Chapter 7: Daisy's Mischief
"Are you going to the Magic Engineering Department?"
"Yes, Father."
Calpin's astonished voice rang out in his workshop.
After the small family gathering ended, everyone was busy preparing for the Saint candidate celebration banquet in the capital.
I went to find Calpin and explained my career path at the academy to him.
"If it's because of your mana core, I'll find a way to treat you no matter what. So..."
"It's not that. I think this path is the right one for me."
"Is that so."
Even with my firm attitude, Calpin sighed and lowered his head.
"Camille."
"Yes, Father."
"I know how much you love your younger sister. But your sister's life is her own, and you have your own life."
He paused, looked me straight in the eye, and continued in a heavy voice.
"Really, do you have the conviction that even if you go to the Magic Engineering Department, you won't regret your life?"
The Magic Engineering Department is a department that high nobility's sons and daughters don't receive well, as it's considered inferior to swordsmanship departments.
It's a quiet, secluded place where no one cares about you, even though your sister is shining brightly, and you decide to go there alone, not envying your sister for taking most of your mana core.
For Calpin, both Daisy and Camille are precious daughters he can't let go of either one.
When he says he'll give up his dream for the other sister, it naturally wouldn't sound good.
"Yes, Father."
"...I understand. Go ahead."
Leaving him with a somewhat bitter expression, I opened the door to the workshop.
Just as I was about to step out, Calpin's, no, father's extremely heavy voice caught my ankle.
"I'm sorry, Camille. I'm really sorry for being a useless father."
"...I love you."
I couldn't say anything else.
Just a sincere word to help him feel a little less guilty.
Creak-
The sliding door closed, and Calpin, head in hands, sat slumped at the desk, head bowed.
"What should I do, Elise..."
Looking at the picture on the wall of the workshop, young Calpin holding hands with a white-haired girl, he muttered in lament.
***
"Sigh..."
I feel truly sorry for Calpin.
To him, Camille and Daisy are both precious daughters he can't abandon.
Since I can't explain my situation to Calpin, from his perspective, it sounds like his eldest daughter is abandoning her own dreams and life to take care of the younger one.
Is there any father in the world who wouldn't feel heartache hearing such words?
Today's walk through the mansion's corridor felt unusually long and wide.
"Miss, you seem quite troubled today. Young lady."
After leaving father's workshop, the dedicated maid Bell, who had been following me, sent me a worried look.
"Have you quarreled with the young master?"
"...If it was a quarrel, it would have been fine."
Family quarrels can be resolved by making up, but there's no way to resolve this.
"It can't be helped. Bell, is there no one in the garden now?"
"The gardener should have finished his work by now, Young Master."
"Then let's go."
When my heart is troubled, I was told to move my body.
Suddenly today, I wanted to run a lot.
But Bell looked at my appearance as if watching an evil child about to commit some mischief.
"Young Master said not to exercise when the weather is clear, didn't you?"
"Th-that was when I just started running! Now I can run for about 5 minutes in the early morning, so even in the daytime, about 2-3 minutes..."
"..."
"...Okay, instead, walking is fine?"
Bell nodded with a satisfied smile.
Watch me. One day, I'll definitely make my body healthy and run as much as I want.
Holding Bell's hand, we left the garden, and Daisy's figure appeared.
"Daisy?"
"Eh, sister? What's up?"
Daisy was dressed lightly, unlike usual, and was running vigorously in the garden, as if following me.
"You, what are you doing now?"
"Huh? Ah, this? I thought running outside every morning looks fun, so I tried it too! It was fun! My body feels healthier when I do it?"
That girl has outstanding magical talent and runs well too. Wow. Maybe I should have gone to the swordsmanship department instead of magic.
"Really, Young Master Daisy, aren't you getting tired of her?"
"...Sometimes I get annoyed when she's like that."
At first, I thought as long as Daisy is healthy, even if I'm not healthy! But seeing her superior in magic and stamina, sometimes the world feels annoying.
I should have some talent or something. This isekai reincarnation, why only I have no cheat.
"Hey, how long has she been running?"
"Probably around 30 minutes. She has been like that since earlier."
...Sigh.
Leaving that girl who has started enjoying running, I decided to take a light walk.
There is nothing better for emptying the mind than walking-
Puff-
"Kyaaah?!"
My body jumped into the air like a spring from someone's finger poking the weak spot on my side.
With my mind blank, looking ahead, Daisy was waving her hand with a face sticking out her tongue a bit.
"Kyahaha! What was your sister's voice? It was so cute!"
"..."
Crunch, crunch.
I didn't think the sound of teeth grinding could be this loud.
"Try catching me~"
How much is this guy suffering because of you right now-
"If I catch you, I'll really kill you!"
With a sound like the string of reason breaking.
I shook off Bell's hand and ran full speed towards the disgusting younger sister in front of me.
***
As expected.
There's no way I can catch that guy who doesn't get tired even after running for 30 minutes, with two real hearts.
Before 3 minutes passed, I was lying on the hot garden lawn, and Daisy came over with an apologetic expression.
"Eh, sister, are you okay? I was a bit rough, wasn't I?"
"Cough, cough-"
Because I overused my body while feverish, the sky looks yellow.
I feel a tear rolling down my cheek.
For the first time in my life, this world, and this damned body, genuinely resent it.
"Why didn't I tell you not to run."
Bell sprayed cold water from a bucket she had brought at some point.
"Puah-"
No, if I just pour the water on my face like that, what am I supposed to do.
"Young Master Daisy, you should go wash up soon. It's time for dinner."
"So soon? Time passed so fast?"
Daisy looked up at the sky, and it was indeed time for the sun to set.
"I-I'm really sorry. Lately, your sister's mood seems too bad, so I did that to cheer you up..."
That's right.
I know. Even though Daisy is a talkative girl who often plays pranks, she has a keen sense of atmosphere.
The reason she did such a rough prank, which she doesn't usually do, was probably because my mood when I came out for a walk wasn't good.
"No, don't worry. Thanks to you, my stress is a bit relieved... cough."
Especially, I coughed up a rough cough and spread my palm in an alien sensation.
...Blood came out. A lot of it.
"Eh, sister, did you spit blood? Sister?"
"Ah, somehow it tasted like iron in my throat..."
But normally, when running, blood doesn't come out in chunks from the throat like this.
Why is this happening suddenly-
"Sister, sister?"
"Camille Young Lady! Come to your senses! Young Lady!"
Yes, I remembered.
Before I lost consciousness, this was always the symptom.
With a dizzy feeling like my sense of direction is reversed, consciousness is pulled into deep darkness.
***
"So, you played a prank on Camille and it turned out like this? You didn't even think to stop it, Bell? You think I attached you to Camille's side to do that?"
"Ah, no! Dad! When I suddenly pranked sister, sister quickly shook off Bell's hand and ran! Bell did nothing wrong! It's all my fault..."
"...I have no face."
In Camille and Daisy's room.
Camille, who had vomited blood and collapsed, was immediately rushed to the room and examined by doctors.
Daisy and Bell, who were actually the culprits of this incident, were scolded by Calpin's angry rebuke.
"Daisy. You really..."
This talkative girl, does she even know how much her older sister sacrificed and compromised for her?
She can't help but not be able to take care of such a sister who is loved and cared for diligently, but she is doing such an accident.
"For now, Bell, go to your room and reflect. I'll tell you about your punishment later."
"I'm sorry."
Leaving a short word, Bell left the room, and the remaining ones were the doctors quietly examining Camille, Daisy, and Calpin.
"Daisy."
"...Yes, Dad."
Daisy's tone, which had picked up the atmosphere, became much more polite than usual.
"Do you know what you did wrong?"
Daisy is not a child without sense. She is not a naturally evil child.
She already understands what she did wrong and what she needs to reflect on.
But even Calpin, who had always smiled and overlooked his daughter's mistakes until now, couldn't smile this time.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not something to apologize to me. You should apologize to your sister."
Calpin scolded her in a scary and solemn atmosphere he had never shown to Daisy before.
"When sister wakes up, I'll definitely apologize. I'll say sorry. I won't do such pranks again..."
"Daisy."
Calpin sighed deeply and looked at Daisy.
There were many things he wanted to say, but he couldn't. What he had to do to Daisy was to scold her so that such things don't happen again, not to give her a heart wound.
"...No. I'll leave for a while. Don't do such rough pranks again."
This was the first time he had scolded Daisy in such a scary and serious manner, so she must have reflected enough.
After sending Daisy out of the room, Calpin looked at his eldest daughter Camille, whose consciousness still didn't seem to return.
"How is the daughter?"
"..."
The doctor hesitated.
Instinctively, I could tell she was in a bad state, but the gesture was as if wondering if it was okay to say this.
"Say it. Even if you know, it's better to know now."
"...Yes."
After a short silence.
The doctor, after hesitating, pointed to her chest area and spoke.
"T-tis is a heart disease. It's also an incurable one."
"...What?"
"It doesn't seem to be a disease that threatens life immediately. As you know, since the heart is not a normal important organ..."
The doctor continued reluctantly, not expecting Calpin to close his eyes in shock.
"If done wrong, you might die without any way to handle it."
"..."
Without realizing the existence of a girl eavesdropping on the conversation outside the door.