Kill the Author, Then to Hell - Chapter 11.2

Peter’s voice, amplified by the buff, reached my ears as if he knew exactly where I was and what I was doing.

His voice was urgent, as if he was aware of my actions.

‘Crazy, crazy, crazy!’

It was clear someone had cast a spell that alerted them if someone touched the report card.

I awkwardly smiled, trying to defuse the situation.

“Haha, Peter, I was just looking for something! Just went in for a moment.”

“Ah, is that so? Sister, do you need anything? I’ll find it for you.”

Peter was calm as usual, which made it even scarier.

“No, no! It’s okay! I don’t need it anymore!”

As I tried to sneak away towards my room,

“Why? Do you also think I lack intelligence? Do you think I don’t know?”

Peter whispered lowly as he pushed me into the room.

It was a familiar ending, now.

Magically sealed lips, unable to move, beaten like a dog.

The difference was,

Unlike my father, who stabbed me in a swift motion, or my older brother, who killed me with a gentle brush of a hand, Peter definitely lacked precision and speed.

Not that his ineptitude in finesse meant I could escape.

“Uuuuck—”

I was emitting the only sound I could make, for what felt like the fifth time.

“Ah, isn’t this it? I learned this in the last combat magic class. As you know, I’m not exactly a top student.”

It felt as if I had swallowed lava from my esophagus down to my guts, then as if dry ice filled every void in my body, causing me to twitch and writhe.

It was strange that I was still alive, feeling as if my insides were completely crushed.

‘I’d rather… just be killed quickly…’

As if Peter could hear my unvoiced groan, he flashed a grin.

“Hey, I’m not trying to kill you. Just practicing a bit.”

Through my blurred vision, whether from blood or tears, I glared at Peter.

The truly astonishing part was, it seemed he genuinely didn’t intend to kill me, his words being sincere.

“Now, you must have learned your lesson not to touch my stuff, right? Now, to cast a healing spell… huh? Oh…? Sister? Sister!”

‘He’s terrible at controlling his power.’

At the moment my body could no longer bear it and let everything go,

Peter rushed towards me, but it was too late, and thus, I met a death that was almost accidental.

***

In the next life, I was desperate enough to try running away.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay! Just don’t get caught, and that’s it.’

I hid in a pile of straw on a delivery wagon that came at dawn.

“Sir, are you heading back to the capital now?”

“Yes, I need to stop by the farms around here first to pick up some milk and eggs.”

The conversation between Harriet, the chef, and the wagon driver reached my ears.

The modernized covered wagon, enhanced by magic, was called a wagon in name only, not pulled by horses, more akin to a pickup truck, thus it was swift.

‘Sir, faster, please.’

Watching the landscape whisk by through the straw, I wished only for the cart to speed up.

‘Even if there’s no plan for when I reach the capital… I have to escape this den of psychopaths first.’

However, my plan was foiled before we could even leave the Dayton family’s lands.

The wagon suddenly veered to the side of the road.

‘W-Why is he doing that? No, can’t be…’

The familiar scenery was returning me to the mansion.

“Why did I get a call button alert? Did I forget something?”

As the confused driver jumped down from the high wheels to look for Chef Harriet…

I was certain I had been discovered.

“Ah, I pressed the call button… ”

Samuel’s precise tone reached me,

“My lady, your father and older brother were very worried about you.”

The butler extended his hand to me with impeccable politeness.

A perfect failure.

***

No matter how I tried, the moment I distanced myself from the mansion, it was as if an alarm alerted my family, who then took action.

A couple of times they let it slide, but as the attempts accumulated, punishments varied from starvation to whipping, and one wrong move could easily lead to death.

Back to square one.

It seemed even without invoking the [Affection of One’s Blood and Flesh] buff, my destiny to receive bridal training was set in stone.

“Ah! My friend at the academy has a sister who’s being educated by a governess.”

Peter, as if on cue, brought up the governess.

“Well, Edith has been so independent that we’ve just left her be, but now it’s time to start preparing for her marriage.”

Simon talked about starting to look for a match.

“Good day. I am Jane, the governess tasked with awakening you as a perfect bride, starting today.”

And no matter how many times I repeated, I ended up with Jane as my governess.

Jane, with her hair slicked back and tied without a single stray hair, looked impeccably tight-laced.

‘Maybe, just maybe, I could find hints about magic in these lessons?’