My Little Sister Started Farming
It seems there was nothing unusual about the annex.
I had my loyal maid Yuna investigate everyone who had entered and left the annex over the past few years, but the results matched what I already knew too closely. The chef who had been driven out of the main house and the two maids who handled the cleaning.
There was only a single person living there — an abandoned place that barely met the bare minimum required for the duke’s acknowledged daughter. If not for my mother’s insistence that the girl had to appear beautiful, no one would have been sent to manage even the most basic needs. The place would have been as ruined as any abandoned lot.
“Yuna. Have a professional come and check if there was any magical influence involved.”
“Yes, miss.”
The change in my sister had already happened.
Lucia’s essence had not shifted. Since she had noticed it herself, I had no desire to dwell on it. But if external interference was involved, that was a different story.
If it had not been me, she would have been suspected of madness and locked away in a monastery on the spot. Who dared to quietly bring about such a change in Lucia?
‘Mother, the girl still trusts you.’
Assigning blame to my father for everything had limits, after all.
“Yuna, we have to go to the annex.”
“...My lady might be furious if she finds out.”
“It’s fine. I can make up any reason.”
Yuna said nothing more and began preparing for the outing.
With just one maid, I could handle it.
━━━
“Haaah.”
“How is it? Amazing, right!? I did it all by myself!”
My mother had once said I should hold back so I wouldn’t look too shabby when I sighed.
But, Mother...
“Sister. You’re already past the age for mud play...”
How was I supposed to swallow a sigh while looking at this?
“It’s not mud play! It’s farming! Hehe.”
Behind the annex, on a remote stretch of land no human foot had ever touched, my sister had gleefully pointed out her creation.
The ground was completely dug up and churned, and merely looking at it made my irritation surge.
“The roses that were here...?”
“I pulled them all out!”
Please.
Don’t say that with such a bright smile. I’m getting even more irritated.
“Eh...? Ah, ouch! This isn’t a prank at all — I’m seriously farming!”
Did my sister sense the heavy aura coming from my expression?
She rummaged through her pockets and scattered several seeds she must have brought from somewhere into the soil.
“Like this...”
CHUA AAAAH—!
Where on earth had that turtle-shaped watering can come from?
Did someone secretly buy it for her? At least I had no memory of buying it.
“Ta-da! Turnip stew complete!”
“Yuna, sorry, but could you turn the soil over again? We can use people. I’ll handle the roses myself.”
“Eh, Sister... pleeease...”
But instead of following my command, Yuna looked troubled as she watched my sister cling to her skirt.
After our eyes met for a moment, I was forced to look away first.
“No, it’s fine... Thank you, Yuna.”
“Hiiiii!”
“Lucia, don’t cry — you look ridiculous.”
“Hii!”
I patted my sister’s head, then carefully lifted the hem of her skirt so the dirt wouldn’t get on it, and sat down beside her.
“It’s more complete than I thought.”
The field my sister had made was so well-finished that it was almost unbelievable it had been created in such a harsh environment.
Meticulously churned soil with a glossy sheen. Seeds evenly scattered.
Even without checking, I could feel the rich mana radiating from it.
This wasn’t the level someone with no farming knowledge could achieve. Did otome games teach farming as well...?
“Lucia. You said you’re growing turnips?”
“Yes! I want to grow other things too someday!”
Hmm... this field might still have uses.
“Good. I’ll praise you, Lucia. Well done.”
“Ah... Sister’s gentle voice is too much...”
Reacting to every one of my sister’s actions would never end.
I’d have to catch her later and teach her properly. Stepping on her stomach and making her happy left a mark on my trauma.
“Mana herbs, calendula... what should I plant?”
While pondering what crops to grow, I felt a poke in my back.
“Lilith-sister! Could you come inside for a moment...?”
“Hm? What do you want?”
“I wanted to serve you something I made myself...”
“...You really haven’t changed, Lucia.”
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she twirled her fingers, and she still looked exactly like the girl I remembered from when she first entered the mansion holding my father’s hand.
“Of course. Why would your sister refuse your cooking?”
“Thank you, Lilith-sister!”
While the main house chef’s banquet was immeasurably grander, it didn’t matter. Since it was something Lucia had made, it was valuable.
“Yuna.”
“Yes. I will give a separate message to my lady.”
“Good. Lead the way, Lucia.”
After sending Yuna ahead to the main house, I followed my happy sister into the annex.
It had been four years since I last entered. Usually I had only seen her from the garden or from a distance, never inside.
“The condition is worse than I thought.”
But the moment I stepped inside the mansion, my mood plummeted.
Unlike the splendid exterior, the interior was full of crumbling walls and decay — a true ruin.
They must have told the steward to improve things for the living. Yet...
“Sister, this way! Come this way!”
Did my sister sense the rising anger? She smiled brightly and guided me.
I wanted to bring her to the main house, but that would be too much.
My mother still held the real power.
“Lucia.”
“Huh? Hii!?”
I suppressed the surging anger and walked up behind my sister to gently hug her.
“In that game... you still tormented me even in a situation like this?”
“Eh, Sister...?”
I had been too careless.
By interfering too much, I risked my mother’s fury, so I had tried to help only indirectly.
Yet...
“...My chest is touching.”
“We’re sisters. What’s the problem?”
My younger sister by three years.
Yet her body — with no excess flesh and still traces of baby fat — looked endlessly childish.
Damn father.
He irresponsibly brought her here and ran away.
“Right... we really are sisters.”
“Yes. The one and only sister in the world.”
I would have to fire all the current management staff and replace them with people I personally chose.
Yes. That was better.
“Lucia, what are you making for dinner today?”
“Turnip stew...”
“I look forward to it, Lucia.”
“Yes! Leave it to me. Hehe...”
Though the meal looked pitiful, I kept a straight face and headed to the dining room with her.
“At least the annex is clean.”
Was the annex chef’s personality so neat? Unlike the corridor with holes in the floor, the dining room remained intact.
...Well, compared to the corridor it was better.
“Please wait a moment, Sister. I’ll bring it soon!”
My sister seated me at the head of the table and hurried off to the kitchen.
I propped my chin on my hand and watched her back for a moment. The moment she disappeared, I stood up immediately.
“Command. Report immediately if there is any suspicious person inside the mansion.”
The instant I finished speaking, my shadow slipped out of the dining room and began wandering.
The Walking Shadow, a secret shadow magic passed only to the successor of the Sadonium Duke family.
A legendary technique that allowed control over one’s own shadow for scouting, information gathering, and combat.
Because I was young, mana consumption had been heavy, so I had used it only for assassination. Today, however, I had no intention of sparing my mana.
“...Hmm.”
After a while, the information the shadow brought back was, fortunately, clear of anything suspicious.
Two maids were simply groaning while cleaning a large bathroom.
I had thought they weren’t working properly, but they were just young and immature.
Well... that level could be fixed with education.
“Somehow, unexpected. I never thought my mother had planted a spy.”
My mother, who never stopped badmouthing my sister, had not tried to keep me away from the annex when I was powerless as a child. Yet she had not monitored my sister either.
Was she really showing any affection as a mother at all?
“I might be able to solve things more easily than expected.”
Bringing my sister to the main house would cause my mother to explode, but repairing the annex at least would be fine.
Not having a watcher meant she wouldn’t care how much the annex deteriorated.
“Sister, Sister!”
While planning the annex repair in my head, my sister returned carrying a single plate the size of her body.
“Eat while it’s hot! Hehe.”
On the plate in front of me was nothing but a simple turnip stew in a sticky sauce.
Food that a beggar might eat.
Food an earl’s daughter would not even put to her lips.
“Thank you, Lucia. It looks delicious.”
Yet it shone more brightly than any lavish banquet with high-grade ingredients I had ever eaten.
These turnips must have been grown by my sister herself.
The unfamiliar brown sauce was probably of her own making.
“...Thinking about it makes me angry again. What is the chef even doing?”
The situation had become so pitiful that my sister had to cook herself.
Had a chef even existed in the first place? If they had fed her properly, she would not have grown into such a scrawny body.
I would have to investigate that too.
“No, right now the important thing is my sister’s cooking. Focus, focus.”
After stopping my wandering thoughts, I cut a bite-sized piece of turnip with a spoon.
The hard-looking turnip changed shape exactly with the spoon’s movement, giving the sensation of scooping out pudding.
“How did she make this? In such a short time...?”
Countless questions flashed through my mind, but I ignored them and brought the spoon to my mouth.
“H-how is it...?”
No words came out.
Had I ever tasted anything this delicious in my life?
Not only the taste — the entire body overflowed with vitality.
Even the mana I had consumed using Walking Shadow seemed completely replenished.
“It was delicious...”
“Ehehe~ I was praised.”
Before I could say anything else, the bowl was already empty.
I could only sigh in admiration.
I never imagined my sister had talent for cooking.
“Hey, Sister.”
“Mhm?”
While still immersed in the aftertaste of cooking, my sister approached me with a blushing face for some reason.
“Do I not look cute at all?”
“...Well? You look the same.”
“R-really? Then I’m just useless like a heroine...”
More incomprehensible words from my sister.
“Anyway, Sister! Since you enjoyed it, it’s time to torment you!”
“This time, for the original story recreation, I’ll make you lick my feet!!”
Please.