Episode 33
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“Brother Roy, you know. I don’t mean to blame you but— Oh, did they go this way?”
The little girl rolled her eyes, causing her older brother to flinch and nod.
Even though he was nodding, he seemed to be paying closer attention to the mood of the little girl, rather than the path they took. .
“Why did they go this way? They are funny.”
“Sister, isn’t this a shortcut?”
“Shortcut?”
“If you go straight this way, you can go directly to the central hall.”
“Oh really?”
I didn’t know that.
Since my radius of movement in the mansion is limited I actually didn’t know much about what was where or how to get around.
After all, I have even received help from Rainante on my way to the library.
“Our family mansion is too big, it’s too big for me to find my way around.”
“Would you like me to carry you on my back?”
“No, I’m heavy.”
I don’t mind getting a piggyback ride from Rainante, as he’s an adult…
I don’t think my black puppy, who is not yet big enough in comparison to my own height, can carry me. As an older sister at heart, how can I bear to see him struggle.
“…But Rainante was fine…”
“Oh, when did you see that again? Oh, well, I did go to the training ground on a piggyback ride. “Brother, Rainante is an adult, and my brother and I are not that much older than each other.”
“Then is it okay if I grow up to that size?”
“Well, why would that…? Ah, alright, nevermind, I get it. So you were sulking because Rainante could carry me but not you?”
Laiya didn’t know why this was important to her third brother, but when she pointed it out, the black dog’s expression turned bright red.
He seemed to be becoming more and more honest with his emotions, which wasn’t a bad thing to see.
This is how kids should be.
Laiya huffed in approval.
“Anyway, brother, I think we’ve gone too far. If this is really a shortcut, then if we go straight, we’ll reach the central hall, right?”
Currently, relatives and vassals who had arrived in advance for the imperial visit were gathered near the central hall.
Considering that their accommodations are in the center, there is a 100% chance that we will run into each other.
“It’s a pity, but let’s go back from here. I think we can find them later.”
It’s really unfortunate… I wished we could find our cousins because I don’t plan on just staying like this and getting bullied silently.
This means that Roy will no longer be a BlackWinter who timidly listened to the cousins.
…Actually, I was overly excited a little while ago.
Actually, it’s okay for me to get criticized… but!
Didn’t Ruben say that my third brother, whom I had raised with great care, was beaten?
If left alone, there was no way my brother, who had no interest in anything in the world except the sword, would start a fight, so the people who hit him were definitely at fault.
No, even if they started a fight, they were at fault.
My black kitten is friendly!
I was thinking of using magic to beat you up… I guess I was a little too hot headed at the time, but considering that I was trying to not reveal that I had magic until I was skilled at it, I guess we will go with plan B.
Laiya paused as she contemplated the source of her anger.
…I guess this third brother of mine has become very important to me too.
“Brother, brother, are you attending the meal after this competition—”
The moment the little girl excitedly turned to talk to Roy, an unexpected sound interrupted her.
“Hmm, can’t you hear something strange?”
“Can’t you hear, brother? I wonder what that sound was. Heh.”
The boys’ voices sound like they are whining, though it was hard to hide the snark in their tone.
When Laiya turned her head, two boys were standing not far away.
Their grinning faces were exactly alike.
It’s uncle’s sons, exactly who we were looking for.
They were cousins Roman and Charon.
“Why can’t you hear me? Ah, I guess you can’t hear me over the sounds a half a penny makes.”
Roman, a year older than Kyle, and Charon, who is the same age as Roy.
When they made eye contact with the younger brother and sister, they laughed even more mischievously, as if they had been waiting for their arrival.
“That’s the sound a half a penny makes.”
Among them, Roman’s eyes were focused maliciously on Laiya and Roy.
His expression was the face of a wild beast that had captured its prey.
Well, it was just a disfigured- looking face.
It’s even more so when I look at Roy. Ice, you think so too, right? He’s ugly.
[Positive. The master has an excellent aesthetic sense!]
Ice flew towards Laiya’s eyes and covered one of them.
Then, he patted her eyebrows as if to say, ‘You’re having a hard time watching this.’
It made the little girl laugh.
“What, did you lose your mind when we couldn’t see each other? Laughing all of a sudden, hmph!”
“Let me guess, you should be the ones smiling, right? That’s what you want to say next.”
As Laiya stood crookedly and tilted her head, Roman and Charon turned to face each other as soon as they heard her sarcastic retort.
For a moment,their faces looked like they had seen a ghost.
I guess you might have had.
Whenever they’d targeted her before, all they saw was a face trembling or struggling to hold back tears every time.
It was also the first time Laiya encountered them after remembering her past life.
In other words, they were the ones who bullied her terribly until she found out about reincarnation.
They’d never met the reborn Laiya BlackWinter.
Laiya looked back and forth at the two bast*rds who had been created ugly looking when compared to her brothers and father, it was a mystery when she considered the source of their genes, and laughed.
“Smiling? Are you crazy?”
“No, now that I see you, I think you guys look really unique. I asked for your understanding in advance about my eyesight.”
“What?!”
Laiya continued to taunt without giving Roman a chance to speak.
“Hey. Did you hit my brother?”
Roman frowned and glanced at his younger brother, Charon.
Then, as if he had come to an agreement, he and Charon burst into laughter at the same time.
“What does that brat say now? You must be really crazy. Hey, half of a whole penny. Do you have a disease that makes you lose your mind now? You’re not just an abandoned little girl, now you’re mentally impaired.”
“What is this? Brother, since when has she been going around with that gloomy guy?”
“I don’t know. Ah, it looks like they are going as a set now. A bunch of losers?”
Roman looked at Laiya and Roy in turn and smiled knowingly.
“Look at how proud they are just because they came in a pair of two. Why, what do you think will change? What can we do, he’s the guy who is already beaten up by us.”
Roman made eye contact with Laiya and gave an even more unpleasant sneer.
“Do you know what can happen when a bunch of half pennies come together? I might break them apart and teach them why they should not be together. Half-pennies thinking they are stronger together— Ha!”
Laiya looked at her cousins, watched as they mocked them without any regard to their family hierarchy.
They really are talking bullshit.
Rather than feeling feverish with anger, Laiya felt calmer.
It was because they looked so life-like, they were real and waiting for her and her brother to teach them a lesson.
Let’s just end it by paying Roy back twice what he suffered. Hmph.
“How come you become more stupid every year? Oh, is it because you’re going to live with a disability for the rest of your half a penny life?”
“…”
Tug.
“…Roy?”
Roy quietly drew his sister’s attention.
When Laiya turned her gaze slightly, she saw Roy looking even more depressed than when she first saw him.
Laiya held her breath without realizing it.
“Can I come forward now?”
“Huh?”
Subconsciously, Laiya was about to nod under a strange pressure.
“How far do you want to go before you think you’ve become a god?! How evil!”
The little girl was startled and turned her head straight ahead.
What, why is he falling down?
Roman, who was constantly talking nonsense while puffing out his chest, had fallen down, unconscious.
He seemed to have fallen on his face and hit the floor, as if he couldn’t even figure out how he lost his balance.
It was so absurd that Laiya burst out laughing.
…What kind of idiot show is that?
Looking closely, there was even a cut on Roman’s forehead, and blood was flowing.
Laiya couldn’t help but feel startled.
“What the hell!”
“I really want to ask about this display, ah. Please understand that I have not come near you. So who told you to stay at the feet of this body when I am just passing by?”
“Brother? Are you okay? What are you doing? How can you hit my brother Roman!”
At the end of Laiya’s startled gaze, she saw an unfamiliar boy.
He looks like a boy who was a little bigger than Roy.
Is he around thirteen or fourteen?
He had bright red hair that looked like it was burning brightly with a uniform decorated with a gold belt and a lion symbol on the chest.
…Wait, uniform and red hair? I’ve seen that before, yes?
Isn’t he the crown prince?’
With this color combination, it was impossible to remember who stood before her.
Laiya felt confident when she saw the scarlet eyes that seemed to match the color of his hair.
No, why is the crown prince here?
“Ah, from what I heard before, it is said that sometimes the Imperial Family acts on a whim and arrives earlier than the scheduled date or delays it even further. What often happened was, um… For example, only important members of the Imperial Family arrive at the family first.”
The young boy stammered and explained to the curious brother and sister.
Huh, is this what Lippe and Yuri were talking about?
Laiya quickly figured out what was going on.
Still, I don’t know why that person was wandering around BlackWinter Castle alone.
“Are the only people in BlackWinter who haven’t learned manners? Not bad. If you don’t know something, I can just teach it to you myself.”
Despite his age, Roman seemed to recognize the crown prince right away.
It was a contemplative look on his face that gave him away.
The problem was that Charon, who was young, stupid and had only learned the bad things his older brother did, was not like that.
“What are you saying to the great BlackWinter princes!”
“The Great BlackWinter princes? That’s a really blasphemous thing to say, yes? If you have that level of skill, I think I’ll find it cute…”
Pow!
Charon failed his surprise attack poorly.
Roman came out in a hurry to catch his brother.
“The second brand of the BlackWinter family greets the imperial family, who inherited the spirit of the Red Lion. This one is Roman BlackWinter!”
“Oh, are you someone who can communicate with me? Who is the rude one beside you?”
“My brother was rude! Please forgive him!”
“What? Brother?”
“What are you doing without saying hello? Greet His Majesty the Crown Prince!”
As expected from a member of BlackWinter, Charon is extremely strong and resilient.
Laiya followed her older brother and quickly got down on her knees, but in her opinion, there was no joy in meeting the crown prince now.
The two brothers disappeared in a hurry as soon as they could say their greetings.
If Laiya didn’t know any better ,she would think they were being chased away by a terrifying monster.
“Tsk, I didn’t even give you permission to get up, but you’re so arrogant.”
The crown prince, Helios, turned his head, rubbing his hair.
Then their eyes met.
In the arrogant and unfortunate gaze that landed on her, Laiya felt the meaning of gaze loud and clear.
He’s waiting for us to greet him, too.
…Ah, I think I got it wrong.
