The Returnee Wants Peace

Cassis looked at his only younger sister working hard in the training ground.

On the first day, she barely completed three laps in the training ground, seemingly dragging her feet, but now she managed to do a hopping run, albeit at a slower pace.

He wiped his flowing sweat with his sleeve, wondering if the child in front of him was indeed the sister he knew.

‘…Isn’t that strange? She, who would never sit on the floor because it wasn’t too clean, is now like this?’

It’s understandable for the master, who hasn’t known Rosha for long, but are the other knights idiots?

He asked in case someone had threatened her, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

What change had happened? She was very different, full of vigor compared to the dullness before.

He wondered how a person could change overnight.

However…

‘Come to think of it, this isn’t the first time.’

Roshanak Aper.

His sister, a year younger, who has been with him since childhood, had changed twice recently.

-…How about getting engaged to Marquis Lycaon’s heir?

The first time was when Rosha revealed her willingness to get engaged to Heres Lycaon, whom she had never met in her life. And an engagement letter flew in as if it had been waiting.

It was definitely strange, very suspicious.

Seemed like Cedric felt the same.

Before even bringing up the discussion, seeing that he sent him with Rosha to the Marquis’s residence to understand the situation, was telling.

And on the way back.

He wasn’t sure, but somewhere…

‘She changed for the second time. It seems like that.’

Cassis knew his intuition was beyond ordinary.

That’s why there were several people he kept an eye on, and now, whether he liked it or not, it was time to add Rosha to that list.

Cassis looked at his younger sister who was leaving the training ground after finishing her practice. He knew something had changed, but he had no idea what the reason was.

What the heck? Did a ghost possess her?

“What are you doing, Cassis? Get your sword and come here.”

While staring at Rosha’s back, he moved his steps obediently at the call of his master.

For now, he decided to keep an eye on Rosha. There wasn’t much he had figured out yet…

He had things to do today.

That night.

Cassis discreetly followed his uncle, who was headed somewhere secretly.

His uncle was one of those he had been watching. Aside from embezzling the family’s money and squandering it, aiming for the head of the household position while treating his comatose grandfather as non-existent was just completely heartbreaking.

Moreover, there was clear suspicion that he had connections with the Marquis Lycaon’s household.

‘Just by looking at his face, I want to kick him out… but Cedric seems to be waiting for the right time.’

Both Marquis Lycaon and Cedric were, broadly speaking, against the imperial family, so they had to be cautious before making significant decisions.

But unable to overlook his uncle’s misdeeds, Cassis was determined to find evidence of collusion and kick him out.

…But.

‘What’s this situation?’

Trying to get ahead of his uncle escaping the mansion, he suddenly spotted a suspicious figure.

Boots rising above the ankles and dark clothes. They even wore a hood to hide her identity, obtained from who knows where, but there was no way he wouldn’t recognize the red-gold hair poking out.

Looking at his younger sister, who was carefully examining his favorite hideout, Cassis asked in astonishment.

“Hey, why are you here when you should be sleeping in your room by now?”

“…Huh?”

* * *

Rosha was extremely flustered. It couldn’t be helped.

‘…I got caught here before even leaving the mansion?’

She had prepared a lot for today, to complete the ‘Anomaly Verification’ quest.

Not only had she dedicated herself to physical training for three days, but she also prepared potions, made a makeshift holster for relics, and secured it to her thigh.

Additionally, she pinpointed the vague clue of the quest location which was ‘a half-day southwest’, by sending off Koko, and even took the measure of checking in advance which horse would be best to ride from the stable after pre-opening the side door for that.

Moreover, she got a firm promise from Berri not to wake them up by pretending to be exhausted for the next morning. She figured she had done all she could.

Her plan started to go awry from the moment [The Guiding Lantern], which was briefly used to check the route, pointed a different way.

‘Why is it directing this way?’

The lantern, acting like a ‘recommended option’, couldn’t be used for long since it drained body energy like a sponge, which was felt even more at a time when there was a severe imbalance of physical and mental strength.

Of course, she hadn’t even dreamt of reaching the level of ‘choice observation’ she achieved in the previous world, and it was best to use this ability like turning on and off a switch.

‘…Let’s just follow where it leads for now.’

Nevertheless, the unquestionable performance of this ability made it better to follow the light, even if it led slightly away from the stable.

Then, a hidden entrance camouflaged well with bushes appeared, and unexpectedly, she ran into Cassis while attempting to examine it.

That was the current situation.

“Rosha, how do you know about this passage? When did you find out about it?”

“Well…”

“Stop beating around the bush and tell me straight.”

Cassis approached with a stern expression and snapped intimidatingly.

“Looking at how you’re dressed, it wasn’t a coincidence. You came prepared for something. I don’t know what it is, but you have to explain everything to me, even the recent happenings.”

“…Then why are you here?”

No matter what he said, Rosha, who had been racking her brains, suddenly asked. Although she was startled by the unexpected encounter with Cassis, soon she realized that this meeting had the involvement of her ability.

[The Guiding Lantern] must have had a reason to lead her this way.

And she was right.

“Ah, damn…”

Cassis, who seemed to have remembered something, murmured a curse and looked back. Rosha didn’t miss the opportunity and used her ability once more.

Ability, [The Guiding Lantern].

As the nervous system heated up, fragments of dazzling light floated in the dark vision.

Rosha, who confirmed that the collected fragments turned into a golden line and elegantly passed through the entrance, hurriedly crawled through it.

“Hey, what the-!”

“Shh!”

She knew why the lantern led her here as soon as she saw the other side of the entrance.

Beyond the sparse trees, there was a carriage parked on a path a little away from the mansion’s back door. She saw her uncle, who had just slipped out of the back door, hesitating and walking towards it.

The golden line stopped behind the carriage, and Rosha thought while deactivating their ability.

‘So, it was telling me to take the uncle’s carriage, not a horse.’

She recalled the late information from Koko that Marquis Lycaon had told her uncle to meet near the rift soon. Now, it’s somewhat guessable what Cassis was doing late at night.

Rubbing her already sore eyes, Rosha turned around as Cassis, who had come through the entrance a moment ago, grabbed her arm.

“You, what the hell is this about?”

Brushing the dirt off his hair with one hand, he spoke in a chewing manner. Anger and suspicion shone in his crimson eyes that resembled hers.

It was understandable. It would be perplexing to see his always obedient sibling suddenly passing through the entrance he used.

But now wasn’t the time to explain her actions.

Rosha smartly figured out the best answer to maneuver around this situation.

“Did you follow the uncle here like I did?”

“What?”

“I was also surprised to run into you all of a sudden. But right now, it seems we should hurry to follow him. If we waste time like this, we’ll lose him in the end.”

Implying that she too had followed the uncle here for the same purpose.

[The Guiding Lantern] only provides the recommended option, not the words to say.

Having excused her actions following the lantern many times before, Rosha had almost become a master of deception.

Cassis hesitated for a moment, catching the implied meaning in Rosha’s words, and asked in disbelief.

“…So, you’ve been keeping tabs on the uncle too? Was your obedient and docile demeanor all an act?”

“Uh, well… You could say that.”

“Then let’s confirm this. You are Rosha, right?”