She already knew Ceres’s parents had passed away, but she didn’t realize Ceres had any other family besides Antonian.
...I should reflect on this.
It hadn’t been long since she woke up in this body, but failing to recognize her own family members was definitely a blunder. She must’ve gotten too absorbed in having a new life and let herself grow careless.
“What do you mean she’s in a recuperation house?”
“Julia has been weak since she was a child. She’s receiving treatment at a recuperation house right now.”
“A recuperation house...”
There were places like that back when she was Grace too.
It was a luxurious facility built in quiet and scenic areas, with private physicians on standby. Wealthy families went there when they wanted to focus on recovery.
Back then, places like that were rare. Did they become more common over time? But sending her there in this situation is surprising.
“Regarding that...”
So this is the main point. Ceres nodded to show she was listening.
What is Agne trying to say by dragging this out?
“What should we do? The treatment costs are quite high again this time.”
“.....”
Ceres accepted the papers Agne handed her and read through them carefully. It was a breakdown of Julia’s treatment expenses for this month sent from the recuperation house.
“Hmm.”
After reading through it with interest, Ceres finished the last page and scoffed. Only one thought came to mind.
Ridiculous.
What kind of d*mn treatment is this supposed to be? Did the names of medicinal herbs change while she was dead?
The ingredients densely listed on the papers were all expensive and difficult to obtain, even to Ceres.
The problem was that, as far as she knew, there was no treatment that used all those herbs together. Some of them even became toxic when mixed together.
This wasn’t a medical prescription, but papers listing expensive herbs.
Thud.
Ceres placed the papers back on the table without a word.
“What are you going to do this time? You know there’s nowhere left to borrow money, don’t you? You also know this house and land are already mortgaged.”
Isn’t this woman the one with memory problems? She believes her niece has lost her memories, so what exactly does she expect Ceres to “know”?
“So?”
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing more I can do. Like I told you before, there’s only one way to handle this.”
You said the house and land are already mortgaged. But there’s still a way?
“The shop on Delasi First Street. This time, we really have no choice but to sell it.”
Oh? So there was still something left to sell after all.
“To be honest, the income from that place isn’t even enough to cover the interest. It’d be better to just give up and settle everything—”
Bang!
At that moment, the door burst open. Someone rushed in urgently.
“Ceres! Don’t!”
It was Antonian.
“Aunt! I told you, that shop is off limits!”
The boy was gasping for air, as if he had run all the way here. He must have rushed over the moment he heard that she was summoned by their aunt.
Jay had looked uneasy when Ceres left the room earlier. She was probably the one who went to fetch Antonian.
“Antonian, what is this disgraceful behavior?”
Agne couldn’t hide her annoyance at his sudden appearance.
That d*mn brat again.
Even though Ceres usually went along with whatever Agne said, that shop on Delasi First Street was the one exception. Every time Agne tried to get rid of it, Antonian interfered. That’s why she still hadn’t been able to dispose of the shop as she wished.
“Aunt, you know exactly what that shop means!”
“So? Do you have another solution?”
“That’s...!”
Another solution.
At those words, Antonian faltered. He knew his insistence was bordering on unreasonable.
But still—
“No matter what, we can’t sell that shop! I’ll find another way somehow!”
“It’s up to Ceres to decide. She’s the owner of that shop, not you.”
Agne, who had been wearing a kind expression until now, stopped bothering to hide her irritation.
“Aunt!”
“Enough! What kind of solution do you think you can find? What about Julia’s treatment while you look? Are you trying to let her die?”
“.....”
At the mention of Julia, Antonian went silent. His clenched fist turned white.
A crooked smile briefly appeared on Agne’s lips before vanishing.
“Antonian.”
Her voice softened noticeably as she spoke his name.
“I know how much that shop means to you, but what choice do we have? Think about Julia.”
Apparently, she had decided to placate him.
Agne continued speaking softly like she never raised her voice at all.
“Haa... If only Ceres had handled things a little more wisely, it wouldn’t have come to this. I feel sorry too.”
Agne shook her head and looked at Ceres with a tired expression, as if all of this were her fault.
“But don’t resent your sister too much. Ceres only did it to save Julia.”
“...This is your fault.”
“What?”
“This is all because of you, Aunt!”
Antonian, who had been biting his lip as though holding something back, finally burst out in anger.
“Because of me?”
“You’re the one who introduced us to those loan sharks!”
“...Ha!”
Agne’s eyes widened for a moment before she scoffed. She just heard something absurd. Her gaze sharpened again.
“I only offered a solution! The one who chose it wasn’t me but Ceres!”
“You’re the one who pushed Ceres into making that choice! You told her it was the only way to save Julia! And now you’re dumping all the blame on her? That’s cowardly!”
“What?”
“That shop is absolutely off-limits, so don’t bring it up again! Like you just said, it belongs to my sister. Don’t even think about doing whatever you want with it!”
“You... you insolent brat...!”
Agne finally raised her hand. Antonian squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself. Even if he got hit, he wasn’t going to back down.
“.....?”
But after some time, no impact came.
Antonian slowly opened his eyes. As soon as he understood the situation, his eyes widened.
“You’re awfully quick to raise your hand, aren’t you?”
“Y-You!”
Ceres had caught the hand coming down toward Antonian. Agne looked so shocked by the sudden turn of events that she couldn’t form any words.
“Let go! Let go of me right now!”
Agne wanted to shake Ceres off immediately, but it wasn’t as easy as she expected. Why did her hand have no strength? And what was with that chilling look on Ceres’s face?
“A... Aah!”
Her shock was short-lived. The intense pain from her trapped wrist made Agne cry out.
How could it hurt this much just from being held? It didn’t feel like Ceres was gripping her that hard.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Only then did Ceres smile and let go of the wrist she’d been holding.
That’s going to hurt like hell.
She knew exactly where to touch to inflict severe pain.
“I really hate it when other people touch what’s mine.”
“Huh?”
While clutching her aching wrist, Agne stared at Ceres in disbelief. Was she reacting like this just because she tried to lay a hand on her younger brother?
“......”
Meanwhile, Antonian still couldn’t shake off his stunned expression. His face turned slightly red as he looked at Ceres.
“For now...”
Ceres picked up the treatment papers she had set down on °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the table earlier.
“Give me some time.”
“Ceres, you’re not thinking of stopping Julia’s treatment, are you? If you don’t send the money, her condition will get worse!”
“Who knows.”
“What?”
According to these papers, continuing the treatment doesn’t look like it’ll improve anything.
“I’m asking for time to assess the situation.”
“What...?”
“I’ll give you an answer as soon as I can. About whether to sell the shop or not.”
“Ceres! That shop—”
“You be quiet too. I said I need time.”
“......”
Ceres clapped her hands toward the two of them, who looked like they still had plenty to say.
“You’re dismissed.”
With that, Ceres walked out. Neither Antonian nor Agne could say anything more.