Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Unexpected (10)
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Justina was beyond flustered; she was completely at a loss. In her memories, Julius was the type who barely showed any emotion at all, always quiet and gentlemanly—especially composed in front of family.
Whether that was a healthy family dynamic was another question worth considering first, but as far as she knew, he'd only ever openly shown displeasure right before leaving the academy.
His attitude toward her now felt so alien and bewildering that all she could do was dart her eyes around, unable to act.
"O-Older Brother..."
"Not really in the mood to hear it."
"B-But it's been so long since we last met."
"What about it? We weren't planning to see each other again anyway."
"No, I mean... Um... I..."
Growing more tearful by the second and stumbling over her words, Justina extended a slightly trembling hand toward Julius. He brushed it away indifferently and asked Karin if her mana recovery was ready yet. Her hand didn't hurt from being swatted, but she couldn't believe it had happened—she clutched her right hand with her left and refused to let go.
Ermina, who arguably had the worst relationship with him among them, couldn't stand by any longer and spoke up.
"Um, Mr. Julius... Why are you treating Justina like that...?"
"Because I don't like it."
"Pardon?"
"I don't particularly want to see her. Seeing her face doesn't make me happy. If anything, I have zero desire to ever meet her again in my life."
Ermina was momentarily speechless. She'd spent nearly a year with him at the academy, but she'd never heard him use so many negative expressions. At this point, she wondered if Justina had done something wrong and glanced her way—only to find Justina shedding tears with a face she'd never seen before.
Rather than anger, Ermina's gaze flicked between Julius's impassive expression and Justina's silent, dripping tears. She looked to Namei for help, but Namei wore a strangely cowed expression.
Ermina didn't know, but Namei and Justina had schemed together, so she could only watch warily, wondering if this was backlash from their plot being exposed.
Namei, too, had never seen Julius treat Justina this way and couldn't grasp his intentions.
In the end, Ermina gave up on Namei, who was pretending not to notice with feigned nonchalance.
"W-Well, I missed you too, Mr. Julius, but I imagine Justina felt the same..."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"But she's family..."
"I don't think of her as family anymore. And I don't believe family means unconditional affection either."
His words were too harsh. Even as she thought that, Ermina fell silent under his increasingly sour expression, eyes dropping to the ground. She knew nothing of his family situation, so she had little ground to intervene.
In the end, with Justina crying, Namei watching nervously, and Ermina abandoning any attempt to resolve things, no one spoke as Julius prodded Karin, whose mana had partially recovered.
Karin shook off her wavering mind and began weaving the spell, but just as the magic sluggishly neared completion, someone came rushing over.
"Is everyone okay—oh?"
"...Professor Selene."
Julius, who had been trying to slip away quietly, held Karin back with a hand.
This was the first real conversation of the day.
**
Family doesn't always mean affection. That was something I'd felt from my past life right up to now. At first, I thought it was because I was adopted, but living in society showed me even blood ties could be like that. And after being reborn here, I learned that clashing values could breed outright dislike.
I'd been flustered when Karin came into the cafe crying before, and yeah, I felt sorry for her. But seeing Justina cry didn't move me at all, which made me realize just how far my feelings for her had faded.
If anything, it only irritated me, like, what right did she have to cry?
"...I have a lot of questions, but this doesn't seem like the time for personal stories. Anyway, long time no see, Julius."
"Sorry for leaving without a proper goodbye. I should have at least told you ahead of time."
"Goodness. If you were going to say that, I wish you'd contacted me midway at least. ...Speaking of which, why is your little sister crying like she's been wronged? Doesn't look like tears of joy over her brother returning."
"Well, yeah. That's how it is."
"I'd like to hear the real reason. Possible?"
"...You know we were never close. This is just more of the same."
"Not close?"
Professor Selene, who echoed the question instead, glanced at Justina and sighed deeply. Approaching the crying girl, she took her trembling hand and spoke soothingly, like to a child.
"Miss Justina. Have you ever considered how your attitude comes across to your brother?"
"...I was only acting as befits a child of the family."
"And you're satisfied with the results?"
"It's none of your concern, Professor."
Professor Selene sighed again.
I couldn't understand what she expected from someone like that. Among the self-centered professors, she was like the last bastion of conscience—passionate about teaching, always helping isolated noble kids or commoners who arrived without connections.
But Justina lacked for nothing in status or resources, and even without deep bonds, she had people who'd back her if trouble arose.
"Sigh. Family matters aren't something I know much about, and old grudges from childhood aren't for outsiders to meddle in. Still, you can't be proud of how you're acting right now, can you?"
"...No."
"I don't feel any pride anymore."
"Julius. I know you've acted the noble part before, but the Julius I know isn't someone who hurts people with words."
Professor Selene's signature style—mixing praise with pointed barbs—was tough to handle. She claimed it came from efforts after a tough childhood.
Anyway, my goal wasn't to unload on Justina but to quietly leave the academy, so I bowed my head for now.
"Honestly, I already cut ties in my mind. I only came back this time because of a request."
"I understand. But your name will be on the report for resolving this incident, so if anyone asks where you went, I have to give some answer."
"Just tell them the truth."
I'd already braced for my whereabouts leaking a bit since coming here. Worst case, I'd whine to the emperor about it.
More than that, staying in this damn academy was giving me this suffocating frustration, like a chronic illness. I just wanted to go home.
"...I see. Then I'll respect your choice, Julius."
"Sorry for the trouble."
She gave a wry smile at my words and patted Justina's shoulder. The girl still had tears clinging to her eyes, biting her lower lip until it drew a faint trace of blood. Her voice trembled as she asked me one question.
"Older Brother. Do you... could you tell me what I did wrong to you?"
"Honest answer or the one you want to hear—which?"
"The honest one..."
"Our personalities clash. Likes, dislikes, attitude toward the family, how you think of others, consideration for people, handling money, how you treat those not in your circle. Living together since childhood suffocated me and drove me crazy."
Namei—not senior, but Miss Namei—pressed her fingers to her brow at my response.
Justina collapsed to the ground at my words. She never sat on dirt unless marching or on duty, but she slumped powerlessly and began sobbing with hiccups.
She'd cry after training beatings, bruises everywhere, but never made a sound. This raw, heartbroken weeping was... well, not entirely new; there was that one time in childhood.
Our damn father had scheduled her for training-only because she wasn't the heir, leading to her butchering courtly speech at her first social party and getting roasted.
I'd wondered why the tough kid from home was crying, heard the story, and figured it wasn't her fault—she'd learned it, but Father's policies were to blame. So I went and chewed him out for properly educating his kids.
Then, at my next party, I mocked her just enough to provoke a duel, beat her down, and taught her life lessons came from action, not talk.
After that, we went horseback riding and played knight to cheer her up, I think.
She was my first little sister in past and present lives combined, so I doted on her plenty when she was very young. But as she grew, she went through some dark evolution, her behavior got weirder, and distance grew.
In the original story, she was a likable villainess with responsibility, skill, and respect for others, stepping up for her worthless brother...
"Ah."
As I opened my mouth, all eyes turned to me, but it wasn't anything profound.
I'm not the loser from the original, so maybe she grew wildly without any sense of responsibility.
It hit me like an answer to a question I'd never deeply pondered.
Of course, I didn't feel responsible just because I'd lived diligently to get here, but realizing I'd dismissed it without much thought made me a bit sorry too.
A sigh.
"Justina."
"Hic... Y-Yes."
"I want you to become a better person to others too. Considerate, not looking down on them, not bullying or pressuring with family prestige. Uh... I know this sounds harsh, but I wish you'd treat everyone else the same way I treated you. Then..."
I paused, unsure what promise to make, then fell back on old words out of lack of better ones.
"Back then, we could've met up, talked properly, done things we wanted together, trained as usual, but also hung out and had fun. Let's do that then."
Justina listened, held back tears with a twisted face, then finally burst into loud sobs.
Unsure what to do, I glanced at Professor Selene. She discreetly gave me a thumbs-up from an angle no one else could see.
"...Ahem. Then I'll be going. Professor Selene, as I said, sorry for not contacting you sooner. Miss Namei, sorry for all the requests without payback. Ermina, thanks for the help in battle this time. We might cross paths again on Sun Church business, but pretend you don't see me then. And if the Lebedevs or academy come looking, tell them I might forgive, but my twin blades won't."
I elbowed Karin's side—now mostly recovered—and urged the spell.
After a dizzying warp, Astraea's scenery reappeared.
"...Short trip, but I feel ten years older."
The academy was a stress pit so bad that if I'd run into Christoph, I might've strung him up.