Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: My Little Sister Can't Possibly Be This Crazy Bitch (2)
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Jevella had kept her promise, and I had become the Patriarch, but there really wasn't much to do.
So, before Hilda's lessons were set to begin, I had been lazing around in bed since waking up that morning, not stepping foot outside even once, and pestering Karen the whole time.
It was then that the thought of my soon-to-return new little sister, Yuria, suddenly crossed my mind.
That's right. In truth, I already had a little sister.
More precisely, one had been added to the family.
Just as entering House Zahav had given me a new big sister named Jevella, it had also brought along a new little sister named Yuria.
"Karen, Karen. What's Yuria like?"
"You mean Lady Yuria?"
"Yeah. It's our first time meeting, so I'm a bit curious. Is she the same type as Lady Jevella?"
"Hmm. Well, Lady Yuria is quite different from Lady Jevella. To be exact, Lady Jevella is pretty unique even compared to the other daughters of House Zahav."
"Ah... I've heard a bit about that from Lady Jevella."
House Zahav's Bloodline Ability only manifests in men. But that doesn't mean the women are completely ordinary.
At the very least, traces of House Zahav remain in them.
As time passed and the blood thinned, Jevella had skipped a generation, erasing even those traces of House Zahav and awakening the blood of another lineage.
That made her an extremely rare case even within House Zahav, which was why the previous Patriarch, Cain, had abused her so severely.
In other words, if Yuria didn't resemble Jevella much...
"Is she blonde by any chance?"
"Yes."
"And her skin's all tan too?"
"Oh, no, not that. Her skin color takes after Lady Jevella."
"Like Lady Jevella? Wait, then you two..."
"Yes. Both of them were born to the first wife and the previous Patriarch."
"Aha."
As I nodded, Karen opened the window for some quick ventilation and continued.
"Lady Yuria was born with exceptional martial talent. She couldn't manifest a Bloodline Ability, so her physical abilities are a bit lacking... but she inherited House Zahav's martial prowess in full."
"So even without the Bloodline Ability, talent can still be inherited."
"To be precise, she did inherit the Bloodline Ability, it just hasn't manifested. That's why she's betrothed to Lady Jevella and you, the Patriarch. She awakened another family's Bloodline Ability, but repeated tests confirmed she's direct-line Zahav blood."
"...Ah."
Come to think of it, there was that marriage to Jevella. I'd have to sort that out somehow before any actual wedding...
No matter what, acting like this life's father and just dumping kids and vanishing felt wrong.
I nodded inwardly and spoke up.
"Got it roughly. So they sent her to the Academy to nurture that martial talent?"
"Yes. At least on the surface."
"On the surface?"
"...This is just my guess, but I think there's a bit more to it."
"Now I'm getting interested. Come here and tell me in detail."
I lifted the blanket and patted the spot next to me.
Karen glanced back and forth between me and the bed, but eventually let out a big sigh and sat on the edge.
Her small hips nestled perfectly right by my side.
I'd meant for her to lie down... but this worked too.
Maybe keeping up the minimal spoiled brat act was paying off. It even felt pretty natural now.
A position perfect for teasing Karen without going overboard. I poked the spot midway between her tailbone and waist.
"So? What's this other reason you think there is?"
"The previous Patriarch probably anticipated the successor competition intensifying. So he sent Yuria, who has talent but is the youngest and still too young, to the Academy as a sort of evacuation."
"Hmm... evacuation, huh."
I got what she meant and agreed to an extent... but even if that were true, I doubted Cain would have sent Yuria away out of affection.
Karen didn't know yet, but Cain had doubted Jevella's bloodline, seen it as a family curse, and subjected her to serious abuse.
A guy like that sending off Yuria—Jevella's own little sister, who still showed traces of House Zahav—just to protect her? That lacked credibility.
My take differed from Karen's. Probably... Jevella had sent her away.
Having watched Jevella work several times, I knew well how ridiculously capable she was.
Even half-imprisoned and pushed to her limits, she could've sensed the ominous atmosphere and smuggled one person out.
And from Karen's words, Yuria had been reasonably respected in House Zahav despite being a woman, so that would've made it easier.
...Of course, all this was just speculation.
I'd have to ask Jevella or Yuria directly to know for sure.
"Anyway, I get the gist of what kind of person she is. What about her personality?"
"Her personality?"
Karen pondered for a long while, then a faint smile crossed her expressionless face.
"She was always good to those beneath her. She knew compassion and responsibility. Though... she does have a bit of a hot-tempered side."
"That much is unavoidable for anyone of House Zahav, right?"
"...I didn't say that, but yeah, that's the vibe."
Maybe as a member of the Kesef family serving House Zahav, she felt bad badmouthing the bloodline.
Karen whispered softly, as if sharing a secret.
So basically a decent person, but quick to anger.
In that case, the Patriarch handoff ploy that failed against Jevella might work on her.
Being basically good meant she'd resent my spoiled antics, and being hot-tempered meant she'd react explosively to even slight provocation.
Unlike Jevella, who had no ambitions and put me in the seat, Yuria would definitely be a wildcard.
...Still, adding up past and present lives, this would be my first little sister ever.
The urge to spoil her rotten clashed fiercely in my head with the duty to torment her into rising up.
I already had plenty to ponder—like whether I really had noble blood, or why dungeons boosted my condition—and now my head was starting to ache.
So I curled up and buried my face in Karen's thigh right in front of me.
"Eek! What the—suddenly...!"
"Karen, Karen. I just wanna live without thinking..."
"...Ah, yeah, it's about that time. You are Zahav blood, after all."
Karen hummed in agreement, nodding, then whispered conspiratorially like she was plotting something naughty.
"So, wanna skip lessons today?"
"..."
My heart leaped for a second, but after some hesitation, I shook my head.
"Nah, it's fine. Hilda's waiting. Let's go. The urgent succession rite's done, and I can read books alone for the easy stuff now, so she said we'd up the aura training focus."
"Ooh."
Karen's eyes stayed neutral, but her mouth dropped open in surprise as she spoke.
"Good call. This'll wash away the grudge from when you hoisted me up in front of everyone."
"Thanks. But Karen, were you always the type to hold grudges like this?"
"I'm from the Kesef family and your exclusive maid, but I'm still a proper young lady in her prime."
"Young lady?"
I eyed her chest. "Unwavering serenity" was clearly made for moments like this.
"...They're amazing if you take 'em off."
"Then take 'em off."
"Urk! You plan to humiliate your loyal butler!?"
"Why say that if you won't even...?"
It was such an obvious lie.
I still didn't fully get it, but I was starting to get used to the respectful gazes people sent my way.
But I still hadn't grasped any clues about my birth secret.
That's when the awaited guests arrived.
"It's an honor to meet you, Your Grace, Duke of House Zahav. I'm Delvin, instructor at the Academy. Thank you again for allowing our students to train here."
"No big deal. I heard one of the Academy students is my little sister? Gotta do at least this much."
That's right. The Academy had sent instructors along with students.
Jevella had handled most arrangements, but the Academy was the empire's future. Couldn't exactly snub dozens of students training here without showing my face.
Had to make a formal appearance for the first time in ages. Though I sat a bit slouchily.
Hilda shot me a suspicious look from her spot a bit away—like she suspected I was doing it on purpose—but I ignored her and surveyed the students before me.
Mostly mid-to-late teens. But their auras were impressive.
Couldn't judge the mages accurately... but the knight aspirants were mostly beyond regular knight level.
Of course, nowhere near Hilda, who'd bet her life on the sword.
Some matched Karen's level—raised as a secret weapon with full support from House Zahav since childhood.
This was elite knight order caliber, just lacking experience and a standout captain.
With my past-life memories, I felt a twinge of reluctance about sending students into a dungeon, even if it was an academy teaching combat...
But the shallows should be safe enough.
I nodded inwardly, then examined the lined-up students more closely—not their auras, but their faces.
Obviously, all strangers. Except one. Just one felt oddly familiar despite being a first meeting.
Bright golden blonde that shone alone. Skin pale as porcelain, but not fragile.
Legs planted wide in a stance, eyes fierce beyond defiance—intimidating. A savage aura radiating from her entire body.
Like a beast ignorant of human norms trapped in a beautiful woman's form.
But the moment our eyes met—her pale purple irises just like Jevella's—I realized.
That was Yuria, Jevella's sister and my new little sister (sort of).
Wondering what to say first at our meeting. Then Yuria stepped forward first, as if to spare me the trouble.
Clang. Thud!
Her massive greatsword—bigger than her slender frame—slammed into the audience chamber floor.
Aura surged from Yuria, carried in her voice.
"Hey."
"...Hey?"
"Let's spar."
"???"
As I blinked in confusion at the sudden declaration.
One panicked instructor rushed to Yuria to stop her.
"Student Yuria! Even if this is your home, this is an official event, and such behavior before His Grace, recognized by the empire as Duke..."
Thwack!
"Guh!"
"Shut it! Just stand there and watch! Like when I had to put up with those other creeps!"
And shockingly, the instructor went flying from Yuria's swung fist.
Not raw strength. Her aura control was insanely precise. Even I, just starting aura, could barely comprehend it.
The instructor who flew looked like a newbie or from another track—weaker than the others.
But still an instructor. Basically a teacher.
And she decked him without hesitation, then pointed at me accusingly.
As I gawked, Yuria's unnecessarily booming voice continued.
"We spar. I win, you let go of Sis and marry me."
"Anyone hearing that would think I'm forcibly holding onto Lady Jevella."
"Hmph! Playing innocent. Like a horny beast like you would leave someone like Sis Jevella alone?"
"Believe it or not, nothing's happened. Anyway, Yuria. What if I win? Why throw out that condition?"
"Simple. I'll let you do whatever to my body. That enough for you?"
"...?"
Anyone else hearing this would think I was some incest-crazed lunatic.
I glanced around just in case. Academy students, instructors, even the nominally placed Zahav knights—all murmuring.
Well, duh. Of course.
Suddenly assaulting an instructor and casually spouting incestuous nonsense.
My half-baked spoiled act was just power-tripping extension, but Yuria's was true reckless charge-ahead madness.
The moment that realization hit, the Confucian dragon inside me—which I'd thought vanished from scraping by in Calypso's underbelly—quietly raised its head.
You're getting your ass spanked first, missy.
I smirked, rising from my slouched seat.
"Fine by me. Let's play with your big bro here."
"Music to my ears."
The skill gap was obvious. As I pondered power control and clenched my fist.
It hit me.
Yuria was weaker than me, and though I hadn't grown normally, gauging her side's gap was hard... but not impossible.
And per her conditions, win or lose, Yuria herself was committing to a full course of pure (not) Zahav-making with me.
No way...?
Suspicious, I closely examined Yuria's eyes and mouth.
My Karen-honed observation caught it.
Her awkwardly twitching lips, like holding back a laugh. Pupils sparkling with strange anticipation.
"This fucking..."
My little sister can't possibly be this crazy bitch...!