Sleeping Together
Ian unconsciously lifted his head. What filled his vision wasn't her face, but an enormous pair of breasts. They were so large they completely blocked his view.
'I can't even see her face at this rate.' It was true—among all the women Ian had encountered so far, Lumiela possessed the most overwhelmingly impressive chest. 'Still, sleeping together feels like crossing way too many lines, doesn't it?'
Of course, he had already been held in Lumiela's arms, kissed her, and done just about everything else... 'Now that I think about it, we've already done everything worth doing.'
Even so. A man and woman sharing a bed? Ian, still carrying the sensibilities of his previous life, found it impossible to accept.
When Ian stared at her in disbelief, Lumiela looked just a tiny bit guilty, but she quickly spoke with confidence.
"You have to stay close as my guard, right? What if I'm attacked in my sleep? You'll need to protect me, won't you...?"
'Noona seems way stronger than me, though...?'
In truth, those who possessed the Magic Eye—like Olivia or Lumiela—already had bodies that bordered on superhuman. They had no need for personal guards unless they left the palace grounds.
When Ian kept showing clear reluctance on his face, Lumiela unexpectedly offered something almost sensible.
"Besides, we're family, aren't we? What's wrong with a big sister sleeping with her little brother?"
Her cheeks had grown slightly flushed by now. Ian couldn't see her expression because her breasts were practically resting on his head, but... her words somehow managed to sound reasonable.
'Hmm. When you put it that way, maybe it's not so bad?'
It was obviously nonsense, but after everything abnormal he'd been through, Ian found himself starting to accept it.
'There's no way a sister would feel that kind of excitement toward her younger brother, right?'
Especially toward a half-brother she'd only met a day or two ago. Even if Lumiela's affection was a little extreme, Ian believed she wasn't that much of a pervert.
"Well, if that's how it is... I understand."
Seeming pleased by his agreement, Lumiela stroked Ian's head. With a touch of hope in her voice, she smiled and said,
"Yes, good. Let's keep doing this. Let's keep doing it forever."
"Hey, what do you mean forever? Once my brother takes the throne, I'll have to step back eventually."
'Of course, I'll already be long gone from the palace by then.'
Lumiela froze, clearly caught off guard by Ian's words. Her hand stopped moving.
"...Y-yeah. That's true, isn't it?"
She resumed fiddling with his hair, but inside her mind, entirely different thoughts had begun to swirl.
Inside the Crescent Moon Palace, the Fourth Imperial Princess Evangeline was desperately fighting back tears. Hic.
'I-I'm not sad at all... Yeah. An imperial princess doesn't cry over something like this.'
Evangeline wanted nothing more than to pour her heart out to someone, but she refused to let anyone see her crying. So today, once again, she decided to use her special 'tool.'
She shot a glance at the maid cleaning her room and shouted,
"Get out of my room right now! I have something I need to do..."
"......"
The maid didn't respond for a long moment. Evangeline's anger flared at the silence.
"H-how dare you ignore my orders!"
When Evangeline raised her voice, the maid slowly turned her expressionless face toward her.
"Hiiik!"
For a second, Evangeline was so terrified she nearly burst into tears.
"......?"
The maid tilted her head in apparent confusion. Only then did Evangeline realize something was off.
"Y-you... what are you? Are you deaf?"
The maid nodded.
"You scared me half to death! Y-you... a mere maid! Get out this instant!"
Evangeline hurled the gold coins scattered around the room to drive her away. The maid picked them up with a grateful bow and quickly left.
"There shouldn't be anyone else now... right?"
After confirming she was truly alone, Evangeline carefully pulled out the 'mirror' from within her clothes. The bronze mirror with a faint crack looked like nothing more than an old antique at first glance. But this treasure had a far from ordinary history.
She placed the mirror on her bed and began to murmur.
"Mirror, mirror on the wall. Let me tell you what happened to me today..."
Please, shut up!
But Evangeline paid no attention and began recounting her story.
... .....
"...So instead of actually killing that rude bastard, I was just going to cut off his hands and feet, you know? But then my sister, my sister... hic."
After venting her grievances for a long while, Evangeline let a few tears slip.
....
Listening to the same story over and over is torture. At this point it's all just trivial...
Wait.
The mirror, searching through its own 'memories,' asked Evangeline.
Evangeline, what did you just say?
"Hic... Huh? I told you to call me Your Highness!"
Watching Evangeline shriek, the mirror silently vowed that once it escaped, it would leave her with an unforgettable 'memory.'
Yes, our most noble princess. What did you say happened to you, and because of whom?
"I already told you! I was humiliated because of my sister's stupid guard...!"
She continued throwing a tantrum, but the mirror simply ignored her and sank into thought.
'As expected, this timeline is different.'
In a puzzled voice, the mirror asked her,
The First Princess shouldn't have had any guard in the first place, right? Are you certain?
The mirror's memory stretched back to the dawn of time itself, so there was no possibility of a mistake.
"I don't know... He just appeared out of nowhere one morning. I have no idea where my sister found him."
So a 'variable' has reached even this place... It's happening much faster than expected.
The mirror—no, the ancient devil known as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. The Seat of Jealousy. Envy whispered to Evangeline in a slender voice.
Evangeline, shall we move our 'plan' forward just a little?
Late that night, Ian stood before the bed, wrestling with one final dilemma.
'Yeah, no matter how I look at it, this is wrong.'
No matter how young his current body was, the Ian from his previous life had been an adult man. Sharing a bed with Lumiela felt mentally overwhelming.
Having finally regained some sanity, Ian tried to sneak away, but—
"Ian...? Where are you going?"
Squeeze.
'Fuck.'
As expected. She caught him and forcibly pulled him onto the bed. She had already changed into comfortable sleepwear and now lay beside him, holding him tightly in her arms.
With a contented expression, Lumiela pulled Ian close and whispered softly into his ear.
"There. Now it's time to sleep with Noona...?"
Perhaps because he'd been awake all day and night, Ian gradually lost consciousness as he felt her soft warmth.
After Ian had fallen asleep, some time passed.
Lumiela slowly opened her eyes. To make sure he was truly unconscious, she secretly pinched his cheek, but he showed no reaction whatsoever.
Satisfied, she carefully activated her Magic Eye.
Lumiela's ability could be used even if the target lacked consciousness. In fact, it worked even better when they were unconscious, making this the perfect moment.
Ian had thought he'd skillfully talked his way out of danger with quick thinking, but Lumiela had kept it firmly in mind. Knowing his resistance all too well, she needed absolute confirmation.
It wasn't suspicion. She simply wanted to hear his true, unfiltered 'heart.'
Lumiela still remembered their kiss with perfect clarity.
Caressing Ian's face, she thought,
'If Ian truly does like me...'
What should she do then?
Caught between confusion and a sliver of anticipation, Lumiela gave him the command.
"Ian, please tell Noona honestly. Do you really like me?"
Her tone was nearly a plea. That was how desperately she needed the truth.
Lumiela had spent her entire life maintaining distance from others. After all, under her ability, no one could speak anything but the truth.
Since childhood, she had heard the inner thoughts of those who envied and hated her countless times. To her, 'relationships' were nothing more than transactions.
No benefit, no relationship. And even if a relationship formed, she wouldn't hesitate to discard it when it was no longer useful.
But her relationship with Ian was different.
In this boundary-crossing bond between sister and brother, her affection for him had been growing stronger and stronger.
Though their time together had been short, those memories were irreplaceable to her.
She, who had always been indifferent to others, now had someone she wanted to protect.
She wanted to learn more about him. She wanted to keep feeling his warmth.
Having rediscovered a warmth she had long forgotten, Lumiela was changing in ways even she didn't fully realize.
But after that kiss from Ian, she feared this warmth might blaze into something hotter. Even though she knew she shouldn't harbor such vulgar feelings toward her own brother, the sweet sensation of his lips refused to leave her mind.
That was why she hoped Ian would sever this lingering attachment for her here and now.
With earnest eyes full of desperate hope, Lumiela waited for his lips to part.
"I..."
The man paused for a moment, deep in thought, before he finally spoke.
"The heart of a weapon..."
He knew Orgen's question was absurd, yet he refused to brush it off lightly.
"To be honest, I'm no genius. I don't really understand those Zen-like riddles."
"......"
At the man's answer, Orgen's nearly blank expression wavered slightly before returning to its usual solemnity.
"Then I shall show you directly."
At the same time, each weapon gripped in Orgen's hands began to emit its own distinct 'sound.' It wasn't the simple noise of blades clashing or slicing through air.
'This... could it possibly be...?'
The man was stunned.
Before his eyes, Orgen quietly closed his own.
"...The fact that weapons also have hearts."