Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 86 - One Day, Sylphie

"Mmm... is it noon already...?"

I climbed out of bed, got dressed, washed up, and made my way to the living room to eat the lunch the maids had prepared.

Rudy, Roxy, and Aisha would have gone to school by now, I suppose.

I ate slowly, turning over what I should do with the rest of the day.

I've never really known what I should be doing. Or maybe the more honest way to put it is that I've never had anything I actually wanted to do.

Work... Rudy won't hear of it, and with my hair color, I'm not exactly eager to go out into the world anyway. Hmm. There's nothing I particularly enjoy, either.

When I was little, I pushed myself to study magic because I was terrified Rudy would leave me behind. Because I didn't want my parents to suffer for my uselessness someday.

But now I'm Rudy's fiancée. And my parents are gone.

"Milia, let me handle dinner tonight."

"Of course, Madam. We'll have the ingredients ready for you."

"Mm."

I don't know what I want to do with myself. But if cooking for Rudy counts as a thing, then maybe I do have one thing I care about after all.

After lunch I pulled on my hooded cloak and headed out.

Uncle Paul's house isn't far from ours, so Roxy, Rudy, and I would drop by to visit Aunt Zenith every now and then. Well. I should be calling them Father Paul and Mother Zenith now.

I arrived at Father Paul's door and knocked.

A few seconds passed. The door opened.

Mother Lilia was the one who answered.

"Mother Lilia, good afternoon."

She smiled and stepped aside to let me in.

She'd been a little resistant to that form of address at first. But I'd used it enough times that she'd quietly gotten used to it.

I carried the fruit basket down the hall and into Mother Zenith's room.

She was lying in bed with her eyes closed, asleep.

"Mother Lilia, how is she?"

"Mm... her condition seems a little better than before. But there's still no sign she's going to wake up."

"I see."

I reached out and touched Mother Zenith's face.

The two of us were never especially close. It was Mother Lilia who taught me to cook and how to carry myself properly when I was small.

But Mother Zenith always supported my feelings for Rudy without question. She even got angry at him when he came home with Eris at ten years old.

So I'm deeply grateful to her. And I... love her? Maybe love is too strong a word. Then what is this feeling, exactly?

I shook my head and let it go.

I settled into the chair at her bedside and started talking in a low voice, telling her about my quiet, ordinary, happy days.

"Rudy, you know... he still hasn't touched me or Roxy. Not once. He seems perfectly content just holding us while we sleep..."

I kept talking, and the afternoon crept past.

Eventually I checked the clock on the wall and let go of Mother Zenith's hand.

"Mother, I should get back. I'll come see you again soon."

She didn't stir. Not even a little.

In the kitchen, Mother Lilia and the other maids had already started on dinner.

"Sylphie, would you like to stay and eat with us?"

"I can't. I need to get back and cook for Rudy and everyone."

"Be careful going home."

"Goodbye. Please give Father Paul my regards."

"I will."

I left Father Paul's house, pulled up my hood, and walked home.

Inside, I went straight to the kitchen.

"Oh, the ingredients are already set out."

...

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

The maids knew better than to move. They waited.

I opened the door, and Rudy immediately pulled me into a big hug.

I unwound the scarves from him and Roxy, then looked over at Aisha standing beside them.

"Aisha, I'll knit you one in a couple of days too."

"Yay! Love you, Sister Sylphie!"

Roxy hung up her things and came to the kitchen to help me. Rudy, meanwhile, was seized by Aisha and frog-marched straight to the bath.

After dinner, Rudy spent a while in the courtyard teaching Aisha how to use her magic.

Honestly.

I can see exactly what the little schemer is up to. She might genuinely "like" Rudy.

Aisha understands magic just as well as her brother does, if not better. But she keeps finding excuses to drag him out to the courtyard every few days, just the two of them. Rudy probably reads it as normal sibling time, something warm and uncomplicated.

What he seems to forget is that Aisha is almost an adult now. Her thoughts aren't nearly as simple as they used to be.

Roxy sees it the same way I do. We've talked about it privately. We haven't done anything.

The conclusion we came to: if Rudy has no objection, and it's what they both want, then who are we to say otherwise?

...

That night, Rudy sat at his desk going through the case files he'd collected. Roxy sat nearby reviewing her teaching materials.

I sat on the bed and watched them.

Every so often there would be a small, tender moment between us. Rudy would reach over and run his fingers under Roxy's chin, the way you'd stroke a cat.

And then, almost immediately, he would look over at me and do the same.

I'm not jealous of Roxy. Not really. But the fact that Rudy always thinks of me right after still makes something warm settle in my chest.

When he finally finished with the case files, we got ready for bed.

I'm not sure when it became this way. But we always sleep together now, the three of us.

We don't do anything. We just hold each other.

And somehow, just that is enough. Just holding each other in the dark, and feeling something that has no ceiling.

➤ Next: One Day, Eris