Chapter 125
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Only I Have a Tough Morning
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Stepping beyond the door of Chloe's private room.
Familiar voices chatting, the hurried footsteps of servants busily tidying and preparing.
Even she, a mere academy student, could tell the servants had arrived for work at the mansion, so how much more attuned must her sensitive sister be?
After pinning on the brooch placed in front of the full-length mirror and double-checking her appearance, she cautiously opened the door.
Screeech—
Not stepping out in her usual half-asleep daze with disheveled pajamas.
The servants she encountered upon emerging in her academy uniform struggled to keep straight faces.
They couldn't fully hide their surprise, letting it seep subtly into their voices as they greeted her.
"Lady Chloe. Good morning."
Until now, had she really been that lax? Feeling awkwardly embarrassed, Chloe gave an awkward smile and asked about the most important person—her sister's whereabouts.
"Ahaha... Where's Sis?"
"She was already in the kitchen when we arrived for work."
Her sister was already preparing their simple morning meal together, just like always.
Peeking out slightly, her sister turned upon noticing her arrival and looked her way.
"This is rare. For Chloe to wake up this early, get ready, and all."
For some reason, her sister's warm smile pierced Chloe's heart, leaving her feeling uneasy.
"Ah! Yeah... sure..."
Even as she replied, that nagging discomfort lingered... like a fishbone stuck in her throat.
Guilt from secretly spying on their midnight rendezvous to sate her curiosity, perhaps? She couldn't bring herself to meet her sister's eyes, her gaze dropping to the floor.
"Breakfast is almost ready, so wait just a moment."
At those words, Chloe scurried to the table and sat, fiddling with the hem of her uniform under the table amid the unease she alone felt, so different from usual.
"Hoo..."
A sigh escaped her unbidden.
Heading to the study last night might have been bad timing or unavoidable, but lingering after sensing Roman's unique mana manipulation, peeking in, and witnessing that scene was undeniably her own fault.
A midnight glimpse of their intimate affair.
Lying in bed afterward, once the physical heat and mental excitement had fully dissipated, Chloe regretted her actions to her core.
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She could sense a slight bounce in her sister's footsteps as she brought breakfast.
As she approached, set down the plate of food, and returned to her seat opposite, Chloe could read the faint smile and happiness on her face—something the servants might miss.
"Here, let's eat well."
"Today's the day you have class with Roman, right?"
Her sister's emotions deepened with positive hues the moment Roman came up.
"Yeah... that's right."
A needless question, but Chloe managed a reply anyway, capturing clearly in her clear eyes the sight of her sister smiling as she thought of Roman.
Not that she'd intended to.
And with that, Chloe pondered—and pierced through to a realization.
It felt akin to the sensation she'd learned since first wielding blue aura: various insights clicking into place in an instant.
'She's so pretty...'
The image of Eclair that Chloe captured in that moment wasn't adorned in flashy attire or expensive jewelry trending among nobles.
Yet even to the eyes of an art novice, it radiated the pure beauty of a watercolor painting.
And with that, understanding dawned.
In her favorite romance novels, there was a recurring description she could never grasp, appearing as casually as meals.
—A woman in love is more beautiful than anyone.
No tangible, visible form to it, yet transcending status and era, the emotion called "love" captivated girls everywhere.
Her romance novels revolved around those two words, so she'd dismissed claims of beauty changing with love as imaginative devices to stir fancy and maximize delusions.
Perhaps just an abstract packaging of coquettish or demure behaviors in a lover's presence.
But now Chloe fully comprehended the line's true meaning.
Her sister, famed among the Empire's knights for her beauty, was especially captivating today—even to the eyes of her own blood kin.
The radiant vitality shining after Roman's midnight visit.
Fresh from shedding the faint fatigue and stress lingering in her voice from busy workdays, her sister glowed brighter and more beautifully than anyone in the Empire.
'So that's what it means.'
The romance novels' notion that loving—and being loved—makes a woman beautiful.
Not some dramatic external change like makeup or adornments, but a positive chain reaction from emotions and inner self, potent enough to manifest outwardly.
"Chloe."
"Uh, yeah?"
Her sister's voice snapped Chloe from her dazed epiphany.
"Your complexion doesn't look good."
Under her sister's worried gaze, smile fading, Chloe's heart churned.
She desperately didn't want to show it, but given her own nature, hiding it was nearly impossible.
She longed to hide the brooch—a gift from her sister and Roman—behind her armor.
"···."
"If you have worries or troubles, feel free to tell me anytime."
Chloe had been mulling since dawn, emotions settled, about apologizing to them for her wrongdoing...
But wasn't this craving for atonement just selfish villainy, seeking her own peace of mind?
So she thought.
She knew her blood sister's character mirrored the heavenly knights from novels. Even confessing to spying, she wouldn't blame Chloe.
Her sister would sooner fault her own carelessness and apologize instead.
Knowing that, simply confessing still felt wrong.
'It might cause issues between her and Roman...'
In this bind, a genuine breakthrough—not a lie—struck her: the feminine physiological phenomenon compounding her low physical and mental state.
"It's... that time of the month, so I'm not feeling great..."
Her sister accepted it but didn't dispel her worry.
"If you're not well, maybe skip the academy for a day?"
Her gentle, concern-laced voice weighed heavier on Chloe's heart, but she gathered herself and shook her head.
Chloe fixed her gaze on the breakfast plate and mumbled excuses.
"I took my medicine when I got up, so it doesn't hurt. Body's a bit heavy, but missing class would suck... and I wanna see my friends, so it's fine..."
Her sister, who rarely left the table before finishing meals, said to wait a moment, rose, headed upstairs, and soon returned with her hands full.
"Just in case, take some extra medicine and a potion too—···"
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"I'll be off then..."
Leaving the mansion, Chloe dipped her head to her sister, who waved with an arm linked in hers, and set off.
Once out of sight, rounding the building's corner, she finally exhaled deeply.
"Hiii..."
It had been ages since morning with her sister felt this taxing.
The awkward phase when they didn't know each other's inner thoughts came to mind—this breakfast had drained her mentally just as much.
'What do I do now, really...'
Clack-clack—
Yet breathing fresh air to rouse her heavy mind, reconsidering, she still felt not saying anything yet was the right call.
"Ah."
The academy, not far on foot from the mansion, came into view, prompting thoughts of her second ordeal.
Roman's class, once a week, had to be today of all days!
Facing him in practical combat with heavy personal instruction—what expression should she wear? Her vision blurred with dread already.
Even arriving at the Knight Department classroom, her sluggish brain yielded no clever ideas.
Rike and Seria's faces surfaced—Rike with realistic, practical advice; Seria with her out-of-left-field unique solutions.
She desperately needed their collective wisdom.
She couldn't directly mention her sister and Roman's relationship yet...
But citing a similar case might yield unexpected answers without digging too deep.
A convenient assumption for Chloe, perhaps, but right now, no path shone through the dark forest.
She yearned to consult her trusted friends.
'Got about an hour before practical class...'
Usually spent warming up and chatting, but today she'd ask for their time to consult.
From now on, scripting simple examples for class—that was her task.
No slip-ups exposing their relationship; caution was key.