While Aisha and Arus were bathing, Sylphie and Lilia came home. They were surprised to see me and asked what had happened. I struggled to put it into words, but nonetheless, I told them everything I’d seen since coming home. Lilia turned pale, looked at the state I was in, then reddened and tried to hurry off somewhere before Sylphie stopped her.
Somehow, Sylphie had managed to stay calm through my entire tale. She said that we should talk things over once everyone settled down and Roxy and the others were home. At least, I think she said something along those lines. Lilia nodded and left to prepare for dinner.
By the time Aisha and Arus were done in the bath, Eris and the others had returned. When she saw how I looked, she frantically asked who had done this to me.
The way she asked reminded me of when I’d fought with Paul so many years ago. I tried to stay as even as I could as I explained things to her. She looked absolutely perplexed by it all. That said, she could tell how serious the situation was given my current state, so she didn’t say anything else.
I had Lily and Chris take a bath after the other two, then sent them to their room before returning to my chair, where I folded my arms and closed my eyes.
Aisha and Arus were next to one another. Aisha looked somewhat disgruntled but otherwise unmoved. Arus seemed anxious, serious, and kind of like he didn’t understand what was going on. His expression was hard to parse.
When I told them that we’d talk once Roxy came home, Aisha nodded.
“All right.”
Eventually, Roxy came home, and after sending Lara and Sieg off to take a bath, we were all present in the living room.
The family meeting began.
First, we needed to confirm what had actually happened. When I asked what they were up to, Aisha didn’t mince words. Arus was silent the entire time. He stared down at his hands, which were curled into fists on his lap.
According to Aisha, the two had indeed engaged in intercourse. She claimed it was “practice.”
“That’s right. Master Arus has come of age, you see. And as I am sure you are aware, Master, Master Arus is quite the little playboy. I heard that when he graduates from the magic university, he will be attending school in the Asura Kingdom, so I concluded that he would have numerous opportunities to engage in intercourse there. Since he is the eldest son, he will have to make an heir, so I decided to serve as his practice partner so that he does not fail when the time comes.”
Aisha was explaining things in a meek, polite tone. It was the cold, robotic, detached tone she used when she spoke to outsiders, and a far cry from how she usually spoke to me. Contrary to that tone, the word she used in her excuse was all too light and flippant: practice.
It was so casual that I was shocked yet again.
Aisha and Arus weren’t siblings, but they had been raised like siblings under the same roof. That was how I felt, anyway. In this world, this country, there were no laws against incest. There weren’t. Regardless, it couldn’t be right to engage in something like this so casually. I had to reprimand them. I wasn’t good at that kind of thing, but I had to. I needed to convince them that what they did was wrong and make them put an end to it.
“You can’t do that,” I said.
“And why not?” Aisha asked.
“Why?” What was I supposed to say?
The first thing that came to mind was Paul’s face. If Paul was here, what would he have said? Something like You can’t because you can’t? Would he have punched them? Or would he have turned pale in shock and been rendered speechless?
I was that last option. I had no words, but I knew this moment was important. Depending on how this conversation went, there could be no turning back. I needed to choose my words carefully. Yet I couldn’t figure out what to say.
“Aisha! Do you understand what you’ve done?!”
Lilia couldn’t handle me saying nothing and was the first to cry out angrily. She’d been in a fit of rage since the start of this.
“Yes, I do,” Aisha said. “Master Arus was suffering, so I decided to help him before he committed a grave mistake with another person.”
“That isn’t what I’m asking!”
“Mother, didn’t you once tell me to accept Master should he ever seek my body? Why is Master Rudeus fine but Master Arus is not?”
“Well…” Lilia was tongue-tied.
It was true that Lilia had once pushed Aisha to make moves on me. She’d stopped doing that over time, probably because I never showed any interest.
“That’s…because Master Rudeus didn’t wish for it.”
“In that case, did he ever want me to serve him in the first place?”
“No, but—”
“You might not understand this, Mother, but everything you’ve made me do has been for little more than your own self-satisfaction.”
Lilia was speechless. Her mouth opened and closed in her pale face. It’d been a long time since I’d seen her so shocked.
“I’m not trying to blame you for anything,” Aisha continued. “I was more than happy to serve him. What I did this time was out of my own concern for the Greyrat family. I am the same as you in that respect. Just because I did not do exactly what you wanted does not mean you have the right to criticize my actions.”
“Aisha… Is this your way of getting back at me?”
“I am trying to say this is my way of paying everyone back, so why would you come to that conclusion?”
Lilia clenched her teeth and hung her head. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. Was she frustrated? Was she sad? Both?
Meanwhile, Aisha looked entirely calm and collected. It was the same look I often saw on her face when the mercenary band negotiated with another party. It was the face she made when she was in full control of the conversation—when she knew exactly what questions and answers to expect—when she knew what people were going to say. It was a face that would have seemed all too reliable were it not for the current circumstances. Aisha’s composed face.
“Aisha,” I said.
“What is it, Master?”
Even when I spoke to her, Aisha’s composure didn’t crack for a single moment. She didn’t seem remotely nervous. Had she anticipated our conversation as well? If nothing else, she didn’t seem ashamed either. Did she truly think that she’d done nothing wrong?
“You shouldn’t do these kinds of things so…casually.”
“But of course. I am not treating it casually at all. I did my best because it was for Master Arus’s sake. Or is there some reason why I should not have?”
It was a cold question. As if she were inviting me to come up with a reason.
“Arus is family. Isn’t he like your little brother? It’d be like you and me doing it. That’s…bad, right?”
“You are wrong. To me, you are like a king, which makes Master Arus like a prince. Plus, I have never once been against sleeping with you, Master. It is true that we once discussed how my feelings for you are different, but had you ever sought my warmth, I would have complied.”