The Villainess's Younger Brother – Leticia Chapter 2
Silence.
A dazzling light.
I clamped my eyes shut against the light so bright it felt like it could blind me. I would have forced them open if I could have kept fighting here, but my body was already on the verge of collapsing from mana depletion.
Even with my eyes closed, the light still pierced my eyelids. A normal human would have lost all vision by now.
Minutes passed before the glow faded. Thanks to the vampire’s regenerative ability, I had no trouble opening my eyes again.
Once I did, the ruined underground room came into full view.
It was only right. Leticia and I had gone all-out. Anything intact was strange.
The auto-repair function took care of minor repairs, and I could order a ghoul maid for the rest. Nothing was truly broken.
My mana was gone, but my body could still move. I gripped my trembling thighs and started searching for Leticia.
“Sister—.”
Why no answer? Had she fainted?
When she didn’t return, I cleared the swirling dust with the breeze and kept walking.
She would be around here somewhere.
“Sister. Where are you?”
If she’d fainted, had I won?
Hmm.
It felt good. But that—
“Sister? Are you unconscious—?”
Still no reply. The underground room had poor ventilation, so the dust breeze refused to clear.
I should make a ventilation hole later, I thought, when—
“Got you.”
“Ugh.”
Smack.
A hand suddenly shot out and grabbed my ankle.
I jumped. Glancing down, I saw Leticia, covered in dust, grinning.
“I lost. I just blacked out for a second.”
“You lost and you’re still grinning?”
“Well… I didn’t want to lose, but now that I have, I feel so much better?”
“Wow.”
I had nothing left to say. I bent down, slid my hand under her armpit, and hoisted her up in one motion.
“Look at you, all weak.”
“I used a ton of blood.”
Leticia laughed, a sweet hehe. She looked younger, in her late teens now. Her breasts had shrunk a bit, and her overall maturity had faded.
Not every vampire weakens from blood loss. This one was special.
“Now I’m the one who won, right? Come on, do it, Oni.”
“Really? You want me to?”
I teased her, and she shot me a playful glare, slapping my nose. She looked irritated, but not heartbroken.
I picked her up in the princess-carry style. Leticia naturally wrapped her arms around my neck.
Before, even after sparring, she would get embarrassed and call a ghoul maid or climb up alone. Had something inside her changed?
“Dinner?”
“Steak and wine.”
“Oh.”
“Dessert?”
“No need.”
Human food was just a side dish for vampires. Blood was our main diet.
But high-ranking vampires didn’t have to force themselves to drink blood. A single drop could give them a week’s worth of nutrients.
Still, if I wanted to get stronger, I could just drink blood nonstop…
That would risk going into a frenzy. I’d become a target for extermination.
Boosting my level with short-term blood drinking was basically doping. If I took it steadily, it would help my growth, but—
We were already the top of our species. Bringing our levels up through blood drinking would take forever.
That’s why human food now appeared regularly on our table.
Before, I had to keep recovering my body, so I drank blood every day. But now that need was gradually disappearing.
I carried Leticia upstairs, washed up in the bathroom, then headed to the dining room. I could have used Clean, but the dust was heavy, so I wanted to wash properly.
Before setting her down, I kneaded her thighs, and she yelped. I didn’t hit her, though—I just carried her to the bathroom.
I decided to use the shower in my room.
Oh. Before washing, I summoned Daisy and told her to stock my room with supplies.
Daisy’s face turned beet red when I said I didn’t need anything for her. She looked sad for a moment, then flushed again and dashed off with “Yes, yes!”
Sigh.
*
After my shower, I just threw a robe over my underwear and stepped into the dining room feeling refreshed.
I had arrived first today, so I took a seat and waited in the empty room. The long absence made me playful with Daisy, who kept trailing me like a puppy, and time flew by.
Minutes later, Leticia opened the door and walked in. Instead of the full-body tights she usually wore, she had a camisole and dolphin shorts.
Even in a game where convenience settings ruled, dolphin shorts? …Well, I decided not to comment because, honestly, I was turned on.
Her usual pale face had a pink flush, and she was wearing makeup. That alone caught my eye.
Leticia noticed my stare, walked proudly for a moment, then suddenly felt embarrassed and took the robe from the maid to drape it over her shoulders.
Click.
“Did you wash well?”
“Well? That’s a strange question. Right.”
“Is that so?”
We ate while chatting about meaningless things. Daisy had the good sense to slip away, so only Leticia and I remained at the table.
Clink. After a brief silence, only the clatter of cutlery, and then I spoke.
“Why are you wearing the robe?”
“What? …You’re wearing one too.”
“I’ve had it on since the start. You put it on after you got here.”
“……”
Leticia shot me a sideways glance, then stabbed her steak deep with her fork.
“You’re doing this because you’re embarrassed, aren’t you?”
She smiled silently. The moment I stopped talking, she looked even more flustered.
“Why? Why won’t you say anything? You’re making me feel uneasy….”
She took a bite of steak and chewed cutely.
I had already finished my entire steak. I kept watching her eat with my eyes, studying her closely.
Chew chew…
Stare stare…
Chew chew…
Stare…
……
“S-Stop looking at me like that. I can’t eat anymore.”
Leticia surrendered. I stood up. She flinched, fork halfway to her mouth, eyes darting away.
As I approached slowly, her trembling grew stronger. What was she imagining?
“Sister.”
“U-Um…”
“Come to my room tonight. Understand?”
“…Y-Yes, Ara-sama.”
Her short tongue made a cute sound.
I grinned and stroked her head.
*
Leticia Tepes had finally admitted it to herself.
The younger brother who had grown weak and helpless had grown strong enough to stand on his own again.
Only two months had passed—too fast, she thought with a playful grin—but inside, she felt a pang of regret.
She wished her brother would lean on her more. She wanted to be the strong, cool older sister for her cute, fragile little brother forever.
That wish had been buried deep inside her for her entire life, ever since she had only ever looked at his back from behind.
Once she recognized it, the twisted desire mixed with complex and affection toward her brother exploded beyond control.
Even though it trapped her in immense stress for a while, she was glad it had happened.
But she had come to understand.
Her brother would never stay trapped in her arms forever.
She had her complaints—the timing had come too soon—but still.
So she tried to stall it by beating him at full strength, but—
She had lost.
Defeated cleanly in a full-power bout.
How long until he got strong again? If he kept growing, he might reach the old brother’s level in half a year.
She felt annoyed. Once that happened, they would truly be separated. She would only have to look at his back again.
Still, she accepted it. She didn’t want to be a flawed older sister who stood in the way of the brother she loved.
She emptied her heart. She would be the helpful older sister to her brother, the way she always had. With that resolve, she felt light at heart.
By doing so, she thought she could be more honest with her feelings for her brother.
She accepted and embraced her own heart. Still, she would never be anything more than a blood-mixed older sister to him. It was unavoidable.
Leticia thought that.
Daisy or some other honest girl would suit me better than him. It was pathetic, but it would do.
Time would make it better, she had told herself.
But—
Her brother was acting strange.
He suddenly gave her a princess carry. Since she had admitted she liked him, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight, but once she was in his arms, she wondered why he was doing this.
And then his hand moved toward her thighs. She was startled. Surprised, she fled to the bathroom. What was happening? Her heart was pounding, she couldn’t tell what was what, Leticia was confused.
After her shower, her brother’s face and touch came back to her. Her mood turned strange.
Was he doing it on purpose? To test it once, she put on a thin camisole and short pants and headed to the dining room.
Her eyes were stuck to her like glue. Embarrassed, she asked the maid for a robe to cover herself.
But then he questioned why she was wearing the robe when he hadn’t given up…
From that moment, Leticia’s mind was in a mess.
Why was she like this? It was strange. Being gentle with him—wait, was she being gentle? Those eyes looked like a predator staring at prey. Eh? Then did that mean her brother… No way!
All that chaotic confusion stopped her from eating her steak properly; she just nibbled.
She didn’t know what she had answered to her brother. He seemed to have scolded her or something.
……
His eyes, openly and stickily examining her, made her honest to herself for a moment, and she got wet.
She couldn’t say she wore the robe because she was wet.
Leticia remembered. When her brother was weak, she would obey his every word as per her promise.
She had convinced him to sleep at night by saying he needed to rest after academy, and she had slipped into his room during the night when lust burned the hottest—
Ah, his long, thick, firm hand. Soft lips. The scent that made her body throb just from being near it…
Leticia couldn’t forget. Even when he was weak, his body had turned her into just a female—making her a mere female while he showed off his male strength again and again.
The playful games she had played with her sleeping brother countless times… Had he noticed? Had they exchanged their firsts with each other…
That had been the happiest time. Even though Daisy’s arrival made her careful, she was still in a state of frustration.
At least for that one month, Leticia had been the happiest woman in the world.
……
Why had he called her tonight?
She had resolved to feel refreshed, but now she couldn’t stand it.
She was a hopeless pervert after all. She loved her brother.
Leticia waited for the night with a racing heart.
*
I had thought about this for a very long time.
One month since I had been possessed in this world.
Should I dare touch my sister?
After deciding, I still couldn’t move. She was my benefactor.
If my feelings for her were not truly love, but only to survive by using her—
Even if that was the only way, would it not be betraying her benefactor? That doubt.
Meeting Daisy and simply making her my woman had been an escape from that stress.
Even if I seduced this girl, my goal wouldn’t be achieved. So I wasn’t using her—calmly, I could explore her.
That self-consolation. At the same time, I hated myself. It disgusted me. I felt immense self-loathing. Honestly, it crushed me.
In the end, the guilt I felt toward my sister was just being transferred to Daisy. It was no different.
I had dried up day by day. Guilty toward my sister, sorry toward Daisy. Yet I couldn’t stop for survival. I couldn’t do either and just wavered indecisively.
I met Christina.
Honestly, it was a meaningless meeting. She was a named character from the game. I thought making her mine would help, and I used the piled stress to forget everything.
Eventually she got drunk. Whether she was drunk or had gone half-crazy from stress and drunk while rambling, I don’t know.
Anyway, I opened up. Not completely, but I spilled my heart. It was the first time.
Christina accepted it. So… that’s why the mammon-type character became popular, I thought.
She said she was happy because of me. Her intention was completely different. I had only seen her as a tool, but she still said she was happy.
Then so was my sister, and Daisy.
……
It would be ridiculous to keep rambling any longer.
I decided.
I would confess to my sister.
Clearly I loved Leticia.