Chapter 5 – Let’s play Auntie~
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Lynett
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[Voiceless incantation].
The ability to use magic without a chant by concentrating and feeling the mana through your body.
Pretty cool, isn’t it? Yet, this kind of ability might become troublesome in the future… I mean, you can control what you say, but you can’t control what you think.
One day, if I don’t want to wake up in the morning, I might accidentally make the sun disappear… What? That’s not how it works? Well, we will find out about that soon.
Anyway, it seems that I might have bullied my aunt a little –not that I regret it anyway, she deserved it. But I’ll have to be careful from now on. While I did wish to punish her a little, I didn’t think she’d actually catch on fire –literally. I asked for her beautiful silky hair to be gone, and it is indeed gone, but if not for the guard, my aunt could have ended up in a worse state. I’ll have to learn how to control those troublesome powers…
After the incident, Aunt Nora took a while to recover from the shock. I mean she did end up half naked, bald and burnt in the middle of the street –yes, humiliation at its finest. But what terrified her the most was the fact that even though she had been openly attacked, they couldn’t find the perpetrator. Witnesses weren’t lacking, yet, no one saw a mage and no one heard an incantation. The culprit just vanished.
… I’m right here, actually. But it’s okay. No one ever suspects the baby anyway.
Except for the mental shock, Aunt Nora recovered pretty fast. It seems that the Whiteheart nobles had a high affinity with Light Magic, which meant that they could use Healing Magic. So, obviously, without reserving herself, Aunt Nora had been using it to heal her burns. It worked. In only three days, her skin was almost as smooth as before. To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed. But well, even though Healing Magic could regenerate the dead cells of her skin, it couldn’t do anything about her hair, since it literally burnt to ashes. So she’s still bald, hehe…
After that, we quickly left the town. The rumor that the powerful Whiteheart family had been attacked without being able to retaliate had spread, so the Marquis decided to leave quickly before his sister did something stupid. Mother didn’t seem to mind it. Since that now everyone knew about her being an elf, she felt the need to get away as soon as possible.
Currently, mother, brother and I are in the carriage of the Marquis and his sister, as we’re heading to the Whiteheart Estate, in the capital. We were supposed to go in a secondary mansion, but after the incident, they decided that it was better to return in the main residence.
I’m not really happy about that, but they didn’t exactly give us a choice. But well, I’ll see how it turns out. If they’re all as annoying as Aunt Nora, I guess I’ll just have to make more bald people.
This journey is by far the most awkward thing I’ve ever experienced –not that I experienced a lot. We’re all travelling in the same carriage, so the atmosphere is really heavy and most of the time, no one is talking. Beside mother and brother, I am absolutely, completely, utterly ignored. Aunt Nora would occasionally glare at me with her eyes full of hate, but that’s it. My uncle, Yao, and the guard, they don’t even bother to look at me. But well, as long as they don’t mistreat us, I guess it’s fine. I’m worried about my Aunt since she obviously hates me for being a half, but so far she hasn’t done anything.
I think Aunt Nora had her lesson. Now she should become a little more compliant… or not.
I’m actually starting to regret burning her; she became even worse after that. I never really knew her before, but now, the more I get to know her, and the more I came to hate her. Basically, she’s a bitch. But a real one, there is nothing good in her.
During the journey, her trauma of being attacked evolved into anger –and the fact that she’s now bald didn’t exactly helped to calm her. I was worried she would start to bully mother, but fortunately, so far, she only took it out on Yao and the guard, since they failed to protect her.
On the way, she kept muttering about all the horrible things she’d do to the fool who dared to attack her once she’d find him.
Ah~ My dear Aunt, if you knew…!
When the journey came to an end, a few months had passed and I had already turned two. Considering the situation, we didn’t celebrate my birthday. That’s fine by me, I’m just glad we’ve finally arrived. Trust me, travelling in a small carriage for months, especially when you have such a good company, it’s not funny.
I can see the capital now.
I’m looking forward it…
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Jack
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After months of travel, we finally reached the main residence.
As we arrived, I was greeted by one of my attendants. He quickly summarized everything that happened during the time we were gone. Nora withdrew in her room hastily, as she gave deadly looks to anyone who dared to comment on her new haircut. I headed to my office.
Entering, there were already two people inside, waiting for me. Eric and Cory, two distinguished members of our family, and my cousins. As they saw me, a wide smile spread on their face.
“Finally back! You sure took your time!” Cory joked. “What about Nora?”
“She will probably join us later” I said.
Eric, on the other hand, got straight to the point. “Did you find her?”
I nodded. I invited them to take a seat, before telling everything that occurred, detailing precisely every events as much as possible. The find of Azariah and Aoban, the unexpected half that was with them, and the assault on my sister. The discussion lasted for a while, then the door of my office suddenly opened.
Upon seeing Nora entering the room, my cousins widened their eyes. Of course. The last time they saw her, she still had hair on her head. Knowing my sister’s poor character, they didn’t utter a word. They know she would high-likely only get overexcited and take out her anger on them. They could pretty much guessed what happened, after all, the word that she had been attacked spread. Trying to ignore her new appearance, they turned away their gaze. But that irritated Nora even more.
“Tss… Cowards… Too scared to speak up”, she half murmured, as everyone heard her.
Not paying attention, we returned to the main subject.
“So what are you planning to do, now?” Eric asked.
“Aoban will receive his rightful education as a noble. He may have lived among the commoners for a while, but it’s still my brother’s son, and the heir of this family. I’ve already asked my attendant to contact a mentor.”
“That’s not what I was thinking about.” Eric shook his head. “I meant, what about the half-breed?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” A female voice suddenly spoke up, as we all turned to my sister. “We dispose of her.”
Eric and Cory nodded approvingly.
“I wonder if it’s really a good idea” I muttered, after thinking for a while.
“What do you mean? It’s only a half anyway” Cory said.
“Maybe, but she is still my brother’s flesh and blood. Besides…” I looked at my sister, who was narrowing her eyes. “You saw them too, Nora. Her golden eyes…”
Hearing about this, my cousins' eyes widened.
“Golden eyes? Is she a chosen one?” Eric asked, raising a single eyebrow.
I nodded. As my cousins started to reconsider getting rid of her, Nora suddenly shouted.
“So what? It’s still a filthy half-breed!” She exclaimed.
“Indeed, but do you really think it’s a good idea to kill a child who has been blessed by the gods?”
“Nora, Jack has a point. Killing her might bring misfortune to the family.” Eric said.
“Keeping her alive is what is going to bring misfortune! Then what? Are you suggesting that we let her in the family?” Nora grunted, clearly annoyed by this situation.
I can understand her feelings. Even if she is brother’s daughter, having the blood of the Whiteheart running in the veins of a half will only bring shame in the family. If this matter comes out, our reputation will take a serious blow. Then again, we can’t dispose of her. It is a fact that she was a child chosen by the gods, we can’t take the risk in angering them.
Can’t kill her, can’t take her in, can’t let her go free.
Then I thought about it.
“We’ll just have to keep an eye on her until she’s old enough to marry her off”, I suggested. “ As long as she doesn’t leave the mansion, no one will ever learn about her existence. She may be a half, but the fact that she was blessed makes her valuable breeding material. A lot of people will be interested. Besides, some people are interested in rare breeds.”
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I marked a pause, studying the others reactions. Nora was not pleased by my suggestion, but she stayed silent, while my cousins exchanged glances.
“Additionally, it will improve our relationship with the household willing to take her in. So, not only we get rid of the half, but we also gain some allies. She will become useful,” I added.
This time, Eric and Cory nodded. It wasn’t a bad deal. Actually, thinking about it, that child was a pretty good asset and they understood it.
“So we will have to keep the half under our roof until then…” Nora murmured.
I turned my gaze to my sister. I knew her nasty temper well.
“I’m not going to ask you to be nice to her, Nora, but don’t mistreat her. We don’t want her to run away like her mother, alright?”
She did not reply, instead she gave me a meaningful look. She understood my point. She clearly doesn’t like the turn of events, but this is the best option we have.
Without uttering a word, Nora left. She is going to be in a bad mood for a while…
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Lynett
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… It’s boring.
It’s been a month since we arrived and my life in the Whiteheart Estate is really uninteresting.
I’ve been given my own room. It was spacious room, three times the size for the previous one we used to live in. It was furnished with a couch, a dresser, a desk and a chair, an old fashioned gilt mirror and a ridiculously large bed. The ceiling was adorned with ornaments and the floor covered with a fancy carpet. Yep, this is definitely a noble’s mansion.
At first, I was happy that I had my own private place, but I soon changed my mind when my private place became way too private.
I’m not allowed to go outside so I have to stay in my room all day long, alone. I only visited the mansion once, ever since, I was locked up in my own room.
Basically, it’s just a prison cell. I’m eating well, sleeping well, but it’s way too lonely. This can’t be serious… I’m not going to spend my life locked up in a room again.
At least, being alone almost all day allowed me to practice a little magic.
It’s been something I’ve wanted to do ever since the incident with my aunt. I was a bit hesitant at first, since I didn’t want to screw something up and end up blowing away my own room or something like that, but well. Obviously, whether I like it or not, there is a ridiculously dangerous power dormant inside me, and I wouldn’t want it to go out of control if things went wrong. Not like I can rely on the others either, especially now that we’re in the enemy’s territory.
Being able to use [Voiceless Incantation] made things easier. I didn’t need to memorize any chants, instead, I just had to visualize what I wanted to do and materialize my mana.
That being said, it’s way easier said than done. Managing to do that requires an insane concentration; it’s worse than doing math all day. I have to have an extremely precise image of what I wanted to do, if not, the magic would act by itself and go out of control. This is pretty much what happened with my Aunt. Without realizing that I had activated my mana, I asked for her to be bald. Way too vague. In the end, she did lose her hair, but she also almost lost her life.
Right now, my control is a disaster. Last time I tried some wind magic, I almost broke the window, as the wind slashed it violently, cracking the glass. That’s quite disappointing. Aren’t I supposed to be a Goddess? Earth magic is not good either since it transforms my room into a mess, and I have no idea what Light magic does. Ever since the last incident, I haven’t tried Fire magic again, and for obvious reasons, I won’t try Darkness magic either. So, so far, I’m only practicing with water magic, since it seemed the most harmless one.
At least, for now, I guess I don’t have to be worried about making the sun disappear by mistake…
From time to time, I would receive visits.
Several times a day, the maids would come to check on me. I thought they were really kind, but that was only my imagination. One day, I randomly overheard them talking, saying that it was really exhausting to keep up the act of the good servant in front of me. None of them wanted to be here, with a half-breed like me, but they didn’t have the choice since I was still the daughter of the previous Marquis. Hum, whatever. It hurts a little, but I’m not thinking about it anymore. I only need my brother and my mother. Who cares about the rest?
Brother is extremely busy. As the heir of the family, he receives a harsh education. I used to spend a lot of time with him, but now I can only see him for a few minutes each day. I’m still grateful that he takes the time to visit.
On the other hand, mother tries to visit me as much as she can, but she is busy too. Just like me, while she is not considered a member of the family, she’s not a guest or a servant either. Just a prisoner.
Aunt Nora makes her run around a lot, often summoning her in her room for whatever the reason is. I’m not sure what she makes her do, but it doesn’t seem that she’s mistreating her so I don’t feel like burning her growing hair one more time.
Just like this, my first month in the Whiteheart Estate passed.
But then, something changed.
A few days ago, mother stopped coming. No matter how busy she was, she always made sure to visit me at least once a day, but it’s been already a couple of days I haven’t seen her. The Maids said that she had been sent on an errand in the next town and she’ll be back soon, but I'm not buying it. Mother would’ve never left without warning first. Even Aoban hasn’t heard anything about it.
Something happened. I don’t know what, but it can’t possibly be good.
My first suspicion was, of course, directed toward my Aunt. For some reason, this stupid woman seemed to hate mother. If there was someone who would be related to her sudden disappearance, that would be her. Even if she seemed to have calmed down a lot these days, I couldn’t possibly forget the impression of our first meeting. An eternal bitch that enjoyed tormenting others…
Damn it. And here I thought she was starting to change. I was careless. Did she suddenly snapped and took it out on mother? Crap… I hope mother is fine. Where is she?
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One night, I suddenly woke up after hearing the creaking of the door.
Trying to catch a glimpse of what caused the door to open, I noticed a tall figure enter the room, a figure that I almost immediately recognize. It was someone that I hadn’t seen in a long time, someone I’ve been waiting to meet again. But the feelings of relief and happiness in my heart vanished almost as soon as they appeared, as the moonlight enlightened the figure.
No way… It can’t be her…
“M-mommy…?”
She flinched, noticing I was awake, then she gently smiled at me.
“Lyni. Did I wake you up?”
That’s a lie. This can’t be my mother. I recognize her but… This is wrong… What in the world happened to her in the past few days...?
Her hair was a mess, her body was full of bruises, her face was covered with cuts, but the worst was her ears. Her beautiful elven ears, her most distinctive feature… They’re gone… A clear mark of incision could be seen, as some blood was still leaking out.
Someone cut her ears off…
…Aunt Nora… What did you do…?
As mother saw me looking at her in both horror and astonishment, she suddenly apologized.
“I’m sorry sweetheart, I didn’t want to scare you. I was going to leave after seeing your face…”
She quietly approached, sat on the bed, and gently took me in her arms.
“I’m sorry sweetheart, I’m sorry… I didn’t want you to see me like this…” She said with a small voice as a weak smile appeared on her face.
She was about to cry, I could tell. As much as she tried to hold it in, her lips trembled and her shoulders heaved with emotion. She was trying to be strong in front of me, holding back her tears. She was trying to smile for me.
“It’s okay mommy, it’s fine.” I told her, as I started to pat her head.
Startled by my action, mother looked at me in confusion for a few seconds. Then a single tear fell down her cheek. Suddenly, she broke down. She tightly hugged me in her arms and started to cry without reserve. All the pain suddenly came out like an uproar from her throat in the form of a silent scream. The beads of water made wet tracks down her face, washing the dry blood out, as they fell down one after the other, without a sign of stopping. She kept apologizing as she cried, blaming herself for everything. I didn’t say a word. I just listened to her, as I kept patting her head.
After crying for almost two hours, mother finally collapsed in exhaustion. She fell asleep beside me, but even in her sleep, her face was distorted in pain. I gently placed my hand on her cheek. For a moment, I think her expression softened.
“Don’t worry, I’ll put an end to all of this.”
I stroke her head a little, then I kissed her forehead. It was something she used to do all the time when I was younger. This time, mother, I’ll be the one to protect you…
I got off the bed, being careful not to wake her up, then I headed to the door of my room. As I thought, I couldn’t reach the handle. But it doesn’t matter. I’m not backing away. That bitch went too far. Even if I had to blow away the door, I’ll find her.
Then I thought about it. The [Administrator]. The one who has access to the [World System].
I played enough games to know that admins had no physical restrictions. They didn’t need to clear all the floors of a dungeon to reach the last room, they didn’t need an authorization to travel between the different areas and… They didn’t need a key to open the doors blocking their way.
I’m not sure it’s going to work, but it’s worth the try. Now is time to have some use of this [Administrator] class…
I focused my gaze on the door in front of me, staring at it intensely.
『Open.』
The trick worked. The door unlocked and slowly opened itself, offering a view on a long and dark corridor. For the first time in a month, I stepped out of my room.
In the middle of the night, I wandered in the endless hallways of the mansion like a lost child, except that I had a precise idea of where I was going.
At that moment, I was blinded by a five-course serving of rage. I had held it back long enough. At each step I took, I could feel the anger boiling up inside me. Frustration, hatred, anger…. Everything that accumulated the past months, everything that I’ve suppressed; now I’m letting it go.
There was a naughty girl in the house that needed to be punished…
Finally reaching my destination, I stopped in front of a big door, giving entrance to my Aunt’s room. I repeated the same trick I used to go out of my room.
『Open.』
As the door opened, I immediately saw Aunt Nora comfortably installed in her couch. Noticing the door of her room opening, she stood up without delay, not turning away her gaze from the entrance. She wasn’t expecting visitors this late in the night.
But what she saw wasn’t what she expected, as her eyes fell upon the small figure standing up outside the room. In a subconscious gesture of disgust, her nose wrinkled and she drew her head backwards.
“… Lynett?” She asked, as she raised a single eyebrow, clearly surprised in seeing me. “What the heck are you doing here? You know you aren’t supposed to leave your room right? Who in the world allowed you out?”
I did not reply, instead, I simply smiled at her, which caused her to cringe. She immediately broke the eye-contact since she couldn’t stand the sight of me. Then she chased me away with her hand.
“Get lost. I have no time for you, brat.”
“But you had time for mommy, didn’t you?” I said, as I looked up at her, still smiling.
As I said this, Aunt Nora flinched, looking at me with her widened eyes. Then she chuckled, her lips curling into a smirk.
“Ah… Is this what it is about?” She asked. “It’s something between grown-ups, nothing for you to worry about.”
So it was her after all… I had my confirmation, that’s all I needed.
“What did you do to her?” I asked.
Aunt Nora clicked her tongue and narrowed her eyes, clearly annoyed by the curious little child I was, who had no intention in leaving and kept interrogating her.
“Nothing, really. We were just playing around, okay? Then she got careless and got a little hurt. Now go back to your room, before I get mad.”
A little hurt, huh? This bitch… She literally mutilated her, and she calls that a little hurt? Looks like someone didn’t learn her lesson. But it’s fine. Since she likes playing deadly games so much, I’ll play along.
I stepped into the room, as a mischievous smirk appeared on my face and my eyes crinkled at the edge. I pushed the door behind me.
『Lock.』
With a click sound, the [World System] obeyed my command.
Aunt Nora’s pupils constricted and widened in surprise, as she saw the small child she just tried to intimidate enter her room casually, closing the door behind her, as if not wanting to be interrupted.
I made sure to show her my most innocent smile, as I tilted my head to the side.
“Auntie~ Won’t you play with me too?”