Became The Adopted Daughter Of A Family Of Assassins

Chapter 51:

He’s My Brother

The journey from the academy to the Ludwik estate took over a week by carriage.

Although they stayed in villages along the way, there were days they camped on desolate roads.

Today was one of those days.

The Ludwik entourage, consisting of about twenty people including knights and servants, stopped the carriage at a suitable camping spot.

While tents were set up and dinner was being prepared, Deon and Riche sat side by side in front of the campfire.

“……”

Normally, he would be picking a fight, asking if she was hungry.

It was already the fourth day, and Deon had been quiet. Riche glanced at him sideways, gauging his mood.

“What are you looking at?”

Deon threw a log onto the fire and asked Riche.

Given how little they had talked, even his curt tone was a welcome change.

“Ah, nothing.”

Riche shook her head. Deon, who had been staring indifferently at the sparks around the campfire, spoke.

“You, three years ago. In the Forest of Monsters, did you purify me?”

“Huh? Yeah……”

“Why?”

Why, he asked. Riche pouted.

At that time, Deon’s life was in immediate danger if he wasn’t purified.

So she had purified him without thinking. Instead of gratitude, Deon had given her a hard time. She felt bad for hiding her identity as a Lertiom, but this wasn’t something to be questioned.

“You were in danger if I left you like that.”

Riche replied in a sullen voice.

Noticing her change in tone, Deon tried to explain his words.

“Ah, I didn’t mean it like that-.”

He ran his hand through his black hair and sighed slightly.

“I mean, why did you save someone like me? You knew I took you into the forest to show you to the monsters.”

“Don’t call yourself ‘someone like me.’”

Riche glared at Deon. She felt sorry, but also annoyed. Annoyed, but not entirely resentful.

“I saved you because I wanted to. ……You’re my brother.”

Even if she could go back to that day, even if they hadn’t met Pythons that day, Riche thought she would have purified Deon.

Because he was her first brother.

“What kind of brother threatens a seven-year-old to go outside the castle or die?”

Deon frowned as if he was annoyed with his past self.

It was amusing to see Deon reflecting on his past.

Unable to hold back a small laugh, Riche said to Deon.

“I wasn’t scared of you at all back then.”

“I know.”

In the softened atmosphere, Deon responded, his eyes less sharp than usual.

“You-.”

Deon seemed to have something to say. Riche turned her head, still with a trace of a smile on her face.

There was an inexplicable look of regret in her red eyes.

Deon, staring blankly at Riche, spoke.

“You were too weak.”

“……?”

Who would say Riche was weak?

The students in Riche’s class would have been shocked to hear that.

But that was Deon’s image of Riche.

**A Sister Who Can’t Just Stand By in Weakness**

Deon was worried about Riche, who couldn’t just stand by when someone was in pain, even when she knew she might get hurt. Someday, Riche might leave again to save someone else. She might never come back to them again.

Deon swallowed his unease and casually said to Riche.

“If you’re going to do something dangerous next time, call me.”

“Huh?”

“Even if you don’t want to, you’ll probably do it anyway. It’s better to help.”

Deon grumbled that worrying about someone who knew nothing was pointless.

Knowing that Riche cared for him, she smiled faintly and nodded her head.

In the distance, Blake smiled as he watched the siblings. It seemed they had reconciled.

“Hey, mutt.”

Still, there was something to address.

Deon hesitated several times before asking Riche.

“Honestly, how many people knew?”

“What?”

“That you’re a Lertiom. Did Zeckberd Sardia know?”

“No, he didn’t.”

It would be dangerous to be honest.

Riche sensed Deon’s uneasy mood instinctively and raised her head. But it was too late.

Deon’s eyes, having seen through her lie, narrowed slightly more than before.

She had to stop him. Riche quickly lowered Deon’s eyes with her index fingers.

Whether Riche did it or not, Deon asked her again.

“Rovenhalf didn’t seem to know. What about Iandwayne Gerwer?”

“….”

Riche slowly removed her index finger from Deon’s face and rolled her eyes.

Deon silently lowered his gaze and looked at Riche’s quiet figure.

Silence hung between them coldly.

It seemed like reconciliation today was out of the question.

—

“It’s true that home is the best.”

Jed shook off some dust as he took a deep breath in the lobby of the Ludwick mansion. The lobby was bustling with servants welcoming back the returning family.

Jed put his hand on Philip’s shoulder, who was carrying Riche’s luggage.

“It’s heavy, Mr. Jed.”

“Philip, you should try it too. It smells different.”

“Different? It smells… the same every time… Oh, it is different.”

“Is it?”

“Both of you. Since it’s complicated, isn’t it better to go somewhere else to be fools?”

Anna passed between Philip and Jed.

Philip whispered to Jed as Anna walked by.

“Miss Anna seems colder these days.”

“You’re a fool, Philip. Anna has always been like that with us.”

Jed shook his head.

“Our Philip spends too much time with Miss Riche. Seeing Miss Anna’s warmth, especially, might make him feel that way,” he pointed out.

Anna’s direction was where she had just passed. She was seen climbing the stairs with Riche.

“Miss! Mr. Trappet says he’ll send his new work this afternoon!”

“New work?”

“A dress! I wonder how well it will suit you! Can I take a look?”

Sparkling.

Seeing Anna like that, Philip felt a sense of crisis and swallowed hard.

“Remember, Anna is a hyena.”

Jed also chimed in.

“Philip, be careful. If things continue like this, Miss Riche’s next tutor might be Anna.”

—

“Is this where the Lertiom resides? It’s quite nice.”

Riche asked as she looked around the room alone. Hikanka came out of her suitcase and wandered around Riche’s room.

She had hidden in Riche’s luggage all the way here, so she was a little stiff.

“Keep an eye out. Today might be the last day.”

Pythons, who had found his own cushion and lay down, said to Hikanka. His posture made it seem like he was the owner of the room.

Riche sat on a chair near Pythons and asked.

“Are we going to the lake today?”

“Yeah. Since the full moon rises today.”

If they missed today, they would have to wait a few days.

Pythons yawned as if it was a hassle. He had intended to send only Hikanka, but he needed to go to the tomb together to recover.

“It probably won’t be just one day in human time. We’ll probably come back around the next full moon.”

Riche nodded at Pythons’ words.

**Far away, Blake smiled as he watched the siblings reconcile.**

“Hey, mutt.”

Yet there was still something to address.

Deon hesitated several times before asking Riche.

“Honestly, how many people knew?”

“What?”

“That you’re a Lertiom. Did Zeckberd Sardia know?”

“No, he didn’t.”

Being honest would be dangerous.

Sensing Deon’s uneasy mood, Riche raised her head. But it was already too late.

Seeing through her lie, Deon’s eyes narrowed slightly more than before.

She had to stop him. Riche quickly lowered Deon’s eyes with her index fingers.

Whether Riche did it or not, Deon asked her again.

“Rovenhalf didn’t seem to know. What about Iandwayne Gerwer?”

“….”

Riche slowly removed her index finger from Deon’s face and rolled her eyes.

Deon silently lowered his gaze and looked at Riche’s quiet figure.

“….”

A chilly silence lingered between them.

It seemed like reconciliation today was unlikely.

—

“Indeed, there’s no place like home.”

Jed deeply inhaled the air in the mansion lobby, shaking off some dust. The lobby bustled with servants welcoming back the returning family.

Jed put his hand on Philip’s shoulder, who was carrying Riche’s luggage.

“It’s heavy, Mr. Jed.”

“Philip, you should try it too. It smells different.”

“Different? It smells… the same every time… Oh, it is different.”

“Is it?”

“Both of you. Since it’s complicated, isn’t it better to go somewhere else to be fools?”

Anna passed between Philip and Jed.

Philip whispered to Jed as Anna walked by.

“Miss Anna seems colder these days.”

“You’re a fool, Philip. Anna has always been like that with us.”

Jed shook his head.

“Our Philip spends too much time with Miss Riche. Seeing Miss Anna’s warmth, especially, might make him feel that way,” he pointed out.

Anna’s direction was where she had just passed. She was seen climbing the stairs with Riche.

“Miss! Mr. Trappet says he’ll send his new work this afternoon!”

“New work?”

“A dress! I wonder how well it will suit you! Can I take a look?”

Sparkling.

Seeing Anna like that, Philip felt a sense of crisis and swallowed hard.

“Remember, Anna is a hyena.”

Jed also chimed in.

“Philip, be careful. If things continue like this, Miss Riche’s next tutor might be Anna.”

—

“Is this where the Lertiom resides? It’s quite nice.”

Riche asked as she looked around the room alone. Hikanka came out of her suitcase and wandered around Riche’s room.

She had hidden in Riche’s luggage all the way here, so she was a little stiff.

“Keep an eye out. Today might be the last day.”

Pythons, who had found his own cushion and lay down, said to Hikanka. His posture made it seem like he was the owner of the room.

Riche sat on a chair near Pythons and asked.

“Are we going to the lake today?”

“Yeah. Since the full moon rises today.”

If they missed today, they would have to wait a few days.

Pythons yawned as if it was a hassle. He had intended to send only Hikanka, but he needed to go to the tomb together to recover.

“It probably won’t be just one day in human time. We’ll probably come back around the next full moon.”

Riche nodded at Pythons’ words.

Today, if they missed it, they would have to wait for several days.

Pythons yawned lazily, seeming annoyed. He had intended to send only Hikanka, but to regain his strength, he needed to visit the tomb together.

“It probably won’t just be one day in human time, and we’ll probably come back around the next full moon.”

Riche nodded at Pythons’ words.

They also had to take Hikanka’s glass bottle, so it might be difficult for her in her squirrel form. Although Riche offered to go with her, Pythons refused, saying he could handle it himself.

“But Hikanka, I have a question.”

Hikanka, who had been admiring the decorations on the chandelier, narrowed her eyes.

She had climbed up to see the entire room.

“It’s rare for Lertiom to ask me something. What is it?”

“It’s about the demon attack on the academy. Do you think such a thing will happen again?”

A few days ago, inside the carriage.

Deon had suggested that the demon attack might have been intentional. But Hikanka, who had been listening from inside the suitcase, later denied this to Riche.

“It wasn’t intentional, it was an accident.”

The culprit was Hikanka.

Originally, she had planned to possess Ian and create the glass bottle, but unfortunately, she had lost control to Pythons that day.

“I didn’t have the energy to move as a spirit. To make three glass bottles in the human world, I had to possess Ian. But unfortunately, I was robbed of my power by Pythons that day.”

Hikanka returned to the tomb feeling anxious. Her main body, which hadn’t fully recovered, was hastily awakened. Then, to meet Ian, she brought her main body to the academy, or the human world.

At that moment, a strong star power seeped into the land of the academy, according to Pythons.

“It was because of the strong star power that briefly permeated the land of the academy. The strong star power seeped into the land, causing the demons to be summoned.”

Since meeting Hikanka this time, she had never felt the energy of Hikanka’s main body from the moment she met her until now.

While using her spirit, Hikanka’s main body was left defenseless, so she must have hidden her main body in someone’s body like a safe. Probably someone unrelated to a family of abilities. That was Hikanka. Besides herself, she trusted no one completely.

In response to Pythons’ sarcasm, Hikanka smirked, as if to say she still had a long way to go.

“For preparation in case something goes wrong. If we let them stay angry, won’t they come back to find my vulnerable body in the tomb? I still don’t want to perish.”

Anyway, Hikanka insisted that the demon attack had happened even if she hadn’t come.

Even when the three great stars came to the cup, the land of the academy had been permeated by the power of the stars.

To Riche’s concern about the academy becoming the demons’ den again, Hikanka, swinging on the swaying chandelier, said,

“That only happens when the great star power seeps into the ground for the first time. After that, such a thing won’t happen again.”

Luckily. Breathing a sigh of relief, Riche asked Hikanka,

“But what if there’s no other solution?”

“Hmm. I’m thinking about it.”

“How about you stop it?”

“Me? How?”

“Pythons should know.”

Pythons, lying on the cushion, raised his hand with a sigh.

“Contractors. It’s a pain. I’d rather deal with demons. It might be better.”

“Hikanka, how can you do it?”

“Well, we’ve already moved on. That yellow one is just saying useless things…”

“It’s simple. Just extract the star power from the ground. Think of it as a giant gemstone? Before the land produces a great star power core, constantly extract the magic from the ground.”

“Simple?!”

“Why should you, our contractor, deal with the consequences of your mistake?” Pythons grumbled.

But Riche couldn’t strongly oppose Hikanka’s suggestion, as there was no other way.

“You’re still in first year, right? Eight years should be enough. Lertiom.”

Hikanka chuckled at Riche.

She seemed unfortunate, even though it was her own body. Pythons looked at Hikanka with annoyed eyes, but seeing Riche’s determined face, he shook his head.

The future was vivid. Although he didn’t want his contractor to get involved in a mess…

“If I find that brat’s main body in the human world…”

That night.

Riche looked at a small wolf standing by the window.