I Didn't Even Want To Live, But God Forced Me To Reincarnate!

I really pray that everyone I love will be able to gain their happiness in the future.

But first, we got to try hard for our imminent future, which was... exams!

Exams and tasks kept coming and going, leaving me with little room to play around.

I could see that Alt-nii and Clavis were pretty much more stressed than they were, as well, with the difficulty of Advanced Level.

Perhaps due to the stress or due to the fact that they were already 13 (biologically, it meant the average age for boys' puberty), I could see that they were pretty irritable, much more than usual.

Ah, but since Alt-nii could still suppress his irritation with a smile and stayed patient, let me correct my previous statement: it was apparent that Clavis seemed pretty irritable these days.

Like, he snapped more often due to little things.

But when Niina scolded him, Clavis would immediately turn silent, which was a good thing.

Still, there were times when Niina had to apologize, and Clavis only remained silent upon seeing his mother apologize.

Luckily for them, we didn't really mind it as we understood that it was a only a stage in his life.

Alt-nii and Clavis' positions were quite reversed.

Alt-nii used to be the one being so naughty that Clavis had to hold him back and sometimes give some advice to him.

But now, it was the opposite.

Perhaps Alt-nii's rebellion stage came early in his life, while Clavis' came late.

It was a good balance, though.

At that time, I had no premonition at all.

Yes, until that time arrived.

It happened during this year's winter.

After we were so happy that we could pass our exams and the first semester to Intermediate Level (Advanced Level for Alt-nii and Clavis), the blissful period of semester break arrived once more.

Just as the employers took their vacation, leaving the Hartmann family alone (with a few employers taking shifts though—some took advantage of the holiday period to work so they could earn more money—clever!), an unprecedented event happened.

Yup, I mentioned that the employers were having holiday break too, right?

That included Niina and obviously her son, Clavis.

Or so we thought.

Until that day, when the snowstorm barely just started.

My family and I were relaxing in front of the fireplace, warming ourselves from the low temperature.

The twins were playing with Rurune, Alt-nii was talking with Dad.

I was sipping hot chocolate while reading a book with Mom. Mom and I really clicked in the way we loved reading.

It was a very tranquil moment, a moment of peace. Despite the snowstorm that was just starting outside.

Only Rurune and the twins' laughter could be heard from time to time, along with Alt-nii and Dad's voices.

And then there was suddenly a different voice.

We immediately discovered the origin of the sound. Why, I mean, it was quite an obvious sound.

"Hmm? Who might it be, at this time of the day?" Mom pondered.

I turned to look at the clock—well, it was almost dusk. Time was of no matter when we were in holidays, furthermore when it was snowing like this, though.

"Are we expecting any guest?" Dad raised his eyebrows.

A maid that was on her shift quickly replied, "No, there shouldn't be any guest on schedule... I'll go check who it is!"

As the maid was about to go towards the front door to open it, Dad stopped her.

"Wait a minute. We shouldn't be too careless. Let me."

The maid was taken aback and didn't know what to do in that moment.

I could understand her train of thoughts. It was her master's order, but then again, a maid's job was to ensure the master's safety and check on the visitor...

But then, Mom also stood up.

"Wait, I'll go."

Mom was about to leave for the front door when the twins stood up and followed her like a chicken.

"Freyr, Freyja, wait here," Mom immediately asked.

Freyr and Freyja tilted their heads as they looked at each other.

I guess they still couldn't grasp the danger that might lie ahead... and they were curious on this unexpected visitor.

Perhaps we were taking too long, as the door was being knocked again. We could hear it properly as the fireplace was in the living room, near the front door.

"Kids, go inside and wait there, okay?" Dad asked.

And at that time, a familiar voice could be heard from outside.

"Uhm... Cassie-sama...? Cyan-sama...? It's me, Niina..."

Her voice sounded different from her usual cheerful voice.

"Niina?!" Freyja exclaimed.

"It's Niina, what is she doing here?" Freyr pondered.

"It's snowing outside, shouldn't we let her in?" I asked in worry.

Mom then nodded at me and said, "Okay, but let me check outside first. Just in case. Right, Cyan?"

"You're right, Cass."

As I was about to ask what she meant by that, Mom closed her eyes and seemed to be muttering a chant. I could see that magic gathered around her, as the magic glowed a bit at her circ.u.mference.

Then, she opened her eyes.

"Okay, she is really our Niina. I'll go open the door for her."

Obviously, to the event that suddenly happened in front of us just like that, the twins and I tilted our heads.

"Mom was using her magic to check on Niina who's outside. To check whether or not she's a fake, to check whether or not she's influenced by someone else or not. Just in case."

"I... see...," I answered in a low voice as I couldn't imagine our beloved Niina would be used by the evil ones against our family.

It was good that it wasn't the case.

When Mom opened the door, we immediately could see Niina standing outside with her thick clothes. However, she wasn't wearing any mufflers, gloves, or other extra clothing to defend herself from the snowstorm.

It was as if Niina left her house in a hurry, only wearing thick indoor clothes.

Though her hair was silver, the snow that stuck to her hair was quite apparent. Not to mention the snow on her clothes.

Her wolf ears and tails were all curled, the air that she breathed turned white as she let it out from her mouth, straight to warm her hands that she lifted up. The area around her nose was a bit red.

As if her condition that I mentioned above wasn't worrying already, I could sense a great anxiety building up in her eyes. She looked as if she could cry at any time.

And it was Niina, the most cheerful and optimistic maid who had taken care of Alt-nii and I since we were babies.

"Niina! What's the matter with you? Come inside first, warm yourself!" Mom urged Niina to come inside.

"Niina-san?! I'll go get some towel and hot water!" The maid that offered to open the door just now immediately moved to fetch some items to warm Niina's body.

"Add some hot drinks, will you?" Alt-nii added.

"Understood, Altaire-sama!"

"Niina, what are you doing? Come inside already!" Mom was surprised to see Niina not bulging, despite the evidence pointing that she was feeling very cold.

After gasping for some air for a while, Niina finally spoke with a trembling voice.

"Cassie-sama... Is he not here...?"

"Eh? He? Who are you talking about?"

"He... Clavis... Has he come here at all?" Niina repeated her words.

"No... Wait, what's the matter with Clavis?" Mom immediately caught something wrong.

I turned to look at Alt-nii. Although his face seemed to be calm, I could tell that he started to feel worried as well. From his eyes, and from the fact that his earlier smile slowly crumbled.

"Niina...?" Mom asked again since Niina was being so quiet.

"...Cassie-sama... What should I do?" Niina's voice shook even further.

Tears seemed to faintly fall from the corner of her eyes as she continued to speak.

"Clavis... He... he's missing! He's nowhere to be seen...!!"