a moment, I suppressed my exploding emotions and recited coldly.
"If you step out of line one more time, I'll remove you from the family registry and chase you out to the back alleys with Kadia. If that's fine with you, continue what you were saying."
".........."
"Good, seems you understand. Now shut up and eat your meal."
When I finished speaking, Aria bit her lip hard, then lowered her head and began eating meekly, and seeing her, I looked at the system window before my eyes and smiled bitterly.
[Villainy Point 1pt acquired! (Flared Up)]
'...As expected, I can't fool the system.'
It seems Kania has become quite a precious existence to me.
.
"...Haa."
After finishing dinner and handling duties as Acting Lord, groans began escaping involuntarily.
Of course, it's not because the work is hard or difficult.
Having often played handling Duke family affairs through make-believe with Serena when I was young, I can do this much with my eyes closed.
The problem is that my current physical condition is terrible.
[Name: Frey Raon Starlight]
[Abilities: Strength ???/ Mana ???/ Intelligence ???/ Mental Strength 9.3]
[Special Traits: Star's Protection/ Critical Condition/ Life Force Depleted/ Fatal Wound/ Frail/ Exhausted]
[Disposition: Hero]
"...Hoo, I'm going crazy."
I tried to focus on recovering my body over the past few days, but there was so much to handle that I couldn't rest properly, so my condition remains poor.
In particular, the wound on my shoulder still tingles with pain.
Feeling pain throughout my body and frowning for a while, I sighed and opened the skill shop for the first time in ages.
[Shop / Basic Skills Tier 2]
- Deceiver's Guile Lv2 700pt
Description) Permanently increases the persuasiveness of lies slightly.
- Information Detection Lv3 1000pt
Description) In the information detection skill, a person's degree of good and evil is displayed as numerical values. (-100~100)
[Accumulated pt: 2001pt]
"...Should give me physical recovery skills or healing skills. Honestly."
Cursing the system's wickedness for a moment, I ended up buying all the remaining skills in a fit of pique.
"...Well, I had to buy them anyway."
I briefly regretted it, but recalling there was nowhere else to spend points, I leaned back in the chair and began to rest for a moment.
- Creak...
While I was resting, the door suddenly opened.
Thinking Aria had barged in again, I hurriedly took a defensive stance, but it was Kania who entered, not Aria.
"...Young Master? What's that ridiculous pose?"
"It's nothing... nothing at all."
I turned slightly red and looked away, and Kania, watching me with a slight smile, approached and set something down before me.
"...What's this?"
"Sandwich and coffee. The food Young Master likes most."
"Oh... thank you, but why suddenly this?"
When I asked with a slightly bewildered expression, Kania smiled bitterly and pointed at my body.
"You won't heal if you don't eat anything."
"Ah."
As I stood there awkwardly at her words, Kania turned and headed for the door.
"Thanks for preparing the snack, Kania."
I smiled and saw her off, but suddenly Kania stopped right before the door.
- Click!
"...Kania?"
Kania locked the door, then slowly approached me again and spoke in a low voice.
"...Please remove your clothes, Young Master."
"...What?"
"It's time to apply the medicine."
"Ah... was it? But I can apply the medicine myself..."
"No, I'll apply it to every nook and cranny. There are wounds in places Young Master's hands can't reach."
Hearing that, I scratched my head for a moment, then carefully removed my upper garment.
"...Then, I'll begin."
Thus, I ate the snack Kania prepared while entrusting my body to her ministrations, and so time passed.
"...Young Master."
"Hm?"
Kania, who had been silently applying medicine to my body for a while, suddenly looked at me steadily and asked.
"Is something the matter?"
"...Nothing's wrong."
When I answered as calmly as I could, Kania frowned and spoke.
"Then why are you trembling so much?"
"........."
As she said, my body was trembling considerably.
"It's nothing. Just... because it's hard..."
In truth, the trembling was due to complex reasons intertwined together—my father collapsed in the next room, my sister who hates and loathes me, and the anxiety I often feel when Kania isn't beside me from having become too dependent on her.
But thinking she would worry too much if I told her exactly that, I vaguely summarized it as 'being tired,' and Kania, who was still watching me steadily, smiled slightly and asked.
"...Shall I hold you, Young Master?"
"...Yes."
When I answered carefully, Kania embraced me and whispered in a low voice.
"...Are you perhaps worried about what Aria said earlier?"
"No, that's not it..."
"Don't worry, I am prepared to share even death with Young Master."
"........."
Feeling Kania's soft voice and her warmth, I quietly answered her.
"...There's no need to share death with me."
And silence flowed through the room for a moment.
- Bang bang bang!!
"Open the door!!!"
".......!"
The silence was broken by Aria violently pounding on the door, and Kania pulled away from me with a flustered expression, and I too was equally flustered and hurriedly began putting on my clothes.
"...Huh?"
Meanwhile, Aria, who had used magic to force the door open and enter, looked at me and Kania with reddened faces, tilting her head in confusion, then hurriedly walked somewhere.
"What are you..."
Taking some file from the drawer, she turned and went straight outside.
".........."
Watching her blankly for a while, I noticed Kania beside me had picked up the medicine container again, so I took off my top once more and muttered inwardly.
'...That file Aria took, I've seen it somewhere before.'
.
"Then, good night."
"Yeah... sleep well too, Kania."
Having so much to do, I worked until dawn, and seeing off Kania who had been helping me until then, I headed to my room.
'...Thank goodness I brought the cat doll.'
My stress was at maximum, but thinking about petting the belly of the cat doll that had been lying on its back meowing as if the castle had fallen, I felt my stress naturally melting away.
- Sob... sob...
"...Hmm?"
Heading to my room while humming, I heard sobbing sounds from somewhere.
Wondering if a ghost had appeared in the mansion, I headed toward the sound with slight tension, and surprisingly, I came upon the room where Aria and Kadia would be sleeping.
"...What is this?"
Tilting my head for a moment, I erased my presence with star mana and carefully approached the door, peeking through the keyhole.
"Sob... sob..."
Then, Kadia sleeping soundly in bed and Aria kneeling on the floor, looking down at the file she'd taken from my office earlier and crying came into my view.
Wondering what she was looking at to behave like that, I gathered star mana in my eyes and began examining the file she was looking at...
'...Ah.'
I let out a short sigh inwardly.
'...You're doing the same thing as me.'
What she was looking at was a photo of our mother.
Seeing her comfort her loneliness by looking at the photo, I thought she really is my blood-related sister after all, and smiled bitterly, turning to head back to my room, but...
"Brother... why are you doing this... why..."
As Aria turned the page and began crying even more sorrowfully while looking at a photo of young me giving her a piggyback ride, I broke out in a cold sweat and used 'Mind Reading.'
'...No.'
And seeing the information window before my eyes, I could only feel deep despair.
[Aria Raon Starlight's Current Emotions: Disappointment/ Worry/ Longing/ Love-Hate/ Sadness/ Guilt]
"Where did your pure former self go... how did you become such a monster..."
It seems another variable surpassing even Isollet has emerged.