4. Rynella’s fate is decided by Rynella (82)
Leah’s runaway had a long history.
The first runaway was when Leah had been in the mansion for two years.
At the time when she was slowly opening her heart to me, Lia was mad at me for the first time.
I couldn’t remember why.
I just remembered being concerned about sticking to me too much. Whenever I hold you in my arms, kiss your cheek or forehead and smile.
Isn’t that what a 12-year-old kid did?
In my heart, I wanted to understand and move on with my sister’s cute charms, but the Percus family was aristocratic. I couldn’t help but care about the public eye.
Even though they were siblings, the men and women were distinct.
Leah seemed shocked by the fact.
I had to search for Leah for hours that day. It was the first time in my life that my family and employees had a hard time.
Later, even the villagers came forward to find Lia.
Fortunately, it was the fact that Lia also had a minimum of self-discipline.
It was easy for aristocrats to be exposed to all sorts of crimes if they wandered around recklessly.
Especially among the criminals targeting young women, there were many people who lacked common sense. Because of that, Leah made a place that no one would know about as her temporary residence.
Its location has always changed.
However, no matter where Leah escaped, there were commonalities.
It was a place with memories of me.
It was not known what criteria the shelter was chosen for.
After just looking for Leah a few times, I had a rough idea of where Leah was going. Since then, our family did not stop Leah from running away.
Even if I wasn’t there, Leah would come home after a few days.
On the contrary, having time alone was advantageous for Leah to organize her mind and regain her energy.
Because everyone had the right to escape the hustle and bustle.
So, the family would have tacitly allowed Leah to run away.
Many people suffered because of my serious condition, but Leah suffered the most.
There is a record of stabbing me with a sword while being manipulated by the Dark Church.
Of course, it wasn’t Leah’s fault.
It wasn’t her doctor, it was just bad luck.
If the ‘masked man’ hadn’t appeared, Leah wouldn’t have stabbed me.
Even so, regret and guilt burrow in like rainwater seeping into a rock.
Until your heart splits and makes a sharp burst.
I realized this acutely only today.
Contrary to my family’s expectations, Lia’s condition seemed more serious.
Lia’s complexion was pale, perhaps because she had been starving for several days.
Even if he didn’t, he looked sickly, but he was thinner than that, so he didn’t even feel frail anymore.
It’s so fragile that if you break it like this, it will break.
It was like a single flower.
Lia, who had tears in her eyes when she saw me, was immediately startled.
Her hand covered my face. It was as if he was trying hard to block out the sunlight penetrating the burrow.
Or maybe he didn’t want to see me.
“… … Oh, don’t come.”
It was a trembling voice.
Lia begged like that, terrified.
“Please don’t come… Me, I don’t want to see you.”
There was a faint sob mixed in his voice.
My trembling body was pitiful.
Seeing Leah desperately covering her face, I let out a deep sigh.
“Again, again, you say things you don’t even mean.”
“… … Really.”
Lia deliberately put on a cold tone while crying.
Even so, I couldn’t fool my eyes and ears.
Leah was lying.
There was no way Leah wouldn’t want to see me.
Feeling guilty because of me, she was the one who dug into the hole in the end.
She was a sister who loved her brother helplessly.
For a moment I thought about how to punish this liar.
In the meantime, Leah continued her despondent voice.
It was the first time in my life that I had said that I hated my brother, and the stuttering voice was mixed with reluctance.
“I-I don’t want to see my brother… You’re not even family anyway! I know, now… I’m just a replacement… … .”
What is ‘replacement’?
I looked at Leah, speechless at the terrible word.
Moisture shone in Lia’s eyes, which could be seen between her crossed arms.
The dew will soon become raindrops.
It was hard for me to even fathom how painful Leah would be.
It must have felt like the roots of all the beliefs he believed in all his life were shaken.
So Leah was stubborn.
I was repeating lies to hide my true feelings.
The little girl cried out with tears dripping down her face.
“So stop torturing me and get out… … !”
“no.”
Lia’s mouth fell shut at my firm tone.
Her golden eyes began to waver.
It was always the older brother’s job to break the younger sister’s stubbornness.
I decided to do what I had to do.
The height of the oyster was a bit low, so I stooped and stepped forward. Then Lia flinched and her eyes were wet with fear.
Pom dragging his butt backwards was scary to me.
no, it’s not me
So I didn’t stop walking.
Lia stopped me with a trembling voice.
“I-I don’t want to see my brother… … .”
“I missed you.”
I remembered the scent of flowers in full bloom.
Midsummer suppresses the fragrant smell with damp humidity. Nevertheless, there was also a scent that could not be hidden.
It was the scent of sepia flowers.
The scent of this flower, which bloomed from spring to summer, was subtle yet strong, and whenever I smelled it, I would sometimes be immersed in a certain memory.
I made a promise to Leah.
Become a knight and protect it.
The reason Lia came here must be because of the memories of that day.
If I didn’t want to find it, I wouldn’t have chosen this place in the first place.
Like this, the girl’s true heart was like the scent of a flower in midsummer.
“That’s why I came to see… Just like we promised before.”
“That’s a lie… … .”
Lia sobbed and shook her head again.
The wriggling of the legs pushing my body back while struggling was pitiful.
“That’s a promise you made with your sister.”
“So you came to find me, little sister.”
“… … no!”
It was a paroxysmal cry.
Leah glared at me with eyes burning like wildfire.
The emotions swirling inside him were complicated.
Anger, hatred, remorse, anxiety, and despair.
It was as if the gemstones of pain had been melted and made into golden ingots.
“I, I am not my brother’s sister! just, just… … .”
The girl’s head was lowered as if toppling over.
She pressed her head with her arms and buried her face between her knees.
“… … It’s just a monster.”
The sound of sobbing was pitiful.
I paused.
Leah finally confessed her true feelings.
“Wow, that’s scary… I’m afraid I’ll stab my brother again… I’m afraid I won’t be me, and then I might kill my brother! Or maybe my brother hates me… … .”
In the end, Lia’s worries were originating from him.
She was happy to learn that she wasn’t my biological sister in the first place.
There was no reason to blame myself for suddenly not being my sister.
Rather, Leah’s concerns lay elsewhere.
I’m afraid he’ll stab me again.
Then I’ll die, or I’ll hate Leah.
It came as a fear greater than death to Leah.
I didn’t want to know the feeling of harming the only being in this world with my own hands.
So, taking another step, he said his sister’s name.
“… … Leah.”
“Don’t make me expect it!”
It was a scream.
I paused for a moment at the roar that had been concentrated for dozens of years.
Tears were pouring down Lia’s eyes.
“Oh, you always do… He’s kind, sweet, and makes you have your own expectations! Rather, if I hadn’t known, it wouldn’t have hurt!”
The earnest tone that vomited like that pointed to a secret that even I didn’t know.
My eyes, which I had no clue about, turned to Leah as if wondering.
Seeing those eyes, Lia shed more sorrowful tears.
“My, how painful have I been… … .”
Anguish and anguish drip down.
I sighed deeply and took a step.
“You’re going to push me away again… … .”
and another step.
“You’re going to go away alone again, leaving me alone… … !”
And finally.
“Brother, brother, you are no longer the second son of an aristocratic family in the countryside… If you’re going to be abandoned anyway, next to people who are prettier and better than you… … !”
I silently hugged Leah.
Contrary to what they said they didn’t like or didn’t want to see, there was no resistance.
It was just that she shed tears in my arms as if she was slowly melting.
“Anyway, you are my sister.”
That was my open truth.
Leah was still blank, with disbelief.
“… … Am I fake?”
Asking me that, I tightened my arms around Leah even more.
It couldn’t be.
No, it could have been for some.
Lia was a made-up being.
A fake born destined to never be ‘real’, what a cruel life.
But not for me.
I confessed the truth that I had been hiding for so long.