30. It was far too cruel for her. (6)
Each time the clinking sound of someone walking by was heard, Fabio would flinch and couldn’t stay still.
In case “that damn older brother,” now that their father Enrico could no longer be angered by this, calling the person who should be called “sister” as Carlo could again anger Enrico. So, Fabio wondered if Karla had returned.
In reality, if someone were to ask if Fabio and Karla shared a good sibling relationship, the answer would be that they did not at all.
Rather than being cute little spats, whenever they saw each other, their arguments escalated to the point where they seemed ready to devour each other, making them sworn enemies.
“…They look alike. Really…they do.”
On Fabio’s desk lay a single photograph.
A faded picture, quite hard to identify. It captured a cheerful-looking boy of about five or six with an enchanting smile, along with a stunningly beautiful woman who held a warm, gentle smile.
And in her arms, she cradled a golden swaddling cloth.
“Mom.”
He could not even remember her face.
Fabio had been the baby wrapped in that swaddling cloth in the photo, so it was natural that he had no memory of her.
“Mom…”
Fabio tenderly touched and repeated the name of the smiling mother in the faded photograph – a name he had never once called in his lifetime: Mother. Though he only knew her by the name Martina della Cascata, Fabio did not remember his mother’s face or even her voice.
However, there was one certain thing:
It was that Karla, who was now his sister, looked more and more like their mother with every passing day.
The atmosphere inside the Cascata mansion was not good.
This was partly due to the discovery that Carlo, who was thought to be a boy, was actually a girl, but also because soon after this revelation, a major accident occurred where her left arm was severed.
The head of the family, Enrico, who seldom smiled even before, had been on the verge of exploding after a quarrel with Karla regarding her potential engagement to Shaiskeil.
Hence, naturally, the atmosphere was not good. But Karla, who was now entering the mansion, didn’t care about the mood of the house.
She carried a scroll given to her by the principal, which had distracted her so much that she hardly listened during class.
‘This likely won’t be of much help.’
At best, it could merely assist with tracking location. Moreover, if Venere was indeed a transmutation mage, there was a high chance she would not cooperate with Karla.
‘Still, I can’t do nothing. I must at least try something.’
Something had to be done.
Even the slightest possibility was worth trying.
“Ho, where are you going now?”
Karla, climbing the central staircase to the second floor, frowned when she saw Fabio standing at the landing.
“What is it, boy? Why are you blocking the way?”
“N-No, I was just greeting you.”
Fabio had difficulty looking directly at Karla’s face. It was the face he had seen in the photograph – his mother’s face.
Karla resembled her as if she were their mother in younger times. Hence, it was even harder for Fabio to face Karla.
“Greeting? Looks like you ate something weird. If you have nothing to do, step aside.”
Karla pushed past Fabio and continued climbing the stairs.
As she walked with a manly stride, Fabio frowned at her retreating figure.
‘How come with a mother-like appearance, she acts so male-like?’
It bothered him – why couldn’t she be a bit more feminine, more like their mother?
Fabio continued to gaze at Karla’s retreating figure. It seemed as if he could see his mother in her, so he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
“Just looking is fine, no? What are you going to do anyway about the existing scar?”
“S-Sorry.”
Though the maid rapidly bowed her head, Karla didn’t pay much attention.
The most inconvenient thing since her arm was injured would undoubtedly be changing clothes.
Because she had only one arm now, changing clothes – taking them off and putting them back on – was nearly impossible alone.
Moreover, the Academy’s uniform had unnecessarily many buttons, which made it even more difficult. Thus, she had no choice but to be helped by the maids each time she changed.
Inevitably, the maid could see the scars on her shoulder from the amputation – and this was why the maid was so nervous.
‘This too has become normal… how strange.’
Karla wanted to read the scroll immediately but restrained herself.
As it wasn’t yet dinner time, the servants were still moving around quite a bit. Of course, if Karla ordered no one to enter her room, it would be fine, but still…
– Knock.
As if to interrupt her thoughts, a knock rang out.
– It’s Fabio. I’m coming in.
Without waiting for a reply, the door burst open. Without invitation, Fabio entered and sat on the bed while Karla was still in the process of changing.
“Boy, just what sort of table manners have you learned, barging in uninvited? Was this what Enrico taught you?”
“So what if I see you? Are you shy?”
She was in the middle of changing into her nightdress. Although she still wore her uniform shirt, she was in the process of changing trousers, leaving her underwear exposed, yet Fabio had an unperturbed expression.
“Will you ask me to leave?”
“Do you even have something to say?”
“Not particularly.”
“Then leave. I don’t want to waste my time.”
Meanwhile, Karla had finished changing her trousers. The servants silently bowed and retreated from the room, leaving the two alone. The room fell silent for a brief moment.
“If you have nothing to say, I’ve already told you to leave. I’m busy. If you’re free, why don’t you practice magic instead?”
Every single word Karla said to Fabio was as cold as daggers. To Fabio, however, who was used to it, it didn’t seem to bother him – in fact, he didn’t even seem to be listening.
No matter what Karla said, Fabio’s eyes were fixed on her face.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“…I won’t call you sister.”
At this, Karla frowned. What in the world was this guy talking about? She couldn’t understand what he was trying to say.
“Just what do you want to say anyway? If you’re annoying, disappear already, or if you have something to say, say it. Choose one.”
“You.”
Fabio, still sitting on Karla’s bed, scanned her up and down.
“If you don’t say what you want to say now, I’ll throw you out.”
With an ominous expression, Karla watched as Fabio cautiously began to speak.
“…Do you remember mom?”
“Do you mean mother?”
“Yeah. After all, there’s only one mom, right? My mom is your mom too.”
“Then why ask suddenly?”
“I kept asking father, but he wouldn’t answer…so I wanted to know if you remembered.”
Karla thought for a moment.
Mother… Mother… Martina della Cascata, was her name.
The maiden name was unknown.
In the empire, the principle was of the husband’s name; married women took their husband’s surname, so Martina della Cascata was probably the same, but it was unknown.
“She was a gentle person. Unlike Enrico.”
“So you took after father.”
“If you want to insult me so much, you should’ve said so earlier.”
“It’s the truth. Father, you, me…None of us are close to gentleness.”
“…Mother was gentle and affectionate. Her smile was beautiful…and…”
And, and, and…
But when she tried to think more, nothing more came to mind.
Martina della Cascata had been killed in an attack by enemy agents when Karla was merely six years old.
And since then, over a dozen years had passed. It wasn’t strange that her memory of her mother had blurred and was erased.
“I… I don’t remember much either now. So much time has passed, after all.”
“…Is that so?”
Fabio looked at Karla for a while, hesitating.
The more he looked, the more he saw the resemblance. The photograph of his mother and Karla were very similar.
That was why, suddenly, an idea came to him – he wanted to ask Karla for something.
“Just call my name once.”
“What?”
Fabio repeated it to the bewildered Karla.
“I’m asking you to call my name.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Please…”
“What’s with this strangeness… No, never mind. Fine. Is calling your name all I need to do?”
Even if he was her little brother, it wasn’t a hard request, was it?
“Yeah.”
“Alright – Fabio.”
When Karla called out, Fabio remained still, staring at her with a tense expression.
“I called you.”
“Once more.”
“Fabio.”
“One more.”
“…Fabio.”
“Use my last name too…”
“Fabio della Cascata.”
After that, Karla had to call Fabio’s name a half dozen more times.
She didn’t know why, but she managed to hold back her irritation, only because something in Fabio’s expression looked like he might cry at any moment.
The one-eyed man, Mercurio, was resting against the heavily reinforced constraints, his eyes closed.
Though quite some time had passed since his confinement in the detention chamber beneath the Academy, he was still unable to escape.
“Hey, One-eye.”
And then there came the soft whisper of a small voice.
Mercurio, who had his eyes closed, now opened them and stared at the shadow beyond the sturdy bars.
“Are you alive? Lucky.”
The clothes were ragged, like a janitor’s.
The man, who was standing against the light, removed the hood covering his head and grinned.
And the hair flowing down from beneath revealed its silver glow under the torchlight, and the woman looked at Mercurio with eyes that burned red.
“I’ve come to save you, Mercurio.”
