I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills

Chapter 46 Kraush’s Sister

Rattle—

With the sound of the carriage, Kraush opened his eyes that were shut.

It had been several days since he decided to return to Balheim, and Kraush had been living in the carriage continuously.

But that too would soon come to an end.

They were about to arrive.

In his view, Bianca was tightly hugging his arm, sound asleep.

Ever since Kraush regained his right arm, she had been sleeping, always clinging to that arm.

It seemed the memory of Kraush losing his arm had become a trauma for Bianca.

Kraush lifted his hand and gently stroked Bianca’s white hair.

Her small head swayed with Kraush’s hand, and her tightly shut eyes slightly scrunched, as if complaining about being disturbed in her sleep.

“Umm.”

Even so, she pressed her head closer into his hand, which made Kraush let out a small chuckle unintentionally.

Thud!

That moment, the carriage came to a stop.

Worried that Bianca might fall from the seat, Kraush wrapped his arms around her and lifted his head.

The familiar sight greeted him.

Green Pine Mansion.

Finally, they had returned to this place.josei

“Bianca.”

When Kraush called her, Bianca belatedly fluttered her eyelids open.

Still half-asleep, she looked around with her eyes not fully open.

“We’ve arrived. Go to your room and sleep.”

“Okay.”

Bianca got up shakily from her seat.

Kraush watched her uneasily and, as expected, caught her as she nearly stumbled out of the carriage door.

He let out an inevitable sigh and effortlessly lifted her, supporting her legs and body.

Bianca, still not in her growth phase, was extremely light.

Trusting Kraush, she naturally leaned against his chest.

Kraush had no choice but to step out of the carriage in this state.

“Master Kraush, it’s been a while since we’ve seen you.”

In that moment, Kraush saw Aliod, who came to greet him.

It really had been a long time.

Just to obtain a single Golden Dragon Grass, what an ordeal it had been.

Winter had passed, and spring was nearly upon them.

‘Soon it’ll be time for the new term to start at Rahelrn Academy.’

Kraush was still 14 years old.

He hadn’t reached the minimum age requirement for the Academy just yet.

Training without fail until next year was a must.

“Aliod, I’ll head to Bianca’s room. Report to me what’s been happening in Green Pine Mansion in the meantime.”

“Yes. First, after hearing reports about you being in Hardenhartz, someone from the Balheim family came looking for you, Master Kraush.”

Normally, it’d be enough to dismiss them, but this time it couldn’t be helped.

“That’s why we prepared a report saying you went with Lady Bianca, and we made sure that any objections from Green Pine Mansion wouldn’t be raised due to missing information during the relay process. Usually, the man responsible for handling this acted negligently and treated Master Kraush with disdain, so the family has investigated his conduct and work performance and decided to dismiss him.”

Exactly how it was handled is unknown, but it seems Aliod has taken care of it himself.

As expected of Aliod.

Efficient.

“Next is.”

“There was further discussion at the Balheim household about the Butcher Hounds you took care of.”

Of course.

Kraush had suspected it would come to this.

Kraush had recently sparked a few doubts in Balheim with his actions.

And this incident would certainly be the final stroke in their suspicions about the revival of the Balheim loser.

“The Chief Steward will likely be coming to Green Pine Mansion soon.”

The Chief Steward.

The highest position among the Balheim stewards and the only one who grades the direct lineage.

He assigns scores to the direct lineage and then sends them directly to the family head with his authority.

And during this process, the futures of those in the direct lineage are decided.

Kraush had always been ranked the lowest.

That’s why he couldn’t avoid ending up in Green Pine Mansion.

But now that Kraush seemed to have changed, the Chief Steward is coming for a reevaluation.

‘This is troublesome.’

Originally, he intended to leave only a meaningful impression on Balheim.

But now, due to this incident, there’s no escaping Balheim’s watchful eye.

‘Well, it’s fine. There are ways I can use this to my advantage.’

Above all, he needed Balheim’s power to meet the one with the Lunar Body.

“What’s next?”

“Lady Darling Danphelion left a message. She asked that you bring the materials as soon as you return.”

Are they ready on their end?

Originally, the whole journey started for the sake of gathering materials to make an Elixir.

Kraush nodded.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Not at all. And Master Kraush.”

It seemed there was more to report, so Kraush turned to Aliod, who now bore a slightly troubled expression.

It was rare for Aliod to wear such a look.

Kraush showed his concern.

“Lady Charlotte has been staying at Green Pine Mansion.”

At the following words, Kraush’s body stiffened.

What did he just hear?

Who’s staying at Green Pine Mansion?

“…Aliod, say that again.”

“Lady Charlotte has been staying here, in Green Pine Mansion. She’s been making herself at home in your room.”

Upon hearing the rest, Kraush felt a dizzying sensation.

‘Has the cooldown period passed already?’

Charlotte often visited Green Pine Mansion.

There wasn’t particularly any reason for it.

She just came unannounced, talked endlessly about her issues, and always left him annoyed before departing.

He didn’t even want to think about how drained he’d felt every time.

And now, Charlotte was here.

Which meant something unexpected could happen again.

“Did you tell my sister I’d arrived?”

“Not yet.”

In that moment, Kraush was about to tell him not to inform her.

But suddenly, Kraush’s sixth sense instinctively twitched.

“…It’s too late.”

The footsteps coming from around the corner of the corridor.

As soon as Kraush heard the sound, he clicked his tongue and looked in that direction.

In that moment, hair that held both the hues of blue and black fluttered once.

There she was, slightly taller than Kraush, walking towards him slowly.

With sharp eyes reminiscent of Kraush’s and a radiant beauty fit for Arya’s daughter.

Especially her eyes, which had an almost imperceptible shine, brought an eerie feeling to those who saw them.

“Ahh.”

Swordstar

Charlotte Balheim

The appearance of Kraush’s sister.

She glanced at Kraush’s right arm and then, her eyes not smiling, only the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.

That unique smile of Charlotte somehow gave off chills.

Her eyes didn’t smile.

Only her voice, tinged with mockery, and the corners of her mouth raised, expressed what might be called a smile.

“Hello, little brother. You made your sister wait so long, I thought I’d die of boredom.”

“…Sister.”

Kraush looked at her with obvious discomfort.

She should’ve been on a World Eroding expedition; was she back already?

‘I’ve never seen Charlotte like this around this time of year.’

Kraush emitted a hollow laugh as he felt the wild current emanating from Charlotte.

‘She surpassed it.’

She had overcome the wall of master level.

And all of that at the mere age of 15.

‘Is she a monster?’

It was an event rare even in the history of Balheim.

For someone to enter the threshold of masters at 15, there was no monster quite like it.

Even with regression, someone was still far from reaching the master level.

But she had reached the realm of a master at 15, through pure talent alone.

The reason Kraush truly considered her a monster, though, lay elsewhere.

Charlotte didn’t contract with a deity.

And that remained true in the future.

Despite likely having received the most contract offers from gods, she rejected divine contracts altogether.

Using nothing but her sword, she reached the pinnacle of the swordsmanship realm—a human myth.

That was the monster called Charlotte Balheim.

‘Astonishing.’

Once again, Kraush swallowed a dry chuckle as he realized the extent of Charlotte’s talent.

Some struggled desperately, gobbling up everything they could handle, and yet she reached the peak through pure talent alone.

The staggering difference was apparent without needing to be said.

“Little brother, lately there’re some interesting rumors.”

In the meantime, Charlotte approached Kraush.

She still sported a smile with just the corners of her mouth lifted as she pressed on Bianca’s cheek with her hand.

“They say you’ve become a gallant knight, throwing yourself into the fray for your fiancée.”

Kraush turned, blocking Charlotte’s hand from reaching Bianca.

Observing him, Charlotte studied Kraush for a while and then withdrew her hand.

“Don’t worry. I won’t take her. She’s your precious fiancée after all.”

She was unpredictable.

Knowing her nature, Kraush remained on edge for what she might do.

“Still, I’m a bit miffed. My little brother is looking at me like that.”

“I find it hard to welcome someone who enters my house uninvited.”

Charlotte tilted her head.

“My house? Dear brother. Balheim is our home no matter where it is.”

With that, she casually tapped the wall beside her.

The arrogance on her face suggested she owned all of Balheim.

“A place with the name Balheim is our home. It’s rather shabby treatment to get, considering I’ve come to my own house.”

In that moment, Kraush unconsciously put some distance between them.

The energy she emitted formed an oppressive aura.

“Don’t you think it’s too harsh? Little brother?”

Charlotte had a willful temperament.

Different from their father Balrok’s cold eyes, her personality resembled her mother Arya’s, characterized by an emotional side.

In fact, Kraush was similar in that respect.

After all, they were siblings.

However, Charlotte was especially polar as her exterior and inner persona contrasted glaringly.

One might say she deviated from the specimen of ‘living as one looks.’

And just before, Kraush had felt that oppressive aura coming from Charlotte.

For some reason, Charlotte appeared to be angry.

From the very first moment, she saw him.

“…Sister, are you angry right now?”

Therefore, Kraush decided to ask outright.

Dealing with Charlotte head-on was always better than her backhanded tactics.

“How does it look to you?”

“You look angry.”

“That’s right. I am angry. I thought I was the closest to our little brother, but you didn’t tell me anything.”

Close, my foot.

Kraush was momentarily struck by a sense of the absurd.

“Little brother, you’ve made a contract with a god.”

But the moment Charlotte saw Kraush, she realized he had contracted with a deity.

“Moreover, an expert of the mid-level. Our little brother has grown quite a bit.”

Charlotte followed up with a statement on Kraush’s level.

Kraush bit his lip.

He knew what insight she had gained.

‘Heart’s Eye.’

The Eye that pierces through all.

She had opened the Heart’s Eye with talent alone, when others couldn’t achieve it in a lifetime.

And she saw through Kraush’s level with it.

“And why do I distinctly feel a bad energy coming from our little brother, somewhat strange.”

However, upon hearing the following words, Kraush tensed up.

She hadn’t opened the Heart’s Eye.

The next stage.

‘Star’s Eye?’

Was Charlotte at this level at this time?

Star’s Eye allowed viewing through stars and could even see through World Erosion.

But as Crimson Garden said, just because it was her, she couldn’t conclusively say it was the energy of World Erosion.

She must’ve perceived it as a curse.

‘I see why the Butcher Hound was defeated by Charlotte.’

Once she opened the Star’s Eye, the Butcher Hound’s illusions become pointless.

She could see through everything with the Star’s Eye.

The problem was that Kraush was also transparent to Charlotte right now.

Being invested with the power of World Erosion, he wasn’t going to be viewed favorably.

Charlotte might even try to kill him considering it all.

So it was best to brazenly play it off as carrying a curse.

“What’s all this hanging off of you?”

“Just trying everything out.”

Charlotte gazed at Kraush intently.

One might wonder if she would comment on the fact that he carried a curse with him, but fortunately, she didn’t say anything more.

“Sure, my little brother is like me.”

And instead, she seemed accepting of it.

Knowing the stubborn nature they shared, eventually, even poison would be swallowed if it came to it.

‘Though Charlotte is more like mother than me.’

But Kraush didn’t bother to correct her.

“Thanks to that, you defeated the Butcher Hound too, and our little brother became much stronger.”

Amid Kraush’s tension, Charlotte once again raised the corners of her mouth slowly.

“Leave that child in her room, and come to the training ground.”

Charlotte said and turned around.

“My little brother’s abilities, I should take a look for myself.”

A confrontation with Charlotte was suddenly set in motion.