"Willow! Yor! Leo! I'm home!"

  At the same 6 o'clock, every evening without fail, Marcille would shout those words as she barged on the door.

  And like usual, Willow would run up at her and give her a big hug, Marcille would do the same to Yuzuriha but her hug felt more like torture, if anything it felt closer to a wrestling hold. And finally ask Leo about what's cooking.

  The key difference this time being Grace present, and the fact that there was a whole pile of shattered pieces of plates on the ground.

  Marcille's evening return usually happened like that according to Yor's memories, but this time it was different.

  Instead of Willow jumping up to hug Marcille, she was sniffling as she carefully swept up the shattered remains of the five porcelain plates into a dustpan while an angry Marcille scolded her.

  Considering their level of citizenship, it only made sense that she would react like that.

  Within the Southern Kingdom of Tinsel, they lived in a city called Gray City. It was actually home to a lot of lower-class citizens.

  They weren't rich by any means, but they certainly weren't scraping by either. That was evident within the Drapes household, they earned enough to live in a well-maintained apartment, pay taxes, and send their kids to preparatory institutes.

  All of this was thanks to the hardworking young woman, Marcille Drapes. Without her, they could have been living in the slums of the Forsaken Lands.

  The point was in this situation, broken porcelain plates were expensive, she didn't know the exact price but by the name alone they sounded expensive enough.

  Even so, Marcille didn't seem angry, at least not on the inside. Now being able to see the world in strands of color and emotion, Yuzuriha was able to notice something no one else could.

  Externally, the older sister was exhibiting all traits necessary to appear angry like a moderately loud voice, appropriate body language and whatnot, but internally she seemed to be cool, calm and collected, like she was just putting on a front.

  'She's not mad at all. She's just pretending to be for the sake of appearing tough'

  Back in her old world, with her kids. Yuzuriha didn't remember a single instance where she had raised her voice or hand at them, so this was an entirely new experience to her. And she wasn't even on the receiving end to it.

  'Mmm, that explains why they were so spoiled rotten. Neither me or Junichiro had really put our foot down at them. She seems to be better at parenting than I am'

  Yuzuriha didn't know how to feel about that, but she didn't let it get to her. At least, not now.

  "No, no, don't do it like that. Go fetch the broom and sweep thoroughly. You're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing it with your bare hands. I don't want anyone stepping on a missed shard too"

  Marcille sighed as Leo dashed off. Then, she looked at Leo next.

  "I smell duck, really delicious duck. I'm glad. For a moment I thought you wouldn't listen to the instruction I told Yor to rely to you."

  "Um, yes. Of course, I remembered. Other than that, I prepared something rich in taste for our special guest today. Supper is just about ready, let me go finish up"

  "Special guest?"

  She repeated that until her eyes landed onto Grace, who was waving at her. Meanwhile, Willow came back and swept the broken shards.

  "Grace? I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were present. It would be wonderful to have you for supper"

  "That's quite alright. I get that a lot. I can't explain why or how either. Regardless, I'm happy to be here too. Happy to get a chance to taste the famous cooking of Leopold Drapes"

  Yuzuriha couldn't tell or explain what she meant by the first part, but that seemed to be just the extent of it.

  Now back on the broken plates. Again, she didn't know how much they were worth, but they were no doubt expensive and replacing them meant costs. That's if they were planning to replace them.

  Still, Marcille let her angry act slip just long enough to crouch down and help Willow gather the shards.

  "It's alright, mistakes happen all the time. Just be more careful next time"

  As she said that, her voice was low and gentler. Totally matching the state of emotion, she was feeling internally.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Again, Yuzuriha had nothing against Marcille being a better parent than her!

  ***

  After a crushing bear hug she thought she survived, everyone settled around the rectangular dining table. It was now scrubbed clean of shards and smelling of steam and herbs.

  Yuzuriha sat to Marcille's right, with Willow to her left. Leo's position at the head of the table as a proud chef was taken by their guest Grace.

  He didn't really mind, showing his maturity.

  For tonight's dish, it was duck and onion stew, a hearty and slow cooked stew Leo prepared wonderfully.

  "It smells…amazing"

  Muttered Yuzuriha with a voice full of wonder as she stared at her food. Of course, she couldn't see it in the traditional sense. All she could see was a luminous dish wrapped in golden threads of energy.

  In short, she couldn't see the appeal of what made it delicious visually, but she could tell with that heavenly smell that made her stomach grumble even more. She was not the only one, everyone around the table shared the same reaction.

  'I've been passed out for 5 hours, so it makes sense I'm this hungry!'

  "Thanks for the food!"

  They all said to pay homage to the one who prepared this wonderful meal and began to eat.

  With that said and done, she reached for her utensils and just when she was about to dig in, Marcille interrupted.

  "Grace, quick question. Can you explain to me why my little sister's astris feels different?"

  With just a simple question, the tension that had the atmosphere on a chokehold earlier returned and was more suffocating than before.

  A spoon full of delicious duck meat stew was just inches away from Yuzuriha's lips before she had to pause it. She envied those who had already started eating.

  Willow was noisily slurping down her stew, completely ignorant to what was happening. Her mood had lifted as well so this was good.

  Leo on the other hand ate, but the way his spoon had stalled in the bowl and flickers in his astris proved that he had picked up something between the two adults.

  Yuzuriha on the other hand couldn't ignore them even if she tried. When you zoom out, she was just a kid on the grownups table. It went the same way when you zoom in too.

  The similarity she couldn't overlook was that the topic was about her, so by default she had to pay attention and get involved in whatever way she could.

  "I suppose there's no point in hiding it now. Like your little sister you are bright yourself, Marci. You were going to find out eventually. Don't be alarmed. I assure you its nothing serious….at least for now"

  Grace spoke while dabbing her lips delicately with a cloth napkin she brought herself.

  "This is really delicious Leo. You definitely outdid yourself on this one. I must have the recipe"

  "T-thank you. I tried the recipe Mrs. Claude from next door gave me last week. I added my own spice mix though. Willow says it smells like potpourri"

  "That's because it does smell like potpourri!"

  Willow made a face as she stabbed her barley with a fork. To Yuzuriha it appeared like a featureless canvas of energy.

  Other than that, Grace chuckled to Leo and Willow's responses. But that did nothing to the elephant in the room.

  Marcille didn't seem satisfied with the response Grace gave her. She wasn't eating her delicious food, which in turn made Yuzuriha uncomfortably not want to eat as well.

  'This is making my stomach hurt. How can they eat and pretend like nothing's wrong?'

  For a moment, there was warm laughter and chatter around the table. That was until the oldest sister opened her mouth again, talking directly to Grace.

  "Two times. That's how much I've felt the change in Yor's astris. The first was when I came back from work last evening. It was different from the little sister I knew, I even mistaken her for a Fallen Soul. Hurting her as a result. I deeply regret that.

  The second is right now, a repeat of yesterday. Unlike before, her astris seems calmer now, more managed and contained. This is the kind of mastery Ascendants have. It's unsettling, she's still too young"

  Marcille took a moment to breathe then said.

  "I love my little sister, but by no means do I consider her a genius. No one alive is capable of mastering astris control overnight, especially at her age. There has to be something off. What did you do to my little sister Grace?"

  Yuzuriha stiffened under a pressure that plagued the room. Her fingers curled under the table and tightened her grip on the spoon. This was her first meal in hours and suddenly she already felt like vomiting without even taking a bite.

  'What's happening?'

  Whatever this was, she was clearly not the only one feeling it. The table shook and it felt as if the walls were closing in on them. Same went for gravity that seemed to have suddenly plummet.

  The two kids at the table didn't take it so well either. Leo had his head down while tightly gripping his fork. Willow shielded her head with both arms.

  Their forms seemed to shrink in an uncomfortable body posture, as if enduring whatever it was that was affecting them.

  All of this seemed to be emanating from one person.

  Marcille Drapes.

  However, as always, Grace remained poised. Somehow, she didn't seem affected.

  "Hmm. That's quite the observation and I understand your motives, dear. But I'm afraid I cannot speak on it too directly. Confidential study, you understand"

  That was not a satisfying reply and a silent blaze of fury ignited beneath Marcille's usual composed demeanor. It was a lot different from when she was pretending with Willow. This time, she was actually pissed off.

  The air became thick and hot, making breathing a chore. Even the window of the kitchen began to form cracks like thin ice.

  However, that suffocating pressure disappeared with a sigh.

  The room returned to its peaceful state as if nothing had happened and all the kids took reliving gasps. Marcille released a long breath and lowered her head.

  "I'm sorry. To all of you. I didn't mean to lose control like that. I…"

  She turned to Yuzuriha, Willow and Leo first with a much gentler voice now.

  "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that. I'm really a bad older sister"

  Without giving them a chance to reply back, she looked at Grace and said.

  "I'm sorry to you too Grace. I know you've done so much for us since father disappeared. You helped us with food on bad days, took your time to educate Yor and even when we were having trouble with rent and the landlord wanted to kick us out.

  You didn't have to do all that. I owe you so much, Grace. I do. But please, I'm begging you…tell me the truth. What's happening to my sister?"

  There was a brief pause as new information flooded Yuzuriha's mind. It wasn't much different from what Marcille was saying so there was no need to go over it.

  The interesting bit was the part about a father who disappeared and Marcille's vulnerability.

  She didn't know how to explain or comprehend them. Meanwhile, Grace placed her utensils down with a soft clink and let out a defeated sigh.

  "I cannot believe this is happening for the second time today. You sisters really are alike. Fine, I'll tell you what happened. Nothing but the truth"