Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: I Am Rahel Tani
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An awkward silence enveloped the Rahel Tani family office.
Perhaps she was bothered by my earlier outburst. Roselia seemed to be cautiously gauging my mood.
"Are you okay, daughter?"
She was the one who broke the silence first. I regarded Roselia with a cold gaze.
"Were you planning to kill those two?"
The fierce killing intent from Roselia that I'd sensed even outside the door still lingered vividly on my skin. If I hadn't come in and intervened, there definitely would have been blood.
"I had no intention of killing them. I just wanted to ensure they never showed their faces before us again."
"...I told you before."
Roselia was someone who had granted me a grace far beyond what I deserved. Even if she was portrayed as a villain in the game, to me, she was kinder than anyone else.
"I really don't want Mother's hands stained with blood because of me."
I didn't want her harming anyone for my sake, no matter the reason.
"It's fine if Mother does this for herself. There must be circumstances, after all."
"......"
"But for my sake, thinking of me and hurting someone... I really don't want that."
"Are you okay?"
Roselia asked. Her eyes soon deepened with profound seriousness.
"I can't say I'm okay... but still, I feel relieved."
Deep down, I'd harbored a faint hope that they hadn't abandoned me of their own will, so the reality stung more than expected.
But it wasn't painful enough to shatter me. They were people I'd only seen once at birth, and never faced again after that.
"And..."
I cautiously drew closer to Roselia. I looked up at her with slightly bashful eyes.
"Thanks to that, I can accept you more as my mother, Roselia."
At those words, Roselia's pupils trembled faintly. She covered her mouth, let out a few awkward coughs, then gazed at me with a soft smile.
"Then, act a little spoiled for me. I want to see my daughter's affection."
Her voice brimmed with playfulness. Her slender eyebrows curved into half-moons. Normally, I'd have laughed it off, but today my heart felt different.
"Then... could you pet my head?"
I murmured the request softly. Even voicing it made my fingertips curl in embarrassment. Roselia's eyes widened once more. She coughed again, a faint red flush tinting her cheeks.
"What kind of request is that?"
Yet Roselia's touch settled gently and warmly atop my head. That sensation softly melted away the gloom in my heart.
I was pretty childish myself, in moments like this.
I'd firmly resolved that I could thrive without family. But receiving Roselia's warmth like this, I couldn't imagine a life without it anymore.
Perhaps, without realizing it, I'd surrendered my heart to the shelter called Rahel Tani.
※
"How did it go?"
In the afternoon, with warm sunlight pouring down. On the training ground thick with the scent of earth, Camilla asked.
"What?"
"The guests. They stopped by earlier."
Camilla's eyes were calm as usual, but up close, they held a sharper edge than normal.
"We just said our goodbyes. We've decided not to see each other anymore."
"Really?"
"Yeah. My home is here."
At those words, Camilla's sharp aura softened a little. The corners of her mouth seemed to lift slightly.
"You're stating the obvious."
Camilla stepped back, then abruptly snapped her fingers. In that instant, black mana split into two streams and surged toward me.
I swiftly pulled out a defense scroll and activated it, deflecting her attack.
"You've gotten a lot faster."
At Camilla's calm remark, I puffed out my chest proudly.
"Of course. I've been training one-on-one with Mother every single day for a year now. This is child's play."
For a split second, Camilla's brow furrowed. Catching the change, I flashed a mischievous smile.
"You must've been bored just taking classes alone?"
Camilla's eyes gradually settled. The provocation had landed well.
She must have been jealous of my time with Roselia. Camilla was utterly smitten with her, after all.
"......Today, I think you need a proper scolding."
Camilla raised a small staff in her hand. Mana flowed neatly around her, spreading a chilling atmosphere.
I reached for my scroll pouch and assumed a stance as well.
"Big Sis."
In the tense moment teetering on the brink of clash, Camilla called out to me.
"Yeah?"
"You're family to me too, obviously."
"Uh...?"
It was hard to believe such an embarrassing line had come from Camilla's mouth. So utterly unexpected, I blinked in a daze for a moment.
That instant. Something seized my ankle and hoisted me into the air in a flash.
"Uwak?!"
My body dangled upside down, swinging in midair. I flailed wildly, but couldn't break free from Camilla's magic binding my feet. My earlier smug provocation crumbled pathetically.
"As expected, Big Sis is an idiot."
"Ugh, ugh..."
I was furious. But I'd let my guard down, so I couldn't complain.
"...I lose."
At my surrender, Camilla finally lowered me to the ground. She slyly climbed atop my stomach, leaned down, and pressed a light kiss to my lips.
"But I wasn't lying."
"...I didn't ask."
Defeat tasted bitter, but strangely, my mood wasn't bad. As Camilla dusted herself off and extended her hand to me, I stared at it for a moment.
The hand of the one who would later be called the worst and most vicious mage, sweeping away thousands of lives like dust.
But the hand outstretched before me now was small and delicate, like a snowball. Even Roselia, infamous for bursting people like balloons, always offered me kind, warm touches.
My family now, impossible to turn away from.
Precious people who had suddenly barged into my life, despite my vow to stand alone.
"Yeah."
I smiled and clasped Camilla's hand.
Not bound by blood. But connected all the same. Just like these hands touching gently.
Now, I too had a family.
The word still felt unfamiliar and awkward to me. But here, someday, I knew I could embrace it.
"Take care of me from now on, little sis."
"...What, all of a sudden."
"Hehe, just."
I am Rahel Tani.
And surely, from here on out, I will remain in Rahel Tani.
※
One late night.
Stars mingling with the moon in a sparkle, the quiet night air gently tapping at the window—it was that serene hour.
"Bella Rahel Tani!"
A sharp shout rang piercingly in my ears.
"Didn't Mother tell you to be home by ten? Do you even know what time it is?!"
Glowing red eyes. Still as intensely eerie as ever, even after all this time.
"H-Honestly... ten o'clock is way too early. I'm not a kid anymore..."
"A girl who hasn't even had her coming-of-age ceremony thinks she knows it all! Do you have any idea how dangerous the world is these days? What could happen to a girl wandering alone at night!"
"Th-These days, all the kids stay out until midnight! You're way too strict just with me!"
"Shall I hear the names of those 'kids these days'? I think I need to have a word with them myself."
"......"
I absolutely couldn't say.
Couldn't drag my acquaintances into this mess.
"...I'll come home early from now on."
In the end, I had to bow my head and reflect obediently.
I trudged toward the bathroom. Opening the door to wash away the day's fatigue, a figure came into view.
"...You're back?"
Those quiet purple eyes gleamed with an even brighter, clearer amethyst hue. The childish baby fat was gone, replaced by features delicately sculpted like a fine statue.
My gaze drifted downward naturally. Fresh from a shower, the girl before me stood in her underwear.
Snow-white skin etched with feminine curves. A slender, lean body without a trace of excess fat. Not yet fully mature, yet carrying a subtle, womanly allure.
But my eyes didn't linger on her body. I'd seen it plenty of times before.
My gaze fixed on her budding breasts and the white underwear covering her lower half.
"Hey!!!"
At my shout, Camilla rolled her eyes sideways, as if she'd anticipated it.
"I warned you not to wear my underwear!"
"It's not wearing out or anything. You wear mine too, Big Sis."
Her absurd reply left my mouth hanging open. I couldn't make sense of it.
"Wh-Why would I wear yours!? We color-coded them on purpose from the start!!"
"Sometimes yours are comfier."
"What kind of nonsense is that!!"
Anger surged to the top of my head, my body heating up. But my little sister calmly ignored my fury.
"Aren't you being too sensitive, Big Sis? Is it your period?"
Her attitude made me tremble, fists clenched tight.
"Th-This damn house...!!"
The academy. Now, it was the academy and nothing else for me.
I'd escape this prison of a house and get in there as soon as humanly possible.
Absolutely.