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Chapter 25
It felt like I had enjoyed a long, satisfying sleep.
My consciousness had been slowly but steadily cutting through the current, drifting out of the ocean of unconsciousness.
Click—.
White fingers neatly folded on the bed moved slightly.
As sensation returned to my fingers, surrounding sounds began to reach my ears.
“…It’s about time…”
“…Royal… magic or something…”
Why are they talking so long?
I still wanted to sleep.
Just a little more.
Pretending I didn’t hear anything, I was about to sink back into sleep when—
“I can’t let you go!”
“Eek!”
My eyes shot open at a voice so sharp it felt like it would pierce my ears.
“W–Where is this…?”
‘Where am I? Who am I?’
I stared around like a meerkat, eyes wide in a classic cliché situation.
“…Aisha?”
“Oh! Young master! …Why are you crying?”
Lucas, whose eyes were red as if he had cried all his tears and mucus out, stared blankly at me before standing up from his seat.
“…Aisha.”
“Uncle?”
The duke beside him had dark circles under his eyes, looking like someone who hadn’t slept at all.
Thud—.
“My goodness. The young lady was clearly….”
And then an old man—someone I didn’t know—dropped the medicinal herbs he was holding.
“W–Why are you all like this?”
What on earth happened?
I tilted my head in confusion, unable to grasp the situation.
“Aisha!”
Suddenly, the young master burst into loud sobs and hugged me.
“Hey, Lucas! You can’t yet! The young lady is still a patient!”
“First, let me check the young lady’s pulse! This is a miracle!”
“Eek!”
Starting with Lucas, the uncle and the old man jumped onto the bed.
Terrified, I screamed.
What is going on?!
* * *
‘The bruises on her body remain, but she is healthy. This is… this is truly a miracle!’
‘Aisha!’
Delta, who introduced himself as a physician, shook his head in amazement.
Lucas jumped onto me again, and the uncle didn’t stop him this time.
Instead, he covered his face with his hand, and faint moisture seemed to glimmer at the corner of his eyes.
Several days passed from that day.
During that time, I had to rest and recuperate in the physician’s office.
Only later did I learn what had happened before I fainted, and that I had died and come back to life because of it.
Honestly, even though I had been on the brink of life and death, my body felt too fine, and I wondered if I really needed recovery.
‘N–Need it. No matter how fine your body feels, you must rest deeply for a week.’
The old man Delta said this while glancing sideways at something, sweating nervously.
There, Calips and Lucas were glaring like hawks.
“Then I’ll stay here to rest for a week!”
“Oh my, y–young lady. Thank you— no, I mean. Of course, you should!”
I replied resolutely, and gently saw off the old man Delta who sincerely thanked me.
At this point, am I not a hero who got possessed rather than just a spy who transmigrated?
How many lives had I saved in these past few days?
Anyway, my condition was said to be so healthy that it could only be described as a miracle.
The reason I died was the blunt weapon I took instead of Lucas. Because of that, I apparently still had a small bump on my head.
‘I don’t feel pain anywhere.’
And I had come back to life. How did this happen?
Could it be a transmigrator buff?
“Hm….”
I twisted my body this way and that, but nothing was wrong.
It was too perfect!
“I don’t know. If it’s good, it’s good, I guess.”
It seemed the most plausible explanation was that I was a transmigrator.
Well, isn’t such a setting very common in romance fantasy novels?
Was this the reward for struggling for five years in the Pose Ducal House?
‘I should investigate properly later.’
But there was one more thing bothering me now.
The very first thing.
When I fainted after being attacked by the circus staff at the Aihili Circus ground.
‘You made something very interesting after going to the ducal house.’
In the dream scene, there was no background, and no face of the speaker.
Only a shadow surrounded me in the dark place, and all I remembered was the frightening grin showing sharp teeth.
“…What on earth was that memory?”
Although I had been possessed since Aisha’s consciousness began forming, such an incident had never happened before.
It was a fleeting, photo-like scene, yet extremely clear.
Just thinking about it made goosebumps rise all over my body.
While I was lost in thought—
Bang.
“Dandelion!”
The door opened without a knock.
Lucas, with rabbit-like eyes, burst in while running breathlessly.
He was holding flowers in his small hand, and the petals were already fluttering and falling to the floor.
“Young master?”
At my call, Lucas looked shocked.
“Young master?! I heard from Father that you were adopted into our family!”
Ah. That’s why he ran here in a panic.
‘Well, if I were me, I’d be surprised too if I came home after five years and found some kid suddenly became my sibling.’
I should have told him at the circus ground.
Feeling a little guilty, I spoke awkwardly.
“Yeah. That’s how it happened. You were surprised, right? Sorry I couldn’t tell you in advance—”
“Then from now on, I’m your older brother, right?!”
Interrupting me, Lucas shouted.
Looking at his flushed face, I quickly nodded.
“Yeah!”
“T–Then! You can’t call me young master anymore!”
“Huh?”
I asked back at his strange words, and he looked at me with sparkling eyes.
It looked like he was expecting something.
‘What is it? What is he expecting?’
I narrowed my eyes slightly and touched my chin, then suddenly looked down at his hand.
He was holding a flower with only a few petals left.
“Wow, you picked flowers for me? Thank you! It’s so pretty!”
“…Not that.”
Lucas immediately objected.
“Huh?”
“Th–”
He muttered something, and his earlobes turned red.
“…Call me that.”
“What should I call you?”
“From now on, call me older brother!”
Lucas’ face turned bright red as if his eardrums would fall off from how loudly he shouted.
He started huffing and stuffing the flowers into the vase.
Then he added unnecessary explanations.
“From now on, I won’t forgive anyone who bullies you! So if anything happens, call me, that’s what I’m saying!”
Ah, this guy. He’s being tsundere?
“I understand, Lucas—big brother. Thank you.”
Feeling oddly warmed, I gave him the answer he wanted.
But Lucas’ ears burned red as he was pouring water into the vase.
“Cough. Then. I’m the older brother.”
“Oh ho.”
“You are the younger sister. We are siblings. Family. Ahem!”
As he repeated it to himself, his lips softened into a wobbling smile.
“Cough!”
He cleared his throat again and sat down on the small chair beside me.
Then he opened a sketchbook.
“What is this?”
“It’s my daily schedule. Since I returned to the ducal house, I already have many things to do. Even though I’m eight years old, I am the Crost heir.”
“Oh ho!”
It seemed he had come to brag about what he had been doing while we couldn’t meet.
It was cute, like children his age usually are.
The sketchbook had a blue crayon circular schedule.
“Tell me about big brother’s day!”
“Of course.”
Seemingly satisfied with my bright eyes, he raised his thick eyebrows diagonally.
His energetic finger pointed to lunchtime.
“Lunch is at 12:30. Since you need to recover the strength used in the morning, they usually give bread and meat. I’ll come to your hospital room around this time for a while, so be ready—”
My eyes widened at the unexpected words.
“Eat together?”
“Of course. We’re siblings.”
“Oh…”
“And dinner time. Dinner is at 6:30. It varies, but usually it’s simple food like meat and vegetables.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes as if revealing a huge secret.
“The important part starts now.”
“Gasp.”
I pursed my lips into a triangle shape, nervous at his suddenly secretive voice.
‘What is it? Some intense training? A ritual to be recognized as the direct heir?’
I waited for his next words.
He looked around and whispered.
“Between lunch and dinner.”
“Yes!”
“…There’s something called dessert time too.”
“Des…sert time…?”
Excuse me?
“Dessert?”
Thinking I might have heard wrong, I asked again.
Facing me, the brave diagonal eyebrows tightened even more as if confirming I was right.
“Yeah. You absolutely can’t miss it. Strawberry cake is really delicious.”
“…Oh.”
Lucas seems a little stupid.
I was thinking that when—
“Once the presentation is over, go outside for a moment.”
A large man entered through the slowly opened door.
The smell of cold wind from outside drifted in from a distance, suggesting he had been out.
It was the duke uncle.
“Uncle!”
“Little brat.”
He smiled faintly, and Lucas, who had looked happy just moments ago, made a sulky face.
“You haven’t finished your presentation.”
“No. We agreed on 30 minutes, but it’s already been an hour. I was generous.”
“Then please be more generous.”
Calips glared at Lucas, who resembled him, then chuckled.
“The chef said he made strawberry cake for you.”
“…Huh?”
“You won’t eat it?”
Boom—!
It felt like thunder was rumbling from somewhere.
Lucas seemed to be facing the greatest crisis since entering the Crost ducal house.
Younger sister, or strawberry cake.
‘This is when we need a broad-minded younger sister!’
Actually, Lucas. You are a little noisy!
I waved my hands and said to Lucas,
“Go ahead, big brother.”
“…Big brother?”
Suddenly, the uncle squinted his eyes.
“So he’s the biological older brother… and what am I? Not a father, just ‘uncle’?”
“…Huh?”
Oh no. The sparks flew here.
