Chapter 64
“Noona.”
“Huu~ It was so delicious. Oppa. Honestly, the food at the places you take me to never once disappoints my mouth.”
Eve Cardena smiled with satisfaction and patted her stomach.
“Ah, I’m glad to hear that.”
But unlike Eve, I couldn’t bring myself to smile.
Is this guy’s stomach literally connected to outer space?
Eve had devoured more than thirty servings of food in a single sitting without a single lie. It was truly astonishing that such a small body could hold all that. Whether she was originally a human-eater or not, she ate like a monster.
Thinking about the steadily shrinking amount in my wallet made it impossible to even muster a chuckle.
Still, it wasn’t as if my allowance was being completely wasted.
In fact, for the past three weeks—the period I had been covering her meals—the news of Luin Academy students going missing had never appeared in the papers.
Buying human lives with money might be rational on paper, but…
If this keeps up, I’ll run out of options.
I didn’t lack funds right now, but by next month I would be unable to afford Eve’s meals.
I’ll have to ask Father for a little extra allowance soon…
The moment Andre’s face flashed into my mind, my own expression tightened slightly.
Ever since I realized that I—Shion—was actually an artificial lifeform, I had no idea how to treat Andre.
Essentially, Shion would no longer be Andre’s biological child.
In truth, Andre was raising a child who wasn’t even his own and carrying a sense of guilt for failing to be a proper father.
Yet if I told Andre right here, “I am not your child,” I had no idea how he would react.
I knew the truth: the only ones who knew I was an artificial lifeform besides myself were Eve and Eva.
If I remained silent, Andre would never learn the truth until his dying day.
I could solve the problem peacefully—without sorrow or anger—knowing that.
But…
I couldn’t be certain that was the ending I truly wanted.
Should I tell Andre the truth, or should I simply stay quiet and investigate it myself?
I still hadn’t made up my mind.
“Oppa doesn’t seem to have eaten much. Is that alright?”
“Eve. ‘One serving’ isn’t just a numerical unit. It refers to the amount of food that fills one person.”
“……Is that me getting scolded for eating too much?”
“Haha, Eve is at her prettiest when she’s eating, so it’s fine.”
“Aigoo, Oppa. That’s embarrassing.”
Eve pouted with a shy smile.
“Since we’ve finished eating, shall we head out?”
“Yay~”
I stood up together with Eve, who seemed delighted.
Still shedding a few tears over the enormous bill, we paid at the restaurant and stepped outside.
“Huu~ Today’s meal was really good, Oppa. Please take me along again?”
“Of course. I’m happy whenever Eve eats deliciously. Ah, how much of the allowance I gave you last time is left?”
“It’s still a lot.”
“Good. If your allowance runs out, let me know. Then let’s part ways here for today.”
Just as I was about to return to the dorm after our meal…
“Oh, right! Oppa!”
Eve called out to me.
“What is it? You’re not going to tell me you still need more money, are you?”
“Oh my, Oppa is so mean. I’m a newsie, remember? I’m not hungry right now. But there’s something I need to tell you, and I completely forgot.”
“Oh? That sounds intriguing. What is it?”
I asked with a playful smile.
Yet the moment her answer came, my expression froze.
“Mother says she wants to talk to you, Oppa.”
“……Mother?”
The S-Class dark mage, Eva Cardena, was calling me.
“Yes. She said she’ll come to Luin Academy tomorrow evening and that I should bring you.”
“Do you know why Mother wants to see me?”
I tilted my head at Eve’s answer.
“Well, I’m not sure. Maybe she just misses you, or maybe she wants to talk about your potential, or perhaps… she has some plan she wants to discuss.”
“A plan…? Could you tell me what it is?”
“I can’t. Mother told me not to mention it to you. Also, even if she buys me something delicious this time, I still can’t tell you!”
That word “plan” worried me deeply. What exactly did she mean? Was she about to unleash something huge?
“When I meet Mother, you’ll probably find out everything. She has high expectations of you. So, please keep tomorrow evening free.”
Eve bowed politely and walked away.
I had to head back to the dorm, but my feet refused to move.
……No matter how I look at it, it’s dangerous.
Objectively, meeting Eva Cardena was extremely perilous.
She was an S-Class dark mage.
Even if she were my mother, the danger remained the same.
She was a cold-blooded creature who hadn’t shown her face to me—even after I turned seventeen.
She might view me not as her child, but merely as an interesting experiment.
Just as there was no reason for her to harm me, there was no reason she wouldn’t.
Instead of risking it, staying silent might be safer.
But the information I could gain from meeting her would be invaluable.
If Eve’s plan is what I think it is, I need that intel to protect my loved ones from the coming disaster.
I would also learn about my own potential—and most importantly—
I want to know why Eva Cardena raised me in the Frelia family when she doesn’t even love the man she married.
In short, answering Eva Cardena’s summons would give me information about the plan, my potential, and the secret of my true birth.
Yet fear prevented me from deciding hastily.
Was it right to risk it all for the information, or should I prioritize my own safety?
I was torn.
At that moment, a memory of what Charlotte had once said to me surfaced.
If you have something you want to say, say it with all your heart…
…Should I ask Charlotte for help?
Knock, knock.
With a day left until my meeting with Eva Cardena, I softly knocked on Charlotte’s dorm door.
“Hello, Charlotte Noona.”
“I’m glad you came. You even talked to me ahead of time, so I’m happy.”
After a few knocks, Charlotte opened the door and greeted me.
“Come in.”
Following Charlotte, I entered the dorm.
“Sit there.”
Per her instruction, I took the chair at the table, and she sat beside me.
Charlotte turned to me, stared at me intently for a moment, then propped her chin on her hand.
“I was worried you were overreacting when I told you we could talk privately, but now that I see you’re not playing around, it seems this is serious.”
“As expected of Charlotte Noona. Your instincts are spot on.”
“You’re such a tsundere.”
Charlotte chuckled lightly.
Her usual smile—yet somehow I wanted to capture this one as well.
Honestly, I was terrified.
I had decided to tell Charlotte everything: the secret of my birth and all details about Eve Cardena and Eva Cardena.
It was an inevitable step if I wanted her help at tomorrow’s meeting with Eva Cardena.
That was why I was afraid.
I feared that once Charlotte learned I was not human but an artificial lifeform, she would look at me with disgust.
I feared she would lose the trust we had built.
……I feared I would never see that smile again.
“……Charlotte Noona.”
I wiped the smile from my face and spoke.
“What I’m about to tell you, Charlotte Noona, may come as a shock.”
“……The first time I’ve seen you make such an expression. It must be very important to you and me.”
Charlotte’s smile vanished as well.
“That’s right. Perhaps… Noona might hate you. I might never want to see you again. So, first, I need to ask.”
I looked into Charlotte’s eyes and asked.
“……Noona, are you ready to face what I am?”
Unable to bear seeing her reaction, I closed my eyes.
Then, with growing patience, I waited for her answer.
Since it would take her some time to respond…
But her reply came sooner than expected.
“Baka.”
A gentle touch caressed my hair.
When I slowly opened my eyes, Charlotte was smiling faintly and stroking my head.