Chapter 31 Blood Is Thicker Than Water

"...Hm." When I opened my eyes, what came into view was a rather familiar ceiling. It seemed that this was the room I had lived in before entering the academy.

"Ah...!" Just as I was a bit puzzled as to why I was seeing the ceiling of my own room and was about to get up, intense pain suddenly spread throughout my body. As I curled up and trembled, someone gently took my hand.

"...Young Master."

"Kania."

We stared at each other in silence for a while, and then spoke simultaneously.

"It's all my fault...""Sorry, for you to see me in such a sorry state." After that, we quietly looked at each other again.

"...What fault do you have?" Eventually, I broke the silence, forcing a faint smile and saying.

"It's not that you didn't want to go to Kedia. Although there was a commotion, as long as your curse can be lifted...""No, it's not... It's not like that...""Hm...?" But for some reason, Kania showed a pained expression and then started sobbing.

"Kania...? What's wrong...?""I'm s, sorry... I'm sorry, Young Master...""...?" Before long, Kania lay on the bed where I was lying and started apologizing in a trembling voice, while I patted her back in a daze to comfort her...

- Dong, dong... Dong, dong...

"...!""Footsteps began to come from the corridor. As the sound gradually approached my room, Kania and I, in a panic, quickly separated.

- Creak...

Subsequently, the door was pushed open. Seeing my younger sister, Aria, walk in, we exchanged a glance and then naturally started acting.

"Young Master... What on earth did you do to my sister...?"

"I said, I didn't do anything."

"But... What was that potion...?"

"Ah, get out!!" As I shouted, I threw the pillow beside me towards Kania. The next second, the pillow hit her face squarely.

"...Ah?" I was stunned for a moment, then adjusted my expression and muttered angrily to myself, '...Why didn't she dodge?' Clearly, when I threw the pillow, I secretly gave her a signal to dodge, but for some reason, Kania didn't dodge. Did she not see the signal? Or did she deliberately take the hit to make the act more natural? Anyway, I felt really sorry for Kania.

"...Yes, sir." While I was thinking this, Kania walked out of the room with a pained expression.

"...Disgusting guy." As soon as she left the room, Aria's cold scolding voice rang out.

"If anything happens to Kedia... I will cut off your head... You piece of trash...""...Mixing with that low - class woman has made you low - class too, Aria?"

"What did you just say?"

"Messing around with that low - class woman has made you so lax. Understand?"

Hearing my words, Aria's face turned pale with anger. I sneered at her and continued.

"We are the children of the Starlight Duke's family, which has supreme power in the empire. And Kania and Kedia are just rootless commoners picked up from the filthy slums."

"...Hmph."

"So, instead of wasting time on those rootless people, you'd better learn more about social etiquette for the family..."

"Shut up." Aria interrupted me in a fierce voice, gathered starlight magic power in her hand, and started approaching me.

"How dare you be so presumptuous when talking to the interim head of the family...""Does your mouth only spew out disgusting words when it opens?"

"What?"

"Since you're so eager for starlight magic power, I'll stuff it into your stinking mouth. Open your mouth, brat." After saying this, Aria aimed her hand at my face, and soon, complex magic runes emerged in her palm.

'...Truly a smart and intelligent child.' Looking at her like this, I fell into a brief contemplation. If I was the "Starlight Swordsman" who condensed starlight magic power, then my younger sister, Aria, was the "Starlight Mage" who released starlight magic power. Inheriting the strength of our mother, the strongest "Star Mage" in the Starlight family for generations, she was bound to become a great mage in the future and transform into a star that protected the empire. Moreover, my younger sister was extremely kind - hearted. Unlike those decadent imperial nobles, she liked to take care of and help the poor people of the empire. In the last reincarnation, until the empire was on the verge of collapse, she was still using the financial resources of the Starlight family to support the people of the empire. Of course, she always turned a blind eye to those corrupt nobles. Finally, my younger sister was very cute. When she was a child, she always toddled behind me. Whenever I turned around, she would open her eyes wide like a frightened little rabbit, and then throw herself at me with a bright smile...

"Open your mouth, you piece of trash."

"...Hm." Just as I was immersed in my memories, I was pulled back to reality by the cold voice in front of me. Looking up, I didn't know when Aria had approached me, and with a contemptuous expression on her face, she aimed the magic array at my mouth.

"...This is all my own doing, isn't it?" The Aria who had once cried in front of me, pleading with me to return to being the kind - hearted brother I used to be, no longer existed. She had tried to stop my evil deeds and even threatened the servants to block me. As my evil deeds continued for months, years, and decades, her heart was gradually worn away, and in the end, only contempt, disgust, and nausea towards me were left.

"——Snap!" As I was thinking this, I snapped my fingers, and the servants swarmed into my room.

"...Take her away."

"Yes, sir." With my brief order, the servants surrounded Aria. Even though I was the most notorious playboy in the empire, according to the imperial laws, I was still the supreme decision - maker in this mansion, and the servants had no choice but to obey my orders. Of course, Aria could have knocked them all down with just one magic spell, but since the servants had received the order, they were obliged to execute it. Therefore, in this situation, Aria could only give in.

"Ha, so this is how you deal with it?" As I expected, Aria, who was surrounded by the servants, withdrew her magic. However, she raised her hand to stop the servants who were trying to drag her away, and then launched another verbal attack on me with a cold face.

"How does it feel to seize power from Father?"

"...Fantastic."

"Are you crazy? Is that something a human would say?" Continuing to engage with her was too painful for me. I wanted to perfunctorily deal with her and drive her away, but she used the strength of the servants and even resorted to starlight magic power to resist and continued to question me.

"Sure enough... You're the one who did this to Father, right?"

"...What?"

"Father, who has always been healthy, suddenly collapsed on his way home and fell into a coma. Even the top - notch doctors in the empire unanimously said they couldn't find the cause."

"....."

"If he just collapsed due to excessive stress, it doesn't make sense at all. That is to say, there must be someone behind the scenes... You also know very well that it's impossible for Father to have made enemies, right?"

"...Aria."

"Don't call my name, you disgusting guy. Anyway, there's probably only one person in the empire who hopes Father would collapse." Aria said, with tears streaming down her eyes, pointing at me.

"Now that you've become the interim head of the family, are you feeling complacent? What on earth did you do to my father? Is that it?"

"...Take her away quickly."

"Am I next? You took Mother and Father... Now are you going to take my life too?"

"...Take her away."

"Mother in heaven must be crying her eyes out seeing you like this..."

"Take her out of here, you bastards!!!!!!" Finally, I erupted and shouted loudly. The servants, who had been subtly weakening Aria's strength, then stared at me coldly and dragged her out of the room.

[Earned 500 Malice Points! (Fragmented)]

"...." Just like that, I lay on the bed, staring blankly at the system window that popped up in front of me. After a while, I slowly got up with my tired body and walked towards my desk.

"...Huff." Then, I took out a family photo from the secret space in the drawer, gently stroked the faces of my parents, Aria, and me, who were smiling brightly in the photo, and murmured,

"...I can still hold on. At least for now." Just like this, I spent this time while recalling the once - happy times.

.....

"...What are you sitting here for?"

"Ah, nothing..."

"Hm, it looks nice to sit here comfortably." Time passed, night fell, and the dinner time of the Starlight family began.

"...This is a 75 - year - old vintage wine transported from the Western Continent."

"75 years?"

"Yes, carefully cultivated by selected master vintners..."

- Clang!

"...Bring at least a 100 - year - old one."

"...Yes." I had caused trouble since the beginning of dinner. After the small Evil Point acquisition window that popped up in front of me disappeared, looking at Kedia, who was trying to sit up straight but immediately curled up again as soon as the wine glass was broken, I said,

"...You're sitting crookedly again?"

"S, sorry..."

"Forget it, I'll forgive you because you're cute." With a crafty smile, I said these words. Aria, sitting opposite, showed an expression as if she was about to vomit and coldly threw out a sentence.

"Going after a girl the same age as you... You're a psycho." After hearing this, while cutting the steak in front of me, I quietly asked Kedia,

"...Kedia, have there been any changes in your body?"

"Ah?"

"Hm... How should I put it? For example, does your body suddenly get hot... Or do you have a dull pain in your stomach..." I asked with a bit of nervousness. Hearing these words, Aria's expression began to distort, while Kedia nodded gently and said,

"N, now that you mention it... My body has been a bit hot since just now, and there's also a dull pain in my lower abdomen..."

"...Oh!" Hearing her words, I showed a bright smile and handed her the cut steak, thinking to myself,

"...Is the 'Healing Power' finally about to awaken?" The symptoms I asked Kedia about were the signs before the awakening of the "Healing Power". Probably tomorrow morning, her "Healing Power" will fully awaken. In this way, Kania's curse can also be neutralized to a certain extent. Then, the frequency of me sharing my vitality with her will decrease, and life in the future should be a bit easier...

"Piece of trash."

".....?" Suddenly, Aria trembled all over and started scolding me again. I couldn't remember how many times she had called me trash.

"...Kedia, sleep with me tonight."

"O, okay? But..."

"Kedia is going to sleep with me tonight, so... You'd better stay away. I've warned you."

".....?" Seeing her like this, I tilted my head in confusion. Aria looked directly into my eyes and replied,

"...If you dare to come, no matter if you're the interim master or not, I'll castrate you. Remember that."

"...." Her gaze was so sharp when she spoke that I involuntarily tightened my legs and secretly swore never to go near their room.

"...Young Master, are you awake?"

"...Hm?" Just as I was lost in thought, sitting in the upper seat to avoid my younger sister Kedia, I suddenly heard Kania beside me ask in a soft voice.

"...Kania is more important than me now. She has to eat more to strengthen her healing power."

"Are you sure?"

"...Probably?"

"..." She gave me a cold look for a while, then stood up silently.

"...I'll take my leave first." After saying that, Kania disappeared. She was in the middle of eating. Where did she suddenly go?

"What disgusting thing did you say again to make Sister Kania show that displeased expression?"

"...Aria."

"It seems hopeless. I really have to find a way to rescue Sister Kania from your servants..."

- Crash!!

"...Ah!" I was about to respond to her words calmly, but when I heard her say she wanted to rescue Kania from my servants, the glass in my hand instantly shattered.

"...I have my limits in tolerating your insolence, Aria." Staring at my blood - stained hand, suppressing the emotions that were about to explode, I said coldly.

"If you dare to act insolently one more time, I'll remove you from the family tree and drive you and Kania to the back alley. If you don't care, then keep talking."

"...."

"Good, it seems you understand. Then, shut up and eat now." As soon as I finished speaking, Aria gritted her teeth, then lowered her head and started eating silently. Looking at her, I glanced at the system window that popped up in front of me and gave a bitter smile.

[Earned 1 Evil Deed Point! (Fury)]

"...As expected, the system can't be deceived." It seemed that Kania had unknowingly become a rather important existence in my heart.

.....

"...Huff." After dinner, I was groaning as I handled official business as the interim head of the family. Of course, it wasn't because the official business was heavy or difficult. When I was a child, Serena and I often played house and pretended to handle the affairs of the Duke's family, so I could do this kind of work with my eyes closed. The problem was that my current physical condition was really terrible.

[Name: Frey Rahn Starlight]

[Abilities: Strength ??? / Magic Power ??? / Intelligence ??? / Mental Strength 9.3]

[Special Notes: Protection of the Stars / Critically Ill / Depleted Vitality / Fatal Wounds / Weak and Sickly / Exhausted]

[Tendency: Brave]

"...Alas, I'm really going crazy." In the past few days, I had wanted to focus on recovering my body, but there were so many things to deal with that I had no chance to rest properly, and my physical condition was still very poor. Especially the wound on my shoulder still ached faintly. Frowning, feeling the pain all over my body, after a while, I sighed and opened the skill store for the first time in a long time.

[Store / Beginner Skills Level 2]

- Deception of the False Villain Lv2 700pt

Description) Permanently increases the persuasiveness of lies slightly.

- Information Search Lv3 1000pt

Description) The information - search skill will display the good - evil degree value of a person. (-100~100)

[Accumulated Points: 2001pt]

"...Give me a skill to restore physical strength or for treatment. Seriously." I cursed the system's harshness for a while, and then, in a fit of anger, bought all the remaining skills.

"...Anyway, I had to buy them sooner or later." Although I felt a moment of unease, thinking that this was the only place where I could use the points, I gently leaned back in the chair and started to take a short rest.

- Creak...

After resting like this for a while, suddenly the door was opened. Thinking that Aria had barged in again, I hurriedly took a defensive stance, but it wasn't Aria who walked in, but Kania.

"...Young Master? What's with that funny posture of yours?"

"Nothing... Nothing." I couldn't help blushing and pretended to be nonchalant, while Kania smiled slightly and walked in front of me and put down something.

"...What's this?"

"A sandwich and coffee. It's your favorite food, Young Master."

"Uh... Thanks, but why suddenly give this to me?" Seeing me ask in a daze, Kania gave a bitter smile and pointed to my body.

"If you don't eat anything, how will your wounds heal?"

"Ah."

Hearing her say this, I froze in place a bit awkwardly. Kania then turned and walked towards the door.

"Thank you for preparing the snack for me, Kania." I watched her leave with a smile. Suddenly, Kania stopped in front of the door.

- Click!

"...Kania?"

She locked the door behind her, then slowly walked towards me and said in a low voice,

"...Please take off your clothes, Young Master."

"...What?"

"It's time to apply the medicine."

"Ah... Is that so? But I can apply the medicine myself too..."

"No, I'll wipe it carefully for you. There are wounds in places your hands can't reach."

Hearing this, I scratched my head, then carefully took off my upper clothes.

"...Then, let's get started." Just like this, while eating the snack Kania prepared, I entrusted my body to her hands, and time quietly passed.

"...Young Master."

"Hm?" Kania had been silently applying the ointment for a long time. Suddenly, she stared at me and asked,

"Has something happened?"

"...Nothing happened?" I replied, trying to act calm, but Kania frowned and continued,

"Then why are you shaking so much?"

"..." As she said, my body was trembling violently.

"It's nothing serious. Just... a bit tired..." In truth, the reasons for my body's trembling were rather complex. There was Father, who had collapsed in the adjacent room. My younger sister, Aria, harbored hatred and loathing towards me. Moreover, I had become overly dependent on Kania, and whenever she wasn't by my side, a sense of unease would creep over me. However, if I were to tell Kania all these things, she would surely worry herself sick. So, I merely mumbled vaguely, "a bit tired".

Kania continued to gaze intently at me. Then, with a gentle smile, she softly inquired, "...Do you need me to give you a hug, Young Master?"

"...Yes." I replied cautiously. After that, Kania gently embraced me and whispered in a low voice beside my ear, "...Are you still worried about what Miss Aria said earlier?"

"No, it's not because of that..."

"Don't worry. I'm already prepared to live and die together with you, Young Master."

"..." Sensing Kania's tender voice and warm body temperature, I softly responded, "...There's no need to go that far."

For a moment, the room was filled with a hushed silence.

- Bang, bang, bang!!

"Open the door!!!"

"....!" When Aria's fierce knocking shattered the stillness, Kania hastily withdrew from me in a panic. I, too, was in a fluster, scrambling to put on my clothes.

"...Huh?" On the other side, Aria, who forcefully broke through the door using magic, looked at me and Kania, our faces flushed, tilted her head in curiosity for a moment, and then rushed towards a certain direction in a hurry.

"What are you two doing..." Right after that, she took out a document from the drawer and walked out.

"...." I stared blankly at her retreating figure. Suddenly, I noticed that Kania beside me had picked up the medicine bottle again. As I started to take off my shirt, I muttered to myself, '...I seem to have seen that document Aria took somewhere before?'

.....

"Then, good night."

"Yeah... You too, Kania. Have a good rest." Due to the numerous tasks, I didn't finish working until the early hours of the morning. After seeing off Kania, who had been by my side all the time, I made my way towards my room.

'...Fortunately, I brought the cat plush toy with me.' Although the pressure had piled up to the limit, lately, for some reason, I had grown quite fond of that cat plush toy. It always lay on its back, exposing its belly and meowing cutely. Just the thought of stroking its belly made the stress seem to dissipate naturally.

- Whimper... Whimper...

"...Hm?" As I was humming a tune and walking towards my room, sobbing sounds suddenly reached my ears from somewhere. Wondering if there were ghosts in the mansion, I approached the source of the sound with a bit of nervousness. To my surprise, I ended up in front of the room where Aria and Kedia were about to go to sleep.

"...What's going on?" I tilted my head and pondered for a while. Then, I concealed my presence with starlight magic, carefully approached the door, and peeked into the room through the keyhole.

"Whimper... Whimper..." Just then, in my field of vision, I saw Kedia sound asleep on the bed, and Aria, kneeling on the floor, her head bowed as she cried while looking at a document she had taken from my study. I was curious about what she was looking at, so I concentrated the starlight magic in my eyes and began to peer at the document in her hand...

「...Ah.」A short sigh escaped my mind a moment later. 「...So you're doing the same thing as I am.」She was looking at a photo of our mother. Watching her relieve her loneliness by looking at the photo, I couldn't help but smile wryly, thinking that she was truly my blood - related sister. I turned around, ready to go back to my room, but...

「Brother... Why on earth are you doing this... Why...」Aria flipped through the document. When she saw a photo of me carrying her on a wooden horse when we were young, she cried even more bitterly. Cold sweat broke out on my back, and I quickly used the "Mind - Reading Technique".

「...This is bad.」Looking at the information window that appeared before my eyes, I sank into deep despair.

[Aria Rahn Starlight's current emotions: Disappointment / Worry / Longing / Love - Hate Complex / Sorrow / Guilt]

「Where has the innocent look from the past gone... Why did you turn into such a monster...」It seemed that a new variable, even more significant than Isollette, had emerged.