Chapter 5
It was too late to call it morning and too early to call it lunchtime in the mansion at that ambiguous hour. The aftermath of the fountain incident from yesterday lingered on, and the culprit, Lily, was still peacefully sleeping.
However, a sinner must eventually receive the consequences of their deeds; instead of repenting for her sins, Lily slept soundly, while someone watching over her was there to help her reflect on her misdeeds.
Shake, shake.
The person beside Lily, seemingly trying to wake her, kept shaking her.
“Umm… go away…”
Feeling insulted by the interruption, the person sat on the bed and began shaking her more vigorously.
“Viola…? You know I’m sick. I want to sleep more, so don’t touch me.”
Half-awake, Lily turned her back and pulled the blanket over herself. Still, the person, presumed to be Viola, ignored her words and continued to shake her. Annoyed, Lily questioned her.
“Viola, why do you keep waking me up? Don’t you remember I’ve been sick since yesterday?”
Lily turned back to confront the person beside her, assuming it would be her maid, Viola, who had been caring for her all night. To her surprise, it was only her sister, Eve, looking down at her with a frown.
“Eve…?”
Lily had expected it to be her loyal maid, Viola, but was surprised to find her busy sister had come to wake her up instead.
“Yes, Lily. Did you sleep well?”
It didn’t matter who had come to wake her up—what was important was that Eve was there beside her.
“Yeah! But why is it you, not Viola, in my room? Did you stay up all night to take care of me?”
When Lily asked if her sister had stayed by her side all night, Eve shook her head to deny it.
“No, the one who took care of you all night was your personal maid, Viola.”
Eve said this with a warm smile, but that smile quickly faded, replaced by a look of anger.
“Lily, do you have nothing to say to your sister?”
Eve’s face and voice were filled with displeasure, resembling that of a child being scolded. It seemed she was there to reprimand her for falling into the fountain yesterday.
“Um… I’m not sure~ Can you hug me, sister?”
I tried to evade the question with a playful tone and demanded a hug, but Eve firmly rejected me and continued her lecture.
“Didn’t I tell you that you shouldn’t go out on your own without my permission, Lily? Look at this. I heard everything from your personal maid, Viola. Even if life in the mansion is boring, how could you go out without saying a word to me?”
I wanted to argue, but the logic was too solid, leaving me speechless. It felt unfair. I knew my body best. Having once been considered the best doctor in my past life, my current physician seemed no better than a newborn. Of course, I had intentionally pushed my body to its limits, but I found myself questioning whether I deserved to hear such reprimands.
Ultimately, wasn’t all of this Eve’s fault for not spending time with me? I inwardly transferred the blame to my sister.
Thud.
“Lily, don’t you see that I’m angry? Focus!”
How lost in thought was I? My sister must have believed I was ignoring her, as she snapped her fingers to emphasize her anger while trying to pull my attention back.
I was racking my brain to find a way to smooth over this situation. How could I calm Eve’s anger…?
A good idea came to me.
“Ugh… sniff.”
I knew I had to act. As soon as I started crying, I could see Eve’s angry expression slowly turning to one of confusion.
“No… Lily, I—”
As her face turned completely to shades of guilt and surprise, I cried even harder as if the world was ending.
“Sniff… I’m sorry, sister… Even if you tell me not to go out, I won’t say a word. If you tell me to stay in my room forever, I won’t go out.”
I deliberately exaggerated my crying to stir her sympathy. When I stole a glance at Eve, all traces of anger had vanished, leaving only remorse.
She pulled me into her arms and stroked my hair.
“I’m sorry for speaking harshly, Lily. I think I was too severe.”
Phew, it had been tough forcing out those tears after a long time. I was relieved that she wanted to end the situation quickly. Leaning my head against her soft chest, I tried to stop crying, but for some reason, it just wouldn’t come to me.
Without saying a word, she gently patted my back. For a while, the only sounds echoing through the mansion were the cries of a child and the soothing rustle of something being patted.
***
(Eve)
“Sniff…”
I felt a pang of sympathy as Lily buried her face in my arms, trying to suppress her sobs. I gently stroked her hair and asked her softly.
“Are you feeling a bit calmer, Lily?”
At my question, Lily nodded quietly. I recalled that my initial purpose in visiting her room was to correct her behavior, but I also wanted to spend some leisurely time with her after a long time.
“Lily, actually, there’s a reason I came to wake you up instead of Viola today.”
At that, Lily lifted her head from my embrace and looked into my eyes, curious about what I had to say.
“I came to spend the whole day with you, Lily. Will you play with me today?”
As soon as I said that, her expression brightened, and she nodded vigorously, smiling.
“Yes! That sounds great, let’s play together, sister!”
I was relieved to see that Lily, who had seemed sulky just a moment ago, had completely relaxed.
“Alright, then. Since it’s almost lunchtime, let’s go eat something delicious, Lily. I spoke with the chef before coming to your room.”
“Hehe. Okay!”
I picked Lily up and carried her toward the mansion’s dining room. As we opened the dining room door and sat down, the servants came in, bringing the food as if they had been waiting for us.
“Tada~!”
As the dome cover was lifted from the food, a delicious steak was revealed, showcasing its elegant appearance.
“I’m really sorry for making you eat only those vegetables you hate every day because you’ve been feeling sick, so I asked for something special for you today—your favorite meat.”
For the past two years, due to Lily’s unexplained mana sickness worsening, I had been feeding her only the medicinal herbs recommended by her doctor, which made her already picky eating even worse. But today was a special occasion, a rare time with Lily, so I decided to let it slide for just one day.
“Wow! Thank you so much, sister. You’re the best!”
Lily’s joyful reaction made me want to feed her even more.
Clatter, clatter.
Inside the dining room, the sounds of cutlery clinking, the delicious sounds of steak being eaten, and laughter filled a part of the usually quiet mansion.
***
As the harmonious sounds of plates and utensils began to fade, the only thing left on our plates was the sauce—a hint that there had once been steak.
“You ate every last bit, Lily. How was lunch? Was it good?”
With a smile that seemed to stretch from ear to ear, Lily responded positively.
“Yes! I can confidently say it was the best lunch of the year, sister.”
Hearing that made it impossible for me not to smile at Lily’s cuteness.
“Now that we’ve had lunch, is there anything you’d like to do, Lily?”
Lily rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought. After a moment, she opened her mouth.
“Um… I’d like you to read me a book, sister.”
Cuddled up against her after such a long time, I could see her smiling brightly at the thought of hearing my gentle voice, but as I heard her wish to read a book during our time together, I felt a small pang of guilt for limiting her experiences under the pretext of her declining health.
“Is that really okay, Lily?”
Lily tilted her head as if she didn’t understand my question.
“Yes, because we’ll be together all day. We have plenty of time, so we can enjoy it.”
After saying that, Lily made a cheeky expression and opened her arms wide, signaling she wanted to be hugged. I slipped my arms under her and lifted her up.
After arriving in the room while holding Lily, I recalled a nightmare that had lodged itself in a corner of my mind two years ago.
“It was just a ridiculous dream.”
How could I not protect Lily? Such a thing could never happen; it was inconceivable. I wouldn’t even be leaving the mansion.
As I selected a book from the shelf while glancing at Lily, who was waiting on the bed, our head maid and housekeeper, Edel, approached me.
-“Madam, there is a message from the Demon Lord.”
“What?”
After over a decade without so much as a message or command from the Demon Lord, I felt uneasy about receiving a message now, so I stepped out of the room to talk to Edel privately.
“Lily, stay right here for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”
As I left the room into the empty hallway, Edel wore a serious expression.
-“The Demon Lord commands that you directly participate in a meeting with the Kingdom of Velder, which seeks to establish peace with our demon kin.”
A direct command from the Demon Lord—especially one concerning peace with humans. The very idea that demons and humans, inherently different in nature, could form an alliance seemed absurd.
Seeing Edel before me, I realized he still had more to say.
“It seems there’s more. Please continue.”
-“Um… The Demon Lord has summoned all his children to the Demon Castle in one week.”
As my worries and concerns mounted, someone in the room pressed their ear against the wall, eavesdropping on our conversation.
“Hehe.”
Looks like an entertaining situation is rolling in on its own. This life must really be blessed.
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