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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: You've Been Through a Lot, Haven't You?
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You've been through a lot, haven't you?
I didn't want to admit it, but sleeping over ten hours a day had turned out to be surprisingly effective.
The first change was how light my body felt. Even the headaches that had always clung to me like a shadow were completely gone.
Adequate sleep made a difference in my training with Roselia too. With a clearer mind, her movements came into sharp focus. Day by day, I reacted to them more often.
Even little chores like washing dishes or cleaning my room became much easier, and my progress with the circuits sped up noticeably. My overall efficiency had improved dramatically.
Strangely enough, I even found myself with more free time than usual. So recently, I'd added a new activity to my daily routine.
"Hoo..."
I took a deep breath, rubbing my fingers together.
In front of me, scrolls the size of talismans were stacked in neat layers.
I placed my hand in the middle of the pile. The uneven texture of the scrolls tickled my fingertips. Picturing a lightning-attribute scroll in my mind, I flipped the one I'd grabbed.
Sure enough, just as I'd expected, it was a lightning-attribute attack scroll. I pushed it back into the pile and shuffled them thoroughly with practiced motions.
Sometimes I split the pile in half to mix them. Other times, I pinned the scrolls with my wrist and flipped them over one by one with my thumb.
I focused on the friction sounds as the scrolls brushed against each other. Engraving the subtle sensations from my fingertips into my mind, I restacked them neatly.
Then I picked up the scroll from the very top and slowly unrolled it.
"...Tch."
If my hand had moved right, this should've been a lightning-attribute scroll. But I missed the mark. It was a defense-only one. I was still rough around the edges in places.
I let out a short sigh, reshuffled and restacked them, then repeated the process a few more times.
This was what I'd been doing alongside my circuit studies lately.
Sleight-of-hand training, you could call it.
As Roselia had said, for someone who fought with just a single scroll like me, there weren't many training options.
The best I could do was improve my reaction speed through real combat practice or sharpen my judgment in battle situations.
This training was an extension of that line of thought.
It had started as a simple idea: what if I memorized the position of every scroll in my hand?
It wouldn't be easy, but if I could pull it off, I'd be able to draw the perfect scroll for any situation almost instantly. And if my dexterity improved even more, I could try all sorts of tricks.
Hands are faster than eyes, as the saying goes. It might not be easy right away, but with steady practice from now on, it wasn't impossible.
While I was at it, I should experiment with making the scrolls a bit smaller and adding special markings to the surface for better grip.
"What are you planning this time, miss?"
Sierra's low voice came from behind me. She was watching as I shuffled the scroll pile like a deck of cards.
"Training."
"It's a kind I've never seen before, though..."
Maybe she'd gotten used to my odd habits by now. Sierra let out a brief sigh and didn't press further.
"Lady Roselia is calling for you."
There was a subtle difference in her tone from usual. I studied her expression, but nothing stood out.
"Yeah, I'll go right now."
I roughly tidied the scrolls, stood up, and followed her out. We were walking down the long corridor when...
"What do you think of the Rahel Tani family, miss?"
Sierra asked out of the blue. I tilted my head in surprise.
"What's that all of a sudden?"
"I was just curious... what this place means to you."
There wasn't a hint of playfulness in her voice. Flustered but unwilling to brush it off lightly, I thought it over seriously.
I recalled my first meeting with Roselia. Back then, I'd just trembled under the weight of her eerie red eyes.
The moment I'd passed out, drenched in blood, wasn't exactly a fond memory.
But even so, I could say this with certainty.
"To me, this place is a blessing I don't deserve."
If I hadn't come here, I'd still be growing up in that director's arms.
If I'd signed that contract she shoved at me in the end, I'd have spent half my life bound under her thumb.
It was obvious from how she'd demanded half my earnings when I was just eight. She would've taken more and more as I grew.
The thought alone drained the strength from my body.
Roselia was the complete opposite. Ironically, the game's top villain was the most adult-like person in my life.
She smiled coldly often, but there was always a hidden warmth beneath it. Facing that smile always made me want to lean on her without thinking.
And it wasn't just Roselia.
Camilla, who acted so annoyingly but truly saw me as family. Sierra, who always quietly watched over me.
"Everyone here is precious to me—more than I deserve. You too, Sierra."
I placed a hand over my heart and spoke my unvarnished truth. I met her eyes with a faint smile.
Sierra fell silent for a moment, then knelt on one knee in front of me to meet my gaze at eye level.
"Please keep that in mind, miss."
"Huh?"
"You see the Rahel Tani family as a blessing, but you are a blessing to the Rahel Tani family as well."
It was an embarrassingly corny line. But Sierra's eyes remained utterly sincere.
"No one here wants a Rahel Tani family without you."
"...Aw, come on, that's a bit of an exaggeration."
I scratched my cheek, feeling awkward. I appreciated the sentiment, but I knew my presence wasn't that vital.
"Anyway, what's up today? You seem a little different from usual."
I clasped my hands behind my back and asked. But instead of answering, she glanced toward the door ahead.
"We're here. Lady Roselia is waiting."
Sierra stepped back and fell quiet. Her unusual demeanor piqued my curiosity, but I decided to see Roselia first.
I knocked on the office door. Soon, Roselia's low, composed voice called me in.
I opened the door and stepped inside. Roselia sat in the center of the sofa with her usual graceful poise.
But something was noticeably different. A strange man and woman sat side by side on the sofa next to her.
Or were they strangers? If so, why were they looking at me with such overwhelming emotion in their eyes?
My gaze naturally shifted to the woman sitting beside the man. And in that instant, my body froze in place.
The reason for Sierra's odd behavior today became clear the moment our eyes met.
"You're here."
I could easily understand why Roselia's voice was lower and heavier than usual.
"Ah, my daught...!"
Daughter.
A word I'd grown completely used to, thanks to Roselia.
But it was coming from someone else now. Maybe that's why it felt so alien.
The man covered his mouth, unable to continue. The woman with sky-blue hair rose from the sofa and rushed toward me.
She threw her arms wide and pulled me into a hug. I reflexively pushed her away and stepped back.
"...Ah."
The woman looked at me with a hurt expression. But she soon smiled faintly, as if understanding, and nodded slowly.
"It must be so confusing for you. That's okay... but you don't have to be scared."
I slowly met her eyes.
Clear blue irises, like a cloudless sky. They captured my gaze in an instant—and astonishingly, they were the exact same color as mine.
"Sniff... I'm so glad we could meet again. I need to thank the goddess."
Tears welled up as she bared her emotions.
She gazed at me with a trembling smile. Her face, so eerily like mine, proved the undeniable truth.
"You've been through a lot, haven't you...?"
She reached out a hand, her expression full of pity.
This woman was my mother—the one who had brought me into this world, bound to me by blood.
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