She’s Not Our Daughter! - Chapter 45

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Chapter 45 – When Rescuing Her Older Sister

“What’s wrong?”

Feeling the ominous atmosphere, Abel cautiously asked Sierra, but she only stared at Abel, closing her eyes once and then opening them again.

“The letter is about…”

“About what?”

Sierra suppressed the dread that was pooling at her stomach, lowering her gaze as she stared at the letter again.

“No. I’ll read the rest first.”

She’s only read the first line at most.

Trying to calm herself down, Sierra hurriedly read the next line of the letter, thinking that this all might be a practical joke because her sister was that kind of person—it shouldn’t be anything serious.

「 I’m being chased by those bastards from the Imperial Palace. I might die, so just in case, I’m writing this letter that only you can read. 」

Sierra read one line at a time to Abel, her voice trembling as she continued.

“’I’m being chased by people from the Imperial Palace.’”

It was frustrating because Amil didn’t specify who exactly it was from the Imperial Palace that’s chasing her, but from this line, the words ‘I might die’ stood out to Sierra. She stuttered as she looked at Abel.

“’I-I might die…’”

“Si-sister, calm down for now. You know well that Miss Amil plays around like that.”

And he was right. Amil had joked many times about dying, making Sierra cry a lot.

Sierra shifted her gaze to the letter again.

“Okay, I’ll read faster.”

It was better to read the words quickly and simultaneously interpret them for Abel, since they weren’t sure when exactly Cassius would return from outside. She was also anxious to know if Amil saying she ‘might die’ was a joke or not.

「 I think of death as just another journey. 」

‘What a load of bull. Death is a journey? What’s wrong with you?! Even an idiot like you should survive! Are you kidding me?!’

Sierra, frowning to the fullest as she suppressed her frustration, continued reading the letter.

「 Ever since childhood, you’ve been so scared about me dying. I’m in charge of so many dangerous responsibilities, but this time… I’m a little worried, too.

I never thought that those people from the Imperial Palace would be able to kill me. This must be my fate.

Anyway, stop crying, hm? Come to think of it, you said you were misunderstood. You said that Hanael is being mistaken as your daughter… but I wrote this letter to clear that up, even if I’m not sure if it’s believable.

I should go and prove it myself, but I don’t think I can do that right now. The letter to prove Hanael’s birth is in the box under the drawer, so go and find it. 」

At this point, Sierra almost collapsed to the floor. She strengthened her legs, but the more she read, the more she was convinced. Something must have happened to her sister. And she might really… die…

‘You never let me know when you’re having a hard time, Amil.’

Sierra lowered her gaze.

「 Anyway, Sierra. Don’t even think of setting foot inside the Imperial Palace. If you don’t want to get involved with the mess I’m in and with that devil, just go on your way.

This means that you’re now someone who has nothing to do with me.

I sustained an injury, and it twisted my mana a little. If you don’t want to be swept into this, just accept everything as it is and live peacefully. Okay?

Don’t even think of looking for me. Even if I haven’t died yet… 」

From the context, her sister might have been in charge of something related to the Imperial Palace. It could have been that she clashed with someone of high status. The word ‘devil’ may refer to the actual being, but this word could also describe a fellow human.

‘This letter is so dreadful, but it doesn’t mean that you really died. You’re the strongest mage I know, Amil.’

Her older sister is an archmage. At the same time, Sierra is also a genius when it comes to potions.

As she reread the words ‘nothing to do with me,’ Sierra smirked.

“What kind of nonsense is she spouting… Dying? Breaking ties? Does any of this make sense?”

As she smiled in vain, she raised a hand to tousle her already tangled hair.

“Sister… There’s a bloody handkerchief here, look!”

While Sierra was still rereading the letter, Abel had searched the cabin once more and found the handkerchief. He held it out to Sierra.

“Give it to me.”

As Sierra snatched the handkerchief from Abel’s hand, she hurriedly took out the tracking potion out of her pocket and sprayed it over.

Smoke rose from it and had spread out. Sierra was in deep thought—it’s not someone else’s blood, but her sister’s. It was clear that this blood had her mana.

Whether she died or not, it was no question that she must have been in danger.

“…It’s really my sister’s blood on this handkerchief.”

Sierra sank down. Memories of her sister flashed through her mind.

When she was about six years old, she couldn’t clean herself properly because she had no parents to wash the dirt off her. And she was being bullied by other children a lot…

’Sister, if you’re hungry, why aren’t you eating azalea flowers?’

‘Why are you telling me to eat flowers? I cooked a lot of delicious food.’

‘But the other kids told me to eat what’s on the ground, so I ate it…’

Looking at the young Sierra, who spoke so much innocence in her words, Amil leaned down to Sierra and murmured.

’Which kid said that to my younger sister? Are you an orphan? Your older sister’s here beside you.’

‘Yeah…’

‘I’ll beat them up. They’re all dead. So you don’t have to worry anymore, okay?’

‘Yes! I’m not an orphan! My sister is the best!’

It was also Sierra’s older sister who discovered her abilities first. She recognized Sierra’s pure mana and taught her how to develop her pharmacological skills.

’My younger sister is really smart. You’re a genius.’

‘Yeah, Sierra is a genius!’

‘But your abilities are a little dangerous for now. So let’s learn how to control it, okay?’

‘Sierra does everything Sis tells her to do!’

These happy, warm memories overlapped with the words on the letter, and she could almost hear her sister’s calm voice through the coded message.

Sierra stood up on her trembling legs and washed away the pained expression on her face. Still, the memories she had of her sister continued to flash through her mind.

’Your older sister is kinda weird.’

‘My Sis i-isn’t weird!’

‘You’re an orphan. And it’s not like that girl is your real sister, right?’

When Sierra’s shoulders drooped sullenly, her older sister suddenly swooped in like a comet to save her.

’These idiots are out of their minds. I guess I’ll do a sword dance tonight!’

…That’s why she accepted Hanael entirely. Just as Amil was Sierra’s lighthouse, Sierra wanted to raise Hanael well. She hugged Hanael tightly and protected the child as well, claiming that she was her daughter in front of the villagers who similarly bullied her.

’Hanael is my daughter! Don’t touch her!’

‘No, but, Lady—’

‘Hanael, you don’t have to hear such despicable words. You’re my daughter from today on. I’ll protect you.’

Sierra folded her sister’s letter, on which she saw a caricature of her behind the piece of paper, complete with her blonde hair and green eyes. As she looked at this, tears dropped down onto the letter.

How could Amil make Sierra rely on her, only to say that she was going to die. That’s absurd.

‘You said you’d live together with me for the rest of our lives.’

Sierra muttered under her breath.

“Rest of our lives…”

The unfamiliar reality hit her all at once. She might never see her sister ever again.

“…I didn’t think that I might never see you again.”

As she talked to herself blankly, Abel patted her on the shoulder and spoke carefully.

“Sister, you know…”

“…Yeah?”

Wary, Abel hesitated before continuing.

“Actually… I just remembered that there was a time five years ago Miss Amil was being chased. The thing is, it was around the same time of Hanael’s birth when a request came from the Imperial Palace.”

“The Imperial Palace?”

Her sister’s letter also mentioned it. Sierra listened well to Abel’s speculation.

“Yes. The palace had continuously been pressuring her back then. They wanted to take Hanael. When she saw that letter, Archmage Amil had a really hard time.”

“…Do you mean that Hanael’s father might be someone from the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes… He must be in a position powerful enough to put pressure on an archmage.”

Nothing’s for certain, but Sierra’s tracking potion was still clearly and meticulously detecting her sister’s mana traces. And if she considered her sister’s coded letter…

‘Her life is being threatened because she got involved with the wrong bastard in that palace.’

Sierra closed her eyes, then opened them once more. She didn’t know her beloved sister would be under such unexpected danger.

Now, she had only one thing to do.

Clenching her fist, Sierra muttered in a low voice.

“Really? Even if you say you’re going to die, I won’t let you go.”

There was a fire behind her eyes as the letter was crumpled in her fist.

“S-Sister… Your eyes…”

Once Sierra opened her eyes again, she looked at the world with an almost crazed look. In all her life, she got seriously angry only once, and that was when there was one man who tried to sexually assault her. That assailant almost died halfway through and seemed to just come back to life.

“It looks like some bastard harassed my sister so much to the point that she went into hiding…”

“…S-Sister.”

Abel nervously gulped. Sierra continued whispering under her breath as though she was reciting a wise saying.

“This calls for an eradication.”

“…P-Pardon?”

Abel’s face turned deathly pale at the sudden remark.

Sierra recalled that Cassius was outside the door. In a way, Cassius was also a victim here. It wasn’t something he should have, but he misunderstood the situation and thought that Hanael was his daughter…

“There’s more than one victim because of that bastard.”

Sierra gritted her teeth.

At that moment, the door rattled open, which made Sierra reflexively turn her gaze. Cassius, who had finished his tasks, strode into the room, and as Sierra looked at him, she spoke.

“We’re done searching, Cassius.”

“…Shall we go back now?”

Sierra nodded, looking at him with a slightly fatigued glance. Before that, she needed to retrieve one more letter that her sister had left for her in the drawer.

‘…Why is the envelope so small?’

It was somehow ominous, but… Anyway, it was time for them to return.

As they left Sebor riding a black carriage, Sierra sighed deeply as she looked out the window. She had to save her older sister who she thought was caught by a crazy bastard, but she couldn’t even guess who the ‘devil’ was from the Imperial Palace.

The carriage set off from the village, but then Sierra saw the figure of a familiar man as they passed by. With her thoughts already so complicated, a confused look dawned over her features.

‘His face is familiar?’

Sierra wondered where it was that she saw him, then she realized it was the man she encountered at the pharmaceutical conference that she went to with Hentel, the doctor from the Hippo Kingdom.

‘He approached me out of the blue, but I only remember him because he’s quite handsome.’

Today, he was wearing a monocle as though he was looking for something.

‘Why is that man here?’

Come to think of it, there was something suspicious about their meeting back then. It was a sudden approach followed by a sudden disappearance. And it was strange how he never sought her out again after receiving just one potion from her.

‘Why is he in the Crown Prince’s private property? Why did he come all the way here?’

The carriage passed by quickly. So many questions swirled inside Sierra’s head. Just thinking about her sister’s whereabouts alone, she started to question everything around her.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────