One of the specialties of Belverk's third daughter, Lilien Nox Belverk, was eavesdropping and tailing.
Of course, she didn't have any peculiar tastes like that. It was a skill she'd inevitably picked up because her position in the family was so precarious.
In truth, while it was an unwritten rule that no one was to interfere in the successor competition within Belverk, that didn't mean factions didn't exist at all.
They weren't out in the open, but influential retainers or nobles of the empire covertly supported candidates, and the second and eldest daughters had quite solid backing.
But even that was a pipe dream for third daughter Lilien. Information that should have come to her just by sitting in her seat had to be gathered by running around on her own two feet.
That was why her eavesdropping and tailing had long since become ingrained as survival skills.
When Lilien was serious about hiding herself, even Astridje the Duke, called the empire's undisputed strongest, would have a hard time detecting her.
"...Hm?"
But lately, someone had appeared who threatened that status of hers.
- Peek...
That's right. Kairen, who was blatantly peeking out from behind her with persistent eyes as she headed to her room for a late dinner.
'What the hell is wrong with that kid?'
It had already been over five days since Kairen started following her around like a shadow.
At first, Lilien had ignored him, thinking he'd tire himself out eventually, but after a full five days of tailing, even she couldn't help but get annoyed.
- Whoosh...
Yet whenever she turned her head to meet his eyes, he immediately hid himself.
It wasn't like they were playing hide-and-seek, so Lilien had no idea why he was acting like that.
'...Should I just kill him?'
Today, as usual, the moment she turned her head and he vanished, Lilien glared quietly at the spot where he'd been, then suddenly toyed with the knife hidden in her bosom as that thought crossed her mind.
Honestly, if she went after him now, she could kill him without issue. She sensed Schwarz nearby, but the maid couldn't match up to the Crimson Eyes anyway.
"Tch..."
But Lilien, who had been fiddling with the knife with a chilling expression, soon shook her head and let go.
'Not yet. It's not time.'
No matter how overwhelmingly advantageous she was, if Schwarz staked her life on it—as she'd said before—Lilien might have to risk losing an eye.
That would be disastrous. Half her power would get her culled and expelled from the family for sure.
Besides, Kairen currently had Mother's favor, however begrudgingly. Mother was still trying to separate personal and official matters, but what would happen if Lilien truly tried to kill him? Thinking about it, she had to hold back from getting blood on her own hands.
And Kairen's still-unrevealed Unique Ability was another variable.
Unlike Mother and the Belverk sisters, whose abilities were known to some extent, Kairen's Unique Ability was still shrouded in mystery.
On top of that, Kairen was pureblood. It could be different from Lilien, who had gained the Crimson Eyes through what could be called a cheat method.
'Frustrating, but I can only bide my time for now...'
Even for hot-tempered Lilien, who often lost her cool and held grudges, all those reasons hanging over her forced her to stay cool-headed.
Belverk wasn't a place where bravado alone could solve everything. That was another secret to her survival up to this age.
"..."
And, though she hated to admit it, there was also that incident from a few days ago.
She didn't want to admit it, but if he hadn't lied then, she didn't even want to imagine what might have happened.
"...Ha?"
Anyway, she'd regained her composure and started walking again when she suddenly sensed a suspicious presence behind her and turned.
- Whoosh!
This time, Kairen, peeking out from Schwarz's arms, quickly vanished from her sight again.
"These damn bastards..."
At that point, even Lilien, trying to hold onto her reason, couldn't help but snap.
"Today, I'm killing those little shits."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Hey, you crazy bastards."
"Wah!"
"It's not like it's the first day or anything. Why do you keep following me?"
I'd been hiding desperately in Schwarz's arms, but Lilien caught up in an instant and cornered us at the end of the hallway.
"Please refrain from profanity in front of Young Master."
"Bullshit. I don't give a fuck."
"...My, Young Master. Cover your ears."
My third sister, confirming no one was around after glancing about, immediately unleashed a barrage of curses, and Schwarz pretended to be shocked while covering my ears.
"Why the hell are you freaking out? Huh? At least tell me the reason before you kill me."
But I grabbed her arm and carefully lowered it, then met Lilien's eyes straight on and spoke.
"I have a proposal."
"What?"
"That's why I've been following you."
Of course, the past five days of hide-and-seek had all been for this moment.
More precisely, I'd been waiting for Lilien, fed up with being ignored, to come to me in a rage.
"Then just say it outright."
"...Well, when it came time to actually say it, I got nervous."
"You really know how to piss me off."
Even though I'd prepared myself, my whole body was trembling uncontrollably.
Was this really just a girl 2-3 years older than me standing before me?
The red killing intent spreading out and filling the surroundings was suffocating.
"I don't know what nonsense you're trying to say, but it's pointless anyway."
"..."
"Why should I accept your proposal?"
But I couldn't back down here, so I took a deep breath and met Lilien's eyes again.
"You have no choice but to accept."
And in that instant, Lilien's expression twitched ever so slightly.
"Yeah, I knew it."
"..."
"Fucking Belverks. All the same damn bastards."
She ground her teeth for a while to swallow her anger, then glared at me coldly and asked.
"Fine, spit it out. What do you want?"
She seemed to think I was blackmailing her using the 'blue flower' as leverage.
But I had no intention of wasting this chance on such a low blow.
The actions the third brother in a romance fantasy raising story takes early on were already crystal clear in my mind.
So, as a devoted reader of raising stories, shouldn't I use that to paint a bigger picture?
Of course, I'd already sketched the outline. The groundwork was done, and I'd confirmed touching the trap Lilien had set.
"Tch, friends."
Now it was time to roll the dice.
"Wanna be secret friends with me?"
"...What?"
"...S-Sis."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"...Who the fuck is your sis."
Lilien stared at Kairen with a blank expression for a while before speaking in a cold voice.
"And what bullshit is this about friends..."
"...Young Master Kairen said he wants to form an alliance."
But before she could finish, Schwarz chimed in with perfect timing.
"Ah, right. A secret alliance."
"...Uh, yeah. Something like that."
"Heh, first you said I should be scared of you, and now you've come to your senses?"
Only then did Lilien smirk faintly and step forward toward Kairen, who was reacting awkwardly for some reason.
"If that's it, sure, I'm open to it."
"...Really?"
"But words alone won't cut it."
Suddenly, she turned serious and glared at the two in front of her.
"I have one condition."
"...W-What is it?"
"Accept or not, your choice. But if you refuse, don't show your face in front of me again. It won't be a loss for me."
Schwarz, hearing those words, widened her eyes momentarily and glanced at Kairen.
"I went to the Mist Forest near the territory recently and lost an earring."
"...No way."
"I'd like you to retrieve it."
It sounded like a reasonable request at first glance, but the catch was elsewhere.
Belverk's Mist Forest was a dangerous zone that had long served as the coming-of-age trial ground for successors since the family's founding.
It teemed with powerful magical beasts that even the historically monster-treated successors had to risk their lives against—a place current Kairen absolutely shouldn't go.
'Alliance my ass. Proposing that in Belverk makes you an idiot.'
Naturally, Kairen was at a loss for words upon hearing the condition, and a quiet smile crept onto Lilien's lips.
'Looks like his Unique Ability hasn't awakened yet.'
Of course, the Mist Forest was dangerous, but retrieving an earring—not passing the trial—was something doable for a Crimson Eyes bearer.
But if Kairen was hesitating this much, his Unique Ability truly hadn't awakened.
He wouldn't be proposing an alliance to someone like her if it had—Astridje's own son.
'If he refuses, I draw the line now. If he accepts, even better for me.'
For Lilien, who had sworn never to trust anyone in Belverk, this was the perfect scheme.
'I know one of your weaknesses.'
If Kairen without a Unique Ability valued his life, he wouldn't go there himself. He'd surely send Schwarz, who had to obey her master's orders.
If Belverk blood ran in him—or if he was human at all—that's what he'd do. She'd never met anyone who valued others over themselves in her life.
Even Kairen proposing this alliance—wasn't he using that day's incident? No need to feel guilty then.
'Without that Schwarz by your side, I can easily take you out.'
Anyway, game over then. The moment no one was left to guard him, she could use the weakness she'd overheard last night—deal a fatal blow without dirtying her hands...
"Ah, got it."
Lilien, who'd been watching Kairen's expression while organizing her thoughts internally, smiled victoriously at his response.
"Just bring back the earring, right?"
"...Yeah, yeah."
Because in a fight she couldn't lose, Kairen had foolishly accepted.
"Bring it back, and we'll be allies or friends or whatever."
Why? Because she'd never even set foot in the Mist Forest.
There was no way the earring safely tucked in the third drawer of her room was in some forest. Schwarz wouldn't return to his side for quite a while.
"Hey, promise?"
"...Yeah, yeah."
For some reason, feeling like she could finally stretch out and sleep well tonight, Lilien smiled faintly once more.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"...What?"
That night, Lilien overcame her usual insomnia and slept deeply, stretching out comfortably.
"Hey, say it again."
"It's..."
But the next morning, as she rose feeling refreshed, the news from her confidant shattered that refreshment entirely.
"Young Master Kairen went missing last night."
The entire Belverk Ducal House was in an uproar over Kairen's sudden disappearance.
"...Huh?"