[Jack POV]
After months of travel, we finally reached the main residence. As we arrived, I was greeted by one of my attendants who quickly summarized everything that had happened during the time we were gone. Nora hastily withdrew to her room, giving deadly looks to anyone who dared to comment on her new haircut. I headed to my office.
Upon entering, I found Eric and Cory, two distinguished members of our family and my cousins, already waiting for me. As they saw me, a wide smile spread across their faces.
"Finally back! You sure took your time!" Cory joked. "What about Nora?"
"She will probably join us later," I replied.
Eric got straight to the point. "Did you find her?"
I nodded and invited them to take a seat. I proceeded to tell them everything that had occurred, detailing every event as precisely as possible. I explained the discovery of Azariah and Aoban, the unexpected half that was with them, and the assault on my sister. The discussion lasted for a while, and then the door of my office suddenly opened.
Upon seeing Nora enter the room, my cousins widened their eyes. Of course, the last time they saw her, she still had hair on her head. Knowing my sister's poor character, they didn't utter a word. They knew she would likely only get overexcited and take out her anger on them. They could pretty much guess what had happened, as the word that she had been attacked had spread. Trying to ignore her new appearance, they turned away their gaze. But that only irritated Nora even more.
"Tss... Cowards... Too scared to speak up," she half murmured, as everyone heard her.
Not paying attention to Nora's outburst, we returned to the main subject.
"So what are you planning to do now?" Eric asked.
"Aoban will receive his rightful education as a noble. He may have lived among the commoners for a while, but he's still my brother's son and the heir of this family. I've already asked my attendant to contact a mentor," I explained.
"That's not what I was thinking about," Eric shook his head. "I meant, what about the half-breed?"
"Isn't it obvious?" a female voice suddenly spoke up, and we all turned to my sister. "We dispose of her."
Eric and Cory nodded approvingly.
"I wonder if that's really a good idea," I muttered, after thinking for a while.
"What do you mean? She's only a half anyway," Cory said.
"Maybe, but she's still my brother's flesh and blood. Besides..." I looked at my sister, who was narrowing her eyes. "You saw them too, Nora. Her golden eyes."
Hearing about this, my cousins' eyes widened.
"Golden eyes? Is she a chosen one?" Eric asked, raising a single eyebrow.
I nodded. As my cousins started to reconsider getting rid of her, Nora suddenly shouted.
"So what? She's still a filthy half-breed!" she exclaimed.
"Indeed, but do you really think it's a good idea to kill a child who has been blessed by the gods?"
"Nora, Jack has a point. Killing her might bring misfortune to the family," Eric said.
"Keeping her alive is what is going to bring misfortune! Then what? Are you suggesting that we let her into the family?" Nora grunted, clearly annoyed by the situation.
I could understand her feelings. Even if she is my brother's daughter, having the blood of the Whiteheart running in the veins of a half will only bring shame to the family. If this matter comes out, our reputation will take a serious blow. Then again, we can't dispose of her. It is a fact that she was a child chosen by the gods, and we can't take the risk of angering them.
We can't kill her, we can't take her in, and we can't let her go free.
Then I thought about it.
"We'll just have to keep an eye on her until she's old enough to marry her off," I suggested. "As long as she doesn't leave the mansion, no one will ever learn about her existence. She may be a half, but the fact that she was blessed makes her valuable breeding material. A lot of people will be interested. Besides, some people are interested in rare breeds."
I paused, studying the reactions of the others. Nora was not pleased by my suggestion, but she stayed silent, while my cousins exchanged glances.
"Additionally, it will improve our relationship with the household willing to take her in. So, not only do we get rid of the half, but we also gain some allies. She will become useful," I added.
This time, Eric and Cory nodded. It wasn't a bad deal. Actually, thinking about it, that child was a pretty good asset, and they understood it.
"So we will have to keep the half under our roof until then," Nora murmured.
I turned my gaze to my sister. I knew her nasty temper well.
"I'm not going to ask you to be nice to her, Nora, but don't mistreat her. We don't want her to run away like her mother, alright?"
She did not reply, instead giving me a meaningful look. She understood my point. She clearly didn't like the turn of events, but this was the best option we had.
Without uttering a word, Nora left. She was going to be in a bad mood for a while.
[End Of Jack POV]
[Lynett POV]
It's boring.
It's been a month since we arrived, and my life in the Whiteheart Estate is really uninteresting.
I've been given my own room. It is a spacious room, three times the size of the previous one we used to live in. It is furnished with a couch, a dresser, a desk and a chair, an old-fashioned gilt mirror, and a ridiculously large bed. The ceiling is adorned with ornaments, and the floor is covered with a fancy carpet. Yep, this is definitely a noble's mansion.
At first, I was happy to have my own private place, but I soon changed my mind when my private place became way too private.
I'm not allowed to go outside, so I have to stay in my room all day long, alone. I have only visited the mansion once since then, and I was locked up in my own room.
Basically, it's just a prison cell. I'm eating well, sleeping well, but it's way too lonely. This can't be serious. I'm not going to spend my life locked up in a room again.
At least, being alone almost all day allows me to practice a little magic.
It's something I've wanted to do ever since the incident with my aunt. I was a bit hesitant at first, since I didn't want to screw something up and end up blowing away my own room or something like that. Obviously, whether I like it or not, there is a ridiculously dangerous power dormant inside me, and I wouldn't want it to go out of control if things went wrong. Not like I can rely on the others either, especially now that we're in enemy territory.
Being able to use [Voiceless Incantation] makes things easier. I don't need to memorize any chants; instead, I just have to visualize what I want to do and materialize my mana.
That being said, it's way easier said than done. Managing to do that requires insane concentration; it's worse than doing math all day. I have to have an extremely precise image of what I want to do, or else the magic will act by itself and go out of control. This is pretty much what happened with my aunt. Without realizing that I had activated my mana, I asked for her to be bald. Way too vague. In the end, she did lose her hair, but she also almost lost her life.
Right now, my control is a disaster. Last time I tried some wind magic, I almost broke the window as the wind slashed it violently, cracking the glass. That's quite disappointing. Aren't I supposed to be a Goddess? Earth magic is not good either, as it transforms my room into a mess, and I have no idea what Light magic does. Ever since the last incident, I haven't tried Fire magic again, and for obvious reasons, I won't try Darkness magic either. So, so far, I'm only practicing with water magic, since it seemed the most harmless one.
At least, for now, I guess I don't have to worry about making the sun disappear by mistake.
From time to time, I receive visits.
Several times a day, the maids come to check on me. I thought they were really kind, but that was only my imagination. One day, I overheard them talking, saying that it was really exhausting to keep up the act of the good servant in front of me. None of them wanted to be here, with a half-breed like me, but they didn't have a choice since I am still the daughter of the previous Marquis. Hum, whatever. It hurts a little, but I'm not thinking about it anymore. I only need my brother and my mother. Who cares about the rest?
My brother is extremely busy. As the heir of the family, he receives a harsh education. I used to spend a lot of time with him, but now I can only see him for a few minutes each day. I'm still grateful that he takes the time to visit.
On the other hand, my mother tries to visit me as much as she can, but she is busy too. Just like me, she is not considered a member of the family, but she's not a guest or a servant either. Just a prisoner.
Aunt Nora makes her run around a lot, often summoning her to her room for whatever reason. I'm not sure what she makes her do, but it doesn't seem like she's mistreating her, so I don't feel like burning her growing hair one more time.
Just like this, my first month in the Whiteheart Estate passed.
But then, something changed.
A few days ago, my mother stopped coming. No matter how busy she was, she always made sure to visit me at least once a day, but it has been already a couple of days since I haven't seen her. The maids said that she had been sent on an errand in the next town and she'll be back soon, but I'm not buying it. Mother would never have left without warning first. Even Aoban hasn't heard anything about it.
Something happened. I don't know what, but it can't possibly be good.
My first suspicion was, of course, directed toward my Aunt. For some reason, this stupid woman seemed to hate my mother. If there was someone who would be related to her sudden disappearance, it would be her. Even if she seemed to have calmed down a lot these days, I couldn't possibly forget the impression of our first meeting. An eternal bitch that enjoyed tormenting others.
Damn it. And here I thought she was starting to change. I was careless. Did she suddenly snap and take it out on my mother? Crap. I hope my mother is fine. Where is she?