While Sera and Eleanor were discussing, Liora strolled in the lawn beneath the open sky, humming a tune. She held Tia's hand, and her other hand gripped the leash attached to the collar Rolland wore as he moved on all fours.
Vina, who is usually in high spirits, walked beside them silently. From time to time, she stole glances at Rolland, his collar, and the leash, her mind seemingly in chaos. Tia, too, remained silent, not attempting to retract his hand from Liora, lost in his own thoughts.
‘So much weird stuff had happened, and my mind was in chaos. The looks Aunt Eleanor gave us from time to time as she spanked her husband. It was definitely on purpose. Mother also did not stop her. No matter how you think about it, it is not normal for a mother to allow her children to witness such scenes. Bloody hell, it's been a long time since I've felt these emotions. I completely forgot about them,’ Tia sighed, analyzing the situation.
He looked at Liora, thinking, 'I should try to get some information from her.'
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*****
“Sister, what would you do if you still couldn't find a solution even after a decade? If what you say is true about their condition being similar to yours, it will be torture for them without the artifact, especially for Tia.”
“Although I am certain that Tia will not accept. At the very least, if Liora could convince Tia, it might at least save her. I can only hope that Vina and Tia are not the same as me. If it is, it might be the end for the three of us. I would rather kill her myself. I don’t want Tia to become a toy for our family.”
“My promise with Liora is just another of my contingencies with low probability.”
“So, Elea, make sure that you don’t tell others about her.”
Eleanor nodded, “Alright, I will not tell anyone. Other than me and mother, if any other from our family knows of Tia’s condition, they will definitely kidnap her without any delay. Also, if Liora can convince Tia in the future, I definitely do not want others to have her.” Eleanor grinned as she took a sip of her tea.
Finishing her tea, Eleanor placed her cup on the table, “So Sister, why do you want to make the patrol teams along the routes?”
“If security increases and people travel and lands become prosperous, it will be advantageous to us, as we will have more prey for ourselves.”
“Then, why do you want to implement the sewage system?”
“The sewage system is a way to improve people’s hygiene. This will only be a cover we will be showing to the people. My real goal is to create paths through the underground tunnels to function as secret routes or escape routes. We can also build rooms as temporary hideouts with some traps.”
“When we are building them, we need to divide the areas and delegate them to different groups, and we will have to supervise the construction ourselves so that no other person will have a complete picture of the true blueprint. The later maintenance of the tunnels has to be done in the same way. Even among our family, other than the ones in charge, only a few important and trustworthy members can know about this. That is why you need to hide these things from Rolland as well.”
“Secret routes and hideouts. It's good to prepare some. I will inform Mother and convince other sisters to do the same in their territories. I think everyone will agree to it. This way we might reduce costs too.”
“But sister, even if Rolland knows, he cannot do anything with his cowardly character. You don’t have to be so cautious.” Eleanor waved her hand dismissively.
“….”
After observing Eleanor, “Elea, remember this clearly.
“No matter how beautiful a dream is or how hellish a nightmare is, reality can always find ways to slap them awake.
“No matter how weak fire is, it still has the potential to burn down an entire forest.
Sera raised her voice, “Stop underestimating others, Eleanor Obscuritas. Don’t be conceited. There is nothing wrong with being cautious. Don’t let your pride get to your head. If you keep this up, you will soon become another Malachi or Ethan. In the future others may easily manipulate you for their gains.” Sera scolded Eleanor sternly.
Eleanor is taken aback by Sera’s words.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You are right. I think I got too used to my current circumstances. I will take caution.”
After a moment, “If one day, Rolland ever wakes up from my dream, I will be the one to stab his heart to let him sleep forever.” Eleanor said with determination and killing intent visible in her eyes.
“…”
“That is if you don’t fall into his dream,” Sera said.
“What do you mean by that?”
Sera she poured another cup of tea without replying.
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******
“Liora.”
“Yes.” Liora looked at Tia as they walked.
“How many other aunts, uncles, or relatives do we have?”
Liora pondered for some time as she tried to count on her fingers, “Hmmm, I can’t count. But there are a lot of aunts. But we have only a few uncles and brothers. Other than that, we have many grandmothers, sisters, and many other relatives too.”
‘It’s too confusing. They might not be directly related to us.’ Tia thought.
“Does Aunt Eleanor punish uncle at home?” Tia inquired.
Vina perked her ears and looked at Liora awaiting her answer.
“Yes. Whenever Rolly behaves badly, mom punishes him for being a bad dog.”
“Is he not your father?”
“Mom says Rolly is our pet.”
‘Is it only a role play, or is she being serious when she said he is only a pet. If she is serious, who is her father? Is it similar to us, how mother says, we don’t have a father? Or they might have slept with too many people to keep track of whose children we are? But all these years sera did not have any relation with others. Is she sneaking out at nights to sleep with others? No, in that scenario, there might already be gossip about a scandal throughout the village about Sera’s character. Thus, it is not likely.’
“Does other aunts or big sisters have similar pets?”
“Others have a lot of pets. From time to time, they change their pets too. Every now and then, all the family members gather for parties with their pets.”
“Do all of them have men as their pets?”
“No, there are women too.”
‘I see, so it is not exactly a female domination.’
“Do they allow you in their parties?”
“No,” Liora shook her head. “They don’t allow us, saying that we are still kids. But me and other sisters and brothers secretly peeked at them.”
“Oh! What do they do in parties?”
“They undress, do a lot of kissing, and ride on their pets. Sometimes they tie them up and punish them.”
‘I see. So, they gather in parties to do orgy and other bdsm stuff. Is it a bdsm club or something?’
“Sometimes, they ask us to take their pets out on strolls like this.
“When we become adults, an initiation ceremony will be conducted to celebrate our reaching of adulthood. From then on, we can join them in the parties.”
‘I wonder how intense that ceremony will be. Do vina and I also need to go through the initiation ceremony when we become adults?
‘From their morning behavior, it's clear, they engage in these activities in secret, not openly. It is definitely not the norm of this world. There should be something wrong with the family itself. It seems like Mom is only acting like an innocent lady in front of the village.
‘But what she has been doing in this village has only brought good to the people. Other than the perverted stuff, Aunt Eleanor and Rolland also seem to act in the good interest of people. Just what is happening? I don’t have enough information to get a clear picture. I can't even inquire others about this. Rolly is just a doggy and will not cross aunt Eleanor. Mother and aunt will only avoid answering me. I can’t ask them complicated stuff as I am physically only 5 years old. Damn it. Mother and Aunt must be discussing something secretive. Does this world have magic? If it does, I want magic to eavesdrop on others.’ Tia is frustrated internally.
"Vina and Tia should come with us. We can have a lot of fun." Liora tried to entice her new sisters.
"No, Mother will not allow us to go outside the village," Vina said.
"Sister Vina, do you want to walk Rolly?" Rolland shivered a little.
“Wh-what?” vina became flustered.
****
"Sister, why did you choose Ravencrest to take over? You could have aimed for a better territory. Why are you choosing methods that are beneficial to people?"
"Among the region's territories, Ravencrest stood out as the most backward and corrupted. I needed a place easily manipulated, where I could gather evidence against numerous corrupt nobles."
"Killing virtuous nobles would raise suspicions, and those who benefited from their goodwill might investigate. In contrast, when I killed the Ravencrests, people are happy to be rid of those scum. Even if someone is suspicious of me, they might just cover for me."
"Performing good deeds for the people and the land serves as a solid identity cover. In crucial moments, it could yield unexpected results."
"As far as the people are concerned, they are delighted to be free from corrupted nobles like the Ravencrests. Their hygiene and health will improve due to sewage systems. The empire is rid of corrupt nobles, and soon the church will eliminate a family with a demon bloodline. Under our governance, their lives will prosper. It's a simple give-and-take."
Eleanor chuckled and asked jokingly, “Even though we're just a year apart, why are we so different? I still have much to learn from you. While building a good reputation among the people, you eliminated a baron’s household, upheaved an entire county to secure a home. Now, for your children, you're causing ripples in the marquisate and the church. What's next? Are you going to cause chaos in the entire duchy or something?”
“It's not just me anymore.”
“Huh?”
“It is us.”
“??”
“Vina hasn't realized it yet. But thanks to that little stunt you pulled earlier, it won't be long before Vina becomes aware of her own feelings.”
“What feelings?”
“Do not mention a mere dukedom or a kingdom, for Tia, if it is what she wishes for, we will unleash chaos upon the entire world.”
Eleanor gulped. “Tia's influence on you is going over the top.”
Sera shook her head. “This is not due to her constitution. These are our genuine feelings.”
“Yeah right, that's the same line those who are influenced by those special constitutions say. Not to mention, you don't even have the strength to fight a normal soldier without Lamia’s Embrace. You sure know how to talk big.”
Sera laughed but didn't say anything.
“Then what about Tia? Doesn’t she feel the same?”
“I think she does. But her expression might differ from ours. I still can’t gauge the depth of her feelings towards us, as she is unique in her own way.”
“Like how exactly?”
“Even though she is my biological daughter. Even though her bloodline is much purer, her demeanor or the way she acts, I can't pinpoint it precisely; it's distinct.”
“It's a quality that appears to emanate from a much deeper place than her blood. Her gaze or eyes resemble that of ……”
Listening to Sera, Eleanor widened her eyes and said something, a strong breeze obscured their conversation.
****
"Sister Vina, do you want to walk Rolly?" Rolland shivered a little.
“Wh-what?” vina became flustered. “Why do you ask?”
“You keep looking at Rolly.”
“No need.” Vina shook her head and briskly walked next to Tia without looking back.
‘She is still a child. She must be quite disturbed, encountering something like this,’ Tia thought.
“Okay,” Liora did not mind.
‘I don’t think a little girl will have much valuable information. Even if she does, she might not recognize it. I can’t think of any other stuff I could ask her,’ Tia thought to himself.
“Liora, Vina, shall we go back?”
They both nodded.
“Let's go, Rolly,” Liora said, pulling on Rolland’s leash.
“Woof” Rolly barked.
They turned back to return to their mothers.
----------------------------------------
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