I Became The Academy Necromancer-Chapter 283: Family Photos

At this point, I was starting to question whether it was really necessary to take the photo.

The atmosphere wasn’t exactly grim, but it did feel quite heavy as Deia and I stood in front of the clothing rack.

Though I saw several unique outfits arranged neatly, I couldn’t focus on any of them.

“…”

And Deia also seemed to be aimlessly rummaging through the clothes without picking anything out.

She moved her hands mindlessly without any expression.

It wasn’t the right time to start a conversation.

I knew that whatever I said would only add to the emotional burden she was carrying, so I remained silent.

“Have you chosen your clothes?”

Perhaps sensing the delay, the photographer cautiously entered the preparation room.

Deia blinked as if she had just snapped back to her senses, apologized, and pulled out a random outfit.

“Hmm? Will this work?”

She held up a white shirt and black suit.

It was a type of clothing that was rare in the Griffin Kingdom but quite common in the Clark Republic.

However, since we were located near the Clark Republic, this attire was somewhat familiar to us.

While I wondered whether she would really wear something like that here…

“Yeah, this will be fine.”

Deia grabbed the clothes and walked straight to the changing room.

Caught off guard by the sudden cold atmosphere , the photographer left awkwardly to prepare for the shoot.

“This is tough.”

Judging from Deia’s expression, it seemed rather unlikely that she’d be able to settle her emotions easily.

How did things end up like this?

My intentions to be her family had been twisted, and it seemed like our relationship was now falling apart, leaving me feeling devastated.

I sighed softly and chose an outfit similar to the suit Deia had picked.

It was a suit I often wore when living as Kim Shinwoo. However, it was of much lower quality than the clothes from Earth and looked unremarkable.

Honestly, given its design, I questioned whether I could even call it a suit.

It was plain black without any patterns, and although the white shirt helped, it looked more like something a dance team might wear at a school performance.

Sniff.

“…”

A soft sob came from the changing room. The cold, frozen tears felt like icicles stabbing at my feet.

I found myself unable to move.

I hadn’t anticipated such a strong emotional response either.

It felt like the time when I bid farewell to the Dark Spiritualist and Stella, just before I created the Land of Eternal Rest.

Bittersweet sorrow welled up within me, but I knew I couldn’t act on these emotions, even if it made me seem heartless.

Wanting to step outside for a brief moment of cold air, I turned away from the changing room.

I set the clothes down and walked out of the photo studio, intending to look up at the sky.

“Huh.”

That is… if it weren’t for the figure staking out beside the photo studio.

Seemingly startled by my sudden appearance, Darius hurriedly covered his face with his hand.

In moments like this, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was really the behavior one would expect from someone in charge of Verdi Household and Norseweden.

“What are you doing?”

However, I felt a bit relieved on seeing him.

***

“Wow, as expected, the two of you are so good-looking, that you even look impressive just by standing there!”

The photographer, seemingly sincere, was so excited that he almost pressed the shutter right away.

However, as we stood there without posing, just staring blankly, he hesitated, unsure of what to do. His finger froze as it hovered over the button.

On top of that, Deia’s red eyes were clearly visible due to the lighting. Although the photographer deliberately didn’t mention it, if he took the shot in this state, it would definitely be noticeable in the photo.

However, despite this, Deia stood confidently, arms crossed, as if nothing had happened.

In situations like this, I should cover for her as her older brother.

“Wear these.”

I pulled out a pair of sunglasses from my inner pocket. Aside from the ones I had seen Aria wear at the Loberne Academy festival, this was the first time I had come across them.

“What?”

Realizing I was trying to be considerate, Deia scowled as soon as she saw the sunglasses.

But I promptly pulled out another pair and put them on as well.

“…Pfft.”

Was it because I looked funny?

Deia unintentionally let out a laugh, and that brief moment lightened the heavy atmosphere between us.

“You don’t look good in those.”

Saying so, Deia accepted the sunglasses from me, placed them on her nose, and gave an alluring smile as she asked.

“How do I look?”

“You look good.”

Deia definitely looked great wearing that. She gave off the aura of a beautiful secret agent straight out of an old foreign film.

And as the atmosphere softened, we began the shoot. While we were a bit awkward with our poses initially, but with the photographer’s advice, light skinship naturally worked its way into the flow when…

“Ahem. Ahem.”

A burly man cautiously stepped out of the preparation room. Darius, also wearing a suit, appeared awkwardly.

“What? When did you get here?”

Surprised, Deia shot a glare at me, probably wondering if I had intentionally called Darius over.

“He followed us.”

Deia’s sharp gaze immediately turned back to him and scolded the eldest son, who had used his usual training of suppressing his presence to tail his younger siblings.

Darius shrank back instinctively but kept walking towards us.

Not only was he wearing a matching outfit, but he also had a pair of sunglasses hanging from his front pocket, clearly eager to wear them.

Deia frowned with dissatisfaction and crossed her arms, but she reluctantly stepped aside after a sigh.

“You’re the biggest, so stand in the middle.”

“Okay! Actually, I have a few poses in mind!”

“…I am not doing any of them.”

I knew Darius’ proposed poses would be anything but normal.

And sure enough, my guess was right. Darius suggested poses like us hanging on to his arms while he flexed his muscles or having him carry me while I carried Deia.

In the first place, it was not like this was a high school graduation photo shoot, but Darius excitedly suggested various poses.

“No way.”

“What the hell?”

Naturally, both Deia and I rejected his suggestions. What did he think he was doing?

Darius looked disappointed for a moment but then stood in the middle as requested.

“Alright, come here!”

Then, he stretched out his big arms, pulled us both in, and hugged us tightly.

“Huff!”

“Kyaa!”

And just like that, Darius embraced us both from either side with a big smile as we struggled to escape from his thick, strong arms.

Click!

The shutter of the magic camera went off, and the photographer gave a thumbs-up.

“Wow, this is a fantastic photo that really shows your sibling bond!”

I wasn’t sure how the photo turned out.

“Did you happen to smoke a cigarette?”

“Ugh! What’s that smell?!”

And when we complained about the strong scent of an older man coming from Darius, he seemed hurt and sulked.

Anyway, we continued taking a few more photos.

Now that I thought about it…

This is a family photo.

The moment I realized this was a family photo of the Verdi Household, a warm smile spread across my face unintentionally.

“Why are you laughing?”

“As expected! You also agree that the three of us should pose like this, right?”

Of course, my smile quickly froze when I glanced at the two people beside me.

***

Later that evening.

After the photo session, we entered a restaurant for a light meal. However, the meal quickly turned into a drinking session, leaving Deia slightly tipsy, but she still didn’t skip washing up.

Meanwhile, Darius had most likely collapsed and fallen asleep by now.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Deia changed into her pajamas, sighed, and lay down on the bed.

That was when she noticed something rub against her back.

“Ah.”

On realizing it was her wallet, which she had thrown onto the bed earlier when entering the room, she struggled to pull it out.

The eldest had forgotten his wallet, and the second son didn’t have any money, so Deia, the youngest, ended up paying. She couldn’t help but think that this was the typical behavior from the men of the Verdi Household.

“Ugh, those idiots.”

Deia opened the wallet and gazed at the photos from today’s shoot.

There was a pose with the three of them descending in a stair-step fashion, using their height difference, starting from Darius, Deus, and Deia.

Another, with each of them holding their sunglasses in one hand and glaring at the camera.

“Huh.”

Ignoring Darius, the fact that Deus, who disliked such poses, still went along with them was enough proof that he regarded them as special.

“He’s such a fool.”

And Deia hated that special treatment.

Out of all people, why did that man have to take over Deus’ body?

Despite voicing such meaningless resentment, Deia gently traced her finger over Deus in the photo.

The photo itself wasn’t bad and Deia knew she would probably look at it often.

Indeed, it seems like I will have to give up.

However, thinking back to the moment when Darius and Deus kept pressuring her to accept matchmaking, she clenched her teeth.

“Those bastards.”

Just thinking about it made her feel like shooting them in the forehead with a gun.

However, Deia had reluctantly accepted the matchmaking offer.

Otherwise, they would continue to worry about her.

For now, she would need to show them that she had completely closed off her heart.

“…”

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

A sudden urge to sleep took over, but Deia got up from bed.

She walked over to the far corner of her closet, where she kept her old or rarely worn clothes.

In there, she found a humanoid-sized doll, standing motionless, without any shape or form.

Deia gazed at the broken-into-half doll, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Her name is Professor Fel Petra, right?”

She was sure that was her name when they met back at the royal palace.

She also heard that the woman worked as a professor at Loberne Academy.

“Then, the meeting place for the matchmaking… should be Loberne.”

With those meaningful words behind, Deia carefully closed the closet door again and lay down on the bed.

She herself also thought it was absurd.

But, as the many wounds healed, this tender feeling she had for him naturally took root in her heart.

Deia still didn’t have the courage to let it go.

“Good grief.”

This wasn’t how things were supposed to be.

The moment those words of confession slipped out, Deia felt her heart was no longer under her control.

However, she didn’t really mind.

***

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