“Little Vanessa, you really are a mischievous little troublemaker. You must have used recording stones to torment plenty of people, haven’t you?”

Kaleni played with a lock of her hair, her bright, beautiful eyes filled with teasing amusement.

“I’m not. I didn’t.”

Vanessa still had her head buried beneath the covers. Her soft voice came out muffled, carrying an embarrassment she could hardly bring herself to put into words.

“Didn’t? Then why does little Vanessa have to hide her head under the blanket instead of daring to look at anyone?” Kaleni asked with a laugh.

“Please do not say things like that. It is not that I do not dare look at people.”

As she spoke, Vanessa poked her head out from beneath the covers and put on a calm, composed expression, as though she had everything under control.

Unfortunately, the lingering blush on her cheeks was impossible to hide no matter how well she pretended.

That stubborn attempt to look serious only made her even cuter.

“Oh? Really? But I seem to remember little Vanessa saying just now that only people who intend to use recording stones for their own tricks would carry one around with them~”

Kaleni even imitated Vanessa’s earlier tone.

“Still, I am certain that what I do is every bit as aboveboard as what Miss Kaleni does.”

Since Kaleni insisted on bringing it up, Vanessa could only choose to drag her down with her, smiling sweetly as she spoke.

“Oh? But I already said so.” Kaleni naturally caught Vanessa’s implication, the corners of her lips curving upward. “I admit that one reason I carry a recording stone around is to preserve embarrassing history.”

She just admitted it like that??

“Miss Kaleni said it was time to get up, correct? What time is it now?”

Realizing she was at a disadvantage in this topic, Vanessa looked away and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

“Ten o’clock already? That is rather late. We really should get up.”

“Come to think of it, where are my clothes?”

Now fully awake, Vanessa had regained her composure and began looking for her clothing. She remembered that she had been wearing women’s [Armor Fortress], and [Armor Fortress] could be taken off.

“Over there. Beside my clothes.”

Kaleni pointed to the long table directly across from the bed.

Vanessa looked over and found her clothes folded neatly there: her wing-shaped hair ornaments, soft armor top, white skirt with lotus-leaf armor plates, long white boots, and white thigh-high stockings.

Kaleni’s own clothing sat beside them as well—the Dawn Saintess robe, short boots, and black stockings.

“What is it, little Vanessa?” Kaleni asked when she noticed Vanessa’s strange expression.

“Come to think of it... I had time to wash myself last night, did I not?” Vanessa asked hesitantly.

She was somewhat of a neat freak.

No—this was far beyond somewhat. She was an extremely serious neat freak.

Going to bed without bathing was torture for her. Just thinking about it made her intensely irritated.

“I did not make your bed dirty, did I?”

“How could you? Little Vanessa is very clean~ I checked you very thoroughly, after all.”

Kaleni winked at Vanessa.

“Please do not say things that could be misunderstood.”

Vanessa instinctively hugged the blanket covering her more tightly.

“I apologize. Forgive my rudeness, but... Miss Kaleni, you did not do anything strange to me last night, did you??”

“First, what should little Vanessa call me?” Kaleni asked, propping her head up with one hand. “You called me big sister so sweetly last night, but after one night’s sleep, you are already pretending not to know me. Ah, ah. How heartless~”

“I-I told you not to say things that could be misunderstood!”

Vanessa finally lost control of her tone, her voice rising above what was appropriate for a “lady.”

What was all this supposed to mean??

Before, she had thought this Saintess was unquestionably a problematic Saintess.

Now it seemed she had been right. The problem was indeed quite serious.

“When you say it like that, it sounds like... it sounds like...”

The blush Vanessa had only just managed to suppress rose back up her cheeks.

“Oh? Sounds like what?”

Kaleni looked at Vanessa with an expression of pure confusion.

“Little Vanessa, I was only describing what happened. Is there a problem? Or do you think there was something wrong with what I said?”

“Of course there is—”

Vanessa stopped before she could finish.

“Oh~?”

Kaleni smiled like a hunter whose prey had taken the bait.

“So what exactly is wrong with it~? Did my words make little Vanessa’s imagination run wild? Did you think of something unnecessary?”

“No.”

Vanessa resorted to playing dead again. She looked away and resolutely refused to admit anything.

“My, my. Little Vanessa is not only dishonest—she is a Saintess whose head is full of strange thoughts~”

“Please... stop saying things like that. My head is not full of strange thoughts,” Vanessa protested weakly.

“Then there are some?”

“...”

Vanessa looked at Kaleni, who was watching her with a beaming smile, and felt a headache coming on.

Even from this brief time together, Vanessa had begun to understand just how exhausting it must be to serve beneath this strange, whimsical Saintess.

Of course, Kaleni would not act this way toward everyone. She would only be like this around relatives of her own generation with whom she was very close.

But Kaleni did not have anyone like that around her.

So that meant...

Vanessa had walked right into it.

Vanessa felt as though she were about to collapse.

Did the Facilis Family even have any normal people left?

Judging from what she had seen, among the Dawn Saintesses she knew, two out of three were abnormal. Selena was one, and Kaleni was another.

Were there really even a few genuinely proper Saintesses in the family??

“By the way, little Vanessa, did you have someone you liked in your original world?” Kaleni asked curiously.

“No.”

Vanessa answered without hesitation.

“Oh? Really? Then why did your eyes dodge away for a moment just now?”

“That did not happen.”

“It definitely did. Little Vanessa’s head is full of strange thoughts, so it must have something to do with that.”

“It does not.”

“Pfft.”

Seeing Vanessa’s tone, which was forcing itself to stay firm while carrying a hint of surrender, Kaleni knew she could not keep teasing her.

“All right, all right. I will stop teasing little Vanessa. This was only a tiny punishment for waking up and refusing to call me big sister.”

There was even a faint grievance in Kaleni’s voice.

“So, what should you call me now?”

“Big sister.”

The words were still unfamiliar on Vanessa’s tongue. She had almost never had the opportunity to address a direct relative, so such an affectionate family title felt strange to her.

“That’s right~ Just like that.”

As she spoke, Kaleni could not resist reaching out again and kneading Vanessa’s cheeks.

“Mm. Please do not rub my face whenever you please.”

Vanessa tried to avoid her, but there was nowhere left to retreat. She had already backed herself all the way to the edge of the bed.

“I cannot help it. Little Vanessa is too adorable. Come here, come here. Let big sister hug you.”

“All right, we should get up—mm!”

Before Vanessa could finish, a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her entire body close.

“Hehe. Little Vanessa is so soft and warm.”

Vanessa swallowed hard.

Only when their chests pressed together could Vanessa understand it so directly.

That scale was truly terrifying.

Knock, knock, knock.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

“Your Eminence the Saintess, are you awake? When should we depart?”

Rina’s voice came from outside.

“We are awake. Both of us are. We will get up right away. Tell everyone we will depart in an hour. Have them eat breakfast and prepare their gear.”

“All right. Understood.”

Having received Kaleni’s answer, Rina—already fully dressed—nodded and left to notify the captains, who would then inform the other Radiant Cross Knights.

“Kal—”

“Hm? Little Vanessa, what did you call me?” Kaleni raised an eyebrow.

“Big sister.”

“Oh~ Good girl. What is it?”

“We should get up quickly. We have already wasted too much time. It would be bad to keep everyone waiting.”

Vanessa looked away with lingering embarrassment.

This was the first time anyone had treated her like a little girl who needed looking after. Usually, whenever she became Vanessa, she was the one caring for everyone else.

Come to think of it, ever since last night, she had felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity in her interactions with Kaleni.

Vanessa had not thought much of it at first.

But now, she felt that she understood where that strange familiarity came from. Why it all seemed so familiar.

Was this not exactly how she acted around Mirexia?

No wonder this style felt so familiar.

It was her own style, wasn’t it??

Only, in the past, Kaleni had occupied Vanessa’s position—and Vanessa had occupied Mirexia’s.

Whenever Vanessa addressed Mirexia, it was always “little Mirexia,” and she had greatly enjoyed watching Mirexia become flustered because of it. Vanessa found it endlessly entertaining and never grew tired of it.

At the same time, she felt sorry for Mirexia. Mirexia’s mother had died in childbirth, and Vanessa thought that was terribly sad. Perhaps it was the bond of childhood friends, or perhaps simply an overflow of her own affectionate nature, but she could not help wanting to take extra care of her.

Uh.

Now that she thought about it... it really was kind of similar??

So, in Mirexia’s eyes, did Vanessa also have this kind of mischievous streak??

Before long, the two had both gotten dressed.

“Oh, do not move. Little Vanessa, stay still.”

Once Vanessa had dressed, combed her hair, and made herself presentable, she had barely turned around before Kaleni stopped her.

“Hm? What is it?”

“Come here, little Vanessa.”

“?”

Vanessa did not know what Kaleni wanted, but she went over anyway.

There were two vanities in the room, one for each of them. When Vanessa reached Kaleni’s vanity, Kaleni stood and gently guided her into the seat.

Vanessa sat before the vanity and looked at the beautiful cherry-haired girl with shoulder-length hair reflected in the mirror.

“Look, these few strands of hair,” Kaleni said, pointing at several strands near Vanessa’s face.

“Did I not arrange them properly?”

“No, no. You did a wonderful job. But these strands can be styled even better. Look, like this~”

Kaleni picked up a comb and demonstrated.

“See? Like this, do they not look more textured and layered~?”

“They do.”

Vanessa looked at her reflection in surprise. It was only a small adjustment, but it had the effect of a finishing touch.

“And here too~”

Kaleni patiently guided Vanessa through the details.

“Mm, mm. Little Vanessa’s hair is so lovely.”

As she spoke, Kaleni gathered a handful of Vanessa’s hair, brought it to her nose, and took a deep breath. Her cheeks carried a blissful flush.

“Big sister, yours is too.”

Vanessa felt a little awkward watching this.

No one had ever held her hair to their nose and smelled it before, so she did not know how to react.

“Little Vanessa is far too easy to embarrass.”

Vanessa fell silent at those words.

That line sounded strangely familiar.

Had she not heard it somewhere many times?

No—not heard it.

She was the one who said it often. She said it whenever she teased Mirexia, and every time, it only made Mirexia more flustered.

All right.

Now every one of those boomerangs had come flying right back at her.

She was supposed to be perfectly at ease in situations like this, was she not?

Why had things turned out this way? Why did she lose all composure the moment someone came at her instead?

Shicodale and Mirexia really were the best.

They never attacked, and they never counterattacked. Vanessa could tease them however she wanted without worrying that they would strike back.

“Ahh, I really want to give little Vanessa a new hairstyle. I want to try low twin tails, high twin tails, a princess braid, a Saintess braid, completely loose hair, and then—oh! I want to make your clothes a little more innocent in style too. Then you would look even more like a little sister!”

“Big sister Kaleni, if you keep doing this, the knights will be kept waiting.”

Vanessa looked at Kaleni through the mirror with a trace of helplessness as Kaleni excitedly rattled on behind her.

“We cannot trouble everyone.”

Kaleni was the ultimate little-sister devotee. Unfortunately, as an only child, she had never had a little sister.

And now, a “little sister” from a parallel world had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Naturally, Kaleni was pouring every ounce of affection she had accumulated over the years into Vanessa.

“Ahh. There is nothing to be done about it, I suppose.”

Kaleni could only sigh in disappointment.

“Come on. Now that we are ready, let us go downstairs for breakfast.”

With that, Kaleni held out her hand to Vanessa. Her meaning was obvious.

Vanessa hesitated for a moment, but could only reach out and take it.

“Hehe.”

Kaleni linked arms with Vanessa, and the two breathtakingly beautiful girls left the room arm in arm, heading down to the first-floor sanctuary hall.

Breakfast had already been laid out there. Rina had arranged everything, and it was set for two.

Vanessa was not picky about food. She had thought things might finally calm down once they began eating. After all, ladies still had to maintain decorum at the table.

But then—

“Oh my, the thick soup is very hot. Little Vanessa, drink slowly. Here, big sister will blow on it and feed you~”

Kaleni insisted on sitting beside Vanessa, scooped up a spoonful of soup, blew on it with exaggerated care, and held it up to Vanessa’s lips.

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