"My older sister? What brings you to my room?"
The question slipped out naturally the mont I opened the door after hearing a knock.
As the line itself suggested, the visitor was Ragfrid.
No matter how I thought about it, there was no reason for her to visit her youngest sibling this late at night.
Surely she hadn't co to discuss the Demon Realm Transformation.
I had already told her that reading the report Hárðr received would be more efficient.
Yet if she'd co for so personal matter, it was far too late for that as well.
In the first place, it was questionable whether such a personal matter even existed.
Unless it was extrely urgent, she could have simply co tomorrow during the day.
"I ca because there's sothing I need to say."
"Ah. I see."
"......"
"......"
"...Do you not intend to let inside?"
To be honest, that was exactly the problem.
I didn't know what she wanted, but I wished she would simply say it quickly and leave.
Naturally, I couldn't say that out loud.
"Not at all. I simply assud you would briefly state your business and leave imdiately."
Making up an excuse, I stepped aside and allowed Ragfrid and her familiar into the room.
Perhaps it was her first ti entering her youngest sibling's room.
She slowly looked around the interior before taking a seat.
The white-furred beast with magnificent purple rosettes settled itself at her feet.
"Shall I call for an attendant and have so refreshnts prepared?"
"That won't be necessary."
I had asked out of courtesy.
Her imdiate refusal suggested she truly had no intention of staying long.
As soon as I sat down, Ragfrid spoke.
"Didn't you say that you no longer wished to die because you now have soone you must take responsibility for?"
"Yes. That's correct."
"Then why did you do that?"
"...Pardon?"
"I stopped by Father's office and finished reading the report concerning today's events."
For a mont, I had no idea what she was talking about.
Then I finally understood.
Apparently, after reading that I had drawn the monster's aggro in order to save Helga, she had begun doubting whether I had truly abandoned thoughts of suicide.
Had she rushed over at this hour because she thought her youngest sibling might try poisoning himself again?
"I didn't step forward because I thought it was fine if I died. I stepped forward because I calculated that I wouldn't die."
"Even so, wasn't it far too dangerous? According to the report, the monster reached your imdiate vicinity. If the student nad Reisir hadn't intervened, it would have been truly dangerous."
I flinched involuntarily when the original protagonist's na suddenly erged from Ragfrid's mouth.
Misinterpreting my reaction, she frowned slightly and seed about to say sothing.
I hurriedly explained.
"My calculations were based on the assumption that the combat faculty professors would imdiately assess the situation and intervene. Even if they had never encountered such a monster before, they're veterans of real combat and educators responsible for protecting students. Their failure to step in was completely unexpected."
"......"
"As a student, I simply trusted the professors. I had no idea it would be interpreted as a death wish."
"I was already considering lodging a formal complaint with the academy administration. They need to be held accountable."
I suspected the professors' inaction had been the result of the original author's influence.
If that was truly the case, then the professors themselves weren't actually at fault.
However—
When I rembered how close I'd co to dying, I felt absolutely no urge to defend them.
Besides, many of those sa professors had either tornted Skati or stood by and watched it happen.
I had no intention of covering for them.
Not after that.
"Regardless, I truly have no desire to die. No, more than that—I desperately want to live."
"Truly?"
"Yes. Even before losing my mories, I couldn't accept the fact that I had attempted suicide. I diligently attend combat-related lectures for self-defense and carry potions with at all tis just in case. My desire to survive is very strong."
I emphasized it as clearly as possible so she would never misunderstand again.
At that, Ragfrid—
"And yet the you from before you lost your mories..."
—murmured quietly, unable to conceal her agitation.
The realization that soone so obsessed with survival had once wanted to die seed to have shaken her deeply.
The truth is simply that Karvaldr and I are different people.
Then again, perhaps the original Karvaldr never truly wanted to die either. Maybe he was simply risking himself in order to confirm whether his father loved him.
Actually... that possibility would probably be even more disturbing.
Ragfrid sat there motionless for a long ti.
Like soone whose soul had left her body.
Seeing her like that, I couldn't easily tell her to leave if she was finished.
"You... so that's why you forgot us."
"......"
"You wanted to live, but our treatnt of you made you wish for death."
Her voice trembled.
"You abandoned your mories because you wanted to abandon your expectations."
"It seems I must have made it quite obvious before losing my mories that I wanted our family's attention."
I smiled faintly.
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have reached that conclusion so quickly, Older Sister."
"Ah..."
The mont she let out that pale, exhausted sigh, I was forced to admit sothing.
Ragfrid genuinely wanted this to beco a family-regret story.
And for so reason, that irritated .
What's the point of regretting everything now?
The actual victim isn't the one who returned. A third party is occupying his body.
If the original Karvaldr could see this situation, would he be happy to learn that his older sister had cared after all?
Or would it simply make him feel even colder?
"I... I..."
"......"
"...I should leave."
"Yes."
Ragfrid rose unsteadily from her seat.
For a mont, I considered helping her.
But I didn't.
I had no desire to give her false hope that we could beco close siblings.
And sohow, I doubted she had ever reached out a hand when Karvaldr was the one stumbling.
After she and her familiar finally left—
I closed the door and voiced the thought that had been lingering in my mind.
"Until now, I knew Karvaldr wasn't loved by his family, but my reaction was always just, 'So what?'"
I sighed.
"But now... he really is pitiful."
"Yaong, yaong."
The following day.
Despite leaving in obvious shock the night before, Ragfrid didn't avoid .
Instead, she summoned to the greenhouse.
With tea and snacks prepared, no less.
I need to train my body, practice my whip techniques, increase my skill proficiency, raise my Ether stats, study strategic board gas like chess, and learn lip-reading.
I already have a mountain of things to do.
For all my dislike of Hárðr, one thing about him was convenient.
He never sought out his son.
From that perspective, Ragfrid had unexpectedly beco a hidden threat.
"What was so important that you called all the way to the greenhouse?"
"I wanted to discuss the second child."
She hesitated briefly.
"As for the location, my personal handmaiden recomnded it."
"Does that handmaiden know I've lost my mory?"
"She is trustworthy. She's served for more than ten years."
So she knew.
For reference, the handmaiden had taken Yohrn outside the greenhouse only monts ago.
Officially, it was to give us privacy.
Unofficially...
Was she trying to gather information about Karvaldr's interests and preferences?
If that was her goal, it was completely pointless.
That wasn't speculation.
It had already been proven.
I'd asked Yohrn what Karvaldr liked and disliked before.
He hadn't been able to answer properly.
Because Karvaldr had never told him.
Shouldn't a personal attendant figure those things out on their own?
At any rate, the fact that she'd gone so far as to consult her handmaiden made one thing clear.
Ragfrid was determined to get closer to her youngest sibling.
Only now.
"I wasn't questioning whether your attendant was trustworthy. I was simply asking whether I needed to pretend my mory was intact around her."
"Ah. I see."
"Yes."
"......"
"......"
The conversation died awkwardly.
The person who had summoned for a discussion simply sat there watching my reaction.
"Didn't you say you wanted to talk about my older brother?"
"Ah... yes. Well..."
Ragfrid looked uncomfortable.
"I spoke with him. But... I think it will take a very long ti before he sincerely apologizes to you. Changing eighteen years of beliefs isn't easy."
"You an the belief that I killed our mother?"
"...Yes."
I had expected sothing more significant.
Unable to help myself, I let out a faint snort.
"I imagine so. It's a belief he's held for eighteen years. Why would a few words suddenly change it? Just leave it alone."
"Leave it alone?"
Ragfrid looked startled.
"Even if you've lost your mories... are you truly fine with your brother hating you for such a ridiculous reason?"
"If you've been fine with it all this ti, Older Sister, why shouldn't I be?"
I t her eyes calmly.
"Must I suffer every ti my brother says sothing hurtful?"
Even if Valtraus suddenly regretted everything and apologized, it would an nothing to .
Just as Ragfrid's current anxiety felt awkward rather than comforting.
"I... I didn't know the second child hated you because of that..."
"Please don't say you didn't know."
I shook my head.
"My brother has hated since the day I was born. Everyone must have had their suspicions about why. Isn't that why nobody ever asked him directly? Because the answer seed obvious."
"N-no..."
"If not, then nobody cared enough to ask."
"......"
"Which ans nobody cared whether I was hated or not."
Ragfrid lowered her head.
Her face looked utterly devastated.
For two consecutive days, the woman who always appeared calm and composed had completely fallen apart in front of .
Apparently her familiar had reached the conclusion that I was the cause.
Grrr...
The leopard lying nearby rose to its feet and let out a threatening growl.
It wasn't frightening at all.
After all—
I had Yor.
"Riensa. Be quiet—"
"Kyaaong!"
Before Ragfrid could finish her command, my dependable baby dragon activated 【Dragon Fear】.
The effect was imdiate.
The leopard called Riensa whimpered and collapsed where it stood.
Not in a relaxed posture.
Not comfortably.
Its appearance was much better described as cowering in terror.
Or, more accurately—
Prostrating itself in absolute submission.
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