"Alright, that's it." "Is it over?" "Yeah. I was going to check the endpoints, like the hands and feet, but the neodymium reaction is so close to zero that it wouldn't an anything."
"···."
After finishing the experint, Irene quickly got dressed, pursing her lips tightly. She was honestly losing her mind.
‘Why is my heart pounding like this...?’
Her heart had been racing the entire ti during the experint, and it was beyond confusing. Had she embarrassed herself too much yesterday and today? No. Paradoxically, after showing so much embarrassnt, it felt like she was finally calming down.
The one she hated most had now beco the one who gave her the most relief. Acknowledging that fact made her feel a little at ease.
"I’m leaving now." "Sis. And..." "I know. You’re talking about the fee for breaking the skull bones last ti, right? I’ll send it. I an, how much could it cost to fix a few broken bones?" "I’m just glad you understand." "···."
But still, Irene couldn’t get used to the sight of her younger sibling being this different. Even though she was still sneering at her with that familiar, venomous expression, it didn't bother her as much anymore. She couldn't understand what had changed.
‘Is this what it ans to value family?’
When she was younger, she couldn’t stand them. Now, the only person she could rely on was her younger sibling. Emilia was too clueless to count on...
‘Black magic research wasn’t as bad as I thought either.’
When she was asking where the neodymium chunks were, Irene thought that her sibling had finally gone insane like their father, but seeing the actual research made her realize that had been an overreaction.
Irene believed that Aslan would be fine. This research presentation would not only save the Vermond family from ruin but would also elevate its standing. She had doubted and obstructed him before, but now, she decided to give him her full trust.
If he ssed up again and lost his mind... then she would kill him herself.
That was the mindset she had.
‘At least before the academic presentation, I need to handle the disturbances.’
Of course, Aslan had full control over the family’s managent, but there were still things he didn’t know.
Aslan couldn’t even imagine how much the forces jealous of the Vermond family were scheming in the shadows. He didn’t need to know. Irene would handle it all herself.
The darkness of the shadows could be managed by soone like her.
"Hmm..."
Irene climbed into the carriage heading toward the city. She gazed out the window, lost in thought. No matter how much she tried to forget, the dreams she had kept coming back to her.
[Hide yourself. Close your heart, silence your voice. Later, you must hide yourself so thoroughly that you forget who you are.]
It was definitely a mory from her childhood...
Who had she been talking to back then, with that young voice?
[Soone you can trust will appear. Just wait until then.]
And who was the "soone you can trust" they had spoken of?
She had tried to forget, but now, as she thought about it again, it seed that the reason she could act like the villainous Irene Vermond was thanks to the owner of that voice.
After all, she had believed that soone would co, that soday, the painful act would end.
She could only start pretending to be the villain because she believed there would be an end to it.
But where was that end?
‘The one I can trust isn’t Aslan, right?’
Aslan was certainly her ally now, but he wasn’t the "soone you can trust" the voice spoke of. After all, he was the one who made her hide her true self and play the villain.
He was soone who had undergone a miraculous change, but the person she could trust had not appeared yet.
"Could it be that soone else has taken over Aslan’s body...?"
She muttered the possibility without thinking, and imdiately her expression froze. Huh?
"Pff... Yeah, that’s impossible..."
Then, realizing how ridiculous her own words sounded, she burst into laughter and shook her head. It couldn’t be. Her imagination was running wild and had entered the realm of fantasy.
"I wish it were true..."
If that ridiculous fantasy were true, then she would be able to confirm once and for all the cause of the fluttering in her heart every ti Aslan was near. She could stop pretending to be the villain and return to the mansion.
As Irene imagined that unlikely "what if," she smiled bitterly.
"Ugh, seriously. You’re not a cat, you know."
[The evil god, 'Kali,' proudly shows off your battle scars!]
After Irene left, I couldn’t hold back the groan I had been stifling. I had just been strangled by my sister, scratched up all over... It felt like I was the butler of a house that kept a giant cat.
If I kept putting up with my sister's hysterics, I might die. Plus, because of Laura’s eyes, I couldn’t even lie properly...
The last 18 hours had been pure hell.
But the one silver lining was that Irene seed to be improving. Irene, who had been corrupted into darkness by Aslan’s influence, was starting to warm up as she was cared for with kindness.
It still wasn’t the right ti for her to stay at the mansion, but she would get better, bit by bit. I could start to see a future where this chaotic household would be on the road to normalcy.
‘Although there’s a chance it might end up in complete ruin...’
Before, whenever Irene approached, she exuded an aura of death, and I could feel a chill from her sharp gaze. I hadn’t realized it, but now, I noticed that Irene actually gave off a pleasant scent when she had relaxed and her tension had eased. It was hard to resist the impulse to react to the sweet fragrance.
‘I’ll have to resist.’
Though this was the first woman I had t since coming into this world, for Irene, I was just her suddenly reford younger brother.
There was no chance at all.
With that thought, I completely gave up.
...Though, maybe just a little bit of regret remained.
"Aslan, is the experint done? Where’s the data... Ugh!? What’s going on with your appearance?!" "Ah."
Just then, the door swung open with a force different from when Irene had entered. Yuria appeared and gasped when she saw .
"You're a complete ss! Was it that woman...?" "Yeah, it was." "She was fine with us, but why does she go crazy over Aslan... Ugh, what’s all this?"
"It’ll be fine soon, don’t worry." "I’m not fine. It pains to see such beautiful skin all ruined. Co here..."
Yuria grabbed my ear and pulled close. As I was pulled, Yuria got so close that she startled herself and took a step back with a startled "Eep!"
Her cheek turned slightly red. She then grabbed my chin and turned my face to the side, avoiding eye contact.
"Don’t look at ." "···." "I-I don’t an I don’t want you to look at ! It’s just... It’s uncomfortable! If I’m aware of your gaze, I feel like I won’t be able to do anything!"
Yuria seed flustered, trying to explain herself as she added more details, but I knew from the start that it wasn’t because she hated . She just wasn’t used to this.
"Really, what did you do to get to this point... Hold on, I’ve prepared so bandages for this."
Yuria began rummaging through her pockets, pulling out a bunch of bandages. She must’ve started preparing after the last ti I got scratched.
"...Now, hold still."
She began wrapping my arm with character bandages, her movents slow and ticulous. Of course, the long, deep scars would never be covered by such small bandages.
Seeing her struggle, I couldn’t help but smile as I watched her focus so intently.
"Don’t look at ." "Right, right."
She had a way of showing care that was clumsy yet endearing. I couldn’t help but find it amusing as I watched her fuss over , though I was sure she wasn’t actually annoyed.
"Wait... these bandages are running out!" "Where are these character bandages from anyway...?"
Yuria panicked when she ran out of bandages. Apparently, they were from a magazine subscription that the mansion had.
"...What now? What do I do?" "Don’t worry, I’ve got it!"
Then, the door slamd open again with a different sound, and Charlotte appeared, wrapped in bandages from head to toe.
Is she cosplaying as a mummy?
"Ha ha ha! Fancy bandages! Yuria, you're still such a kid!" "What?!" "When you’re hurt, you should use proper bandages!" "Why did you wrap yourself in bandages though...?" "I didn’t want to waste them, so I only took what I needed!" "Why not just bring all of them here and cut them when you need them?" "Ah?! Yuria, are you a genius?!" "···."
Charlotte exclaid loudly, and Yuria sighed in exasperation. Slowly, Charlotte walked over and began wrapping my arm with bandages.
"How do I tie this? I’ve never done this before." "Here, let help. Hold the other end."
Just as I was about to help, a sense of danger imdiately alerted . Sure enough...
‘This is terrifying...’
From the slightly open door, I could see a pair of small eyes glaring at .
Father-in-law, please, grant us permission for this engagent soon...
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