Alice didn’t have high expectations, truthfully.
Sylvia calling Jaiden “older brother” was likely not sincere but more a means to leverage Jaiden’s power. While Alice didn’t know exactly how Sylvia acted before using her “ability,” she wasn’t completely clueless.
Sylvia had never directly talked about her powers, nor had Alice asked her to. But from what their father had mentioned, it wasn’t hard to infer the nature of her ability.
If Alice could erase her own mistakes, she’d likely do whatever she wanted and then simply take what she could get. It was the same conclusion Alice had come to herself.
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Still, she felt a bit resentful.
After all, wasn’t it unfair?
Among those who had spent the longest time with Sylvia—if not the longest, certainly one of the longest—it was Alice. It had taken a while, but Alice genuinely thought of Sylvia as her sister. Claiming to be her “older sister” was partly pride, of course.
Moreover, Sylvia had shown a kind attitude toward Alice since they were young. While she maintained a distant demeanor with other siblings, she didn’t hesitate to help Alice.
But “older brother”?
Yes, she felt it was a little unfair.
Even if that moment could be erased, it was still unfair. After all, for the time being, Alice remembered it.
That’s why Sylvia’s reaction in the morning was a bit of a surprise for Alice.
“Sylvia?”
Alice almost never had to wake Sylvia up in the morning. Usually, Sylvia was up before her. It wasn’t that Sylvia slept less than others, but she seemed to value a consistent routine.
During assignments, Claire was often the one who woke up Sylvia even earlier, which Alice envied. The difference between “saying” you’re an older sister and “hearing” it was as vast as heaven and earth. Saying “older sister” was something she could do anytime, but hearing it required Sylvia to willingly accept it and use that term.
In other words, if Sylvia didn’t want it, it wouldn’t happen.
"..."
In any case, the fact that Sylvia was up later than Alice indicated something was going on. Perhaps it wasn’t anything dangerous, but it meant she’d stayed up late for some reason—something significant enough not to be erased by her power.
Or maybe she was preparing to turn back time to before she called Jaiden “older brother,” so small things like oversleeping didn’t concern her anymore.
Regardless, it was time for her to get up. The Swordmaster was waiting, and Alice knew from experience that he didn’t care much for lazy people. While he might not punish them, training could become several times harder for that day.
Alice raised her hand and knocked on the door again.
“Sylvia?”
There was no response from inside.
“I’m coming in?”
Even after giving notice, there was no answer, so Alice opened the door and entered.
Inside, she found Sylvia, already dressed and prepared to leave.
Sylvia, wearing her academy uniform, sat absentmindedly in her chair.
Yes, absentminded.
To Alice, who could read Sylvia’s expressions, it wasn’t quite “expressionless.”
“Sylvia?”
It was only when Alice came closer and spoke that Sylvia blinked, as if snapping out of it.
“...Your Highness.”
Hearing “Your Highness” instead of “sister” or her name made Alice’s temper flare, but she held it back. If Sylvia couldn’t even hide her expression, the situation must be serious.
“Is something wrong?”
“...”
Despite Alice’s concerned tone, Sylvia only looked at her blankly for a moment before raising her hand to brush her face.
“Is it serious?”
“Well...”
Sylvia seemed to hesitate for a long moment at Alice’s question.
Seeing that made Alice’s heart sink.
---
I couldn’t turn back to the moment before I called you “sister.”
How could I say that?
Especially to someone looking at me with such a serious expression.
Given the image I usually aimed for, I shouldn’t be so flustered. I was supposed to be the cool, beautiful one, moving with grace and poise.
I knew that my image would inevitably crumble one day, sure.
But I hadn’t expected it to be outside of my control.
“It’s nothing.”
I let out a long sigh and composed my expression. Morning had already arrived while I sat there dazed. Though I had slept, it hadn’t been restful. I woke up several times, dreaming of Jaiden grinning and saying, “Come on, call me ‘older brother’ again!” After jolting awake three times, any trace of sleep had vanished by dawn.
“Are you sure?”
Alice’s expression was still serious, but she didn’t press further.
She’d always been like that. If I didn’t want to say something, she let it be.
...Well, except when it came to insisting on “sister.”
Now I couldn’t even undo it.
I forced myself not to cringe in embarrassment, barely holding back the urge to roll on the floor.
Alright.
What’s done is done, so I might as well gather whatever’s left of my composure.
“Yes.”
With that, I stood up.
“Let’s go to the Swordmaster.”
“Ah, okay.”
I got up and walked confidently toward the door.
“Um, Sylvia?”
Hearing Alice call from behind, I turned—
“The training grounds are this way, aren’t they?” she pointed down the opposite corridor.
“...”
Stiffly, I turned and followed her.
Alice’s expression was still serious...
But I couldn’t admit it was because I’d called her “sister.”
Nor could I tell her that the checkpoint was updating in real-time whenever I tried to check if the masked woman was still nearby.
If Alice knew, she wouldn’t let such an opportunity slip by.
---
“Sister!”
The moment we reached the training grounds, that word—now almost a trauma for me—rang out loudly.
For some reason, Claire was already waiting for us in the training grounds.
...Maybe I should give Claire a nickname?
If I gave her a name like “Flash” from some cringey light novel, maybe she’d feel embarrassed and stop calling me “sister”?
But that seemed too risky right now.
With Claire’s cheerful personality, she might actually like it and end up giving me a nickname in return.
Another chill ran down my spine. I’d felt this several times since yesterday.
“Claire.”
Claire, smiling broadly, dashed up to us.
“Since Master is nearby, my mother gave me permission to train here.”
“Although the condition is that she returns home in the evenings for bridal training,” added Leo, who had followed her.
“Bridal training?” Alice asked, puzzled, and Leo shrugged.
“Well, we’re from a baron’s family. If we were of higher nobility, suitors would be lined up for Claire, regardless of her elegance. But as barons, if they aren’t from an equal family, they’d scrutinize our conditions more closely.”
Claire shot a quick glare at Leo for speaking formally, but she didn’t deny his explanation.
“Well, we’ll all grow up eventually.”
“Click, click,” the Swordmaster clicked his tongue at Claire’s words.
“Do you think age alone makes an adult? When I was your age—”
As the Swordmaster Frederick spoke, the expressions of the three who were talking grew awkward. If I weren’t carefully controlling my expression after yesterday’s ordeal, I might have shown the same look.
The Swordmaster, for all his talk, had still tried to dissuade Leo from going to war back then.
“Ahem.”
As he prepared to launch into a lecture, the Swordmaster noticed their expressions and cleared his throat.
“Well, what can I say? The times have changed, so even an old man like me has to keep up.”
After looking us over, he spoke.
“Alright, we’ll begin morning training now. Breakfast will follow. Understood?”
“Yes!”
The training grounds echoed with our voices.
I glanced at the soldiers standing by the door.
They were watching us with what seemed to be envy.
...Well, I suppose their restraint in not joining training was commendable.