Chapter 5 – Let’s Cast It All Away
The Brother‘s Total Beatdown
From this position I was looking down on the older brother, Randolph.
When I deliberately deepened my smile, he and the step-sister were hugging each other tightly, looking frightened.
Perhaps it was for the best he never married the young lady he was originally engaged to.
If things had continued as they were, and he had married her, even if it wasn’t this step-sister, he might have been seduced by another woman and ended up like this sooner or later.
If that were the case, the spirit of that earnest and lovely young lady would undoubtedly have shattered.
“Haa,” I deliberately let out a big sigh and looked down at the two of them, and then turned my gaze to Kyle, who had been standing behind me the whole time.
“Kyle”
“Yes.”
“Even though we’re no longer a family, I want to have a proper conversation. Could you please expel those two disgraceful, wailing female monkeys and the servants who were arrogantly calling them ‘Lady’ and ‘Miss’, and confine them to the detached house? Make sure the locks on the entrance and the detached house are secure before returning. I will decide their fate later.”
“Understood.”
“Hey, Lunaria! How dare you speak to your adorable step-sister like that!”
“Oh my, those lowborn harlots are not recognized as members of this household, you know?”
“What…?”
He glanced at the step-mother and servants who were being hastily led away.
Everyone was desperately looking at Lunaria, clinging to their fading hope and screaming, “Help” or “No, this is a mistake!”, but I had no intention of offering any salvation.
After all, why go out of the way to show mercy and save people who have been nothing but cruel and uncaring?
The step-sister, forcibly torn away from her brother, was still making a scene—dragged to her feet and half-marched, half-dragged out of the room despite her struggles.
As they reached the stairs, a shrill voice rang out, “I can walk! Stop! No! I’ll fall!”.
When the commotion and noise finally died down and it became quiet, I turned back to the brother. Part of me wished he would just stand up already, but it was too much trouble, so I continued talking while looking down at him.
“To begin with, the family structure of the Duke of Solfege Household is myself, my former father, whom I would rather not remember, and you… my former brother, Lord Randolph. Ah, and of course our mother, the former Duchess, who is included in the family structure.”
“Hey, wait. What’s going on? You’ve been calling father and me your “former father” and “former brother” all this time!”
“……… That’s exactly what it means.”
Randolph looked at me with disdain as I tilted her head in a cute way, but he finally seemed to realize that his glaring was meaningless.
“Tch!” he clicked his tongue before finally standing up, pointing at me and taking a deep breath.
“Have you no compassion? You heartless monster!”
“… heartless? My, I’m merely acting as any proper noble should.”
“What do you mean…Hmm?”
“Then let me ask you. Have you no decency… any common sense at all?”
“Huh?!”
“At first, brother, it seemed even you resisted, but then your step-sister leaned on you, pressing her voluptuous breasts against you, you let your guard down, and were utterly ensnared in the blink of an eye… you’ve even gone so far as to share a carnal relationship with her, haven’t you?”
“N, no, that’s, um… well…”
“Before offering to break off your engagement, I should politely apologize to your fiancée and ensure the annulment proceedings would initiate on her terms. All because you couldn’t keep your hands off your step-sister. If you were to participate in high society like this, you will have to live as a shame to our family. Even in this situation, would you still claim yourself a member of the Duke of Solfege? The brain is supposed to be in the head… though in your case, brother, is it in the lower half of your body?”
Randolph, his face flushed red with indignation, raised his hand to hit Lunaria, but stopped short.
I glanced at him with amusement as he seemed to be trying to move, but he was just struggling as if something was holding onto his arms.
“Oh my… were you planning on resorting to violence?”
“Damn it.”
“Resorting to violence just because you’re at a disadvantage. How uncivilized.”
I sighed dramatically and made a gesture as if to flick Randolph’s head, then fired an air blast (extra large) with a fair amount of force. Randolph was violently slammed into the wall and slid down, crouching on the floor.
“Uh……….. kah?”
“You accuse me of tormenting your step-sister and resorting to violence, yet you yourself are inflicting terrible violence upon me, aren’t you?”
“Y, you…hypo, cri…….”
“If you are referring to the current situation, then you are terribly misguided. This was self-defense.”
“……… wh, gah…”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? You tried to hit me, so I simply used magic to defend myself … Honestly… my mistake was enduring your nonsense for so long.”
Randolph struggled to catch his breath, trying to speak, but he couldn’t find the words to respond after being crushed by his sister’s logical argument.
The only thing he could do to resist was to glare, but his sister just laughed at him and gave him an exasperated look.
Let’s think back to something that happened a while ago.
Just a short time ago, before Lunaria stabbed herself in the stomach, she had been very obedient to the entire family.
The fact that he hadn’t even realized how absurd the situation was shows how twisted his thought process had become, but the kind Lunaria who had been desperately trying to make him understand was no longer there.
“That’s why, brother, I… wanted to die. I was so very tired… But I didn’t die. It was as if Mother was telling me to ‘live’. So I thought, ‘It’s best to dispose of unnecessary things as quickly as possible‘.”
I spoke in a calm tone with a blank expression, making it impossible to read my emotions.
“If we weren’t nobles… I’m sure I would have tried to save many things out of family affection. But we are nobility.… Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
Although he felt relieved to finally catch his breath, he shook his head, not understanding the meaning of the question.
“What is unnecessary must be disposed of promptly. Our duty as nobles is to preserve strong bloodlines, to ensure the prosperity of our people, our lands—for the sake of the kingdom. And in that… you and Father have no place.”
Sweat slowly trickles down my back.
“Brother, as I said earlier… farewell.”
Well, what does farewell mean?
“I no longer need you or my father. I will disinherit you and sever all family ties. I will be the only one left in the Duke of Solfege Family.”
“Wa, it.”
“The limit of what I can tolerate has long since been exceeded.”
“No, no… ah!”
“Why should I?”
“I, I can change! I’ll change my heart!”
“What makes you think I would trust you?”
“Please, Lunaria… ah!”
“What benefit would my family, or I, ever gain from trusting someone like you?”
The air around me dropped below freezing as I seized Randolph’s throat, who was still crouched, and activated body enhancement again, lifting him up with one arm so that his gaze met mine.
“Ghk—! Aa…gh…! S-Sto…p…”
“I tried to stop you so many times, so many times!! I told you not to get involved with a step-sister like that! Yet you and father refused every single time?!”
Glaring at the brother with a disgusted look, I was a little out of breath after shouting it all in one go, so I took a slow, deep breath.
I stared at the brother’s face, twisted with fear and pain, unable to breathe properly, with a face devoid of any emotion, and continued speaking calmly.
“I’m no longer your little sister. Lunaria Il von Solfege is gone from your life. You, as my brother, abandoned me, your little sister.”
I leaned close to his ear and whispered softly.
“… You killed her. You murderer.”
“No, no,” the brother shook his head, and I looked at him with a look of genuine annoyance, then threw him roughly onto the floor.
“Cough…! Cough cough cough!!! Luna, Ria…!”
“Don’t dare speak my name.”
“I, I swear… I’ll change…! I’ll be better—!”
“Spare me your empty desperation, Lord Randolph. You couldn’t change even if you tried.”
Slowly and surely, he was overcome with the sensation of his throat being squeezed as the intimidating mana overwhelmed him.
The more she struggled to breathe, the more painful it became, and he struggled, but his outstretched hand cut through the air without being taken.
Randolph let out a strange gasp, seemed to be suffering from oxygen deprivation, and lost consciousness.
“…Back in the day, my older brother could have cast a magic barrier… but now he’s become completely useless…”
As he was muttering in dismay, I levitated the unconscious brother with wind magic before leaving my room to head straight to the detached house.
“… I need to clean this up quickly before the response from His Majesty the King arrives… Oh, Kyle.”
“Lady Lunaria, my apologies for the delay!”
“It’s fine. Take this to the annex as well. Let’s deal with it all at once.”
“Uh…”
“I won’t kill them—I’m simply having them removed.”
Kyle bowed his head deeply at the words she spoke with a charming smile.
As we walked towards the annex, I waved lightly to my servants who had finally emerged, and the expressions of everyone there brightened up.
“I was planning to tidy up before you arrived, but on second thought, I just moved it to the detached house. Now, please help me tidy up a bit more.”
“Understood.”
Kyle bowed his head on behalf of the group, and the rest of the group followed suit and bowed respectfully.
“I’ll formally notify the servants of their dismissal, and ask my step-mother and her family to leave at once. Though I suppose some explanation is necessary to avoid… complications. Ah, and of course, I’ll leave Lord Randolph to his step-sister.”
I unlocked the door to the detached house, opened it and at the same time threw Randolph’s body, which I was carrying in a floating manner, into the mansion.
The long-time head maid instinctively raised a scolding voice, “My Lady!”, but she didn’t reprimand me and simply sighed softly.
“ELDER BROTHER!!”
Ignoring the step-sister’s shrill voice, I stared straight at the assembled crowd looking back at me, some trembling, some pleading, others simpering with false deference.
“I’ve come to officially announce your punishment. I don’t want you causing a scene in the main house, after all.”
Lunaria smiled gracefully, with an expression she had never shown before. And then.
“Allow me to bid you all… a true ‘farewell‘.”
In an instant, I flashed a cruel smile and showered everyone there with mana, forcing them into groveling postures.
They will make their departure within the hour.
In the next chapter, the step-sister, step-mother, brother, and servant-like figures will all depart in the true sense of the word.
Sads Translates 