A Sister's Serious Wish

I turned my head away from Mother’s trembling gaze. It seemed her longing for marriage was quite sincere.

Mother clenched her teeth, closed her eyes, and muttered something under her breath. Grandfather and Grandmother flinched in surprise.

Surely not… this.

The three of them blushed awkwardly as they spoke.

I stared at them with ice-cold eyes.

Telepathy.

I’m not a mage so I don’t know the details, but it’s a spell only possible at fairly high circles.

They must have used it to explain the full story of Ester’s remarks to the two elders and asked for their cooperation.

They would have told them that if the situation wasn’t resolved, the elders wouldn’t be able to call Ester their granddaughter, and that they would lose the right to be called Halbuji and Halmu-ni.

How cowardly, using power to escape the situation.

This is incredibly infuriating.

Now I’m the only one who can’t call Ester my little sister.

Just in case, let me try.

Damn it. Failure.

I smiled as I looked into her round, adorable eyes.

Mother’s voice was filled with emotion. If I didn’t help her now, she would definitely sulk later.

This is what they call foresight.

A good son is a son who survives.

But Ester didn’t avoid my eyes. She kept staring straight at me.

Looking at her cute face, a smile naturally spread across mine.

Gradually, Ester’s round cheeks slowly turned red.

Oh no. It seems I embarrassed her too much.

What does that even mean?

Still, I’m glad she’s not embarrassed.

For now, at least.

Ester laughed brightly with a face like a peach.

As expected, there’s no need to force a child to grow up to twenty.

I hope my future wife stays healthy.

…

After settling the titles, we had a comfortable conversation.

Grandfather and Grandmother looked at me with proud eyes.

The sentence I had spoken had become their salvation.

What a thrilling feeling.

As expected, quick wits and elegant speech are always helpful.

Time passed, and after the four of us had dinner together, we were taking a light stroll.

Father, who had come home drunk, was startled and greeted the two elders.

The elders gave Father a thorough scolding before leaving.

Especially Grandfather, who scolded him so severely that Father shrank back noticeably.

Grandfather and Grandmother said staying overnight was too much trouble and went home.

Mother, who came inside, couldn’t turn Father’s last drinking session into the planned event.

Instead, she comforted Father, who was depressed about being scolded at his age.

But I saw it.

Father smiling faintly as he felt Mother’s gentle, patting hand.

And Grandfather, who muttered “The previous debt has been repaid” as he passed Father.

As expected, the adult world is full of hidden power struggles.

I really hope I don’t grow old like that.

*

A few days later, the teacher Grandmother had sent arrived.

She had initially refused to come, but suddenly changed her mind!

It turned out Grandmother had sent her a video crystal.

The teacher said she wouldn’t accept any request if she didn’t like the person’s appearance.

Luckily, it seems I caught her eye!

Surveillance? There are only the two of us in the room, so that’s strange.

Hehe, Sister Master seems like a really fun person.

I like Sister Master too.

After Sister Master’s lessons, I can feel my skills improving quickly!

That’s why Mama was a little upset.

She said it made her sad that my attention was only on Sister Master.

When I saw Mama like that, my heart ached, so I gave her lots of kisses on the cheek.

Mama loves my kisses!

Luckily, Mama said her heart was soothed.

Then she kissed me on the forehead.

Hehe, I love my family so much!

Everyone likes me and loves me!

Of course, Leon oppa is the best, and once I reach the 7th Circle I’ll leave the family, but still.

Oh right, Sister Master is a beautiful woman with purple hair wearing a tight red dress that clings to her body.

Her chest is much bigger than mine and her hips are wide, which is fascinating.

So…

Ah, I heard Sister Master has eyes that can see the future.

Not in detail, but she can see fragments of a person’s future.

I also heard that the Crown Prince asked her, but she refused.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

She said he looked rude and she didn’t like him. But what does “rude” mean?

When I asked out of curiosity, she avoided answering.

Is it because I’m still young?

Sister Master said she has no interest at all in her disciple’s family or their household.

She even said that if there were annoying things like greetings, she wouldn’t come.

Our family are all good people, so I was a little disappointed.

Of course, Leon oppa is the best person of all.

Sister Master’s eyes sparkled beautifully.

It’s all so I can marry Leon oppa.

Mama told me I would reach the 7th Circle around forty.

But now I can cut that in half.

Then I can marry Leon oppa even sooner.

It’s really sad to be apart for a while, but I have to go.

I promised to go to Sister Master’s house in four days.

When I told Papa and Mama, they were incredibly sad.

I’m also very upset and sad.

Spending time with the two of them is so much fun.

Of course, the saddest reason is…

That I won’t be able to see Leon oppa for a whole month.

But I have to endure it!

Because only then can I marry Leon oppa.

To deliver the sad news, I headed to oppa’s room.

Marriage candidates?

That’s strange.

Zeppelin is saying something weird.

Oppa’s marriage candidates? What?

Zeppelin must be broken.

This is a big problem since Zeppelin is oppa’s exclusive escort knight.

I need to fix Zeppelin for oppa’s sake.

There’s only me as the marriage candidate, so his head must be malfunctioning, right?

I can’t leave broken goods next to oppa.

When I wrapped magic around my hand, oppa came out.

Of course?

Maybe oppa is broken too?

*

I really liked a certain anime with ninjas in it.

Among them, I especially thought the techniques of the famous runaway ninja were cool.

But Ester is currently manifesting that technique, only with a different color.

It can be called Edorira.

It seems the target of the attack is me.

Is it because of the marriage candidate list Zeppelin brought?

What I’m holding in my hand is a list of the empire’s young ladies.

They are candidates for wives with strong, healthy bodies from small, modest territories.

Even if I have one child every year starting at sixteen, by the time I’m thirty-one I’ll have fifteen.

That’s why there are two important characteristics for the people on the list, on top of having strong bodies.

First, the young lady’s mother must have easily given birth to multiples.

Second, the young lady herself must really like children and want to have many.

I even founded a guild and raised it quite a bit to gather this information, but…

Ester’s yellow eyes, reflected ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the lightning, create a chilling atmosphere.

‘An eight-year-old emitting this level of killing intent…?’

It seems her cute wish to marry me is quite serious.

At such a young age, it’s natural to have strong possessiveness.

Don’t they say there are children who get upset when their mom and dad kiss?

…Or do they not?

Anyway.

Ester slowly approaches.

The Edori grows larger.

I know exactly what this situation is.

‘If I say the wrong thing with my tongue, I die.’

And by the hand of my beloved little sister, no less.

My whole body rings with emergency signals, and my tongue moves under the threat of death.

Zeppelin looked shocked at my answer.

Since he’s a pure friend who knows nothing, his reaction is natural.

I want to tell him it’s a useless question, but Ester’s Edori still hasn’t subsided.

I just wanted young ladies who weren’t tainted by the original story.

Sorry. I forgot.

It’s fortunate that my son wants to become a noble.

I shared a passionate embrace with Zeppelin.

Zeppelin knelt down for my shorter height, but our friendship grew even deeper.

It’s a shame I had to hand over my list of prospective brides, but I can just find them again.

Ester, who had been quietly watching us, finally withdrew her Edori.

Ester’s yellow eyes sparkled.

Fix us? With Edori?

For the first time, I felt a chill from my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cute little sister.

It seems her wish for marriage is quite sincere after all.