Chapter 46 – Falling for His Conspiracies (SD) (Patreon)

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「F*ck」 Elrhain cursed, looking at the absolute mayhem down below. He didn’t twitch an eyebrow when Elder Blethen blew her top and stomped out of the hall. Didn’t even bite back when Agwyn yelled at him for being a potty mouth.

No, personality education could wait.

He’d need to act, and needed to act fast. Because Thundham, no, that accursed fake Elf putting them into the spotlight like this was not part of the plan, or any plan he had devised.

‘Do the folks here not know of moderation, modesty, and presentation?!’

「They don’t, duh~ And why are you so scared? Didn’t you already anticipate that after curing cholera, I mean, this swampling’s curse with saline water, grandpa will try to push us into the public eye as geniuses? Or is this some kind of PTSD from Earth?」

「Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have PTSD! 」 Elrhain snapped. The boy bit his thumb hard, a thousand thoughts motorcycling like crazy in his brain.

「I thought grandpa would simply brag for a while, or maybe shove it in Sonora’s face if he pimps his grandson again. The nobles would get annoyed at best, and doubtful of his claims at worst.

They would think that grandpa is trying to give us credit undeserved, paving our way with stolen or bought out achievements. That some weird thing we once blabbered some drunk nights ago gave the main house the inspiration to come up with the cure, a story like that.

That would be plausible. Which family won’t exaggerate the accomplishments of their sons and daughters a little? This way, grandpa would not only give us enough feats to our name, at such a young age no less, dressing us up as bona fide geniuses. He would also be protecting us, who are not yet mature from enemy eyes. That’s what the wealthier folks on Earth usually did.

Damn, I miscalculated again. Tribal idiots are much worse in politicking than Collective first generations.

This, this is giving us full credit. Thundham made Palaikt Blethen be the one to break the news, and quite dramatically too, in front of most of the nobles in Lochuir! She even specifically singled me out as one of the primary contributors.

And these numbskull wannabee aristocrats actually sound like they freaking believe what Blethen said word for word. Now, news of this will spread until everyone and their grandmother’s pet pig knows what we did ahhh!」

「…. Sorry, I don’t see why that’s an issue. It’s not like the lower nobles of Earthloch will try to assassinate us, right? 」

「You forget, didn’t grandpa and the big guy talk about how the other high noble clans will definitely, absolutely, without doubt, plant as many spies as they can shove in Lochuir to monitor us in the collapse? Sabotage is not beneath those who don’t wish to see Earthloch rise.

And, there are so many precedents of high noble clans offing their enemies' talented scions and blaming them on other foes. That’s why Cadfael is guarded by a whole herd of watches like a golden goose all cycle.

Secondly, we gotta worry about the out-tribal freemen who are settling near Lochuir. They aren’t Earthloch. They’re something like permanent residences who work, live and die here but don’t get the same benefits as clan freemen or the restrictions of clan servants. They are drifters from all around the disc who just wanna make a home here, and probably the very hodgepodge of the spies’ activities.

Imagine if the nobles treated their own servants and family of the curse but didn’t treat the out-tribal freemen? No, they surely wouldn’t. The nobles see them as pests leeching off the clan’s hard work, even lower than the lowest farmhand servants.

And these out-tribals number tens of thousands. Who exactly do you think they will grudge when they see their newborn die? The curse? Or the ones who didn’t save them. Logic can go suck a butt when your loved ones die left and right, and the ones with the ability do nothing to help. These are the most primal grudges; you can’t find right or wrong with them. Besides, out-tribals don’t live on Earthloch because they want to. It's because they can’t live anywhere else. What will the other clan spies do when they see such hatred stinking out of their dirty pits?」

「You are positivelyoverthinking. Did you come up with that whole saga of conspiracy theories beforehand and watched for the perfect moment to show off how smart you are?」Agwyn scoffed while twirling a lock of her hair.

Elrhain blushed. 「It could happen, okay? There is precedence of conflict between clan nobles and out-tribals. It’s not like the clan can just massacre so many dhionne, either. 」

「Okay then, go on.」 The girl sighed, thinking if Elrhain’s overactive imagination was the very culprit why he always jumped to the worst conclusion before anything even happened. The boy constantly tortured himself with this and that, as if he could not sleep without breaking his head over a million questions about morality, survival, evil.

「Huh? What?」 The boy in question blinked.

「You looked like you were leading up to the third point, which is what you are actually worried about. Not some lame drama about hitmen and assassins.」

「... Thirdly, we told them we discovered the cure in some obscure memoir. They might believe it for now, but soon they will send people to the archives to scour through every text for more unknown nuggets of knowledge. The more they can’t find any, the more they will become sceptical of the real reason we know how to cure the curse. Because it doesn’t take much brainpower to find plot holes in our story, no, our excuse.

After they calm down and think for a bit, they will ask questions we absolutely don’t want them asking.

It was us who found the cure; they can confirm this fact without falsehood. But they cannot confirm exactly where we discovered that cure. Then, if not from the archives, from where?

Even our immediate family might show uncertainty in the worst-case scenario, no matter how much I would like to believe otherwise. After all, a sapient mind is flimsy. Annie, what’s the thing we want our family to know the least?」

Agwyn bit her lower lips while eyeing the noble crowd. Onthoakt Slanout had finished recounting their ‘heroic tale’ from yesterday. At first, some nobles were slow to believe.

But just like Elrhain said, with assertions of assurance from Cyra, at least half of them believed. After the testimony of Kond, Adol, and watch captain Anouk, who were waiting outside the grand hall as witnesses, the rest of the naysayers were drowned out with a cacophony of praises.

But Agwyn could perceive a few looks there which were not of praise, not of suspicions that the Grand Elder conspired to claim the achievements of Healer Kond to the two kids, but of pure unmasked doubt of exactly how two barely three-cycle old toddlers could cure a millennium ruining curse.

South Palaikt, Elder Sonora, Palaikt Sabhalan, and many more.

It was common sense. It took one whole cycle for a dhionne babe, a creature who could only lie on its backs, to evolve into a four-legged infant. From there, it would take two or three more cycles for them to reach the two-legged toddler realm. And finally, another few cycles for their heads to be mature enough to think about stuff more complicated than ‘Food’, ‘Mommy!’, and ‘Ellie bit me!’.

Scouring archives for cures of curses, methods of magic and blueprints of civilization were way out of any toddler’s intelligence grade. It was okay if said dhionne child was seven, nine, or ten. There was precedence of geniuses in those age groups recorded in every clans’ records, how they made the impossible possible to bring glory to their houses.

But not three.

Three, was just too young. Too underdeveloped. Too unnatural.

…. unless that toddler was, in fact, not three.

「Our reincarnation.」 Agwyn slapped her forehead, then made Elrhain blow on it to chase the pain away.

「Stories of old beyond-sky realm ghosts possessing young babies are not made-up fairy tales here. I heard that it’s one method Beyonders like to use most to escape a natural death.

And no family will ever accept their little apples being switched with old coots. Damn…. Why didn’t I think of this that day? This is definitely enough for mommy, daddy, grandpa, and especially auntie Lilian to suspect things. 」

「Even if you did, you would still try to save Servant Nana, no?」 Elrhain asked with a smile.

Agwyn helplessly nodded. 「But… I don’t want mommy or anyone to hate me. Hey, Ellie, do you think I actually replaced this body’s soul with Annamaria’s?」
Elrhain thought for a bit, then shook his head, 「No. I don’t know why, but I believe I am genuinely Elrhain. A blend of Elrhain Earthloch Siaglas and Alex Fischer, to be precise. Remember what the big guy said about when we were born?」

「… that we almost died. That there were magical omens. That our souls are weird. Wait, mommy actually knows we aren’t normal kids! So why did she still…」

「Ya, I find that odd too. As for those omens, the most plausible reason for them might be because we were born in different places? Mother and father were still servants, so no way would the slug woman and mother be treated in the same manner during childbirth. Only after they figured out the cause of the omens did they up my mother’s treatment.

Now that I think about it, we also had inexplicable physical symptoms like pain and headaches in the Elder's rest when Elder Croneira separated us, right? Imagine what would happen if we came into this world in totally distant places, separated by many kilometres.」

Agwyn imagined it. A blush bloomed on her face like a rose, then she hugged her little prince charming with all her fluffiness, 「That’s so romantic!」

「Death isn’t romantic! And that’s not the point! I suppose that our family and the higher-ups of Earthloch's main house, including auntie Lilian, know that there’s something peculiar about us. Grandpa told us he did rituals and rites to test our talents when we were not even a day old. Do you believe they wouldn't try any soul-based auguries if magical anomalies happened when the clan’s one and only inheritor was born?」

「Ah!」 Agwyn clapped her hand, 「In stories of this world where the family found out about their scion had been replaced, it was never a good ending for either the family or the scion. Meaning, there are ways to check if the soul is indeed originally of that body. And a clan like Earthloch, one of the strongest on one of the largest disc in Fanas Diosca, would surely have the means!」

「Exactly. Wait, could that be why Cyra cried that day? She didn’t think we were suspicious, but there was still a problem with our souls the clan does not know. She was worried about us!.... I think I over-thought stuff again. 」

Elrhain scratched his head, and Agwyn giggled a「Duh! I told you so~.」

He then pushed her away before she got more intimate in public and continued.

「I don’t think we have to worry that our family thinks we are imposters for now. But I expect they will use magic again to search for the problem. But what if they can’t, just like how they failed to notice we are actually transmigrators three cycles ago?

What if the suspicions return? They might think we, as we are now, aren’t imposters. But whatever is wrong with our souls might gradually turn us into imposters. A demon can turn an angel fallen, a devil buys a soul while selling fake dreams and tragedies.

If our closest family mistrusts us even a little, what about the nobles who are not fond of us? That South Palaikt prick has been glaring at us for a while now, and Elder Sonora looks like he just had a huge epiphany.」

「That… certainly is distressing. But I don’t want to tell anyone we reincarnated. Never at all!」 Agwyn shook her head fiercely. 「Even if they accept us, that we didn’t intentionally do this, mommy definitely won’t pamper me like before.

Even I won’t pamper my daughter if one day I knew she was really a 75-year-old lady from another world… even if that old lady has always been my daughter, with no evil body possessions or soul replacements.」

「That’s why 」 Elrhain narrowed his eyes while stroking his tiny chin. 「We need to act fast. We need to put our knowledge of fiction to use! What is probable, what is plausible? What is vague enough to raise no misgivings, but believable enough to make our alibi rock solid?

Whatever is wrong with our souls, we will make it inseparable from our identities. So that even if something happens in the future, our family will never think that we will do something to harm them. Because we won’t, and that’s a fact!」

「…. We will lie again?」

Agwyn asked with apprehension. She alternated her gaze between Elder Sonora, South Palaikt, Sabhalan, and finally, her mommy again and again. A gloomy look clouded her face that made even Elrhain shiver.

「Would it not be better to just shut up? After all, silence is golden. The less we speak, the fewer mistakes we make, and the less they know.」She said.

「And let the suspicion fester into a stinky compost mess? No way! I don’t care about the other nobles, but at least with our family, we need to wipe away any points of mistrust. We have to act pre-emptively so that the flow is always in our hands…. what? Why are you staring at me like that? You’re scaring me!」

「Nothing. It’s just,」 Agwyn twiddled her fingers. 「Didn’t you say that we have to be honest with our family? I’d instead not say anything at all if I have to outright lie.」

「Annie.」 Elrhain patted her shoulder, ignoring his own nervousness. Then kept patting while saying, 「Annie, Annie, Annie, Annie, Annie. 」As if the light-hearted joking would wash away his fears.

「My friend. We arehonest. It’s just, we are packaging ourselves honestly in a way that is more digestible for the superstitious people of this world. This type of honesty is the best type, where we won’t harm ourselves or harm anyone else. Far better than an arbitrary truth that can only bring misery! 」

Agwyn rolled her eyes. 「Sure, bullshit more, why don’t you?」

Her gestures were cute, and her tone was soft. But Elrhain couldn’t shake away the feeling that with every word he uttered, Agwyn’s mood seemed to plummet.

「... Did I say something to anger you?」

Agwyn faced him like a little drama queen, with one finger on her lips and upturned eyes.

「Last time, you got to make up the story! This time we go with my story, okay?」

Elrhain groaned, realizing his internal ‘Annie-senses’ might have fired a false alarm this time.「Annie, your stories suck! Not interesting at all. Everything is so generic that you can predict the plot from a hundred chapters away.」

Agwyn pouted, 「At least mine doesn’t have plot holes. You, on the other hand, don’t know even the basics of fiction writing. You always think that your thousands of wasted hours reading novels and playing games make you a skilled writer, but you don’t really have much talent.

Okay, stop sulking. You yourself said it. We can’t afford more suspicions unprepared. It doesn’t matter if the story isn’t an earth-shaking, sky shattering secret. But it has to be self-contained! And unlike your mess of plot holes where you forget character backgrounds, lore, and any exposition you worked out in a previous chapter, my stories are all consistent!」

「…. and boring.」

Contrary to his expectations, Agwyn didn’t lash out at the insult. Upon seeing Elrhain’s face squinting in wariness, Agwyn slapped his two chubby cheeks like a victor, humiliating the loser’s pride.

‘Again, there’s that feeling again! Something is clearly wrong with Annie. Or is she just being passive-aggressive?’

「Ellie, remember all the books you wrote in your free time? Remember how they all flopped with netizens raining a hell ton of bad reviews on them? And how they called you out when you used your money to buy fake viewers, fake reviews, and an entire army of counterfeit fans?

Remember that one book I wrote after seeing yours fail, when you said I couldn’t do any better, and how it got adapted into a web serial, which, although it didn’t win any prizes, had at least a 6.5 out of 10 in reviews?」
‘… D-Definitely passive, p-passive-aggressive, yeah!’ Elrhain felt a cold sweat trickle down his back. He could only concede defeat as his every cell screamed that doing anything else would lead straight to Ending W, the Worst end possible.

「Tonight, my love,」

Agwyn, however, didn’t care for his turbulent mind. With a veiled face rife with both glee and sadness, she gave him the tightest hug she could. The ominous atmosphere that Elrhain had thought as being his imagination returned in full force, sending red alerts blaring through Elrhain’s trembling body.

「My soul, my heart. Tonight, my darling Ellie, we brainstorm. 」