The Male Slave of House Sianella - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Sione Sianella (3)

Over the past week, Sione had exemplified the height of laziness.

As if eager to showcase how her body had accumulated fat, I hadn't once seen her engage in proper exercise.

Her daily routine consisted of the same simple yet maddening behavior as the first day—burying herself in blankets and gorging on snacks.

The one silver lining was that since the incident in front of the dining hall, she'd been less spiteful in her words whenever I showed her a smiling face.

Though I still received nasty glares from those two male servants when waiting at the dining hall.

Other than that, things had been better than expected.

Sione and I had passed our days keeping to our own domains, barely exchanging words.

After a week of observation, my assessment of Sione Sianella was simple:

A soulless person living day to day like a shut-in, without goals or purpose.

Sione was listless in everything she did, only showing energy when defending her room—her territory.

Then today at noon, for whatever reason, she ventured outside her room.

"The sunlight is warm and the breeze is cool—what lovely weather."

"Perfect weather for a light stroll around the grounds, my lady."

"Indeed."

She must have been in a good mood—for once she gave a normal response to my words.

That wasn't all.

Though barely visible beneath her flesh, the corners of her mouth had turned slightly upward.

Unlike her usual hurried steps, she began walking around at a leisurely pace.

"Where shall we go?"

"To the garden. The daffodils and irises should be blooming around now—quite beautiful."

"Something to look forward to."

"Anticipation itself can be a pleasure. We'll see tulips and daisies too."

Sione was undeniably excited.

For the first time, I saw life in those usually dull eyes as they looked at the world.

I never would have imagined Sione rattling off flower names like this...

Did she have some connection to the garden? Or was it simply a hobby?

Either way, it was refreshing to see she wasn't just a glutton interested only in snacks she could devour alone.

Though I had made plenty of trips fetching those snacks.

After walking a bit further, we arrived at the small garden.

As Sione had said, yellow daffodils and purple irises beautifully adorned the garden in harmony.

Tulips and daisies bloomed vibrantly between them.

"They're in full bloom. Well worth the anticipation."

"Stating the obvious."

"Do you like flowers, Lady Sione?"

Sione stopped and turned at my question.

This forced me, who had been trailing behind her, to stop as well.

Ah—had I stepped on a landmine...?

Sione quietly looked at me.

I found myself growing needlessly tense.

She'd seemed in a good mood, so I'd tried making conversation.

Surely she wouldn't respond with her usual prickliness?

Thankfully, she simply shifted her gaze from me to the expansive cluster of daffodils nearby.

"Yes, I'm quite fond of flowers."

This was truly unprecedented.

To think there'd be a day when Sione was this docile.

Thinking this might be a rare opportunity, I decided to press a little further.

"...May I ask why?"

"Because they bloom. Breaking free from their cramped, dark seeds, taking root, sprouting forth, endlessly striving until they finally flower."

Sione's gaze returned to me.

"Isn't that admirable?"

I nodded in response to her question, asked with a smile no less.

Her mood was so different from usual that it felt almost awkward.

Unable to think of what else to say, I spent a while just observing the garden with her.

Then her slight smile, which had lingered as she looked at the flowers, vanished when another person entered the garden.

"Sion..."

A growling voice escaped Sione's lips.

It carried more wariness than any voice I'd heard from her before.

Sion... if I remembered correctly...

House Sianella  was a martial house renowned for its knights possessing instinctive sword talent.

Yet Sione's younger brother had been born with exceptional talent not as a swordsman, but as a priest.

And not just mediocre talent—he was undeniably a prodigy.

His high-purity holy power was far beyond that of ordinary priests.

Moreover, he had inherited their mother's beautiful features.

Sion's silver hair was neater and prettier than Sione's.

Unlike Sione's usually dull eyes, his gaze was sharp and clear.

This Sion curved his lips into a sardonic smile at Sione.

Sione stood still, showing an emotionless expression cold as ice toward Sion as he slowly approached.

"What brings you and your heavy body here, Sister Sione? I never expected to see you in this place."

"...I didn't expect to see you here either. If you have no business with me, I'll take my leave."

"Come now, Sister. You have time to spare, why rush? Must siblings have business to talk to each other?"

Sion began taunting Sione quite maliciously.

His subtle digs targeted predictable points:

Sione's severe listlessness and sloth, and her complete lack of talent that made it hard to believe they shared the same blood.

Seeing how Sione showed no reaction to such open mockery, this kind of harassment must have been ongoing.

It was painfully obvious.

"Ah, right. Have you heard the news lately, Sister?"

What news could Sione possibly hear, shut in her room all day eating the snacks I brought?

The only news she could hear would be the day's variety of refreshments.

Sure enough, Sione, who had no way of knowing anything, remained silent.

"Elder Sister has already reached the level of matching Duke Diolia, unlike some people. Impressive, isn't it? At this rate, she might become a Sword Master before Mother."

This time, Sione clearly reacted to Sion's words.

Her brow furrowed at the mention of Sword Master.

Simultaneously, Sion's unpleasant smile deepened as if he'd been waiting for this.

"...Sion, why are you telling me this?"

"Shouldn't you know how well your family is doing? After all, you are still a member of the Sianella County, Sister."

Sion's lips twisted into a sneer as he spoke.

He looked down on his sister while elevating Siabel and himself.

If he'd at least said it playfully, it wouldn't have been so uncomfortable standing here quietly...

The savage silence made it extremely awkward for a third party like me to maintain my position.

"And lately..."

Sion's words comparing his superiority to Sione's inferiority didn't end there.

He went on about how Siabel had recently made some breakthrough with the sword, how his own holy power had increased in purity again.

With each achievement Sion brought up, Sione's inferiority complex swelled.

This must be why Sione had growled upon seeing him—he must have always taunted her like this.

Even I would have punched my younger sibling in the temple if they'd grated on my nerves this much.

But Sione just clenched her plump hands into round fists without showing anger.

That was her only reaction.

"Well, that's the latest about Elder Sister and me... and you seem unchanged as always, Sister."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"More or less? I'd like to hear about you too, Sister... but looking at you, I doubt there's anything worth hearing. Even with your lack of talent, wouldn't it be better to at least swing a sword than sleep all day?"

"...I'll take your words to heart. I'll try to work harder."

It was clear without seeing that this promise of effort was empty.

Though no sound escaped, anyone could see how Sion was thoroughly mocking Sione's words.

Seeming tired of the conversation, Sione began to move.

"If there's nothing else to say, I'll take my leave."

Sion responded with just a shrug, his contemptuous expression unchanged.

Sione brushed past him, and I quietly followed.

As we tried to leave that irritatingly unpleasant conversation behind...

Sion, who had been endlessly bragging about his magic to his sister, called out to me.

"Ah, right. Mother mentioned that Sione's new personal servant can handle mana? And that despite your birth, you have various talents..."

When I looked at him, he smiled brightly.

"Mother seemed quite interested in you. For someone like that to end up as merely Sione's servant—what cruel fate."

I couldn't easily respond to Sion's words.

I couldn't tell if he was praising me or insulting me to my face.

"In time, you'll naturally grow sick of Sione too. When that happens, come find me."

"..."

I silently bowed my head to him.

Right now, catching up to Sione, who had already fled far ahead, took priority over thinking about Sion's words.

If I talked with Sion too long and hurt Sione's feelings, I couldn't imagine how much she'd torment me in her room.

Besides, I had already annoyed Sion's personal servant once.

I had no reason to voluntarily seek out a workplace where I'd clashed with a colleague.

I hurried past Sion to chase after Sione.

I managed to catch up to her again.

"...Walking like that, you'll suffocate again."

Unlike before, she was walking quickly without rest—it was obvious she'd soon stop abruptly, gasping for breath.

Yet this time she wasn't easily panting, just keeping up her pace, suggesting Sion's words had really gotten under her skin.

I shook my head watching Sione waddle hurriedly to take refuge in her room.

"I should fetch some cold water."

Her method of suppressing her anger wasn't shouting or lashing out, but simply hiding in her room. At least to my eyes, it was a pitiful sight.

Better to quietly let her cool her head with some cold water.

***

"I've brought cold water."

I quietly entered Sione's room.

I headed toward her bed where she usually lay, but this time she wasn't there.

Unusually, she sat in her leather chair, deep in thought.

I carefully set down a glass on the desk in front of her chair and poured the cold water.

As I did, I heard her muttering to herself.

"Elder Sister has already reached Sword Expert..."

Earlier, they'd mentioned how her eldest sister Siabel had become skilled enough to match a knight named Diolia.

Siabel's personal servant had bragged about it endlessly too.

It seemed this knight Diolia must have been at the level of Sword Expert.

Sword Expert...

Even Earth's Hunters, especially those who used swords, had rankings like Sword Runner and such.

Among those, Expert was just below Master.

Though there seemed to be high, middle, and low distinctions within Expert, just reaching that level marked one as an exceptional knight.

In the past, unless they were high-level Experts, they hadn't posed much threat to me.

But now, without even the power to summon spirits, let alone my strength as a Spirit Archer, that level seemed impossibly distant.

Really, how did I end up like this...

Breaking free from my brief distraction, I observed Sione again.

She was staring at her round hands, spread open.

"...Yet no matter how hard I try with the sword, I barely reach the entrance of Sword User. Isn't this too unfair? Haha."

A weak laugh escaped Sione's lips.

The level of perfectly timing mana use to enhance physical abilities during combat—even the rank of advanced Sword User seemed like a distant mountain to Sione.

Sword User wasn't a low rank, as it clearly indicated the ability to use mana in combat.

But when House Sianella  was the standard, things changed.

From what I'd heard, every member of House Sianella  had been strong enough to reach at least Sword Expert.

Perhaps that's why self-loathing showed through Sione's expression, hidden beneath her flesh.

That's when it happened.

[Quest has been generated.]

「Persuasion」

「Your Sione Sianella wasn't always a hopelessly lazy noble. However, unlike her family, she had no talent for swords or holy power despite her diligence and persistence. Consumed by public judgment and self-doubt, she has fallen into self-loathing due to the ever-widening gap with her sister. Encourage Sione Sianella and help her regain her former vigor within 3 days.」

「Success: Increase in Sione Sianella's favor toward you」

「Failure: Acceleration of Sione Sianella's breakdown」

"If only I had proper talent..."

Sione whispered, her expression terribly distorted.

After reading the suddenly appeared status window, I calmly responded to her self-pitying murmur.

"Then why not search for talent in something other than the sword?”

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