Chapter 82
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Exciting Picnic (5)
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“L-Liege...”
The morning after I declared that I would gather the eldest sister's faction and hold a 'picnic'.
“I've brought the communication orb as ordered...”
“Hold on!”
I woke up early as planned and waited breathlessly by my big sister's tent. The moment the 2nd Knight Commander arrived carrying the communication orb, I hurriedly walked toward her.
“Give that to me!”
“Squeak?”
The moment I held out both hands and spoke, she flinched in surprise and stepped back.
She looked completely like an orc... no, she was a real orc, so it was a bit funny that she got startled by something like this, but now wasn't the time to worry about that.
“So, I'm in charge of the picnic now, right?”
“Y-Yes.”
“So, I'll be the one making the picnic declaration!”
I was carrying out the tremendous mission of intercepting the orb before it reached my big sister, who was full of misunderstandings about us.
“I see!”
“Thank you!”
I had even planned to snatch it and run if things didn't go smoothly, but fortunately, the 2nd Knight Commander handed it over without suspicion.
Lucky that the 2nd Knight Commander, with her rock-bottom intelligence, was the one transporting it.
If the 3rd Knight Commander or a regular soldier had brought it, things would have gotten complicated for sure.
Everything was going smoothly today. I felt pretty lucky.
- Rustle...
As I cradled the precious communication orb and slipped into my tent, I cleared my throat and looked around.
“Ahem.”
How much time passed? Finally, the orb connected to the ducal house lit up red.
“Hello!”
I put on the brightest expression possible and spoke to the people who were probably worrying about me right now.
- Kairen?
A familiar voice came from the orb immediately after.
- Are you hurt anywhere?
Hearing Mother's panicked voice from the orb, I got emotional for a moment and wiped the tears welling up with my sleeve as I answered her concern.
“Yes! They're treating me surprisingly well! No injuries at all, and I'm sleeping great. Hehe...”
My voice trembled a bit from the emotion, but I said it clearly, so there shouldn't be any misunderstandings, right?
- Kairen...
No, Mother's responding voice sounded shaky. It felt like the truth wasn't getting across at all.
“Mother, there's some information I have to convey.”
I frowned and pondered for a bit, then steeled myself and decided to tell the truth straight.
“We've all been under a huge misunderstanding!”
This massive comedy of errors centered on my big sister was partly due to her strength and speech, but I believed the lack of family communication was also a cause.
So, I would end this skit-like misunderstanding right here.
“Big Sis isn't scary or bad at all.”
“......”
“She's actually really kind, and the rebellion is all a misunderstanding!”
No matter how tangled the misunderstandings got into a huge one, pointing out the root would surely clear it up.
“Big Sis just wanted to have a picnic with family, so you, Mother, and my sisters too...”
I was racking my brain again to present evidence backing it up while conveying the info as quickly as possible.
“Ack?”
Suddenly, my body floated up into the air.
“......”
I widened my eyes and looked up, nearly dropping the orb in shock.
“S-Sis?”
I had no idea when she entered my tent, but my big sister, eyes glowing red, lifted me with one hand and wore a cold expression.
Meanwhile, at that time, in the Belverk Ducal House office.
“Kairen? What's wrong?”
Astridje, her face somewhat haggard after a few days, picked up the suddenly disconnected orb and called Kairen's name anxiously.
“Please, tell me it's nothing...”
But as contact continued to fail, Astridje bit her lip, lowered her head, and muttered softly.
- W-Wait! Sis!
Right after, contrary to her hopes, Kairen's sobbing voice cried out from the orb.
“Kairen!”
The moment Astridje's eyes rolled back at the sound, she stood up abruptly, her eyes turning red.
- To the Belverk family members here.
A voice that was eerily calm and chilling began emanating from the orb she held.
- I am taking Kairen Nox Belverk with me.
Astridje nearly dropped the orb at the declaration more shocking than a declaration of war.
She collapsed weakly into her chair.
- It will be better for him with me than there.
- S-Sis! Wait... Gah.
- Isn't it?
And a brief silence followed.
“What are you doing to Kairen?”
Astridje, sitting pale-faced for a long time, glared at the orb with bloodshot eyes and asked.
- I played with him until he was exhausted and put him to sleep.
A cold reply came from the orb.
- So don't worry.
- Sis... Please...
- I won't do anything rough.
But the eldest daughter's responses had long lost trust, mixed with Kairen's pitiful cries leaking between her words.
- So, please don't interfere with our picnic.
Kairen's occasional cries died down soon after.
- If you still want to join the picnic despite that...
The eldest daughter's voice grew even more chilling as it pierced the ears of Astridje, who held the trembling orb.
- You must be prepared to face humiliation.
With that, no more voices came from the orb connected to the Mist Forest.
- Crack...
The only sound was the terrifying grip of the eldest daughter shattering the orb, echoing quietly in the now-silent office.
“......”
How much time passed after that?
“It seems only one path remains.”
Astridje, who had been staring blankly at the orb, suddenly stood quietly and spoke.
“I will go to the Mist Forest myself.”
At those words, the retainers gathered in the office froze, holding their breath.
“But...!”
“Matriarch...!”
In that situation, the representative of the retainer corps and the 1st Knight Commander, ready for all-out war anytime, stood up urgently.
“...I will not hear objections.”
But Astridje, eyes red, affirmed it with an expression like she might collapse any moment, rendering their persuasion futile.
“I'll go too.”
“I will follow as well.”
As Astridje slowly stepped out of the office, no one dared stop her. Then Lilien and Uriel stood up simultaneously and spoke.
“I am not going to fight the eldest daughter.”
Astridje looked at them weakly, then surprisingly bowed her head slightly and murmured.
“...I am going to face humiliation.”
Everyone flinched at that, but Kairen's two sisters didn't budge at all.
“Don't act cool just because it's us.”
“We're already prepared?”
Once resolved, the monsters of Belverk wouldn't waver at anything.
“...If that's the case, I won't stop you.”
Knowing that better than anyone, Astridje eventually nodded with a somewhat sad smile.
“Hah, hah...”
To stop my big sister, who suddenly snatched the orb and started a real declaration of war, I truly did my best.
“Ugh...”
But just because she held the orb high up, I couldn't stop her frenzy despite jumping and flailing my arms below.
“What on earth are you doing?”
Exhausted and breathing heavily, I glared at my big sister, who finished the call and looked down at me, and asked angrily.
- Stroke...
But instead of answering, she picked me up with one hand again, hugged me to her chest, and started petting my head.
“It's safe here.”
“...?”
“Sis will take care of you.”
Her soft voice seemed to have no malice...
“So why did you suddenly...”
But unable to understand her sudden outburst, I tilted my head until her next words let me guess the reason.
“No more painful things, no more being sold at auctions.”
Though short, she was starting to speak longer about me specifically, but her words carried a huge misunderstanding.
“Did you see this scar by any chance?”
“Yeah.”
Suspecting as much, I lifted my shirt slightly and asked. She nodded with a dark expression.
“Y-You saw it at the auction last time too, right?”
“...?”
“Why say nothing then and bring it up now...?”
I had no idea when she sneaked into my tent and lifted my clothes, but didn't she grope my body at the auction too?
“...I was wearing a mask then.”
My question was instantly resolved by her innocently deflating answer.
“You mean the mask at the auction blinded you?”
“Don't masks usually do that?”
“Oh man... Whatever. Anyway, hurry and get another orb...”
I held my forehead for a moment, remembered we didn't have time for this, and urgently grabbed the orb my big sister had set by the bed.
“...Ah.”
But the expensive communication orb was already shattered by her grip, its function lost.
“......”
As I realized this and stared blankly, my big sister, still holding me, peeked at my face cautiously and spoke.
“Little brother.”
“......”
“Let's play.”
She looked just like a retriever who got into mischief while the owner was away, wagging her tail innocently. I sighed quietly and began explaining.
“Listen carefully.”
“Okay!”
“This scar wasn't caused by family.”
She nodded and perked her ears, but went blank at my words.
“...Then?”
“Opstein and the Holy Church did this!”
Right after, she gaped for a moment, lost in thought.
“Ah...”
As I looked at her pitifully, a quiet murmur escaped her lips.
“So it was those bastards...”
Saying that, her eyes turned red, making even me, who knew what kind of person she was, break into a cold sweat with her chilling expression.
They say a good person gets scary when angry...
I paused and checked her expression while in her arms.
“Liege! There you are!”
“Eep?”
“It took time to find you, but still, good!”
Suddenly the tent flap opened, and the 3rd Knight Commander entered beaming.
“I bring urgent but great news!”
My big sister froze holding me, but the 3rd Knight Commander, oblivious, reported excitedly.
“Lady Lilien and Lady Uriel, and...”
I listened quietly with my big sister, but nearly fell backward at his ecstatic follow-up.
“The Matriarch, Lady Astridje, has arrived at the Mist Forest entrance completely unarmed.”
“Ah...”
“As expected, I knew Liege would pull it off someday!”
Like me, he saluted my gaping, frozen big sister and rushed out.
“......Little brother.”
Breaking the long silence was my big sister, sounding shrunken and depressed.
“Mom's here to scold me.”
“Ahaha...”
What faces would her subordinates make if they heard this?
And what about Mother and my sisters, who needed full power and barriers to scold her?
“...Mom's scary.”
But our big sister, now pale-faced and muttering that, trembled hugging me like a large dog thinking she was still a lapdog.
“It's okay.”
Watching her, I sighed and spoke.
“I can fix this!”
“Really?”
“Yes, so from now on, do exactly as I say?”
To be honest, I had no confidence, but a three-way meeting should clear the misunderstanding somehow.
The problem was ensuring our troublemaker big sister and her fanatic subordinates didn't cause new issues...
Still, the already-started picnic had to succeed somehow.
“Thank you...”
Finally relaxing with a smile, she buried her face in my hair and murmured timidly—for our pitiful little big sister.
“...My beloved little brother.”