It had been a while since Ria and I sat side by side on the bed.
To be honest, it was quite a headache.
My head was already throbbing with the talk of abandoning the territory and then Ria put in a difficult position when she started to sob out of nowhere..
As an Older Brother, I couldn’t just not comfort my younger sister.
Of course, there were other things that bothered too.
I was too distracted to notice up until now, but the Dark Priest Mitram had taken on a form identical to Ria.
She herself claid that body was a 'clone.'
Naturally, it couldn't be the real Ria, but I couldn’t help but start having doubts.
Mitram said that cloning a human body required extensive research.
It would have been impossible for the Dark Priest to study Ria while she stayed at Percus Manor all day.
Of course, it was just a one-sided statent. It couldn't be entirely credible.
Despite everything, I was feeling a vague sense of unease.
Hadn't there been sothing about this in the love letter from the future?
That there was a secret in the Percus family.
But it wasn’t a problem that could be solved just by thinking about it now.
If there was a secret within the family, there must have been a reason it wasn’t disclosed to . And if it wasn’t disclosed to ,Ria was likely to also be kept in the dark..
Asking Ria could only add to her confusion.
First and foremost, I needed to soothe Ria.
With a sigh-laden voice, I asked,
"Ria, what are you talking about... Why would I hate you?"
“B-But Orabeoni…”
Ria hesitated, unable to broach the subject carelessly.
It seed like the personality from the future had done sothing again.
Normally, she would be clinging to and acting cute, but the fact that she was keeping a bit of distance from was telling.
Ria was afraid of .
It was also suspicious that my younger sister was using formal language, sothing she rarely ever did.
It was one of the reasons that strengthened my conviction.
"And why are you using formal language that you never use?"
"Th-That too because Orabeoni said..."
"It's not necessary."
Ria flinched, trembling slightly as she looked up at with teary eyes.
With a wry smile, I reached out and gently stroked Ria's head.
There was a bit of distance, but not so much that I couldn't pat her head.
With a soft thud, my hand covered the top of Ria's head.
"You're my younger sister."
"O-Oppa..."
Tears began to well up in Ria's golden eyes.
It seed she finally understood my true feelings.
To think of pushing away such a cute younger sister who loves her older brother like this, the '' from the future must have been trash.
As I gently stroked Ria's head, she sniffled and closed the distance between us.
With a thump, her body fell in my arms.
The scent of her body suddenly hit my nostrils.
It wasa woman’s distinctive fragrance . Looking at her now, I thought that Ria was indeed a woman.
The curves of her body seed to have matured subtly too.
Harbouring the kind of emotion one should never have regarding a younger sister, I comforted Ria.
"How could I ever hate you, Ria... Have I ever treated you harshly, even once?"
"N-Never... B-But yesterday, Oppa... Heungg..."
It seed the shock from the previous day hadn't faded yet, and Ria ended up bursting into tears.
It was understandable.
We never spoke harshly to each other in our lives.
I was the only family mber who took care of Ria and played with her when our parents and older brother were busy.
Although I got angry sotis, I never treated Ria coldly.
More than anyone else, I had to be Ria’s ally and support..
It was the first ti I had ever treated Ria coldly.
It wouldn’t have been strange if Ria had clung to , discarding her pride or whatever else.
Even now, she kept nervously glancing at , ready to kneel again if it seed like I was displeased.
She had been particularly attached to since childhood.
Up until now, she must have thought she could get away with a bit of rudeness. But now, with the realisation that she could actually be hated, she seed genuinely scared.
It's hard to say whether this is fortunate or not .
Perhaps it was, since I was at least able to put a stop to Ria, who was increasingly failing to distinguish between public and private matters.
If it were , I could never have shown such a cold response to Ria.
But on the other hand, I worried that I might have unnecessarily caused her anxiety.
Perhaps it might lead to her becoming even more attached to .
But for now, comforting Ria, who was sobbing profusely, was the imdiate priority.
I firmly reassured her.
"Don't worry, Ria. No matter what happens, I will never abandon you."
It was sincere truth without a trace of pretence.
I was soone who resorted to drinking because I couldn't even bear the thought of abandoning our territory.
If I was told to also abandon Ria, there’s no telling what I might have done.
Ria’s response to my firm promise was a faraway mory.
"…Because you're a knight?"
Since I had not been officially knighted yet, I was not a knight.
Though any academy graduate could receive knighthood if they wished and were conventionally addressed as 'Sir' in formal settings, this was purely a formality.
There was no real reason for Ria to bring up the term 'Knight'.
If there was, it would only be because of mories from our childhood.
A wry smile ford on my lips.
“When is this story from?”
"It hasn't been that many years, I still rember it..."
Ria’s dejected voice conveyed her sullen mood.
I chuckled softly and stroked her head.
Back when I was aiming to enter the academy, I naturally assud I would beco a knight.
At that ti, I was neither particularly talented nor had an exceptional background.
Brandishing a sword and acting tough was all I knew how to do.
Then suddenly, a little girl claiming to be my younger sister appeared, and I once posed as a knight to win her favour.
Back then, I thought it was just a brief mont of youthful bravado.
But upon returning to my hotown, it seed that the influence of those days still lingered.
Not only Ria, but Ned too still follows around, calling 'Great Master, Great Master.'
It was because Ned idolized knights.
His desire to protect his younger sister was just like mine.
As I montarily drifted into the past, I soon had to snap back to reality.
By the grumbling sound of my younger sister.
Still with a sobbing voice, Ria said,
"T-To , it’s a very precious mory... Back then, Oppa treated like a princess."
"Do you miss those princess days so much? Should I call you princess even now?"
As I teased her, Ria glared at sharply.
It seed her old temper was starting to resurface.
Trying to hide her embarrassnt, she raised her voice.
"Ah, seriously, stop teasing...!"
But then suddenly startled, she hiccupped, stopping mid-sentence.
Ria, who was cautiously watching my reaction again, eventually trailed off.
“Pl-Please ... stop it. Orabeoni.”
Her more docile deanour was quite endearing.
It was clear she would revert to her usual self soon enough, so I decided to imprint this version of Ria firmly in my mind.
I chuckled and tousled Ria’s hair playfully.
While she slightly frowned, she didn't reject my touch.
"Princess or not, you're still my younger sister, so don't worry."
"Tch, like I wanted to be a princess..."
Ria muttered, pouting her lips.
“...I just wanted to because Oppa was a knight.”
"Well then I might have to reconsider my career path. You see, even I am not sure what I’ll beco later on."
With that, I patted Ria on the head one last ti.
She was not so Dark Priest, but truly my younger sister.
The sense of security was on a different level.
The sight of Mitram stabbing with a knife while bursting into maniacal laughter honestly gave chills, but now, it felt like my heart had settled a bit.
Even so, as my troubled mind remained the sa, I felt like I needed a drink.
Since Ria seed to have cald down, I was about to send her away.
That would have been the case, if not for her next words.
“...Still, thank you. I couldn’t have endured it without you back then.”
I was about to gently push Ria away from my embrace when her words made pause.
The density of emotion behind them was different.
It ant she genuinely believed it.
I tried to comfort her, pretending it was no big deal.
"What are you talking about? You’re family... Even if it hadn’t been , our brother or parents would have taken good care of you."
"Uh-uh, no."
However, Ria's subsequent denial carried a strange conviction.
That inexplicable belief that no one else would have taken care of her if not for .
My puzzled eyes turned towards Ria.
She looked a bit forlorn.
Looking back, it had always been that way.
Ria kept a distance from everyone in the family except .
They were on friendly terms, but she always used formal language with them. I was the only one she spoke to informally.
I had always thought it was because of her childhood mories.
Ria, who had lived in a foreign land to treat her illness and only returned to the manor around the age of ten.
Everyone must have seed unfamiliar to her, and since I was the only one who took care of her, I thought she naturally grew close to .
But what if that wasn't the case?
What if I was the only one willing to take care of Ria, and thus ended up being solely responsible for her, what conclusion should I draw from that?
For a mont, I had the illusion of Mitram's sinister voice burrowing in my ears.
'Fate.'
"Oppa, actually..."
Her whisper was as moist as a dew-soaked petal.
I ended up feeling dizzy from the sweet fragrance.
"...I don't have any mories from before I ca to the manor."
All I could do was tighten my embrace around Ria in silence.
As my mind went blank.
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