I Thought Your Friend's Sibling Wasn't a Girl? - Chapter 95

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 95
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A lavish banquet had been prepared in the Dining Hall for their arrival. After enjoying the meal, they were now engaged in successive tea time with Count Arle.
“We’ve received such generous hospitality. Thank you.”
“Please, think nothing of it. It’s only natural.”
Count Arle had managed to conceal his initial demeanor and endure through the banquet, but now his patience seemed entirely exhausted—his visible anxiety had grown markedly pronounced.
“The journey here must have been arduous. The carriage has been stored in the warehouse, and….”
“Yes, we appreciate that.”
“Then, the Consecrated Object—”
Click.
At that moment the door opened, and Aiden, who had stepped out briefly, returned. In his hands he carried a white box none of them had seen before.
Upon seeing the box, Count Arle sprang from his seat.
“Captain. I’ve brought it.”
“Good work.”
It was the box containing the Consecrated Object—Helios.
A Consecrated Object ranked one tier below a Sacred Relic, and precisely because of this, individual houses could borrow them.
What Count Arle’s house had requested was the Consecrated Object known as Helios, which possessed Purification effects.
It was not without value—the Imperial Court only withdrew it on the rarest of occasions—yet this time was an exception. The Imperial Court itself had something to gain.
Yugin extended the box containing Helios toward Count Arle and asked, as if testing him:
“It seems you’re in need of Purification’s power.”
“Ah, yes. Indeed. Since we’re in the Northern Region, Monster appearances have become quite frequent, you see.”
His hands trembled slightly as he quickly received the box.
Borrowing Helios to suppress and eliminate Monster incursions was hardly unusual. Yet the subtle unease that bled through in Count Arle’s manner undermined the credibility of his words.
The other team members appeared to share this skepticism—their eyes, meeting across the empty space, were full of doubt.
“The loan period is one week. During that time, we wish to remain here and guard the Consecrated Object. Would that be acceptable?”
“Here? In this house?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“No, no, not at all! We’ve prepared a space in the Annex for your rest. The main residence has no ready rooms, you see.”
There was clearly something more he was concealing.
The Emperor had hoped that in completing this task, they would simultaneously gain access to House of Page.
Which meant that some incident occurring in Count Arle’s house was connected to House of Page as well.
‘I’ll need to take my time and investigate.’
Olivia blinked gently, her gaze sweeping across the assembled faces.
Count Arle and the Countess, along with those who appeared to be their attendants.
What their expressions revealed was simple: they were all quite anxious at this moment.
Then, suddenly, she noticed something else.
‘Someone who should be here is missing.’
Sirius Arle. She had heard he had returned to the Estate and had not yet come back to the Capital, and yet from the beginning of the banquet until now, he had not made a single appearance.
The gathering was about to break up. The Count, maintaining a semblance of composure, issued a polite invitation for them to retire.
“The hour has grown so late. Time has fled without my notice, thanks to our delightful guests.”
“You should rest as well, Count. We too must shed some of our travel fatigue tonight.”
“Then allow me to show you to your rooms. Steward, see to it, if you please.”
The Count’s manner was oddly stiff, and a rigid tension pervaded the household—not the product of any house tradition, but rather the bearing of those concealing something.
Following the Count’s guidance, Olivia rose and posed a light question to him:
“I’d like to exchange greetings with Sirius. When might that be possible?”
At those words, the Count’s face froze rigid, his mouth clamping shut.
* * *
Creak, creak.
As she opened the window, the sounds from outside poured in as if they had been waiting. The night air, heavy with winter’s scent, rolled through as well.
Olivia drew her shawl tighter around her shoulders and gazed quietly out at the landscape.
“Do you know Sirius?”
“I went through Final Practical Training together with Sirius. I heard he returned to the Estate because his health wasn’t good, but I haven’t heard from him since then.”
“Sirius is away on business at present. Your name, if I may ask…?”
“Olivia Kishere.”
“I shall relay to him that the young lady inquired after his welfare. Thank you for your concern.”
The strange atmosphere that had hung in the air when she asked about Sirius’s whereabouts. The defensive, evasive tone in the Count’s voice.
Everything felt subtly wrong, yet she had no authority to prowl through this mansion prying into its secrets.
Since she had already passed the word to Yugin, that would suffice for tonight.
The wind rose again. Winter definitely arrived earlier in the Northern Region than in the Capital.
Trees already bare and skeletal filled the Garden, and what had once been the Garden lay overturned, as if prepared for fresh cultivation.
‘Most noble houses maintain their gardens meticulously even in winter. Is the North different?’
In any case, it was an odd place all around. Olivia blinked several times before closing the window again.
Sleep would not come.
The Garden, though desolate, did not seem such an unpleasant place for a walk. Olivia decided that if sleep continued to elude her, she would venture out and explore the surroundings for a time.
“I’m not in training clothes either…. It should be fine to just go out, shouldn’t it?”
Olivia, carrying a short dagger in place of Defensor along with the small pouch she always kept close, made her way outside with a lantern in hand.
Even as her footsteps echoed along the path, the surroundings remained perfectly still. The servants appeared to have retired to their quarters after completing their duties, and there was an unusual absence of any presence.
Dried leaves scattered by the wind occasionally brushed across her path.
That was when it happened.
Crunch. Clink. Crunch, crunch.
‘What is that sound?’
A discordant noise struck her ears.
Though not particularly loud, the surrounding stillness made it seem unusually pronounced. Olivia carefully moved toward the source of the sound.
Crunch, clink. Crunch….
What she first saw was the back of a man pressed against the Estate’s wall, digging at something.
And what she saw next—
“Sirius Arle?”
Red hair.
His movements stopped abruptly as if he’d heard someone call his name.
“Sirius. It is you, isn’t it? I heard you’d been away on business—”
But she could not finish her sentence.
Boom!
He suddenly lunged at her, forcing her to throw herself aside to dodge.
What was happening?
It was definitely Sirius—much thinner than when she’d last seen him, his cheeks sunken, his clothes disheveled in a way they hadn’t been before—but it was certainly him.
But why on earth was Sirius attacking her?
A question with no immediate answer seized Olivia’s mind.
Thud!
“Sirius Arle! Come to your senses!”
“The stone… I need to recover the stone.”
“Stone? What on earth are you talking about….”
“Give it back. You took it. Give it back!”
As she pivoted away from his flailing arm, Sirius tumbled to the ground once more, the impact echoing loudly.
From inside the house, as if responding to the commotion, lights began flickering on in rooms that had been dark.
“What exactly are you saying?!”
“The Red Stone, I must take it… without it, that person’s resurrection cannot—”
“Stop. Move back and talk to me.”
He seemed to have lost all sense of reason. Olivia’s instincts screamed this warning.
The unfocused cast of his eyes, the way he repeated the same words over and over. And more than that—the “Red Stone”? Wasn’t that something that had been intruding more and more into Olivia’s life as of late?
Olivia bit her lip once and dodged Sirius’s attack again.
He remained where he stood, breathing heavily, whether from frustration or exertion. An ominous sensation spread through her.
Which meant that the way he’d been behaving just now definitely….
‘When he was casting Magic.’
This was bad.
The instant this realization struck her, Olivia moved. But her reaction came a fraction too late—thorny spines were already rising from the ground with a sickening sound.
Could she cut through all of them? It seemed impossible.
‘Then I need to expose the most defensible part.’
Making the judgment in an instant, Olivia twisted her body, offered up one arm, and deflected the remaining spines with her blade. Sharp thorns surged toward her.
Without sparing a glance at the incoming spines, Olivia hurled herself toward Sirius.
“Olivia!”
Crash, bang!
As pale dust erupted and an unfamiliar hand clasped her waist, Sirius’s vital point made contact with the arm she had extended.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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