Mom and dad looked... Normal when I entered. I held back a sigh of relief at the sight of it, thank god.

  I thought they were going to get mad at me for doing what I did but I guess they trusted me enough to handle what happened? Strange considering I'm just a kid but I have been hunting down giant crayfish with their explicit permission so how insane is it to think that they'll let me handle social situations like I'm an adult?

  Scratch that. I am an adult.

  Now to the person who got affected the most from what happened...

  Laself looked worried, and I couldn't blame her. The life that she knew basically got upended just now. I've left my parents' house in my first life and the dread that I felt during that time was enough to make me cry.

  Regret, fear, and the general sense that I'll be on my own from then on. Thankfully, I got used to living alone after a while and I even started to enjoy it! Having my own space is pretty great and the lack of people honestly wasn't so bad. You'll start to appreciate silence when you experience it, so they say.

  Laself will learn this in time, just like everyone else.

  For now, I think it's only right that I comfort her. I sat next to her and did nothing, this is my own way of saying that I'm here for her. When I thought enough time passed, I decided to start talking.

  "Your father agreed to let Howaph pay for your dowry." At that I glared at my brother. "Which you will, right?"

  My tone was cold and it was very noticeable, mom actually frowned for a second before she calmed down. Thank god she didn't scold me for speaking out, that would have been very awkward.

  Howaph stood there, frozen for a moment before he let out a sigh, one that's so full of exhaustion that I got tired just from hearing it.

  "... Yes." He nodded, bending down to hold Laself by the hand. The action caused the girl to visibly relax and I knew that my choice had been the correct one. The contrast between how she reacts to Howaph and Karuiz is so stark that it's like night and day.

  "I don't know what to say to this, Laself knocking on our door was shocking enough but then everything after that is just..." Howaph trailed off, I can understand why but seriously? Just comfort Laself!

  "Just nothing." I glared at him, he better do everything right from now on. My eyes went over to mom and dad. "Let's eat? I'm feeling hungry."

  Changing topics didn't do anything to stop the guilt that I'm feeling from eating my chest. It's clear that Howaph has been caught off guard and I feel like I'm so selfish for doing that to him.

  "Yes, let's do that." Mom was quick on the uptake and she smiled. She really is the best. "The food is getting cold so we should eat quickly."

  Because what better way to recover from a stressful situation than to fill our stomachs? The following dinner is pretty awkward but I think that's normal, I don't wanna break the ice or anything stupid like that because I want Howaph to move first.

  Dinner passed and he sadly didn't.

  "Laself, you can stay in my room tonight." Guilt. Why am I still feeling guilty? Dad raised an eyebrow but before he could talk me out of my decision, I added another thing, cutting him off. "I'm staying in the storage shed, don't worry about me. It's better this way since I wanna work on learning runes."

  "... I'm not sure if that's appropriate." Laself muttered, voice weak. Again, I'm pushing this onto her. Why is none of them resisting?!

  For once, I'm hoping that my mother would scold me, yell at me for being so pushy. Why isn't she doing anything?

  "It is. Trust me, I've been wanting to go down there since I got my class, calling it restlessness doesn't do it justice with how I longingly looked at the door of the storage shed every night." My explanation was clearly bullshit so I hoped mom played along. "Right mom?"

  "Like you wouldn't believe." She did. She played along. I hated it. Guess she's thinking I'm being hospitable towards Laself. "Don't stay up too late, okay?"

  "I won't." I confirmed. Not until I buy a lantern in Ghorise at least. "I still need to grow, I understand that."

  Time passed and instead of me washing the dishes, Laself took over. I sat behind her, mom was upstairs, dad left the house, and Howaph was in his room. Now it's just the two of us so I wanna know how she feels.

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  "Are you okay?" My question feels perverse, yet it feels so normal. I don't want to pry too much and kill the mood but I also want to know more about how she's doing so I'm feeling kinda torn right now.

  "Yes." Laself didn't stop cleaning, she looked animated instead of alive. Is she numbing down? "It feels relieving. I... Hated what they wanted."

  I'm guessing her parents? Yeah, I'll hate mine too if I get forced to marry someone who I obviously didn't like. God I hate that part of this world, it's actually one of the few things I actively dislike alongside the high death-rate.

  "... Laself, it's okay to say no." What was I saying? I lost the script the moment she admitted that she's relieved. I wanted to give her reassurance so should I just skip to that? "If you ever need help, I'm willing to give it out okay? As your future sister-in-law. Get Howaph for me okay?"

  Laself's ears turned red and the plate in her hand faltered. Hah! Guess she's not a puppet after all! "You..."

  "It's true though right? Howaph is paying for your dowry so that can only lead to marriage." My smirk grew when the crimson on her ears went down to her neck. "I'm happy for the two of you, he likes you, you know?"

  "Does he?" Laself's high pitch tone died down and her voice turned solemn. She stopped cleaning and faced me, "really?"

  "Yeah." Is this my business? Is it? My eyes traveled to the ceiling. As the seconds ticked by, my empty mind could do nothing but take note of every imperfection there, like the broken piece of wood from when I killed that spider with a broom a few years back.

  "He's never shown it." Laself forced the conversation back into gear.

  "I get that." I chuckled. Howaph does have that problem sometimes, he offers me help but I'm pretty sure it can be viewed as him being a responsible brother instead of him doing it through familial love. "He's like stone, all stoic and expressionless." I got a chuckle for that little joke. "But you wanna know something?"

  The silence made me assume that Laself wanted me to continue talking.

  "The day he asked you to come with me to Ghorise... Whatever it is he said to convince you?" The stairs are empty so no one is listening. Hopefully. "None of those words matter because they're just random reasons when in truth he picked you and that detail is important because I asked him to ask his girlfriend to come with me the day before."

  "I-is that so?" High pitch again. I wanted to laugh at her so badly. "It did feel a bit sudden."

  "Right?!" I grinned, letting out my bottled up joy. "Seriously, I didn't expect a girl to come but then you were there!"

  "... He said that his sister needed help." Laself smiled lightly. "He looked happy, I knew then that he really loved you."

  I beamed, I knew she's not faking either. Now I wanna learn more! Howaph never showed me affection, like at all! This is such a good change of pace that I ran over to her and took her hand, "really?!"

  Laself giggled, it was happy, her eyes shone bright and her smile was one of glee. "Yes! Did you know what he said when I asked him what he feels about you going out on your own?"

  "What?"

  "He said that you're bright like that, and that you'll do fine no matter what!" Laself tightened her hold on my hand. "He seemed really proud of you!"

  "I knew it!" My laughter was bright as I shook my head. "He never says that to me, you know?"

  "Me too!" Laself's complaint, normally would have gotten teasing words from me but I didn't want to ruin the mood. And well, it's not like she cares about hiding her love for Howaph anymore. "I can't believe his little sister cares more about his love life than him!"

  Those words pretty much proved that.

  "Between the two of us?" I whispered, "I'm pretty sure he likes you more than he lets on."

  "I know!" Laself squealed. She pinched my cheeks. "Thank you! Okay? I'm so happy!"

  I hugged her, my voice turning soft. "You're welcome."

  Is it selfish of me to have done what I did? One guy was actively pursuing Laself, I can't stress that enough. I have always believed that people who work hard deserve the thing they have been working on.

  Hypocrisy. That's what this is.

  Whatever this means for me in the long run, whether I'm seen as evil or good I could care less.

  I'm a future villainess, someone who would end the lives of everyone in this swamp. I'm deadly, dangerous, and someone who would die by the hands of the hero.

  More importantly? Villainesses are allowed to be selfish.

  "Howaph is coming down the stairs Laself, cleaning up those plates quickly will do you wonders if you want to follow him to your house." My mom said from the stairs, I turned my head and met her eyes. Is she saying that Howaph will?..

  My mom nodded.

  Huh, guess Howaph is about to ask for Laself's hand in marriage. I can't wait! I've always wanted to cook for him during his wedding and was afraid that I'll be away from Flotol once that happens but now I know I'll have my time to shine soon.

  "Come on, I think you need to go with him." I broke the hug. Laself is bright red when I faced her, and who could blame the girl? She seems to really like Howaph. "... And maybe you should patch things up with your parents as well."

  "Yes, I'll do that." Laself hugged me again. "Thank you again, okay? You're such a good little sister, I can't wait to officially be your older sibling!"

  I hugged her back. I looked up and gave her a grin, "I can't wait!"

  After that, Laself silently washed the dishes and Howaph arrived way before she finished so he just stood there, full of nerves while looking at Laself. Huh, first time I've seen that.

  When they left, I wanted to follow them but my mother stopped me. "No." She shook her head. "This is their responsibility now, your brother needs to do it himself and stop doing this."

  Thank god. I think I needed to hear that, otherwise I just wouldn't stop.

  "Right." Guess I have no choice. I'm happy anyway. "I'll go upstairs and study."

  "Much better." She nodded at me.