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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Kiss and Make Up
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"I sold five today."
The dining hall was filled with the clatter of dishes. I straightened my shoulders proudly and announced my achievement of the day.
"Really? How much did you make?"
Roselia asked, her lips curving into a long, sly smile.
"Two hundred and fifty lune."
Of course, after subtracting the stall fee of a hundred and fifty lune and Sierra's service fee, it wasn't much. But compared to yesterday, it was an enormous success.
"If you'd sold them to me, you could've gotten several times that much."
I wavered for a moment at Roselia's words but quickly shook my head and popped a piece of bread into my mouth.
"No, from now on, I'll make even bigger profits."
"Hee hee, sure."
Roselia gazed at me with a bewitching smile before turning her eyes to the side.
"By the way, this is unexpected, Camilla. I didn't think you'd come to the dinner table on your own."
The girl with long black hair cascading down quietly took a bite of her bread.
"...I'm hungry."
Her voice was low and devoid of emotion. As she spoke, she glanced at me.
"How's the magic coming along?"
"...Huh?"
"Can you make fire yet?"
I had no response to her casual question.
Taking my silence as an answer, Camilla nodded nonchalantly.
"Give up. Big Sis can't do magic."
At her cold words, I hid my hand under the table and clenched my fist tight.
"I'll definitely make fire. Just wait."
"..."
Camilla stared at me wordlessly. A heavy pressure settled into the quiet silence.
"You little—"
Camilla was just about to say something to me when—
Smack—!
A heavy, dull sound rang out, and her head snapped back, tilting sharply.
"H-Huh?!"
A dazed noise leaked from Camilla's mouth. A red mark bloomed clearly on her pale forehead.
"Camilla."
Roselia dabbed her mouth with her napkin once before slowly rising from her seat.
The moment her blood-red eyes flashed in the previously calm silence, Camilla instinctively shrank back and bowed her head.
"...I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize to me, do you?"
Mid-sentence, as if something had occurred to her, a smirk-like smile bloomed on Roselia's lips.
"You did it last time too. This won't do. A simple apology isn't enough."
Suddenly grabbing Camilla by the scruff of her neck, Roselia dragged her toward me and thrust her forward right in front of me.
"Give your big sister a little reconciliation peck."
At Roselia's leisurely words, Camilla and I both widened our eyes.
""What?!""
Our screams overlapped. It was the first time our minds had ever been in sync like this.
"Sisters can fight, but you have to make up sincerely."
"...M-Mother."
This was the first time I'd heard Camilla's voice tremble like that.
"From now on, whenever you two fight, you'll make up with a peck."
Roselia looked down at us with a mischievous smile and a face full of playful mischief.
From that expression, it was obvious she knew we'd hate it and was doing it on purpose.
"No objections."
Her red eyes gleamed coldly. Under her overwhelming presence that brooked no defiance, Camilla shot me a wronged, frowning glare.
'No, why me. What did I do.'
You were the one who started with the nasty words.
"...Camilla."
Roselia's voice grew steadily chillier, and Camilla's eyes wavered faintly.
Even on her flustered face, only her eyes remained emotionlessly hollow—it was strangely captivating.
"U-Ugh..."
Camilla squeezed her eyes shut and slowly brought her face closer to mine.
Smack—
And in that fleeting instant.
Her lips touched mine with a soft sound.
"...Huh?"
Stunned by the unexpected soft sensation, I blinked blankly.
And even Roselia wore an expression as if she'd momentarily lost her words.
"...I meant on the forehead."
Roselia's low voice echoed. At the same time, the dining hall was enveloped in frigid silence.
In the long silence, only Camilla's eyes were steadily losing their light.
"...Put me down, Mother."
It was hard to believe that dead voice had come from a six-year-old child. Even Roselia looked slightly taken aback.
"Ah, okay..."
Roselia carefully set Camilla down on the floor.
Camilla gave me one blank look before walking out of the room without a word.
"That's a first. Camilla actually getting mad at me."
Roselia murmured softly, staring at the spot Camilla had left.
She then turned to me, a faint smile on her lips as she continued.
"It means she cares about you that much."
"..."
Absolutely not.
To Camilla, I'm probably nothing more than an annoying bug that suddenly invaded her space one day.
"So you should care a little more about Camilla too."
This time, Roselia grabbed me by the scruff and hoisted me up.
"Eek."
"Camilla's been through just as hard a time as you."
"Hard times?"
Come to think of it, the game lore didn't really explain Camilla's past.
She was an antagonist from the start, inheriting Roselia's will and destroying the empire. That was it.
Maybe she had her own wounds.
"All done eating?"
Roselia carried me out of the dining hall.
"Huh? W-Where are we going?"
"Let's go take a bath with Mommy."
"Whaaat!?!?"
"After washing with you last time, my body felt refreshingly good in a weird way."
Her seductive eye smile blended mischief and sincerity in a strange mix.
I was speechless and could only stare at her with a blank face.
※
The retreating red sunset tinged the hallway in dim twilight.
I pressed my forehead and let out a deep breath.
"Ugh..."
Thanks to the bath, my body felt refreshed, but my mind was still a mess.
While playing Kairen Chronicles, I'd seen endless user complaints about needing to nerf Roselia's abilities.
But now, I realized what really needed nerfing wasn't her power—it was her devastatingly destructive figure.
Those massive circular curves rippling in the water wouldn't leave my mind.
"Why does Madam keep wanting to bathe together..."
I muttered a small complaint as I walked past my room.
I arrived at Camilla's door.
I didn't really want to come, but her eyes at the end stuck with me.
Eyes sunken like a corpse's. Just like Camilla's eyes in the game.
Something felt off leaving it like this. Roselia's mention of her tough past lingered in my mind too.
I knocked without hesitation.
No response.
"Camilla."
I called her name and knocked again. After a moment, the door creaked open eerily.
This was my first time entering Camilla's room. But there wasn't much to describe.
Because there was nothing to see.
The room, without even a small candle lit, wasn't just dark—it was pure emptiness.
A space as gloomy as Camilla herself.
"Why'd you come?"
From deep in the room, Camilla's chilly voice echoed from the darkness.
"I have something to say."
"Not interested."
A short, firm reply. A slight chill seeped into my body.
Camilla was just a six-year-old girl, but she'd become the villain who would take countless lives later.
And I was just a powerless nobody who couldn't even resist her properly.
The best was to avoid getting tangled up.
If Roselia hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have come here.
But since I was already here, I decided to at least try to cheer her up.
I squared my shoulders and stared straight at Camilla watching me from the darkness.
"It didn't bother me at all."
"...What?"
"That peck. I wasn't bothered by it."
A brief silence passed.
"Just think of it as me acting along with the countess's words."
"..."
"So you don't need to feel down about it. Let's pretend it never happened."
I thought this would get some reaction, but she still said nothing.
Maybe I need to get closer.
"It was just a meaningless action, right?"
"..."
"The countess said to peck every time we fight, but we can do it without feelings. No need to make a big deal."
Her lack of reaction almost made me think she'd fallen asleep.
Well, I'd said what I came to say.
Camilla probably wouldn't dwell on it anymore.
"Then I'll go. Good night, Camilla."
I left the room carefully, my farewell as bright and gentle as possible.
Having extended the olive branch first, I felt a bit more mature.
After I'd gone out of my way to say all that.
Camilla wouldn't care anymore.
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