Chapter 289: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (82)
Chapter 289: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (82)
Ria’s history of running away from home was a long one.
The first time happened about two years after she had arrived at the mansion.
Back then, just as she was slowly opening her heart to me, I ended up scolding her for the first time.
I couldn't remember the exact reason.
I only recalled being concerned that she was becoming too attached to me. She would throw herself into my arms at any given moment, or beam with a smile while kissing my cheeks or forehead.
She was, after all, just a twelve-year-old child.
Inwardly, I wanted to brush it off as the cute affection of a younger sister, but the Percus family were nobles. We could not afford to ignore the eyes of the world.
No matter how close siblings were, there had to be a distinction between a man and a woman.
Ria seemed deeply shocked by that reality.
That day, I had to spend hours searching for her. Since it was the first time such a thing had happened, my family and the servants went through a great deal of trouble.
Eventually, even the people of the territory joined the search.
The only saving grace was that Ria possessed at least a minimum level of common sense.
A noble wandering around aimlessly was an easy target for all sorts of crimes.
Among the criminals who targeted young girls, many lacked even a shred of humanity. Because of that, Ria chose places no one would think to look as her temporary shelters.
The locations always changed.
However, no matter where Ria fled, there was always one commonality.
They were always places where we shared memories.
I didn't know what criteria she used to choose her hiding spots.
But after searching for her time and again, I could roughly guess where she might go. After that, our family didn't try to stop her even if she ran away.
Even if I wasn't there, Ria would return home after a few days.
In fact, having some time alone was often better for Ria to sort out her feelings and regain her strength.
Everyone has the right to escape from the bustling noise of the world.
That was likely why the family tacitly allowed Ria’s disappearances.
Many people suffered because of my critical condition, but Ria’s pain was the greatest among them.
She had the history of being manipulated by the Dark Cult into stabbing me.
Of course, it wasn't Ria’s fault.
It wasn't her will; it was simply bad luck.
If the 'Masked Phantom' hadn't appeared, Ria would never have stabbed me.
Nevertheless, regret and guilt seeped in like rainwater soaking into a rock.
Until the heart split apart with a sharp, breaking sound.
I realized that truth poignantly today.
Contrary to my and my family's expectations, Ria’s condition seemed far more serious.
Perhaps because she hadn't eaten for days, her complexion was deathly pale.
She already had a sickly appearance, but now she was so gaunt that she didn't even seem fragile anymore.
It was a precarious weakness, as if she would snap if touched.
She was, quite literally, like a solitary flower.
Ria, whose eyes had reddened upon seeing me, was suddenly startled.
She covered her face with her hands, as if trying to block out the sunlight pouring into the cave.
Or perhaps, she simply didn't want to look at me.
"…D-Don't come any closer."
Her voice was trembling violently.
Terrified, Ria pleaded with me.
"Please, don't come… I, I don't want to see you, Brother."
A faint sob was woven into her voice.
Her shivering body was a pitiful sight.
Watching Ria desperately hide herself, I let out a deep sigh.
"There you go again, saying things you don't mean."
"…It’s the truth."
Though she was on the verge of tears, Ria forced a cold tone.
But she couldn't deceive the eyes and ears of her older brother.
Ria was lying.
There was no way she didn't want to see me.
She was the one who had felt so much guilt because of me that she had eventually crawled into this hole.
She was a sister who loved her brother so much she didn't know what to do with herself.
I pondered for a moment how I should punish this little liar.
In the meantime, Ria continued in a dejected voice.
Since it was the first time in her life she had ever said she hated me, her stuttering voice was thick with self-rejection.
"I… I don't want to see someone like you, Brother… We aren't even family anyway! I know now… that I’m just a replacement…."
'Replacement.'
I stared at Ria, speechless at that horrific word.
Through the gaps in her crossed arms, I caught a glimpse of moisture in her eyes.
That dew would soon turn into raindrops.
It was hard for me to even fathom how much pain Ria was in.
It must feel as if the roots of every belief she had held her entire life were being shaken.
That was why Ria was being stubborn.
She was repeating lies to hide her true feelings.
Finally, the girl cried out, tears streaming down her face.
"So stop tormenting me and just leave…!"
"I refuse."
Ria’s mouth clamped shut at my firm tone.
Her golden eyes began to waver.
It was always the brother's job to break his sister's stubbornness.
I decided to do what I had to do.
The ceiling of the cave was a bit low, so I stepped forward with my back hunched. Ria flinched, her eyes filled with fear.
The way she scurried backward on her haunches made it seem like she was afraid of me.
No, it wasn't me she was afraid of.
So, I didn't stop walking.
Ria tried to dissuade me with a trembling voice.
"I, I don't want to see someone like you—"
"You wanted to see me."
I thought of the scent of flowers in full bloom.
Midsummer suppresses fragrant smells with its damp humidity. Nevertheless, there are scents that simply cannot be hidden.
The fragrance of the Sepia flower was like that.
The scent of this flower, which blooms from spring to summer, is subtle yet persistent; whenever I smelled it, I would occasionally lose myself in certain memories.
I had once made a promise to Ria.
That I would become a knight and protect her.
The reason Ria had come here was likely because of the memories of that day.
If she truly hadn't wanted to be found, she wouldn't have chosen this place to begin with.
In this way, the girl's true heart was like the scent of flowers in midsummer.
"That’s why I came to see you… just like I promised back then."
"L-Liar…."
Sobbing, Ria shook her head again.
The way her legs struggled to push her body back was agonizing to watch.
"That… that was a promise you made to your sister."
"And that’s why I came to find you, my sister."
"…No!"
It was a paroxysmal scream.
Ria glared at me with eyes that burned like a wildfire.
The emotions swirling within them were complex.
Anger, hatred, self-reproach, anxiety, and despair.
It was as if the raw ores of pain had been melted down to create golden ingots.
"I… I’m not your sister! I’m just, just…."
Ria’s head dropped as if she were collapsing.
She pressed down on her head with both arms and buried her face between her knees.
"…I’m just a monster."
Her sobbing was desolate.
I stopped walking for a moment.
Only then did Ria pour out her true feelings.
"I-I’m scared… that I’ll stab you again… that I’ll stop being myself, and then I might kill you! Or that you might hate me…."
In the end, Ria’s worries stemmed from that.
She was someone who had once been happy to learn she wasn't my biological sister.
There was no reason for her to suddenly blame herself for not being my sister now.
Rather, Ria’s concern lay elsewhere.
The fear that she might stab me again.
The fear that I might die, or that I might come to hate her.
To Ria, that was a terror worse than death.
I didn't particularly want to know what it felt like to harm the only person in the world who mattered to you with your own hands.
So, taking another step, I called my sister's name.
"…Ria."
"Don't make me hope!"
It was a shriek.
I hesitated for a moment at the cry that seemed to condense over a decade of time.
By now, tears were falling in droplets from Ria’s eyes.
"You… you’re always like this… kind, gentle, making me hope for things on your own! I wish… I wish I had never known, then it wouldn't hurt like this!"
The poignant tone in which she spat those words pointed to a secret even I hadn't known.
My eyes, which had no inkling of what she meant, turned toward Ria in confusion.
Meeting that gaze, Ria wept even more sorrowfully.
"Do you have any idea… how much I’ve suffered all this time…?"
Agony and anguish dripped down.
I let out a long sigh and took another step.
"You’re just going to push me away again anyway…."
And another step.
"You’re going to go far away by yourself again and leave me all alone…!"
And finally, I was within reach.
"You… you aren't just the second son of a rural noble family anymore… You’re surrounded by people more beautiful and amazing than me, so if I’m just going to be discarded anyway…!"
I pulled Ria into an embrace without a word.
Despite her claims of hating me and not wanting to see me, there was no resistance.
She simply melted into my arms and wept.
"No matter what, you are my sister."
That was my unvarnished truth.
Ria still looked up at me blankly, her eyes full of disbelief.
"…But I’m a fake?"
She asked me that, and I tightened my arms around her.
That couldn't be true.
No, perhaps to someone else, it might be.
Ria was, after all, a created being.
A fake born with a fate that could never be 'real'—what a cruel life that was.
But she wasn't a fake to me.
I finally confessed the sincerity I had kept hidden all this time.