Beggar Siblings - Contract
Summer had quickly given way to autumn.
Around the time the cool breeze arrived, the prince of the Astin Kingdom arrived in Orville.
Escorted by hundreds of elite soldiers and servants, the prince led the procession in a dignified manner, knights guarding him closely. Among the crowds that flocked to see the magnificent procession were Lena and Leo.
“Lena! Look, there he is. The prince!”
Leo had been taking care of his sister and working for the family every day. Recently, he had even been put into action twice, and he was now treated as a proper force within the Rauno Family.
[Achievement: Civilian Kill - You have killed ‘2’ civilians. You become slightly unfortunate.]
This one had popped up after he killed a merchant. It wasn't surprising since he had seen it before when he killed Hans.
Slight misfortune, Leo had been a little anxious when he saw it, but he had forgotten about it by now.
Nothing in his life had changed because of it.
Occasionally, there were some unlucky incidents.
For example, he would lose the pretty clothes pin he bought for Lena somewhere along the way, or he would draw a warm bath and be about to wash up properly for the first time in a while, only to be called by the boss and return to find the water had gone cold.
But these were all just trivial mishaps that anyone could experience and laugh off.
Meanwhile, Lena blossomed with radiant beauty, well-fed and well-rested.
She lived safely in the family mansion, received education with other children her age, and regained the life of a youthful girl by hanging out with them. She enjoyed each day, surrounded by the attention and love of her family.
And Leo, he ate well, his muscles grew, and he got taller.
Finally, a body worthy of {Swordsmanship.2v} was being built, and now there was no one in the back alleys who could threaten him.
The ‘slight misfortune’ couldn’t shake this stability ─ thinking this to himself, Leo glared at the man who was glancing at his sister.
When he tapped the scabbard hanging from his waist, the man flinched and averted his gaze.
Leo’s neck bore the tattoo of the Rauno Family.
A poisoned dagger protruding from behind a shield. Even seeing this alone was enough to make ordinary citizens back off.
‘How dare you lay eyes on my sister. You wanna die?’
Leo smirked, tilting his head lightly from side to side, and Lena, oblivious to someone ogling her, burst into cheers.
“Wow! Amazing! It's the prince!”
“Isn't he cool?”
“Yeah! I've never seen anything like… Huh? Where have I seen something like that before? Anyway, he’s cool!”
Seeing his sister's excitement as she jumped up and down filled Leo with a new sense of emotion.
He hadn't been able to bring Lena to the prince's procession before because he lacked the power.
“Lena, what do you think of that prince?”
“What about him?”
“Do you think he's cool?”
“Yeah! He’s cool!”
Somehow, the meaning of “cool” seemed to be getting lost in translation, so he asked again.
“Lena, wouldn't you like to marry a prince like that?”
“Huh? How could I marry a prince? Princes have to marry princesses.”
“Lena, you are a princess” ─ he wanted to tell her, but he held back.
If he said that, his sister would definitely laugh at him. Calling him a good-for-nothing, clueless older brother.
“Just in case. If you could get married, would you marry him?”
“Hmm~ Maybe?”
Lena shrugged as if it didn’t matter, and the prince disappeared into the distance, ending the splendid procession.
On their way back, while comforting Lena, who was disappointed it was over, Leo asked a little persistently.
“What do you think? Wouldn't you want to marry a prince like that?”
“I don't know?”
“Not really?”
“No.”
“Then?”
Lena glared at her brother.
She frowned as if she was displeased with something, but she was still dazzlingly beautiful. The wrinkle that popped up between her narrowed eyebrows was unbearably adorable.
“Do you want me to get married, Oppa?”
“No. It's not like that… but you'll have to get married when you're a little older. I was just wondering what kind of guy you like.”
“...I don't want to get married.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Ah! Never mind! You’re such a dummy!”
“Lena!”
Lena turned away, as if she didn't want to talk anymore, and went into her room.
“Hey, Lena?”
“Go away! I'm not letting you in!”
“What's wrong all of a sudden?”
“I'm going to sleep!”
“But it's still broad daylight?”
“…”
Lena didn’t come out of her room until evening and had dinner as if nothing had happened. Leo, thinking that women's mood swings were hard to keep up with, watched his sister carefully.
‘Is it puberty?’
He couldn’t understand her behavior.
This Civilian killing achievement is going to bite him in the ass, I'm calling it. He's getting a bit too comfy. I'm a bit worried the author will use the achievement to handwave situations where the protagonist has bad things happen to him and just say, "It was the achievement causing it," with no further explanation, so they can progress the plot, but I guess we'll see.
ReplyDeleteYeah he still haven't learned his lesson. He can't afford to underestimate a skill.
DeleteI hope it will not be incest
ReplyDelete