Novel I Didn't Even Want to Live, But God Forced Me to Reincarnate!

BADABOOM
EVERYONE SHTAP!

I totally forgot you hosted this story on your site.

I couldnt take the cliff so I went to the site to read.
I LURVE HER

Thnaks for chapter!

 

I just came across this series and am planning to read it at your site... P.S. I just want to ask one thing although this is original story of yours and is ongoing but please tell me you plan for a happy ending... Just this one thing is important... Thanks...

 

God what an amazing work here!

 

WHOOPS Did I seriously forget to update here again and miss the notification I got from this thread? >< Sorry for that, but I hope you're already reading at my site or another platform?
Real life has been so hectic that I sometimes updated in the other platforms quite late...
I will update here when I have more time to come!
Hope you're still with Lyra in her life journey~!

Thanks for your interest in my story! I hope you're going to love it

Spoiler: planned ending

Yup, I'm planning to go for a happy ending, so don't worry! XD

Aaa, thank you! I'm so happy to hear that!! Hope you'll continue to like my story! I'll work (write) hard~

 

Yes you did!
QAQ
I was reading from this platform so I kept waiting for a notif

Then I remembered you put the story on your site and so I read there.
Tbh I'm stockpiling as of now so eh I dont know how many chapters I didnt read.....

 

I am personally loving your story, and so as long as you keep writing, ill happily keep reading. But also do keep in mind, that taking a break now and then is a good thing.

You have to remember, that for every person that actually makes a post saying they enjoy it, there's a hundred people who enjoy it but never get around passing it on to the author.

Not sure what rules there are on novelupdates, but I would love to be able to track your novel's progress on this site as the reading list feature is very nice.

 

Thank you, I just posted this story in many platforms that I sometimes missed updating... and it's been quite awhile since I'm active in NUF ><
In case you're still stockpiling, I think there's quite many chapters already, hehe!

Thank you for your kind words!! I'm really happy to know that!
NU only approves the entries of novels translated from Asian language, so my novel won't be listed here :<
I guess you can try making an account and read in CreativeNovels for my novel? The site has the library feature, and it can track your progress XD

 

Gosh, it's been so long since I last updated here ><
Here is chapter 35!

Chapter 35

Mad Lunatic​

Spoiler: Chapter 35

Normal P.O.V


Rupert and Cyan managed to arrive at Sakura Inn again, and the two of them hurriedly ran to reach the stairs after they put on their disguises.



“Excuse me, dear client, but please be quiet as it’s night already—,” the receptionist tried to warn the two approaching people, but then Cyan’s words stopped her.

“Something bad might be happening upstairs, your inn was hijacked. Please call the local officers right away! I gotta go to my children!!”



Though she wanted to inquire more from the two of them, she couldn’t do so as they have already fled upstairs. Unsure what to do, she decided it would be safe to call the officers either way.

Upon arriving at the hallway leading to their rooms, they noticed the presence of a separating magical barrier as something prevented them from proceeding forward.

Yes, the intruders managed to set up a separating barrier discreetly after somehow entering the inn, causing the others to be oblivious to what was happening.

After the barrier took a few blows of their water balls and dark balls, it was finally torn down—revealing two men guarding it.



Noticing that Cyan’s bad omen was correct, Cyan and Rupert decided to go all out and managed to finish the battle quickly, using their most powerful magical attack.

“If you still love your life, tell us, why are you targeting us?” Cyan asked the men who were on the verge of passing out.

“…Because we know who you truly are.”

--is what they managed to say before they passed out.



From that simple sentence, it’s clear that they are targeting Cyan and his children because of their true identities, clearing up the doubt of them targeting the wealthy merchant family (which is their disguise).

Cyan and Rupert were surprised as to how they would find out about their disguises—but since it’s confirmed that their identities were known by the ones who targeted them, they canceled their disguises in order to conserve energy and proceeded.







On their way to the room, they saw Gale’s pitiful state as he was lying down helplessly on the floor.

“Gale!” Rupert called out.

“Urgh... never mind me... go to the room, quick!” Gale was conscious, but his body was still paralyzed and he could still feel the pain inflicted on his body as he grunted.

“Of course, that’s obvious!” Rupert didn’t even hesitate a bit and proceeded to the room.

“Gale, sorry, but we’ll get back to you later!” Cyan apologized and quickly followed Rupert.







When they arrived at the room, Cyan and Rupert could feel blood draining off from their heads.

Currently, Lyra has already positioned herself quite far away from both the thunder ball and fire blast, while Altaire—who realized that his motion was stopped by the effect of magic—has already broken free from the magic that bound his movement and has approached Lyra.

However, both the man and the lady have already broken free as well, and they are now rushing off to attack their preys.

Rupert and Cyan both dashed forward full speed, positioning themselves between the children and the attackers.





***



Lyra’s P.O.V


Somehow, everyone’s movement stopped, except for mine. While it is quite a vexing phenomenon, I know what I should prioritize—for now, I gotta escape from both the thunder ball and the fire blast!!

As I managed to slip by the two attacks directed at me, I glanced at Alt-nii, worrying about what I can do to help him.

But seems like I was worried for nothing. Somehow, Alt-nii could move again and he’s coming to me right now.



I was just about to sigh in relief when I noticed that... our attackers have started to move again!! Meanwhile, the thunder balls clashed with the fire blast, and they disappeared after a blast.

The two enraged people started to dash forward at us—the lady’s intense crazed eyes made me feel nauseated.





Why couldn’t they stay halted until I have frozen them?

Just as I readied myself to fight again—the door was loudly opened.





Enemy reinforcements?!





But then, two familiar figures could be seen—it’s Dad and Rupert!!





Dad glanced at me and Altaire quickly—and I can see his tense face seems to be loosening a bit. Not too long after that, both Dad and Rupert dashed forward to counter the incoming attacks.

The man cast a fast fireball towards Rupert—and Rupert managed to dodge it. The fireball slightly grazed his hair, causing the wind to flutter from the speed it had, and in that short moment, Rupert’s covered face could be seen. At least for me, who’s way smaller than him, I can take a glance at his face perfectly.



On his forehead, close to where his hair is, there are two tiny, very tiny horns. But they’re there. Rupert’s line of sight matched mine and he only smiled gently, before proceeding to subdue the man.



In no time, because the man was tired after exhausting his energy to fight me with his fire magic, Rupert successfully managed to conquer the man. The man is right now lying down on the floor, unable to move, but his ragged breath can be heard loudly.





Meanwhile, Dad is handling Miss Trouble—wait a second, Dad’s specialized in Water magic, it’s clearly not a good choice against Miss Thunder!

The moment Dad’s chanting water balls, Miss Thunder-Trouble returned them with her thunder balls, and Dad had to evade the returning attacks. Miss Trouble let out her mad laugh again when she watched Dad like that.

“Oh? Sure, laugh while you can~,” Dad’s cold voice managed to silence her noisy laugh.



With his cold voice and calm expression, Dad chanted.

[Holm Swelgnes] (Water Whirlpool)

The instant he finished uttering the chant, a whirlpool of water started to form, trapping Miss Trouble in it. Miss Trouble was surprised and tried to hold her breath so she could last against the water that enclosed her surroundings, but the whirlpool suffocated her. She became unable to breathe and started to asphyxiate, as she desperately grabbed her neck.

When she seemed about to pass out, Dad canceled the whirlpool, throwing the lady down to the ground, panting very roughly.





“Lyra, Altaire, are you alright?!” Dad hurriedly approached us and observed our bodies from head to toes, as if making sure that we didn’t get hurt. Eeh, we did get hurt, but our whole bodies are intact, thank you.

“Dad, you came! We’re fine!!” I tried to show him a smile to help him calm down. I never saw Dad’s cold expression and that cold intonation of his voice before.

“Dad, thank you for coming at the right time!” Alt-nii said, feeling relieved.

“No, no… I’m sorry for not coming here sooner… Sorry for not noticing this whole scheme happening…,” Dad proceeded to hold the two of us tightly. His arms shook a little, indicating that he was really scared that something would happen to us. Realizing this, we hugged him back tightly.





After that, Dad successfully tied up every single attacker with his magical vines, gathering them all in the middle of the room while Rupert dragged Gale inside.





“Gale, are you alright?” Alt-nii quickly approached Gale and Rupert, asking worriedly.

“It’s… okay,” Gale weakly answered.

I also approached the two of them—and then I remembered the sight I saw.





“Uhm… Rupert?”

Rupert gazed back gently at me as if he already knew what I was about to ask.



“You saw… didn’t you?”



I can only nod.



“Yes, I am part-oni… And my affinity is [Dark],” he smiled and tucked his bang outward, revealing his whole face and the two tiny horns gathered on the right side of his face. They were really tiny and grew curled up, so it was possible for him to grow his bang to cover them.

“Wow… that’s cool!” Alt-nii was exasperated seeing Rupert’s horns. I think the type of horns that he has is quite rare.

“Are you… afraid, Lyra?” Rupert asked.

“Eh? Uhm, no…,” I shook my head quickly.

“Really? I heard about your reaction to Dark magic and I thought you’d be quite scared to know that a part-oni and a [Dark] magic user is right here, close to your proximity,” Rupert’s expression started to loosen as if he was relieved by my answer.



Ah… when we first met and when Gale revealed his part-dwarf blood, Gale was encouraging Rupert to reveal his oni blood, yet Rupert seemed reluctant to say anything…

Could it be because of me?

He thought I’d be more guarded and put my distance if I knew he was part-oni… so he didn’t reveal that so I could pose as his daughter just fine…





I lowered my head, thinking.



Could it be that I was too biased…?



I hated the people who bullied, exiled, and judged me because of my Dark affinity in the past as Reinst… but could it be that I was also doing the same thing? To be prejudiced against something without any good reason?

Realizing that the possibility of my being biased exists, I contemplated. Of course, there was also trauma involved in my reluctance to learn Dark magic… but could it also stem from my prejudice?





“Alright, I think the officers would be here soon, so let’s tidy it up,” Dad concluded as he looked down on the captured kidnappers.

“Okay, let me go down to check on them and to get some medicine for Gale,” Rupert silently moved outside, with his shoulders sustaining Gale’s injured body.

“I would love to interrogate you all right now, but… be thankful that the kids are here. You need to spill everything out after this,” he said.





Hearing those words, Miss Trouble suddenly laughed.

Who knows what triggered her to suddenly laugh like a madman--but I sensed that her eyes glittered with idea just now... perhaps it was just my imagination?





“What’s so funny?” Dad had his icy glare again when he looked at Miss Trouble.

Miss Trouble glowered at Dad. Although I’m sure that Dad has the right to scowl at her, not the other way around, seeing the current situation… Dad standing tall while Miss Trouble was all tied up on the floor.





However, Miss Trouble only laughed again.

“What’s your objective?” Dad continued to ask her.

“Hmmm? Why should I tell you? Would it suffice to say that… for now, we’d love you to renounce your title as Duke! You don’t deserve that noble rank!”





Dad raised his eyebrows.

“Oh. You are one of those who opposed my assignation to resume the title of Hartmann’s Duke?” Dad said, as if he was used to handling people like her.

“Yes!!” Miss Trouble hissed.





Dad sighed.

“Which noble house hired you to do this? If you have any problem with me, then shouldn’t you be aiming for me, and not the children? You want to threat me using the children?”

“That is… another agenda of ours, but we can kill two birds with a stone that way,” Miss Trouble’s eyes stared back at us, as if she felt some kind of excitement from saying it.



“…Enough. I’ll be tearing off your mask right now,” Dad moved closer to Miss Trouble, after deciding that it was no use asking her anything right now. Perhaps having her identity might help.





But before Dad managed to touch her mask...

[Hlynrian hnitan] (Thundershock)

Electric spark was emitting from her body—wait, did she really electrocute herself to send the electric spark flying, in order to prevent Dad from getting closer to her?!

“Ha… haha!! How did you think that you deserved the noble title of Duke, when you’re nothing but a mad lunatic?!” Miss Trouble asked Dad, without any hint of her feeling hurt from the electric shock running through her body.





Eh?





Dad only heaved a long sigh.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh? But I know how you came to gain that Duke title!! We are really much alike!!”

Dad’s expression stiffened at her words. Miss Trouble’s eyes flashed with happiness.





Wh… what is it?

Is this Miss out of her mind?

There is no way they are alike at all.

“…We are not alike at all. I am not a mad lunatic like you,” Dad said calmly.



At that time, I could hear footsteps rushing to our room.





“But… But you snatched the Duke title after killing your own family!!”





Miss Trouble’s cold voice echoed through the room. At the same time, the door’s opened, and I could see Mom standing there, surprised to hear the mad lady’s words.



What…?!





Altaire and I are standing there in our surprise and confusion. Our pupils are widened, our gazes are filled with disbelief.



“You murdered your own flesh and blood, you’re mad like me, how come you claim yourself deserving the Duke title, when you obtained it in such a dirty way?!”



Since there was no response, Miss Trouble continued to spout such a nonsense.

I mean, there’s no way a person as gentle and kind as Dad would be capable of doing familicide, right?

Miss Trouble’s only spouting nonsense to cause a rift in our family…





“Every single of them deserved to die, for they have made a lot of people suffer.”





To the contrary, the words I heard from Dad’s mouth were not words of denial. His icy voice could be heard instead, his face twisted with hatred.





In that instant, I felt as if I didn’t know my dad at all.

Alt-nii and I could only look at him, our minds drawing a blank.





“You admitted it!! You admitted to murdering your own family!!” Miss Trouble said those words excitedly, like a child getting a candy from her mother.

“Cyan!! What are you saying?! Look at your surroundings, you’re scaring Alt and Lyra!” Mom shouted, and at her words, Dad’s snapped out of his cold self, and his gentle expression returned.





“Cassie… Altaire… Lyra… I…,” Dad seemed to realize what he had just done and looked at us worryingly.

We were just standing there blankly and was surprised by his sudden movement that we took a step backward.

When we realized what we had just done, Dad’s already looking at us dejectedly.





“Ha… hahahahahahahahahaha… AHAHAHAHA!! YOU FELL FOR IT!! YOU ADMITTED OPENLY!” The mad lady’s body shook in excitement and laughter.

“Tch,” Dad clicked his tongue.

“Altaire, Lyra… It’s not… it’s not what you think… I…,” Dad’s voice was shaking—his face showed his agony and resentment.





The mad lady’s laughter still continued, and Mom quickly rushed off to our side, hugging the two of us.

“Altaire, Lyra… Please… don’t fall for her words. I can assure you that your dad is not a mad murderer—he isn’t thirsty for power that he’d commit a familicide… If he is, then I won’t be with him, and you two wouldn’t be here…,” Mom pleaded to us.

I thought back of Dad’s cold expression—and his usual gentle, loving self. The two sides of him seemed as if they were of different people altogether.





“I… I want to… believe in Dad… After all, when I went along with him to patrol the area… The people… the people are smiling…,” Alt-nii’s voice could be heard.

I thought back on the occasions where I played in the downtown, and to the people who smiled back at Dad. Surely, they were throwing out sincere smiles, not smiles because they were forced to do it.





If Dad really killed his family in cold blood and if he usurped the title of Duke in such a way, I don’t think they would be smiling at Dad. …no, Dad’s friends with King Titus. There’s no way King Titus would assign Dad as the next Duke of Hartmann if that was the case.





…has someone ever told me about Dad exposing his family’s wrongdoings, and arrested them because of it?

Could it be that…





“Dad, you only helped the government in arresting them, right?” I asked after I came to my conclusion. Mom was surprised to hear my conclusion, but from her expression, somehow I can already guess the answer. Altaire’s eyes widened in surprise as if he’d just remembered that fact.

“Yes… I handed the evidence needed to arrest them…”





I looked at Dad who answered my question weakly… Dad… is in such a pitiful state… He’s looking down dejectedly, afraid to look at my face and Alt-nii’s face… Did our reaction cause him to be like this?

Our reaction earlier made it seem as if we were afraid of him—as if we trusted that lady’s misleading words and bait rather than Dad…



I’m… sorry… I didn’t think it straight…





“Your actions where the reasons why they met their demise!!” Miss Trouble’s still accusing Dad.



Ah, I get it… Dad didn’t say anything because he thought his actions were the same as killing them, so…

That time when I thought Dad's words gave her the idea--it was not just my imagination. Miss Trouble failed to harm us, so she wanted to shred our trust and love to Dad instead...?

However, sorry, Miss Trouble.

I won't let everything go according to your plan.





“…if it’s the authority’s decision to execute them, then Dad’s clear.”

I stated this with a clear, determined voice.





Dad turned to look at me. I smiled at him.

The moment I saw his tense face breaking down to form a smile, looking at me with his teary eyes, I can’t help myself and get teary-eyed, as well.





This might be weird coming from a four-year-old girl.

Even when one considers the historical fact that the human race has developed maturity earlier than the ‘prototype’ humans back then in order to survive from the war and slavery, this level of maturity for a child my age is way beyond normal.

Yes, as precocious as someone could be, my behavior right now wouldn’t convince anyone that I was just a precocious four-year-old child.





However, I don’t want to regret it by holding myself back right now.

I don’t want to hurt a precious family member.

For the kind and loving Dad—I want to repay his love back.





“Lyra…,” Dad scooped me up to his arms and kissed my cheek.

“Thank you,” he whispered.



At that time, I know I made the right choice.





“Altaire… Lyra… I promise I will explain it all to you in time,” Dad said gently.

“It’s okay, Dad… I believe in you,” I said calmly.

“I… I don’t really get it, but I know that Dad’s kind!!” Altaire also replied, as he came forward and hugged Dad.

Mom’s expression turned soft and her eyes got wet as she observed the scene in front of her. She must have felt really worried about how it would all turn out.





After looking at the warm family moment, the mad lady dissed out.

Then, something unbelievable happened.

She’d continuously chanted electric spark to hit the vines binding her!! The friction soon turned into a fire that burnt the vines—but the fire also injured her body!

This lady is really insane!! It’s confirmed right now—no, actually, it’s confirmed when she electrocuted herself back then. How did I fail to predict her next movement?!





Dad and Mom were also taken aback by the mad lady’s action and were about to confine her again when the lady quickly raised an electrical barrier and jumped to the far away side of the room. She then took out a magical scroll and tore it down.

Wait, could it be a teleportation scroll?!

That thing should be hard to obtain!!

And my prediction was right. The lady’s body quickly disappeared from her original spot. In the end… we couldn’t even get her identity.



***



The officers came to our room right after the lady leader disappeared, and they greeted Dad politely as they recognized Dad who’s not under any disguise—albeit they were very shocked. Dad explained the situation to the officers who quickly settled their business, while Mom healed Alt-nii and me.

When Meredea returned in panic, almost everything’s been tidied up, so we only laughed upon seeing her messed up appearance and frantic movements.





Because of the unwanted circumstances, the rest of our holidays was canceled, and we returned to our house shortly afterward. As soon as we got home, Dad’s back to his work—seems like he’s busy managing the incidents in Chinosato, trying to catch the mastermind behind all this.

When Clavis, Niina, Chloe, and Vince heard about the crisis we’ve been through, they kept asking us if we were really alright, if we didn’t suffer any trauma and the likes.





Of course, news has traveled to the royal family and that includes Luca. When I showed up at the Capicastle shortly afterward, Luca tried to send me home with a slight hint of worry. Seems like he wanted me to rest after all this ordeal, but hey, I wouldn’t be here in the first place if I needed to rest!





Mom noticed my missing pendant and asked the details about it. Since I didn’t know the full details of it, Alt-nii helped me to fill in the details. Mom’s face turned from confusion to a surprise, then back to her thoughtful expression.

In the end, she gave me another necklace with different stone—saying that this one’s got a stronger power.





In addition to that…

“Lyra, it seems that you unconsciously used a dark affinity magic back then—to exert a mental pressure that caused everyone else to halt their movements,” Mom explained.

“E… eh?!”

“And it seems to be quite a powerful one—as it managed to shatter the magical necklace and to halt three people at your first try…”

“I, is that so?”

“Yes… and… that’s why, what do you say about learning how to control that power? Controlling shadows and commanding people to stop, for example…”





Mom’s face showed a hint of worry, as she was unsure if I’d like the idea of using Dark magic.

I tried to recall back my experience in Chinosato. About how they praised those with Dark magic. About how they could use it to play shadow tagging. About Rupert’s strained smile when he explained to me that he was a dark magician and that he was of oni descent. And about the magical stone’s shattering.

Clearly, there is a need for me to learn dark magic. If not, Mom wouldn’t even try to ask me.

“…Alright.”





With this, our troublesome holiday to Chinosato has ended. The intruders failed to harm any of us, and they also failed to ruin our family bond.

If anything, I have gained a lot of life lessons from this holiday vacation.

And about Dark magic... well... though my feelings are still complicated about it, wouldn't it be fun to play the shadow tagging game using shadow manipulation technique?

 

Chapter 36

Cleaning Up After the Crisis
​

Spoiler

The incident in Chinosato finally ended. Thankfully, there wasn't any significant damage.

As soon as they returned to the Heartswaarth city, Cyan quickly got engrossed in his work, as he wanted to capture those behind the operation in Chinosato that targeted his children. The captured attackers were brought back to Capicastle for a thorough interrogation.

On a side note, the thieves that hindered Cyan and Rupert’s journey back to the inn were found out by the patrolling officers and were arrested in the local prison. Cyan might have forgotten to report them altogether, but thankfully they were discovered in their bound state...

Let’s not mention their condition after being bound for quite a long time...



"Hmmrghrrrghhhhrrrr!!"

The thieves loudly made the sound so that people would find them. Obviously, it alerted the patrolling officers.

"...what the hell is this?! Why are they tied up in vines?!"

"D-did someone beat them up? But we haven't received any report yet..."



While the patrolling officers were debating in their confusion, the thieves grew impatient and once again, they wriggled to make any sound--



"Nnnnnrrrghhh!!"



Yes, that's right.

The thieves all had one thing in their mind.

‘Just arrest us already. Bring us to the prison.’

‘It doesn’t matter if we get arrested... Being in a prison seems like a better option than this...’





Meanwhile, the royal prison is quite busy with their huge catch, as well.

“Cyan-sama, please wait here until we are done investigating them.”

“We’ll call you in should the need arises.”

After the interrogators finished their questioning, they finally came up with a single name.



Phillip Elandia.

The head of Elandia’s branch family.



Cyan and the Royal Police were afraid that he would have escaped by the time they captured them, so they went to Evlia town via teleportation gate. Evlia town is a small town located near the green forest and hills in the East Territory of Riviera, so naturally Cyan recognized the Elandia family.

Though it didn’t take any longer than a few days for them to arrive, Phillip has already gone missing from his house. Surprisingly, Cyan managed to meet the head of Elandia’s main family, Raphael Elandia.

When they questioned him, Raphael showed no indication of lying—he clearly didn’t know about what was going on with Phillip. He even cooperated in catching Phillip.

Cyan and the Royal Police went back to interrogate Phillip Elandia—and left a few officers stationed at the Elandia Residence in order to question all of them, and to make sure that nobody escaped. It was also a safety measure just in case Raphael was actually involved and that he was planning to escape during the time Cyan and the others interrogated Phillip.



During the interrogation, Phillip didn’t cooperate at all and refused to disclose anything… anything except his motive.

Upon seeing Cyan entering the investigation room, his eyes turned hostile and he started to insult Cyan.

“You!! You impure-bred didn’t deserve to hold the noble title of a duke!! If it weren’t for you, the Elandia family would be appointed to take care of the East Territory—at least the main family would be bestowed the title of duke!!” He shouted, while the officers restrained him, trying to make sure he didn’t get any closer to Cyan.

Cyan only scowled at him.

“People who think that nobler blood means a superior being like you… really irked me.”



Cyan knew what he was thinking.

After all, the Elandia family has shown their loyalty and contribution to Riviera from the olden times. If all the members of Hartmann duchy ceased to exist, surely their family would become the duke. At least the main family would assume the role of Hartmann Duke, and the branch family would be guaranteed the Evlia town’s jurisdiction.

Phillip was a man who discriminated against commoners. Even when he didn’t hold any kind of ambition of status, he would still oppose Cyan getting the rank of a duke.



“You’re assuming the title of a duke with your contaminated blood?! Even the branch family of a mere baron is better from you, as long as they are of pure noble blood!! You being a duke with that kind of pedigree is an insult to every pure noble present!!”

“So, you’re opposing the king?” Cyan calmly refuted Phillip’s words.

After all, it was the king who pestered Cyan to take the position of a duke.

He was the one who went through all the trouble to convince Cyan, freeing Cyan of his ‘guilt’.



“The king is blind! You tricked him!!” Phillip started to accuse Cyan of something ridiculous.

Cyan humphed and ignored Phillip’s accusation.

“If you want a lesser punishment, then you’d better comply and spill everything out. Like who helped you? What’s your other objective for aiming at my children? Speak!”

Instead of speaking, Phillip only growled at him back.

“Cyan-sama, let us take over,” one of the officers who just entered the room calmly announced. He was one of the officers skilled in interrogation methods—as he was capable of manipulating others’ minds, better than Rupert’s method.

“Gah!” Phillip noticed what was about to happen and gasped.

“Ready to spill everything out?” Cyan smirked.



But the middle-aged man’s eyes seemed to go unfocused, as he started to sweat bullets. His untidy beard started to get moist due to his own sweat.

“…what’s wrong?” The officer asked. He inched closer to the man when Phillip suddenly let out a very painful scream.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

The irritating scream caused all men present to cover their ears.

As Phillip’s scream subdued, they noticed that it was already too late.

His pupils were widening as if they were about to fall out from the sockets—and his mouth released a disgusting bubble foam. His heartbeat was not there anymore—and he was no longer breathing.

The man named Phillip Elandia was no longer a part of this world.

In addition, none of them could comprehend his unnatural and sudden death. They didn't find any trace of poison as they initially suspected.

With no more clue left, the case was marked as closed, though unsatisfactory.



***



In the middle of a night, in a well-developed manor, a young boy with a pale complexion was standing near the window to his room. His bright yellow eyes stared at the darkness of the woods that the window’s scenery lead his gaze to.

After getting a glimpse of the movement below, he opened the window and soon after, a figure could be seen right at his window. The fine figure of a woman clad in black was there—with her wounded body and messed appearance. It was the same lunatic that hunted Lyra and Alt down. However, she didn’t wear any mask.

The dark red-haired boy gestured the woman to enter and closed the window shortly after the woman hopped inside the room.



“Master, I have returned,” the woman knelt and cast her head downward.

“…I have heard of the news…,” the boy said curtly.

“Master, I… I’m sorry… I… I failed!! I was careless…,” the woman’s voice shook. Her voice was younger than the one Lyra and Altaire heard. Obviously, her mask was equipped with a voice-changing tool.

“Raise your face.”



The woman quickly obeyed the young boy’s command and looked up at her master. The woman’s dazed brown eyes met the young boy’s yellow eyes. Her brown hair was blowing because of the strong wind from the opened window.

Noticing this, the boy quickly closed the window in order not to let any leaf flying inside, considering the strong wind that the nature has right at this moment.

“It’s fine… we still have a lot of time… and I’ve come up with another plan. It might take time, as I have to find the materials needed and… there are various complicated things…,” the boy sat down on the sofa and put one of his hand to his chin, thinking deeply.

Seeing her master’s troubled face, the young woman quickly approached him and her hands grabbed her master’s free hand.



“Master, don’t be troubled! No matter what, I will assist Master!! My life has belonged to you ever since that day, so…”

The young boy turned at the pleading young woman and smiled gently.

“Yes, Candice. I know that you won’t disappoint me. Today’s plan seems to be a failure, but at least we still managed to clean the trashes out of this place.”

The young woman—Candice’s face lit up in happiness upon hearing her master’s words.

Master won’t abandon me despite this failure?! He still lets me stay by his side…?!

Noticing Candice’s doubt and joy, the young boy caressed Candice’s head and said softly.



“It was my mistake to let that old man Phillip handle the plan. Even when I personally let him use you, he still failed. Well, at least my hand didn’t get dirtied, and we have gotten rid of that useless trash that would surely be a burden to everyone if nothing was done about him.”

The young boy understood that he repeated some of his words, but he wanted to make it clear that he still wanted Candice to be by his side—to continue to serve him. He made it clear that he had no intention of abandoning her.

Candice’s mad eyes flashed with happiness as they reflected the young boy’s face—Candice was looking at him as if she was worshiping him.



“Yes, yes, Master!! Thank you!!”

“Now, go and quickly get changed. Let’s get some potion to heal your wounds so it won’t cause any suspicion.”

“Yes, Master!”



As Candice quickly obeyed his every word and went somewhere else to get changed and cleaned, the young master gazed at the dark woods and sighed.

He closed his eyes to calm himself down.

It’s okay… It doesn’t matter if this plan failed, there is still another time. I have all the time needed to achieve my goal.



He wasn’t a bit concerned about the old man that he was cooperating with—Phillip Elandia. To him, Phillip was nothing more than a pawn that could be disposed of. Or rather, it was still beneficial for him even if Phillip was disposed of. If Phillip succeeded, it would be good for him, too. It was a win-win situation for him.

Nevertheless, as this plan has failed, he realized that he might take another approach that require a lot of time—but perhaps it would guarantee him more success.

For now, it’s better for him to stay lowkey.



***



Cyan went to visit Raphael Elandia’s residence shortly after the incident with Phillip. Again, they were suspecting Raphael or someone else from Elandia residence of Phillip’s suspicious death. Cyan described his finding during Phillip’s interrogation in full details.

Raphael Elandia closed his eyes, calmly listening to every detail about his relative’s wrongdoing and death. When Cyan was finished, Raphael opened his eyes and he quickly stood up.

Cyan was alerted with Raphael’s sudden action, but what came afterward surprised him.



“I’m really sorry. I apologize for my carelessness, to think that Phillip held this kind of prejudice—and the fact that I failed to notice this evil plan of him at all…,” Raphael’s words were full of sincere apology and regret. He bowed his body deeply in front of Cyan.

When Cyan returned Raphael’s gaze, he could sense sincerity in his eyes.



This man is innocent.



All of the officers—especially those who are skillfull at reading people’s intention and in interrogating them all came up with the same conclusion.

Raphael Elandia was innocent. The assault was all planned by Phillip Elandia and his subordinates.

Of course, they captured the other suspicious members of Elandia branch family and their subordinates. The rest of them were deemed innocent and were taken in under Raphael’s care.

Cyan even lost count on how many times Raphael apologized and bowed to him. Even his wife seemed to feel guilty and bowed down.



“We deeply apologize for all the trouble given by one of Elandia clan...”

“If there is anything else we can do, by all means, please tell us and we will help.”

More than anyone else, Cyan knew that they really meant their words—they are different from the double-faced nobles that he knew for most of his childhood.



In the end, they returned with mystery of Phillip’s death and question about who exactly assisted Phillip in doing this whole scheming.

Furthermore, even after personally coming to the Elandia residence to check every single person there, Cyan couldn’t find anyone who resembled the mad lunatic woman that lured him out. No one bears any single resemblance to her.

Considering that the woman changed her voice and eye color, Cyan was sure that he would still be able to recognize the mad woman. Her expression and eye gaze, full of madness would be easy to spot.

In addition to that, Cyan personally wanted to catch that lunatic woman more than anything else. The woman who was adept at bending the truth, twisting it and tricking others into believing her. He was lucky that Lyra and Altaire weren’t brainwashed by the woman’s foul tongue.

After all, he has personally fallen for such a trick—believing the twisted lie that his older brother kept coaxing into his mind during when he was the most fragile.

Even until now, he could still remember his words.

If it weren’t for you, ‘she’ won’t die like this. It’s your fault, your fault.

Cyan opened the pocket watch that he always brings. Whenever that past haunted him, he’d open the pocket watch and recalled what little happiness his childhood had. It was his habit to remind himself of his most beloved person who’s no longer part of this world.





When Cyan finally got home and the time to rest, he finally fulfilled his promise to tell Lyra and Altaire about the mad lunatic’s accusation of his familicide.

Coincidentally, Lyra’s completely recovered by the time Cyan finished all his business. Yeah, Lyra was completely exhausted after the whole incident and couldn’t really move her body without feeling some sort of pain for a few days after she overworked her muscles. In her heart, she vowed that she would do more exercises to keep her muscles trained so she won’t feel this sort of pain again if she had to use her swordsmanship skills.

Though Altaire kept showering her praises about her swordsmanship skill, luckily enough, she wasn’t being asked to display it as her parents were so worried over the fact that she mostly stayed in the bed for a few days. Cassie used healing magic to ease Lyra’s pain, but what Lyra’s body needed to completely recover was rest.

By the time she was back to her healthy self, Altaire’s excitement over her swordsmanship skill had subsided. Lyra also managed to divert the conversation whenever she was about to be questioned about it~! Funny that she didn’t question her parents’ sudden silent after observing her efforts to divert the conversation, thinking that her bluff worked.



Anyway, back to Cyan’s promise to tell the whole story to his children!

Naturally, since he thought that both Altaire and Lyra were still too young, he didn’t tell the full details about what was happening, and about how he was convinced to become the next Duke of Hartmann.

He only told them the important details. About how he only cared for his mother who treated him nice, and about how he despised the rest of his family who never treated him kindly. About how his mother died because of the illness she had when he was still young.

Since he lost the only person he cared for in the Hartmann house, he moved out to Harmonia Academy’s boarding house and met Titus there. That was the beginning of everything.

Soon afterwards, they became best buddies and Cyan willingly helped Titus to collect all the evidence to convict his family of their wrongdoing—from slavery, murders, corruption, blackmails, and any other crime you can name.



“Well, it seems like I repeated that story since I don’t know if you still remember that. You were both younger when I told you all that story, and I wasn’t sure where to start if not from there,” Cyan said, looking at the two children.

“Yes—I more or less know about it already,” Lyra clarified.

But it was nice hearing it from Dad—I want to ask more details, but I guess not now?

She thought to herself and decided to not inquire more.



“Uhm, I forgot some part of the story, so thanks for telling me again, Dad,” Altaire said dejectedly, thinking that his little sister understood and remembered the details better than him, when he was supposedly her older brother…



Cyan smiled and continued to the part of the story that he has yet to tell them.

Due to the weight of their sins and the civilians’ demands, the judges gave them the capital punishment. Naturally, Cyan did nothing of the sort to get remission for them.

Hence—that was how Cyan was accused of familicide by the mad lunatic. He can’t deny the fact that he was the one who brought the rest of Hartmann family members to their demise. There was even a point in his life when he got convinced that he was the cause of his most beloved’s death...



“...and, that’s about everything I can tell you two for the moment. You may be too young to fully understand it, but...”

“Points crossed, Dad. I don’t quite understand everything, but I get the gist of it!” Altaire said.

“At least now we know why that mad Onee-chan said it. But I think you did the right thing, Dad.”

Unexpectedly—or should we say as expected—Lyra seemed to be the one who understood the explanation better compared to Alt.

Ignoring that fact, the two of them came to understand this fact and didn’t seem to mind it at all. Cyan was relieved upon knowing that.

However, he didn’t spill out the full details and he wasn’t ready to tell about the other thing that Phillip Elandia pointed out during his interrogation.



“You’re assuming the title of a duke with your contaminated blood?! You being a duke with that kind of pedigree is an insult to every pure noble present!!”

Cyan was glad that Lyra and Altaire didn’t hear that. He wanted to save the in-depth explanation about it all in the future, when both of his children are older.

“That’s good to know. I promise I will tell you more stories once you two are older.”



Inside her little head, Lyra thought to herself.

‘This family where I was reborn in... sure is complicated... Here I thought that the Grabberton family was quite complicated with the heir intrigue back then.’

But at least, it’s warm here, right now.

Okay, Chinosato mini-arc is concluded with this?
I feel bad for not updating amidst the cliff here ><

 

Chapter 37

Celebrating Fifth Birthday​

Spoiler

A lot of things happened after the crisis, and my peaceful (yet troublesome) everyday life has returned. It’s as if the incident during our holidays never happened at all.

…But obviously, it indeed happened.

If it wasn’t real, then how would you explain my learning Dark magic right now?

Though it was just the basic of it, like how to make a dark energy ball, basic shadow manipulation (I can now play shadow tagging! ...with who, though??? I should wait until school, huh? (´；д；`)

Yes, I asked Mom to specifically not teach me about the magic related to mind controlling or mind destroying techniques…

Surprisingly, Mom quickly agreed as she told me that these techniques were quite dangerous and were categorized as high-level dark magic. I had to delve deeper to understand about the darkness to learn them.



“Of course, you should be the one to decide it in the future. Mom will give you full support and help if you decide to learn it, naturally since it’s dangerous...,” Mom seemed like she wanted to say more about this matter, but she decided to stop.

“Alright, Mom, thank you!” I decided not to pester her more about it.

I'm also afraid to learn about the danger of Dark magic, since it's my strongest affinity, after all!



Sometimes, I tried to find out more about the Hartmann family's story, but I got no significant information so far...

I wonder when will they tell me more about this family?

Can I ask them when I have entered school?

But Alt-nii's already seven, and Dad didn't say anything to him...

...but wait a second.

By now, shouldn't Mom and Dad understand that I am superior in terms of maturity in comparison to Alt-nii? I have proven it times and times... They should have their own suspicions by now...

I am glad that Alt-nii doesn't become mean to me just because I am somehow more well-behaved than him (testified by my parents)... Alt-nii just laughed it off and blamed it to our gender difference...

Now that I think about it, having a close sibling bond is quite nice! I wonder if things could be different with me and Clyde or Domi if I knew this kind of feeling?

Before I even noticed it, I started having feelings and questions that I never had as Reinst.



Anyway!!

Time flies so fast, and an invitation has arrived at my doorstep.

It’s an invitation to attend Luca’s fifth birthday on Day 33 Month 2 Year 975.

In Sphaela, one year equals to 12 months, with 35 days per month. If I remember it right, I think there are various calendar systems, but each year contains no more than 420 days.



It goes without saying that Luca’s fifth birthday comes before mine, and as he has yet to turn 6 and formally makes his debut in the society, the royal family only holds a private birthday celebration for him. This will be the last birthday he’ll be spending in peace.

In peace—alright, it might be my prejudiced words. Some people prefer merrier celebration while some other prefer a simple celebration. I’m included in the latter group.



The ones attending are the Capicastle’s whole members (the maids, workers, royal magicians, royal knights, the tutors, etc). Of course, Luca can invite who he wants, so he is inviting me. By now, the whole Capicastle know that I am the remarkable girl who managed to tame the prince.

...Quite an achievement, but please, stop that gossip about me becoming the future queen...

By the way, the Head of the Royal Knights just adopted a son who’s also five this year. The man who had served the royal family for generations only had three daughters, all of them are even older than Alt-nii.

So, he decided to take in one of his sister’s sons so that the family tradition to guard the royals can continue. His daughters also were excited by the idea of having a little brother. I wonder how would they treat the little brother?

...they wouldn’t overwhelm the poor little brother and make him dress up, right?



At Luca’s fifth birthday party, we are finally able to meet the newly adopted son. His name is Kiri Elsworth. His soft yellow eyes are well-suited to his messy dark green hair. He seems to be quite shy as he hid behind his stepfather’s back.

…He’s like a timid cat.


“Oi, Kiri, you’re in the presence of the future king, the one you will be protecting. You shouldn’t hide behind me,” Alfonse Elsworth said, encouraging Kiri to stop hiding.

“B, but, un—I mean, father!” Kiri trembled a bit.

“Lucius-sama, I apologize for this child’s insolence...”

“It’s okay.”

“Kiri, I’m Lyra, nice to meet you!”

“...”

Kiri only stared back at us, still from behind his stepfather.

Luca then stood up in front of me, approaching Kiri. For an instant, I thought Kiri stepped back.

…Is Luca that scary?!



“Hey, you’re a man and a future knight, right? A future knight shouldn’t act that cowardly.”

“!”

...Luca, you are too harsh.

“Just call me Luca. From now on, let’s be friends!”

Luca reached out his hand to Kiri, and smiled confidently—the typical smile of him.

Kiri, though hesitant, finally extended his right hand and the two boys shook their hands.

Finally, Luca will have a suitable sparring partner in his swordsmanship training. He has barely started his training to wield rapiers. Yes, rapiers—as the royal family members have been using rapiers from generation to generation instead of swords.



As for me... I still have yet to lay my hands on a (real) sword again. It’s been a long time since I last used the Grabberton’s swords art. Hopefully, with years without practice and this new body, my skills would change so that it won’t reek of Grabberton style. I think back to the time I used ice sword to fight—it didn’t seem to me that it was full of Grabberton style, so it should be okay.

Eh? The Hartmann family should be family of magicians?

Well, yeah. We are a family of magicians, but the tradition of relying solely on magic and magical weapons is broken when Dad takes up the position of the spy. And that’s how we get to pick up melee weapons, too.

Though if we just want to use magic and magical weapons, it’s also fine.

I am positive I will wield swords again once my family gave me a green light. Given the choice, I know I will just pick up swords. Altaire kept boasting on how I was so skilled at fighting with the ice sword, and even encouraged me to start practicing my swordsmanship again.

However, I was preoccupied with learning the basic of dark magic and other forms of magic. Plus, Dad’s too overprotective on how I might hurt myself if I were to handle swords at such a young age. So I think it’s fine to wait until my enrollment to school. It should be easy for me to pick back my swordsmanship skill!

This way, I will also have more time to try thinking ways to alter my past swordsmanship skill... hmm, how can I explain it if there are still similarities to Grabberton style?

Ah well, let’s think about it later.



Anyway, my fifth birthday comes after Luca’s.

And, surprise! Luca came to visit my house!! He came along with a few escorts, though. There is no way he would be allowed to leave the castle without bringing along any escort.

“Sorry for intruding, happy birthday, Lyra!” He hands out a nicely wrapped present to me.

“Thanks, Luca! Can I open it?”

“Uh oh, you’d better save all the presents and open them all at once later on. Also, thanks for coming, Luca!” Mom said.

Waaa—right, I am curious to know what kind of presents I’m getting today!

“Thanks for coming, Luca!” Dad greeted Luca warmly—but deep in his eyes, there’s a part of him that’s saying, ‘I’m watching you!’

“Hmm, is that Lyra’s friend?” Clavis-nii asked.



!!

What… Clavis-nii?!

Well, he has never met Luca before, but to think that he doesn’t even know that Luca is the prince…?!

“Oh, you don’t know him? He’s---”

Right when I was about to introduce him, Luca suddenly stepped in front of me and is now facing Clavis.

“Yes, I am. Just call me Luca. What’s your name?” He reached out his hand to Clavis.

“It’s my first time hearing that Lyra has a friend like you. I’m Clavis, my mother is working in this house! Nice to meet you!”

The two boys are shaking their hands and are smiling.



Hmmm, oh… perhaps Luca thinks that it’s a good thing to be friends with someone who doesn’t even realize that he is the prince!

“Oh my, you’ve got another friend, Clavis! I’m happy for you! Luca-sama, please be friends with him,” Niina said with a wide smile.

…………………………..Yes, I’m positive. Niina also has no clue on who Luca really is. She might think that Luca is just some noble friend of mine, no real biggie.

“Uhmmm,” Chloe seems to notice the whole situation and is reluctant on telling Niina and Clavis or not. I turn to her and make a gesture that will tell her not to mind it.

Vince finds the situation funny and chuckled.

I can hear my grandparents, whispering to each other.

“…He is the prince, right?” Grandpa asked.

“Pretty sure he is…,” Grandma replied.

“Uhm, is Lyra…?”

“No, I don’t think that Cyan is planning on giving Lyra—even to the crown prince.”

“Hmm, right.”



Hmm, people might think like that, but Luca’s honestly just a good friend of mine~

I am glad to see that he might be good friends with Clavis-nii, as well!



“It’s my first time being friends with a beastman! You’re from the silver wolf tribe? That’s cool!”

“Yup, and I’m proud to have wolf blood in my veins!”

“Can I touch your ears and tail?”

“!! Well… normally… I won’t let anyone do that… but… since you said it’s your first time having a beastman friend… I guess… as long as you’re only touching it slightly… Only this time, okay?”

Clavis-nii is really kind, after all! He needs to endure the ticklish sensation, but he doesn’t have the heart to turn down Luca who’s looking at the tail and ears with his sparkling eyes.



“Fufu, I’m glad you two are good friends!” I smiled.

“…as long as they don’t say things like wanting you as their future wife,” Altaire murmured.

“Hmmm?”

Sorry, Nii, I didn’t hear that quite well…


“Ah, no, it’s nothing! Hey, Luca, remember me?” Altaire decided to chime in.

Luca slightly turns his face towards Alt-nii while stroking Clavis’ tail.

“Ohh, you are Altaire, right? We talked a few times, even for a while, so I remember you!”

“Reallyyy? I thought I heard that you didn’t really memorize people…”

“You seem different than the other kids, somehow. I can feel that. To think that you’re Lyra’s big brother!”

Altaire chuckled, “I’m honored to hear that!”

“…? Why are you honored to hear that, Alt? Shouldn’t ‘happy’ be the correct term to use?” Clavis asked in confusion.

“Hmmm, I wonder?” Alt vaguely responded, leaving Clavis in the dark.

“Oh, should I be calling you big bro, as well?” Luca suddenly remembered something.

“Nah, it’s up to you, I’m fine either way,” Alt answered, carefree as ever.



While looking at the friendship between those boys…

…

…

…

Oh…

I WANT TO HAVE A FEMALE FRIEND, AS WELL!!

That’s it, that’s it! I will befriend some girls when I enroll to the Harmonia Academy.

Though girls are scary when they are passionately gossiping about someone… or so is the impression I had towards most of my female classmates when I was Reinst. Nicole was an exception. To be honest, I kinda liked her—or that I was simply got used to her presence back then as she kept appearing by my side.

I kept telling myself this following line, as I tried to renew my determination.



I will make female friends in school, indulge myself in the garden of lily—I mean, in girly stuff…

And that marks the end of the last birthday I’m going to spend only with my closest ones, as starting next year, I’ll be debuting to the noble society. Which will be followed by school.

I hope I can meet good female friends!

 

Chapter 38

Luca's Sixth Birthday​

Spoiler

As usual, before my sixth birthday, it’s Luca’s sixth birthday celebration first. Normally, nobles under the age of six wouldn’t attend such a birthday party, but again, I was an exception.

I was afraid that this special treatment I got would be subject to other nobles’ suspicion, but I guess I worried for nothing, as the royal palace sent out the invitations for every noble children that would be six years old by this year, too.

“Let’s make the party merrier!”

Nice countermeasure, King Titus and other royal members!



Day 33 Month 2 Year 976. Luca’s sixth birthday.

I am wearing a simple-but-elegant light-blue dress with the usual green wings emblem. My mom tied my hair into a single bun, positioned high up there on my head. A red ribbon was put near the bun. Overall, I’m happy with my appearance.

I’m happy that I can customize my hair-do now that I have long hair. Back then, as Reinst, I was too engrossed in swordsmanship training ever since I was a child, and naturally having a short haircut is more practical. Phew, I’m really glad that my mom now lets my hair grow long.



The Grand Hall of the Capicastle was quite dazzling and luxurious as it was, but now that they decorated it especially for the crown prince’s sixth birthday party, it looked more grandiose than ever. There are a lot of nobles crowding in—as expected of the crown prince’s birthday celebration!

From the looks of it, many are eager to see the crown prince’s appearance! There are not many people who have seen Luca before his official debut today, after all.



“Greetings, everyone. It’s a pleasure to meet you all here. Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Lucius Aideen seo Navarrete, the crown prince of Riviera country. Since this is my debut to the noble society, there might be several things that I’m lacking in, so I hope you wouldn’t mind that... As the crown prince, I would like to offer my gratitude for all of your contribution to the royal family and this country on top of coming here to celebrate my birthday. I hope that you will have fun in my sixth birthday party.”

To close his welcome speech, Luca elegantly bowed and the business-like smile lingered on his face.

Of course, loud applause followed after such a great speech and good show of attitude that he did.

“Whoa, the crown prince is the splitting image of King Titus back in his younger days!” –said an elderly noble.

“Our country’s future is looking good!”

“As expected of the next crown ruler! That’s the kind of behavior that every crown ruler of this country is said to possess.”

“I thought that they were too quick to decide on his third birthday that he’d be the next crown ruler, the heir to the throne, considering that at that time, Her Majesty was blessed with another child in her womb. But seeing the prince’s performance today—I think I know why they made their decision.”

“I still think they should wait and see the princess’ development before deciding the next heir to the throne, but well, this... I think the crown prince is okay.”

“The prince is extremely gifted!”

“I wonder if he would pick my daughter when they are older...”



Various opinions floated around the crowd, but mostly are positive.

I wonder how many times has Luca practiced for today? He knows for sure that his first speech is important.



Next agenda is... oh yeah, we gotta go to the royal family’s place and greet them all.

“Luca, congratulations on your sixth birthday! Your speech was awesome!”

After my parents gave their congratulations, I also gave mine to Luca.

“Hmph, of course that’s a matter of course. I won’t be the crown prince if I can’t even do that right!” Luca boasted without any pretense in front of me.

Seriously, if others were to see this side of his, I wonder what would they think of this cheeky prince?

“Nee?”

--that cute, familiar voice... is calling out for me!!

I looked up to the source of that cute voice who’s snuggling up to her mother.

“Leti!!”

“Ryaa-neee?”

She looked at my direction and pointed her small hands to me. Her round green eyes are so adorable! Her cheeks are still chubby!

“Fufu, yes, Leti. That’s Lyra-neesama,” Queen Shaula praised little Leti for recognizing me right away, despite my different hairdo and get-up.

...wait, what do you mean that it’s a given?

Oh. Right. My eye colors.

Little Leti’s two years old now, and she’s started to be talkative!



“Alright, I will be socializing with the other noble children after this,” Luca finally said—then he gazed at the other noble children already forming their own circles. Seems like there are the children area and adults area in parties like this.

“Mind to come along with me, Lyra? Kiri will be with me, too.”

I glanced at my parents who are talking with their fellow adults—fuuuu, I think I should have been there had I not died.

Wait, what about Alt-nii?

Ah, off he goes to other noble children attending Harmonia Academy.

“Alright then.”

With that, the two of us started to leave our parents and approached the other children whose age weren’t that far from us.



But before we walked far enough—

“Aaaaaa!! Uca-niiiiiiiiiiii!!”

We both turned around and saw Leti waving at us. She’s calling out Luca, not wanting him to leave her. Her eyes started to get teary and her face started to turn red from her bawling.

Oh my, how adorable!

“My, my, Leti, don’t. Big brother Luca has to greet the other children. There, there, be a good girl and accompany your parents, okay?” Queen Shaula stood up and cradled Leti in her arms and kissed her forehead.

“Uuuu, Uca-niiii!!”

But Leti continued to weep.

I wonder if it’s because she’s in a very crowded location that she wants to be close to her beloved big brother more than anything else.

Luca sighed and quickly went back to his mother’s side. Queen Shaula returned to her seat to let the two siblings communicate with ease. Once Luca is within her reach, Leti grabbed Luca’s sleeves.

“There, there, Leti. If you wait and be a good girl, Nii-san will play with you after this, okay?”

“Nii-niiiii, uuuuu...”

Luca then patted the bawling Leti.

“Okay?”

“Leti, it’s Luca-nii’s important day,” Queen Shaula added.

“Mmmmkaayy,” Leti reluctantly let Luca go away.

“Good girl,” Luca smiled and then he looked at me again.

“Let’s go.”

I nodded.

Along the way, we picked up Kiri who was just tailing around his stepfather, confused on what he should be doing in the party.





“Lucius-sama, congratulations on turning six years old!”

“Prince Lucius, thank you for allowing me and the other who will have their sixth birthday this year to be here!”

“Lucius-sama!!”

In the end, Luca has to keep his cool smile while facing the nobles who quickly gathered near him—both boys and girls are there, but most are girls.

Meanwhile, Kiri and I are watching from his sidelines, sighing at the sight in front of us.

“Luca has it hard, eh...,” Kiri symphatized.

“There are some people who will certainly enjoy this kind of attention, though,” I replied.

“But Luca is definitely not included in that type of people, right?”

“How do you know?” I asked indifferently—out of curiosity, not because I was doubting his judgment. Even I can tell that Luca would feel like this kind of setting is tiring. After all, he’s that kind of brat at our first meeting. However, Kiri didn’t know of Luca’s antics before...

“Uhm, that smile, that expression he has... how do I say it... it’s different from his usual one. Not that he’d smile often, though,” Kiri tried to explain.

I just nodded.

“Un, un, I can understand what you mean.”



Right at that time, I think my eyes met Luca’s. No, it’s not just my hunch. After all, he quickly said—

“Lyra, Kiri, come over here, too! You two should get to know the others, as well.”

So Kiri and I have no choice but to come over to Luca’s side—to the crowd of noble children who are looking at us with curious eyes.

“Hello, how do you do. I’m Alrescha Lyra Hartmann. I will turn six on Month 7, so I hope you would come to my sixth birthday celebration, too,” I pulled the hem of my dress and curtseyed.

“H-how do you do. I’m Kiri Elsworth. I’ll turn six on Month 11...,” Kiri slightly bowed down.

Before long, the children also introduced themselves one by one. Their age varies from six until around ten. There are even some siblings here.

In the end, we chimed in their conversation—damn, could it be that Luca didn’t want to chatter around with them alone and brought us along to suffer together?

In the middle of our shallow conversation, I eyed Luca and narrowed my eyes sharply once his eyes locked mine. To my response, he sneered back at me!

...Luca, why you little...!!



“Ah, excuse me, I’d like to go to the restroom...,” Kiri timidly announced that he’d go to the restroom.

“Speaking of which, please excuse me as I’d like to take some drinks,” Luca also announced that he’d go to take some drinks—oh well, that’s understandable as he’s the one who spoke a lot. Everyone kept talking to him, the star of this party, naturally.

“Ah...”

Since I don’t feel like going to the restroom or even drinking, I decided to just stay. I bet they would just ignore me and continue to chatter among their own.





“Hey, hey, Lyra-sama, you’re that rumored Duke Hartmann’s only daughter, friends to Prince Lucius, right?” One of the nobles suddenly opened the conversation with me.

I think I have introduced myself properly earlier...?

“Yes,” I shortly replied.

“Hee... So, it’s true that you are the rumored queen candidate?”

“W-wha? N, no... I’m Luca’s good friend. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Eeh? But I heard that the palace’s tutors praised you and that you did well when you were tested for the queen’s qualities?”

From where did they learn that?!



“Ah, well, that’s... right, but that’s just that, and it’s by no means anything special,” I started to lose my composure.

“Doesn’t that mean you were trained especially for becoming the future queen?”

“Yeah yeah, there’s no way you’d score great and even be praised if you didn’t train at all!!”

“You think that you’d get Prince Luca by playing the role of a shy and humble girl?”



...Why did things turn out like this.

I tried to take a little step backward when the group of dominant (and scary) noble girls approached me. Meanwhile, the timid girls and the scared boys went backwards, too.

I mean, there are even older girls among the ones who walked to me—they look scary in the eyes of this small me!!

“Uhm...”

Oh my... if I act like this, then this act is deemed wrong. If I act cocky, it will be all the more reason they’d attack me...

For some reason, I could feel that the atmosphere around me is getting weird—but I wonder if it’s just my feeling...



As they continued to ramble on until my head developed some sort of selective filtering to them—I can only timidly response…

“N, no, I didn’t mean all that... This is just the way I am...”

Please, just believe me already!

In the past, I was weak against these kinds of nobles. Of course there were occasions when they also attacked me, but since I wasn’t close to the crown prince at that time and since (I think) I was very unfriendly and constantly had this natural cold-looking face, they would eventually leave me alone… and continued to talk behind my back afterwards.

Yes, perhaps that was why I was at loss of words—I don’t know how should I break free from this situation.

My face in this life looks friendly enough—no, overly friendly with natural childish characteristics! Not to mention that this time, I’m determined to change my unfriendly attitude, so…

How can I fend them off nicely…





“What? I can’t choose who I want to be friends with?”

Suddenly—a familiar voice could be heard—this is… this voice is…!!



“L-Lucius-sama, ah, no, this is... we just want Lyra-sama to be honest to us instead of...”

I gazed towards Luca, who’s now standing beside me. Luca, you came at the right time—no, you should have come sooner, you little…!!

As Luca and the noble girls are bickering around, I thought that it would be quite hopeless for him to win against so many noble girls on their nice pretenses…

There’s no way Luca could be rude to them when they only said nothing but good things…



But then…

“Well, well, then why don’t we all just become good friends?” Luca smiled.

Are you trying to end it with that, Luca? There is no way they would say yes and then go away with that--

“Ah, yeah, that’s a good idea!”

…and they will continue to swarm here, to talk with you endlessly, Luca…



“W, well, I think it’s been too long for us to be hogging Luca-sama to ourselves, so...”

“Please excuse us!!”

…wait what?

I can’t believe what I am seeing—as the swarming nobles quickly dissolved and went somewhere else.

In that instant, I felt relieved. Also, is it just me or the atmosphere around here was improving? Could it be that the noble girls were the cause of the heavy atmosphere before?

That’s awesome what a group of noble girls putting up a pretense can do, they can even bend the air!



Shortly after—Kiri returned… after he confessed that he got lost.

This boy, really… I really hope he can grow up to be a splendid knight.



After we told Kiri what just happened, I suddenly realized something.

It was quite a close call, but I managed to pass by that dangerous predicament!

Luca came at the right time, and he managed to fend off those nobles… as expected of the crown prince, I guess?



We continued to bicker afterward—all the while, the other nobles exchanged glances at us—wanting to approach us, the burst of cheers halted their intention.





“Greetings to the 29th Ruler of Riviera Country, Her Majesty, Queen Seraphina!!”

We spontaneously turned our heads towards the source of the loud announcement.

“Greetings to His Majesty, Frieldric Hillel!!”

Another announcement followed.

“Let’s go!” Luca suddenly urged us to approach the source of the attention.



Upon looking closer, we could see two elegant figures being the center of attention. Although they seemed older than when I last remembered—but there’s no way to mistake them.

The strong and gentle-looking lady with her green eyes similar to King Titus’, and her auburn hair was exactly the same as I remembered. She was Queen Seraphina Lorelei seo Navarrete, the previous reigning queen.

The calm man walking next to her—he possesses the same light brown hair as King Titus’, with his wise, deep brown eyes. King Frieldric Hillel.

Ever since they gave the throne to King Titus, I heard that they were staying in the royal family’s villa. I never really saw them again in this life—but that’s right! It’s their grandson’s sixth birthday party, a very special occasion!



“Grandfather, grandmother, you’ve come to the party!!”

Luca cheerfully ran to them and greeted them. Since he was in public, he stopped running when he was close to them—and instead of jumping to hug them (which I think was what he planned to do), he bowed to them elegantly.

“Oh, Luca, you look so mature with this kind of get-up,” King Frieldric complimented Luca as he patted his head.

“Luca, you’ve grown up so much within just a year,” Queen Seraphina added.

…Within just a year? They must have seen him last year… but I never really saw them. We must have missed each other.



Since they were being reeled in, the gathered crowd also started to loosen up.

Kiri and I exchanged glances and decided to come closer to Luca’s place.

We looked from a distance as the former rulers gave their greetings to public—the public’s eyes shone as it’s been such a long time since they last saw the two powerful figures.

Afterwards, they retreated to the inner palace, as if to keep themselves from all the noise. As Luca called us out, we followed him as he introduced us to his grandparents.

“Grandfather, grandmother. Here are my friends, Lyra and Kiri. Lyra, Kiri, they are my grandparents from my father’s side.”

I quickly curtseyed and greeted them back.

As Kiri and I finished our greetings, King Frieldric eyed Kiri, as if wanting to speak with him—while Queen Seraphina looked at me meaningfully.

I was worried on what she was planning to tell me—but in the end, she just told me to be good friends with Luca—and so did the former king tell Kiri to take good care of Luca.



I sighed in relief as I looked at Queen Seraphina from afar.

Back then, I remembered she praised me—I mean Reinst, when we met, as I was the strongest queen candidate. And as Lyra… someone also compared my conduct to Queen Seraphina’s, setting aside the comparison to my past self.

…Actually, I was so relieved she didn’t start talking about how I might be the next potential queen. I want to stay out of any trouble in this life, I just want a peaceful and simple life.



Anyway, it’s good to see them looking so well…

I was once again reassured and convinced that I really was born in the same world as my previous self, after looking at another two familiar figures that have aged within the time I was gone.

 

Chapter 38.5

The Things That She Didn't Know​

Spoiler

On Luca’s sixth birthday party, right when Lyra was being cornered by the nobles upon Luca and Kiri’s absence…

Luca didn’t have any idea how scary and two-faced those noble girls can be like, so he submitted to his thirst and went to take some drinks while Kiri was also gone.

After taking his share of drink, Luca quietly attempted to walk back to where Lyra is. Along the way, he’d greet the nobles who were calling out to him. He’d even stop by a bit to make a small talk with the noble adults who wanted to talk with him for a while.



Geez, even going back is such a hassle in this kind of occasion.

Luca thought to himself while entertaining the nobles who spoke to him. After a few words, if the other party didn’t seem like to stop, he would excuse himself and quickly walked back.

When he went back, he could see that the condition has become unpleasant. The prideful and dominant noble girls are ganging up on Lyra! What’s more, they were too focused on one another that they didn’t notice Luca’s presence.

Luca tried to come closer and listened in their conversation.



“But why would you get all the special treatment?!”

“You’re even acting all intimate with him, calling him [Luca]! Just admit it if you’re intending to get to his good side and hog him so that you’d be the future queen!”

Luca sighed.



“N, no, I didn’t mean all that... This is just the way I am...,” Lyra’s timid answer caused Luca to furrow his eyebrows.

That almighty Lyra is actually scared by those baseless accusations? I thought she could easily fend off those foolish arguments of the nobles...

Wait, Kiri... Did you get lost on your way to the restroom?! Why are you taking so long?!



Seeing Lyra’s troubled self, Luca walked closer.

At that moment, he could feel the strange atmosphere around Lyra. The heavy atmosphere was weighing his mind down—perhaps that’s why the noble girls are distancing themselves from Lyra, instead of standing so close to her.



Wait a second, this kind of feeling, this heavy atmosphere...

Luca had a hunch. He approached Lyra full of determination and the closer he got to her, the heavier the atmosphere became.



“What? I can’t choose who I want to be friends with?”

Luca’s cold voice that came from their left side—caused all of the noble girls who pressed on Lyra to turn pale.

“L-Lucius-sama, ah, no, this is... we just want Lyra-sama to be honest to us instead of...”

One of them tried to give an explanation, but Luca’s already seen through her.

“Is it wrong for her to be talented? Even if she did train to be a great noble lady, is it something wrong? I think it’s something commendable,” Luca stood in front of them, next to Lyra.

“Y, yes! We think so, too, so that’s why we wanted her to tell us the truth so we can learn from her and praise her!”

Luca turned to the girl who dared to give another argument back.

What’s with this shameless girl?

They seemed to think that Luca was a child that they could easily fool, but they didn’t know the whole story behind the royal family’s inherited “gift”…



In that instant, all of the other noble girls nodded and cheerfulness returned to their faces. Of course, that made Lyra feel more uncomfortable.

Luca noticed the whole thing and sighed. It was then that he decided he’s had enough. The heavy atmosphere also kept bothering him.

“Well, well, then why don’t we all just become good friends?” Luca smiled. His smile was unchanging, it was his usual business-like smile.

But for some reason, all the nobles felt chills running through their body, so they shuddered as they felt fear.



“Ah, yeah, that’s a good idea!”

“W, well, I think it’s been too long for us to be hogging Luca-sama to ourselves, so...”

“Please excuse us!!”

They timidly left Luca and Lyra alone, unable to bear with the unknown fear they suddenly felt.



Lyra was taken aback by the sudden turn of events—and admired Luca in her heart for being able to tame this situation that even made her speechless.

And at that very moment, the heavy atmosphere surrounding them disappeared.

Luca slightly frowned as he observed Lyra.

Could it be…?

He had some speculations, but it needed further observation.



“Luca, Lyra, I’m sorry for taking so long, I got lost along the way—huh, where’s everyone else?” Kiri hurriedly returned and was surprised that the horde of nobles surrounding them suddenly disappeared like that. Not even a single soul stayed.

“Huh…?”

That’s weird... It looks to me that they were planning on hogging Luca to themselves.

Kiri kept that thought to himself and swallowed the rest of his words back.

“Oy, how come you’d get lost here? You’re really...,” Luca lightly flicked Kiri’s forehead.

“Hwaa, there are too many people that I felt overwhelmed...”

“Geez, you really…”


***


When the party was almost over and when all of the nobles started to say their goodbyes, Luca parted ways with Lyra and Kiri. Since it seems that his father would take longer than his mother to say their farewell to the guests, Luca went to his mother. And his hunch was proven to be correct. Leticia was already dozing off, so Shaula tried to quickly go back to take Leticia back to sleep on her bed.

“Mother, I’m done, too. Shall we walk together?”

“Sure,” Queen Shaula smiled and held Luca’s hand with the hand that she didn’t use to hold Leti.



Near their rooms, after making sure that nobody was there, Shaula started to speak.

“Luca. You don’t think that Mother wouldn’t notice, do you?”

She still had a smile on her face, but for some reason, Luca felt that his mother’s smile was quite... pressuring.



“E-eh? W, what do you mean, Mother?”

Even the prideful Luca couldn’t win upon being pressured by Queen Shaula—his mother.

He didn’t expect his mother would still remember that—especially after the sudden uproar following right after that.



“You used it, didn’t you? At that time, when you were with Lyra.”

“Eh? How did you notice...?”

“Well, sometimes I would glance your way to make sure everything is alright. And well, their behaviors at that time... I’m positive you induced—“

“Y, yes, Mother! I did cheat a little back there. I mean, there were some persistent ones that wouldn’t back off even after I told them off coldly, signaling them… They thought I was just a child that they could easily fool...,” Luca pouted.

He may try to keep his image around the others, but he didn’t hold back sulking in front of his mother.



“Alright, I’ll let it off this time, but you should learn more. As the future king, you should develop your communicative skill so that your opponents would act as you want to, instead of relying on your magic...”

“I get it, Mother! But you made me learn fear inducement for this kind of situation, right, right?”

Shaula lightly hit her son’s head.

“No, Luca. I didn’t make you learn it for today’s situation... Although well, you can indeed use it in that kind of situation, too,” Shaula sighed.

This son of hers—he really took after his father’s personality.

...and maybe hers, just a littleeeee bit.



“Both you and your father possess quite a strong [Insight], so I’m sure that you’ll soon be able to handle that kind of situation with ease. Just... don’t be too manipulative, okay?” Shaula patted Luca’s head.

“But Father said that a ruler must be crafty and manipulative so they can deceive back those who intended to deceive them!”

...Just what did Titus teach Luca behind her back?!



“That is not wrong, but... keep it moderate, and be careful, okay? Unlike your father, you have [it], as you inherited [that power] from me, so...”

“Mmhmm, I get it~ don’t worry, I won’t ever get swayed to the dark side, Mother! I will be a good king for my people!”

“That’s nice to know,” Shaula ruffled Luca’s hair until it gets messy, and Luca only giggled back as his response.

“Will Grandmother and Grandfather stay for quite a long time?” Luca asked.

“Well, probably not that long. So, if you want to talk a lot with them, better start from tonight,” Shaula said, “so quickly tidy yourself up and get changed, then let’s greet them in their rooms.”

“Alright~,” Luca said cheerfully as if he has forgotten his mother’s short lecture just now.

 

Chapter 39

My Sixth Birthday, and...​

Spoiler

Day 25 Month 7 Year 976. It’s that time of the year. My sixth birthday celebration!!

Though I am anxious with the noble party held this evening, I’m also excited at the same time.

In the morning, my family would gather to lightly celebrate my birthday on our own. I’m quite sad that this little celebration of ours won’t last that long, as we have to prepare for the party quickly after this.

Altaire gave me a set of weird-looking metallic hair accessories. I could twin-tail my hair using them, but somehow the design strikes me off as weird. Alt-nii gestured to keep it silent, and whispered that he would explain the significance of the detail once I enrolled to school.

Clavis-nii seems to know what it is, as he gasped a bit, and whispered, “Seriously?” to Alt-nii when I opened it. To which Alt-nii only chuckled.

Taking my curiosity aside, the accessories set was sturdy and simple, so I think they would be my default hair accessories later on at school.



“Lyra, I will give my present to you tomorrow, after you’re done with your final magic test,” Mom said. Hmm, I wonder what kind of present that she has in mind?

“So, Lyra,” Dad said, “you will be attending school this year... and I think it might be better to learn melee combats, even if we are magician family. Nah wait, I think this family has gone towards the spy family direction, haha. Anyway, your choice, Lyra. Do you want to have a melee weapon, or do you prefer to just rely on magic?”



Learning and using magic is fun.

But, I feel insecure if all of a sudden, I can’t use the magic, or there is a situation where I have to rely on weapons and physical strength.

Besides, I can’t deny my love towards swordsmanship.

I was forced to learn lots of things in my past life, but swordsmanship is an exception. I usually swung my sword in the practice ground whenever I was stressed or I was thinking about something. I voluntarily practiced and learned more about swordsmanship. Remember that I improvised on my own.

So, of course, I’m going to answer Dad with…



“I want to have a weapon!”

“I see. And that’s why you’re going to need your very own weapon. This weekend, let’s go and buy the weapon you want to learn. That will be my birthday present this year.”

“!!”

I am so excited. I can finally wield swords once again! What’s more, I can pick up my own weapon, this time! I don’t have to use the prepared family swords—ah, but maybe it’s better to pick a similar design, so I won’t have a lot of difficulties in adjusting.



“Do you have something in mind?”

“Yes, swords!”

I answered without any hesitation.



“Ooh, as expected of Lyra! Remember, Mom, Dad, I told you how Lyra was so good at using her ice sword from that incident!! I’m excited to see Lyra’s performance with swords!!” Altaire supported me enthusiastically.

“Haha, we also would love to witness that,” Mom chuckled.

“Just be careful not to hurt yourself, okay, Lyra?” Dad is as protective as ever.

“Okay!”



Yes, since my parents weren’t there to witness my swordsmanship skills, they thought that Altaire was only dramatizing things and they focused on training my magic (especially the defensive magic) after that incident.

Also, no more news regarding that incident… I wonder if Miss Trouble is still alive or since she’s injured, could she be…



I lightly shook my head. No use thinking about it now.

Yes, right now, I need to seriously think on how I can explain if there are some similarities of my swordsmanship to Grabberton’s style.

God, please present me the way for my sixth birthday gift!!



Time quickly passes by and all the preparation has been arranged. Once again, I am reminded of how the previous Hartmann family’s house was so, so big. No wonder Dad turned it for public use to gain more funds to compensate the previous Duke’s wrongdoings and to invest in the East Area’s prospect. It’s kinda like a hall we can rent for many uses. Seems like some people have had their weddings here.

But now, this venue is specially decorated for my sixth birthday.

Blue flags with green wings symbols are spread throughout the venue. Other decorations such as flowers and balloons are there, as well.

Mom made me wear an elegant blue dress and put my hair on twin-tails—with green feather decorations.

Having to wear clothes with the blue-green combination is bound to make me bored someday, but thankfully they always picked up a different shade of colors and style of dresses. If there are patterns in different colors, they’re also pardoned.



I went up to the balcony and peeked at the incoming guests downstairs.

While most people are using the typical and cheapest transportation such as normal carriages (the types being drawn by horses or other animals/monsters), there are also some who use mana carriages. As expected, nobody came here using bicycle… They don’t want to ruin their clothes or make-ups before the party begins.

Those who use mana carriages must be from well-off families. Ah, right, see? That lady in such a flamboyant dress… and that man with extravagant clothes…

I bet most of them traveled here using carriages or mana carriages. The underground mana train might be a choice, too, but they had to rent carriages after their train journey, though. The ones in other islands might have to use ships or flying ships… I wonder how many people used the expensive teleportation service?

…Oh right, so far I’ve only seen my family using normal carriages (aside from the kingdom’s provided carriages, but they also take normal carriages often)… Are we living frugally so we can save up more… or our financial condition is that bad? Or is it just that they like riding the normal carriages more?



Oops, someone tried to look up towards the balcony, so I ran back inside.



Next, I kept peering restlessly towards the crowds from back-stage.

Hmm, I wonder if Luca and Kiri will come?



“Lyra, it’s about time.”

Mom kindly told me.

“Oh, right…”

“Are you ready?”

“Uh-uh,” I nodded. This kind of thing—well I’ve been way too used to it.





After I’m finished with the introductory speech (I think I did well in conducting myself in noble lady manners)—it’s time for the nobles to greet me. My face might become stiff again from smiling all the time.

But no matter.

I’m well prepared for it.

But what I’m unprepared for, even if I spent countless nights thinking about it is…



“We meet again, Lyra! Do you still remember me, I wonder? Even if I attended your big brother’s birthday parties, we only spoke during his sixth birthday party, after all…”



Dear anyone who can read my mind right now, shall we play guessing game?

This is an easy question, but anyone can guess who spoke that line from before?



The gentleman in front of me is wearing a gorgeous white suit with Loera family emblem—both his face and his smile is so familiar to me, as it never changed within years. Those amber eyes—that familiar light blonde hair.

C-L-Y-D-E.

My (previous self’s) half-brother is back. Obviously, he would.

“I remember, you’re Clyde-san from Loera family, right?”

I tried to keep my usual smile on—even if I can feel my heart is beating faster compared to when I spoke with the other nobles.

“Correct! Wow, you have a good memory! Congratulations on turning six years old!” He slightly crouched down to pat my head lightly.



…it’s a strange feeling.

Back then, even when we were family, he never did something like this to me. Well, I could understand why. We spent our childhood on rivalry—and we never really got close to each other until the end of my life.

But now, Clyde is way taller and bigger than me, acts more mature than me, and is patting my head like how one would pat a child’s.

I never knew Clyde could be this gentle.

Wait, no… I think I danced with him once, and the way he led me was gentle.

His swordsmanship was fierce and intense, though.



“Ah, so this is the child you told me about!”

That voice broke my nostalgia.

From right behind Clyde, a familiar-yet-unfamiliar woman appeared and presented herself in front of me, with her hand clinging to Clyde’s. Her blonde hair—no, come to think about it, it was blonde but was dyed orange a little bit… I guess I should correct myself and say that it’s marigold-colored? Alright, her marigold hair is the same as ever, she kept it at shoulder length.

What’s more, she used to braid her hair in any style she liked. Now? It didn’t change. She still kept the habit of braiding her hair. I can see that a small portion of her front right hair is braided. It exposed her ear that was wearing a gold-chained earring with cherry decoration.



Cherry…

Cheryll Nicole Loera.

My only friend—if I can really call her one.

Her light blue eyes shone as she examined me.

I can see the little mole just right below her right eye’s corner.

It felt as if she didn’t change—but I can feel how she became more mature than when I last saw her.



“Uh, Clyde-san told you… huh?”

I spontaneously asked something that popped out to my mind as I felt quite awkward with her staring at me.

“Oh, yeah. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Cherryl Nicole Loera. Clyde is my husband—oh, you already know that. Anyway, he told me about how he discovered you in your brother’s sixth birthday and how you were smart even when you were just a small kid. …Also…”

She somehow stopped and her cheerful smile gradually disappeared—as her gaze turned far away, as if she was having a nostalgia. Her arms which were circling Clyde’s also started to loosen as she approached me.



“Also about the rumors on your noble lady conduct—about you potentially becoming the strongest queen candidate of this period… that reminded us of…”

The corner of her mouth was slightly raised.

“…Of someone that we used to care about—but she is now in a place far, far away.”

She has a melancholic expression as she patted my head—that’s not like the usually cheerful and upbeat Nicole I knew.

…Is she talking about me—I mean, Reinst?



“Nicole,” Clyde softly called out to her as he put his hand on Nicole’s waist.

“Ah, sorry for that. I was dozing off a bit. Congratulations on your sixth birthday, cute little Lyra.”

To admit that she was dozing off during when she was supposed to greet me on my birthday…

Heh, she is still the same Nicole I know. The fearless Nicole who’s always straight-forward. If I’m not wrong, she did grumble to me once about how her parents and Loera clan’s elders always lectured her so she would be able to keep her pretense even in front of those she disliked.

I wonder if she has mastered it yet…?



Come to think of it…

“Thank you. By the way… isn’t the heir of Loera clan supposed to be Nicole-san? But I heard before that Clyde-san was the heir?”

“Oh, you still remember that?” Clyde asked as if amused.

“Ehehe, we shared the responsibility of an heir, as Clyde would cover the things I couldn’t do really well!”

…Did she refer to how she was unable to pretend to be friendly in front of those she disliked?!

“Ah, it was quite terrible at that time when we asked for the elders’ approval…,” Clyde’s gaze started to trail off, reminiscing those days.

“And who was it that made everything possible?” Nicole teasingly asked.

“Yes, yes, milady, I owe it all to you.”

Clyde sighed and caressed Nicole’s head.



…Honestly, I would like to ask a lot of questions. Like, how the hell was it possible, what kind of sharing did you do, what kind of agreement did you make… and especially… how did your relationship turn to this… from a mere friendship?!

Is this what they call a generation gap?



“Oh, yeah. Did you get along with your brother?” Clyde suddenly asked, perhaps since he remembered that he had come here to talk to me to establish connection, not to flirt around with Nicole.

“Eh? Huh? Yes, why?” I was dumbfounded at his random questioning.

“That’s good. You two should cherish each other when you can,” he gently smiled.

“…? Is something the matter?” I couldn’t hold off my curiosity. Gah, child hormones, child brain process.

More or less, I know what’s on his mind, but… there’s no way, right?



“Ah well, no, it’s just…”

Now it’s Clyde’s turn to be speechless. Why did you bring up something you couldn’t explain well, then? Or was my question too unexpected?

“Well, he just regretted that he wasn’t able to get along with his late sister, that’s all,” Nicole explained on his behalf.

Get along… with his late sister? Regret not being able to…?

Did Clyde want to get along with me…?

As far as I can remember, we have always ignored each other—I mean, even when Nicole and I talked, he would be silent… hmm…

Did I remember things wrong…?

I can’t really remember it well.



“Oh… uhm…”

This is getting awkward.

But hearing about how Clyde wanted to get along with me—even if it was just a sweet talk or their lies… I felt a little bit happy.

Let’s see… It’s the thought that counts?

Is it wrong for me if I tried to drop the hint for them, just a little bit?

“As a little sister, I feel like… Given the chance, I think you two would be able to get along eventually.”

I awkwardly phrased that.



“Eh?”

Unexpectedly, I heard Nicole’s surprised gasp instead.

So I turned my eyes towards her—and sure enough, her stunned expression greeted me. I think her eyes got a bit teary…?



“Thank you, Lyra. It made me feel better… and Nicole, what’s wrong?” Clyde asked.

“Oh, ah! It’s nothing… It’s just,” Nicole shook her head lightly and her eyes returned to normal, but her smile was somewhat melancholic.

“Someone once said a similar thing to me. That same person I talked about—Clyde’s sister, to be precise.”



……………………

Did I?!

No, I can’t remember!!

Wait, seriously?!





[Achievement unlocked: Getting yourself in another trouble you wanted to avoid the most!]

 

Chapter 40

Nicole​

Spoiler

My sixth birthday, it should be my sixth birthday, but this is the present I got.

Another… trouble?

I looked up at Nicole with a puzzled expression on my face.

…wait, I need to look up at her now?! She used to be shorter than me!!



As if she understood my questioning expression, she explained.

“Well, it was one of our small talks. At that time, I talked about how I was supposed to have an older brother had he not died right after he was born. And how I wondered if we might get along if he were alive, and such… Let’s see… It was when we were… nine, I think?”



Nine… it was just when we started to hang out more often, wasn’t it?



“She replied like this: ‘I can’t really relate since I am not on good terms with my brother, but… looking at you and your family’s condition, I think that given the chance, you would get along well’. How was it, similar, right? Only, she said it lightly as she kept on looking at her book, while you said it awkwardly earlier,” Nicole let out a small laugh.

I said it while I was reading my book? Something I said in a passing? A small talk we had on a whim? I can picture myself saying something of that line, but the way she said it—it’s as if she was sure it was the exact same thing I said.



Heck, it was even more than 15 years ago for you, Nicole!

How the heck did you manage to remember that line perfectly?!

Or did you make things up?



No, her tone was so full of confidence when she uttered it word by word. Most likely, she wasn’t making things up.

Nicole’s smart, I know, but this is beyond ridiculous if she really remembered the thing from more than fifteen years ago exactly as it was.



“Clyde, now I know why you felt like she reminded you of her!” Nicole suddenly turned around at Clyde and said that.

Gah!

“Well, I can’t doubt your memory, so obviously it’s the truth—if that’s the case… this is awesome.”

…Please oh please don’t be suspicious of me.

I didn’t even remember saying anything like that at all, how did you even remember thaaaaaattt?!

Note to self: be careful around Nicole.



“Then, if you don’t become the queen in the future, what about becoming my daughter-in-law?” Nicole suddenly clapped her hands.

“My son is only two years younger than you. I’ve already taken a liking on you, so you don’t have to worry about the typical in-law's fights!”

She kept on rambling happily.

How typical of her.



“Oh, that’s a nice idea. How about you consider marrying into our family, Lyra?” Clyde supported Nicole’s idea wholeheartedly.

“Uhh, I, I…”

When I was wondering how to answer them, my dad who was talking with other noble adults in close proximity to me, suddenly turned his body and leaned in our conversation.

“Did I hear something about marriage?” He quickly asked with his sweet-yet-cold smile intact.



…Dad, did you have a ‘Lyra-marriage-talks-radar’ or what?!



“Ah, Valkyane-san! I was only proposing the idea of marriage between our kids—that’s only if you don’t plan on making her the queen,” Nicole, still with her carefree attitude, answered.

I’m telling you, she’s fearless! Even when Dad shot that sharp glare at her, she didn’t flinch!

“I’m not giving Lyra to anyone yet,” Dad answered.

“Well, maybe in the future! You know you have to send her off in a marriage in the future, sooner or later, right?”

…this fearless woman I know, she never changes.

“That… will be my future self’s business and worry,” Dad replied back.

“Well, alright, but think about it!” Ignoring Dad’s reluctance to talk about it, Nicole still asked him to consider about it…



Nicole…

I lightly smiled, thinking on how she hasn’t changed that much.

She kept talking on and on even in the past—even when I was reading my book or when I seemed not to pay any attention to her. Truth to be told, I think I developed a selective hearing and a good concentration and attention-dividing skill because of her?





Suddenly, the crowd started to get noisier—wait, could it be…?!

At the front door—I saw that the nobles are making their ways to the people who just arrived.

It’s the royal family!!

King Titus, Queen Shaula, and Luca are there!! Hmm? Leti is not here… Oh, obviously, that means… they left Leti in the others’ care. The maids, perhaps?

The royal family’s appearance never fails to cause uproars no matter what kind of parties and whose celebrations they attended.



“Eh? Wow, that boy is so similar to Luca-sama, Lyra-sama’s friend.”

Niina’s sudden remark caused me to turn over to her, who stopped by my side to observe the situation.

…Niina… uhm…



“Huh, is that Luca?!” Clavis-nii who was beside her also asked.

“Why is Luca there, and his appearance…?” He continued to ponder.

…this pair of mother and son…



“It’s Luca, alright. He’s with his parents, and that outfit is… do I need to explain?” I shortly answered.

“Ah, I see, I understand now and that expla—WHAT?!”

Niina’s face paled upon realizing what I just told her.

“E… eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh?!” Clavis’ face was quite funny. His tail and ears are all standing up—wow, Niina’s ears and tail were standing up, too.

This pair of mother and son is really alike!

Well, they are mother and son, so it’s not something weird.

Their resemblances are uncanny.



“…S, s, so… Luca is the crown prince all along?!” Clavis was really surprised.

“W-w-w-whaaaat?!” Niina couldn’t get over her initial shock.

Well, I really understand how well they are ignorant of the world’s news. I’m still glad they know who the two figures are—who the current king and queen are, and what the royal family emblem looks like.

Nah really, if you don’t even know those three, then you’re doomed. Are you even the citizen of Riviera if you don’t even know who your king and queen are?!

It’s understandable that they haven’t memorized who the crown prince is… but hopefully this shock… made them realize that they should at least keep up with the news, especially the one regarding the royalty…



“S, s, should I apologize to Luca-sama and confess my sin?!” Niina asked in fear.

“S…should I also prostrate myself and apologize for being so rude, and correct my way?” Clavis’ reaction is similar.

“…I think you should just confess your ignorance, apologize, and then return to how you used to address and treat him. The way he is, Luca would prefer it like that,” I replied.

“A-alright…,” the two obediently answered.



The royal family quickly went to my side and congratulated me.

I just noticed, but they also brought along Kiri, given that his stepfather was one of the guards involved.

Using this occasion, Niina and Clavis talked to Luca, and as expected… Luca laughed it off. I bet if we are not in public, he would laugh really hard.

After talking with us for a while, we parted ways as they realized there were nobles who were eager to greet me, as many as there were nobles who would love to chatter with the royal family.

When I glanced at the upcoming nobles who came to greet me personally, I couldn’t help but skip a heartbeat.



I mean, the ones standing very close to me, the ones who are walking right towards me—they are not unfamiliar figures.

If facing Clyde and Nicole was quite hard already, this one group here… is even harder, I think. The horde over there—they are none other than… my former self’s family…

In a full set.

My father, my mother… Clyde’s mother, Kania… Their appearances were more or less the same, albeit older.

And that young man over there—with his sturdy body that developed a bit of muscle—that confident man… is he really the little brother who was timidly hiding behind mother’s back in the past?

Walking right behind my (former) parents is my (former) little brother who has turned… seventeen this year, I guess?

He has changed a lot…



As I faced the group of Grabberton in front of me—I sweated profusely. I hope they didn’t notice how my smile turned stiff.

I was fretting over how I should react especially in front of my mother—but thankfully, Kania-san was the one to initiate the talk, so I think I have more time to prepare my heart.

Kania-san didn’t stay so long to talk with me, as she excused herself to go to her son’s side after a few greetings. It’s as if she didn’t want to get in the way of my mother’s greetings. I guess… they still have bad blood even until now.

Unexpectedly, Kania-san’s lax expression didn’t change—as if she never really minded this whole feud and family drama. Well, for one, I think she was really focused on her son rather than thinking about the Grabberton family.

Her grey eyes didn’t share a glimpse of remorse, regret, bitterness—nothing negative. Even after her son has left home, she seemed content with her life.

I wonder if she frequently visited Clyde?

…I hope so.


The second one is… father.

With his amber-colored eyes that seemed to view the world indifferently, he looked at me. His almond-colored hair and beard seemed different than when we last met—but… the slightly apparent scar mark visible on his skin is still the same.

“The Hartmann family’s daughter, huh? Congratulations on your sixth birthday. I’m the current head of Grabberton clan, my name is Herbert Secht Grabberton. I have heard of rumors about your achievements. I wish you luck so that you can continue to make your family proud,” he said.

How typical of Father.

He has always been achievement-oriented, honor-oriented.

“Thank you… Herbert-sama…”



It was quite hard trying to address him as a stranger right now. But since we were never close to begin with, it wasn’t really impossible. I also did a mental practice in addressing all of them.

Father was never a talkative person. He was a person with few words, so obviously he didn’t prolong our conversation with small talks.



Which means, here comes…

My mother.

“Oh? So you’re the rumored… next queen candidate?”

Her prideful demeanor didn’t change—no, perhaps it was enhanced due to her being proud of her son who should be the heir to Grabberton family?

Her voice was stern, exactly as I remembered it.

Her eyes are looking at me—it feels like she’s examining me from head to toes.

I felt like my breath got caught on my throat.

This is the only person whom I was so fixated on. The one person that I yearned for her love.

And right now, she’s standing in front of me. And we are supposed to be fellow nobles, yet strangers.



“Greetings, it’s a pleasure to meat you. My name is Dahlia van Petersburg—now it would be Dahlia van Grabberton, though, as I become Herbert’s wife.”

She proudly announced herself.

Her curly brown-hair is tied sideways as it’s also braided at the same time. Her pine-colored orbs are staring at me sternly—analyzing me.

This person is none other than…



Mother, I yearned for your love, for your praise, for your smile for all my life.

This person, a stranger.

Mother, I always chased after your back.

She is someone you have met for the first time.



Following right behind her was none other than… my past self’s little brother.

I still managed to recognize him as there are unchanging traits from his childhood—though I admit I almost didn’t recognize him before I saw his outfit and traits.

If anything, this meeting was totally expected—I have always expected this. That I would meet them again. Everyone. My past acquaintances. Since I was born a noble as well, this time.

But when the moment finally came, I felt like I was so unprepared for it.



As Domi stepped back a bit, it indicated how my past mother wanted to talk first, instead of us three talking together.

I’m quite unsure if this helps or destructive instead.



My eyes reflexively observed her again, once more. I’m unable to shift my gaze away from her.



She is familiar, yet unfamiliar.

She was my mother, but she is now a stranger.



I want to hug her, yet at the same time… I also want to run away from her.

Conflicting thoughts began to flood my mind.

 

Chapter 41

"Mother" and "Little Brother"​

Spoiler

“Hmm, ah, you are so similar to your big brother, huh,” Dahlia-san said with her usual signature fan covering her mouth.

Wait, this fan she’s using seems fancier than the one she used in the past. Time really has changed everything.

Anyway, I have snapped from the conflicting thoughts inside my head.

Though… I feel like the atmosphere here has changed, but I wonder if it’s just my imagination?

Could it be my mental condition, as I’m feeling quite stressed here?



“T, thank you for coming to my sixth birthday party,” I politely curtseyed.

“Right, congrats on your debut to noble society, little girl,” she set aside her fan and smiled. That was the kind of smile I was used to seeing in the past.

As of now, I’m looking at the lady in front of me. Her perfume scent has changed for a bit, and I can see the signs of aging affecting her figure, her skin, and her hair.

“…”

“Hmm, right. The way you conduct yourself is indeed worthy of praise. At such a young age, too. Obviously, my late daughter was better at it, but considering your age, it’s not that bad,” she commented.



‘My late daughter was better at it…’

Do you know… I was your late daughter.

I am the same person as your late daughter, although right now I am assuming different identity.

My soul—our souls are one and the same.

However, there is no way I can say that.



…Mother, I have so many things I want to ask you.

Have you ever loved me for I am, not for my achievements?

Were you really glad for having given birth to me?

Did you feel sad when you knew I was dead?

Did you regret not pampering me more when I was alive?

Or were you only regretful because you won’t have your daughter becoming the queen?



…this is not good, I can feel that stingy sensation in my eyes—I can’t become teary in front of her.

“Thanks for the compliment, Dahlia-sama…,” I can only say that.

Despite having so many things I actually want to say.

…right, perhaps God indeed made me reincarnate in order to learn all those things—not only the fate of my cell donor. However, with how everything is, how will I be able to get the answers?

There is no way I can ask her… not like this. No. I don’t want everyone to know who I was.

But I want to know… how she really felt about me—about Reinst.



“Your late daughter must have been very good at conducting herself in noble lady’s manners, then?”

…I said it.

I managed to say it.



My former mother who was about to step aside to let my former little brother stand in front of me, quickly halted her movement and looked back at me with her stern gaze.

“Yes. She was truly talented, and obedient. It was such a pitiful fate that she had to die just right after she turned thirteen… Oh, Reinst, you had so many wonderful things waiting for you in the future…”

She closed her eyes and covered almost her entire face with her fan, so I wasn’t sure what kind of expression she was making.

From the way her voice wavered, I could tell that she felt sad or remorseful—at least I know she felt sad and remorseful of my death, but…

Was it because for who I was, or because of my achievements?

I know for one that mother was really, really good at putting a pretense. So…



At that time, Domi quickly supported Mother and put his hand on her shoulders.

“Sorry, Mother was reminded of my late sister,” He curtly said—my, he’s also a short talker, like Father?

“No… I’m sorry for… touching a sensitive topic,” I quickly apologized back.

“No, it’s alright. Sorry for causing you to be uneasy,” Mother quickly reorganized her posture and restored to her usual self.

“Domi, now you should greet today’s princess, too,” she then stepped aside, and Domi sighed a bit as he positioned himself in front of me.

“Greetings, my name is Dominick Robin Grabberton, the next heir to Grabberton. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He took my hand and lightly kissed its back.



…………………while it was a … perfectly gentleman thing to do… you were… you were… my little brother, after all……….. I felt so awkward.

I mean, sure, some of the young men his age would give this kind of salutation to a young lady, but…

If it were a normal little girl—upon seeing a handsome boy older than her doing this kind of gesture, I think she would be swooned—yeah, I’m sure. Ahh, I can’t, I can’t.

In the first place, where did you learn that kind of gesture, Domi? When I was your sister, I can’t picture you being like this at all…



“Congratulations on your sixth birthday, Lyra-ojousama. May you grow up to be a great noble lady,” he said.

Uh, right. His voice—the timid little boy’s voice is replaced with a low, deep voice that could make any lady swoon.

His face—ah, right. He has grown up to be quite handsome. What is it? He is similar to Mother—but there are some similarities to Father, too.

He still keeps his bangs long enough that some part of it may cover his amber eyes—but I think this kind of hairstyle made him look cooler.

Oh, right. Compared to my past self, he took after Mother a lot. Same curly brown hair, huh. If he were a female, I bet he would be the splitting image of her.



How he has grown up to do such a daring salutation that’s quite famous among noble ladies. His hand that held mine—it was strong, yet gentle. I can sense that his hand was used to gripping swords—I mean, this kind of callus…

Aah, why do I keep being reminded of my past self today?



“Thank you, Domi-san,” I replied.

When I look at my little brother who’s developed a sturdy body build, I can’t help but think…

Yeah, our role has been completely reversed. I am now the “little kid” and he is now “the adult”.

I wonder if his swordsmanship skill has far surpassed mine?



Ah!! Speaking of which…

“Domi-san, Grabberton family is a swordsman’s family, right?”

“Yes, why?”

Ah—as expected, short answer, but at least he added why in it, so I can continue the conversation.

“Uhm, so… Dad is giving me the option to learn melee weapons and I am interested in swords… ah, do you bring your sword along?”



It’s actually a question that I know the answer.

Yup, we may not bring our weapons inside such parties like this, however, we are accustomed to bringing it and leaving it in carriages or other storage places to use just in case the needs arise.

Obviously, he should be bringing his cherished sword.

Which is… right, the Grabberton family’s heirloom—the Orgueil, the powerful sword that’s said to be sacred—bestowed by the gods to the first founder of Grabberton clan… or so I was told. The sword that Father used to carry around—I wonder if it’s already given to Domi, or if Domi has been given the privilege of using it?



I saw a glimpse of surprise flashing before his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Yes… I do bring my sword along with me.”

“Can you… show me how swordsmanship look like?”

He was surprised—of course.

Yes, this is my idea—I will have a look at his display of Grabberton swordsmanship skill, then whenever someone gets suspicious of my swordsmanship having some similarities to them, I will just say that I have witnessed their technique in the past and I loved it, so I tried to imitate them—yup, I still have to change my style so it won’t be that similar!

Otherwise, it would be very suspicious regardless of my reasoning.



“But how can I show it to you here?” He asked.

“Oh… you’re right…,” I hung my head dejectedly—but then I remember!

At times like this, there is one weapon I can use to make sure I can get what I want!

…This is not how I was used to be like—could it be due to child hormone?

But yeah, at times like this… I can use a child’s method!



“Wait a second, let me ask my dad first about this!!” I quickly excused myself in front of him and turned to nag my dad who was talking with the other nobles. Luckily, he was just next to me. Enough so he could activate his “Lyra Anti-Marriage Talks Radar”.

“Dad, dad!” I said as I pulled the edge of his hem.

“Wait a second--,” he said so to the nobles he was talking to, as he quickly turned to look at me.

Bravo, Dad! You are too kind, to halt your adult talks just for me!!

Sometimes, I love having an oyabaka dad.



“What is it, Lyra?”

“Dad, I want to see how swordsmans use their swords as I am interested in using swords as my weapon! Can I take a look, please?”

“Huh, and how are you going to take a look?”

“Over there—there is the next head of Grabberton! He said he brought his sword along!” I acted as childish as I could.

“But Lyra, it won’t be good if you force our guests—”



Looks like Domi overheard our bickering as he quickly approached us and said—

“Valkyane-san, I’m fine with displaying my swordsmanship skill as long as you permit. And as long as there is the suitable venue, and… target or opponent,” he gently said.

…Domi, you… I don’t know if you’re being kind or if you want to show off—just like how Grabberton clan members like to boast their power and pride and everything—but for me, right now… you are kind!!

It doesn’t matter which one motivated you, as long as I can get what I want—no good, I’m becoming more and more spoiled as time passes by. And I should be mature with my mental age, too.

“For the venue, we can use the open space near the garden—it was formerly Hartmann clan’s training grounds. As for target or opponent…,” Dad seems to be thinking.



“Wait, before that, are you sure it’s okay?” He suddenly turned around to look at Domi.

“Yes.”

Unexpectedly, the corner of his mouth was raised as he answered Dad—Domi’s smiling, and this one looks like a genuine smile!

“It would be a nice gift from the Grabberton clan, for your daughter’s special birthday,” he continued to explain.

“Thank you for your kind thoughts, Domi-kun. Let’s see… It would be best if you’re fighting another swordsman so you two can display your skills to full extent rather than other weapon wielders, right? But I wonder…”

“An opponent in a swordsmanship match, huh…,” I also joined them—imitating their thoughtful expression as we had our hands on our chins, thinking.



I have come so far as to let Dad and Domi both agreeing to my idea—but I can’t provide this one here.

Should I go and ask Father? Will he agree?

No, hmm, Clyde? Clyde will surely agree…

They are all from the same family, so they would be very familiar with one another…

But it’s alright, no problem… right?


“Uhm what about asking another person from Grabberto—”

Before I managed to finish my sentence, suddenly—





“Me.”



A bold and daring voice of a young girl could be heard.



Exasperated, all three of us looked at the direction of the voice.

Just right behind us, a girl around 12-13 years old of age is raising her hand.

Her long soft-black hair reaches her waist—no, it isn’t black, but a very deep purple, as the thin end of her hair is glowing light purple. She is wearing a good combination of dress with the outer garment that has Naraka or “Oni” style—a type of kimono as the outer garment… if I’m not wrong, that’s how it’s called. Yes, kimono.

Her violet eyes are looking back at us enthusiastically. Two small curly horns are protruding from around her temporal lobes.

Is she…

Could she be…?!



“Ah, where are my manners? Pleased to meet you, my name is Fumitsuna Yuzuru. Ah, Yuzuru is my given name and Fumitsuna is my family name, in case you aren’t used to how Naracian names work.”

Naracian names—the phrase we used for names like Yuzuru’s—the typical naming sense that Naraka residents are using. Aside from the “flavor” of the name, the order is different, as it’s [Surname] [Given name] for them.

No problem, I’m actually quite familiar with other naming systems.

I learned it in school—right, obviously nobody knows.



She approached the three of us and curtseyed.

“I would like to volunteer as Domi-san’s opponent in this match to show Lyra-san how swordsmen fight. After all, I’ve been interested in sparring with a member of Grabberton clan,” she confidently said.

“With this, I believe everything is complete, Valkyane-san?”

Stunned by this kind of development, Dad stuttered.

“Ah, y, yeah. If that’s the case, let me arrange everything first.”

“Then, we shall be preparing our weapons, as well.”



Shortly after this exchange, Dad asked the helpers to prepare the training grounds and informed Mom about it. I could see Mom’s stunned face.

Dad then proceeded to make an announcement.

“Due to sudden development of events, the next heir of Grabberton clan and Fumitsuna clan will be bestowing us today with their irreplaceable gifts—a display of their treasured clan’s swordsmanship. For those who are interested to witness this rare spectacle, please follow the personnels on stand-by near the back doors. For those who want to continue their activities in this hall, then please feel free to do so.”



Of course, this was proceeded by an uproar.

Two factions quickly formed—those who are eager to watch the match, and those who are uninterested.

The royal family, including Luca and Kiri belong to the former faction.

“This is nice, I can learn what their style looks like and study from them! Kiri, you should take a look, too!” Luca said to me as we assumed the best position to view the match.

Mom and other volunteering magicians formed a barrier to protect the audience should anything go awry.

They also cast protective spells to both Domi and Yuzuru, so they won’t be fatally injured.

“Thank you for granting my daughter’s request. In case of injuries, I will be healing them afterwards, so please feel free to enjoy your match,” Mom said as she finished casting the protective spells on both of them.



Domi has taken off his outer coat, as I can see how Yuzuru has changed her dress into what I think is her combat kimono. She also tied her long hair in a high ponytail, not wanting to risk it being accidentally cut off, I think.

I can see that she has scabbards—each on her left and right waist—one is shorter than the other, though. As expected of Fumitsuna family—dual-sword wielder, huh?

Meanwhile, Domi is only using one sword—one broadsword, I assume. But when he showed his sword—I was exasperated. It was the Orgueil?!

Yuzuru did the same thing—she also unsheathed the two swords and wielded them.



“Is that Grabberton family’s sword, Orgueil?” Yuzuru asked.

“And aren’t you wielding Fumitsuna family’s swords—no, katana and wakizashi… if I’m not wrong?” Domi replied.

Yuzuru smirked.



“Yes, you’re right. These are my treasured girls—Muramasa and Koakuma. They still belong to my father, but soon, I will inherit them.”

With her confirmation, the audience got very noisy.



“Wha, what?! Not only are we going to witness their battle, but they will be using their family’s signature weapons, as well?!”

“Wow, I’m glad I’m here!!”

“This is a rare experience, I’m telling ya!”

“Goodness, to think that we are witnessing the match between the sword-wielding ducal houses in a magician ducal house’s birthday party!”

…yes, it’s a weird situation, indeed.



Domi launched a prideful smile.

“For this has turned into a match between two ducal families, our Grabberton house has decided that I must use this Orgueil.”

Yuzuru replied with a boastful smile, too.

“The same goes for me, I need to show everyone the beauty of our Fumitsuna house’s beloved Muramasa and Koakuma.”



The two people locked eyes as they positioned themselves in their respective fighting stance.

The referee—that would be Dad.



“Wow, Lyra, you managed to pull all this?” Alt-nii is standing besides me along with Clavis, his eyes are sparkling in anticipation.

“I, I didn’t expect things would turn this way…,” I timidly replied him.

Yes, who would have expected that things would turn out this way??



But in any case…

“Are you two ready?”


Since it has come to this…

“Yes.”

“Obviously, duh!”



I guess I can only enjoy the spectacle.

“Well then, the match shall start… now!!”



Thanks for the meal!

 

Chapter 42

Grabberton vs Fumitsuna​

Spoiler

Things have turned out of my hands, but it’s all for the best!

I can somehow explain how I know Grabberton’s swordsmanship skill, and I get to witness the match between Grabberton and Fumitsuna!!

The moment Dad announced that the match has started…

The Fumitsuna girl hurled in a very fast speed towards Domi!

Awesome… so fast!

The difference between their styles is so apparent!

In a simple term… let’s see.


In a game-like world, you are a mere novice swordsman. So you are seeking for advices from the prominent swordsmen.

Grabberton: [Don’t you get it? Power is everything! Crush your opponent with your strength!]

Fumitsuna: [Overwhelm your enemies with your agility and speed! Don’t give them the chance to attack back!]

Yup, that’s how it goes, so it’s no wonder that Yuzuru quickly rushed off to deal the first blow.

But no matter. I know that the Grabberton house would train Domi vigorously that he should be able to see through Yuzuru’s fast movement!



As I expected—Yuzuru’s katana slash was quickly blocked by Domi’s Orgueil. But the smile didn’t leave her face, as she quickly lifted her wakizashi—

Domi noticed Yuzuru’s strategy and quickly put more strength into Orgueil, switching from defensive mode to offensive mode. This sudden strength caused Yuzuru’s hand movement to stop as she was being pushed back.

This time, her confident expression changed into a surprised expression. Sensing that Domi would land some slashes after she stuttered, she decided to leap back, did a sommersault and landed back on the ground without any injury. Her jump and sommersault caused the distance between her and Domi to return to how it was before the match started.

…She is so nimble and agile!!



“Not bad,” Yuzuru gave Domi a half-smile.

“Heh, so you’re quite skillful despite being so young,” Domi also acknowledged his opponent.



After exchanging meaningful glances, Domi and Yuzuru both rushed to deliver their blows at the same time.

As expected, because Yuzuru’s faster, she managed to land her attack first, but Domi managed to block them all.

Yuzuru’s movements as she attacked Domi were so fast—and it looked as if she was dancing!! This is the Fumitsuna’s fighting style! To deliver fast attacks elegantly. The combat kimono that she’s wearing just added her elegance as it matched her dance-like movements.

Simply put—she looked so beautiful even when she was fighting!!

I can’t put my eyes off her figure—but I know I should be paying attention to Domi, to Grabberton’s style.

Despite Yuzuru’s speed, Domi managed to block every attack and even launched his counter attacks.

I watched as they exchanged their stances from offensive to defensive—I can’t predict who will win this battle.



Yuzuru should be 4-5 years younger than Domi, but they can fight on equal grounds! I don’t know if it’s because she is talented or if it’s because the Oni blood running through her veins, but I know that it’s not because Domi’s giving her a leeway or if it’s because Domi’s not good.



Once again, Yuzuru created a distance between the two of them after realizing that she won’t get any upper hand with this tactic.

“Now, let’s see how you will fare against this!”



Yuzuru jumped and swung the two of her swords mid-air. Some black shards appeared and made their ways to where Yuzuru targeted her swings—to Domi!

This is another difference of Fumitsuna household compared to Grabberton—their style implements the use of magic! It’s indispensable for the members of Fumitsuna clan to learn magic, too.

Towards the rapid attack of these countless shards—Domi… how can he make his way out of it? As if it’s not enough, Yuzuru added some blows again and now, the shards are coming his way from all directions!



I glanced at Domi, but I can’t believe what I saw! Domi remained calm and even closed his eyes?!



“What, saying your prayers?!” Yuzuru shouted as she landed back.

Soon, the shards reached Domi and the clash’s impact and gust made me unable to see what was going on. Did Domi lose like this?



“Ah, too bad. Well, it was fun while it lasted,” Yuzuru sighed and let her guard down, thinking that the match has ended and turned to face the other way, sheathing back her swords and ready to walk away.

“Oh? Who taught you to let your guards off?”

At the same time as Domi’s voice resounded, Yuzuru turned her body back but it was too late—Domi has already approached her, and right when she just faced him—he swung his glowing sword towards Yuzuru!

Unable to guard on time, the blow caused Yuzuru’s body to fly—before she finally managed to control her own body and stopped herself from falling mid-air. She landed back on the ground with a huge impact, she had to use one of her hands to stabilize her body.

“Kuh! How did you--?!”

Yes, how did Domi manage to defend himself from that vicious shards’ attack and quickly attack Yuzuru back?


Wait… his sword was glowing—could it be…?!

“Huh?! You could use Touki?!” Yuzuru gasped in realization.

Touki—fighting spirit. Not many people could use it—even I didn’t master it back then. I thought Father also had not mastered this technique back then… Domi could use it at such an age?!

He could manipulate his aura or life force to wear around his own hands—then extended it to Orgueil, which made it possible for him to defend himself against the magical attacks?!

Domi… he has really grown up… and to think that he’s this talented…



Yuzuru then ran towards Domi’s back and only unsheathed her katana as she dashed forward with it glowing back—wait, this stance?!

“Taste your own medicine!” Yuzuru declared as she perfectly copied Domi’s attack that caused her first downfall just now—looks like it’s true that women held grudges?!

…but how could Yuzuru use Domi’s movement just now? Though I know she’s not using Touki, but instead she cladded her katana in Dark magic.

“Trying to copy my movement? But your power won’t be as good as me!” Domi sneered as he blocked Yuzuru’s dark Muramasa with his glowing Orgueil.

And it’s true—Yuzuru was the one who lost. She was dragged backwards as her forte was her speed, not strength.



“Alright, time to end everything,” Yuzuru said as she unsheathed her Koakuma, too. Then, she brought the two swords closer—what is she going to do?

As she brought the two swords closer and infused them with her dark magic essence… the swords merged and turned into a single giant sword with ominuous dark purple glow!



“That’s… The Demon Slayer?!” Domi said in awe.

Though it was huge, Yuzuru easily carried it as if it was light—the legendary Demon Slayer… the combined form of Muramasa and Koakuma… So that’s how they do that?! It’s cool!

“We call it Kokusatsu! It means… Victory killer!” Yuzuru announced as she swung the sword around—and a large crescent-shaped attack formed in front of the sword.

Oh no—Domi’s done for, he can’t easily block this overwhelming attack with his Touki unscatched—he can’t even jump up, right, or left!!



“Victory is mine!” Yuzuru smiled coldly as she continued the swing—which encouraged the crescent-shaped attack to lung forward at Domi’s body quickly—even my eyes can’t really see its movement as it closed on Domi!

The crescent-shaped attack didn’t even stop until it clashed the magical barrier erected to keep us safe—it left a few cracks to the barrier before it finally was gone.



And Domi…

As the dust was about to go away, I couldn’t see anyone—wait, the name is Victory Killer, but Yuzuru couldn’t have killed Domi off… right?

Did he collapse on to the ground?



Perhaps thinking the same thing, Yuzuru continued to examine the grounds, but this time, she kept her Kokusatsu intact, in her defensive stance. Seems like she didn’t dare to lower her guard this time.



“Where are you looking at?”

This voice—Domi’s?!

From up there—wait?!



I looked up to the sky and noticed Domi has jumped extraordinarily high up to the sky!

No human being could even jump that high, and he can’t possibly use such a high-leveled magic to fly…

No… This is not it… this… Domi… on top of Touki, you also…?!



Before one noticed, Domi charged right at Kokusatsu, kicking it with his legs and swung the glowing Orgueil—those attacks successfully broke Kokusatsu’s magical power as the huge sword form was shattering—revealing the two original swords in Yuzuru’s two hands.

Yuzuru’s expression was so priceless—she was very surprised that Domi’s kicks and Orgueil+Touki combo alone could dispel her precious Killing Victory—wait no, I think I got the name wrong.

But I know it. That right now, his kicks weren’t ordinary humans’ kicks.

He activated his [Oracle]—the Grabberton family’s [Absolute Power].

That explained how he managed to jump to such inhumane height—how his kicks could contribute to shattering Kokusatsu.

It’s said that the first head of Grabberton family used his oracle-imbued kick to knock off a werebeast in just… one hit.



As the audience gasped in their surprise and awe because of what just happened—I wasn’t really that surprised after witnessing Domi’s jump. I knew he inherited the oracle the moment I saw him leaping so high up in the sky.

Unlike Hartmann’s oracle which has a high chance of inheritance, Grabberton family’s [Absolute Power] has 50-50 chance of inheritance. Both me and Clyde didn’t inherit it. Father—I know he can use [Absolute Power].

Despite the lower chance of inheritance, [Absolute Power] didn’t require any training at all so it could be used to its maximum output. You just need to control it. Switch it on and off at will.

Father seemed disappointed knowing that both Clyde and I didn’t inherit it at all—Mother was even more disappointed in me, though. If only I inherited the oracle, I would be declared the heir even if I was born a girl.



Domi… he really was born with golden spoon!

Born to the legal wife, as a male, inheriting [Absolute Power], the ability to use [Touki]… How Mother would be so proud of Domi!

I didn’t know he had the oracle and the ability to use touki as his power didn’t show up at all when he was just four. How ecstatic must Father and Mother be when they found out that Domi was so talented?

…I wonder how did Clyde feel when the news broke out?

Oh yeah, since male’s physical power is typically stronger than female’s power, of course the same goes for the Oracle. Which contributed to male preference in Grabberton household.

Although there was only one occurrence where a female oracle holder successfully snatched the heir title from a male oracle holder throughout the Grabberton clan’s history.



“Alright, that’s enough!” Dad suddenly shouted to mark the end of the match.

“Eh? B-but we are not done yet…,” Yuzuru quickly answered.

“We have witnessed all amazing techniques and how your power was even—this match ended in a tie. I’m afraid if you two continued, you won’t be able to leave this birthday party unscatched, so…,” Dad explained.

That’s right. The magical barrier also cracked—the battle has escalated so much that if they continued, their safety—and even the safety of the audience couldn’t really be guaranteed.

It’s wise to call it off at this moment.



“That’s right. I think that we were too engrossed in fighting that we forgot what this match was intended to be—a show-off to satisfy this birthday party’s princess,” Domi calmly said as he returned Orgueil back to its scabbard.

“U—uhh… And I was about to bring Kokusatsu out again…,” Yuzuru also returned her swords back.

The two then bowed respectfully at each other.



“If only this match continued, then Domi would have snatched the victory.”

I reflexively turned my head towards the source of this familiar boasting voice—Mother.

From the looks of it, yeah, the match was called off when Domi successfully broke Yuzuru’s Kokusatsu—but Yuzuru’s last remark indicated that she could just build Kokusatsu again and attack Domi more viciously. In terms of their fighting abilities—Domi and Yuzuru were on a par.



As I noticed that the two of them glanced at me, I quickly approached them and bowed down.

“Thank you so much for the amazing show off, Domi-san, Yuzuru-san! It was awesome! Swordsmanship is cool!” I said with my eyes sparkling—yes, it was no exaggeration. Today’s spectacle was more than I expected.

“I’m glad,” Domi smiled a little bit and excused himself as he approached his mother.

“No problem, I had much fun. Thanks for the opportunity, Lyra!” Yuzuru smiled before her eyes caught someone’s presence and she quickly dashed towards that person.

Wait a second, Yuzuru and I haven’t really talked a lot—oh right, she also needs to return the swords and get changed.



“Beel! Did you see? Did you see? I did great, right?”



…

That voice just now—it sounded way sweeter than she usually talked—but it was Yuzuru’s, right?

I returned my line of sight to observe Yuzuru.

The cool beauty just turned into a sweet girl who adorably put her arms around an older boy’s arm. The boy seems to be 2-3 years older than Yuzuru?

“Ah, yeah. You did great,” the boy glanced sideways at Yuzuru as he praised her.

“Hehe, praise me more! Praise me more!” Yuzuru urged him.

…what a drastic turn of personality?!



Perhaps Dad noticed my curious stare towards the pair, Dad patted my head and explained.

“Oh, it’s the rumored Beelxander Byron, I’ve been told that Yuzuru fell for him despite it was an arranged engagement by their parents.”

Hee… That explained. Yuzuru did look like a maiden in love in front of her beloved fiancé. And she was so vicious and strong during the match—it seemed to me that they were two different people… Oh well, love could do such a wonder to someone?

In the past, I haven’t really experienced love…

I wonder if I will be able to experience such a sweet love like them?

“That’s nice…,” I unconsciously let that line slip off my mouth. Dad’s body stiffened as he turned to look at me in disbelief.

“Ly… Lyra, you… you don’t want to get engaged yet, right?”

Oh!

So Dad’s worried about it!!



“Ah, no, Dad. I mean, it would be nice if someday, in the far away future, I could meet someone and love him as much as Yuzuru loves her fiancé,” I explained. It doesn’t mean that I want to fall in love right now, so I emphasized on the words [in the far away future].

However…

“Noooo!! No, Lyra, don’t lose yourself in love! Whatever happens, Lyra must find a man that would be so weak in love that he would do anything for you—not the other way around! But no, Lyra, I won’t give you to anyone just yet! No, you can’t, Lyra, just stay as a little child forever, Dad will surely pamper you!!”

…Dad’s already broken.

The trigger’s been switched and it’s too late to fix his loose screws.



And thus, the party went on according to the ‘script’—I mean norm like usual.

It was not until I went back to my sworn spouse, my bed, that I felt fatigue rising up in my body.

That’s right, I exerted a lot of energy today! My mental sanity has been tested for many times over. As I started to fall asleep, my mind wandered to what I will be doing tomorrow.

Tomorrow, right… tomorrow… Mom said…

Second… magic test.

Let’s hope everything turns out for the best!

 

oh it's continued time to binge reading XD

 

I really enjoyed this story
I want to see how Lyra character grow up
Hope to read it until its ending
Thank you so much author sannn!

 

oh i remember this, i was really enjoying it, til you started to add villians in it, then it just showed how much this has declined, the villian was so damn over the top it just made me lose all interest in this series, not too mention the lengths the plot goes to to ensure that the attack could happen, really after all that talk of protecting their children that they take them with them, then the first thing they do is leave them to someone else and go leave them, i just couldnt take any of it seriously, then for some reason the author went out of his way to make the over the top villian escape just so the crazy can come back again....no thx

 

I thank you for everyone who likes this novel I'm writing and thanks for reading so far for those who eventually drop it because they don't enjoy something in this novel. I'll still try to write this story the way I planned it, so I hope there are still those who enjoy it
Anyway, does anyone still read this novel here or you guys already went to other platforms? Let me know~