“Hmm, so where is everyone else?”
I woke up early in the morning. Earlier than I usually did and moved towards the entrance of the Academy grounds where a familiar white haired girl appeared.
She looked upset.
‘I’ll kill her… Who does she think she is?’
Overhearing her mumbles, she certainly did seem upset.
“Wait, why are you here?”
As if finally noticing my presence, Kiera flicked her head up and looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“Don’t tell me…”
“Yes, I was also invited.”
“I’ll kill her!”
So Kiera shouted, but she didn’t move from her spot. It was almost as if she was just putting up a show.
Could that be the case?
“Oh, I see her.”
Aoife’s silhouette appeared not long after. Dressed casually in a white shirt and black trousers, she seemed a bit different from her usual style. A few figures followed closely behind her.
There were…
‘Eh? Why are so many people coming?’
I could count at least six people. Along with Aoife, there was Evelyn, Leon, Kaelion, Amell, and Caius. Wait—why were Caius, Amell, and Kaelion here?
“You, what sort of nonsense are you trying to pull?”
Even Kiera looked taken aback by their presence.
“Well…”
Aoife didn’t seem bothered at all.
Looking back, she shrugged her shoulders.
“…I just thought the more the merrier.”
“Ah, you…”
Kiera seemed to be at a complete loss for words. I couldn’t really blame her. I’d also feel the same way had I been in her position.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Aoife patted Kiera on the shoulder, acting strangely friendly.
“If you don’t want to come, you don’t have to. I just want to visit your little sibling. That’s all.”
Wait…
Listening to the conversation, I felt like I was missing something.
And just as expected, no sooner had those thoughts crossed my mind than Kiera yanked Aoife by the shirt, pulling her face right up to hers.
“…What sort of fuckery are you trying to pull?”
“Like I said, I just want to see your little sibling.”
What surprised me the most was how nonchalant Aoife seemed to be.
“If you hate the idea so much, you don’t have to go.”
Aoife retorted, pulling herself away from Kiera’s grip and fixing her clothes.
“But as the Princess of the Empire, I have no choice but to attend. Knowing you, I’m sure you won’t want to inherit your Household. In that case, I must meet the new heir as a representative of the Megrail family.”
‘Wow, wow.’
I wanted to clap there and then.
Her words made so much sense that even I couldn’t find fault in them.
“Tsk.”
Even Kiera found herself unable to argue.
“Fucking bitch, I swear…”
All she could do was click her tongue and curse her endlessly under her breath.
“Well, since we’ve got this part sorted, how about we get going?”
Clapping happily, Aoife looked at us with a smile. She seemed strangely forward today. It was odd, but I didn’t dislike it.
Rather, there was something else that was taking my attention.
“You, you look somewhat pale.”
“….I do?”
It was Leon.
He looked rather sick.
“Yes, did something happen?”
“…..”
Without saying anything, Leon looked at me before he flicked his hand away and covered his mouth.
“Uekh.”
Indeed, he was sick.
Mentally though
***
‘Having a child is a heavy responsibility. I thought I was ready, but in all honesty, I’m not so sure anymore.’
‘I love seeing her face. That cute face of hers that closely resembles mine, but…’
‘Sometimes, it gets to the point where I feel like I’m suffocating.’
‘In those times, I just want her to disappear.’
‘Am I a bad mother?’
A pair of crimson eyes stared back at her through the reflection, seemingly bleeding out onto the mirror. Rose stared at her own reflection before lowering her head to wash her face.
Sha—
Lifting her head to meet her own reflection once more, she brushed her blonde hair back and gazed back at the mirror.
It was then that she saw the sillhoutte of a person overlap with her own.
…One she was very familiar with.
With a finger pressed to her lips, she smiled at her. She looked stunning, but there was something unsettling in her eyes—they were empty, lifeless.
A voice then whispered in her mind.
‘Tell me I’m not a bad mother, sis.’
Bang—!
A fist flew to the mirror as fragments of the mirror flew all over the place, some even grazing past Rose’s cheeks, leaving behind thin lines of red.
“Haa… Haa…!”
Rose’s chest heaved up and down repeatedly as she glared at the broken fragments of her mirror.
“….Fucking bitch.”
She cursed under her breath as she leaned on the sink.
That annoying face. That annoying voice.
She hated it.
…All of it.
Everything about her sister, she hated.
That flawless image she projected. That… two-faced personality, and above all, her selfishness. There was nothing Rose despised more than her sister’s selfishness.
“None of this would’ve happened had you not been so selfish, you damn bitch. I hate you. I hate you so much.”
Even now, she could imagine what sort of reaction her sister would have to her current outrage.
She’d just smile at her with her usual smile of hers.
That condescending smile…
To Tok—
Right then, someone knocked on the door of the bathroom, forcing Rose to freeze. Realizing what had happened, she closed her eyes and sighed.
“Is everything, okay? Don’t tell me you broke something.”
A muffled voice echoed from behind the door and Rose pursed her lips.
“I’m on my period.”
“….Oh.”
That excuse never failed to get her out of trouble, and indeed it worked.
“Clean up after you’re done, I guess.”
“Yes.”
Rose reached out for the nearby tissues and cleaned her face up. Looking down, she stared at the broken shards of the mirror and clicked her tongue.
‘Fuck that, I’m not cleaning that.’
Grabbing one of the larger shards, she made sure she was all cleaned up before finally leaving the bathroom.
Clank.
At the bathroom entrance stood a figure she had come to grow familiar with. With his small mustache and soft gaze, he was someone she had brought not long ago—a rogue professor of sorts.
“What are you waiting for me for?”
Rather than answering her right away, Robert Bucklam leaned toward the bathroom door, his eyes narrowing as he took in the scene before him. He sucked in a sharp breath of cold air the moment he saw the chaos that was left behind by Rose.
What sort of period…
“So?”
“Ah, right.”
Snapping out of it, Robert hastily looked at the pair of crimson eyes staring back at him and he cleared his throat.
“About that, I just received news regarding your niece.”
“My niece?”
Rose’s ears immediately perked up. This didn’t escape Robert’s eyes. She tended to do this whenever she was brought up.
She… had a sort of weird obsession with her.
“What about her? Did something happen? What did she do?”
“…No, it’s nothing serious.”
Seeing her reaction, he had no choice but to wave his hands in order to calm her down.
“I just received news that she’s going back to her Household.”
“Oh?” Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire
Rose’s brow rose.
“She’s not alone, she’s going with her friends.”
“Friends? That girl has friends?”
“…Classmates.”
“Huh.”
“Apparently, they’re going to visit her new sibling.”
“….”
Rose pinched the bottom of her chin. Musing over the situation, her eyes suddenly sharpened as she thought of the situation within the Mylne household. Indeed, she had heard about the new heir.
Her thoughts were complicated, but she didn’t think too much of it.
There was only one thought in her mind at the moment.
“Mirror.”
Rose had searched all over the place for the mirror. She knew Kiera had it, but she had hidden it well.
Could this be a chance?
If so…
“I’m leaving.”
“Yes, pardon?”
Without so much as a glance behind her, Rose flicked her finger, and a large brown coat materialized out of thin air. She wrapped it around herself as she strode towards the exit of the building.
She knew exactly what she had to do.
And most importantly,
“I can’t wait to see Ki again.”
She really missed her niece.
***
“Welcome—!”
The Mylne estate was located several hours away from the Academy.
Taking the train from Lens, we moved in the opposite direction of Bremmer, and towards the southern spectrum of the Empire.
With a rich history, the territory was rather prosperous, and the greeting was extremely warm.
“It is such an honor to have such an esteemed guest come to visit us.”
Mainly because Aoife was present, but also because Kiera was here. One look and I could see she wasn’t ostracized or anything like that. In fact, it almost seemed like she was being looked at rather longingly.
This became especially obvious as her father, a tall figure with an imposing presence, brown eyes, and dark hair, kept glancing her way—his gaze lingering each time, as if trying to find the right moment to talk to her.
It was unfortunate that Kiera didn’t want to spare him a single second of her time.
She was unusually quiet.
‘This is kind of tense…’
It was also a little uncomfortable. I could now see why Kiera didn’t want to come here. I wouldn’t either if I were her.
The others also seemed to share the same sentiment.
…All besides Aoife who appeared to get along well with those of the Mylne Household.
“I’ve heard that recently you’e managed to sustain a great harvest. I’m sure this will be a positive boon for your Household.”
“Haha, well… It would’ve been the case before, but you know…”
“Ah, that’s right.”
Aoife really did seem familiar and adept at handling diplomatic communications. She obviously knew about the trade deal with the Kasha, but pretended to not know it in order to lighten up the tension with the good news.
“With the added income that will come from the trade that we’ll receive, we’re planning on lowering the taxes and add multiple railways to the territory.”
“That sounds like a very wonderful idea.”
“Yes, and it all couldn’t have happened if not for…”
Pausing for a second, Kiera’s father glanced at Kiera, his gaze warm but at the same time, conflicted.
“…It couldn’t have happened without your effort.”
“She was great indeed.”
Aoife added, glancing at the silent and distant Kiera.
The surroundings turned quiet then as neither of the two spoke.
That was until,
“Well, enough with the pleasantries. How about we meet with my wife? She’s waiting for us inside. She wanted to come and greet all of you, but she wasn’t feeling well. Morning sicknes—”
Bang!
Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed through the room, and all eyes turned to Kiera as fragments of what appeared to be a communication device scattered across the floor.
In the stillness that followed, Kiera calmly dusted off her hands, handing her bags to the nearby butler without a word. She then walked past her father, her steps calm and collected, as though nothing had happened.
“You guys go, I’ll go to my room.”
That was the last we saw of her for that day.