Cecilia's Mission

As dusk fell, Vera lit the gas lamp on the dining table, and its warm yellow glow filled the kitchen.

Ansu ate the comforting dinner his sister had carefully prepared for him.

Given their circumstances, it wasn't particularly fancy: just baked beans, a thick stew, and slightly warmed brown bread. It wasn't especially tasty, but it wasn't bad either.

"What's wrong, bro?" Vera noticed Ansu's expression. "Not hungry?"

"No, I'm just thinking."

Ansu took a bite of the bland, hard-to-swallow brown bread and thought that, given the chance, he could show her the impressive cooking skills he'd learned in another world.

Their meals could use an upgrade, too. Ansu instinctively glanced at Vera's still-underdeveloped figure.

There was barely any curve to her chest. She ought to eat more high-protein foods.

It was time to improve their family's financial situation.

With his ability to simulate the future, Ansu felt there was no shortage of ways to make money. He could walk into any casino or racetrack and become a gambling legend in no time.

Of course, all of that depended on first overturning his Fated Death...

"Ever since you got back, you keep spacing out..." Vera was perceptive. Ansu had been distracted a lot today, and sometimes he even looked worried.

"Did something happen at school?"

"Nothing much." Ansu knew he could never hide his feelings from Vera, so he smiled reassuringly. "Just a little trouble, but your big brother has already dealt with it."

"Oh... I see." Vera blinked. "Then don't dwell on things that'll put you in a bad mood. Tell me something fun about school instead!"

"Sure." Ansu nodded. "What would you like to hear about?"

"Like..." Vera asked with a teasing smile, "has any girl at school ever written you a love letter?"

Ansu gave her a helpless look. "Why are you always so interested in that kind of thing..."

"I'm just joking!" Vera's eyes curved into adorable crescents. "Tell me about your studies instead!"

Beneath the warm yellow light, the siblings ate dinner and talked about the difficulties Ansu encountered in his studies. Though those profound subjects were still far beyond Vera, she listened with rapt attention.

Ansu could tell that Vera longed to go to school.

Their adoptive father had been a doctor, and their family had once been respectable. But after he died three years ago, their circumstances had taken a sharp turn for the worse.

Ansu, who attended the famous institution, was their family's only hope. But the Royal Academy's tuition was expensive, so his thoughtful little sister had voluntarily dropped out to support his education.

After selling their house, the siblings had also worked on weekends and during holidays to make ends meet. They had lived frugally ever since.

Ansu looked at Vera's old dress. He remembered their adoptive father buying it for her four years ago. She was still young and hadn't grown much, so she could still fit into it, but it had inevitably become badly worn.

A pang of heartache stirred in him.

"Vera... after a little while, you should go back to school," Ansu suddenly suggested. "Then we'll move somewhere safer..."

Vera's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Bro, don't joke around! We don't have any money!"

"Don't worry about that. Your big brother will have money by then—a lot of money!" Ansu was confident about that, especially since he had a cheat ability...

Besides, he didn't want Vera to go down the same path she had in his previous life.

Fighting and killing alongside a bunch of weirdos and madmen every day, covered in scars, never knowing when she might suddenly meet her end...

His sister was actually very clever. It was a shame for her not to study.

"Hm?" Vera scrutinized Ansu suspiciously. Ever since he'd come home today, she'd felt that something about him was different, though she couldn't say what...

"You're a poor student who hasn't even graduated yet. Where would you get money?" The more Vera thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. "Bro! Don't tell me someone's keeping you?!"

"Huh?" Ansu froze for several seconds, then helplessly tapped her on the head.

"How could your big brother ever sink so low as to let someone keep him? What on earth do you spend all day thinking about..."

"Good. I'm glad that's not it..." Vera breathed a sigh of relief, then giggled and dodged his hand.

"I'm not making things up. You're so handsome, bro! There are plenty of stories about talented poor boys being kept by rich women, right? If I were a rich woman, I'd..."

"You'd what?" Ansu glanced at her.

Vera grinned. "Lock you up and watch you every day, and never let you go out!"

Ansu rolled his eyes. "Good thing you're not a rich woman."

Vera giggled and stopped teasing her brother. Resting her chin in her hands, she studied his face without blinking.

Ansu had a subtle air about him, somewhere between a boy and a young man.

Perhaps because he was always worried about the future, his dark green eyes held a trace of melancholy, giving him a mysterious, unreadable air.

Though he wore a cheap linen shirt and his untended black hair was a little messy, his handsome, gentle features made it all look just right. He seemed like a young nobleman from a fallen family, a look he owed to their adoptive father's good upbringing.

No wonder he'd charmed their neighbor, Mrs. Joanna, the moment they moved in...

The girls in this poor neighborhood had never seen anything like him!

After dinner, his sister reminded him as usual not to study too late and to get to bed early.

Seeing her acting like a fussy mother, trying to manage every little thing, Ansu shook his head with a smile and closed his bedroom door.

The moment the door shut, a familiar laugh came from inside the room.

"Your little sister is pretty cute~"

Ansu nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned and saw—

Cecilia was sitting in his chair, her long, smooth legs crossed, as she curiously flipped through the stack of books on his desk.

"You..." Ansu hurriedly checked the hallway. His sister didn't seem to have heard. "Lady Witch, why did you suddenly come by? You didn't even give me a heads-up..."

"Didn't I already give you one?" Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "Besides, do I really have to knock when I'm visiting one of my own people?"

Ansu nodded helplessly, then lowered his voice. "Did you need something?"

"No need to be so cautious. I've already put up a soundproofing barrier. Your sister can't hear us." Cecilia studied Ansu, who looked tense and uneasy, then suddenly smiled mischievously.

She leaned closer and spoke slowly in a threatening tone.

"It seems you and your sister are very close. That means you'd better work even harder for me, or else..."

"You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your adorable little sister, would you?"

Ansu's heart tightened, but he quickly put on a sincere smile.

"Lady Witch, you said yourself that I'm one of your own now. Just tell me what you need, and I'll do my utmost."

Cecilia smiled as she studied Ansu. It seemed his sister really was his weak spot.

That would make him even easier to control.

So she stopped teasing him and took out a booklet, handing it over.

"What's this..." Ansu flipped through it and found that it was a student directory for Benalu Royal Academy. It listed everyone from first-years to seniors, and even included the teachers, teaching assistants, and graduate students.

"Your next task is to find someone for me at the academy."

"Find someone?"