When jiro Ramonu realized she simply couldn't avoid the dust no matter what, she simply gave up.
She stopped carefully holding her skirt and mincing her steps, instead casting aside her restraints as she began to observe her surroundings.
Every piece of décor and furniture here exuded an air of antique opulence. Having been steeped in such an environnt since childhood and possessing a personal interest in the arts, jiro Ramonu could even intuitively guess the era and style of these ornants.
Though everything was thick with dust, she could still imagine how this place must have looked in its pri.
"So many antiques from the Victorian era... all brought over from Europe, I suppose."
jiro Ramonu narrowed her eyes and muttered to herself.
It seed this was indeed the Western-style mansion of the Northern family. But she still couldn't quite understand why Dream Weaver would choose to stay in a place like this instead of coming to the jiro household.
Anywhere would be better than staying here, right?
Her concern for Dream Weaver overriding her aversion to the dust, jiro Ramonu quickened her pace as she explored the mansion. She wanted to find Dream Weaver as soon as possible and bring her back to the jiro ho.
Several minutes later, having searched nearly every room in the entire mansion and now covered in dust, jiro Ramonu stood before a large door. This was the last room.
If she didn't find Dream Weaver after opening this door at the end of the hallway, then jiro Ramonu would truly start to wonder if the girl had gone out to chop wood or hunt. She couldn't possibly be training in conditions like this, could she?!
Taking a deep breath of the stale air, jiro Ramonu pushed open the door with an imnsely heavy heart.
Light seeped from the room onto her face as the door opened, making her instinctively squint. Before her vision could even clear from the blurriness, a cool, aloof voice rang in jiro Ramonu's ears.
"Who are you?"
A Uma Musu with long black hair was sitting on the floor. She turned her head expressionlessly to look in jiro Ramonu's direction.
Those abyssally dark eyes, seemingly capable of swallowing one's soul, caused jiro Ramonu to freeze for a mont. The Uma Musu before her gave off a strangely familiar feeling.
It was almost like...
...facing herself.
jiro Ramonu's presence on the racetrack was called the 'Enchanting Black Bay.' An inscrutable mystique was her defining trait. While she was a gentle observer to her family, in the eyes of the world, jiro Ramonu was undoubtedly a mysterious and dangerous Uma Musu.
But now, she was seeing her own shadow in Dream Weaver.
Their similarity wasn't just in their shared black hair and dark eyes. It was even more in that sense of aloof distance from the world, and a danger that felt bone-deep.
But jiro Ramonu's distance and coldness were reserved only for strangers; she was still gentle with her family. Yet, the Dream Weaver before her gave off an aura of rejecting the entire world, as if she had no attachnts left and might vanish at any mont.
Furthermore, the mont jiro Ramonu stepped into the hall, she was imdiately struck by a sharp, palpable atmosphere.
A faint, sword-like humming whisper seed to echo intermittently in her ears. The girl before her was like a manifested cursed blade; her re existence radiated an unparalleled danger.
Looking at Dream Weaver was like looking at a colder, more dangerous, smaller version of herself. She responded almost instinctively.
"I am jiro Ramonu. Your... elder sister."
She had previously wondered just how much jiro blood ran in Northern Dreams's veins, but the mont they t face-to-face, all uncertainty in jiro Ramonu's heart vanished. She was now certain the other was absolutely her younger sister.
"jiro..."
Dream Weaver glanced at the horse ears on the other's head and said, "I never thought they'd send a Uma Musu from the main family. But you are mistaken. I am not your sister."
"My surna is Northern."
Having said that, Dream Weaver turned her head away again, seemingly unwilling to speak any further with jiro Ramonu.
But having co this far, how could jiro Ramonu possibly give up? She could never allow her younger sister to remain alone in this dark, dilapidated mansion, nor could she stand by and watch Dream Weaver shoulder such imnse pressure all by herself.
She walked briskly towards Dream Weaver, but before she could say anything, her attention was captured by the picture fra Dream Weaver was looking at.
"Huh?"
Seeing the familiar figure within the fra, jiro Ramonu's mories stirred. Wasn't the Uma Musu in this picture the big sister who often took her and Ardan to play in the backyard when they were children?
Shouldn't she have been an Uma Musu of the jiro house? Why was her picture here?
For a mont, jiro Ramonu forgot her purpose of persuading Dream Weaver, simply staring blankly at the person in the portrait.
Noticing her approach and subsequent silence, and the lack of any imdiate attempt to drag her off to the jiro household, a flicker of curiosity arose in Dream Weaver's heart.
She looked up and asked jiro Ramonu, who was still gazing at the fra, "You know her?"
"I often saw her at our ho when I was little. But then, one day, she completely vanished. I never thought I'd see her again here, of all places."
"She is your..."
jiro Ramonu's words made Dream Weaver fall silent for a long while. She had learned from her grandmother that her mother used to visit the jiro house frequently, but she never expected to et soone who had witnessed those tis.
Perhaps it was because jiro Ramonu hadn't imdiately tried to pull her away to the jiro house.
Perhaps it was because of her strange connection to Dream Weaver's mother. For whatever reason, Dream Weaver's attitude softened slightly, and she spoke plainly.
"My mother."
"I see..."
Hearing Dream Weaver's answer, jiro Ramonu's voice grew low before she fell into silence.
That single answer told her all she needed to guess the fate of the Uma Musu in the portrait. If she were still alive, she would never have let her daughter stay alone in a place like this.
The two of them stood in silence, surrounded by the gazes of the many portraits, their hearts and minds churning with thoughts stirred by each other's words.
After what felt like an age, Dream Weaver slowly spoke.
"For , this is all that remains of my mother. So I will not leave this place."
jiro Ramonu, of course, couldn't simply accept that. She had a million reasons to take Dream Weaver away. But looking into the other's stubborn eyes, the words she had prepared suddenly shifted.
"Remnants of her? Then isn't it all the more reason to visit the jiro house? Your mother left many things there as well. Even if you don't stay, you should at least retrieve the things she left behind in this world."
"After all, she carried the blood of both families. Don't you want to know more about her?"
As the words left her mouth, jiro Ramonu noticed a slight flicker of uncertainty in Dream Weaver's expression.
"...Just a visit."
Ultimately unable to resist the pull of her mother's past, Dream Weaver said softly,
"Just a visit."
And jiro Ramonu answered her with firm conviction.
-- --
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.
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