Chapter 70

Overture

One day, Dad and Mom went to discuss “important stuff that children shouldn’t mind” with King Titus in Capicastle, so it was decided that I would play with Luca and Leti. Meanwhile, Alt-nii was with Clavis-nii at home. I decided to tag along with Mom and Dad because I thought I might learn something there…

Upon entering the meeting room… I was surprised to see some familiar faces!

“Whoa, you brought Lyra along?!”

This youthful and cheerful voice… It was none other than Gale’s voice!

“Lyra? Oh, you’ve grown up so much I didn’t recognize you for a moment.”

Next to Gale, I saw another familiar figure—Rupert.

It had definitely been such a long time!

“Rupert, Gale, long time no see!”

It’s good to know that they’re doing well!

As I glanced over the room… I noticed one thing.

There were other high-ranking figures inside! Kiri’s father—the Head of the Royal Knights, Meredea and the other high-ranking magicians… Whoa…

The “important stuff that children shouldn’t mind”—could it be… an uprising conflict?! I never thought the issue would be this big!

…And I could only think about the “war” or the conflict between Naraka and Cielle—that dragged Riviera along, too.

Was it this serious… or was I just too ignorant of how the adults worked to resolve this kind of issue?

Certainly, I died when I was thirteen years old as Reinst, when I had yet to participate in other matters.

So… could it be that each and every conflict that arose also required this kind of meeting to resolve? Or was this current issue simply that grave?

“Hm? Oh. Cyan, you’re there. Lyra? Long time no see, you’ve grown up.”

What broke my thought was a familiar voice that came from behind me. When I turned around… eh? EHHHHH?!

“R-rupert?! B-but, you’re just next to Gale… AAAH?!”

When I glanced back at Rupert’s former position, which was next to Gale… there was still Rupert there.

“R-r-r-rupert, you have a twin?!”

Thus, the conclusion I arrived at.

However, the Rupert that was standing behind me only sighed.

“Lyra, careful. The one standing behind you is an imposter,” The Rupert who was next to Gale warned me.

“E… eeeehhh?”

The Rupert who was standing close to me scratched his head and sighed.

“No, that one is totally my imposter,” he calmly said.

“…”

“Haha! Lyra, try to pick which one is the real Rupert!” Gale suddenly asked me to guess, as he was smiling as if he was having fun.

“…W-what is going on?”

My. Head!

“Haha, cut it out, you guys. You’re making Lyra confused,” Dad stepped forward to help me out of this mess! Ouiii, Daddy, you’re so dependable!

“That’s enough, Cynthia. Stop making this kind of antics,” Rupert who was next to me suddenly mentioned a name—he seemed to be referring to the Rupert who was next to Gale.

And suddenly, the Rupert who was next to Gale became so out-of-character as he grinned—whoa, don’t destroy Rupert’s image like that!!

The “fake” Rupert suddenly scratched off… a mask… from… his own face?!!!

Then—it revealed the face of a youthful girl with blue eyes and caramel ponytailed hair. Now, the mischievous grin suited her more than Rupert’s face!!

“Teehee, look how I managed to impersonate you! It’s my first time meeting Lyra in person, but I can make her confused! Haha!” She proudly said.

Rupert only sighed, “You’re as competitive as always.”

“But I gotta say that she’s getting better and better at disguising! I mean, Rupert, she’s so talented that she can disguise and impersonate lots of people without the help of magic!” Gale supported Cynthia.

Without any magic… Eh… eh?!

Ah, she certainly used a very natural mask slash wig that I didn’t detect anything unnatural, and even her voice and demeanour as “fake” Rupert before she grinned…

WHOAAAA!!

“A-awesome!!” I reflexively blurted out—but perhaps that was for the best as Cynthia smiled even happier.

“Told ya, I will definitely be the best spy and be the disguise master!!” Cynthia made a triumphant pose.

“Okay, okay, let’s not make another ruckus. The meeting’s about to start,” Dad suddenly cut off our lively conversation.

“Well well, the spy group seems as lively as always, especially with little Cynthia,” Alfonse Elsworth—Kiri’s foster father and the Head of the Royal Knights, said while chuckling.

“Sigh, sorry for her childish antics as usual,” Rupert answered.

“Hey, why are you acting like my elder?!” Cynthia protested.

“Well, well, you’re the youngest among us, Cynthia!” Gale butted into the conversation.

“I don’t want to hear that coming from you, Gale!” Cynthia pouted even more.

“…Okay then, I will escort Lyra to play with Luca and Leti first… I hope you’ve already settled this by then,” Dad suddenly said.

“Oh, I’ll come with you,” Mom added.

“No need.”

I was frightened by another familiar voice that came from behind me.

What’s up with people today? Is surprising me behind my back becoming a trend?!

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Sure, when I turned around, it was the king—Titus-sama.

“I’ll have the maids escort her to where Luca and Leti are,” King Titus said.

“We should start the meeting soon,” Queen Shaula stepped forward from behind King Titus and announced.

And thus, I was escorted by the maids to Luca and Leticia’s playing room.

“Lyaaa-neeeeeee!!”

There, I was quickly greeted by the angelic voice, angelic smile, and the angelic hug!!

“Leticiaaaaaaa!!”

I hugged Leti back as we giggled together.

“Oh, so you tagged along your parents, huh?” Luca greeted me just like that.

When I tried to make a comparison between this pair of brother and sister… I honestly can’t see any resemblance. Which is a good thing!

My cute Leti is definitely a cute angel that can soothe everyone’s heart, thank goodness she doesn’t look anything like the fallen angel with the same hair and eyes color—namely Luca!

“Ah, Lyra, you’ve come, too!”

Eh?

Aaaah, I just saw his father, so no wonder Kiri was also here.

“Yeah, I’m curious on what’s going on, but seems like I can’t hear anything, huh?”

“Well, Father and Mother didn’t even give me any other clue.”

“Father is getting busier and he spends more time with the knights, but he says everything will be all right…”

“…”

“…”

The more the adults are trying to act like they’ve got everything together, the more we can feel their nervousness…

Oh well, I just hope that it turns out to be nothing serious—and that we’re feeling like this because it’s our first time experiencing it first-hand—yep, even for me who’s gone through two lifetime, it’s my first time experiencing this kind of thing.

So, at least for the last seven years, the world has been quite peaceful.

“Uuca-nii? Kiiiii? Lyaa-neeee?”

Leticia wiggled her arms to us, one by one.

“Oh well, guess there’s no use for us to be thinking about it. Let’s play!”

Unexpectedly, Luca was the one who said that.

Yep, he is unexpectedly a caring big brother!!

“Yayyyy~!” Leticia put the two of her arms in the air.

After quite awhile, Mom and Dad finally finished their business—which meant the others were also done, too.

So, it was finally time to go home! As usual!

…Except…

There was one different thing.

“Lyaa-nee? Where are you goin?” Little Leti suddenly asked a question.

“Uh… home?”

“Home? Not here?”

“Eh, yeah, I don’t live in the castle…”

“Why? Why don’t you stay here?” Leticia tilted her head—so cute!!

“Because my family lives in our own house, and we don’t live in the castle…,” Geh, I find myself saying silly things, but I honestly don’t know how I should explain this to her!!

“…? Lya-nee’s… family? Lya-nee… is not my sister?”

“…No.”

“…Cousin? Relative? Not Leti’s family?” Leti asked as her face showed a very unsure expression.

“…Yep.”

“Lya-nee… is not… family?”

…Tears started to form at Leti’s eyes.

Eh… wait, there seems to be a misunderstanding here!!

“Huwaaaahhh!! Noo, Lya-nee is my Nee-sama!! Lya-nee is sister!!!”

Leti suddenly bawled.

“There, there, Leti, how can you misunderstand this? That’s why you don’t see Lyra as often as you see me, Papa, and Mama, right?” Luca tried to calm Leti down.

“B… but… Leti thinks… Lya-nee is Nee-sama… Because… Leti calls her Nee-sama…,” Leti buried her face to Luca’s clothes.

“…”

I’M SORRY, LETICIA!!! SORRY FOR INTRODUCING MYSELF AS NEE-SAMA AND ASKING YOU TO CALL ME NEE-SAMA!!

I just thought that it was so enviable that the cute Leti would call Luca with “Nii-sama,” so I also wanted to be called like that…

When I was Reinst, I didn’t get to spend that much time with Domi, Domi also rarely spoke, so I didn’t get to hear Domi call me that often. …and a cute little sister like Leticia was totally different than the quiet Domi—wait, am I prejudiced because I didn’t like Domi for robbing Mother?

E-either way… Leticia just comprehended this fact just now?

S-she is cute, but I’m not that mean enough to let her bawl like this… but… but she’s cute…

“Lya-nee isn’t my real sister?”

After she calmed down, Leti finally asked again, as if to confirm things.

“Yep…”

“…then, can’t you be my real sister?”

…How?!

I love my current family and I definitely don’t want to be an adopted child, especially adopted to a royalty…

“You can still call me Nee-sama even if I’m not your real sister, Leti! I like it when you call me like that,” I patted her head as Leti still clung to Luca and sobbed.

“…O…okay… *sobs*”

*Normal P.O.V*

“Whoa, Leti is so attached to Lyra, it’s as if she’s Lyra’s little sister!”

Meanwhile, during all the sobs, Cyan and Cassie were standing just before the room, observing the situation while waiting for the right time to step in. They were waiting for Lyra to come out after telling her to tidy up and say goodbye.

“Well, she is so different from Luca when he was her age. Seems like Leti is born without [Insight]?”

While the pampering Dad, Cyan, commented on such an adorable scene with heartfelt opinion, Cassie commented it based on her logical observation instead.

“Mmhm, perhaps she doesn’t inherit it at all, or she has it but her [Insight] power might be weak… Well, we won’t know at this point,” Cyan quickly switched off his doting parent mode and replied calmly.

“It’s good that Leti is like this, then. King Titus and Queen Shaula—especially Queen Shaula will get to experience Leti’s adorable childishness,” Cassie finally made a comment based on feelings.

“Yeah. It’s good for Titus, I finally get to see his troubled face now and then, when he’s facing Leti, haha!”

…Cyan is definitely Titus’ best friend, alright?

“Luca is so similar to Titus in personality—or so I think, that Titus doesn’t really have any difficulty when facing him—with the exception of when Luca was on bad term with Leti,” Cyan then added.

“Well, Leti is adorable, alright,” Cassie also couldn’t help but feel that way. She even took some sneaky moves to gently pinch Leti’s cheeks when she got the chance to.

“Lyra’s the most adorable, though,” Cyan made his typical comment.

“…Oh you.”

“Or could it be that you want a baby?” Cyan decided that it was time to tease Cassie.

“Oh, shuddup! It’s easy for you to say, since you don’t have to go through with the pregnancy and giving birth!”

“Haha, well, yeah, sorry, sorry…”

***

Though the warm and heartfelt situation like what Lyra experienced with Leti was certainly happening in the other households, it still couldn’t erase the fact that Naraka and Cielle were ready to face each other in battles—and that they might come to strengthen their territories by trying to reclaim the parts of Riviera that were once their faction’s territories.

Riviera was always there to ensure the balance and peace between Naraka and Cielle. The humans had learned the hard way that if such a balance wasn’t maintained, their livelihood would be compromised. The fact that Riviera was located in the middle of Naraka and Cielle also contributed.

Therefore, Riviera appointed their soldiers to the battlefield…

“Daddy is going to battle the baddies?”

A child’s clear voice could be heard in a small house as the young girl’s emerald eyes looked at the figure of a gallant man in front of her.

“Yup, that’s right. The country needs Daddy to fight away the baddies, in order to make sure little Fiona and her beloved Mommy to be safe and happy, too,” the man swept away his long silky blonde hair as he crouched down so that his light blue eyes could meet with the girl’s eyes. When he did so, he also exposed his long and pointy ears.

“Dear…”

A slender woman with the same light green hair as the little girl approached the father and daughter figures as she coughed.

“Don’t worry, Honey, I’m going to be back soon. Fiona, be a good girl and take care of your Mommy, okay?”

“Dear, please be careful… Cough!”

As the fragile woman continued to cough, the gallant man stood up and supported her.

“You don’t have to be so anxious, Honey. Just focus on resting and get well soon. I promise I will be back safe and sound.”

“Yes… sorry, if only I wasn’t sick…”

“Shuush… nothing can be done about it, Honey. It’s fine. You’ll be fine.”

“Mommy, Mommy, take a rest! Daddy will definitely beat up the bad guys for us! He is a hero, remember?” The little girl clung to her mother’s skirt as she tried to calm her mother down.

“Mmhm, see? Even Fiona knows it.”

“Cough… then, let me help you with any preparation that I can help…”

“Don’t overdo it.”

“Oh, let Fiona help, too!!”

Even if the war or skirmish between Naraka and Cielle didn’t affect most of the citizens, the ones who would experience the effects of it were the soldiers and their families.

For the families, they couldn’t help but get worried for their beloved ones. But to the young half-elf Fiona, her Daddy’s figure was a hero’s. A hero that she was proud of. In her mind, there was no anxiety at all. She was so confident of her hero father.

Sometimes, the unwavering trust from a child like her turns out to be the biggest encouragement an adult can get.

***

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. Rest assured that I shan’t relinquish this chance.”

A figure of an alluring woman knelt down before the throne, before the figure of the fierce man sitting on the throne. As she knelt, her dazzling long black hair touched the floor—the red tips of her hair contrasted to the brown floor.

“Hmph. Very well,” the man replied curtly.

Afterwards, the woman withdrew herself as she walked back to the inner chamber—to her own room.

“…I’ll definitely prove it to you that I’m the most worthy!!”

The calm face that she had back then disappeared the moment she closed the door. However, her arrogance remained even as she hit the table as if to declare her determination.

Though wars and skirmishes were largely known by their bigger purpose, this didn’t mean that there was no hidden ulterior, personal motive that one might carry inside their heart.

“Ah…”

A girl’s voice could be heard as the figure of a young maid looked anxiously to the arrogant woman—to her master.

“Ah, did I surprise you? I was finally entrusted with the [General] position, and I will definitely rise from now on!”

“Mm…,” the maid looked at her master’s arrogant and confident expression, so she also smiled in the end.

***

A spectre of light traveled across the area before it manifested into the figure of a child, helplessly sighing.

“Destiny has begun to move… I’ve placed the necessary pawns in their positions… I hope the stars can shine brighter in this future destiny.”

Fate is such a mysterious thing that nobody really knows of.

In the future, the coincidences happening will eventually form the inevitable fate.

Still, nobody has yet to realize it at this moment…

It is still long before they finally realize it.