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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Bathtub Dyed Red
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[...I see! Sorry for the trouble!]
A bold voice trailed behind her as Adelin departed. After that day, she never came to visit me again.
Her vacant eyes at the end lingered in my mind, but given her personality, she'd shake it off the moment she stepped out of the estate.
By the time the game truly began, Adelin would have grown into someone far more radiant than she was now.
And she had someone else destined to be her first friend—someone who transcended mere loyalty and would one day even capture her heart: the protagonist of this world.
Depending on the player's choices, the protagonist's gender varied, but whether man or woman, they would surely win Adelin's affections. After all, this vast game even offered the option of a yuri route.
The protagonist's existence played a part in my refusal of Adelin's offer. A brilliantly shining soul deserved a companion who matched their light.
"Guess I should make some scrolls."
Between sparring and everything else, I'd burned through quite a few. As Adelin had said, without scrolls, I was little more than a corpse, so I needed to prepare thoroughly.
Thankfully, I'd pulled a few all-nighters over the past few days and managed to replenish some stock. It had brought on more frequent headaches and fatigue, but nothing too serious.
"Urgh..."
After finishing the last scrolls, I stretched my stiff body. A bath might ease the weariness, so I headed out.
Unlike Camilla, I had no attendants for bathing. With my phobia and preference for solitude, I preferred it that way.
Before long, I reached the bathroom. I filled the tub with a variety of beneficial herbs and slowly turned on the water. As it filled, warm steam rose gently, softly filling the space.
"Pha..."
Sinking into the warm water, I let out an uncle-like sigh without realizing it.
The enveloping warmth melted away my tension. The faint headache faded quickly once I was fully immersed. Baths really were the best for exhaustion.
Strength drained from my body bit by bit, eyelids growing heavy. The fatigue from sleepless nights finally overtook me.
Unable to fight the onrush of drowsiness, I closed my eyes. Just a short nap like this should be fine, right?
Come to think of it, on my first day in the Rahel Tani household, I'd fallen asleep in the tub and gotten scolded by Roselia.
Back then, I never dreamed I'd end up calling her Mom. Life really was unpredictable.
Hmm... Better wake up. I didn't want to get an earful from Roselia over nothing.
But by the time that thought surfaced...
Snore, snore.
My mind had already sunk into deep slumber.
"...Mm."
I murmured softly.
Endless darkness stretched out. No visibility ahead. The unreal space immediately registered as a dream.
Looked like I'd dozed off right in the tub. I'd pushed myself a bit too hard these past few days.
Still, a lucid dream this vivid? It felt like I'd entered a world where I was the only one who existed.
'Mom's gonna scold me if she finds out.'
With a short sigh, I turned my gaze forward to the red object floating lightly before my eyes.
I'd seen it once before. In a dream back then, too.
It was a flower. A profoundly alien one. From root to petal, it was dyed an eerily vivid red that instilled unease just by looking at it.
But since it was just a dream, I reached out without hesitation and grasped it.
The moment a chilling sensation spread from my fingertips, my vision flashed brightly. The empty space gradually filled with color and light.
Just like a dream, huh. The scene before me shifted rapidly.
Soon, my view settled on a rough stone floor littered with jagged rocks. Torches hung sporadically on the walls, their faint light dimly illuminating the surroundings.
"...Where is this?"
A place I'd never seen before.
I muttered blankly, turning my head. The echoing voice suggested it was something like a cave.
[Who are you?]
A low, deep male voice rang out abruptly, making my whole body jolt.
Someone cloaked head to toe in a robe sat atop a pile of rocks, staring at me.
"Wh-who... who are you?"
I stepped back cautiously, asking the ominous man. He slowly stroked his chin, then brushed off his knees and stood from the rocks.
[I see. A kid this time, huh.]
His words came out of nowhere. What kind of person was this? I tried to glimpse his face, but the robe shrouded him so tightly not even his skin tone showed.
...No way, was it that?
A fragment of memory from my past life flashed by. I'd read about a man everyone supposedly meets once in a lucid dream.
It had been debunked as nonsense, but... in this situation, believing it made things easier all around.
[Bright eyes. A bright heart.]
He approached me step by step.
As the distance closed, something assaulted my nose. A stench so overpowering it choked me.
"Ack..."
I instinctively pinched my nose and hurriedly backed away from the man.
This wasn't mere body odor from lack of washing. It made my head spin. Like some kind of curse—it wouldn't be strange if it were sorcery. Could dreams even recreate smells this vividly?
Desperate to return to reality, I pinched my cheek hard, but nothing changed. In the end, I faced the man and asked.
"Who are you?"
The man offered no reply.
I wasn't scared just because he was a man, but the excessive stench began to make my vision swim.
Drip—
Something warm trickled from my nose. Wiping it with my hand revealed bright red blood.
The man reached out. At the same moment, grotesque sounds echoed from all directions.
The vibration of thin wings—instinctively shrinking my body. Insects. Not just a few, but swarms of hundreds, thousands.
Tap—
The man lightly touched my forehead, sending a splitting pain that flipped my mind inside out.
[Let's see how your choices play out.]
My vision went black in an instant.
Leaving behind the enigmatic man's words.
My consciousness fully severed.
Short legs, not yet past their growth spurt, quietly padded down the hallway. Violet eyes gleaming faintly held a small but clear anticipation.
Camilla hugged the basket in her arms tighter.
It was her way of showing displeasure at her sister, who had been pulling all-nighters lately. The basket brimmed with fruits and scented candles said to aid deep sleep.
They might not match the efficacy of Bella's herbs, but they'd cost a pretty penny, so she figured they'd help at least a little.
Preparing a gift for someone like this. Even Camilla found her own actions unfamiliar.
Could she have imagined, just a few years ago, changing so much?
All it took was one outsider with no blood ties joining the family. And with that, her life had upended entirely.
'It's only possible because it's Big Sis.'
A blessing dropped from the heavens one day. Camilla saw Bella as heaven's recompense for the pains of her own childhood.
The first taste of familial love she'd ever known. Deeply addicted to that feeling, Camilla vowed never to leave Bella's side.
To live out her days in this house as family with Roselia and Bella. That had become Camilla's sole purpose.
"...Ah."
Lost in thought, her feet had already reached the bathroom door.
"Sis? You there?"
After a light knock, she cautiously called out to Bella. No response came.
Maybe she'd already finished bathing? Camilla tentatively sent a thread of mana into the room.
A faint presence registered. Bella was definitely inside.
"Sis?"
She called again, but only silence answered.
Flinch—
Camilla's eyes trembled slightly. She knew it wasn't true, yet a sinister thought flashed through her mind.
"...I'm coming in."
Bella always locked the door during baths. But a subtle pulse of mana could unfasten the latch from the other side, opening it every time.
Click—
The handle turned, and the door slowly swung open. Through the gap, thick steam billowed out, faintly outlining a human shape within.
"Sis, why aren't you ans—."
Her words cut off as Camilla's body froze.
Pale blue hair like the sky draped limply over the tub's edge. Its owner lay lifeless.
The eyes that always shone brightly at her were tightly shut, unmoving. Beneath Bella's dainty nose, a red line trailed.
Following it led to the tub's water, already dyed red, reflecting in Camilla's violet eyes.
"Sis...?"
Thud—
The basket slipped powerlessly from her hand, hitting the bathroom floor.
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