Chapter 48 – Father and Daughter

As soon as I came back home from school, one of my house’s butlers, Mr. Yamamoto, stopped me and said, “Young Lady, the lord is calling.”

“Understood.” I replied.

Why would that man call for me of all people?

… It seems like a storm is coming.

*****

“You’ve arrived. I didn’t really want to see you, but I had something that I had to tell you.” That man said.

It seems like we both feel the same way about each other, but in that case, he shouldn’t have called me in the first place… “What is it?” I asked him curtly.

“I’ll be adopting a child from one of our branch families.” He answered.

“And why are you telling me this?” I asked.

“The boy from the branch family is a wonderful person, differently from you. He’ll be the heir of our house.” He explained.

“I won’t say anything over the heir matter, but don’t I already have a younger brother?” I asked him.

That man must be really fond of this boy. He is even smiling right now, even though he has never once smiled near me, not even to give mom some comfort during her final moments…

“His lineage is not on par with ours. And while he is a proper human being, your younger brother is ultimately a mediocre person. He does not have much potential to himself.” He clarified.

“Is that so…” I answered vaguely. I haven’t really met neither my younger brother nor sister, so I don’t really care about what he thinks of them.

“The boy we’re adopting is five years older than you, and he is not only a proper human, but also a very brilliant boy… Differently from you.”

I refused to answer. I was used to the fact that this man wouldn’t acknowledge that I have been the person with the highest scores in the mock exams across the whole country, so those words didn’t really hurt me anymore. Even so they still weren’t worth a reply.

That said, the boy seems to at least be at about the same level as me, which shouldn’t be that bad.

“In any case, the boy should soon come here to visit me. Will you come out of the side building to greet him?” That man asked.

“I won’t come out.” I instantly replied.

“That’s troublesome. I wouldn’t want the people that accompany the boy to think I host a monster in that building.” He answered.

I hate this. This gaze of his that feels like all the dirt on the bottom of his soul just started climbing up into mine, forcefully scrapping off parts of my very being…

“I don’t like being stared at as if I was a monster.” I answered coldly.

He answered after a moment of hesitation, “I’m sorry…

“For giving birth to such a monster.”

… That’s the same gaze he gave mom when she died, would he stare at that other woman like this? Oh, how much I would just like to…

“Do you want to say something?” He asked.

“No, nothing… Please excuse me.”

Ah, that’s no good. I almost broke the last promise I made before parting with my dead mother. I shouldn’t put out this man nor my younger siblings…

“Then disappear from my sight. And don’t involve yourself with your older brother much, I wouldn’t want him getting influenced by you.” He said.

“Then I’ll take my leave.” Trying my best to suppress my murderous intent, I gave him a bow and left.

Once outside, I sighed in relief for not breaking my promise with my dead mother, but just as I was about to leave the premises, I was stopped by Mr. Yamamoto.

“Young lady…” He said.

“What is it?” I asked him… Though I wonder why Mr. Yamamoto is here in the first place, does he still have businesses with me?

“Please don’t worry too much about it, it’s bad for your health.” He told me.

“Thank you, but I’m okay” I answered.

Is he trying to pretend to care a little? I’m not buying it, his face is still as expressionless as always.

“Also, the lord’s wife has been requesting to see you…” He said.

“Please decline.” I immediately replied.

“… As you wish.” After he said that, Mr. Yamamoto left.

I don’t want to see that woman in the first place, and besides… I don’t think I’ll be able to keep my promise with mom if I meet that woman.

… Especially because that woman stole dad from mom.

Since I was done with everything I had to do here, I quickly returned to the side building and then flopped onto my bed.

“Dearest mother…” I said as I sank my face into my pillow. It still had a scent that vaguely resembled mother’s… I took a deep breath and continued, “My emotions get really disturbed whenever I meet that man… It’s really tiring.”

… Let’s get rid of all this bitterness in the game. It’s a good thing that the new event is starting soon.