"Damn it, what's with Seele today? Her personality's completely different."
Sin Mal muttered to herself.
Seele's behavior today had been way too off—it was like she wasn't the same crybaby Sin Mal could normally bully however she wanted. In fact, she seemed like the complete opposite.
Especially the way Dark Seele looked at her.
Like a hunter eyeing its prey—it actually sent chills down Sin Mal's spine.
"...Hmph, whatever. If Father didn't say anything, then it's probably not a big deal."
She glanced toward Seele's room.
She had only stepped out to use the bathroom—definitely not planning a late-night sneak attack. As twisted as her personality might be, Sin Mal had pride—she wasn't the type to stoop that low.
Besides, she didn't believe for a second that Papa Elias hadn't noticed Seele's changes. If he didn't act, that meant she didn't need to either.
Still, if Seele stayed that way from now on... she might never be able to bully that crybaby again.
Just as she was about to head back to bed—
"Still up this late? Lurking around outside Seele's room? Sin Mal, what kind of shady plan are you scheming?"
"Wah!"
"Hehe~ That scared you? And that was all it took? You're not so tough after all. No wonder that crybaby couldn't even handle you. What a disgrace."
The bedroom door swung open, and out walked Seele—carrying a gleaming silver scythe.
Its moonlight-like gleam split the darkness, and even proud Sin Mal couldn't help but gulp.
Still, she lifted her chin and tried to keep her cool.
"Who're you calling shady? And what about you—lugging that thing around in the middle of the night? You think you can scare me with that?"
"Oh? Scare you? Hehe, why not find out. Heya!"
Dark Seele smirked and swung the towering scythe with ease. If not for the glint of the blade, one might've thought it was a hollow prop.
In an instant—before Sin Mal could even react—Dark Seele hooked the blunt end of the scythe behind her ankle and gave a slight tug.
"Gwah—! What the heck are you—"
Thud!
Sin Mal landed flat on her butt.
Before she could even protest, the scythe came down—slamming into the space between her legs. If she weren't a girl, she might've been sterilized on the spot.
"Y-you're serious?!"
"I'm in a bad mood, and you walked right into it. Perfect time to settle old scores."
"What are you talking about?!"
"Hehe~ You bullied Seele, talked behind her back, forced her to eat spicy snacks she hates, spiked the lunch she made for Father with wasabi, and even made her almost fall down the stairs."
Dark Seele rested the cold blade of the scythe against Sin Mal's neck, making her shiver with fear, drenched in cold sweat.
"That crybaby might've forgotten or doesn't care anymore—but not me. I remembered every single thing. Oh, and didn't you have your eye on Father too?"
"You're not Seele! Who the hell are you and what do you want?!" Sin Mal shouted in alarm.
"What do I want? Obviously, to teach you a lesson—so you never bully Seele again. Also... Father belongs to us—to Seele. So stop having weird thoughts."
Dark Seele stepped closer, grabbed a fistful of Sin Mal's lavender hair, and forced her to look up into her eyes.
Only now did Sin Mal clearly see the madness in the girl who looked exactly like the crybaby she always called a fool.
That wasn't Seele.
She was something far more twisted, yandere, and violent—a true anomaly.
"You're not Seele. You're a demon! A demon!"
Sin Mal's voice trembled as she growled.
"...Still talking like that? Looks like I really need to teach you a proper lesson. Let's borrow a line from Father, shall we?"
Dark Seele smiled cheerfully.
"Are you ready to repent?"
"Damn you! What do you plan to do?!"
"Haha~ Learned this trick from Father too. Let's test it on you first."
Black, shadowy tendrils appeared behind her. Though visually different, the ability was unmistakably similar to Elias' Herrscher of Death powers.
The next second, the tendrils wrapped around Sin Mal's entire body. Agonizing pain surged through her in every direction, and her eyes bulged as she screamed.
"AaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
But that scream instantly made Dark Seele's expression shift.
"Hey! Shut up! No screaming!"
Even though the House of the Hearth was a large villa and Elias had ensured decent soundproofing,
This was still the middle of the night. Anyone would wake up from a scream like that.
Sure enough, the lights throughout the house flicked on, and the sound of sleepy footsteps echoed as people emerged from their rooms.
Seeing the situation going south fast, Dark Seele quickly made her scythe disappear and released Sin Mal from the tendrils, then forcibly pulled White Seele back into control.
"Eh? Other me, what are you—"
"Crybaby, it's your turn now. Find a way to talk our way out of this!"
"W-wait! You can't do this!"
White Seele panicked—she had just been sobbing in their mental space, and now she was suddenly shoved out to take the blame.
Who does that?! Commit a crime and then ditch the scene?
Seele wanted to protest more, but it was too late. The entire house was lit up and the others were already gathering around.
"Uh, what's going on?"
"Jeez, who was yelling just now?"
"Wait, why are Seele and Sin Mal together? And why is Sin Mal the one on the floor crying?"
"Seele, are you okay?"
The girls of the House of the Hearth were completely confused.
They figured the two had fought again—but usually it was Seele who'd be crying on the ground, not the other way around.
Though the situation was suspiciously clear, no one suspected Seele had done something to Sin Mal. After all, she was kind, gentle, scared of violence—like an angel.
But then again, everyone also remembered how odd she'd been acting today.
"D-demon... Seele... demon..."
Sin Mal muttered through sobs, trembling all over.
"Seele, tell me—what really happened?" Elias sighed and looked at her seriously.
"Papa Elias, I... I actually... um..."
In the end, Seele confessed.
Everything.
She told them about her other self—Dark Seele. About how Sin Mal got hurt. About how Dark Seele had been in control all day.
She couldn't help it. She was never good at lying—
Especially not in front of Elias.
Before him, Seele could only ever speak the truth.
In the mental space, Dark Seele facepalmed in frustration. "Ugh, useless. Can't even tell a proper lie. Should've just done it myself." But it was too late for regrets.
With a sigh, Dark Seele revealed herself.
"Just like this crybaby said—it was me. She had nothing to do with it."
...
The girls at the House of the Hearth were stunned. The timid, soft-spoken White Seele faded out, and the proud, confident Dark Seele took her place. The contrast between the two was so stark, it was like watching two completely different people.
If this was just acting, then Seele had a bright future winning every Best Actress award.
Elias walked up to Dark Seele with a neutral expression, raising his hand.
Dark Seele instinctively winced and closed her eyes. She feared no one in the house—but Papa Elias was different.
But instead of a slap—
Bonk!
Elias gave her a light chop on the head with a helpless look.
"You went too far this time, Other Seele. Teaching Sin Mal a lesson? Sure. But there's a limit. How could you frighten a fellow House of the Hearth member—someone who's family—like that?"
He checked Sin Mal's condition and found she hadn't been physically harmed—just stunned to the core.
Seele's stigmata held remnants of the previous era's Herrscher of Death powers, which explained how she could access such abilities—albeit far weaker than the original Herrscher.
Dark Seele, rubbing her head, staggered back in shock. She had been bracing for something worse.
"W-what are you saying? I'm not like them. I wasn't picked up by you. I'm just a personality born from negative emotion—a stigmata consciousness. I'm the crybaby's extreme, twisted side. I'm not part of this family."
"Hmm? Is that really what you think of yourself?"
"Of course it is!"
"Is that so... Seele—well, let's call you Dark Seele for now—I don't think a person can define themselves solely by how they were born. To me, what you are is actually much simpler."
Elias crossed his arms, looking serious.
"...What do you mean?"
Dark Seele took a deep breath and locked eyes with Elias. Normally, she didn't care about anyone's opinion—but he was different. To both versions of Seele, Elias was irreplaceable.
Elias smiled faintly and pointed toward one of the House of the Hearth girls—Vodka Girl.
"You're like twins, you and Seele. Technically one person, but clearly two different minds. And in my eyes, both of you are 'Seele.'"
"Which means... you're my daughter. A part of the House of the Hearth family. Didn't everyone already welcome you today? I'm happy to have another member join our home."
Both Seele and Dark Seele were stunned.
"W-what? You knew?!"
"Heh. You didn't really think you fooled me, did you? I'm your father. There's no way I wouldn't notice such a huge shift—like your taste for spicy food, your dislike of books, your love of violence, your strong personality... Honestly, thanks to you, today was quite refreshing."
Elias grinned, clearly proud of himself.
"..."
The two Seele girls were speechless. They thought they'd been so subtle—but after thinking back on everything Elias had done for them, they realized it made perfect sense.
Even without them saying a word, he always gave them gifts they loved—like how he arranged that beach trip after noticing how much Seele longed to see the ocean.
While Dark Seele stood frozen in shock, Elias gently patted her head. In his heart, she was no different from White Seele... though her expression now resembled a wild kitten being unexpectedly petted.
"Where you came from doesn't define who you are. You went after Sin Mal because she used to bully White Seele, right?"
"Hmph, who knows."
"Wow, your personalities really are opposites."
Elias couldn't help but laugh. Watching Seele puff up with tsundere pride was refreshingly new.
But of course, he wasn't mad. After all, what evil intentions could Dark Seele really have?
She only wanted to protect the White Seele she cherished most.
"Dark Seele, I don't believe you're made of nothing but malice. I'd love to welcome you as a part of the House of the Hearth—a member of our family. But it seems like you're not willing. Was it foolish of me to assume otherwise?"
"I... I mean... um..."
Dark Seele stumbled over her words.
In their shared mental space, White Seele was panicking. "Other me! How can you let Papa Elias look so disappointed?! Do something!"
Elias never forced anyone to join the House of the Hearth. Even when he invited Bronya, he let her make the final choice.
"I-I never said I refused..." (muttering)
"Hm? What was that, Seele?"
"Ahem! I'm not that interested in the House of the Hearth or anything, but since you're so insistent, Father... I guess I could join."
(Ah~ Textbook tsundere behavior~ xN)
Everyone watching mentally sighed in unison.
Elias smiled warmly. It had been a long time since they'd welcomed a new member—every room in the house had already been filled.
But now, not only was someone new joining, it was Dark Seele herself. How could he not be thrilled?
"That's great. Welcome to the House of the Hearth, Dark Seele. It's a shame it's already so late, but tomorrow—we'll throw a welcome party!"
"Is that really necessary? But... since you're so insistent, I suppose I can attend."
"Haha~ Then I'll cook extra spicy dishes tomorrow."
"Really? Now that's what I'm talking about."
Her eyes sparkled with excitement at the thought of more spicy food like the potato cakes and mapo tofu from earlier.
But just as she began to enjoy herself—
"I'm glad you're happy. That's my joy too. But we can deal with tomorrow... tomorrow. For now—it's punishment time, Dark Seele."
"...What?"
Dark Seele's mind blanked.
Before she could react, Elias had scooped her up—her head down, rear up.
The classic "drum-on-the-waist" position.
"W-wait! What are you doing?!"
"I already told you. It's time to punish the naughty girl. As your father and a fair House of the Hearth parent, I can't ignore bad behavior. Even Sin Mal got punished when she bullied you—so you'll get the same."
He gestured toward Sin Mal, still collapsed on the floor. Though physically unharmed, her spirit had taken critical damage.
"No way! Absolutely not! I refuse!!"
Dark Seele's face went pale.
Thanks to shared memories with White Seele, she knew exactly what was coming.
And seeing Elias crack his knuckles with a very ominous look, her whole body went stiff.
Getting her butt smacked in front of everyone?
No way!! Not happening!!
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