It had been two days ever since we departed the capital. We would’ve arrived faster if Emilia wasn’t pesky about properly timing our breakfast, lunch and dinner in the sky. We usually spent our time in the sky, whether it be eating, sleeping, bathing or changing. The only reason why we were able to do this was because of the wonders of magic.
Today our third day and because I was now able to see my home, it was safe to say that we had already arrived. Because of that, I increased my speed and left Emilia behind. The reason for my increased speed was simple. It was because I was excited to go home and to also meet my new little brother.
When I was almost on top of my home, I started to slowly decelerate until my speed reached zero. I then descended from the sky as if I was walking on a flight of stairs. Each step I made formed bluish ripples in the air.
As I arrived in front of our door, I took in deep breaths as I mentally prepared myself.
Good I think I’m ready.
I knocked on the door and received a response. If you think the response came from a servant, then you’re wrong. The one who responded with a ‘yes’ came from my mother, according to the pitch of the voice. As the door slowly opened, I automatically said, “I’m home.”
“Lumina! You’ve arrived!”
“Yes, I just finished my business in the capital, mama.”
“Is that so, is that so. Then come in quickly. I want you to see your little brother.”
Hearing what she said, I became even more excited to meet him. So I quickly went inside our home.
“Nothing changed huh… the paintings, the decorations and the wallpapers. It feels like I never left my home.”
“Then our hard work paid off.”
“Eh?”
“Actually, when you left the home, me, and your father decided not to change anything in the house. We didn’t want you to feel alienated when you arrive back home.”
My mother twirled her finger in the air as she explained to me.
“Really? Thank you very much, mama.”
“As long as you’re happy.”
Right when we were about to make a turn towards the living room, somebody started knocking on the door.
Oops…
I quickly turned around and walked to the door before my mother did.
“Lumina-sama… did you forget about me?”
The person who knocked on the door was Emilia. She was a petite girl that was around 165 cm tall and had red twin tails were black on its ends. She wore a red dress with a parasol in hand. The parasol she held didn’t belong to her, it was actually mine. Also, on her wrist, A rope made out of mana was visible and if you traced it, you’ll see that it was attached to a floating platform made out of mana. On top of it were our luggage.
“N-no… I didn’t forget about you… o-okay?”
“Really? Then why did you close the door even though I was still in the sky?”
“Well, that is… umm…”
“Hmmm?”
Emilia gave me a smile, but because we had been together for five years, the smile she gave me made me deathly afraid. It was because that smile meant she was really angry. What’s more, the pressure she exuded stopped me from thinking any lies.
“I’m sorry, I forgot about you. It’s because I was excited.”
In the end, I caved in and apologized to Emilia. I only hung my head in shame and didn’t bow to her while I apologized to her. It was because my mother was near us.
“Haa~ It’s okay, I understand that you were excited, so I forgive you this time. But please remember your promise to me okay.”
“Guh—“
“Since you’re now a leader of a faction in the royal court, so please stop being so forgetful. Okay?”
“urk…”
“Okay?”
“I-I’ll do my best…”
Hearing my response, Emilia made a small nod. I then told her to deliver my luggage to my room which was the third door on the second floor of our home. Receiving my instructions, she gave me a deep bow and walked towards the stairs. I then approached my mother with a slight blush on my face.
“Fufu… It seems like your bad habit haven’t been fixed.”
“Mama… you were aware of it?”
“Of course, I’m your mother, so of course I know. Plus, when you were still a child, you never called the servants by their name, which meant you forgot who they were even though they introduced themselves to you.”
“Mou! Mama, let’s go to where my little brother’s at already!”
“Fufu…”
I pushed my mother towards the living with an indignant face. I know that pushing others, especially your own mother, was the epitome of bad behavior, but I couldn’t think any other way to hide my blushing face. So don’t judge me for doing something like that.
When we arrived at our living room, I noticed that there were a lot of toys here. These were all unfamiliar to me. My mother giggled when she noticed my reaction. Without saying anything, my mother gently pushed my back towards a certain direction. I moved my gaze towards it and found a boy with short blonde hair. He had cerulean eyes and wore an outfit that was suitable for his age, which was four years old.
I became speechless as I continued to observe him. I then noticed that he was playing with wooden blocks with a smile.
Hey there… I’m Lumina your big sister…
As he continued to play, I imagined myself walking up to him and introducing myself. Because, I didn’t want to scare him on our first meeting, I continued to plan how I introduced myself. Also, because I was thinking so hard, that I unconsciously knitted my brows and pouted while I stared at him.
And then, while I continued to think of a good way to talk to him, my little brother turned his head to me. In that instant, his face became pale and tears formed on his eyes. A second later, he quickly started crying.
By the way, this all happened in the span of ten seconds.
Seeing him cry, my mother rushed towards him and started rocking him on her arms.
“It’s okay mama’s here. There’s no need to cry…”
My mother continued to repeat her words as she rubbed her back.
Haa~ I should’ve expected this… I should’ve expected this!!!
My brother continued to cry for 30 minutes. Throughout those 30 minutes, my mother continued to do her best to stop his crying. While I wallowed in despair because even my little brother my brother was crying because of me. Though my mother told me it wasn’t because of me, but because I even made third graders in my school and some children in some orphanages cry, I wasn’t convinced.
“I’m gonna go to my room upstairs, mama.”
“I see… then once he wakes up, I’ll properly explain to him who you are and introduce him properly.”
“…. Yes.”
With a depressed mood, I headed to my room and found Emilia sorting my clothes. Seeing her, I breathe a heavy sigh.
“Haaa~”
“Let me guess… the moment your younger brother saw you, he started crying.”
“Haaa~”
I didn’t answer her and only sighed as I plopped myself on top of my bed.
“Why do children start crying when they see my face? It’s not like I’m scary or anything? Objectively speaking, I would say that I’m cute…”
“What expression did you make when he saw you?”
“I’m not exactly sure… but because I was thinking really hard, I may have been pouting?”
“Pouting huh…”
Emilia repeated my words as she continued to arrange my luggage. I then made a mirror using ‘Null Element’ magic and made a pouting face.
“I think this face is kinda cute. Why did he cry?”
Emilia glanced at me for a while and sighed.
“That’s only cute because you’re aware of it, Lumina-sama.”
“Huh?”
“When you pout, you would knit your brows like this. Since you naturally have sharp eyes, it becomes even more emphasized because your mouth looked like this and you wouldn’t puff your cheeks like that if you were thinking hard. It’d look a little bit more like this.”
Emilia placed her fingers on the outer edges of her eyes and raised them upwards while knitting her eyebrows. She then made a deep frown. Plus, she exuded an aura that prevented people from talking to her. Honestly, if I didn’t know who Emilia was, I would’ve done my best to avoid her.
“Why would I make a face like that?”
“Hmm… I think it’s because of the way you normally act in front of others.”
“The way I act in front of others huh…. Tell me… how do you see me whenever I’m in front of other I don’t know?”
“To put it in simple words… you act like a Queen.”
“A Queen?”
I sat on top of my bed as I hugged a pillow while I thought of what she said.
“Hmm… why do I act like a queen?”
“Didn’t you want others to respect you? I thought for sure that was the reason why.”
“Hmm… I think that is part of the reason, but I don’t think it’s the exact reason…. Hmm… I think you were a part of it though.”
“Me?”
“Yes… though I can’t think of why you were a part of it…”
We continued the topic until Emilia had finished sorting my clothes. I then stood up from my bed and told her to catch some mice. Since it was boring to just talk, I decided to quickly start my research. And the very first thing I decided to research was body enhancement.
After around an hour of scouring and capturing mice using magic, we stopped when we caught ten mice.
“Then let’s start with the experimentation then!”
“Ummm… Lumina-sama… Why do we need mice to research body enhancement magic?”
“To see if using this magic poses any danger to us. We are using our body for this magic, so if it did have any side effects, then we would know beforehand thanks to the mice.”
“I see… that seems plausible.”
Nodding to her, I used magic to make a box and separated one mouse from the pack. I then started injecting mana into its body. At first, I only injected a small amount into it, but because it didn’t exhibit any changes, I decided to increase it.
“U-ummm, Lumina-sama…”
“Look… the mouse’s muscles are starting to bulge.”
While Emilia had a really uneasy face, I still continued pouring mana into it.
Then, after an instant, something really unexpected occurred.
The mouse literally exploded inside the transparent box of mana it was in.
““….””
Emilia and I became speechless as a result.
“Uwaaah!!! Mama you liar! You said… that Lumina-oneechan… wasn’t scary! She just… just… made a mouse explode! Uwaaa!”
Hearing a new voice from the door, I quickly turn around and found my mother. She was carrying my little brother on her arms with a pale face as she stared at us. She then closed the door of my room as she held my little brother.
“Lumina-sama…”
“Yes.”
“I think your little brother will never approach you.”
“What a coincidence Emilia… I think so too.”