Inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion in Gensokyo, Remilia sat in the main seat, her right hand propping up her chin and her eyes closed. Although she hadn't been in Gensokyo for long, she had already formulated a detailed plan for its conquest. However, an unexpected interlude had arisen: her great-nephew was coming to stay.
She knew the reason why he was being sent, but even knowing, she couldn't understand why her nephew, only a century old, was being rushed into dating. In Remilia's memory, Kars was still that small child who barely reached her waist.
"Mistress, should we temporarily halt the plan?" Sakuya stepped before Remilia, slightly surprised by the sudden pause in their strategy.
"Yes. That boy, Kars, is being sent over, so we need to wait." Remilia explained. At the mention of Kars's name, Sakuya's mind conjured the image of the young boy the Mistress was so fond of, though she was unclear why he was being sent to the mansion now.
"Kars's mother wants me to help him find a suitable date. Well, once I take over Gensokyo, that sort of thing will become quite easy, won't it?" Remilia was supremely confident. She believed these were minor issues she could easily resolve. Surely, Kars would worship his little aunt even more afterward, right?
"Once Kars is settled, we'll resume the plan. I'll leave the care of Kars to you, Sakuya, as you have a lot of experience in that area." Remilia thought Sakuya was excellent at handling children. After all, Sakuya used to perform small magic tricks to amuse Kars, which often led to Kars happily sticking close to her.
"Understood." Sakuya had no issue with the arrangement. In fact, she was quite happy to take on the task.
Meanwhile, outside the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Meiling Hong, the gatekeeper, was habitually dozing off, standing guard with her eyes closed. She completely failed to notice a large, red magic circle appearing right above her head. Then, a European-style coffin dropped out of it, landing squarely on her, pinning her to the ground. Startled awake, Meiling instinctively cried out.
"Ahh! Sakuya! I'm sorry! Don't—hmm? What is this?"
The pinned Meiling quickly realized she hadn't been caught slacking. Sakuya always threw knives that would stick into the ground near her head; she had never thrown a coffin.
Lifting the coffin, Meiling stared at it, wondering whose it might be. Just then, it opened by itself. Kars stepped out, looking delighted and slightly surprised as he greeted the thoughtful Meiling.
"Meiling! You're not sleeping? That's rare! Long time no see! Just seeing you makes me feel a burning sensation all over! This… could it be…"
"Get back inside now!"
Meiling didn't wait for Kars to finish. She immediately shoved the now sunburnt, completely red Kars back into the coffin, slammed the lid shut, and rushed inside the mansion with the coffin slung over her shoulder.
"Meiling, why are you not at the gate? Why are you suddenly rushing in here carrying some random coffin?" Remilia and Sakuya looked at the sudden appearance of Meiling and the coffin on her shoulder, confused by her actions. However, Remilia quickly spotted the crest on the coffin and realized who its occupant was.
"Auntie! My mother sent me to you to help me find a wife!" Kars threw open the coffin lid the moment Meiling set it down, stepping out and announcing his mission to Remilia.
"K-Kars? Why are you so big?" Remilia stared up at her great-nephew, whom she now had to look up to. Her expression was one of genuine shock. Why had a vampire barely over a hundred years old grown so large after only a few decades? Had he taken growth hormones?
"I don't know, Auntie. Maybe it's from getting more sun. Sun exposure is good for the body, you know." Kars replied casually. This answer earned him a thorough eye-roll from Remilia. However, watching her centuries-younger nephew grow so large left her feeling complex emotions. How was she supposed to use him now to assert her rare moments of adult-like authority, like she used to?
"Welcome back, Master Kars." Sakuya quickly recovered from Kars's steroid-like growth rate, greeting him with a smile.
"Sakuya!" Seeing her, Kars happily rushed forward and hugged Sakuya. He was delighted by the feeling of being able to hug her entirely, instead of just grabbing onto her leg like he did when he was small.
"Just like when you were a child." Despite his growth, his actions were the same; the moment they met, he ran right up to hug her.
"I can't change much after only a short time, can I?" A few decades felt long to humans, but for a vampire, it passed in the blink of an eye.
"Ahem! Kars, what did I teach you? Have you forgotten all your noble etiquette?" Remilia coughed a few times and adopted a severe expression, reminding him of her past lessons. This authoritative demeanor was one she often used with Kars to project the gravitas of a senior family member.
"Don't worry about things like that, little Auntie." Kars let go of Sakuya and walked over to Remilia. He couldn't help but smile at his aunt, who, despite being five hundred years old, still looked like a child.
"Hm?" Remilia widened her eyes, trying to leverage this simple action to increase her apparent authority, hoping to make Kars feel her seniority. This had worked perfectly before because of the height difference, making the younger Kars feel tense. But now, Kars just thought his little aunt was utterly adorable! ♪(^∇^*)
Why… why isn't it working? Remilia felt a pang of frustration. It always worked before! She watched Kars look back at her with a beaming smile, totally lacking the tension he used to show when she gave him "the look." Feeling disheartened, she glared a few more times just in case.
Remilia: I glare (｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡)
Kars: My little aunt is so cute.