As the silver-haired girl continued to watch, the naïve little Illya whispered her earnest request into her mother's ear. As expected, the beautiful lady's expression changed immediately.
Next came the moment she had been waiting for. The scolding. The apology. The inevitable refusal.
Surely, the mother would take Illya aside and scold her for saying something so thoughtless. Then she would turn to the silver-haired girl and apologize politely, saying her daughter didn't understand what she was saying.
After all, no sensible adult would agree to something this outrageous. They would know how troublesome it would be to accept a stranger's child.
That's what she believed.
She even anticipated a kind of cold rationality, perhaps some guilt and discomfort, but ultimately rejection.
The thought of their conflicted expressions—the pain of having to reject someone out of necessity—delighted her. To see people wrestle between their ideals and the hard truths of life…
It made her heart race.
Yes, she loved it. Watching others struggle. Watching the innocent learn how cruel the world could be.
She imagined Irisviel's face, full of sympathy but helpless, saying "I'm sorry, we just can't—"
But…
That wasn't what she saw. The lady wasn't torn, wasn't struggling, wasn't even surprised. Instead, she looked completely moved. Her expression glowed with pure-hearted joy, like a child who'd just heard the ending of a fairy tale. She looked at the silver-haired girl not with pity or doubt—but with admiration.
"Crap!"
The silver-haired girl suddenly realized that her plan might have backfired. She didn't know exactly how, but this woman—who looked to be no older than seventeen or eighteen—clearly had the mental age of a child. The moment she got emotionally moved, all rationality flew out the window.
"Wait—" she tried to interject, desperate to clarify that she had only been joking earlier.
But it was already too late. Completely overcome with emotion, Irisviel swept the poor, tragic little girl into her arms, hugging her tightly against her chest.
"So pitiful... so young and already suffering so much!" The tale had struck Irisviel right in the heart. Without hesitation, she embraced the adorable child and exclaimed, "Come to my home—be my child!"
"I don't have any experience, but I can learn to be your mama!" After all, she'd already mysteriously ended up with a daughter named Illya. What was one more? This poor, sweet girl had suffered so much—it was impossible not to feel for her.
Faced with this flood of maternal warmth, the silver-haired girl was left completely dumbfounded. This... this wasn't how it was supposed to go! She was supposed to be rejected! Who in their right mind says yes to something like this?!
She stared at the well-meaning but completely unhinged woman. Not only was she overly kind, but also clearly lacking in basic common sense! Raising a child costs a fortune! Did this woman even understand that?
Trying to snap her out of it, the girl timidly spoke up in a voice laced with worry. "R-really? But raising a child is really expensive, isn't it?"
She hoped that this little reminder would jolt the lady back to reason—make her decline the idea on her own. Please… just say no already! But instead, Irisviel blinked.
"Money? Raising a child costs a lot?"
The girl quickly nodded. "Yes! School, food, daily expenses—and when kids get sick, that costs even more. Normal families just can't afford it!" She laid it on thick, emphasizing every hardship.
But Irisviel didn't waver at all. "Oh, is that all? If we really run out of money, we can just sell one of the family's castles."
As a mage from a prestigious bloodline, Irisviel had little concept of money. But no matter how expensive child-rearing was, selling off a castle should be more than enough.
"???"
"D-did you say… a castle?" The girl froze.
They had a castle? A castle?!
Was this woman serious?!
Irisviel nodded earnestly. "We can't sell the one in Germany, but the one in Fuyuki and the land around it—that should be fine."
"So you really don't need to worry about money!"
The ever-cheerful and pure-hearted Irisviel pulled her into another warm embrace.
"..."
The silver-haired girl was utterly speechless. Wait—you mean you have more than one castle?! She had no idea what to say anymore. Even with all her verbal tricks, this level of absurdity left her completely defenseless.
Damn it… this was the power of money, wasn't it? Seeing her go quiet, Illya assumed it meant she agreed. She happily reached out and patted the silver-haired girl's head.
"Then from now on, I'm your big sister, okay? You have to call me Sister Illya!"
"..."
The girl gave Illya a deadpan look. Call you what now?! This whole mess was her fault in the first place! She swore—if she ever got the chance—she'd teach this white-haired brat a lesson. She'd make her cry and scream out who the real big sister was.
As Illya continued to blissfully stroke her head, caught up in the joy of being the older sibling, a sudden shiver ran down her spine.
Shudder~
It felt like she had just been targeted by a very dangerous person. The feeling was oddly familiar. Before she could recall where she'd felt it before, the silver-haired girl wriggled free from Irisviel's arms.
These two… they didn't follow any sort of logic. And it annoyed her. So, swallowing her pride, she lowered her proud head and bowed politely to the two of them.
"I'm sorry. I lied."
She endured the humiliation and kept her voice level. "Actually, my father is coming to pick me up. Everything I said earlier—I made it up because I was scared. I'm really sorry."
She'd lost control of the situation and had no choice but to retreat.
If this airheaded woman really insisted on taking her home, she might not even be able to stop her. Not that she cared what kind of life she'd be brought into—but if they were just ordinary people, they wouldn't stand a chance.
Because her so-called "father" wasn't an ordinary man.
He was the priest of the Fuyuki Church, the man who held sway over the entire city. No way could a pair of clueless civilians possibly hide her from him.
So, she had to say no.
"Eh—?! So… it wasn't true? You can't be my daughter after all?" Irisviel's face fell with disappointment. She had genuinely liked the idea of taking the girl home.
"R-really?" Illya, on the other hand, looked doubtful.
Unlike her mother, she wasn't so quick to trust. She had her suspicions that this might be the lie, not the first one.
"Really," the girl affirmed with a nod.
"Hmm…" Illya still looked skeptical.
Soon after, the plane landed.
As they exited through the airport gates, Illya spotted a man in priest robes approaching the silver-haired girl. When the girl addressed him as "Father," all her doubts were finally put to rest.
So, she really did have a dad. But then… why had she said her parents were dead? Illya couldn't understand it. Even if it was just a joke, that kind of lie felt way too cruel.
Still, looking at the two of them—the girl and the man—there didn't seem to be anything strange about them. They didn't look alike, but it didn't seem like she was being kidnapped or anything.
Just as the girl was about to leave, Illya suddenly remembered something…
"Hey! I still don't know your name!" Illya called out loudly, waving both hands in the air, hoping to get the silver-haired girl's attention. But even though the distance between them wasn't far, the girl walked on as if she hadn't heard anything.
It wasn't until she reached the corner that she finally stopped, turned to look at Illya, paused for a moment, and in a soft, icy tone, gave her name.
"Caren."
"Caren Hortensia." And with that, her silhouette vanished around the corner, leaving only Illya and Irisviel standing behind.
"Caren… Caren…" Illya repeated the name to herself. Then suddenly, a look of shock swept over her young face.
"That was—Sister Caren?!"
Recalling the chill that had run down her spine earlier—the same chilling sensation she always felt when Caren glared at her—she instantly confirmed the silver-haired girl's identity.
"Uwaaah, I'm doomed!"
"I actually made her call me 'big sister'… She's going to bully me for sure! Absolutely for sure!"
"No, wait! Caren always liked bullying me from the very beginning…"
"Don't tell me… it was because of what just happened that she started holding a grudge against the future me?!"
Magical Girl Illya was now facing a life crisis. At last, she understood why Caren had always treated her so harshly. And she finally realized—this whole mess… she had brought it upon herself. Panic began to set in.
"Time machine! I need a time machine—no wait, I need my dad!" In this situation, only one person could possibly save her.
And that person was—
"Where's Papa?!" At long last, she remembered the real issue.