Seventh Life (3)
"……."
"Tell me. Why is it that you can block every attack I throw exactly the way I throw it, but you can't block anything else? That's weird."
Faced with irrefutable logic, I was left without a word.
Because she wasn't wrong in the slightest.
"Don't tell me, Noah…"
"…!"
Had she figured out that I'd been through this situation more than once?
No—even so, there was no way she'd catch on from just this. The Anne standing in front of me was experiencing today for the first time.
"Did you memorize all my attacks?"
"……Yes."
Thankfully, she'd jumped to the wrong conclusion, and the cold sweat stopped. The best logic I could come up with started forming in my mind.
"Earlier during our spar, you attacked in the exact same order, so I thoughtlessly assumed you'd come at me the same way and memorized it… I'm sorry. Relying on a cheap trick like that and disappointing you, Sister."
"…Haa. Fine. It's okay."
Anne sheathed her rapier and held out her hand. I took it, stood up, and brushed off my clothes.
"Our Noah's started using his head, huh~?"
"Ha, haha…"
Anne put some distance between us. Then she took her stance again and began radiating red magic.
"This time, don't memorize it—just block properly. No, you attack first, Noah."
"Yes."
Crisis averted. All that remained was to finish this unofficial spar safely. But she was so calm—what could have happened to make her suddenly try to kill me?
"Here I come."
Blue magic rippled along the blade of my longsword, Rinne. I concentrated power in my lower body, preparing to leap toward Anne.
"Hah!"
I charged forward, slashing as I went. To leave her no angle to dodge, I widened my range of motion more than usual.
"Kh, not bad? That's the stance."
Then, using my front foot as a pivot, I spun and slashed again. But Anne had already put distance between us and was ready to thrust.
"Here I go!"
"Kh!"
I gripped the hilt with both hands and barely managed to deflect the attack. Anne repeated thrusts and slashes from various angles and at various timings.
This is dangerous in its own way…!
Under the life-threatening pressure that she could kill me naturally like this, I blocked her attacks with everything I had. If I half-assed it, she'd want to go again, so I had to give it my all. But winning—that was something I absolutely must not—
"Haa… haa…"
"…Noah."
"Yes…"
Anne's serious gaze. She strode toward me as if she might attack at any moment. I flinched and stepped back without meaning to.
"You really blocked everything? That was so cool!"
"Aw… not cool enough to…"
"No! It was cool!"
Anne grabbed both my hands, her eyes sparkling brightly. Probably an act, but I had to play along for now.
"Then I can go all out now, right?"
"What…?"
Anne's red magic grew denser. The wind seemed to blow harder, and the tips of her hair looked like they were flickering with flames. And true to Flamingo's name, the blade itself turned a vivid crimson.
"Since Noah can block this easily, I'm going to give it my all too."
"Wait…"
Was she really attacking to kill me now? Then I had no choice but to block with everything I had.
Focus. Focus…!
I released more magic as well—until Rinne's blade turned blue and one of my eyes was dyed with a blue flame. What they call the Second Release.
"Noah…? That form of yours…"
Anne was probably seeing this for the first time. I'd been practicing in secret, after all.
"I haven't been living without a thought, you know."
"……I'm coming."
"Yes."
Anne charged at a much faster speed. I deactivated one eye and poured all my vision into the other. I needed at least that much to even track Anne's movements.
"Kh…!"
I blocked Anne's attack and counter-slashed. With the increased speed, there was even less room to attack.
At this rate, even if I wanted to take a hit, I wouldn't want to…!
Even a graze would be a critical hit. I was supposed to take one hit and go down naturally, but if I messed up, I could die.
"Why didn't you tell me? That you could do this too."
"That, well, Sister, when you take that form…! I was going to show you—"
"Hah!"
As if she didn't want to hear excuses, she pressed me with a flurry of thrusts. I held my stance, gripping the hilt with both hands to block the attacks.
"Haa… haa…"
"This is… the end!"
"Sister, wait a second…!"
Flamingo's blade went beyond red—it was burning. Another technique I'd never seen before. When was this person going to fully show her full power…!
Is this how she wiped out our family…!
Somehow, no matter how skilled she was, it shouldn't be possible to take down everyone alone. So there really was something more.
"Haaaaah!"
"Oh my, Young Master! Young Lady!!!"
"Hm?"
At the voice that stopped us, Anne returned to normal. I, too, had overdone the magic release, and strength left my legs.
"Victor…"
"What on earth are you two doing here! Dinner time has long since passed!!"
""…!""
Had that much time already gone by? That was close. Still, it was a relief. If it hadn't been for the head butler Victor, I probably would have gone back to this morning.
Or maybe not.
Knock, knock, knock.
"……."
That time had come. The hour when everyone was asleep, when Anne would try every means at her disposal to kill me. Somehow she'd said nothing at dinner. It was a relief Father hadn't scolded us for being late, but in that short span something in her must have shifted again. If I'd known, I would have followed her.
"Sister. What brings you here…"
"Am I not allowed to come?"
"Come on… of course you can come whenever you like."
As before, I prepared black tea and brought out some sweets. Then, as our cups touched, she looked at me with lifeless, dead eyes.
"I was honestly a little surprised today."
"About what… exactly?"
"Don't play dumb. During the spar this afternoon."
"Ah…"
Another new situation…. Not that I had any right to feel wronged—today had already been full of strange turns. This wasn't the time to whine. All I could think about was surviving Anne's attack. Otherwise I'd have to go through it all over again. I was starting to get tired of this routine.
"I'm sorry. I should have told you beforehand."
"Who taught you?"
"Pardon?"
"That. Who told you how."
Almost no one could perform a Second Release. It wasn't something someone could simply teach you, and figuring it out alone was even more impossible.
"Tell me. Who taught you."
"Naturally, from watching your back, Sister…"
"Don't lie."
Anne's gaze turned ice-cold. Was she about to cast magic right away?
"I can tell. Whether you're lying or not."
"……."
"Hurry. Be honest with me."
"Is that really so important right now…?"
"It is to me."
"Haa… Father."
"…What?"
Just as expected, her eyebrows shot up. Father had said, "Anne managed the Release, so why don't you know it?" and taught me himself. That was exactly why I hadn't wanted to say it.
"I knew it… so that was it."
"…!"
"After all… there's no one who likes me."
"Kh…!"
A binding spell cast without warning. I dodged the flying chains and threw myself toward the bed. I couldn't escape through the window anyway, so toward the sword—
"Gah!"
Why was this woman so fast. The moment I thought of diving that way, she was already coming at me from there.
"Sister…! Please calm down!"
"Why does Father only…!"
Again. The same scene as last night—no, as the time before I died last. So it was ending up like this again after all. The poison-coated dagger drawn from Anne's waist came at me to stab.
"That's right. Someone like you—"
I blocked Anne's dagger, my hands trembling violently. From that vibration, the poison dripped onto my eyes.
"Kh…! Hnnngh!"
The moment it touched my eyeballs, a searing pain. Gritting my teeth, I endured it and hurriedly injected myself with the Irisstar Family Antidote I'd prepared in advance.
"Haa… haa…!"
"Kya?!"
I flipped our positions and pinned Anne beneath me. I seized each of her limbs one by one, locking her in place. I crushed her down as if embracing her until that fierce resistance stopped.
"Let go! Let go of me!"
"Please calm down! Why are you doing this!"
Anne's resistance ceased. Just in case, I kept her restrained from above.
"……."
"What is it about me that you hate so much!"
"…You."
"Yes…?"
"Noah… your very existence is what I hate. If only you weren't here…!"
"So that was it after all."
As expected, it was because of the headship. No matter what, a family could have only one head. Anne and I were rivals competing for that seat. But for all Anne's efforts, Father's discriminatory insistence that the head had to be a man had driven us this far apart.
"That seat—I'll just give it to you!"
"What…?"
"I don't care about being head of the family! Just… just belonging to Irisstar, living happily with my family—that's enough for me!"
At first I'd vaguely aimed for it myself, thinking I ought to do it because I was told to. But as I grew older, I came to feel that Anne was the one suited for the position. I'd been ready to give it up from the start. It was only because of Father that I couldn't.
"…Don't lie."
"Pardon?"
No—this was the truth. I'd genuinely been looking for ways to renounce the headship. I could even say it right now if she wanted.
"You're just saying that to put me at ease so you can scheme behind my back, aren't you? Do you think I've only been burned by that once or twice? This afternoon too… you can't fool me, Noah!"
"No, there's no way! What would I even gain by lying to you, Sister!"
"Because you hate me too! You act like you're approaching me just so you can stab me in the back! You think I don't know?"
"Haa…"
She was completely consumed by inferiority. Honestly, Father—why did he have to favor only me? He'd turned a person into a monster. As if she were someone else entirely.
"So why would I hate you, Sister! I like you, if anything!"
"…What?"
"Do you know how much I've respected you? Since we were little, and even now! I've always thought in my heart that I had to catch up to you! I wanted to be acknowledged!"
"……."
If anyone should feel inferior, it was me. The burden of having to succeed as head because of unwanted favoritism. But Anne alone had treated me as a little brother and even trained me.
"And yet Father… was so sparing with praise for you… and looked only at me."
This was the result. Anne had come to hate me and want me dead. In the end I'd been lucky enough to dodge it like this, but if this ever got out, Anne would surely face something worse than expulsion.
"I know that much myself. That you want to be loved, Sister."
I didn't want Anne to die either. I just wanted to protect our family—our household—in an ordinary way.
"So… I'll love you. Sister."
"Hnn…?"
"All the love you never received. I'll give it all to you."
"That means you're saying you…"
"…Hm?"
A flush rose to Anne's face. Well, even I had to admit I'd just said something embarrassingly sappy.
"Noah… do you like me?"
"Yes. Of course I do."
If I'd hated her, I would have seized the chance and cut her throat already. She was my one and only precious older sister.
"…Good."
"Hoo…"
With no more killing intent visible, I released Anne. I stood, brushing myself off to check for injuries.
"I'll trust you to keep that promise."
"When did I ever make a promise?"
"You'll tell Father too… right?"
"Of course. Tomorrow, even."
All of this absurdity had started with Father. Once I explained everything from beginning to end, Father would surely underst—
"When should we set the date for our wedding?"
"…What?"
The moment I thought that, I felt everything start to go terribly wrong.