Chapter 290: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (83)
Chapter 290: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (83)
“Ria, it’s the same for me… Until you came to the mansion, I had no memories of a younger sister.”
I had been far too young back then.
My memories always began with a mansion from which a sister had already departed.
I had heard stories of her being a bright, clever child with a knack for mathematics, but I had never actually faced her or shared a bond with her.
In a way, she felt like an otherworldly existence.
If she had mastered mathematics before my own memories even began, she must have been a child within the realm of genius.
I had spent my days thinking of this ‘younger sister’ as a distant, abstract figure—until the day Ria arrived at the mansion.
That was when I realized for the first time.
That a younger sister was such a cute and precious being.
“So, to me, you’re my only ‘sister’… At least to me, you’re the real one. No matter what anyone says.”
That was the proper relationship between Ria and me.
To me, Ria was my only sister, and I was the only person to whom Ria could remain ‘real.’
We were each other’s only siblings.
And that made our bond all the more precious.
“……B-but still.”
Sniffling, Ria began to grumble.
She was cute. She always had been.
“I… I stabbed you, Brother.”
“We’re siblings.”
With a bittersweet smile, I patted Ria on the back.
“Siblings have moments like that sometimes.”
“……What kind of excuse is that?”
Ria let out a faint murmur at my ridiculous justification.
Her tone had softened slightly.
It was a voice that carried a hint of a smile, like a spring day arriving in a winter field.
I pulled her into a deeper embrace to comfort her.
The soft touch of her feminine form provided a peculiar sense of relief.
Carefully, I asked my sister.
“……Do you feel a bit better now?”
“No.”
Her eyes, still wet with tears, turned toward me.
It was like looking at the moon in the night sky.
I felt a sudden wave of dizziness at her fragile expression.
Was I still suffering from the aftereffects of my injuries?
“I’m… I’m still scared.”
“……I know, I know.”
As I patted her, I offered only words of sympathy.
“I’m anxious. I’m afraid I’ll do something terrible to you again, Brother……”
“I know, I know.”
I repeated my consolations over and over, telling her that such things could happen.
Only then did Ria seem to relax as she asked me.
“……Can I trust you, Brother?”
“Of course, naturally.”
Just as I was about to ask how a sister could not trust her brother, Ria looked at me with a coy, sharp gaze.
“Swear it to me.”
I loosened my hold on her for a moment and met her eyes with a questioning look.
A faint blush had risen to my sister’s cheeks.
“……Y-you’re a knight, Brother. If I’m not a monster, then swear to me the way you would to a princess.”
What did she mean by that?
I desperately racked my brain.
Scenes from the fairy tales I had read as a child flickered through my mind one by one.
The stories Ria particularly liked usually involved romance.
The tragic love between a knight and a princess—and because of that, their way of swearing oaths was unique.
A kiss.
When my thoughts reached that point, I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.
There was no way.
No matter how much Ria liked me, we were siblings.
Even if we weren't related by blood, that was how I thought of us.
And Ria surely felt the same.
So, I did what people usually do and held out my pinky finger.
Ria said nothing.
Panting slightly, she just stared blankly at my small finger.
Perhaps due to her long hunger, her eyes were growing hazy. It was a natural consequence if she hadn't been eating properly.
Moreover, hadn't she just poured out her heart in a long, emotional confession?
My priority was to get Ria back to the mansion as quickly as possible.
That was why a somewhat hurried tone escaped my lips.
“Ria, let’s make a promise. I……”
“……No.”
But before I could finish my sentence, Ria stopped me.
While I hesitated, she gave her head a small shake.
“That’s a promise you make to a sister, not a princess.”
“Then what do you want me to……”
It was then.
Whoosh. A sweet scent brushed against the tip of my nose.
It was surprising that her skin could give off such a fragrance when she hadn't been able to wash for a while. Were women’s bodies truly this mysterious?
Ria’s lips touched my pinky finger.
Just as I felt a soft sensation, Ria moved forward.
I had no time to avoid her.
With only a single finger between us, Ria’s lips and mine were nearly touching.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a kiss.
Ria had simply pressed a peck against my pinky finger.
Nevertheless, I found myself speechless for a long moment.
The distance between us was far too close.
Our sweet breaths mingled, and when I opened my eyes, I saw her two eyes shimmering with desperate emotion.
A distance where we could perceive each other most clearly.
Ria didn't stop at the kiss; she slightly stuck out her tongue and licked my pinky.
Lick, lick.
Like a kitten, she licked up my finger with the tip of her tongue.
Every time her tongue brushed my skin, a strange, tingling current ran down my spine.
Faced with a sensation I had never experienced in my life, I could only stand there, dazed.
After a while.
With one final peck on my pinky, Ria slowly pulled her face away.
When she finally opened her eyes, they curved into a seductive arc.
The girl spoke with an alluring smile.
“Brother, I like being your sister, but……”
It was a sorrowful expression, a mix of joy and sadness.
“……Sometimes, I hate it so much.”
Her voice was desperate, trailing off into a feverish breath.
That was the first time I thought it.
That perhaps the feelings Ria harbored for me might be a little different from my own.
For a long time, I couldn't find my bearings.
Ria’s runaway ended anticlimactically, as they usually did.
Immediately afterward, Ria fainted, and I had to carry her on my back, sweating profusely as I descended the back mountain.
I felt a bit of regret.
I wondered if I should have brought Senior Neris along.
My physical condition wasn't fully restored yet, and crucially, my muscles had all but atrophied after being bedridden for over a month.
Even with drugs and mana, there were limits.
The only saving grace was that the already slender Ria had grown even thinner after starving for several days.
If she had been any heavier, I might have collapsed once or twice.
In particular, the weight of Ria’s chest and hips was nothing to scoff at.
Usually, the human body burns fat first when starving, so it was quite a mystery.
When I safely handed Ria over, my parents patted my shoulder without a word.
Their hearts must have been heavy as well.
In a way, it was a foolish thing to do.
Taking in a girl who was nothing but an impostor, and potentially facing punishment because of it.
Despite that, neither my father nor my mother seemed to have any regrets.
My father said it was ‘responsibility.’
He only said he was sorry for causing me trouble, as he hadn't expected the family secret to be revealed given that we were just a rural estate.
I neither praised nor blamed my parents.
I simply chose to respect their decision.
Inwardly, I was grateful.
If it weren't for my parents, I would never have met Ria.
Even after laying Ria down in her bedroom, several events were waiting for me.
As I lay in bed groaning, receiving nothing but pathetic looks from the Saintess, a guest arrived.
“……Master?”
A pointed hat appeared through the slightly ajar door.
Then, the face of a girl with a lovely appearance popped out.
Seeing her blinking and staring at me, I had to suppress a bittersweet smile.
“Senior Elsie……”
She had come again.
Lately, Senior Elsie was always like this.
Even though the Saintess had declared I needed Absolute Stability, she would cleverly show up whenever the Saintess stepped away.
Of course, she seemed to be holding back, perhaps mindful of the Saintess’s words.
Even now, she didn't look like she was about to dive into my arms.
Thinking back to the past when Senior Elsie had monopolized my embrace, causing power struggles with Celine and Seria, made my head spin.
The Saintess didn't look upon Senior Elsie with kind eyes either.
At least for now, I was glad she was satisfied with just having a conversation.
Besides, I was bored, so I welcomed her visit.
Today, Senior Elsie seemed rather hesitant.
So, I decided to break the ice first.
“What is it?”
“L-later this evening……”
With a nervous expression, Senior Elsie carefully asked about my schedule.
“……Could we, perhaps, meet alone?”
“Hmm,” a soft hum escaped my lips.
Would the Saintess allow it?
My body had improved significantly lately. It was even being said that I could finish my rehabilitation within the remaining time of the break.
And hadn't Reto given me advice as well?
To spend some intimate time alone?
This was reason enough to be a bit stubborn with the Saintess.
“Sure, let’s meet in the back garden this evening.”
“……Y-yes!”
Senior Elsie jumped for joy as she answered.
Soon, her entire face lit up with a bright glow. She took a couple of steps back and left my room.
Though I did hear a shout of “Yes!” immediately afterward.
I could clearly picture Senior Elsie shaking her tiny, clenched fists in triumph.
I let out a chuckle and waited for evening to come.
If an important guest hadn't arrived before then, my steps would have headed straight for Senior Elsie.
There were only two people in the vast reception room.
Normally, it would have been crowded with the rest of the group, but everyone had cleared out, considering the weight of the person who had come to visit.
It was a middle-aged man in a black uniform.
Only his graying hair hinted at his true age.
His body, though he must have been well into his later years, was incredibly robust.
He wouldn't have paled in comparison to me even in my prime.
He was more famous by his title than his name.
‘The Empire’s Sword Duke.’
After maintaining a heavy silence with his hands behind his back for a while, he spoke a single, weighty sentence to me.
“……She might be alive.”
He added as he handed me about three or four sheets of documents.
“Your ‘real’ younger sister.”
My eyes turned vacant as I took the papers.
That was the reason the Sword Duke had come to see me.
The conversation he insisted we must have.
The subject was the whereabouts of my ‘real’ younger sister.