[V1C3] Troublemaker Siblings

A woman with a black parasol was walking through a certain mountain in the Highown Territory.

She wore a rose-colored dress unsuitable for mountain trekking, and her distinctive red hair was adorned with a glamorous rose ornament. Her somewhat-stern face was covered in a layer of heavy makeup.

After exhaling a rough breath, the woman plopped herself down on a nearby tree stump.

“Ah, so tired… Honestly, what’s the deal with this secret research? Who plants a field in such a remote place?”

The destination of the grumbling woman was the secret research field where House Highown and the Thorn Witch were conducting enchanted fertilization experiments.

However, the woman’s interest wasn’t in the research itself.

Folding her parasol, the woman revealed a wicked grin on her face.

“Hah, my foolish brother should be using that fertilizer soon… Little does he know, I’ve switched out some of the ingredients mixed into it! He’s probably making a fool of himself in front of Marquis Highown right about now!”

The woman’s name was Melissa Roseberg.

As the former Thorn Witch and the elder sister of the Fifth Thorn Witch, Raul Roseberg, her only reason for mountain trekking was to “see her brother embarrass himself.”

The Fourth Thorn Witch had an extremely dishonorable title: “The Shortest-Reigning Member of the Seven Sages in History.”

Melissa, who assumed the role of the Fourth Thorn Witch at the young age of twenty, utilized her exceptional talents to create magic potions, selling them prolifically. This incurred the wrath of her family.

Her stubborn relatives unanimously criticized Melissa for recklessly selling magic potions, which were considered the family’s closely guarded secrets. Melissa’s response was a simple “Why not sell something that sells?”

As a mage who needed research funds, you could never have too much money. Moreover, money was necessary for dealing with freckles and unruly hair.

…Such things were by no means trivial matters. The management of freckles and unruly hair was a lifelong research subject for Melissa.

Utilizing the funds she earned from selling the secret magic potions, Melissa purchased beauty products in abundance. Just a few months later, she was removed from her position as the head of House Roseberg. Consequently, her younger brother Raul became the Fifth Thorn Witch.

Her brother Raul was honestly very annoying.

He possessed talents comparable to his ancestors and boasted the top mana within the country.

Furthermore, he had a beautiful appearance resembling the first Thorn Witch, without freckles despite doing nothing but outdoor work. No matter how much Melissa shielded herself with a parasol, applied beauty products or powder, her freckles remained!!

By the way, Melissa didn’t like their difference in hair texture either. While they had the same colored hair, Melissa’s hair was coarse and dry, while Raul’s locks was praised for being glossy, beautiful rose-colored curls.

Ah, what an irritating brother! Talented, blessed with good looks, and on top of that, without the troubles of freckles and unruly hair!

(Stupid brother, it’s time you learn your place.)

Simply recalling her brother’s carefree face brought about a surge of irritation.

With a disdainful snort, Melissa stood up vigorously and resumed walking. She was only here to witness her brother’s disgrace; that’s all she wanted.

Now, Raul was probably at his wit’s end, unaware that Melissa tampered with the fertilizer. Just imagining that foolish brother in a fluster was satisfying in itself.

“Struggle all you like. Serves you right, you moron! Ahahaha! …Huh?”

Melissa reined in her hearty laughter and squinted her eyes ahead. Something green and squirming could be seen through the gaps in the trees.

The green mass grew rapidly, surpassing the height of nearby trees.

Melissa, even if a bit rotten, was a former member of the Seven Sages. She could deduce what it was at a glance. This was a plant that had grown excessively due to an overabundance of mana.

“Huh, peas… yeah.”

Melissa twitched her cheeks involuntarily, understanding the likely cause.

Certainly, Melissa had tampered with the fertilizer. However, it shouldn’t have been enough to make peas grow this large.

Unaware that Raul had made a mistake of two decimal points, Melissa stood dumbfounded, clutching her parasol.

(Wait, wait, wait, what did my stupid brother do!?)

As Melissa watched in astonishment, the peas were attempting further growth. This was the combined result of the mischief and careless mistake of the Roseberg siblings.

＊　＊　＊

Cyril ground his teeth while maintaining a defensive barrier.

Thanks to the hastily erected defensive barrier, he managed to avoid being caught by the pea vines, but at this rate, he couldn’t move. Although he cut the vines with ice spears while maintaining the barrier, the vines immediately grew back.

“Hurry up and do something, Lord Roseberg!”

Cyril shouted angrily, but the relaxed Raul murmured, “Hmm,” while scratching his head.

“If only we had some roses…”

How roses could overturn this situation was beyond Cyril’s imagination, but here, they had no choice but to rely on a miracle brought about by a Sage.

“…You could do something about this situation if we had roses?”

“Yeah, just one cut flower is enough. Heck, even a processed product like a dried flower would do.”

This field mainly cultivated vegetables and medicinal herbs, so it had zero roses.

Nevertheless, Cyril had one in reserve.

(…But that’s…)

He hesitated for a moment, but currently, rescuing Monica took top priority.

Cyril, with a bitter expression, informed Raul.

“…In my bag, there’s a wreath for the winter solstice. There should be some dried roses decorating it.”

In the Ridill Kingdom, it was a custom to decorate your house with a wreath during the winter solstice break. The wreath had the power to ward off evil, and hanging it on the front door was believed to repel disaster and invite happiness for the new year.

The wreath typically consisted of woven branches, fir needles, pine cones, hawthorn berries, and the like. However, the wreath Cyril prepared had several dried white roses arranged on it.

“Your bag? Where’s that?”

“…It’s in the cart.”

The cart, loaded with tools necessary for farming, was placed a bit away from this pea field. It wouldn’t take more than five minutes to reach if they ran. Of course, assuming the pea vines didn’t block their way.

The two were already surrounded by pea vines. It wouldn’t be easy to get that far.

Cyril steeled himself and removed the brooch attached to his collar. This magical tool absorbed excess mana from Cyril’s body and emitted it. In other words, it was best to remove the brooch when casting magecraft at maximum power.

“…I’ll buy you some time. Head to the cart in the meanwhile.”

“You sure?”

Whether Cyril was sure or not, there simply weren’t any other choices.

Cyril glared at Raul, shouting with a voice that echoed from the depths of his belly.

“Just so you know, if the situation worsens any further, consider yourself barred from ever setting foot in the lands of House Highown ever again!”

Cyril’s furious voice could silence a crying child, yet Raul, for some reason, brightened his face with a grin.

“Isn’t that like a declaration of friendship termination? Nice, feels very buddy-buddy!”

Even at a time like this, Raul’s cheerfulness knew no end. Cyril clicked his tongue with a bitter expression.

But there was no time to say anything more.

Maintaining the defensive barrier, Cyril chanted a slightly longer incantation. Then, he directed his gaze behind him, towards the direction of the cart.

“…Go!”

As Cyril snapped his fingers, ice blades sliced through the pea vines.

However, they regenerated quickly, so Cyril used an ice wall to hold back the vines attempting to invade.

“Stop dawdling! Hurry up and go, Raul Roseberg!”

Hearing Cyril’s angry shout, Raul, who had always wanted to be called by his first name, cheerfully responded, “Leave it to me!” and started running.

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