Chapter 9
Why wouldn’t Ansharie wake up?
I couldn’t tell whether she was truly asleep at this early hour, or if her consciousness had been lost too deeply under a mental spell. That uncertainty made me even more anxious.
“Ansharie.”
I called her carefully.
“….”
But there was no response.
After hesitating for a moment, I gently shook her shoulder.
“Mm…”
There was a reaction!
“Ansharie?”
When I shook her a bit more firmly and called her again, light slowly returned to her eyes.
“…Sister?”
“You’re awake?”
She slowly sat up and blinked.
“Yes… where is this… ah, the recovery room.”
So she at least recognized the place.
‘From Tiamia’s memories, she would lose consciousness the moment she entered the recovery room. Is Ansharie different?’
Just as I was about to ask, Ansharie, who had been staring blankly at me, spoke first.
“Is it time for my medicine?”
“Hmm?”
“Mm? Why are you here instead of Kain today? Ah! Has my illness been cured?”
I quickly realized why she was asking that.
‘That incompetent physician once said that sleeping all the time is a sign of recovery.’
Both Ansharie and Tiamia believed they were suffering from a rare illness called “Ativan,” so sleeping in the recovery room was considered normal.
In reality, it was caused by a mental spell that made them lose consciousness.
Anyway, she seemed to think she had woken up because she had recovered.
‘What should I say?’
Should I tell her the truth now?
No. It was still too early.
I felt bad for her hopeful eyes, but I couldn’t give her the answer she wanted.
“Not exactly… um…”
I denied her question about being cured, but I couldn’t explain why she had woken up.
While I was searching for a plausible excuse, the brooch I had been holding caught my eye.
“Ah! This is an ancient magical artifact. I brought it hoping it might help your treatment! I heard that some ancient artifacts contain high-level functions that modern magic theory can’t even analyze.”
“Did this magical tool wake me up?”
“Seems like it. I was surprised too—I didn’t expect it to work!”
As I exaggerated my reaction with widened eyes, innocent Ansharie believed me without suspicion.
“How fascinating! Even if my Ativan illness isn’t cured, this is the first time I’ve woken up without Kain waking me.”
“Kain wakes you up?”
“Yes, about twice a day. He brings food and medicine.”
This was new information.
‘So when he disappears during afternoon training, it wasn’t for lunch—it was to bring her meals.’
Kain stuck to me like glue from the moment I woke up until I went to sleep, only disappearing once a day at a fixed time.
I honestly thought it was his lunch break.
I stored that new information and asked another question.
“Then what kind of medicine does Kain give you?”
“A yellow potion… huh? Doesn’t he give you medicine too, sister?”
Ansharie made a surprisingly sharp observation.
‘If we have the same rare illness, we should be taking the same medicine.’
But no matter how I searched Tiamia’s memories, there was no instance of Kain waking me up or bringing me food in the recovery room.
“I’m not that sick, so I just sleep all day without taking medicine.”
After mixing truth with lies, she nodded easily again.
“I see!”
I was relieved I managed to brush it off.
Just as I was about to ask something else, Ansharie finally noticed the change in the room.
“Huh? The room is bright? Is it okay to turn on the lights without permission?”
Despite her cold appearance with cat-like eyes, she was surprisingly talkative.
And unexpectedly cute.
I suppressed a laugh and replied.
“Yes. The only light we’re not allowed to see is sunlight. Electric lights are fine.”
“I didn’t know that. Sister, you’re so smart!”
“By the way, Ansharie, do you remember anything while staying in this room?”
“Well… I only remember being asleep except when Kain wakes me…”
She shook her head lightly.
‘So she doesn’t even realize what’s happening.’
Ansharie had no awareness of being under a mental spell.
I had expected it, but hearing it directly left a bitter taste in my mouth.
At the same time, my anger toward the marquis grew stronger.
‘I’ll deal with revenge later. Escape comes first.’
I made that firm decision and asked her another question.
“Do you remember anything when you see your father during your weekly checkups?”
“Hmm… it’s a bit blurry, but I mostly remember.”
“What do you feel when you see your father? Any thoughts suddenly appear in your mind?”
“I’m a good daughter who obeys Father’s orders. Father’s words are absolute and must not be disobeyed.”
It was like a machine pressing a replay button.
‘She’s not aware she’s being brainwashed, but it’s definitely seeping into her subconscious.’
Tch. That worthless marquis bastard. Just you wait.
While I cursed internally, Ansharie noticed Rira and smiled brightly, gently stroking her brown fur.
“Kyiiing.”
“Oh my, what is this little one? So cute.”
Rira didn’t avoid her touch.
Cutness plus cuteness.
‘I love it!’
I pushed thoughts of the marquis aside and focused on Ansharie.
“This is my familiar.”
“A familiar? Ah, so you formed a mana circle! Congratulations!”
Her light green eyes sparkled as she sincerely congratulated me, grabbing my hands.
“Thank you.”
“It feels like it’s been so long since we’ve actually talked!”
That was true.
‘We’ve only passed by each other since entering the recovery room.’
It had been nearly three years since Ansharie, at age seven, was locked away and brainwashing began under the pretense of illness.
So we hadn’t properly spoken face to face for almost three years.
While I was lost in thought, Ansharie suddenly looked downcast.
“By the way, sister… how did you get in here?”
“I snuck in because I wanted to see you.”
“Won’t Father be angry if he finds out?”
“It’s fine. As long as you keep it a secret.”
Trying to lighten the mood, I winked playfully.
But her expression didn’t brighten.
“But we’re not supposed to hide anything from Father…”
She seemed frightened, trembling slightly as fear of her father surfaced.
Instead of rejecting the implanted beliefs, I asked her:
“What do you think?”
“Huh? About what?”
“Me sneaking in to see you.”
“I…”
She hesitated.
As if deep in thought.
I waited without rushing her.
“I was… happy. I wanted to see you too, sister.”
Her cheeks turned slightly red as she whispered.
I couldn’t help but laugh at her cute expression.
“W-why are you laughing? Did I do something wrong?”
“No. I just like it too much.”
“Huh?”
“That your feelings are the same as mine.”
“So let’s keep it a secret that I came here, okay?”
“Even so, Father…”
“If Father finds out, he might get angry. But he’s not here. There’s no one watching or punishing us, right?”
“…Yes.”
“So if we keep this secret, no one will know, and Father won’t get angry.”
“……”
After carefully persuading her, I extended my pinky finger.
After a long pause, she finally linked her finger with mine.
“…Okay. I promise.”
It was a decision against everything she had been taught, yet it was her own choice.
‘She hasn’t been deeply brainwashed yet since it’s earlier than the original timeline.’
That was a good sign.
If we could escape the marquis’s household safely, Ansharie wouldn’t become the puppet villain from the novel, but could live as herself.
As I made that vow, I spoke casually.
“Then what should we do now?”
“Anything you want, sister!”
“Don’t you have anything you want to do?”
“I’ve never had free time like this before, so I don’t know what to do.”
Her answer made my heart ache, but I kept my expression light.
“Hmm, I could just look at Ansharie’s face all day and be happy.”
