Chapter 24

"......What is this?"

The moment Urban entered Emma's hut laboratory, he asked her with a strained smile.

"What do you mean, Uncle? These are silkworms."

Emma answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"......Aren't they too big?"

Silkworms are insects. Normally, they shouldn't grow more than 10 centimeters in length, and the enormous larva that William was holding, which Urban, an expert in the field, couldn't believe, was a silkworm.

The silkworms were... 50 centimeters long... and plump.

"A year ago, when Uncle sent me a research report asking if silkworms could be made larger, I tried it out too."

Emma spoke with sparkling eyes, explaining that she had tried everything from food and mating to the environment. She succeeded in making them grow large by switching from mulberry leaves to a feed she had developed through trial and error. She believed that 50 centimeters was the best size for breeding and cost.

However, she wondered if the color of the silk could be influenced by the feed and wanted Uncle's opinion. Emma spoke with sparkling eyes.

Genius.

Urban thought. Indeed, the report he had sent contained several hypotheses on how to make silkworms larger, but each hypothesis required a vast number of samples, processes, and comparisons. Even university researchers had given up on the extremely troublesome hypothesis. Yet, his niece had accomplished it. It was rare for such an experiment to yield results, but this one did. Was it even biologically sound?

"Emma, did you research this on your own?"

"Hmm? Georg and William helped me with the care and feeding. The comparative tests were quite challenging since each silkworm was given a different feed."

Emma smiled. Even in such moments, his niece was adorable. William looked away, remembering the ordeal. It must have been quite difficult.

While he was at university, he knew that the quality of silk from his family's estate had improved. The climate in Pales was warm and suitable for silkworms, but the quality was inexplicably good. When he asked his brother in a letter, he only said they had good researchers and assistants. It was understandable that he couldn't write about confidential matters, but he never imagined it would be his young niece and nephew. Now, he could understand why his brother hadn't told him. It was probably unexpected for his brother as well, and he still couldn't comprehend it.

While Urban was deep in thought, Emma suddenly remembered something and brought a large insect cage from the next room.

"Uncle, let me introduce you to my favorite spider!"

Why a spider now? Urban thought, but he peered into the cage. Inside was a large... purple spider, about the size of Emma's face.

Why is the spider so huge too? Urban was astonished.

"Isn't it a beautiful purple? Just like Uncle's eyes, a clear purple! That's why I named it Violet!"

Emma... the issue isn't the color, it's the size!

His point of surprise was off.

But the spider with the Stewart family's unique eye color was indeed beautiful, and Emma's enthusiasm in introducing it was endearing. Emma was the only one among the siblings with her mother's green eyes.

Emma was taking the spider out of the cage. William, noticing Urban's bitter expression, provided additional information.

"This spider ate the feed used to make the silkworms grow large."

So that's why the spider is so big? Nephew, that's not how it works. Growing large doesn't happen so quickly.

The spider climbed up Emma's arm and settled on her head. The scene was quite something.

"Right, this spider is amazing!"

Emma continued to gush with sparkling eyes. At this point, nothing could surprise him. There couldn't be anything more surprising than the giant silkworms and spider.

"When I put this spider on my head, I can run incredibly fast!"

It was beyond comprehension...

Three days earlier.

After being scolded for going out late at night, they decided to test Emma's speed.

In the courtyard, with the family and the cat watching, Emma ran at full speed.

"?"

"?"

"?"

"Meow?"

It was normal.

She was immediately left behind by Komai, who ran with her. Georg could easily keep up, and William could catch up if he tried. It was a normal young lady's run.

"Huh?"

Emma couldn't even complete a lap around the courtyard and was out of breath, tilting her head. She hadn't felt tired no matter how many kilometers she ran, and she could probably jump two meters high, though she hadn't mentioned it because she didn't want to be caught.

Leonardo and Mersa looked at Georg.

"No, no, it's not a lie! And in the dark, she ran without hesitation, in slippers!"

Emma had been so eager that she ran in slippers. The next morning, after various shocks had subsided, Mersa found the muddy slippers and scolded her again.

"Maybe it was because it was night?"

William suggested that Emma's speed might be conditional. He didn't want to compare her to werewolves or vampires, but that night, they went out to the courtyard again, with the family and the cat watching, and ran.

It was normal.

Komai also ran slowly, keeping pace with Emma.

It was dangerous at night, so the cat was being considerate.

Emma was slower due to poor visibility. She hadn't noticed the darkness until she tripped and fell after being caught by the men.

"Adrenaline rush?"

William grunted, trying to explain the unexplainable phenomenon. Leonardo and Mersa looked at Georg.

"It's not a lie..."

There was no point in lying about this, but Georg's voice was getting softer. The family was enveloped in a mood of disbelief.

Komai placed a paw on Emma's head and patted it.

"Meow"

The paw felt soft and pleasant on her head.

"Ah!"

The three brothers' voices overlapped.

"Spider!"

They remembered that she had the spider on her head at the time. William immediately went to get the spider.

While waiting, Emma was scolded for running with the spider on her head. She deserved it.

Mother Mersa frowned at the spider William brought. It was clearly larger than when Emma had proudly shown it. It was no longer a spider in size.

Even Mersa, who usually remained calm, screamed and ran away. But as Emma's mother, she was different. In her previous life, she was born and married into a rural farming family, so she was relatively calm. She had the strongest nerves in the family. Leonardo was a bit taken aback.

Emma placed the spider on her head.

The scene was terrible.

"Maybe it looks brighter."

Saying this, Emma started to run.

Bam!

It was a speed that exceeded Leonardo and Mersa's expectations. It was the same speed that had puzzled Georg and William. The cats happily chased after Emma in a group of four.

"See? I wasn't lying!"

Georg looked triumphantly at his parents, but Leonardo and Mersa preferred the lie.

"......That's what happened."

Emma told her beloved uncle about the events of a few days ago. She didn't mention the reincarnation, but the joy of reuniting with Komai and the others made her smile.

"I don't even know where to start..."

Urban sighed and held his head. While he was at university, his family, especially Emma, had become strange. His niece and nephew had casually surpassed his expertise in sericulture, and he was left to deal with their bizarre experiences, the spider, and the cat.

"But, putting the spider on your head is forbidden outside of Emma's hut, so it's a waste."

Emma said sadly.

A noble lady should not put a spider on her head.

It should not be seen by anyone outside the family.

Mother had sternly warned her.

Urban stroked Emma's head and gave up. As long as Emma was cute, it was fine. The cat was cute too, even if it was big. The spider was beautiful too, even if it was big.

A researcher knows when to back down.

Everything is fine as long as Emma is cute.

He decided not to dwell on his niece obsession.

Not thinking too deeply protected him.

In this case, thinking too much would be a loss.

They had been talking about insects the whole time.