How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 17
As Angelina kept staring at it, Laura turned her head again, and each time, the fox unfailingly disappeared. As if teasing.
‘Seeing its special ability, it must indeed be a magical beast.’
Its behavior adapting to the situation proved its intelligence.
‘It’s impressive how it survived people’s grasp despite looking so cute.’
There was a time when greedy humans captured rare magical beasts, forcibly tamed them, and used them for entertainment. That’s why magical beasts were now rare to see.
‘So, what is it trying to say?’
That aside.
Angelina wondered why this magical beast had appeared before her.
A brief standoff ensued.
“Miss…?”
Unable to understand Angelina’s intent as she glared at empty space, Laura called out with a worried voice.
She was already concerned about Angelina having had a nightmare, and now this incomprehensible behavior added to her worry.
“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Knowing Laura’s concern, Angelina finally turned away first.
Since it was clear the creature had no intention to attack, she could leave without taking any special measures.
Angelina enjoyed bathing in the hot spring with Laura’s help, and on the short walk back, the magical beast was nowhere to be seen.
Thinking it was just a chance encounter, nothing more, nothing less, she lost interest.
“Wow! Perfect timing! Welcome back, Miss! The cooking has just finished!”
Haley greeted them cheerfully as they returned to the campsite. They could eat dinner right away.
It looked like a pig but didn’t taste like pork.
According to Haley, it tasted like rabbit meat, but Angelina had never eaten rabbit, so how would she know?
Feeling drowsy after filling her stomach, Angelina went back into the carriage and lay down on the makeshift bed.
‘I wonder if I can sleep well after napping so much during the day.’
If she couldn’t sleep, how would she spend the night? Should she ask Laura for a sleeping pill?
As she pondered these meaningless thoughts, a question suddenly arose.
‘Come to think of it, is it normal for it to be this quiet in the middle of the Dark Forest?’
Even in the village, the faint cries of monsters could be heard, but here it was eerily silent.
‘Is there a sound-blocking spell on the Tower’s Path too?’
Just as she was thinking that the Magic Tower might be more meticulous than expected, it happened.
Ding dong- Ding dong- Ding dong-
An alarm went off from one side of the carriage.
The sound, resembling both a bell and a metal scraping noise, was the alarm of Angelina’s video communication orb.
Angelina took out the communication crystal ball from its box.
[Ante Flaubert]
After confirming the sender’s name, Angelina fiddled with the crystal ball that filled her hand and the stand placed beside it for a while.
“How did this work again?”
Haley had shown her.
Originally, the video communication orb required the injection of a magician’s mana or a priest’s divine power to operate.
But thanks to Haley making a mana-infused stand for Angelina, it could be activated just by placing it on the stand.
The problem was that she couldn’t remember how to set it up.
Angelina struggled for a while.
After repeatedly trying to place it this way and that, at some point, the crystal ball clicked into place on the stand with a snap.
Immediately, the mana from the stand flowed into the crystal ball, and with a pop, the video came on.
-Lina!
Then, an excited voice flowed out.
“Brother.”
-Lina, why are you upside down?
“Hm? Upside down?”
At Ante’s words, Angelina again rolled and turned the object around for a while. Thanks to Ante’s instructions, she finally managed to get the angle right.
“There. Can you see me well now?”
-Yes, I can see you well. But why is my Lina’s face half gone?
“What are you talking about? I just bathed in hot spring water and ate three portions of meat.”
She might have gotten oily, but there was no way half of her face had disappeared.
-Strange. To my eyes, Lina looks thin.
“It seems your communication orb must be broken, Brother. Seeing as it’s showing people as skinny.”
Knowing this was her brother’s way of expressing concern, Angelina didn’t take it seriously.
“What about you, Brother? Have you had dinner?”
-I did eat, but… It was lonely without Lina to eat with.
“Eat with Sir Jacob.”
-He’s too boring. He hardly talks.
Angelina nodded in sympathy with Ante, recalling Jacob who only answered ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to any question.
“Sir Jacob does have a bit of a stiff side. But he does his job well, doesn’t he?”
Maybe that’s why he matches well with her playful brother.
-You’re right.
“By the way, Brother.”
-Yes, what is it?
“Have you ever been to the Dark Forest? Apart from when you came to rescue me back then.”
-…Why do you ask?
“Something feels strange.”
-What’s strange about it?
Angelina could see Ante fidgeting in his seat as he asked. He looked ready to jump up at any moment.
Of course, Angelina didn’t notice this movement as she was reaching out to the window.
“It’s strangely quiet.”
She opened the window to prove her point.
“I knew the Tower’s Path was safe, but I expected to hear some monster sounds. But it’s too quiet.”
Ante sat back in his seat, looking somewhat relieved.
-As expected, Haley and Laura are doing their job well.
“Huh? Haley and Laura?”
Suddenly?
“Yes, they do work well, don’t they?”
That’s true, but why did the conversation about the Dark Forest’s quietness suddenly shift to those two?
Seeing Angelina’s confused expression at this abrupt change in topic, Ante added:
-It’s always like that.
“Hm?”
-The Dark Forest is always that quiet.
“…?”
Angelina was momentarily perplexed by the jumbled flow of conversation.
“Is that so? How interesting.”
But she quickly accepted it and continued the conversation.
Perhaps the monster cries she heard in the village were unusual after all.
“But, if that’s the case…”
‘The villagers seemed too accustomed to it…’
Just as she was thinking that something didn’t add up, Angelina’s thoughts were interrupted by something she spotted outside the window.
“Oh?”
Far away, sitting demurely beside a tree trunk, was undoubtedly the black fox she had seen earlier.
The fox, which had been watching the knights clean up after the meal, flicked its large ears at the sound of Angelina’s window opening and swiftly turned its head towards the carriage.
As its eyes met Angelina’s, it began to wag its large tail gently.
The tail was so lush that it was almost the same size as its body.
While its body was entirely black, the tips of its ears and tail were white as if dipped in milk, oddly catching the eye.
‘So it didn’t go its own way after all?’
-Lina, what’s wrong? Is something happening outside?
Ante asked as Angelina stopped mid-sentence and stared out the window.
“No, I just saw something pretty.”
-…In the Dark Forest?
Ante asked with a voice tinged with doubt, and Angelina laughed awkwardly.
“Yes, I’ll show you too… Oh.”
She turned her head briefly towards Ante, but when she looked back out the window, the black fox was gone.
Whether it had used some kind of invisibility magic again or truly left its spot was unclear.
It was indeed a peculiar creature.
-What were you going to show me?
“Never mind. It’s gone.”
Angelina felt a bit disappointed. But she quickly shook it off.
“Well, now that we’ve seen each other’s faces, you should go back to work.”
She said as she closed the window.
-Already? We just started talking.
Ante’s face fell at her words.
“I’m going to sleep.”
If it were up to her brother, he’d keep talking to her even with mountains of paperwork piled up.
“I’m tired.”
Of course, knowing her brother wouldn’t listen to such reasons, Angelina made up another excuse.
-Alright then. Sleep well.
As expected, that excuse worked perfectly on Ante.
-Dream of your big brother.
“I’d rather not.”
-I’ll call again tomorrow. Make sure to answer.
“I’ll think about it.”
-Lina… You’ve become so cold since becoming an adult… You used to follow me around all day calling ‘Brother, Brother’…
Angelina chuckled as she watched her brother’s dejected expression.
“Hurry and finish your work, then sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
She whispered softly and pressed the button to turn off the communication orb before hearing his response.
The crystal ball lost its light, but Angelina kept giggling. Somehow, she always found herself laughing more freely in front of her brother.
‘I should be able to sleep well.’
Angelina lay down.
The sleep that she thought wouldn’t come after napping all day strangely crept up on her again. Angelina didn’t fight against this drowsiness.
There were no nightmares.
