Ch.110110. Confirmation (1)

Clack. Clack.

Around the long dining table, the members of the Sianella family had gathered for a meal together.

After a considerable time of one year, I was having dinner with my family upon returning home.

Perhaps because I had returned after so long, the table was filled with dishes that made my mouth water.

The effort of the chefs who prepared such a variety of dishes was clearly evident.

I calmly cut the steak placed before me with my knife and put it in my mouth.

Chewing slowly.

The bursting meat juices and rich flavor. Even the scent of fire was palpable. Since this was a high-quality meal not easily found at the academy, I wanted to savor it slowly if possible, but…

Unfortunately, my attention wasn’t fully focused on this food. It couldn’t be helped. There was something more eye-catching than this piece of meat.

“Hmm…”

While mechanically chewing the meat in my mouth, I observed my sister sitting across from me.

Not changing inadequately, but properly and certainly. My sister, whom I was seeing again after a year, had changed beyond recognition. She might as well be a different person.

Even now, that’s the case.

My sister, Sione Sianella, used to extremely dislike dinner time.

She was always intimidated by the presence of me, our older sister, and our mother at the head of the table.

With dull eyes, she would frantically devour the food placed in front of her, as if eager to leave this uncomfortable setting as quickly as possible.

But my sister now is different.

‘What on earth happened in the span of a year?’

Her once cloudy, dull blue eyes, unbecoming of a Sianella, had long since disappeared. Her eyes were now straight and upright, even containing a faint light.

She no longer appeared intimidated by her family’s presence.

That’s not all.

In the past, she would bow her head and just shovel her food, but that behavior had long since vanished.

My sister now sat with her back straight, enjoying her meal elegantly while observing proper etiquette.

What’s even more surprising is—

“The chefs seem to have put in extra effort today, don’t they?”

That even my older sister, who would have always been indifferent, was now engaging in casual banter with our younger sister.

“Indeed they have. I wish meals could be like this every day.”

“I agree.”

While I was away from the county, something must have happened between them.

Sione skillfully responded to our older sister Siabel Sianella’s words.

My eyes narrowed involuntarily.

Sione had felt inferior to Siabel.

So when she first started to break down, Siabel was the first person she avoided.

And Siabel, in turn, maintained a deliberate indifference toward her sister.

I thought I would never again see those two chatting during a meal…

‘…She’s changed.’

The world surrounding Sione has changed.

Even our mother, Ainel Sianella, seemed accustomed to this situation now.

She continued her meal without making much of it.

Now, the one who feels most awkward in this setting is not Sione, but me, Sion Sianella.

‘Hmm…’

My thoughts deepened.

I doubted whether I could still call that person my sister from a year ago.

And I began to wonder deeply what had restored Sione Sianella, even if only in appearance, to the sister I had once admired more than anyone.

As I was briefly observing my much-changed sister, she too paused in cutting her steak and exchanged glances with me.

“…”

“…”

It felt numb.

Yet it was as cold as the bitter winter wind howling outside the warm mansion.

In her eyes, I could no longer find even a fragment of emotion toward me. The inferiority and aversion that once seemed would never disappear were nowhere to be found.

I couldn’t help but be certain.

It wasn’t just her appearance that had changed.

Her inner self had also grown significantly during the past year.

What remained was a thorough sense of distance.

A distance too far to call us blood relatives, and a familiarity too lacking to call us acquaintances.

In a way, it was only natural. I knew well that what I had done to my sister was improper behavior.

Whatever the reason I first started speaking those harsh words… even after realizing it was the wrong approach.

I continued to condemn my sister with increasingly venomous words.

It’s only natural.

Like an emotionless doll, my sister who had been making eye contact with me opened her small mouth.

A plain yet chilling voice lingered in my ears.

“Eat. Your food is getting cold.”

“…I understand.”

Having said what she needed to say, Sione resumed cutting her steak and put a piece in her mouth.

I too began to focus on my meal again.

Though warm steam rose from the dishes, and everything looked appetizing,

Immersed in deep contemplation, I felt as if I was chewing only colorless, tasteless anguish.

At the unusually quiet table, it was our mother who spoke.

The topic was nothing special.

Just welcoming me back home.

I simply smiled gently at mother’s words and the subsequent reactions of my sisters while continuing my meal, showing no significant response.

It was during this time.

As the meal was drawing to a close, our mother, who had already neatly set down her cutlery, casually asked.

“Sione. Come to think of it, there’s something I haven’t heard yet.”

“Something you haven’t heard, you say?”

“Yes. I was wondering if you’re making good use of the bow I gave you.”

“Ah.”

Mother gave a bow to my sister?

…But according to the rumors, my sister protected the princess with a sword.

Perhaps she started learning archery?

But a bow takes a long time to master.

For mother, who values results, she wouldn’t give a bow to an archer who hasn’t even mastered it in just a year, even if it’s her own daughter.

…Clack.

I carefully set down my cutlery, finishing my meal.

Then I focused my hearing on their conversation.

Due to the sound of cutlery being placed on empty plates, I felt several gazes momentarily turn toward me, but that wasn’t important.

“…I’m using it well. The tension of the bowstring, the elasticity of the bow itself. It’s an excellent bow.”

That sister who always looked at the world with a deadpan expression and sighed alone.

An emotion I thought would never return to that sister came back.

Sione Sianella smiled. It was a smile I hadn’t seen in years.

…And to think I would see that smile through an unexpected conversation about a bow.

Moreover, Sione’s smile had power.

The power to make Ainel and Siabel smile along with her.

“That’s good. I’ve heard your archery skills are quite remarkable, but I haven’t seen them yet.”

“You can look forward to it. She can pierce the thick skin of an Orc from a distance. Sione’s arrows are exceptionally impressive. I’d trust Sione more than the Ranger we were with recently.”

“Oh?”

“Th-that’s an exaggeration.”

“I’ve heard you’ve been spending a lot of time at the shooting range lately. I’ll visit sometime soon.”

“…Alright.”

Stories of my sister who had begun to walk a different path.

Since these were stories about Sione that I knew nothing about, I couldn’t join in.

But I stored their words in my mind.

I drank the water from my glass beside the empty plate and thought.

I should see my changed sister at the shooting range with my own eyes.

Afterward, my older sister, having finished her meal, stood up.

“I’ll retire first.”

“Then I shall also…”

As Siabel and Sione left after finishing their meal, only mother and I remained at the long table.

Screech—

Just as I pushed my chair back to finish my meal and follow them,

As if she had been waiting for the two to leave first, mother, Ainel Sianella, dismissed the servants who had been watching us.

Then, after confirming that everyone had left, she looked directly at me and spoke.

“Sion. I’ve heard something.”

“…What have you heard?”

“I heard through my secretary. Apparently, you showed unfavorable behavior toward Sione in the corridor where servants pass by. Fortunately, it was a tight-lipped maid who heard it. If someone more talkative had heard, it could have been quite troublesome.”

“That was…”

“I even heard you mentioned a demon.”

Ainel’s presence erupted.

Subtly, yet more heavily than anything else.

My mother’s dignity as the head of the family and as a powerful knight pressed down on my mind.

“Sion.”

“…Yes.”

“Not only are there servants, but there are also noble guests from the Allenar Marquisate staying at the county right now, so be especially mindful of your words and actions.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And—”

Tock— Tock— Tock—

Ainel’s eyes, containing the winter sea, pierce through me.

The sound of tapping on the table, matching like the ticking of a clock’s second hand, is clearly imprinted in my mind amidst this silence.

“I know that the relationship between you and your sister is not particularly good, but even so, to mention a demon to a Sianella. Understand the weight of your name and the words you’ve spoken. There should be no more such reckless behavior reaching my ears in the future.”

“…I’ll be careful.”

“Hmm.”

Mother rose from her seat first.

Click. Click.

As she passed by me, she suddenly stopped.

“…And Sion, you too should someday to Sione—”

Ainel hesitated uncharacteristically and paused. In the end, without saying anything more, she simply walked away.

Her profile, which I glimpsed briefly, appeared to be that of a mother feeling guilty about her past.

* * *

Ainel entered her office.

She immediately sank into her comfortable chair.

After briefly looking up at the ceiling with a blank stare, she closed her eyes.

A word that had been lingering in her mouth.

With a small sigh, Ainel finally uttered the last word.

“…Atonement.”

She was Sione’s mother, a sinner who had failed to fulfill her responsibility as a parent.

How could one sinner reproach another’s sin? Sion had insulted Sione, and Sione had remained silent. And I, too, like Sione, had only remained silent. Showing no reaction at all.

“Well…”

I recalled my sins.

Sione, who had desperately trained with sword and spear, studied magic and various disciplines to prove her worth befitting the County of Sianella.

My first sin was that I merely observed without giving her a simple word of praise for being admirable.

Later, as my indifference continued, Sione turned her back on the world, sickened by others’ comparisons and criticisms.

My second sin was that even after noticing the negative public perception toward her, I still neglected her.

And my final sin…

—No, it’s not unsolicited advice. It’s loyal counsel.

—Do you think it’s right to ignore the Lady of Sianella and only converse with a mere attendant like me?

—If I may dare to request at this moment. I hope that Lady Ainel will not ignore or disregard Lady Sione.

Even after realizing my sin, to the extent that Sione’s attendant offered loyal counsel with a blade at his neck.

—Shouldn’t family members at least greet each other?

It was the sin of having treated Sione terribly as her mother.

I can still vividly remember. The day I stroked her head for the first time. The tears that welled up in my daughter’s eyes.

Though it’s already too late, from now on, I will face her properly and slowly atone.

And someday, I will seek her forgiveness.

I looked at my hands.

If possible, after seeing her shoot at the shooting range, I thought I would try to stroke her head once more with these hands.

* * *

I went to the shooting range to practice archery as usual.

After simply nodding to those who now slightly acknowledged me,

I was focusing on practicing with my bow.

When I reached for the quiver on my back, I realized I had already used up all the prepared arrows.

“Here’s a new quiver.”

Forgetting the pain that had been throbbing between my finger joints, thanks to my attendant’s small consideration,

I turned around with a small smile, and that’s when it happened.

“Ah, than—”

Though he usually maintained an emotionless expression, today his face seemed particularly rigid.

Curious about why, I looked around. It wasn’t just Ray who was reacting this way.

Everyone else at the shooting range, except for me, was the same.

The cause was an uninvited visitor to the shooting range.

“…Sion.”

A man with silver-white hair.

Sion Sianella had come to the shooting range to watch me.

He probably came to see my archery skills, which he hadn’t witnessed before, with his own eyes.

After receiving the new quiver from Ray, I focused on the target.

‘If you want.’

I’ll show you as much as you want.

I’ll pierce the center of that target over there and proudly declare:

The incompetent me is dead, and now I have found my talent.

The breeze that had been gently blowing stopped.

As Ray had taught me, I took my stance and nocked an arrow on the bowstring.

I began to channel my mana as I pulled the taut bowstring.

Using the recoil force from the tension in my arm, I drew my elbow back.

It took 5 seconds to flow mana through my fixed arm and concentrate it at the arrowhead.

“Hoo…”

After this series of actions, I took a breath.

Cold air filled my lungs.

Now I begin to erase everything around me one by one.

What I perceive is only the point where the arrowhead is aimed and the target I need to hit. These two are sufficient.

Forgetting the unnecessary, I threw my mind into intense focus.

It’s quiet.

In that moment when even the occasional breeze brushing my cheek had stopped, I released my fingers holding the bowstring.

Twang!

The arrow shot with a dead release flew.

It was fierce. The sound of it cutting through the air was intensely powerful.

Thwack!

Dead center. The mana-enhanced arrow penetrated the target and lodged deeply.

I lowered my bow.

Releasing the tension flowing through my body, I turned around to face Sion.

“Sion, you’ve always been distant from the training grounds… and especially from the shooting range. Why have you come here?”

Sion squinted one eye.

Though he seemed to try to hide it, I could see his eye twitching.

Unlike him, he wasn’t hiding his emotions well.

“…When did you start handling a bow?”

“Well—”

Sion was skeptical.

Despite seeing it with his own eyes.

He seemed to question whether I had shot the arrow embedded in the target.

“I started learning in earnest after you left for the academy.”

“…”

“Unlike the swordsmanship and magic you so disparaged for my lack of talent, archery was different. I practiced every day, and improved every day. Quite surprising, isn’t it?”

It was a statement with substance.

As proof, I could see Sion’s contemplation deepening.

Fixed in place, he could do nothing but silently listen to my words.

“So, have you confirmed what you wanted to see with your own eyes? Or… I can easily show you more center hits if you’d like.”

With a small smile at Sion’s gradually crumbling composure, I asked.

“Will you stay and watch more?”

Because I am no longer the runaway you once knew.

My name is Sione Sianella.

The second daughter of Ainel Sianella, the knight I admire more than anyone, and the proud daughter of the County.

A successful noble who has earned the loyalty of someone who shines brighter than anyone else.

And I am the first archer born into a family of knights.

If you don’t believe in my archery skills.

‘Like Ray used to be.’

When he criticized my lack of skill with the bow, Ray summoned the wind and shot that dangerous arrow past my head.

Just as the reckless Ray did then.

I will pierce through the shabby image of me in his mind with an intense experience, and engrave the sharpness of my arrows in its place.