A Sister's Heart
'This is too much.'
Seo Moon-min-hye, who had listened to everything her eldest brother Seo Moon-jin had to say, felt tears well up in her eyes as she absorbed the information she had heard from the family members and the hardships Seo Moon-jin had endured after being expelled. He had only been five years old back then. Throwing a five-year-old child out of the house with nothing was no different from sentencing him to death.
'And yet, big brother… no, little brother…'
She understood that he had been only four when their eldest brother was cast out, so he could not have intervened. But afterward, he had never even tried to find out what happened, content to delude himself that everything was fine. 'Father must have taken care of it?' Her younger brother had shown no interest whatsoever in their eldest brother. That strange sense of dissonance she had felt back then now crystallized into certainty for Seo Moon-min-hye. Seo Moon-hyun seemed to treat the expulsion of his own brother Seo Moon-jin as nothing more than the disappearance of a single servant. His indifference made her realize she had misjudged her younger brother. She could have understood it ten years ago, but she could not believe he still thought this way now.
"Big brother… how are you doing these days?"
At Seo Moon-min-hye's question, Seo Moon-jin smiled gently. With a face that resembled her one-year-younger brother Seo Moon-hyun yet carried a far more mature air, he spoke kindly.
"I'm doing well, so you don't have to worry. I really went through hell, but as you can see, I'm doing pretty well for myself."
"Doing well?"
"Yeah. I recently earned this much."
Seo Moon-jin showed Seo Moon-min-hye the balance on his smartphone: 12 billion won.
"Oh my?!"
Seo Moon-min-hye was shocked by the amount exceeding 12 billion won. How had he, after being thrown out, managed to earn such a fortune? Yet when she thought about it, he had given her wild ginseng, claiming it was a gift for his little sister.
"I have plenty of other things as well, and I'm planning to buy a house soon."
"Is it because you awakened your magic power?"
"Yeah. And because my ability is a bit special, I'm making money like this."
"Brother… if you get a house, could I leave the Seo family and live with you?"
Seo Moon-min-hye voiced something that her future self would later consider a childish, impulsive remark. But in this moment, she was disgusted by the hypocrisy of the Seo family. She could not claim to be selflessly righteous, yet there was a line that should never be crossed. By casting out their own blood to die, the Seo family had already crossed the final boundary she believed a family must uphold.
"You want to leave home?"
"…Is that not allowed?"
Seo Moon-min-hye felt a sudden anxiety that she might be rejected. He had said he did not resent her, but the fear that he might hate her simply for being part of the Seo family surged from within, threatening to consume her with dread. In response, Seo Moon-jin's gentle hand reached out and stroked her hair.
"Can you wait until you enter the academy?"
Seo Moon-min-hye asked about the restriction.
"Until I enter the academy?"
"Yeah. Just hold on until then. If it's truly unbearable, you can leave, but the Seo family probably won't stay quiet about it."
"Ah…"
Seo Moon-min-hye immediately understood what he meant. She had also heard how the adults of the Seo family dealt with those who left. If she departed, the family would likely launch a large-scale operation to reclaim her as the patriarch's daughter and a mana awakener.
"I'll make time every week to secretly come see our Min-hye like this. Will that be enough for now?"
"Yeah… okay. I'm sorry, brother… You might get in trouble because of me…"
Seo Moon-min-hye felt guilty toward Seo Moon-jin. Logically, he had no reason to feel guilty about being expelled from the family, yet the shocking truth that her eldest brother had been cast out at five years old with nothing filled her with deep remorse simply for being a member of the Seo family. Reason and emotion were different, so the guilt she already carried made the thought that she might have caused him trouble feel even more painful.
"But… if possible, I'd like you to keep our meetings a secret from everyone. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, I will."
"Haha, good. And once I get a house, I'll come pick you up so you can see it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'll even give you a personal tour, so look forward to it."
"Okay! I'll be waiting!"
Seo Moon-min-hye was already looking forward to that day.
* * *
'She looks happy.'
A child who knew part of the truth but nothing of what truly mattered. That was exactly Seo Moon-min-hye's current situation.
'Right now it's just a child's rebellious impulse, but turning it into something deeper is my job.'
The seeds I had planted in Seo Moon-min-hye were beginning to sprout because of the sins the Seo family had committed themselves. However, to fully win her heart, consistent attention was essential.
'I can't go overboard. Moderation is key.'
Too much attention might make her feel burdened instead, so the right balance was necessary. With that thought, I asked Seo Moon-min-hye a question.
"Min-hye. Can you tell me how you usually spend your days?"
"Huh? You mean my daily routine?"
"Yeah. As your big brother, I want to know how our Min-hye lives her everyday life."
"Ah…"
Seo Moon-min-hye seemed to be forming her own guess as to why I was asking this.
[He wants to get to know me little by little since we don't know each other well yet.]
I read her thoughts, but since it aligned with my intention, I did not correct her.
"I just… mostly swing a sword. I learn various sword techniques too…"
The Seo family's swordsmanship. The techniques that Seo Moon-min-hye and the protagonist Seo Moon-hyun had learned would later be revealed to contain the power capable of harming the immortality of the final boss of this novel, the Eternal Dragon Terenity. Of course, reaching that level required mastering the family's secret arts, but it was the only possibility of bringing death to the seemingly invincible Eternal Dragon Terenity.
'Of course, with me here now, it's not the only possibility.'
The swordsmanship Seo Moon-min-hye practiced was the Seo family's style. A sudden curiosity struck me.
"Min-hye. Can you show me your swordsmanship?"
"Swordsmanship? Yeah, sure."
Seo Moon-min-hye showed no hesitation in demonstrating the family's techniques. Revealing swordsmanship in detail to outsiders was taboo, but I was not just anyone. No matter how much I hated the Seo family, even if I had been struck from the family register, I was still of Seo blood. I was the eldest son and the biological child of the current patriarch Seo Moon-kang-hyuk, and Seo Moon-min-hye's own brother. From her perspective, I was someone she could show her swordsmanship to without any reservations.
[Brother… is he perhaps regretting that he never learned the family's swordsmanship? If Father hadn't cruelly expelled him, he would have mastered these techniques too.]
She seemed to be under a misunderstanding, but I did not bother correcting it. It was better for her to think this way, as it would help foster feelings of pity toward me.
Whoosh!
Seo Moon-min-hye swung the wooden sword she held. If it had been me just a short while ago, I would not have been able to properly assess her technique. But now, having obtained overwhelming power and talent through synchronization, the principles behind Seo Moon-min-hye's swordsmanship were laid bare before me.
'So this is how it works.'
Though it was only the foundational level of the Seo family's swordsmanship, I could now understand its underlying principles. I could also see that Seo Moon-min-hye possessed exceptional talent even among her peers.
'It wouldn't be good to interfere too much.'
If I decided to help her, Seo Moon-min-hye's skills would improve dramatically. By the time she entered the academy, she would likely surpass Seo Moon-hyun at the end of the original story after all his opportunities. But that would derail the original plot too severely. It might also cause Seo Moon-kang-hyuk to neglect Seo Moon-hyun and favor Seo Moon-min-hye instead.
'That won't do.'
Simply making Seo Moon-hyun miserable would not satisfy me. That would be no different from the crude method of erasing the Seo family by force. Until he entered the academy, Seo Moon-hyun had to live a happy, successful life. Only after letting him rise to the peak of happiness and then dragging him down to the bottom would my revenge feel complete.
'My revenge will only be fulfilled when you fall from the height of your happiness.'
Unaware of the vengeful resolve in my heart, Seo Moon-min-hye stopped her movements and asked with a smile.
"Brother, how was it? After eating the wild ginseng you gave me, I feel like I have more strength. Hehe~"
At her cheerful expression, I declared,
"Min-hye. You're too intoxicated by the medicinal energy right now. Since you suddenly gained so much power after consuming an elixir, it seems you can't control it yet… I'll help you fully digest the energy so you can wield it freely as your own strength."
…This level of advice and help should be fine.
"Okay! Thank you, brother!"
[Brother must be amazing at swordsmanship too! So cool!]
Her thoughts, filled with pure goodwill toward me, were clearly readable. Her heart, a younger sister's heart, was overflowing with affection, trust, and admiration for me.