Make Dark Fantasy Great Again-Chapter 7: The Bastards Younger Sister

Once, there was a girl. Among her family was a boy just one year older than her.

The girl was young and knew little of the world, but she knew exactly how to call him.

“Brother. Brother Risir. I played with Brother Risir today.”

The mother, with the girl perched on her lap, froze in surprise and locked eyes with her.

“No? Roera, that boy is not your brother.”

“Not my brother? Why?”

“He is... different from us.”

“Different? How? Isn’t Brother... Risir part of our family?”

“Risir is...”

The mother faltered, lowering her gaze as a bitter whisper slipped from her lips.

Part of our family? He’s the child of some other wench, and...

She was unwilling to show her cherished daughter this resentful side of her.

“Mommy? Are you crying? Don’t cry, I was wrong.”

Hearing her daughter’s whimper, the mother quickly looked up and playfully surprised the girl.

“Boo!”

Though her stomach still churned, she showed only what she wanted her giggling daughter to see.

“Risir is—”

An illegitimate child.

The words were too difficult for her young daughter to understand. Not only in their literal sense, but in the weight they carried.

“Risir is... actually a worse child than you think, Roera.”

“Brother Risir is bad? No way~ But he’s so nice to me? He even made this for me.”

The girl’s face lit up as she proudly pulled a ring made of woven grass from her pocket. It was clumsy, clearly crafted by small hands, but to her, it was a treasure, and she delighted in slipping it onto her finger.

“Pretty right?”

“...”

Wearing a precarious smile, the mother caressed her daughter’s ringed finger.

“Yes. It’s so pretty, Roera. Even I want to try it on.”

The girl quickly hid her hand, her face filled with the guilt of a great mistake.

“Uh, if mommy wears it...Uh...uh...I, I don’t think that’s allowed...? Because Brother Risir gave it to me...?”

At last, a genuine smile, free of worry, spread across the mother’s face. She stroked the little one’s hair, finding her utterly lovable. Then as if remembering something, she took off the necklace around her neck and placed it around her daughter’s.

“Woow... So sparkly...”

Even through the eyes of a child, the necklace was far more magnificent than the ring. No—especially through the eyes of a child.

“Then shall we do this? This is a necklace I cherish. Let’s trade.”

“...Okay!”

The mother clutched the grass ring her daughter had given her. So tightly that it might crumble.

“Roera. Shall we make a promise with mommy? From now on, don’t play with Risir anymore.”

“Why?”

“Just... I’d like that. It’s mommy’s request. Can you do that?”

“...”

The girl glanced at her finger. Only the faint scent of grass lingered there.

“Mhm, okay. Since it’s mommy’s request.”

***“Lady Roera!!!”

“Oh goodness—it’s time for her etiquette lessons. Where has she gone...!”

“Well you see, she’s gone because it’s time for etiquette lessons. That’s why we need to find the young lady.”

“...!”

What is a tomboy? A synonym for Bendel Roera. Even those who didn’t know the exact definition of tomboy would think of those three syllables first when they saw the eleven-year-old.

Roera detested the etiquettes that a noble lady must master. But well, that much could be understandable, as Bendel was a family that revered martial arts. So long as she was good with a sword, a slight lack in lady-like grace didn’t pose a problem.

The problem was that Roera detested even the basic etiquettes that any ordinary noble should master.

“Hey Risir~”

Today too, Roera had slipped out of her etiquette education time, coming to Risir’s room located in the main building of Bendel.

The boy was sitting at his desk, deeply immersed in his studies.

Her mother had urged to keep distance from Risir, but she disliked that. Risir was Roera’s best friend.

Books were piled on his desk. They were the etiquette books Roera had abandoned.

“Ugh~”

Roera pretended to vomit at the sight of the mountain of books. Indeed, she was the nightmare of etiquette teachers when it came to being a graceful lady.

“Risir~ Leave that for later and come play with me~”

Roera swung the wooden stick in her hand.

“Back off, villains. Thwack thwack. Argh.”

The evil etiquette books rolled on the floor.

The boy sighed and picked up the books again. After dusting them off and carefully smoothing out the crumpled pages, he spread them on the desk again.

“I’m busy right now.”

“I’m busy too, but I made time to come here~ So you should also make time, Risir~”

“Call me big brother.”

“But I don’t wanna? Hehe. The adults said that you’re an illegitimate child. I dunno what that means, but apparently that’s why I’m stronger than Risir? So that makes me the big sis. Ahem!”

“...”

There was silence except for the scribbling of a pencil. The boy ignored his little sister with all his might.

Tch.

Roera pouted and sat on the bed in the corner. She rolled about, swinging the wooden stick around...

But the bed was too small a world to contain Lady Roera. She quickly grew bored and got up from the bed again.

Then she ducked down. Tiptoeing quietly, she snuck up behind her brother.

“You let your guard down!”

Roera’s stick once again knocked down the books.

The little sister giggled, waiting excitedly for her brother’s reaction.

Thump!

She was suddenly pushed back. Risir had leapt to his feet and shoved her hard.

“Oh, you want to fight?!”

But just as Roera was about to seek revenge with gleaming eyes...

“Oi. I said go away.”

Risir glared at her. His expression was serious without a hint of playfulness.

“...”

Roera sheepishly hid Stickscalibur behind her back. She walked over to her brother, nudging him with her shoulder.

“Wh-what, it’s just a joke~ Don’t be mad~ Did something bad happen?”

“Roera. Isn’t it time for your etiquette lessons now?”

“I ran away to play with you~ It was three on one. I outsmarted three adults, y’know? Hehe. You should’ve seen how cool I was.”

Risir’s eyes were simply cold as Roera proudly recounted her exploits.

“Hey Roera.”

“Ya? Should I tell you? Should I tell you?”

“What’s so fun about it?”

“Huh?”

“Those are etiquette teachers that the patriarch invited for you. What are you so excited about? You’re just smearing mud on the family head’s face.”

“Why are you suddenly using such difficult words~ Father won’t get angry over something like this, y’know?”

Thump!

It was sudden.

Risir shoved Roera with all his might. It was almost like a punch.

“Oww!”

Roera clutched her arm, looking at Risir cautiously. Even for a tomboy, she could tell this wasn’t a situation to joke around anymore.

“Wh-what... Why’d you hit meee...”

Even as Roera whimpered, Risir didn’t bat an eye.

Why was he so angry? There was only one thing she could guess.

“I-I’m sorry, Brother Risir... For being so casual... I was wrong, so please don’t be angry...”

Risir tried to glare at Roera until the end. As threateningly as possible, so that she would never act up again. He intended to thoroughly instill the hierarchy between them. Show who was superior, and who the better was.

But children’s tears are easily contagious.

Before long, Risir started sobbing along with his little sister.

“I just, I don’t get it... Why do they love someone like you more...”

“Brother...?”

“I’m more obedient, I study better, and if they taught me swordsmanship, I could learn it better. So why do they only love someone like you!!!”

“Brother...”

“Go away!!!”

Roera tried to get close, but Risir pushed her away.

“You think! You think I wanted to be born an illegitimate child?!”

“S-sorry... I won’t tease you again... I didn’t know it was such a bad word...”

“What are you sorry for!!! What do you know! Get out! Get out!!! I don’t want to see the likes of you!”

Risir grabbed anything he could, throwing those objects recklessly.

“Ouch!”

Unfortunately, the corner of a book struck Roera squarely on the forehead. A red line marred the smooth skin of the little tomboy.

Drip, drip. Blood trickled down her face.

“...!”

Risir’s face paled.

“A-are you okay, Roera?”

“Waaaaaah!!! I hate you, brother!!!”

Roera ran out of the room crying.

“Found the young lady!”

“Found her, you say! Don’t you see the young lady’s face?!”

“What on earth happened!!!”

The manor was turned upside down when the servants found Roera crying with blood flowing from her forehead.

A little while later, Risir was summoned to his father’s office for the first time in a very long time.

Roera’s mother was crying as she hugged her daughter, who wore a bandage on her forehead.

As she watched, Bendel patriarch handed down punishment to Risir.

“From today on, you will stay in the annex, Risir.”

“...Yes, sir.”

The illegitimate child was made to stay in the annex where the Bendel manor’s servants lived.

One day, Roera came to Risir’s room with a letter.

“Brother...I’m sorry...Are you okay...?”

“...”

“Here...”

Risir tore up the letter Roera carefully handed him.

“Didn’t you hear what the patriarch said? You can’t play with a bastard like me anymore.”

“...”

Roera left the room in tears.

After that, there were no more interactions between the illegitimate child and the young lady.

***The tomboy girl grew up to become a young lady. Her loosely tied-back hair and sharp, cynical smile suited her well.

Lady Roera Bendel glared at Risir from a slight distance with her arms crossed. Her brother was practicing the sword in a trance-like state.

Risir was drenched in sweat, his blistered hands leaving the sword’s grip slick with blood and pus.

One hundred ninety-four. One hundred ninety-five.

Each swing was accompanied by a hoarse voice, raw and dry to the point of breaking.

It happened about a month ago; Risir settled in the training ground located behind the annex of the Bendel manor and started honing his skills.

His practice began at the same time as the squires in the central training ground, but ended later than them. It was grueling to the point of embodying the phrase ‘pushing the limit.’

Yet Risir was not satisfied. Day by day he increased the time and intensity of his training.

It continued to this day, where upon visiting the annex’s training ground, one could see Risir who seemed to have taken root there.

He spent all his waking hours training, minimizing even his rest time when he succumbed to sleep exhausted.

-Bastard though he may be, I guess he’s still a Bendel in the end.

Even the Bendel trainees, initially mocking Risir, ended up feeling awe.

“Haa...”

Two hundred.

Ending his training for the moment, Risir barely stopped his sword and caught his breath.

“Huh...?”

Belatedly noticing Roera, he approached her.

“Roera. What brings you here?”

The sharp tang of exhaustion lingered in his mouth, his body drenched in sweat. Yet his blue eyes remained bright, fixed unwaveringly ahead.

Ha.

Yet Roera was unmoved by the sight. Having watched all his actions with an indifferent eye, she snorted.

“I can’t stand to watch anymore.”

“...”

Risir flinched at her overt contempt, but he tried hard to maintain composure.

“What’s the matter, Roera. Do you have some business with me?”

“...”

Roera wordlessly stared at her brother, and a heavy moment of silence fell between the two.

Just as Risir’s eyes seemed to tremble slightly, he spoke up first.

“If it’s nothing, I’ll excuse myself. I want to focus on resting. There’s still a long way to fill all the training schedules I’ve set.”

“You’re going to train more after this? Are you sane?”

Risir’s lips trembled slightly. Roera didn’t miss that.

“Is that what you want to hear? Are you satisfied now?”

“...What?”

“This pathetic performance. How long are you going to keep it up?”

“Roera, calm down. What on earth are you—”

Roera heaved a deep sigh.

“Are you stupid? No, that’s not it. You are stupid. That’s the truth, though you might think yourself clever. Do you really think he’ll pay attention if you do this?”

“...!”

Risir’s face froze, as if he had been hit right on the mark.

“I know what you’re thinking by doing this. Training? Give it up. I heard the trainees, how you swing your sword all day in a trance. But what I saw was a joke. I’ve never seen someone train in such a distracted state as you. Be thankful that he’s not paying attention to you. Actually, maybe he’s already seen your pathetic state and is thoroughly ignoring you?”

“Hey Roera—”

“You may as well have aimed your sword in my direction? The way your ears perked up when I came, all your attention was focused on me. Thought I wouldn’t notice something so obvious?”

“...”

“I’m working so hard~ I’m such a praiseworthy son~ So please, father, look at me~ I’m about to have a headache from hearing you wail all day.”

It was as Roera said. Risir knew that his training method was not efficient.

The main purpose, no, the only purpose of this training was to draw attention and gain recognition. Risir’s struggle to gain his father’s approval had been carried out in such a misguided way for some time now.

“What, what do you know!!!”

Risir’s face reddened with the shame of being exposed.

“It’s not like I want to know.”

Unlike before, Roera’s voice turned cold with composure.

“I don’t even want to care about someone like you.”

“Then just don’t!!! In the first place, what—what makes you so great?!”

“What?”

“Do you think it would have been different if you were in my shoes?!”

“...”

Roera’s face turned rigid. Misinterpreting this somehow, Risir pressed on with newfound confidence.

“If I were like you—if I just weren’t a bastard—if father just acknowledged me—I could have done so much better than you!!! If you were an illegitimate child, do you think you would have amounted to anything?! Have you ever once thought about my position of not being acknowledged by Father?!!!”

“Is that so important?”

“What?”

A smile returned to Roera’s lips, but this time without cynicism—only bitterness.

“Do you want his approval that badly?”

“...What?”

“That man doesn’t even think of you as a son. Are you really dying for his approval?”

“You, you...”

“Isn’t it ridiculous? He’s the one who made the mess. He’s the one who got that woman pregnant. He’s the one who left the child’s mother to die. And yet he closes his ears and eyes and only blames the boy?”

“H-how dare you speak about the family head like that...!”

“Oh how filial. Why don’t you just be the legitimate daughter? I’ll be the bastard instead.”

Roera looked away, her face showing she didn’t want to talk anymore.

Risir did the same.

“...”

But then, Roera’s gaze lingered briefly on Risir’s hands. They were blistered from swinging the sword countless times.

“Hey Risir. Stop wasting effort and try begging me instead.”

“What...”

“You can keep it up for a hundred days, even a thousand. Will he give you the time of day? Will your swordsmanship improve the slightest? After all, aren’t you trying to learn the sword? Hm? So, choose a more certain path.”

Though still shorter than her brother, the grown sister carried herself with an intimidating dignity, her stature nearly matching Risir’s.

Roera walked right up to him and jerked her chin.

“Isn’t it what you’re good at? Try begging. Like you did to that man. Who knows? Your pretty little sister isn’t as stingy as him. I just might personally teach you. Of course, it won’t be the Bendel technique you so desperately wanted, but still.”

For some reason, Roera had not inherited the Bendel-style sword technique. She rejected all support from the family and walked her own path.

To Risir, dominated by a victim mentality, it seemed like a luxury she could afford because she wasn’t an illegitimate child.

“...Go.”

Risir avoided the eyes of his little sister, who looked down at him from a lower eye level.

“My break time is over.”

“Ah. I see.”

Roera shrugged her shoulders and turned away without hesitation.

“...Damn it.”

Risir didn’t catch Roera’s whispered self-reproach.

From the next day on, he no longer showed up at the training ground.

***“Sir Risir.”

After parting with my master, a familiar voice welcoming me back to the annex.

“Oh, Miss Maya~”

Serving as Roera’s lady’s maid, Maya was a young lady with short hair, impressively neat as if measured with a ruler.

“What brings you here at this late hour?”

“What brings me here at this late hour?”

As I waved a cheerful greeting, her eyes went wide with shock. I could almost hear the disbelief in her face.

“This morning. Didn’t I clearly tell you?”

“This morning?”

“I clearly told you that Lady Roera requested a meeting, so please visit the front yard of my lady’s quarters at lunch. Am I mistaken?”

“Ah, you certainly did.”

“Then why...”

Maya looked up at the sky. It was long past lunchtime, the sunset already casting shadows.

She didn’t finish the question. Is this like when rappers drop the mic during a rap battle?

Maya killed it alright.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been waiting until now?”

“What if I have?”

“Oh dear... Didn’t I tell you? I might be too busy to come, which is why I didn’t want you to wait.”

“...How did your business go, by the way?”

“It went well of course.”

That business being spending time away to avoid running into Roera.

“The business you prioritized over meeting Lady Roera went well?”

She’s real angry alright. Her eyes are about to pop.

I think it’s about time I start backing down now.

There was no point in offending Miss Maya. She was a noblewoman with a definitively higher social status than a bastard. After building her career in the Bendel family, she would advance to central noble society.

But how should I back down?

“... Huff, huff, huff!”

Suddenly I’m out of breath. Why?

Ah yes. That’s it. The bastard sprinted here with his heart about to burst, all to keep the promise with his lovely little sister and his respected lady’s maid.

“I-I’m sorry for being late...! My business took longer than expected—is Roera still waiting!? Let’s go right now!”

“Ah.”

I think my sincerity got through to her. Miss Maya closed her eyes, seeming impressed.

“Follow me.”

Miss Maya led me to the garden located in the front yard of the manor house. There, I found a woman sitting at a tea time table with her long legs up, reading a book with one hand. Her long blonde hair was carelessly tied-back, yet she still exuded nobility...

It was my sister Roera.

I immediately sat down across from her.

“Hey.”

My little sister greeted me cheerfully.

“What’s with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“...Forget it. I don’t want to waste any more time on you, so I’ll get straight to the point. Say you’ll refuse.”

“I refuse.”

“Aaaaaaaargh!!! Not to me!”

Unable to hold back any longer, Roera exploded, growling like a starting engine.

***According to Roera, the higher ups were talking of a marriage arrangement between me and some young lady, and I should absolutely not accept that marriage.

“Wha.”

Marriage? Out of nowhere? Am I being enlisted?

Are they hinting at forcibly enlisting me in the military through the metaphorical expression of marriage? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t stop at just refusing. No, I’d go swimming in my own shit.

And if they still send me to the military? Then I’ll acknowledge it. In consideration of that sincerity, I’ll add one deserter to the Bendel family tree.

“I’ve told you loud and clear. If that marriage goes through? Know that I won’t sit still.”

“...You really are the only one who cares about me, Roera.”

“What the heck’s gotten into you again?”

If someone were to see Roera’s expression right now, they would say this about our sibling relationship: Your little sister isn’t embarrassed. She’s genuinely disgusted, you know?

In another sense, it could be called a true sibling relationship. Brothers and sisters are genetically programmed to abhor one another.

You could say it’s the manifestation of the great realization God gained through Adam and Eve.

“Ah. It wasn’t about enlistment?”

“...What bullshit are you on?”

“I must’ve been mistaken. That’s a relief. Anyway, marriage arrangement? What are you even talking about?”

“Aaaargh...”

What would be the appropriate reaction for an older brother seeing his little sister about to foam at the mouth? Recording with a smartphone? Eating popcorn? I’m particularly missing modern conveniences today.

“Politics!”

“Politics?”

“It’s about two families living close by that would start conflicts if they even made eye contact. Instead of fighting, now they’re trying to form a bond to start getting along. A common political story. You’ll be entering that family as an adopted son-in-law.”

“I haven’t heard anything about this?”

“Because your opinion doesn’t matter to him.”

Am I imagining it, or does Roera look somewhat displeased?

“Then even if I’m against it, would it make any difference? To begin with, it’s unusual for you to meddle in my affairs. What’s brought this on?”

“None of your business.”

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

“Don’t tell me. You don’t want your big brother to be taken by another woman?”

I intentionally fished for the same juicy reaction as earlier.

“...Whatever.”

But Roera left her seat as if running away.

“?”

Now that was unexpected.

***

▶Another Tale◀

This is a different story.

***They’re all nothing but noise. Preaching to me how an aristocrat should behave, how a Bendel young lady should act, how Mother’s daughter should be... when I’m just me.

One person, only one, saw her as she was.

“...”

She just wanted to go back to the old days. When she was his best friend... and he was hers.

She had tried in her own way. In fact, she did everything she could.

Perhaps he would be thankful. Perhaps their relationship could go back to how it used to be.

That was why she married a Diltan in his place, hoping he would find his own life, and realize that he wasn’t just a bastard child abandoned by his father.

But what she got in return was news that he had enlisted in the military for the family’s honor. What’s more, he had gone missing in the military.

And then...

“You fool...”

She carefully laid down his body, which had ironically regained warmth after meeting death.

How did it come to this?

“...”

Actually, I know. I’m the fool.

There might have been a much better way. There might have been a much easier path. But she was the one who didn’t choose it.

She wanted to believe it would surely be resolved someday. She turned her head away, ignored it, and deliberately took the long way around.

This was the result, entirely the consequence of her own mistake...

“...”

Words quivered on the tip of her tongue, but in the end, her lips stayed sealed. It was too late for words to matter.

“Roera, my little sister.”

Suddenly, a familiar voice reached her ears.

She knew instantly—it wasn’t his voice, and it wasn’t him. Yet, in an uncharacteristic lapse, she allowed herself to listen to that voice laced with coldness.

The light faded from her eyes.

▶Fate 13: Words Left Unsaid

***