Tia’s Smooth Life After Regression - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Tiya’s Smooth Regression Life

Chapter 21

【Where are you going? You still have homework left!】

“Right now, my brother is more important than studying!”

Tiya immediately rushed out to the manor’s entrance. In the distance, she could see a tall profile rising above the gathered employees.

His pale golden hair, like beach sand, flowed softly down to his shoulders, and his handsome face receiving greetings from the employees wore a proper yet gentle smile.

Unlike Lev, who hadn’t seemed to grow much in four years, her brother who had now turned fifteen already looked like an adult.

Even so, Tiya recognized Rodion immediately.

The day Tiya left the Dominion.

“Tiya, while you’re staying with grandmother in the North, I’ll come get you. Until then, be very, very happy. You understand?”

Just like that young boy who had chased after the carriage carrying his sister for so long, this time it was Tiya who ran toward him.

“Brother!”

Rodion’s head turned toward Tiya with a start.

His gentle but somehow worn-down smile disappeared for a moment.

“Tiya?”

Immediately after, what took its place was a face very familiar to Tiya.

Raw joy spread across his entire face, and Rodion’s arms naturally stretched forward as if to catch Tiya as she ran toward him.

Tiya threw herself at Rodion like a large dog, just as she used to do.

“I’m going to give you a heart attack…!”

Thud.

The next moment, she found herself embracing the ground rather than Rodion’s arms.

Tiya couldn’t get up for a while and just blinked while lying face down.

If she wasn’t mistaken—

‘Just now… did my brother avoid me? My heart attack?’

【Oh my, how embarrassing. Can’t you dust off your knees and get up quickly?】

Despite Winter’s nagging, Tiya couldn’t quite pull herself together. Instead, she looked up at Rodion with a shocked expression.

“Why…?”

At Tiya’s tearful, hurt gaze, Rodion hesitated but gestured to an employee.

Mia quickly stepped forward to help Tiya up, but Tiya’s heart still couldn’t find proper footing.

“Sorry, Tiya. I just came back from going out, so I’m all dirty. No, more importantly, why are you here? When did you come to the Dominion?”

Why was she here?

Somehow it sounded like he found it troublesome.

Tiya now grumbled with a face full of resentment and betrayal.

“It’s been a while! I’ve been sticking my neck out the window every day waiting for when you’d come, and my neck got this long from it.”

Tiya stood on her tiptoes and stretched her chin up to show how much she had grown.

However, Rodion didn’t seem to have the presence of mind to listen to Tiya’s words.

“It’s been a while? Why didn’t you contact me at all…?”

Rodion, who had been muttering with a serious face, let out a small “ah” sigh and looked behind him.

Only then did Tiya notice a girl about her age standing behind her brother.

The moment the girl, who had been hesitating under the arrow-like attention, stepped forward, breathless admiration spread across people’s faces.

Tiya too could only stare at her as if enchanted, forgetting her upset feelings.

Curly golden hair and pale lilac-colored eyes.

She was a lovely girl who looked exactly like a porcelain doll, without a single rough edge anywhere.

Rodion belatedly introduced the girl.

“She’ll be staying at this manor for a while as Lev’s playmate.”

It was when the girl was about to step forward a bit more to greet people.

“I, I’m… Ah!”

Her hesitant steps got tangled and the girl fell forward weakly.

Rodion reached out to catch the girl, but before that, fluffy flower grass bloomed in clusters like a carpet to gently catch her.

“Oh my.”

“Goodness, what is this?”

The employees just exclaimed in wonder, not understanding what was happening, but only Tiya knew what the flower grass meant.

A miracle as if spring had been summoned right there.

That was definitely—

“S-sorry. I’m still not good at controlling spirits…”

It was a trace left by spring spirits. Something Tiya had once desperately dreamed of.

Rodion extended his hand to the girl who was sitting helplessly in the middle of the small flower puddle.

Taking his hand and getting up, the girl clasped both hands together and chattered like a lark.

“I, I’m Valentina Dantal. Please take care of me.”

“As you all saw, she’s a spirit mage who has subjugated flower spirits. She’s an honored guest, so please take good care of her.”

Tiya watched the entire scene without even blinking.

Somehow her heart felt stuffy, as if cotton balls were packed tightly inside.

Even though she hadn’t hit the ground that hard, Tiya rubbed her belatedly throbbing knee and muttered.

“He didn’t help me up directly though…”

Then, Winter muttered quietly.

【Right… it was Dantal. How could I forget this?】

Unusually for Winter, there was faint shock in that voice. Even at first listen, Winter’s voice was unusual.

Forgetting the pain in her knee, Tiya asked tensely.

“What’s wrong? Do you know that girl?”

Know her or not.

No, she thought she knew, but that might have been only superficial information.

Winter hid her speculation and first spoke only the accurate information.

【I know the Dantal family. Dantal is a family that will receive the Duke’s title in place of Vladijef’s downfall, earning the trust of the current prince who will become emperor later.】

* * *

Even immediately after returning home, Rodion had no time to rest.

All sorts of people came to him, who managed the manor’s internal affairs, asking how should this be handled, how should that be handled, requesting final decisions.

“Among the newly hired employees, dismiss this one and that one.”

“Postpone the central hall renovation to next spring. Right now it’s important to repair the quarters so the employees can spend winter warmly.”

“I’ll ask the Count about that matter, so could you put it on the desk?”

As the absence had been long, matters requiring Rodion’s decision had piled up throughout the manor.

After handling all the urgent matters, it was late evening when Rodion finally headed to Count Valoz’s study.

He heard that the Count had already returned from court.

The manor had been in quite an uproar, so he couldn’t have been unaware of his son’s return.

Yet he hadn’t shown his face even once.

Rodion wasn’t disappointed.

He had become too worn down over the past time to be affected by such trivial things. So much so that not even small expectations remained.

After knocking on the study door and entering, Rodion got straight to the point.

“I have returned.”

Four months since he had left home.

His father still looked at his son with unchanged eyes. Eyes containing no emotion whatsoever, eyes of deep emptiness.

The expression he wore when looking at troublesome documents was more human by comparison.

Rodion didn’t avoid that gaze and met it head-on as he continued speaking.

“I’ve processed a leave of absence for next semester’s Academy classes, so I won’t be away from the manor.”

Rodion had only been enrolled at the Academy for barely half a year. And now a leave of absence.

As a parent, he might have asked the reason, but what came from Shurkha’s mouth was a different topic.

“I heard you brought something useless. A bastard from the Dantal Family.”

Rodion’s gaze briefly shifted toward Anton, who stood there restlessly.

He wasn’t blaming him. That was his job, after all.

‘But it would have been nice if he’d given me a heads up.’

Rodion swallowed a sigh, but outwardly showed no sign of it and instead wore a painted smile.

“I intend to make him Lev’s playmate. Lev is at an age where he needs friends his own age.”

“I don’t think that’s particularly necessary.”

He didn’t ask why it wasn’t necessary. He sensed he wouldn’t hear anything good.

“You must know that His Majesty the Emperor is currently investigating a massive embezzlement case involving the southern nobles. Dantal is a great house representing the South. And yet you bring Dantal blood into your home, bastard or not. Are you in your right mind?”

Naturally, it was Shurkha, the Minister of Audit, who led the embezzlement investigation.

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