knock—! knock—!

''Lyra? It's your sister, Cecilia.''

''...''

There was no answer.

I thought she was ignoring me, but after rubbing my chin for a while, the door creaked open. Between the crack sat an uneasy darkness, and beyond that darkness, a small face peeked out.

Lyra cautiously set her eyes on me and the maid, seeming ready to shut the door close at any moment.

''Can I come in?'' I asked her with the nicest smile I could muster.

''...Why?''

Hearing her skeptical voice made my heart hurt. Did I seem that suspicious in her eyes?

''I heard you were eating alone. Since we are sisters, I want us to have a meal together. Is that alright?''

In my eyes, I could see the small girl seriously contemplating if she could trust me. Should I be relieved that she at least had a good sense of danger? It meant that she would be less likely to suffer in the future. If I were to stick to my goal and bond with her, I should make sure she wouldn't get hurt.

She was my only ticket to survival, after all.

I wasn't sure I could raise her properly, but I was confident I could treat her appropriately—like a sister. Besides... who would turn a blind eye to such a pitiful kid?

No matter what, I must have done it if I still wanted to call myself a person.

''Please make yourself at home.''

Fortunately, she was more approachable than I thought.

''Oh, okay.''

As I pushed the door and stepped into the room, I couldn't help but giggle inwardly at her attempt to appear dignified. 'Make myself at home'? This is my home, though.

Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised by how neat the room was. It seemed quite cozy, especially seeing the small dragon nesting on the bed.

''Huh?''

There was a table near the window. On it, the warm light was burning, illuminating the numerous opened books instead of the moon. The clouds were still ominous.

So she was studying... how diligent.

However, I instinctively narrowed my eyes. From the looks of it, I assumed that Lyra put her meal on the table to eat while studying, but... why was there only a piece of bread?

It didn't look like proper, fresh bread either.

I glanced at Lyra, and her small shoulder flinched. It seemed I unintentionally scared her with my fierce gaze.

''...I didn't mean it.''

This girl... she looked like an eight- or nine-year-old, but she was actually twelve at the moment. I was seventeen—Cecilia was. But for her to only be as tall as my waist... As I had suspected, Lyra was malnourished as well.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I thought the game was nice for skipping most of the 'abuse' part since I didn't particularly want to see it, but now, it had come to bite me in the ass.

''Mary.'' I utter. ''Can you call the ones responsible for my sister's meals here? All of them.''

''Miss, that's...''

''Why are you hesitating?''

Mary, the maid presumably assigned to me, trembled at my changed tone.

''We don't need a maid who cannot follow orders.''

''U-Understood.''

At the prospect of being fired, Mary scurried out of the room, leaving Lyra and me in the spacious room. Letting out a sigh, I walked over to the table.

''Ah...''

Lyra had a dumbfounded expression as I dumped the piece of cold bread into the trash bin. Then, I placed the empty plate back and stacked my plate of sandwiches on top of it.

''Little girls like you shouldn't eat like that.''

Seizing the opportunity, I stroked her head while smiling sisterly. It was smooth, as expected.

Only after a bit did she recover, and I quickly retreated before she got uncomfortable.

Contrary to my hunch that she might feel repulsed by my touch, Lyra didn't show much on her face. Her glistening black eyes, like obsidian, were fixed on me.

''How about you?'' She asked.

''Hm? Ah, I ate already, so it's fine.'' I replied.

Good.

I think I made a pretty decent first impression... maybe not. I just remembered that I sent her back without doing anything earlier. I was exhausted.

Soon enough, I could hear footsteps resonating outside the room. It seemed they were about to arrive.

One by one, nearly a dozen maids, along with a few chefs, followed Mary into the room. I hid the trembling Lyra behind me and cast a cold gaze at them.

They all looked like they had something to say, but I couldn't care less.

''So? Who is responsible for delivering my sister's meals?''

''...''

''...''

Oh? What was this? Was they ignoring me?

I mean, sure. My mother and I weren't nobles or anything, and it was transparently suspicious how the Marchioness of Orleans, who just lost her wife a few years back, decided to marry my mother in the first place. In addition, it hadn't been a day since I arrived here.

I was sure most of them were thinking, 'Who are you to order us?' inside.

''If no one answers, I guess we will have to fire all of you.''

''That's ridiculous! You—''

One maid snapped. I quickly grabbed her face before she could spew out bad words in front of Lyra.

Stop struggling... my fingers hurt.

''Did you all forget your brains at home? How could you be so stupid as to retaliate against a lady of this house?'' I spoke regardless.

At my statement, the others were clearly agitated. One of the chefs seemed calmer, stopping them before stepping up himself.

''Forgive me for being rude, but you have not officially been recognized yet. Until the Marchioness held her wedding, your status in this residence would be that of a guest's.''

''Are you saying that I don't have power over you?'' I raised my brow.

''Yes.''

...What a situation. I didn't think we would have someone as blissfully entitled and idiotic as him here.

''I see.''

thud—!

''Ugh...!?''

A silence of astonishment descended as I drove my fist into his abdomen, sending him tumbling while holding on for his dear life. No matter how frail I might seem, I was someone capable of using mana.

...Okay, Lucy did it for me, but it still counted.

Either way, I wouldn't lose to ordinary people.

''Did you ever stop to think what I would do once I became a lady of this house? And you still had the gall to fight back?'' I snorted, startling the other servants. ''Oh, my bad. I forgot you left your brains at home.''

''M-Miss...''

Somehow, seeing them trembling and bowing in submission as if they had never disrespected me and Lyra in the first place got me angry. However, it was more infuriating that they thought they could bully such a young child and get away with it.

I didn't care why they did it. I only needed to know.

''Enough. Mary, tell the butler to fire all of them. Make sure to cite exactly what happened here when they apply for a new... nevermind. Just tell him.''

I could speak with the butler directly about this later. I was sure he would come to me.

''Miss, you can't do this...!''

''I didn't do anything! Please...''

With a frightened expression, Mary struggled to escort the people out. It took several minutes for the room to become quiet again.

Letting out a sigh, I turned back to Lyra.

The girl's face was still blank, yet there was a hint of surprise... and perhaps joy in her eyes. I wouldn't know exactly.

Carefully crouching down to meet her gaze, I muster a smile again.

''From now on, if anyone, I repeat, anyone, treats you unfairly or poorly, come to me. Since you are now my little sister... I won't let them bully you.''

Lyra's mouth opened, but nothing came out even after a while. In the end, she finally nodded weakly.

Well... I thought I could at least do this much.