kscans

Chapter 56 - Before Settling the Score

I was allowed to go home early that day. Before returning to my room, I went to find Rupert, who was already at the estate. He would surely be angry, but if I didn't settle things with Falty, Liam, and the Will of God (System) that had tempted her, they would likely keep clinging to me forever. It would never end.

"Rupert, is now a good time?"

"Yep!"

"Come in!" a slightly drawn-out voice called from the other side of the door I'd knocked on. I opened it without hesitation to find my twin brother relaxing in a white shirt, black pants, and a pale cream-colored cardigan. How like Rupert to prefer simple attire when he's at home, I thought, smiling as I entered the room and sat on the prepared sofa.

"What's up?"

"This is sudden, but I'm going to go settle things with Falty and the others."

"…………………………Come again?"

I stared at my sister, who had just made her declaration with an incredibly radiant smile, and she repeated the same words. After a long pause, I let out a series of incomprehensible groans like 'Huh?' and 'Uh, um…?' before taking a deep breath and continuing to stare intently at my sister. Her smile was bright, but her eyes were completely serious. This wasn't a joke; Lupia wasn't good with jokes and wasn't the type to make them herself.

"Um, hey, Sis."

"I received an invitation. From that inscrutable thing calling itself a 'God,' which Falty carelessly borrowed power from."

"An invitation…?"

"I received a letter. The sender was His Highness the Crown Prince, and it was addressed to His Majesty and… me."

"What?"

Was Liam sane or not? He was likely the latter, but even if he knew I had come to the Qua Kingdom, we had no reason to tell him where I was or what I was doing. Rupert hadn't seen Liam since returning to the country, nor had they exchanged letters. So where was the information leaking from? No, maybe it wasn't a leak. Maybe Falty, or the king of that country, had been persistently sending spies to investigate…?

If I let my imagination run wild, endless possibilities popped into my head, but that wasn't what I needed to think about right now.

"His Highness the Crown Prince sent a letter written as if he were already king. It was disgusting to even recall."

"…What is that guy doing…?"

When his sister had been the leading candidate for Crown Princess, Rupert had begged his father and been taken to the royal palace several times. Furthermore, Liam had also visited the Calmond estate, so he had memories of them playing like friends. As they grew up, they both became busy and exchanged fewer letters, but until the moment his sister's engagement was broken, Liam had been a precious person to Rupert. He never thought Liam was such a disloyal person, but he shouldn't have been a man who would act so thoughtlessly.

"I don't care what His Highness does, but… I have a bad feeling about this."

"What kind?"

"It seems that System thing wants to make me the protagonist. So, to drag me onto the stage by force, I suspect it's interfering in areas where it normally shouldn't be able to."

"…I thought the Crown Princess reaching the ending… or whatever, was the goal. Doesn't that mean it wouldn't interfere or lend a hand anymore?"

"Yes, that's right. That's why I thought she could do as she pleased and left her alone, but…"

"You have no obligation to get involved."

"Exactly."

Haaaah. The twins let out a huge sigh, one of many they'd heaved over this matter. Falty is one thing, the twins thought in unison, though they didn't say it aloud. If you decide to do something and steal someone's position, then see your own ambitions and desires through to the end. Don't make others clean up your mess.

"But why does it want to make you the next… uh… protagonist?"

"Apparently, there's a story it wants to accomplish. …Something about… an ending? Or something or other."

"I don't get it at all. And it's rare to see you not listening to someone's explanation."

"I don't understand it either. And I have no ears to lend to a story not worth hearing."

Because the twins were the type to see things through once they'd decided, they found Falty's lack of follow-through questionable, and Liam was being far too shortsighted. That was probably why they had fallen for the devil's whisper of a 'System,' whether it was a god or something else.

Incidentally, since the Calmond family had renounced their ducal title and left the country, national defense had apparently fallen into chaos. The nobles were said to be furious about this. When the king said, 'We are the ones who treated the Calmond family as if they were disposable,' the impassioned nobles were said to have made indescribable faces. They had laughed at Lupia, pointed fingers, and spread all sorts of groundless rumors, so they couldn't say a thing. They had no right to say anything, yet when things became inconvenient for them, they changed their tune. We know. That's how nobles are. But they changed their tune so often that it was impossible to keep up with their thought processes. How could they ask for help when they were in a pinch after mocking someone?

It was because Aristerios had feared this that he had taken action and quickly fled the country with his entire clan.

"I have no desire to accept that Pseudo-God's proposal. My wishes are for me to grant myself. It's because I obtain them with my own power that those feelings and things have value, and… are very precious."

Rupert agreed with his sister's opinion as she clenched her fist tightly. And he thought once more.

—Ah, I'm so glad Liam and my sister separated.

He had been neither for nor against that engagement. For nobles, marrying for the sake of one's house and country was a common occurrence, but his sister had been destined to be the Crown Prince since she was young, and she had been chosen as a suitable guardian for him. So he decided to become a knight to be his sister's ally. He had even studied abroad for that purpose, but now Liam and Falty had overturned everything. What's done is done, so they would have to face the consequences.

"But for you to go to that country for that…"

"This is also the result of my own shortsightedness. It's my responsibility for not pushing them away more forcefully, for not cutting them off completely."

You don't need to shoulder that kind of responsibility, he thought. But that was just the kind of person his sister was. While calling it her own responsibility, she would probably go to save Liam. After saving him, she would declare their ties severed for good this time. Because he knew that, Rupert felt that he shouldn't stop his sister.

"…I hate that reckless side of you, Sis."

"Rupert."

"…But I know you won't bend once you've made up your mind… so I'll support you. I believe you'll come back, but…"

"But?"

"I want you to set a time limit."

"A time limit?"

"Yes."

Rupert squeezed his sister's hand and looked her straight in the eye.

"If you're not back by a certain time, or if we don't hear from you, I'll use teleportation magic or whatever it takes to come get you."

Lupia glanced down at the hand that was squeezing hers. This twin brother of hers was so dependable. He continued to be an ally to his fiancée, Vernella, loving her and staying by her side. Even if the worst were to happen, he would be fine, she had thought.

"I don't want to let the worst happen."

Perhaps because they were twins, because their thought processes were similar, or for any number of other reasons, but this brother of hers was worried about her in a special way, different from Vernella.

"I don't want to see you like that again…!"

The doll-like Lupia, when she was under the influence of the Will of God (System). That's right, he had seen her like that. That was why he had graduated early and come back here. Seeing Rupert on the verge of tears, Lupia couldn't help but smile wryly and gently squeezed his hand back.

"You win. …Alright, I'll contact you when I arrive. From there… let's see, if you don't hear from me about my return within three hours, you can come."

She had no intention of talking with them for long. That's why she had set a short time limit, but Rupert looked incredibly displeased.

"Now, Rupert."

"I'll compromise. You're an idiot, Sis! And stubborn!"

"Don't say such childish things."

"You and I are still children under Father's protection."

Talking with a pouting Rupert made the future feel like a dream. But Lupia had to go and settle things. Perhaps it had been a burden on her heart somewhere, she thought. She had never imagined that just talking with her brother could make her heart feel so light, and give her so much strength.

"…Hey, thank you, Rupert."

"You're welcome."

The twins exchanged brief words and smiled at each other. Rupert was happy that the slight shadow that had been over his sister was gone, and they smiled at each other, a shared sentiment of gratitude for lightening each other's hearts.