RE.Femboy:Reborn as a VTuber

Chapter 107: At Angel’s House [1]

Her mother

’What the fuck am I doing here?’

My angel and her brother had already gone inside and started taking off their shoes. Meanwhile, I stood at the door, feeling cold sweat trickle down my back.

The smell of warm food drifted out from inside.

At first glance, it was a perfectly normal home.

Even so, I had no idea what would happen once I took that first step inside.

"Noctis?"

I raised my head.

Yukie had put her shoes aside and was looking at me.

"What’s wrong? Come inside."

"Huh? I’m coming!"

I stepped over the threshold and bent down. As I untied my shoelaces, Cedric’s voice echoed through the hallway.

"Mom, we’re home!"

My fingers stopped.

Couldn’t this son of a bitch have waited a little longer?

I hadn’t even figured out what to say yet.

While I was taking off my shoes, I heard light footsteps approaching us. When I straightened up, I saw a woman coming from the other end of the hallway.

Her brown hair was loosely tied at the back of her neck. As she tucked a few stray strands behind her ear, her green eyes turned toward us. She wore a simple blouse, comfortable pants, and a kitchen apron.

Even so, I couldn’t immediately look away from her face.

She was incredibly beautiful.

I remembered the photos of her younger self that Yukie had shown me on her phone. Now I could see the young woman’s smile from those photos right in front of me.

Though, apart from that smile, almost everything about her style had changed.

Angel had warned me about how much her mother had changed, if I remembered correctly. Now I understood what she’d meant a little better.

Her steps slowed when she noticed me.

"Oh my! Did you bring a guest?"

Before I could answer, she was already beside me. She took my hands in hers and looked at my face.

"What a sweet girl. What’s your name?"

Something inside me quietly broke.

’Again...’

I’d gone out today to tell Yukie I was a man, clear up the misunderstanding, and apologize.

But the demon of luck must have cursed me. First, her brother had hit on me.

Now her mother was holding my hands and calling me a sweet girl.

At this rate, the whole family would think I was a girl by evening.

I opened my mouth, then closed it.

My eyes briefly flicked toward Yukie before returning to the woman’s face.

For now, I’d have to put up with it until I made it out of this house in one piece. I couldn’t have that conversation in the middle of the hallway with everyone looking at me.

I managed a smile.

"Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Noctis Evernight."

Something briefly changed in the woman’s eyes.

Her green gaze sharpened, and her eyes widened slightly. It lasted only a moment, but I noticed.

It was probably a reaction to the Evernight name.

Then her warm smile returned.

She released my hands and lightly touched my arm. As she led me into the living room, she turned toward Cedric, who was following us.

"You should have told me you were bringing a guest. I would’ve prepared something."

"Ehh, isn’t this more fun?"

"You! Go bring something from the kitchen," she told Cedric, looking at him as though he were a naughty child.

The woman sat me down on the sofa and settled in right beside me.

Cedric stopped by the doorway.

"Why me?"

The weariness in his voice made me glance at him.

It was hard to believe the man standing before his mother was the same person who’d stopped my punch at the patisserie.

"Because you went out instead of helping Cecilia with her homework."

Cedric opened his mouth.

His mother raised an eyebrow.

Cedric closed his mouth.

"Okay..."

As he headed toward the kitchen, the corners of Yukie’s lips lifted.

I turned my face away to keep from laughing.

At least there was someone in this house who could shut him up.

The woman turned back to me.

"Yukie’s mentioned you. She said you’ve been spending time together on your morning runs."

"Yes. For a while now."

"I’m glad you met. The things she told me when she came home made me curious about you."

I turned my head slightly toward Yukie.

She was sitting in the armchair across from us. As her mother spoke, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and avoided our eyes.

"Mom..."

"What? I’m getting to know your friend."

"You’ve only just met."

"That’s exactly why we have so much to talk about."

The woman smiled and lightly rested a hand on my knee.

"Don’t be shy. Make yourself at home."

I nodded.

I wanted to relax.

But every time I relaxed a little, I remembered what I hadn’t told Yukie and swallowed the words on the tip of my tongue.

Yukie was only a few steps away. I needed to tell her what I’d been wanting to say for days.

Instead, I was sitting beside her mother with my hands resting neatly on my knees.

"Yukie showed me some photos of you," I said before the silence could stretch on too long.

A curious expression appeared on the woman’s face.

"Which photos?"

"The ones of your band when you were younger..."

Yukie’s eyes snapped toward me.

Her mother laughed.

"You’re still showing those to people?"

"It just came up while we were talking," Yukie said quickly.

"I hope you picked the ones I looked good in."

I smiled at that.

"You looked really cool."

"Did I?"

She made no attempt to hide the pleasure in her voice. Turning toward Yukie, she gave her a brief, triumphant look.

At that moment, it became a little easier to see the woman from those old photos.

When Cedric returned with a tray, his mother was still smiling. He set the glasses and small plates on the coffee table.

"Did I forget anything?"

"Not for now. You can sit down."

"How gracious of you."

His mother gave him a sharp look, and Cedric quietly sat down.

As I accepted the glass offered to me, I couldn’t hide my smile this time.

The tension in my shoulders eased a little as the conversation continued. The woman didn’t fire off one question after another. She listened to my answers and occasionally shared a short story from her youth. Her expressions changed as she spoke, and her voice became a little livelier whenever she mentioned music.

Then she set her glass on the coffee table and turned to me.

"You were studying music too, weren’t you?"

"Well... I haven’t started university yet." I hesitated for a moment. "But yes, I’m interested in music."

"What instrument do you play?"

"Piano."

Her eyes lit up.

"Really?"

I nodded.

A moment later, she was holding my hand.

"Then come with me."

I barely had time to put my glass down. I got to my feet and walked with her toward the far end of the living room, near the large windows.

There was a piano there.

Light from the window stretched across its dark surface. A music stand stood beside it, holding a few books with edges slightly curled from use.

The woman pointed to the stool.

"Would you play something for me?"

"Now?"

"Only if you’d like to."

I looked at the anticipation in her eyes.

Then at the piano.

When I came here, I hadn’t expected the whole family to mistake me for a girl and have me playing the piano for them a few minutes later.

But sitting at the keys seemed better than waiting on the sofa for questions I couldn’t answer.

"All right."

I sat on the stool and adjusted my position. As I placed my fingers on the keys, I relaxed my shoulders.

This time, I wasn’t on a stage. There were no spotlights, no crowd of hundreds, and no cameras pointed at me.

Still, my heart sped up a little when I heard footsteps behind me.

Yukie had come closer too.

Without turning my head, I took a short breath.

I began playing Turkish March.

As the first notes filled the living room, I saw the woman move out of the corner of my eye. She stood beside the piano with her hands folded over her apron.

Her eyes stayed on the keys as my fingers moved.

My right hand followed the familiar melody while my left accompanied it. After a few measures, my initial tension began to fade. I remembered how many times I’d started over while learning to play this piece properly in my old world.

Now I didn’t have to think about the movements.

I knew where the next key was.

As my attention shifted entirely to the music, I briefly forgot how worried I’d been just a few minutes earlier.

Yukie watched quietly. I noticed that Cedric wasn’t talking either.

When I played the last notes and lifted my hands, the room fell silent for a moment.

Then I heard the woman’s voice.

"That..."

I turned toward her.

Her eyes were still on the keys. Then she looked at my face.

"That was really beautiful."

The corners of my lips lifted.

"Thank you."

"I hadn’t expected you to have such skill. And I’ve never heard this piece before."

She stepped a little closer.

"Where did you learn it?"

I cleared my throat.

"Well..."

The curiosity in her eyes grew.

"Did you compose it yourself?"

My fingers grew still on my knees.

I thought for a brief moment.

’Forgive me, Mozart...’

Then I straightened my back a little and smiled proudly.

"Yes, of course."

The woman clapped her hands together.

"You’re so talented! Yukie, you never told me about this."

"This is the first I’ve heard of it too," Yukie said.

I chose not to look at her.

Cedric was watching me with his head tilted slightly.

"So you compose music too."

"From time to time," I said as casually as I could.

Becoming a composer was easier than I’d expected.

The woman looked at the piano again.

"Have you written the sheet music for it? I’d like to hear it again."

"I haven’t written it down yet, but..."

"You really must. You shouldn’t forget something like this."

I didn’t think I was likely to forget it.

Still, I nodded with a serious expression.

"I will."

I liked seeing the excitement on her face. As she stood beside the piano and asked me about a section of the piece, I pointed to the keys so I could explain it properly.

Just as I was about to speak again, a small voice came from the doorway.

"Mom, I’m hungry."

I turned my head.

A little girl stood by the door.

White hair fell on either side of her face. One hand rested on the doorframe, and her sleepy blue eyes were looking around the room.

My eyes widened in panic.

The hand I’d been pointing at the keys froze in midair.

’Cecilia!’