Dark Fantasy Normalized

6 – The b*stard’s Younger Sister

Among the girl’s family, there was a boy just a year older.

The girl was young and knew little, but she knew how to address the boy.

“Brother. Brother Lysir. I played with Brother Lysir today.”

The mother, who had the girl sitting on her lap, was startled and met her eyes.

“No? Roera. That boy is not your brother.”

“Not my brother? Why?”

“That boy is different from us.”

“Different? Why? Isn’t Lysir… Brother also part of our family?”

“Lysir is…”

The mother trailed off and lowered her head.

A heavy monologue flowed from her lips.

That is our family?

A child of another woman, even-

It was a side she did not want to show her beloved daughter.

“Mom? Are you crying? Don’t cry. I did something wrong.”

At her daughter’s tearful voice, the mother quickly lifted her head and played a trick.

“Roar!”

Though her insides were still boiling, she only showed the side she wanted to show to her giggling daughter.

“Lysir is-“

A b*stard.

A word too difficult for the young daughter to understand.

Neither in its dictionary meaning nor in the meaning it carried.

“Lysir is actually a worse child than Roera thinks.”

“Brother Lysir is bad? No~ He treats me so well! He even made this for me.”

What the girl pulled out with a bashful smile was a ring made of woven grass.

It was clumsy enough that anyone could tell it was made by a child’s hand, but the girl was simply happy to wear it on her finger.

“Isn’t it pretty?”

“…”

Her mother, with a precarious smile, gently touched her daughter’s ringed finger.

“Yes. It’s very pretty. Our Roella. Mommy would even like to try it on once.”

The girl hid her hand with a face that seemed to have made a big mistake.

“Uh, if Mommy wears it… uh… uh… it won’t work…? Brother Rishir gave it to me…?”

Finally, a pure smile without worry appeared on her mother’s lips.

The mother, who found her daughter endlessly lovable, stroked her hair.

Then, as if she remembered something, she took off the necklace hanging around her neck and put it around her daughter’s neck.

“Wow… it’s sparkling…”

Even to a child’s eyes, the necklace was more splendid than the ring.

No, especially because it was seen through a child’s eyes.

“Then how about this? This is Mommy’s cherished necklace, let’s trade it for that.”

“… Okay!”

The mother held the grass ring handed over by her daughter. She held it so tightly that it almost crushed.

“Roella. Shall we make a promise with Mommy? From now on, you won’t play with Rishir.”

“Why?”

“Just, I would like that. It’s Mommy’s request, can’t you do it?”

“…”

The girl looked at her finger.

There was only a faint smell of grass left.

“Okay. I understand. Because it’s Mommy’s request.”

*

*

*

“Miss Roella!!!”

“Really- It’s time for your etiquette lesson, where have you gone…!”

“No. It’s because it’s time for her etiquette lesson that she’s disappeared. So we have to find her.”

“…!”

What is a tomboy?

It is a synonym for Vendel Roera.

Even those who didn’t know the exact definition of a tomboy would think of those three letters first when they saw eleven-year-old Roera.

The etiquettes that a young lady must know.

Roera hated them.

That much could be understood.

Vendel was a family that revered the sword.

As long as one could handle the sword well, it didn’t matter if a young lady’s dignity was somewhat lacking.

The problem was, Roera hated even the basic etiquettes that any ordinary noble would have to know.

“Hey, Lisir~”

Today, too, Roera had sneaked out of etiquette class and come here.

Lisir’s room located in the main building of Vendel.

The boy was sitting at his desk, deeply engrossed in his studies.

His mother had advised him to keep his distance from Lisir, but he didn’t want to.

Lisir was Roera’s best friend.

His desk was piled with books.

They were the etiquette books that Roera had thrown away.

“Ugh~”

Roera pretended to vomit as she looked at the books piled up like a mountain.

Indeed, it was the dignity of a young lady who was like a nightmare to etiquette teachers.

“Lisir~ Do this later and come play with me~”

Roera swung the wooden stick in her hand.

Villains, be gone. Thwack thwack. Argh.

The evil etiquette books rolled on the floor.

The boy sighed and picked up the books again.

He dusted them off, carefully straightened the crumpled pages, and laid them back on the desk.

“I’m busy right now.”

“I’m busy too, but I made time to come~ So you make time too~”

“Call me brother.”

“I don’t want to? Hehe. The adults said so. They said Lisir is an illegitimate child. I don’t know what that means, but because of that, I’m stronger than Lisir? So I’m the older sister. Ahem!”

Silence.

And the sound of a pencil.

The boy ignored his younger sister with all his might.

Tsk.

Roella pouted her lips and sat on the bed in the corner.

Rolling here, rolling there, swinging a wooden stick-

The bed was too small a world to contain Miss Roella.

She quickly got bored and got up from the bed again. And then she lay down.

Sneakily. She approached her brother from behind.

“Gotcha!”

Roella’s stick struck the books once more.

Hehehe.

The younger sister, full of excitement, waited for her brother’s reaction.

Thud! It was then that her body was roughly pushed back.

Risir, who had stood up abruptly, had pushed her.

“Oh, you wanna fight!?”

Roella’s eyes sparkled as she prepared for revenge.

“Hey. Go away.”

Risir glared at Roella.

His eyes were serious, with not a hint of playfulness.

“…”

Roella, sensing the mood, hid her invincible holy sword stick behind her body.

Then she approached Risir and nudged his body with her shoulder.

“What, what? It was just a joke~ Don’t be mad~ Did something bad happen?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be in etiquette class right now?”

“I ran away to play with Risir~ I dodged three adults. Three! Hehe. Risir should have seen my nimble moves.”

Risir’s eyes were just cold as he watched Roella proudly recount her tale.

“Hey, Roella.”

“Hmm? Want me to tell you? Want me to tell you?”

“What’s so funny?”

“Huh?”

“The etiquette teachers invited by the head of the family for you. But why are you so excited? You’ve just disgraced the head of the family.”

“Why are you suddenly using difficult words~ Father wouldn’t get angry over this.”

Whack!

It happened suddenly.

Risir pushed Roera with all his might. It was almost like a punch.

“Ouch!”

Roera clutched her arm where she was hit and watched Risir’s reaction.

At this point, even a tomboy would know it wasn’t a situation to joke around.

“W-what… Why did you hit me, sob…”

Even though Roera whimpered, Risir didn’t bat an eye.

Why is he so angry?

There was only one thing that came to mind.

“I-I’m sorry, Risir oppa… for speaking informally… I was wrong, so please calm down…”

Risir tried to keep glaring at Roera.

As threateningly as possible. So she wouldn’t dare to act up again. He wanted to thoroughly instill the hierarchy.

Who was superior. Who was the better person.

But children’s cries are easily contagious.

Sniff. Sniff.

Risir, who started sobbing along, said.

“What is it, really… Why do they like someone like you more…”

“Oppa…?”

“I listen better, I study better, if they teach me swordsmanship, I can learn better. Why do they only like someone like you!!!”

“Oppa…”

“Go away!!!”

Risir pushed his approaching younger sister.

“Who, who wants to be born as an illegitimate child!?”

“I-I’m sorry… I won’t tease you again… I didn’t know being an illegitimate child was such a bad thing…”

“What are you sorry for!!! What do you know! Get out! Get out!!! I don’t even want to see someone like you!”

Lishir grabbed whatever was within reach and threw it recklessly.

“Ouch!”

Unfortunately, the corner of a book hit Roera’s forehead.

A red line was drawn on the smooth forehead of the tomboyish girl.

Drip. Drip. Blood flowed down her face.

“…!”

Lishir’s face turned pale.

“Are, are you okay, Roera?”

“Waaah!!! I hate you, brother!!!”

Roera ran out of the room crying.

“Found the young lady!”

“Found her, you say! Can’t you see her face!?”

“What is going on!!!”

The servants discovered Roera, who was bleeding from her forehead and crying, and the mansion was turned upside down.

A little later.

Lishir, who had been summoned for the first time in a long while, headed to his father’s study.

His mother, hugging Roera who had a bandage on her forehead, was crying.

In front of her, the head of the Vendel family handed down punishment to Lishir.

“From today, you will stay in the annex, Lishir.”

“…Yes, Master.”

The illegitimate child was to stay in the annex where the servants of the Vendel mansion resided.

One day.

Roera came to Lishir’s room holding a letter.

“Brother… I’m sorry… Are you okay…?”

“…”

“This…”

Lishir tore up the letter Roera carefully handed over.

“Didn’t you hear what the Master said? You can’t play with an illegitimate child like me anymore.”

“…”

Roera left the room in tears.

Since then, there was no mingling between the b*stard and the young lady.

*

*

*

The tomboy grew up to become a young lady.

A young lady with hair roughly tied back and a cynical, sarcastic smile that suited her well.

Lady Roera Vendel.

She stood at a slight distance, arms crossed, glaring at Lisir.

Lisir, who was swinging his sword in a trance.

He was drenched in sweat.

His sword grip was smeared with blood and pus from his blistered hands.

One hundred ninety-four.

One hundred ninety-five.

With each swing of the sword, a dry, cracked voice followed.

This was about a month ago.

Lisir had settled in the training ground located in the backyard of the Vendel mansion’s annex and began his training.

Starting with those training in the main training ground.

Ending later than those training in the main training ground.

It was an overbearing training regimen that fit the expression “overdoing it” perfectly.

Yet, Lisir was not satisfied.

He increased his training time day by day, simultaneously raising the intensity.

Thus, today.

If you go to the training ground of the annex, you could see Lisir, who had practically taken root there.

He spent all his waking hours training, minimizing even his rest time when he was exhausted and asleep.

-Indeed. Even if he’s a b*stard, a Vendel is still a Vendel?

At first, the Vendel trainees who mocked Lisir ended up being awed by him.

“Haah…”

Two hundred.

Lisir, having concluded his training, barely stopped his sword and caught his breath.

“Huh…?”

Lishir, who had belatedly discovered Roera, approached her.

“Roera. What are you doing here?”

The scent of sweetness and blood lingered in his breath, and there wasn’t a single part of his body that wasn’t drenched in sweat.

But those blue eyes hadn’t lost their light and were staring straight ahead.

Ha.

That was Roera’s reaction to Lishir’s appearance.

Roera, who had been watching his series of actions with dry eyes, let out a short snort.

“I can’t bear to watch this.”

“…”

Lishir flinched for a moment at Roera’s blatantly mocking attitude but tried to maintain his composure.

“What’s the matter, Roera? Do you have some business with me?”

“…”

Roera stared at Lishir without a word.

A heavy silence flowed between them for a moment.

Just slightly, Lishir’s eyes seemed to tremble, and then he spoke.

“If you don’t have any business, I’ll take my leave. I want to focus on resting. I still have a long way to go to complete my training schedule.”

“You’re going to train more here? Are you out of your mind?”

Lishir’s lips trembled slightly.

Roera didn’t miss it.

“How should I put it, would that satisfy you?”

“…What?”

“This ridiculous performance. How long do you plan to keep it up?”

“Roera. Calm down. What on earth are you-“

Haa.

Roera let out a deep sigh.

“Are you an idiot? No. That’s not it. You are an idiot. You think you’re clever, but that’s the truth. Do you really think that person will pay attention to you if you keep doing this?”

“…!”

Lishir’s expression hardened.

As if someone had struck a nerve.

“I know what you’re thinking, doing this. Training? Give it up. The trainees say you swing your sword all day in a trance. But when I came to see, trance my foot. I’ve never seen anyone swing a sword with so many distractions in their head like you. Be glad that person doesn’t pay attention to you. Or maybe, seeing your state, they’ve already decided to completely ignore you?”

“Hey, Roera-“

“Why didn’t you swing your sword in my direction? When I came, your ears perked up? All your attention focused on me. Did you think I wouldn’t notice that?”

“…”

“I’m working so hard~ I’m such a great son~ So please, Father, look at me~ I’m screaming all day, my head is about to explode.”

Roera was right.

Lishir knew his training method wasn’t efficient.

The main purpose, no, the only purpose of this training was to attract attention and gain interest.

Lishir’s desperate struggle to gain his father’s recognition had long since taken this misguided form.

“What, what do you know!!!”

Lishir, whose true intentions were revealed, shouted with a flushed face.

“I don’t want to know either.”

Roera’s previously raised voice now cooled down sharply.

“I don’t even want to care about someone like you.”

“Then just stop caring!!! From the start, you- what makes you so great!?”

“What?”

“If you were in my position, would it be any different!?”

“…”

Roera’s expression hardened.

Interpreting this as a sign of victory, Lishir pressed on.

“If I wasn’t an illegitimate child- if Father had just acknowledged me- I could have done much better than you!!! If you were an illegitimate child, do you think you would have amounted to anything!? Have you ever thought about my position, not being recognized by Father even once!!!”

“Is that so important?”

“What?”

Roera smiled again, but this time it was a bitter smile, different from the previous sneer.

“Do you really want recognition from someone who doesn’t even consider you his son?”

“…What?”

“Do you really want recognition from someone who doesn’t think of you as his son?”

“You, you-“

“Isn’t it funny? He did the deed, got her pregnant, let the child’s mother die, and now he just blames the child, covering his ears and closing his eyes?”

“You- How dare you speak about the head of the family like that…!”

“Look at the filial son. Why don’t you just be the real daughter? I’ll be the illegitimate child.”

Roera looked away, showing she didn’t want to talk anymore.

Lishir was the same.

“…”

At that moment, Roera’s gaze lingered on Lishir’s hand for a moment.

The hand that had blistered from swinging the sword countless times.

“Hey Lishir. Stop wasting your time and beg me instead.”

“What-“

“You. Do that a hundred thousand times. Do you think that person will even care? Do you think your swordsmanship will improve even a little? You’re doing it all to learn swordsmanship, aren’t you? So, choose a more certain path.”

The grown-up younger sister was still shorter than her brother.

But despite being a woman, her physique, which could meet Lishir’s eye level, exuded a certain intimidation and dignity.

Roera approached right in front of Lishir and gestured with her chin.

“Isn’t begging what you’re good at? Beg. Like you did to that person. Who knows? Maybe a pretty younger sister, who isn’t as stingy as that person, will kindly teach you? Of course, it won’t be the Vendelieu swordsmanship you so long for.”

For some reason, Roera did not inherit the Vendelieu swordsmanship.

She refused all support from the family and walked her own path.

To Lishir, who was dominated by a sense of victimhood, it seemed like a luxury only a legitimate child could afford.

“…Go.”

Lishir avoided his younger sister’s eyes, which were looking down at him from a lower eye level.

“Break time is over.”

“Oh. Is that so.”

Roera shrugged her shoulders once and turned away without hesitation.

“…Damn it.”

Lishir did not hear Roera’s voice, which seemed to be blaming herself.

From the next day, Lishir no longer appeared at the training ground.

*

“Lishir.”

It was a familiar voice that greeted me as I returned to the annex after parting with my master.

“Oh, Maya~”

Roera’s maid.

The young lady with the impressively neat bob cut was Maya.

“What brings you here at this late hour?”

“What brings you here at this late hour?”

When I waved at her cheerfully, she widened her eyes in shock.

Unbelievable!

Her expression seemed to say.

“This morning. Didn’t I clearly tell you?”

“This morning?”

“I clearly told you that Miss Roera requested a meeting, so please visit the front yard of the Roera mansion at noon. Was I wrong?”

“Ah. You certainly did.”

“Then why-“

Maya looked up at the sky.

The sky, already past noon and painted with the hues of sunset.

Maya said no more.

Was it like when rappers drop the mic after a rap battle?

Maya had torn it apart.

“Did you wait until now?”

“What if I did?”

“Oh my… Didn’t I tell you? I might not be able to come because I had business to attend to. So, don’t wait.”

“…Did you manage to resolve your business?”

“Of course.”

That business was spending time elsewhere to avoid running into Roera.

“You mean the business that took priority over meeting Miss Roera?”

This person was really angry.

Her eyes were growing larger and larger, no joke.

It seemed like it was time to start backing down.

Clearly, it wouldn’t do any good to offend Miss Maya, who had a higher social status and was building her career in the Vendel family before advancing to the central noble society.

But how to back down?

“… Huff, huff, huff!”

Suddenly, I was out of breath.

Why?

Ah, right. That’s it.

The b*stard had run with his heart about to burst to keep his promise to his beloved sister and his respected maid.

“I’m, I’m sorry for being late…! The business took longer than expected- Is Roera still waiting!? Let’s go right now!”

“Ah.”

Whether my sincerity was conveyed, Miss Maya closed her eyes and was moved.

“Follow me.”

The place we arrived at, following Miss Maya, was a garden located in front of the main building.

There, at a tea-time table, a woman was sitting with her long legs up, reading a book with one hand.

Her long blonde hair was tied back carelessly, yet she still looked noble-

It was my sister, Roera.

I sat down directly opposite Roera.

“Hey.”

My sister greeted me cheerfully.

“What?”

“What?”

“…Never mind. I don’t want to waste more time because of you, so I’ll get straight to the point. Say you refuse.”

“I refuse.”

“Ahhh!!! Not to me!”

Roera couldn’t hold it in any longer and exploded, making a sound like an engine starting.

*

This was Roera’s story.

Right now, there’s a marriage proposal being discussed between me and some lady, and she told me to absolutely refuse it.

“What.”

Marriage proposal? Suddenly, a marriage proposal?

Could it be the military?

Is she implying through a metaphor that they want to force me into the military?

If that’s the case, not only would I refuse, but I might even poop and roll around in it.

Still, if they send me to the military? Then I’ll accept it.

In honor of their sincerity, I’ll add a deserter to the Vendel family records.

“I told you clearly. If that marriage proceeds? I will never stay still.”

“…As expected, the only one who worries about me is Roera.”

“What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden?”

If someone saw Roera’s expression right now, they would say about our sibling relationship:

Your little sister isn’t embarrassed, she’s genuinely disgusted?

In another sense, you could say it’s a true sibling relationship.

Siblings are genetically programmed to be repulsed by each other.

A great realization God gained through Adam and Eve, perhaps.

“Oh. Weren’t we talking about enlistment?”

“…What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Was it my misunderstanding? That’s a relief. Anyway, marriage? What on earth are you talking about?”

“aaargh-“

What would be an appropriate reaction for a brother seeing his sister foaming at the mouth?

Filming with a smartphone? Eating popcorn? Today is a day when I particularly miss modern conveniences.

“Politics!”

“Politics?”

“Two families who live close by and always fight when they make eye contact, instead of disputes, they decided to form a bond and get along from now on – such a common political story. You will enter that family as a son-in-law.”

“I haven’t heard of this.”

“To that person, your opinion doesn’t matter.”

Is it just my imagination?

Roera, who said that, looked somehow displeased.

“Then, would it matter if I opposed it? In the first place, it’s unusual for you to meddle in my affairs? What wind blew?”

“None of your business.”

“No way. Is it because you don’t want to lose your brother to another woman?”

It was nonsense I said, expecting a sharp reaction like just now.

“…What are you talking about.”

Roera left the place as if running away.

“?”

This is an unexpected reaction.

▶Another Tale◀

This is yet another story.

────────

[Everything was noisy]

[How should a noble lady behave-]

[How should a lady of Vendel act-]

[How should my daughter be-]

[I am just myself]

[There was only one person]

[Who saw me as I am]

[“…”]

[I just wanted to go back to the old days]

[I was his best friend-]

[He was my best friend back then]

[I tried my best in my own way]

[No]

[I did everything I could]

[Maybe he would say thank you to me]

[Maybe our relationship could go back to the way it was]

[Marrying Dintal in his place was for that reason]

[I wanted him to find his own life]

[So that he would realize he was not just an illegitimate child abandoned by his father]

[But what came back was the news that he enlisted in the army for the honor of the family]

[And the news that he went missing in the army]

[And-]

[“Foolish guy…”]

[Ironically, because he met death, I carefully laid the man’s body, which had regained warmth, on the ground]

[How did it come to this]

[“…”]

[I actually know]

“`

[The Fool is Me]

[There might have been a much better way]

[There might have been a much easier path]

[But it was oneself who didn’t choose that path]

[One wanted to believe that it would surely be resolved someday]

[Turned away and deliberately took the long way around]

[This is the result]

[Entirely due to one’s own fault-]

[“…”]

[The woman’s lips moved slightly]

[In the end, they did not open]

[Because whatever words were said now held no meaning]

[“Roera, my sister.”]

[In that moment, a familiar voice reached the woman’s ears]

[The woman immediately realized]

[It was not his voice, nor was it him]

[Yet the woman made an uncharacteristic mistake]

[She listened to that voice filled with coldness]

[The light disappeared from the woman’s eyes]

[▶Fate 13: Words Left Unsaid]

*