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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: A Secret from Bella
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As the hazy sunset faded and the cold night slowly blanketed the sky,
Camilla's eyes slowly opened.
Her violet pupils groped through the darkness.
A vision where nothing was visible at all.
It wasn't an unfamiliar sight to her.
There wasn't any special reason she waited for night.
Before coming to the Rahel Tani household, back when she lived with her blood-related parents. During the day, her arms were always bruised from her father and mother's hands.
But in the deep hours of dawn when everyone was lost in deep sleep, she could breathe peacefully.
So Camilla moved at night.
At night, no fists would fly even if she put a grubby root from the roadside in her mouth to sate her hunger.
"...I'm hungry."
She murmured lowly, hugging the hunger surging from her side as she slowly rose.
Until just a short while ago, Camilla had shared breakfast with Roselia and Bella.
But now that she didn't, her hunger naturally deepened.
『From now on, I won't bother you anymore.』
Those were the last words Bella had left behind.
True to her word, after that day, Bella had completely vanished from Camilla's sight.
Only now could Camilla find peace.
Now she no longer had to worry about that irritating existence called her big sister. She no longer had to face the pointless glow shining in those sky-blue eyes.
Sky-blue eyes that shone brightly with vibrant life force.
Those eyes always made her, who cowered and lived in the darkness, feel utterly pathetic.
That's why she hated them.
Even though Bella had no power or ability whatsoever.
Even though she was in exactly the same discarded position as Camilla in the end.
That gaze looking at her with such full-of-life eyes was so uncomfortable and unpleasant.
But now, she would never have to face it again.
Since Bella had declared herself that she would leave.
There weren't many points of connection between the two to begin with. And there wouldn't be any in the future either.
Bella, who lived with bright light in her eyes, would go on living in sunny daylight befitting her.
She was someone who could never match with Camilla, who only felt at ease in the darkness.
Bella would now stay by Roselia's side.
Camilla knew better than anyone how much Roselia had changed since Bella set foot in the Rahel Tani household.
The first bath together, the first picnic of her life.
All those moments had been possible because Bella was there.
And now that Camilla had taken a step back, the two would surely grow even closer without her.
"..."
Camilla stared blankly out the window before slowly turning her steps toward the door.
Deep down in her heart, she had always known.
That no matter what, she could never get close to Roselia.
The one who had always built a wall between them was never Camilla, but Roselia.
Click.
Camilla's small hand carefully grasped the doorknob. With a soft turn of the handle, the door opened.
It was the moment faint moonlight from the hallway seeped into the room filled with thick darkness.
An unexpected someone greeted her with a sly smile.
"Hello."
"Eek?!"
The startled Camilla jolted back in surprise.
"Oh my, what a cute reaction."
Scarlet eyes like fresh blood gleamed beneath long lashes.
Even in the darkness, her radiant platinum hair captured the gaze.
"...Mother?"
"Yes."
Roselia looked at Camilla with a gentle smile.
Camilla stood there dazed for a while at that smile.
It was the first time.
For Mother to visit her room at such a deep hour of the night.
Maybe she had mistaken it for Bella's room. The thought briefly crossed her mind.
"Wh-what... brings you here?"
"I came because I wanted to see you. You hardly ever come out of your room except at times like this."
Camilla's eyes widened round once more.
She could hardly believe those words had come from Roselia's mouth.
"M-me...?"
"Who else would I come to see?"
At Roselia's calm retort, Camilla lowered her gaze.
"...Big Sister or something."
"I'm here for you, Camilla."
Roselia bent one knee to meet Camilla's eyes.
"Wouldn't you like to take a bath just the two of us?"
"...Just the two of us?"
"Yes. If you're okay with it."
Camilla lifted her head, her clear eyes flashing wide.
After hesitating for a moment, she quickly nodded.
"Okay."
"Good."
Timidly.
Shyly.
Camilla's voice murmured softly.
Only then could Roselia properly meet Camilla's eyes.
It wasn't that she was avoiding her out of dislike.
She had just been watching her mood, not wanting to upset her.
『If you approach first, Camilla will surely open her heart.』
Bella's voice suddenly flitted through Roselia's mind.
She had no choice but to admit it.
Until now, she had been the one running away.
If she wanted to mend her relationship with Camilla, she should have reached out first herself.
Bella had seen through that fact at once and pointed it out.
'She's really more mature than me.'
Though her stubbornness to do everything alone was a problem.
"Mother...?"
Camilla's small voice pulled Roselia from her thoughts.
"Shall we go take that bath now?"
"...Yes."
At the sight of Camilla nodding eagerly,
Roselia couldn't help but burst into laughter.
In the dead of night when everyone was deep in slumber.
Faint moonlight seeped through the bathroom window, quietly flowing between the steamy mist.
As a cozy fragrance lingered in the air, Roselia lathered foam on Camilla's shoulders.
"We haven't had proper time like this in so long."
"...I'm happy even if it's now."
Roselia realized anew how foolish she had been.
This child had followed her so faithfully, so why had she misunderstood it as avoidance all this time?
It had already been two years since Camilla came to the estate.
In that time, moments sitting face-to-face alone like this could be counted on one hand.
But tonight, soaking together in warm water and sharing simple talk, the cold wall between Camilla and Roselia began to crumble bit by bit.
"Yes. Let's make time like this more often from now on."
Roselia carefully rinsed the foam while wiping Camilla's back.
Camilla nodded shortly instead of replying.
If this were all there was to see, it would be no different from a tender mother-daughter conversation during a midnight bath.
This was exactly the atmosphere Bella had hoped for.
If Bella were secretly watching this scene right now, she would surely praise herself as a genius.
But Bella didn't know yet.
That everything in the world has its dark side.
Bella, who always tried to view the world through positive eyes, harbored the hope that the Rahel Tani family would not walk the path of villains in the future.
However, contrary to Bella's hopes.
The Rahel Tani countship, bestowed upon Roselia by the emperor for her merits over a decade ago,
From the very day the family was founded, had already been treading the path of sin.
"...I have something to report, Black Lord."
It was utterly different from the tender atmosphere that had filled the air just moments ago.
Cold indifference crept back into Camilla's eyes, which had held a faint thrill.
"Tell me."
Roselia's lips curved into a strange smile.
It was a smile completely different in nature from the one Bella had seen.
An expression where cruelty and allure twisted bizarrely.
That smile, sharp enough to cut at a mere brush, was unmistakably that of a villain.
"I interrogated the apostle you brought, Mother. Even after breaking bones and slicing flesh, he never opened his mouth."
"He truly knows nothing, it seems."
"Yes, probably because he's just a low-rank grunt."
It had been two years since Camilla was adopted into the Rahel Tani family.
In those two years, what had built between them was not some mother-daughter bond.
"Instead, he revealed the location of one of the Black Altar's point organizations."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. If you bring a higher-ranking apostle next time, I can extract more meaningful information."
The bathroom filled with warm steam.
Yet the conversation passing between them in that space was chillingly out of place.
"Good. Is that all the business?"
"...Yes."
With Camilla's short reply, the tense air loosened.
Roselia stroked Camilla's hair with a far more serious gaze.
"Camilla. You don't have to follow my path."
"No, it's fine."
A flicker of emotion rippled in Camilla's empty eyes.
It was clearly something akin to murderous intent.
"I'll kill all of the Black Altar."
"...Just like my daughter."
Roselia stroked Camilla's head once more.
At the touch, Camilla's face faintly flushed as she bowed her head.
"...And I'm glad you came today, Mother."
An unexpectedly affectionate remark.
Roselia's eyes widened round for a moment.
She should have acted like this from the beginning.
Regret bitterly pricked at Roselia's heart.
But unable to show that emotion,
Roselia offered Camilla her finger with a faint smile.
"The talk we had today... it's a secret from Bella?"
"...Yes."
Roselia was a rather perceptive person.
She had noticed from the moment she first met Bella.
If Bella had heard the conversation exchanged in this room today, she would tremble in fear at the sight of her for the rest of her life.
That couldn't happen.
She had only just become able to stroke her head like this.
If Bella ever fled in terror,
Roselia was determined to turn the entire continent upside down to get her back.
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