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Chapter 75: Extra Chapter: Distorted, But Unchanged

And, in fact, the only people in the carriage were three women. One was a knight of the Shirone Kingdom named Ginger York. She sat near the door, listening to the conversation of the other two.

"Big Brother Kennel Master really was dreamy." The one speaking so enthusiastically was the young girl in baggy maid's clothing, Aisha. "If 'm ever going to get married, it definitely has to be to someone like that. Right, Mother?"

"Y-yes, of course." Sitting opposite was a woman identical to Aisha, but older and wearing glasses. Her name was Lilia. Anyone who looked past the frames would see the cool glint in her eyes, giving off a distant and frosty impression. And yet, her gaze was currently shifting around.

"He was totally amazing when he saved me, you know? He pointed his finger at the ground like this, and swished, then a hole opened up, and then after that we went whooshing through the air! I wonder if that was magic too? It's amazing he can cast all that without chanting anything. Almost like the magic in fairytales."

"Yes, indeed. It's incredible...being able to cast like that without incantations."

Aisha had been singing the praises of "Big Brother" Kennel Master for a while now. Lilia was a bit perplexed. She'd been sure at first that Aisha had realized the Kennel Master was actually her older brother, Rudeus, but it was starting to look like she was just using "big brother" as a term of endearment for an older male figure.

"Besides, that was a first for me. I was so scared I wet myself, and yet, I wasn't embarrassed because he was the one with me. I didn't mind that he helped me get changed... Could this maybe...be love?" Aisha put her hands together as if in prayer, her eyes alight.

Seeing her daughter like that, Lilia hesitated. Should she tell her that the Kennel Master was actually Rudeus? Just the other day, Aisha had hated him. Granted, Lilia's approach hadn't been the best. She'd always gone on about how amazing and wonderful Rudeus was, wanting Aisha to serve him someday, but Aisha was exceptionally smart herself, and she'd seen right through her mother's exaggerated claims that her brother was perfect beyond reproach. She'd sniffed out the flaws Lilia was covering up, and honed in on them.

People tended to assign great importance to the things they discovered for themselves, rather than what they heard from other people. A few years from now, Aisha would realize that what she'd been told was just as credible as the information she discovered for herself, but she was still too young for that. She thought that her mother was full of lies and that Rudeus was actually a good-for-nothing human being.

Lilia acknowledged she was partly to blame for that. She could have found better ways to tell Aisha about Rudeus, ones that didn't include going on and on about him as if he were an object of worship. But didn't matter if she admitted her mistakes now; Aisha had made up her mind about Rudeus. At some point in their stay in the Shirone Kingdom, Lilia had given up on changing her daughter's mind. However, by some twist of fate, Aisha was now lavishing praise on her brother the Kennel Master.

Lilia paused to think. If she were to reveal that Aisha's beloved Kennel Master was actually Rudeus, wouldn't Aisha's hatred of her brother disappear? Wouldn't she be willing to serve him, just as Lilia wished?

Then again, Aisha hated lies and deceit, and Rudeus had hidden his true identity from her the entire time. Lilia had no idea why he'd done it, but Aisha was a clever girl who saw right through adults' attempts to gloss things over. Revealing that the Kennel Master was really Rudeus this late in the game might only make her hate him more. "See, he is underhanded!" she might say, or "I knew it, my brother is a pervert!" or "He wanted to wash my panties so bad that he lied to me!" Lilia would rather avoid that.

"Heey, Motherrrr. If my brother is actually dead, I'd like to serve the Kennel Master instead~"

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Normally, at this point, Lilia would smack Aisha on the head and chide her not to say such ominous things. This time, she could do nothing but offer her a bitter smile as a cold sweat beaded on her face.

Should she tell Aisha that the Kennel Master was Rudeus or not? If she played her cards right, Aisha would come to love her brother. But if she failed, Aisha would hate him even more. The latter was unacceptable, but Lilia wasn't confident she could persuade her far-tooclever daughter. What should she do?

Unable to come up with an answer, she was forced to listen to Aisha's rambling.

"Td do my best if I were to serve the Kennel Master. But then one day, when my guard's down and I'm getting changed and all defenseless, he'll come in and push me down, all hot and bothered, and make me his mistress. That will mark the beginning of a daily routine of obscene lovemaking. To me, it'll just be a physical relationship at first, but then one day he'll propose to me, saying 'I want your heart as well,' and...hee hee!"

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Unbeknownst to Lilia, who was agonizing over her decision, Aisha was laughing to herself. She'd already seen right through everything— she knew the Kennel Master was really her brother, and while he wasn't perfect, he was as exceptional as her mother had said. She was just using this opportunity to torment Lilia.

In all honesty, Aisha didn't have the best relationship with her mother. Lilia had always been overcontrolling, ordering her to do this or that ever since she was little, refusing to give her an explanation even if she asked for one. And, apparently, the strict training her mother put her through was all so that she could someday serve her older brother. It was no wonder Aisha had grown sick of it... until she saw her brother in person. She witnessed his ability to react intelligently to his environment by using voiceless magic to aid in their escape, as well as his courage in charging into the Shirone Royal Palace to rescue her mother, and his kindness after being peed on and helping her wash up and get changed with no sign of disgust. All of that was enough to make Aisha giddy, as she realized, "So this is what people mean when they say 'dreamy'!"

Her brother was exceptional, and if she wanted to be keep up with him, she had to be exceptional, too. Once she understood that, she was actually grateful for everything her mother had made her do. Without all that training, she might balk at the idea of serving such an extraordinary older brother.

"Ah-ah, I wonder if my brother really is dead. Then I can go straight into the arms of the Kennel Master."

"A-as long as Lord Rudeus hasn't passed, you're going to serve him, you understand?"

"Of course, I know that." This was the first time Aisha had ever seen her mother so flustered. "But just for a year, okay? After that I want to spend the rest of my time with the Kennel Master~"

"N-no, that's unaccept—hmm..."

Aisha continued to enjoy teasing Lilia for a while after that.

The woman known as Lilia was born in a remote village in the Asura Kingdom. Later, she was the only girl in a Water God Style swordplay training hall in a mid-sized city in the Donati region. She had no surname. Commoners in the Asura Kingdom were not given surnames. Lilia was born as just Lilia, and as it was her father who owned the hall, she picked up a blade at a young age and learned rapidly.

Like her parents, Lilia was terrible with words. She conducted herself coolly and quietly, and didn't have much charm to her. However, she was a hard worker, so those around her all loved her. Even though it was clear she had no talent for the sword, she was still endearing to the other students who saw how eagerly she practiced. The students doted on her as if she were their little sister, and she gained a bunch of older brothers in turn. Her life was the peaceful vista you'd expect from a small, rural sword training hall.

The students' gazes began to change when Lilia was about thirteen.

As her body welcomed the changes that accompanied puberty, the other students stopped showering with her and avoided speaking with her one-on-one. They didn't specifically avoid her or try to exclude her, but Lilia could vaguely sense their hot gazes on her.

Lilia was a very realistic girl. She had no brothers, and her mother's physical condition had worsened after her birth. With no son to be heir to the sword training hall, her mother was left feeling apologetic while her father wracked his brain over what to do. That was why Lilia assumed she'd eventually marry one of the students, who would then inherit the hall in her stead. The students were all like brothers to her, which was why none of them particularly stood out as candidates for marriage, but she could tell how they kept each other in check when she was around.

It became a hot topic of discussion in the hall as to who the master, her father, would select both as her partner in marriage and the next master of the hall. Behind the scenes, those interested in becoming the master or simply interested in marrying Lilia began to compete with one another. Time wore on without anything being decided, but Lilia was sure that the future she envisioned would eventually come to pass.

It was around then that Paul tumbled into their midst. Even though he had no money or a place to live, Lilia's father readily welcomed him. With his bright and energetic personality, Paul became popular with everyone in a flash. He was also blessed with a talent for swordsmanship, and quickly absorbed their techniques, likely thanks in part to what he'd already learned with the Sword God Style. It had taken Lilia ten years to accomplish as much and he'd caught up to her, then surpassed her. In no time at all, he'd grown so skilled that even her father couldn't compete with him.

Paul was talented with the sword and popular with the other students. Because of that, it was soon decided that he would be Lilia's life partner. Although Lilia was bewildered by the suddenness, the speed at which things had proceeded set her heart aflutter. Paul was unlike all the other people she'd seen before. He was so free-spirited; he possessed neither rigid thinking where swordsplay was concerned, nor firm beliefs on lineage and inheritance. His carefree lifestyle seemed dazzling to Lilia.

But Paul was a bit too different from the other denizens of the training hall, and it wasn't just his lax views on swordsplay, household duties,

or lineage, but also his approach to women. Although the other students had readily welcomed Paul at first, discord began to develop between them. They didn't look too kindly upon someone who'd appeared out of nowhere and stolen the seat of hall master out from beneath them, but they were willing to begrudgingly accept it because it was Paul. However, if he was going to treat as worthless something that they considered precious, something they'd fought so hard to try to obtain, then that changed things.

They decided to try getting rid of Paul. During practice matches, they would focus their attacks on him, come at him from behind with flying kicks, and purposefully spill water on his training outfit. Lilia took Paul's side and reprimanded them. The students didn't look too kindly upon that, either, and their behavior escalated.

If Paul were a normal boy, it would have ended there. He would have acquiesced and made way for the others, or he would've fled from the hall after being chased out. However, Paul was a bad boy. With his mood soured, he resorted to acting out.

One night, he snuck into Lilia's sleeping chambers and stole her innocence. Lilia tried to struggle of course, but there was nothing she could do. Once everything was over, she was left in a daze. She couldn't process what it was that had happened to her. She never dreamed that Paul, whom she'd spoken so cheerfully with a few days prior, would do something like that. By the time her mother came into the room to see why her daughter hadn't gotten up yet and screamed at what she saw, Paul had already left town.

Lilia developed a distrust for men after that. She felt fear at the gazes of the other students and blatantly avoided bodily contact. That didn't change, not even after she turned fifteen and became an adult. Lilia's father was honor-bound to see to the survival of the sword hall, which had been in the family for generations. He had no son, and Lilia's birth had ruined her mother's body. He would have to marry her to one of his students to see his legacy continue. Still, a father was a father. As a parent, he couldn't force his daughter to be with a man after the deep mental scars she'd sustained.

Instead, he used his personal connections to recommend her to the Asura Royal Family as a maid and lady-in-waiting whose duties extended to taking up arms to protect the royal family when necessary. Lilia gradually overcame her distrust of men during her time serving as a guardswoman, but then sustained an injury while protecting the princess. Discharged from service, she headed for the Fittoa Region instead of returning home, where, by some twist of fate, she found a job as a maid to Paul's new family.

She and Paul rekindled their affair, she got pregnant with his child, and then she became his second wife.

In all honesty, Lilia didn't know at the time if she was happy or not. She was basically a mistress, and Paul probably loved Zenith more than he did her. Zenith was a dear friend to her, but Lilia had complex feelings of guilt and remorse. The Greyrats had accepted her as part of the family, but her anxiety and insecurity persisted.

Rudeus, who supported her in this time of mental turmoil, had been the one who talked Zenith into letting Lilia stay. Raising her daughter to someday serve him was the one thing Lilia could be certain she wanted, though she found herself questioning what this said about how much she loved Aisha. Her own father had cared more for her happiness than the continuation of his sword hall, which was why he'd helped her find another path in life. Was Lilia not trampling over the feelings of Aisha—her own daughter—if she used her to repay her debt to Rudeus and buy herself some peace of mind? Those worries only worsened as she realized that her daughter was not an ordinary child, but exceptionally intelligent.

The turning point came with the mysterious Displacement Incident, in which Lilia and Aisha were teleported to the Shirone Kingdom together. One moment they'd lost consciousness, and the next, they were in an expensive-looking room. Soon enough, they were completely surrounded by guards.

Faced with hostile, murderous men in armor, Lilia's mind went blank. Unable to comprehend what was happening, the one thought that came to her mind was I have to protect my daughter. Lilia grabbed the nearest candle stand, pushed her daughter behind her, and fought. However, after her long absence from actual battle, her body didn't move as she willed it, and the old wound in her leg only further hampered her mobility. Unable to offer much resistance, they were captured and Aisha was dragged along by the soldiers behind her mother.

"Please! Just spare the girl! Please just help my daughter! I don't care what happens to me! Just my daughter!" Lilia wept and screamed pitifully, but those words came unbidden and unconsciously. They were her true feelings.

Her true feelings.

After that, Lilia was confined to the castle, kept from making any contact with the outside world, and forced to work as a maid. However, her heart was lighter than before. The words that had spilled from her in a moment of desperation were pleas to save Aisha. She no longer doubted her love for her daughter, and was satisfied that her desire to have her serve Rudeus was not a purely selfish one.

Aisha was free-spirited and independent, perhaps because she took after Paul. She hated being restrained and found her mother suffocating. She couldn't comprehend why she should serve Rudeus, and being so clever, Aisha detested working hard toward a goal that she couldn't understand the meaning of.

Still, Lilia didn't give up. She taught her recalcitrant daughter all the knowledge she'd collected over the years. One day, Aisha would understand. As long as Rudeus remained the same person he had been on that day when he protected Lilia, Aisha would understand. Or so she thought...

"Ahh, Big Brother Kennel Master... Aah, he's all I can think about. Those sturdy arms that lifted me up, his gallant face, and confused attitude..."

Aisha did understand. She'd seen Rudeus for herself and understood the meaning behind what Lilia had been doing—but this was also wrong. This wasn't the way she'd envisioned her daughter coming to understand Rudeus's greatness.

"Aisha." Lilia gradually stood up in the middle of the swaying carriage.

Aisha, who'd had a mischievous smile on her face, trembled with surprise at her mother's movement. Lilia had a habit of smacking Aisha on the head when she said or did something bad. Granted, Aisha was clever. She could estimate, to a certain degree, what would get her hit and what wouldn't, and she was mischievous enough to bait Lilia into hitting her, then stick her tongue out and resolve it with a "Sowwy."

But this time she didn't know why her mother was angry. She was complimenting Rudeus—complimenting the older brother her mother told her to serve. Had she messed up somehow? Or was the Kennel Master not her brother after all? Those worries flashed through her mind as her mother's hand approached her.

"Huh...?"

Aisha froze as she felt something soft brush the top of her head. Lilia was patting her. Times like these, when her mother stroked her hair, were far and few between.

"Mother?"

For some reason, Lilia felt timid when her daughter addressed her. Her hand, which had been stroking Aisha's head, now moved to the little girl's back, drawing her small body close. "Aisha. Mister Kennel Master or Master Rudeus... whoever you choose is fine with me."

Rudeus had refused to take Aisha with him, but Lilia was certain that, a few years from now, the day would come when they were reunited again.

"And when that day comes, give everything you have to serve him." As Lilia said those words, she swore to herself that she would raise Aisha to be a wonderful woman, and that it wouldn't be for Rudeus' sake. Or for her own. Lilia was aware that her own egotistical feelings were still mixed into that sentiment, but she truly, from the bottom of her heart, wanted Aisha to grow into a remarkable woman.

"Ahaha... I guess you caught me after all...huh?" Aisha felt uneasy about the soft sensation on her head, and her lips curled upward. "I-I knew, of course! That the Kennel Master is my brother... so I just kind of wanted to try teasing you, just a little..."

As she stammered her incoherent excuse, it suddenly occurred to Aisha that she might never have been embraced like this by her mother before. As soon as she thought that, an incredible wave of happiness swept over her. It was the first time the young girl had ever experienced crying with joy. Confused by the tears that refused to stop, she just wrapped her arms around her mother and soaked her shoulder.

Ginger, who had been watching the two, averted her eyes. Her gaze turned to the water paddies as they rippled in the wind, extending for as far as the eye could see.