A refreshing scent tickled my nose.
Every ti Deia’s hair swayed, the fragrance she carried created sothing addictive inside .
She, who had placed her legs over my thighs, turned around and drew closer.
She casually placed her head on my lap and slid into my arms, looking like a cat.
“What are you trying to do right now?”
I asked as I looked down at her, and Deia answered in a calm voice.
“It’s a lap pillow. We did this before, what’s the problem?”
I vaguely rembered doing it occasionally in the carriage.
“Put on proper clothes first.”
“It’s my room, so why does it matter?”
The conversation seed to be going nowhere.
I rubbed my eyes a few tis, even though I shouldn’t have felt tired in my artificial body. Yet, the sensation still lingered. So, I sighed.
I felt her shifting below.
And before I knew it, Deia had climbed onto my thighs and was staring at .
“Mmm.”
Erica, who was sleeping right besides us, let out a faint breath but didn’t wake up.
Thanks to the fact that she was holding onto my left hand tightly, afraid I might move away, it was hard to make any sudden movents.
Taking advantage of this, Deia placed her hands on both my shoulders and stared blankly at .
I remained silent and locked eyes with her, but there was a sharp reaction from her side.
“Huff, what the hell are you looking at?”
I couldn’t just bla it on the alcohol.
“Your face.”
“What?”
“Your face is completely red. If you’re trying to hide your embarrassnt, you should do a better job.”
“Ugh!”
Deia quickly placed her hand on her cheek. And even though she tried to act nonchalant, it was clear that she was unable to hide the burning feeling.
I, on the other hand, could remain calm and get away from the situation.
“Move. Don’t let your strange sense of stubbornness make you behave in a way that doesn’t suit you.”
“Doesn’t suit ?”
“Even if we’re siblings, sitting on your brother’s lap like this is sothing you should never do.”
There was a hint of coldness in my voice that even surprised . However, this couldn’t be helped.
Even if Deia was yet to sort out her feelings for , it was an emotion she shouldn’t hold onto.
Even though I wasn’t using Deus’ body any longer, I was still her older brother.
I gave her a warning with that aning.
“You… my brother?”
Perhaps angered by sothing, Deia lifted her hands from my shoulders and grabbed both of my cheeks.
The force made it hard for to pull away, especially with one of my arms being held by Erica and the other too weak to escape.
“How could you be my brother?”
“…”
“You’re Kim Shinwoo. You’re not Deus. Right now, we aren’t blood-related, and our surnas aren’t even the sa.”
“Deia, you know how much those words hurt , right?”
I answered bitterly, and Deia’s eyes trembled. The joy I once felt at gaining a new family now seed trivial.
But,
“You… bastard. Then what about ? What am I supposed to do, huh?”
“…”
“I hated all bastards called n. I thought I’d spend the rest of my life buried in work for the household.”
It wasn’t just simple tremors.
Deia’s sobbing caused my head to spin, and my thoughts froze.
“You bastard… This is the first ti. The first ti I’ve wanted to be this close to soone, to be with soone. It’s the first ti.”
With a soft thud, Deus pressed her forehead to mine. The tremble in her fingertips transferred through my cheek.
“How could I not know how much you treasure family? I was always happy to have an older brother who acts like an actual brother.”
eting my gaze slowly, Deia’s eyes brimd with tears. The devastating plea in her stare felt unbearably heavy.
“Then you should’ve stopped there. Why are you coming closer? Why did you make open up my heart?”
“…”
“We can also be family in another way, right?”
Slowly.
Very slowly, Deia’s lips drew closer.
Her hand that grabbed my cheek, as if seeking permission, tilted my face slightly, trying to make kiss her.
Chu.
“…”
Deia’s eyes opened wide.
Her expression twisted upon seeing my fingers co between our lips.
“This can’t be.”
“Ha, haha.”
Even though I rejected the kiss, the tears didn’t fall from her eyes.
The tears that seed to be hanging on like they were stuck looked truly pitiful.
“Even if you don’t accept it, I’m still your older brother. This kind of relationship can’t ever happen.”
“…”
“You should et other people. There are plenty of people better than soone like . You’re just mistaken right now because I’m the only man close to you.”
“Rig…ht.”
She seed to give up.
Deia’s hand slipped from my cheek. I thought she might step back, but instead…
She quickly grabbed my right hand blocking her mouth, and dragged it down.
And then, she continued the kiss.
The suddenness of it made my eyes widen as I stared at Deia.
However, unlike , Deia shut her eyes tightly, trembling.
And even though I tried to twist my body to push her away, it was hard to move with Erica beside and Deia’s weight on .
She held my right hand tightly so I couldn’t move it at all.
I tried to resist, but in the end, the kiss still happened.
“Puff.”
Unable to even catch her breath due to nervousness, Deia gazed at with a flushed face.
“This is my first kiss.”
“Deia…!”
I was really angry, but in the end, her tears finally rolled down her cheeks.
“Tomorrow.”
Pulling away slowly, Deia turned her body and said.
“I’m going to et soone for a matchmaking eting.”
***
The next day.
I would have usually gone straight ho, but for so reason, I found myself unable to move my feet.
“Hehe.”
So, I spent so ti in Professor Fel’s lab, which was devoid of people.
“Here!”
With her fluttering pink hair, Professor Fel ca over and offered so tea. Since it was an artificial body, I couldn’t really taste it, so I drank it without much thought.
“You seem excited.”
When I asked Fel, she looked surprised, clasped her hands to her chest, and scratched the back of her head with a sheepish grin.
“I-I guess it just reminded of the old tis. I have a lot of good mories from when I shared this room with you, Professor…”
It was a lively ti when Findenai, Owen, and Illuania were all together.
Although I thought I had subtly gone along with the flow, I was grateful that she seed to be reminiscing about that ti positively.
“By the way, did you hear? Owen is apparently being tested by the bishops to inherit the position of the Soul Whisperer.”
“Really?”
Since my ho was in a quiet, remote area of the Clark Republic, news took a while to reach .
Was Owen finally taking my place?
It didn’t feel bad.
Even if I couldn’t help, I could at least cheer for him in my heart.
“Yes! Apparently, all they talk about in the capital is Owen. Fufu, I feel proud, even though I haven’t really done anything for him. It feels like it was just yesterday he was playing music here.”
With a fond expression, Fel seed to recall the ti Owen spent in the lab, doing odd jobs and practicing on his lodica.
“He’ll do well.”
“I hope so. If there’s anything I can help with, I want to assist!”
As we continued conversing, Erica entered the lab at lunchti.
She seed out of breath, perhaps having run all the way here, but when she saw , a faint smile appeared on her face.
She must have been worried that I would choose to return ho during her lecture.
“Ah, you’re here.”
“I told you I would, didn’t I?”
“Thank goodness.”
With a smile on her face, Erica quickly gathered her lips as if hiding it and walked over to .
“Let’s go, I made a reservation at the restaurant.”
“A restaurant?”
“Yeah, let’s go quickly.”
At that mont, Fel raised her hand from the side.
“Ah! too…!”
“Hmm?”
Erica’s expression imdiately shifted back to that of a professor and mage. As she shot a cold gaze toward Professor Fel, she awkwardly smiled and shouted.
“I also need to go eat! I’ll head to the cafeteria today!”
Whether she was quick-witted or slow, Professor Fel must have sensed the situation, as she smoothly changed the subject and left the lab first.
“…It would have been okay to eat together, right?”
“Are you serious? In that case, I think you’ll need to prepare another artificial body.”
Screech.
Erica loosened her hand and subtly gathered golden mana in her right hand.
Even if I tried to pretend it wasn’t a threat…
“That’s just a threat.”
Erica covered her mouth and chuckled at my words.
“Yeah, it’s a threat.”
Then, she grabbed my hand and imdiately stepped outside.
Just the fact that we were walking together in the city drew attention. It used to be because I was the Soul Whisperer, but now it was because Erica was the archmage candidate.
“It’s quite dangerous to walk around holding hands like this.”
Despite my warning, Erica didn’t loosen her grip on my hand in the slightest.
“I don’t care.”
“It’ll spread bad rumors. After all, because of a fiancé like , you already…”
Though Erica had been so competent and accomplished in other areas that she had managed to cover this up, the fact that she had been engaged to the evil Deus Verdi would always stick with her as an inseparable label.
“So?”
But, on the contrary, Erica smiled brightly.
“I like it even more.”
The fact that she had been engaged to Deus Verdi was sothing others would badmouth about, but for her, it was a firm statent of self-assurance.
In fact, if I had been in a normal body instead of an artificial one, it wouldn’t have been surprising if my heart had fluttered.
“Don’t worry about others. When I thought I lost you, I realized sothing.”
That others didn’t matter.
Erica added as we walked toward a rather upscale restaurant.
It seed like a nice place, but I wouldn’t be able to taste the food anyway.
I just planned to sit across from Erica and drink so water, knowing she understood that.
However, as soon as we entered, I understood why she forced to co here.
“Ugh!?”
Deia’s eyes widened as she saw us from across the room.
Barely stopping herself from spitting out her drink, Deia had the man sitting across from her hand her a handkerchief and worry about her.
“Erica?”
Despite my surprise, she forced to sit at the table she had reserved and then gave a slight smile.
“You are worried about her, right?”
“…”
“That’s why you didn’t return. Findenai is probably furious.”
She must have been throwing a fit about staying out, probably ruining the garden in the process as well.
“You’re her brother, right? So make sure to take good care of Deia while you use the excuse of having a date with .”
The devoted woman rested her chin on her hand and smiled sweetly at .
Just as I was about to express my gratitude…
“Yesterday, you…”
Erica’s smile turned bitter.
“Really looked sad.”
“Erica?”
When I called her na with so doubt, Erica avoided my gaze and mumbled.
“I didn’t even drink much.”
Sohow, it did feel like she held my left arm far too tightly yesterday.
***
sko-fi/genesisforsaken
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