Recover Well

This is the evening. After spending the whole day with me, Mother left. So I'm all alone – again.

I decided to finally pay a visit to my aunt – I mean, she's all alone. She must be feeling lonely, right? I'm a nice person, so I'm going to keep her company. I'm sure she'll be happy to see me! Besides, I forgot to ask her something and I wouldn't want her to start saying unnecessary things.

Using the [World System], I opened the door and left my room. I'm starting to become used to these admin's abilities. They're quite useful, I must say.

On my way, I met several servants. They were all surprised to see me wandering freely around the house, but they didn't say anything. Since I'm not supposed to be able to open the door of my room, they must have assumed that someone allowed me out.

As I arrived in front of my Aunt's room, I pressed my ear against the door, trying to eavesdrop. I heard that Aunt Nora eventually calmed down during the afternoon, but she still refused any visits. I couldn't hear a sound from her chamber, so she must be alone.

Good! With a single word, I opened the door.

『Open.』

As the way was now completely clear, I failed to see Aunt Nora anywhere. Is she not here? I entered the room to take a better look. Then I noticed a dark figure curled up against a dark corner in the room. As she held her head between her arms, she kept muttering something.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

W-wow… She is so terrified. Her appearance is messy, her eyes are lifeless, and she won't stop shivering. Hmm… Did I go too far yesterday? I didn't think she'd break down in depression like this. She actually has a pretty weak heart, who would have thought? No… I think anyone would become insane after being tortured. She is so absorbed in talking to the voices in her head – at least that's what it looks like – that she didn't even notice me.

I approached her casually. Since she wouldn't lift her head up, I gently patted her shoulder. She looked up at me.

"Hell-"

"HIIIIIIIIII!! Noooo!! Don't! Get away, demon! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Please leave me alone!!!"

… Ouch… My ears hurt. She is so loud.

"No, I just-"

"NOOOOOOOO! Someone help me!!!"

Each time I tried talking, she interrupted me talking nonsense. Eventually, the noise drew attention, and a few moments later, my uncle, accompanied by Yao, entered the room. I stepped back a little.

"Nora! What's wrong?!" Uncle Jack asked.

Yao didn't say a thing. He just looked at her, his eyes glistened with emotions as his brows furrowed. He looks genuinely worried. Does he like her? Ew, that's gross. Please don't. You have a bad taste in women, Mister cat…

"P-Please help me…!" Aunt Nora begged as she grabbed my uncle's jacket.

She turned her gaze toward me. Her eyes met mine, and I simply smiled at her. Slowly, I brought my index finger in front of my mouth, gesturing her to keep quiet. She stared at me for a while, shivering, then she lowered her gaze. She had perfectly understood my silent order.

"What happened, Nora?!" My uncle inquired.

"I-it's nothing… Sorry, I just… Panicked… I'm fine…" Aunt Nora murmured, as her voice was wavering.

Not too convincing, but this will do. Yao, who had noticed my presence from the beginning, attentively studied my aunt's behavior. Then he turned to me.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with a dull voice.

I tilted my head to the side, innocently. "Auntie called me here!"

As I said this, Aunt Nora flinched. She's not helping, seriously… Both my uncle and Yao raised an eyebrow in surprise. My aunt despised children, and she despised me even more, considering the fact that I'm a half. So it was hard to believe that she was the one who called me. Uncle Jack narrowed his eyes, as he turned his gaze on her.

"…Is it true…?"

"Y-Yes…" She answered.

Such a bad actress… But since she did not deny anything, Uncle Jack and Yao eventually left, reluctantly. I waited for a while after they left before breaking the silence.

"Hello, auntie! Are you doing fine?"

"What do you want…?"

She seemed to have calmed down. She didn't dare to look at me in the eyes, but at least her voice wasn't wavering anymore, and she stopped shivering.

"I forgot to ask you something yesterday," I spoke. "You mentioned something about Mother provoking you. What was that about? You stayed still for a month without doing anything, and suddenly you snapped. Why?"

"… I forgot."

I sighed. "Don't lie to me, auntie… Or do you want to play another game?"

A sudden chill ran down her spine and made her skin crawl, as she remembered yesterday's events.

"… It was about Lloyd… My eldest brother, and… your father." She started. "Your mother, she… started to ask questions. About his disappearance."

Huh? Father is missing? Is that why I've never met him?

"She started talking nonsense… Eventually, she even accused me of being related to Aoban's mother's death and your father's sudden disappearance."

"… That's it…? Just because of that, you snapped?"

"You don't understand… Everything went wrong from the moment that woman came. Everything was fine until then… But she destroyed our family, she ran away, and now she even dared to blame it all on me…!"

"No one asked you to keep her a prisoner. You were free to let her go but you didn't. That's your own fault." I coldly retorted, as I saw my aunt biting her lips in frustration. "And so… Was she right? To think that you were related to my father's disappearance."

"… No." She answered, a bit hesitant.

I shrugged. "Fine, I'll believe you for now. But if I find out that you lied to me, you'll regret it."

Aunt Nora slowly looked up at me. "Is it fine now…? Are you letting me go? What are you planning to do?"

"Nothing, auntie!" I shook my head. "I'm not planning to do anything, I just want a quiet life with my family. And yes, I'll let you go for now. You can do everything you want, I don't really care. But don't you dare meddle in my life, or try to harm my mother or my brother in any way. If you do, I'll make sure you regret that I didn't kill you yesterday. Ah! And obviously, what happened yesterday is a secret between you and me. You will not say a word, understood? You don't bother me, I don't bother you."

Without uttering a word, Aunt Nora just listened to me. She didn't need to answer; she perfectly understood that I wasn't leaving her a choice. It was not a negotiation but a threat.

"… Just who are you?" She asked.

"You don't need to know. For you, I'm just Lynett, a two-year-old child, perfectly normal." I smiled at her. "So, auntie, let's forget about the past, okay? From now on, I'm sure you and I will get along very well!"

Aunt Nora tensed up. I feel like bullying her a little now… I stepped forward, startling her as she was worrying about what I was about to do. I leaned a little, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Recover well, auntie~!" I said, as I gave her my brightest smile.

Fufufu… Her face is priceless. Her mouth dropped open, staring at me in disbelief, she just froze. Without giving her a chance to react, I exited her chamber. Leaving my shocked aunt behind, I returned to my room. I love seeing her reactions. I might get used to teasing her a little…