Chapter 83
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Exciting Picnic (6)
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About an hour after receiving the information that Mother and my sisters had arrived.
"Alright, final check."
"Yes!"
"If you say anything even slightly off, you're getting scolded!"
Kairen stood with his arms crossed, putting on the sternest expression he could muster, as he drilled the eldest lady demurely sitting on the bed.
"I don't want to get scolded..."
"Okay then, give it a try. What do you say when you meet Mother?"
The eldest lady, glancing at him like a student facing a strict teacher, soon stiffened her expression and began reciting the lines she'd diligently memorized.
"There has been a misunderstanding."
"Hm..."
"I desire peace, not rebellion."
Kairen narrowed his eyes at her, then quietly nodded with an expression urging her to continue.
"The reason I returned to Belverk was to enjoy a picnic with my family."
"...Good."
"I have no intention of causing any bloodshed."
Under her little brother's supervision, the eldest lady pressed on with her lines, a light sheen of cold sweat on her brow.
"If you refuse, there's nothing to be done, but since things have come to this, would you join us?"
"......"
"Please wait in the command tent for a moment, and I'll prepare everything."
Having thus concluded the longest conversation of her life, she looked up at Kairen, who stood before her with arms still crossed, and asked,
"Little brother, how was that?"
Kairen regarded her with half-lidded eyes for a moment, then smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
"You did great!"
"Yes!"
"Your expression is still a bit stiff, but I'll elaborate from the side, so this is fine!"
After about an hour of intense practice, the eldest lady finally passed Kairen's approval. Her eyes sparkling, she rose from her seat.
"Hold on. You need to finish prepping the ingredients."
"Ah."
She had started to trot out of the tent but turned back at Kairen's words pointing to the remaining foodstuffs, heading to the supply crate.
"Heave-ho."
Right then, the eldest lady pulled out a turnip that had recently fallen to the floor and rolled to Kairen's feet, placing it on the table.
"Um, Big Sis."
"Yes?"
"Where on earth did you get such a massive turnip...?"
It was the moment Kairen, staring at the turnip, voiced the sudden question bubbling in his mind.
- Crunch...!
Suddenly, a sinister sound echoed through the tent, far too ominous for merely slicing a turnip.
"...Gah!"
And the next instant, after a brief pause, Kairen's scream rang out.
- Thud...
The result was rather harsh: caught off guard by the sudden question while slicing the turnip, the eldest lady had turned her head briefly.
"Uh..."
A chunk of the completely pulverized turnip, vibrating from the knife, had shot out at ferocious speed and struck Kairen square on the forehead.
"Little brother?"
Thanks to that, she stared blankly for a moment at Kairen, who had fainted and toppled backward.
"Little brother!"
She paled, scooped him into her arms, and dashed out of the tent.
'Not again... because of me...'
Ignoring the anxious thoughts swirling in her head, she rushed to the medic tent, looking around frantically.
"Ah."
Her eyes suddenly went vacant.
"......!"
It was because she had locked eyes head-on with Astridje, who had just stepped into the heart of the Mist Forest under the watch of the knight commanders.
"Huh?"
"Ah..."
Of course, the two younger sisters following behind with dark expressions were there too.
"......"
An awkward silence began to flow between the eldest lady and the family.
"Kairen!"
"Rookie!"
"Oh my god..."
In the heart of the Mist Forest, where silence had reigned, desperately pitiful screams erupted in unison.
"Uh, um."
In that situation, the eldest lady, holding Kairen—who had been knocked out by a turnip chunk from her slicing—stood with her mouth agape, breaking into a cold sweat.
"Eek, ah..."
But her communication disorder, the root of all misunderstandings and misconceptions, had worsened to a severe level due to the sudden embarrassing predicament.
"Edelrasia."
"......"
"What have you done."
And in that moment, Astridje asked the eldest lady in a trembling voice, her face ashen.
"...It seems there's been a misunderstanding."
Right then, the trembling eldest lady secretly gripped Kairen's hand in her arms and began reciting the lines she'd practiced.
"I desire peace, not rebellion."
After a short breath to steady herself and gauge their reactions, she realized her words were getting through and gained confidence, continuing.
"I have no intention of causing any bloodshed."
But in her overzealousness, she mixed up the order of her lines, then added in a timid voice,
"...I just want to enjoy a picnic with my family."
After that exceedingly quiet line—surely drowned out by the wind—the brief silence that followed.
"If you refuse, there's nothing to be done. Would you join us?"
Peeking at the family's ambiguous expressions amid the silence, she tilted her head and recited another memorized line.
Honestly, despite some slip-ups, this was a dazzling achievement compared to her previously short, vague words and actions that had fueled the misunderstandings.
"......"
If only she hadn't been cradling Kairen, limply slumped and growing cold, on full display for everyone.
"Please wait in the command tent for a moment."
"......"
"Until preparations are complete."
Suddenly reminded of that fact, she finished in her usual cold tone and strode toward her subordinates' tent at a speed rivaling a sprinting adult man.
"...Is that so."
Astridje watched her retreating figure for a long while, then quietly dimmed her crimson eyes and murmured in a weary voice.
"She seeks a peaceful succession..."
"That would cause the least backlash, after all."
"So now, we really have to choose."
Her two daughters spoke to their mother, probing her intentions.
"There's only one ending anyway."
How much time had passed? Astridje, who had closed her eyes tightly for a moment, finally spoke in a low voice.
"...At least it's fortunate she won't repeat my blood-soaked mistakes."
Lilien and Uriel bit their lips and cast their gazes downward.
"Good thing I brought the family seal."
After eyeing her daughters quietly for a bit, Astridje revealed a somewhat frail expression and drew forth the glowing red seal from her bosom.
"Little brother!"
"Ugh..."
How long had it been since a turnip chunk unexpectedly hit my forehead, blacking out my vision?
"Wake up!"
Stirring at the desperate cries echoing in my ears, I suddenly snapped my eyes open and sat up.
"......!"
What came into view was the interior of the medic tent, thick with the scent of medicine.
"Little brother, are you okay?"
There was Big Sis, crouched on the floor beside the cot I lay on, peering at me with a pale face.
"That's why I told you to be careful when I use the knife."
I stared blankly at her, rubbing my still-throbbing forehead, then scolded my peeking sister in a stern voice.
"Sorry, little brother..."
But no matter how much I tried to stay mad, seeing her mumble with downcast eyes in that dejected tone made me chuckle involuntarily, my anger fading.
Anyone would feel the same seeing her look like a retriever that had caused an accident in its exuberance, now tucking tail and eyeing its owner warily.
"It wasn't on purpose, so it's fine."
"......"
"Just be more careful next time?"
Plus, it was partly my fault for asking a question mid-chopping, so in the end, I quietly smiled and patted her head.
"I like little brother!"
My sister, basking in the head pat, smiled happily for some reason and hugged me tightly.
"By the way, did the message go through okay?"
"Don't worry. I delivered it perfectly."
"Phew... That's a relief then."
After briefly struggling for breath, I relaxed a bit upon hearing her firm confirmation and sat up with a relieved expression.
"Then, shall we start the picnic for real!"
It was then, as I moved to step out of the tent for the historic picnic that would finally end this long farce.
"Wait."
Big Sis suddenly stopped me with a serious expression and hurriedly stepped deeper into the tent.
"This... and this too..."
What was she up to? She cutely crouched and packed the prepped ingredients, picnic mat, and various board games into a basket.
"Little brother. All set."
"Haha..."
Having finished preparations in a flash, Big Sis stood beside me with sparkling eyes like a dog heading out for a walk. I chuckled again and finally stepped forward.
'No more surprises now, right?'
Even as I ran mental simulations over and over, I felt certain no variables would arise now, curling my lips upward.
"...Huh?"
As if mocking my thoughts, the moment we stepped out of the tent with Big Sis, something utterly unexpected unfolded before my eyes.
"Edelrasia."
Mother stood right in front of our tent, soldiers' weapons trained on her, and as Big Sis emerged excitedly from the tent, Mother thrust something at her.
"Take it."
"......?"
"It's the family seal."
Big Sis took it absentmindedly and examined it with a puzzled look, but her expression froze solid the moment Mother's explanation ended.
"......"
A heavy silence fell between Mother and us.
"Ah?"
In that silence, the picnic basket—full of board games, lunchboxes, and colorful fruits—slipped from Big Sis's hand and fell.
"Little brother."
How much time passed like that?
"Take this."
So stunned she'd stood frozen like a statue with her mouth agape, Big Sis suddenly held out the seal to me and spoke.
"Huh?"
"Oink?"
The next moment, startled voices from the 2nd and 3rd Knight Commanders beside us.
"What...?"
"My liege?"
"Huh...?"
At the same time, Big Sis's subordinates, gathered and ready to raise a toast, all turned shocked gazes toward me.
"I don't need this..."
Amid it all, her trembling voice, choked with tears, as she extended the near-equivalent of the family crest to me with shaking hands.
"...Ha?"
Mother, standing before us with blood drained from her face, narrowed her eyes at the words and tilted her head.
"Sigh..."
I sighed deeply, pressing my forehead, then colored my eyes red and spoke.
"Mother, Big Sis."
I had no idea why things had spiraled like this again, but it was time for me to end this interminable farce myself.
"Can we three talk alone for a bit?"
And Mother and Sis, who had botched things this badly, were in for a scolding from me today.