<Episode 6>
Silence stretched between us until my sister muttered softly.
“…You don’t want to talk, huh.”
I noticed the hint of disappointment in her voice.
‘Damn it!’
Just imagining her bowing her head in sadness made my chest sting.
In the end, I crept toward the door.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“…Would it be too much to ask you to open the door?”
“…Not right now.”
I looked at the collapsed Olga and broke into a cold sweat.
“…Alright. Then can you at least listen to me from there?”
“Mm-hmm, go ahead.”
“Lily, about what you said to me earlier…”
‘What I said earlier…?’
I remembered shouting at her not to touch Eden because he was mine, accusing her of eyeing him again.
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment and guilt.
“T-That wasn’t what I really meant.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
There was a hint of laughter in Eloise’s voice.
“I’ve never wanted anything of yours, Lily.”
“…”
“If Father really gave you a friend as a gift, I’m happy for you. There are no other kids your age in the territory, so you’ve never had a real friend before.”
Eloise hesitated before adding,
“Of course, a friend isn’t something you can give or receive like a present… but let’s talk about that another time. Anyway, what I wanted to say is! …I’m sorry. I’ve always been stuck in bed, so I haven’t been able to take care of you properly.”
Her apology caught me completely off guard.
Why is she apologizing when I’m the one who acted like a brat?
It didn’t make sense, and before I knew it, my voice rose with emotion.
“Why are you sorry! It’s not your fault you’re sick and bedridden! Don’t apologize!”
Eloise had always been frail since birth.
She stayed in a separate annex for rest and rarely came out.
There was no way that was her fault. Watching someone so kind blame herself made me blurt it out without thinking.
A brief silence followed.
A few seconds later, I heard her soft, careful voice from behind the door.
“…Thank you for saying that.”
She sounded a bit surprised.
Come to think of it, I’d never spoken to her like this before.
I’d always picked on her and whined. I vented all the stress from Father’s neglect and the staff’s disdain on her.
I’m pathetic…
Thinking of my recent past made me lower my head in shame.
“I’m really happy right now, Lily.”
Eloise’s voice was warm, as if my words truly touched her.
Even though I’ve been so awful to her, my words still make her happy.
“Hey… I’d like to see your face… Are you really not going to open the door, Lily?”
She gently asked again.
I wanted to face her and apologize sincerely.
But this was the worst possible timing.
Turning my head away from unconscious Olga, I whispered through the door.
“Not right now. I’ll come see you later, I promise.”
“Really?”
Her voice lit up again.
“I’d love it if you came to my annex.”
“…Yeah. I’ll definitely come.”
This might’ve been the first real conversation we’d had like normal sisters.
Just thinking that made emotions well up inside me.
“I’m happy.”
Eloise said, a smile in her voice.
“I’ll be waiting.”
“Yeah. Please wait for me.”
“…And, Lily.”
She hesitated before continuing.
“About that friend you called a doll. You know people can’t actually be dolls, right? You can’t treat them like you used to treat me. Friends are precious.”
“Y-Yeah. I know.”
“That’s my Lily. See you later, then.”
I finally heard her footsteps fade away.
I rubbed my teary eyes.
My sister is just too kind.
Thinking of her gentle voice made my heart clench again.
Is there anyone else in the world as good as her?
And yet, look at all I’ve done to her…
Waaah…
Even as I sniffled, I got to work.
I had to clean up the scattered magical residue.
Sweeping up the shimmering remains of magic, I couldn’t help but wail.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh…”
How many days of my life did I just lose?
“Sniff… This is so sad.”
Thinking that I’d just used up part of my precious second life made me want to cry.
After cleaning the magic up, I turned to the real problem—Olga’s body.
The biggest issue was definitely Olga.
What if she wakes up and tells Father I used magic on her?
“Damn it, Olga.”
Why did she have to torment us?
If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have instinctively unleashed my magic!
In a fit of anger, I kicked her leg.
She didn’t budge.
“…Is she dead?”
Eden crept up behind me and muttered like a shadow.
“Want me to teach you how to get rid of a corpse?”
I glared at him in horror.
“What are you saying! She’s still breathing!”
“But she did take a direct hit from magic—”
“Hey!”
I grabbed his shoulders in a panic.
“I told you to watch what you say! I don’t know how to use magic. And that’s that!”
“…The more I know, the weirder you are.”
He frowned.
“Why would someone lie about knowing magic? It’s a rare and valuable skill.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I was only twelve years old. If people found out I could use magic, the academy would probably roll out a red carpet for me.
But I had zero intention of letting anyone know.
“Listen carefully, Eden.”
I gripped his shoulders tightly.
“I told you I’d help you escape, right? To somewhere without monsters.”
“…”
His eyes narrowed at the word “escape.” Still skeptical, it seemed.
“You saw it too. This house is completely insane. Even the head maid has no sense of order. And my brothers? You haven’t even met them yet, and they’re worse.”
I shuddered at the thought of my older brothers, Edward and Lawrence.
Those lunatics…!
“My point is, there’s no way you’re escaping on your own. You need my help. But if I get exposed as a genius mage and they haul me off to the academy? You’ll be left alone!”
I pointed at Olga.
“No one will be around to save you when people like her try to hurt you again!”
“…”
Eden said nothing.
He just stared at me with those striking golden eyes.
Still, it seemed like he was listening.
“So, no matter what, don’t tell anyone I can use magic. Because I can’t. Got it?”
After a few seconds, Eden slowly opened his mouth.
“If that’s what you say… then sure. Let’s go with that.”
Thank goodness—he wasn’t completely clueless.
In the original story, he was practically a sociopath with zero emotional understanding, so I was a bit worried… but this version isn’t so bad.
I tilted my head slightly.
In the source material, Eden was depicted as a literal emotionless monster.
He didn’t even understand love—he just obsessively clung to the heroine.
But this Eden…
Sure, he was bratty and defiant, but he wasn’t as bad as before.
Maybe he was starting to lower his guard a little—sometimes he even looked like a normal kid his age.
Like a feral kitten who now at least peeked out when you offered a treat.
Anyway, I’ve sealed Eden’s lips for now.
Only one major problem remained.
“…What do I do about her?”
I stared down at the unconscious Olga.
She was a mess.
After taking the magic blast head-on, her once-perfect hair was all singed and frizzy. Her skin was covered in soot, and her nose was swollen and bruised.
She looked nothing like her usually pristine self.
Even worse… oh my god.
Is that a bald spot on her head?
It must’ve burned off in the explosion.
“Pffft.”
Serves her right. So satisfying—wait, no!
I still need to clean this up somehow. What do I do?
Fortunately, Rossi’s circuit was intact.
I crouched beside Olga, groaning in frustration as I thought.
I couldn’t let anyone find out that she’d been hit by my magic.
Otherwise, I’d be dragged off to an academy or a lab and turned into a test subject.
I need a plan. Fast. Before she wakes up…!
My heart pounded with urgency as I racked my brain.
Thankfully, a halfway decent idea popped into my head.
That’s it!
