“What are you thinking about?”
“…..”
After hearing the voice, Estelle paused in her movements.
But she didn’t turn around to look at Rosily, who had asked the question. She continued to sharpen the blade with a black whetstone, paying no attention.
Two girls who looked to be thirteen or fourteen—Estelle with silver hair and a white skirt sat on a thick tree root, while Rosily, with shoulder-length gold hair and a pink skirt, had just poked her head out from behind the tree.
Rosily looked at Estelle’s back and slowly walked over. Seeing that her sister showed no reaction to her question, she inexplicably felt a bit of petulance.
Having reached behind the seated Estelle, Rosily crouched down and opened her arms, wrapping them around Estelle’s neck.
She leaned her body onto Estelle’s back, burying her face in the silver hair.
Rosily’s breath passed through the fine gaps between the strands, landing on the back of Estelle’s neck.
Estelle shrank her neck, then lowered her head to look at the clasped hands, feeling the warmth and weight from behind, as well as a subtle softness.
She was stunned… Estelle had never been hugged from behind like this before. Even her hugs with Madam Phil were face-to-face, with her nestling in the other’s arms.
Unaccustomed to such a situation, her mind was struggling to process it.
She opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say.
In the end, she silently closed it, stopped the motion of sharpening the sword, and quietly waited for Rosily behind her to speak.
Rosily slowly opened her eyes. In those orange irises, there was a strange doubt, as if she herself wasn’t sure whether the thought in her mind was true.
Rosily repeated her earlier question, asking Estelle again.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
Estelle answered truthfully.
Rosily poked her head out from behind Estelle. She clearly didn’t believe that Estelle wasn’t thinking about anything.
Sitting alone away from the dwelling, under a tree, sharpening a longsword—that really looked like pondering some big life question.
So how could there be nothing?
Despite Rosily’s disbelief, Estelle truly wasn’t thinking about anything. She had only come here to sharpen her sword.
After that, she planned to practice the sword skills Enya had taught her again.
Estelle’s talent was great, but the swordsmanship Enya taught her was not human sword art.
Practicing it would be very difficult. It was already impressive that she could comprehend and continuously improve.
Enya had also passed on the Heavenly Sword Art to Rosily through the sword [World Root·Azure]. Even as her own daughter, Rosily couldn’t master it instantly upon learning.
The two were progressing at about the same pace.
Rosily didn’t seem to intend to get off Estelle.
She tilted her head, pressed her originally crouched legs down, kneeling directly on the ground, making her entire body cling even tighter to her sister Estelle’s back.
Estelle felt a heavier weight behind her. She wanted to turn and look, but the angle didn’t allow it, so she gave up.
She sheathed the longsword in her hand and put the whetstone aside.
After hesitating for a moment, Estelle placed her hand on top of Rosily’s. Feeling Rosily move slightly, she spoke.
“Little sister…”
“Estelle, can you say something other than ‘little sister’?”
Rosily was a bit exasperated.
She knew Estelle was not good with words, but this was too much. Rosily even wondered if Mother had given all the linguistic talent to her and forgotten to leave some for her sister.
After a light sigh, Rosily murmured.
“You know? Mother often says to communicate more with you.”
“Mm.”
Upon hearing this, Estelle instantly thought of Enya’s appearance, and the reassuring scent and warmth of her body.
Then Rosily said.
“Sister, the smell on you is very similar to Mother’s. But you have to get close to tell; otherwise, it’s hard to detect. I hadn’t noticed it much before.”
Estelle didn’t quite understand what Rosily was talking about. She hesitated, wanting to ask Rosily to explain.
But Rosily spoke first.
“Our mother seems to have some secret she’s hiding from us.”
“Uh…”
Estelle straightened her back a little.
This movement caught Rosily’s attention.
The little girl narrowed her cool orange-red eyes, lifted her head from Estelle’s shoulder, and brought her mouth close to her sister’s ear, whispering.
“Sister, you know something, don’t you?”
“……”
“Really don’t know?”
“……”
“But you know, Sister, if you really didn’t know, you would say so directly. You’re not a liar. So when you don’t want to speak, you just stay silent.”
“……”
Estelle lowered her head, a strand of silver hair falling from her shoulder.
‘The only secret she knew was that Madam Phil was also called Ain, full name Einfall Krolock. And Madam Phil was also a member of the Dragon Tribe, so her daughter Rosily, her own little sister, would also be a dragon. That would explain why Rosily’s senses and strength were far beyond ordinary people, and why her talent for cultivating magic power was so high. She had promised Enya to keep it a secret… Estelle was a girl who kept her word, so she wouldn’t say anything!’
“Ah!”
Estelle suddenly straightened her back.
Rosily grinned mischievously. Her hands had already released Estelle’s neck, shifting to her waist and giving a light tickle.
As a result, Estelle immediately straightened up.
Freed from the hold, Estelle sprang up from the ground and quickly ran toward home, leaving Rosily a bit stunned.
She looked at her sister’s fast-retreating back, then at the standard longsword issued by the academy and the gray whetstone left on the ground.
Rosily pouted.
After picking up the items from the ground, she quickly followed. The two sisters chased each other through the woods, their speeds evenly matched.
Along the way, they startled countless birds and scared away many leisurely beasts and magical beasts.
As she chased, Rosily called out.
“Sis, why are you running? Tell me what the secret is, or I’ll sneak into your room tonight!”
Estelle didn’t say anything. She leaped several times through the woods, finally landing on the stone-paved main road.
She maintained an elegant yet extremely fast pace toward home, and Rosily caught up within three breaths, chasing after her with full grievance.
On the street, some passersby were used to seeing the sisters run and chase.
After all, they did it often.
But they ran so fast that by the time they passed by and one turned around, they were already over a hundred meters away.
In the small courtyard, Phil was leisurely watering the medicinal herbs she had planted. Naturally, these were now alchemy potions.
Special plants required nutrients that ordinary soil couldn’t provide, so she had to prepare special fertilizers.
“Tsk, tsk. Fertilizer made from Rosily’s hair is really effective. The fruits grown taste sweet and delicious too.”
Phil looked at the big red fruits, a bright smile on her face.
Suddenly, she heard the door open.
She turned and walked to the entrance of the hall. A silver figure flashed behind her, and then, as if hiding from something, Estelle shrank entirely behind Phil’s body.
If she could, Estelle would have crawled under Phil’s skirt, and then Rosily would surely have chased her in, playing cat and mouse around Phil’s body.
Rosily, who had caught up, was thinking of doing just that, but Phil opened her arms to block her.
“How can you bully your sister like this?”
“I didn’t!”
Rosily stopped in front of Phil, pouting her pink little lips.