Chapter 15: Days at the Greyrat Household — Farewell to Ghislaine

──Noisy.

"Rudy told me! He said Roxy taught him the most important thing! You must have taught him something amazing, right? Something Rudy would love… like pervy stuff!"

────So unbearably noisy.

(This isn’t just noisy—this is the terror of living in a household full of women…!)

I was desperately covering my ears against the indecent chatter of my mothers echoing from the upstairs bedroom. To think that Father’s disgraceful antics were just his normal state of being, and that Mother and the others weren’t all that displeased by it—I never wanted to know that.

Such terrifying wantonness. I had braced myself, thinking they were savages outside the order of the Tokugawa shogunate, but this is more than I can handle. I curled up in my futon, pressing a pillow over my head to block out their voices as best I could.

(Maybe if I just fall asleep like this… Tomorrow, Mother and the others will be back to normal. I’ll just think of this whole conversation as a nightmare and forget it.)

"What’s the big idea, leaving me out like that?! Edith, let’s have our own girls’ night together!"

No… no no no no no no no no noooooo—!

Dragged out to be Aisha-san’s conversation partner since she was sulking about being excluded, I ended up stuck talking with her until the dead of night.

To make matters worse, Leo wet the bed on me while we were sleeping together. What a cursed day…

"Aisha, Edith, are you doing laundry this early in the morning?"

"Ah, Eris-nee! This is, um…"

"………I see! Don’t worry, I’ve had accidents like that a few times myself. It’s nothing to be ashamed of!"

"Uh, Eris-nee, I’m glad you want to help, but I’m not the one who wet the bed…"

"I know!"
(Brutal…)

"…Eris-mother, last night I slept in Aisha-san’s room, and I… had the accident."

"Edith!?"

"I see. Well, you’re still little. Just make sure to apologize properly to Aisha."

"………………Yes, Eris-mother."

"Thanks, Edith… I’m sorry, okay?"

After finally finishing all the laundry ruined by bedwetting, morning had truly arrived. Aside from Eris-mother and Roxy-mother, everyone else was still sprawled out in their rooms with no signs of waking. We kept breakfast simple, then I packed a lunch for Roxy-mother and saw her off as she left for the Magic University.

(Is it really still only morning…?)

Utterly drained in every sense, I claimed Father’s lap the moment he returned, and lazed there until evening, playing with Lady Lucy to soothe my tired heart. (Perhaps thanks to Aisha-san’s consideration, no one scolded me for being so idle.)

Even so, when Father tried to explain to my elder sisters about the coming war and say a temporary farewell, he only got teased with cold, mocking responses since he had lost all credibility with women. Roxy-mother also asked him to at least decide on a name beforehand—the child to be born would be "Lolo" if a boy, "Lala" if a girl.

So the days passed, noisy but peaceful, until at last the morning of departure arrived.

"Now then, Edith. Until Papa and the others come back, listen carefully to Roxy and Lilia. And don’t go wandering alone. If some strange person talks to you, don’t follow them—" (He kept fussing with the same warnings over and over, so I eventually tuned him out.)

"Edith… When I come back—no, I’ll make sure to bring Rudy and Eris back safely too, so wait for us and stay well!"

"I’m off! Do your best while I’m gone, Edith!"

Father, Sylphy-mother, and Eris-mother each gave me parting words before leaving.

They’re really going. To me, both Water God and Lord Orsted are figures far above the clouds—but as long as Father can fight without hesitation as a magician, they won’t lose.

Father hates not only killing, but even fighting. That worries me, but that’s why Eris-mother is there, to support him. And Sylphy-mother will be with them too. It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine…

"Lady Edith—no, Edith. It’s a little early, but here’s a gift for your fifth birthday."

Ghislaine spoke after the others had finished their farewells.

My fifth birthday? I’m not five yet. Even if Father and the others finish the battle and return, it would still be in time. The fact that she’s celebrating ahead of schedule… that’s what it means.

She spoke to me not as a caretaker, but as a master. Her gift wasn’t a magic sword, but a finely crafted dagger. As my teacher, she gave me something I would need for the path ahead.

"Master Ghislaine. I humbly accept it. …May fortune be with you."
"Mm. One last thing… Your father and mother never cared about hair color, not truly. There were misunderstandings along the way, but that never changed. Be happy, Lady Edith."

And with that, everyone set out.

I’m not worried. Father, Sylphy-mother, Eris-mother—they’ll all return alive. I have no doubts about that.

But this is the end with Ghislaine.

Even if we could meet again in the future, from this point on we’re no longer family.

Looking back, I was nothing but trouble for her. Born a cursed child despite being my lord’s daughter, burdened with memories of a previous life that kept me from fitting into their way of life—I worried her time and again.

And yet, she gave her all to raising me, even though she had never raised a child before. She stuck by me until the end so I wouldn’t hold back my mothers’ training.

Awkward and quiet as she was, she still gave me her love, her kindness, and the very core of what it means to be a swordswoman. She gave me everything.

When I slumped down in my room, hollow, my grandmother came in and embraced me. She had once traveled as an adventurer with Grandfather and Ghislaine. She must be lonely too, but for now she just held me and stroked my hair gently. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face.

"Thank you… for everything… all this time… Thank you so much, Ghislaine… Goodbye."

Ever since those days in the Holy Land of Swords, I was happy, Ghislaine.

Because you loved me. Because you always said Father and the others loved me too. I was always, always happy.