The Creep Hitting On My Little Sister
The sky visible through the carriage window was pitch black. And the bright lights of the Academy, just beginning to appear in the distance, decorated that black canvas of a sky like scattered stars.
We were traveling by carriage. “We” meant me and Emilia. We had split up from Cordelia and Sophia for the time being and were moving separately.
Twenty minutes earlier, while heading to the station to catch the intercity carriage bound for the Academy, we had run into an unexpected obstacle. Even though it was late enough to be called night, far more people than we anticipated were crowding the carriage station heading from Bremen to the Academy.
Unlike the usual passengers who were mostly Academy students, the people here wore all sorts of different clothes. At a glance, they clearly weren’t residents of Bremen. In a city full of adventurers, it was rare to see such ostentatious, colorful garments.
Since it was also the final day of the presentation conference, it seemed lower-ranked nobles who hadn’t received invitations to the closing ceremony, along with the attendants of higher nobles, had all flocked to Bremen. In short, they were tourists.
I had visited Bremen so many times that the thrill I felt during my first visit had long since faded. But for people from other regions who rarely had the chance to visit the famous “City of Adventurers,” it must have been quite the spectacle.
Anyway, because of all these curious visitors, we had to make a choice. If it had just been me, Cordelia, and Emilia, there wouldn’t have been much of a problem. But Sophia was with us.
Both Sophia and I had silver hair that was uncommon even across the entire empire. Two people with silver hair walking together was absolutely not a wise choice if we wanted to return to the Academy quietly.
Even if we covered up as much as possible with hoods or robes, at night it was impossible to completely hide this strangely shiny hair that seemed to sparkle even more in the dark.
“If I had known this would happen, I should have brought some hair dye.”
Emilia fiddled with my hair, which was glowing even in the dim alley, and made a troubled face.
In the end, to avoid drawing attention, the four of us decided to split into two groups—me with Emilia, and Cordelia with Sophia—and head to the Academy separately.
“I have to go with my sister? Can’t I just go with you, Oppa?”
Cordelia whined that she wanted to go with me instead of Sophia, but—
“No. Take this chance to get closer with your sister. Talk about all the things you couldn’t finish discussing in the carriage.”
At my firm answer, Cordelia climbed into the same carriage as Sophia with a bitter, “I’m doing this even though I hate it” expression. Sophia didn’t seem particularly bothered, but she gave a wry smile as she watched the grumbling Cordelia.
Still, if Cordelia felt awkward around Sophia, it was entirely Sophia’s own fault for treating her like a pathetic loser all this time. She was simply reaping what she had sown.
If she wanted to mend their relationship, the one who had done wrong should approach first with a sincere apology. That was the proper way to resolve it, I believed.
After confirming that the carriage carrying my two little sisters had departed safely, Emilia and I also climbed into our own carriage.
While I was lost in thought about the sisters I had parted from, Emilia—as if she had read my mind—brought up the subject first.
“Do you think Lady Cordelia and the others have arrived safely?”
“They probably have. They left before us, after all.”
“I hope there isn’t any trouble between the two of them.”
The warmth toward family in Emilia’s voice as she worried about Cordelia was clear. I had felt it several times since meeting her—she really was a good person.
Come to think of it, I did something pretty mischievous to Emilia.
Excited at the thought of conquering Sophia, I had carelessly blurted out things about childbirth and reviving her family line right in front of her. And this was in front of Emilia, who had watched her own family fall into ruin because of an incurable genetic disease.
Of course, she might not have minded, but I still wanted to apologize.
I turned my head toward Emilia, who—unlike me, who still carried the scent of bodily fluids—smelled of fragrant flowers.
“I’m sorry, Emilia.”
“Sorry? For what?”
Emilia’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden apology. I placed my hand over hers and continued.
“Looking back now, I think I spoke without considering your feelings at all earlier.”
Realizing what I meant, Emilia bit her lip for a moment. After a brief silence, just as I had expected, she answered with a playful smile.
“I’m fine. The birth of a new family member is something to celebrate. Of course, the fact that it’s between older brother and younger sister is a bit of a problem, though.”
Emilia suddenly realized what she had just said and glanced nervously toward the coachman’s seat outside the carriage. Fortunately, despite the shocking and unethical remark, there was no reaction from the driver’s bench.
The constant rattling noise created by the countless carriages filling the streets must have drowned out her near-slip of the tongue.
I gave her a small nod to reassure her and said,
“I haven’t forgotten our promise to find a way to cure my little brother together. So once we find the cure, it’ll be your turn next, Emilia.”
I stroked Emilia’s belly as I spoke. She didn’t reject my touch. Instead, she grabbed my hand tightly and rested her head on my shoulder.
“Hehe, really? I’d like a daughter. Seeing Lady Cordelia and Lady Sophia, having sisters doesn’t seem so bad either.”
“R-really?”
What exactly did you see to come to such a dangerous conclusion? I wanted to ask, but I didn’t. Everyone’s tastes are different, after all.
Chatting with Emilia about this and that, time passed quickly, and before we knew it, we had arrived at the Academy station.
“We’ve arrived! Thank you for using our service!”
After getting off the carriage to the coachman’s energetic greeting, we headed toward the meeting place we had arranged with Cordelia’s group.
As we entered a dark, secluded alley with few people around, we saw Cordelia and Sophia, who had arrived first. The closer I got to my little sisters with Emilia, the more I could sense a strange atmosphere.
Cordelia and Sophia were whispering while staring at some unidentified thing hiding in the shadows.
Emilia, who had been following behind, also noticed the odd mood and spoke with a tense expression.
“It looks like there’s someone in front of your sisters.”
Just as Emilia said, the unidentified thing was a person.
Damn it, who the hell is that?
Since arriving at the Academy, I had done a lot of reckless things. Of course, it didn’t seem like anyone had figured out it was me yet, but I couldn’t help feeling anxious.
I hurried over in one stride, worried, and the suspicious bastard’s face came into view. It was a familiar face. One of the few male faces I knew at the Academy.
Even though most of his face was hidden in shadow, I recognized him at once.
“Yohan?”
“Ah, Lord Arwen? Why are you here…”
When I appeared, Yohan’s already distorted face twisted even more. He looked like he had seen a monster.
Why are you here? That was what I wanted to ask him.
“Oppa, you’re here!”
Cordelia, hearing my voice, whipped her head around. Her face was bright with relief, as if she had been saved.
“Why were you so late? I thought I was going to die of awkwardness being alone with my sister.”
Cordelia hugged me and whispered quietly into my ear. So the uncomfortable atmosphere hadn’t been because of Yohan, but because of Sophia.
Well, with Sophia beside her—the woman who wouldn’t even blink if five adult men attacked her at once—there was no reason for Cordelia to be scared of someone like Yohan.
And though I felt a bit sorry for him, I also felt relieved knowing the opponent was Yohan.
“Do you have some business here?”
“...”
I asked while looking at his face, but Yohan kept his mouth shut and gave no answer. Instead, he slightly turned his head as if trying to avoid my eyes.
When Yohan turned his head, the part of his face hidden in shadow was slightly revealed by the light. At a glance, his face was covered in wounds.
The area around his eyes was stained with red bruises, dried blood crusted beneath his slightly crooked nose, and his burst lip glistened with his own blood as if he had applied gloss.
No way…?
I silently turned my head toward Sophia. She met my eyes and silently shook her head. It meant she wasn’t the one who had done it.
Instead of Yohan, whose lips looked like they had been glued shut, Sophia began to explain.
According to her, when they got off the carriage, they happened to run into Yohan, who was already covered in injuries. When he tried to hurriedly leave upon spotting them, Sophia found it suspicious and dragged him here.
Sophia finished her explanation in a gentle voice.
“I’m sorry for acting on my own, Oppa. But my instincts were screaming that I had to catch him.”
I wondered what Yohan must think of Sophia casually saying she had basically kidnapped him based on nothing but a hunch. But that wasn’t what caught Yohan’s attention.
“Oppa? Did Lady Sophia just call Lord Arwen… Oppa…?”
“Ahem. That’s… a family matter, so don’t worry about it.”
“Hiiik?! I-I’m sorry, Lady Sophia!”
Just from Sophia’s voice growing slightly colder, Yohan bowed his head in fear. According to Melina, Sophia had repeatedly crushed and healed Yohan’s testicles, so it was only natural that he trembled in terror.
I was curious what Sophia usually called me in front of Yohan that simply hearing “Oppa” shocked him so much, but that wasn’t important right now.
Who the hell beat his face into a pulp?
Even as I wondered, there was really only one person who would do something like this at this point. And I could roughly guess the reason from Yohan’s words.
I approached Yohan and placed a hand on his shoulder. The shoulder I gripped twitched like a frightened lamb.
Looking into his terrified eyes, I spoke to him in the kindest voice I could manage.
“Tell me honestly. The person who messed up your face—was it Leopold?”
“Ah, uhh… th-that is…”
Yohan’s already shaky pupils began convulsing as if an earthquake had struck. Even without an answer, I could tell it was correct. My guess had been spot on.
I continued pressing him.
“And the fact that you asked why I was here means the person you were looking for wasn’t me, but Sophia, right?”
“Ah…”
This time Yohan couldn’t even form a proper word. His mouth hung wide open, and his shoulders, which had shrunk like a criminal caught by the police, trembled violently.
“Leopold?”
Sophia frowned as she repeated the name. I nodded.
“Yeah. He said the two of you were supposed to meet tonight. Since you weren’t at the closing ceremony, he must have been desperate. So he forced Yohan to go find you.”
“Hah, desperate? That man’s in heat.”
Sophia snorted and cursed Leopold, completely forgetting that Yohan was right in front of her. Yohan watched in terror as she verbally insulted someone of the imperial bloodline.
“This is annoying. I really don’t want a dung fly sticking to us.”
I knew Leopold was obsessed with Sophia, but I never imagined he would go so far as to beat up Yohan’s face. If I left him alone, there was no telling what else he might do.
I was the type who preferred to extinguish every last spark to feel at ease. In truth, Leopold’s fate had been sealed from the moment he provoked me at the entrance ceremony.
“This won’t do. Before we leave the Academy, let’s deal with him one last time.”
When I muttered those words, Sophia looked back and forth between me and Yohan with an expression that asked, Who?
“N-no! Please spare me!”
The moment he heard the word “deal with” come from my mouth, Yohan began shedding pale, bloody tears.
I patted the shoulder of Yohan, who seemed to have misunderstood.
“Don’t cry so pathetically, Yohan. This isn’t about you.”
“Then… you don’t mean…”
I gave a firm nod to Sophia, who had trailed off.
It was time to teach a lesson to the lowlife who didn’t know his place and dared to hit on my woman—my little sister.
You piss-headed bastard. I’ll make you cry and piss yourself until you’re as pathetic as that ugly hair color of yours.