That day, when Robin saw Kalifa hurrying back to her bedroom, she felt a bit curious. Unable to resist, she secretly used her ability to sprout a small ear behind Kalifa.
Kalifa, too anxious to get back and make her call, didn't notice a thing. She entered the bedroom carrying that little ear, and the contents of her conversation with her father flowed straight into Robin's ear.
Realizing she was being eavesdropped on, Kalifa glared at Robin in embarrassment and anger. Robin scratched her cheek awkwardly and said,
"Sorry, it's just… that day you were acting really strange, blushing all the time, so I couldn't help myself… I promise I won't do it again!"
Sitting on Robin's other side, Olvia roughly understood what had happened. She immediately grabbed Robin by the ear and scolded,
"You little girl! Kalifa just moved in here, and you're already eavesdropping on her calls? You're getting more and more out of hand!"
Feeling guilty, Robin stuck out her tongue over and over, sending Kalifa an apologetic look.
Kalifa wasn't truly angry about the incident. Seeing Robin's sincere attitude, she chose not to pursue it further. She said softly,
"Olvia, Robin already admitted her mistake. Please forgive her this time."
Across the table, Sugar watched Robin get scolded and clapped her hands happily.
"No way! Olvia-san, don't let her off! …Eh, wait, did I get the generation wrong?"
Robin blinked twice and muttered,
"Kalifa, shouldn't you be calling her -san…"
Olvia's face turned slightly red. Kalifa, however, remained composed as she said,
"Oh, my apologies. It's just that Olvia-san looks so young that I misspoke."
Of course, Kalifa knew exactly who Olvia was. Coming from an intelligence family herself, she was well aware of the Ohara incident. She had deliberately called her by name. Come on—could someone with low emotional intelligence ever become a spy?
Sure enough, no woman likes being called old. Even a scholar like Olvia was no exception. Lowering her gaze at Robin, who was still pouting, Olvia's temper flared. She tapped Robin on the head and said,
"Quit making faces!"
"...You're even scolding me for this?"
The corner of Olvia's mouth twitched at that word. She immediately twisted Robin's ear and spun it around.
Robin was completely broken now, finally starting to beg for mercy.
This time, Kalifa stepped in to stop it.
"Alright, alright, Olvia-san, that really hurts…"
"Hmph! If it didn't hurt, she wouldn't learn her lesson. Calling me that… tch!"
Though she said so, Olvia still let go of Robin's ear. She even rubbed it twice before crossing her arms, glaring sidelong at Robin, who sat there clutching her ear and whining.
Robin mumbled something under her breath. Olvia shot her another sharp look, pretending she was about to grab her ear again. Robin immediately shrank back, too afraid to make a sound.
Across the table, Sugar had enjoyed the entire scene thoroughly. Watching Robin get scolded was as satisfying as eating ice cream made by her sister Monet herself. Shaking her head like an old lady, she said,
"Robin, you're not a kid anymore. You should really watch what you say! Don't keep making Olvia-san angry!"
With that, Sugar picked up a grape the size of a ping-pong ball with her fingers, popped it into her mouth, and let a look of pure enjoyment appear on her face. Robin clenched her teeth, seething.
Kalifa, meanwhile, sat there smiling, secretly relieved that the topic of her sister seemed to have passed.
But then Monet's voice drifted over.
"Eh, Kalifa, you have a sister too? You never mentioned that before."
"..."
At those words, every eye at the table turned back toward Kalifa. With no choice, she sighed inwardly and slowly said,
"Yes. Robin already mentioned it earlier. Her name is Alpha—she's my biological sister."
Hearing that Kalifa also had a real younger sister, Monet suddenly felt a bit closer to her. She rubbed Sugar's head affectionately. This time, Sugar obediently closed her eyes and nuzzled into her sister's palm.
"Your work before was… special. I'm guessing you haven't seen your sister in a long time, right? Do you miss her?"
Watching Monet and Sugar's intimate bond, Kalifa couldn't help but feel envious. Ever since she was a child, she had been sent off alone to a spy training facility. She couldn't even count how many times she had longed for that kind of family warmth. But after years of brutal training, those feelings had faded, until they were eventually buried deep inside her heart.
Kalifa let out a soft sigh. With no other thoughts at that moment, she quietly said,
"The truth is, my relationship with her was never that close. To be honest, we're almost strangers. We were sent to two different training facilities when we were very young…"
...
Kalifa recounted her childhood. Monet couldn't help but sigh afterward.
"Your father is truly ruthless. Do spies really have no room for family bonds?"
"Family… heh."
Kalifa gave a self-mocking smile. According to the spy agency's doctrine, the commands of the World Government outweighed everything. To carry out an order, they were expected to kill even their own kin without hesitation.
Before joining Lucci's CP9 unit, Kalifa really had been a cold, unfeeling woman. But after spending time with that band of ridiculous teammates, she had slowly regained her humanity.
That was why she was truly grateful to Carl from the bottom of her heart—because he had saved both her and her companions.
At this point, Monet's compassion overflowed. Seeing Kalifa sitting there looking so desolate, she said softly,
"Kalifa, your situation is different now. You're the young master's woman. If you want to see your sister, all you need to do is say so—no one would dare stop you."
Monet's kindness touched Kalifa's heart. She pressed her lips together and said in a low voice,
"Thank you, Monet. But honestly, when I called my father to ask about my sister, it wasn't entirely out of pure motives. I just thought… if I brought my sister here too, maybe Carl-sama would value me a little more…"
"Eh?? Kalifa, how could you think that? Is it because you don't feel safe living here?"
"...It just feels a little unreal, like I'm dreaming…"
"There's nothing unreal about it."
Having remained silent until now, Lucia set down her fork and knife and said calmly,
"Right now, you belong to the young master. That's a fact no one can change. If you really want to see her, then bring her here. Whether she can stay or not depends entirely on Carl-sama's decision."
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+110 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg