Love Letter From The Future

4. Rynella’s fate is decided by Rynella (18)

There is always an awkward atmosphere when you first meet.

The couple was also the same. Mainly, the saintess, Elsie-senpai, and Seria were the only ones who couldn’t adapt to the Percus Mansion. The three of them had a rather nervous look on their faces.

The only ones with calm expressions were Ian, Leto, and Celine.

It was a natural reaction since Ian had returned to his hometown after a long time, and Retona and Celine were also places where I used to come and go like my home since childhood.

It was strange if not comfortable.

Contrary to Ian’s concerns, Lia didn’t even scold him as soon as he saw him.

Ian’s face, which was worried about being ripped off, couldn’t help but become more clear.

After a short greeting, Lia was leading the group. She opened her mouth in a polite tone.

“There is a room left in the mansion, so I would like to ask you to stay. Of course, it’s not comparable to the place where all the distinguished guests have been staying, but… … .”

“It’s okay, sister.”

As usual, the saintess opened her mouth in a benevolent voice.

Lia’s golden gaze glanced at the saintess.

“I have been helping brother Ian to stay in an orphanage. In the first place, my origin is not that noble. So don’t worry too much.”

Then Leah smiled.

“… … You see.”

The saintess showed a satisfied smile at Lia’s reaction. At the same time, the eyes glancing at Ian seemed to be boasting to him about how good his skills were.

Then, Ian said “Pick” and laughed.

If it ends like this, it’s like you’re not my little sister.

“However, there is one thing that worries me. Originally, if you say you are a saint, you should stay in the temple… I wonder if the Percus family wasn’t greedy in case the old temple was uncomfortable.”

“… … Yes Yes?”

The saintess was taken aback by Lia’s words, which poured out as if she had prepared them.

The saintess wasn’t stupid enough to not know what she meant by saying such a thing. On the contrary, the nuns who were trained in the political world like thin ice were second to none.

Even so, the reason why the saintess was perplexed was that she could not understand why Lia kept her in check.

Lia Percus was a merchant.

And one of the merchant’s most important assets was his personal network. The saintess who held the highest position in the Holy Kingdom was no different from a commodity that a merchant could not afford to miss.

It was a relationship where you could make a huge profit even if you made a little string.

The saintess, who had dealt with countless merchants, assumed that Lia would do the same. In fact, Lia was treating the party very politely.

However, the side of Leah shown now was different.

On the contrary, she was hostile to the saintess.

The saintess, who thought she would look good because she was Ian’s younger sister, was on the verge of feeling unfair.

“Then, there is no need to deliberately prepare a room for the saintess in the mansion. On the contrary, it will be a hindrance to volunteer work. After that, I was guided to the temple separately… … .”

“… … Leah.”

While the saintess was stunned, Ian had to sigh and take the lead in the conversation.

Lia’s cold eyes turned to Ian.

The man smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“This is my guest.”

“… … huh.”

It was too arrogant for a reaction to give back to an older brother who was to be respected.

Read at readwn

Just one snort.

However, Lia unexpectedly followed Ian’s words without saying anything.

“Then the saintess can stay in this room. And next… … .”

While Lia politely guided her around the mansion, Elsie was walking with Ian’s sleeve tightly clenched with a look of uneasiness.

His gait was particularly stiff.

It would not be wrong to say that it was the most tense moment of my life.

Elsie tugged on Ian’s sleeve with a confused look.

“Lord, Master… … .”

“Elsie-senpai, don’t really use that title.”

Ian spoke in a solemn tone, but Elsie’s voice, already whispering, was strangely trembling.

Whoa, whoa, Elsie took a deep breath and tried to calm her chest.

“Uh, what do I do? What if the master’s family doesn’t like me?!”

“Could it be… … .”

Ian wanted to reassure Elsie, but in the end he was speechless.

To be honest, he wasn’t sure either.

A woman from a prestigious family who claims to be a pet?

This was a problem of how to accept such an existence beyond the problem of likes and dislikes. Ian’s troubled expression must have made Elsie more anxious, and the frequency of her deep breathing increased noticeably.

On the other hand, Seria, who had heard many stories from Celine beforehand, seemed a little dumbfounded.

“Senior Ian, that person… Are you the younger sister?”

“Yes, that is my sister. I am two years younger than you.”

This meant that he would come of age next year.

Despite Ian’s reply, Seria whispered in a voice filled with disbelief.

“Yeah, but… Much better than what I heard from Miss Hastur… … .”

“Aren’t you polite? Be polite.”

Seeing this as a somewhat rude question, Seria’s face heated up a little. Hesitantly, the girl nodded.

Ian swallowed a laugh.

“Take a look. It’s like that for others.”

It didn’t take a long time until the mansion guide was over.

“… … Finally, this is the room I am living in. If you have any inconvenience, please call the attendant at any time.”

Leah’s expression at the end of her words was nothing but calm.

It was an impeccable guide.

Occasionally checks came in from strange places, but they were polite and boldly omitted unnecessary explanations so that they could understand the rough structure of the mansion.

However, there was only one missing part in that explanation, and Seria tilted her head.

“… … That, Miss Percus?”

“Yes, Lady Yurdina.”

If it was an academy, they would have had conversations on an equal footing, but this place was not an academy.

Of course, Yurdina, one of the five noble families of the Empire, had no choice but to be treated even more. It was a background inevitably divided by the titles of ‘sheep’ and ‘nim’.

“I think you didn’t show me around senior Ian’s room.”

The saintess and Elsie naturally nodded at Seria’s point.

It was possible because the three goals were one.

I came to spend time with Ian, but it was difficult if I didn’t know where Ian’s room was.

Each woman wanted to obtain the information with a sense of purpose.

Lia put her finger on her lips as if pondering the question for a moment, then let out a shallow exclamation.

“… … Aha.”

And the girl had a beautiful smile.

“I moved my older brother’s room a while ago.”

“… … what? Haven’t I heard anything like that?”

“I will guide you now.”

Ian’s reaction was dumbfounded, but Leah didn’t even listen.

The party had no choice but to follow Lia again after exchanging glances.

Only Ian responded that it had started again.

It wasn’t long before the atmosphere of the party, which was full of questions at first, changed completely.

Leah hadn’t even reached the lobby of the mansion and was moving outside.

The youthful suspicion deepened in the eyes of the party.

It was to the point of hallucinations of question marks floating overhead.

But Leah’s gait was unstoppable. With that confident attitude, the party followed without even raising an objection.

And after a while, a large pit was located in the backyard where the party arrived.

Read at readwn

Judging from the amount of soil scooped out, it appeared to have been made some time ago. In front of him, Leah, holding the shovel handle in one hand, hammered the shovel blade into the ground.

Leah said with a smile on her face.

“Now, this is my brother’s new room.”

At the sound of that bright voice, it felt like the minds of the group stopped for a moment.

Only Ian, Celine, and Leto let out a deep sigh.

It was after that even that polite and courteous way of speaking had disappeared.

Lia’s hand was clearly pointing into the pit.

Ian said as if pleading, running his hands down his face.

“Lea, please… Are you in front of guests? … .”

“… … in front of guests?”

At those words, a crack appeared in Ria’s smile.

The corners of her lips started to quiver.

“Thanks to my brother, do you know what kind of guests I had to greet? Can you tell me one by one what uniforms the Imperial Treasury wears?”

“That is, that is… Leah.”

Ian let out a deep sigh.

“sorry. But, I really couldn’t help it… … .”

“Do not be ridiculous.”

While slowly erasing her smile, Lia put strength into her shovel-holding hand.

As the shovel blade dug into the ground again, a mound of dirt flew up.

The girl was trembling with her head down. And it didn’t take long for the tremors to become screams.

Glowing golden eyes floated in the air.

A sobbing cry followed.

“… … Ooh, don’t be ridiculous!”

And without a moment to stop, Leah rushed at Ian.

Lia’s hand held Ian’s hair as if it were familiar. While the party was embarrassed, Leah shed tears and randomly pulled Ian’s hair.

“Do you know that I am a top tier that I have worked hard to raise for years?! But broke! uh, what are you gonna do… my 3 years! I stayed up all night and raised it! For my brother and not for anyone else!”

In Lia’s whining and pulling Ian’s hair, I couldn’t find any of her dignified appearance before.

On the contrary, there were tears in those cold golden eyes.

Even Ian seemed familiar with the situation with his sister holding onto his hair.

He frowned in pain and made excuses.

“Oh, I couldn’t help it! Otherwise the world will end… … .”

“What nonsense is that!”

However, Ian’s words were interrupted by Lia’s crying.

Before I knew it, Lia’s eyes were spinning. It meant that emotions were at their peak.

Until then, the party was just appreciating another side of Lia with bewildered eyes.

Even though it was different, it was so different.

It felt like a personality change.

“The end of the world?! Oh, why is your brother involved in such a thing! It’s dangerous! Gee, do you really want to get scolded?! And my top… My, my top, what are you going to do ah… … .”

Eventually, tears began to flow from Lia’s eyes.

“Take charge of my life! It will feed me for the rest of my life! Take responsibility for my life!”

Watching the two siblings bicker like that, the group’s stupid eyes turned to Leto and Celine.

Celine was already averting her eyes and making a painful expression, while Leto only shrugged his shoulders with a faint smile.

“It’s like that.”

While doing so, Leto alternately looked at Ian, who was pulling out his hair, and the pit that was dug deep.

“… … brother, um Because you like it so much?”

It really couldn’t have been more cryptic.

**

In the end, it was a long time after that that I was released.

Fortunately, mana can also tighten pores. Taking comfort in the fact that there weren’t too many plucked hairs, I sat down in the parlor looking a mess.

Lia was sniffling and dabbing my eyes with a handkerchief.

Actually, it wouldn’t be that sad, but it was a strategy to arouse my sympathy. It was Lia who had been following me since childhood.

I was not aware of that intention. Even so, there were times when I had to lose as an older brother.

As I sat stunned, Elsie sunbae cried in the seat next to me.

“that that… It’s okay, it’s okay… … .”

“… … it’s okay.”

The answer came from an unexpected place.

Only then did Lia stop crying and regain her calm voice.

“I know everything about my brother. So, my brother is fine. I know because I’ve done it a few times.”

“… … I am proud, I am proud.”

I buried myself in the backrest with such a timid defiance. I was glad that I was able to manage my hair by tidying it up temporarily.

After things seemed to have calmed down a bit, I had to bring up a question I had been harboring.

“Ria, more than that, where have your parents and older brother gone?”

In response to my question, Lia looked at me blankly with eyes asking what she was talking about.

So I had to ask even more absurdly.

“It’s strange that a guest has come, but the family head and heir don’t come out. Why are you the only one in the mansion?”

“… … didn’t you hear?”

Lia slightly narrowed her eyebrows and looked at me and Elsie-senpai alternately.

Then, in an instant, my heartbeat stopped.

It was a kind of intuition.

A feeling of foreboding pierced my chest. Elsie looked at Lia with a mixed expression of doubt and tension.

Lia said in a bewildered voice.

“The Magic Corps of the Rainella family was supposed to arrive today. So he went to pick me up, it’s an official exchange between families… Isn’t that what your brother called?”

No way.

Right now, senior Elsie and I are no different from escaping alone.

Immediately my palm hit my forehead.

Apparently, the relationship with the Rainella family seemed to continue in the Percus territory as well.