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Chapter 16 Part 2
"That promise, can't we make a new one?"
.
.
.
This
is an unimportant conversation.... ...What did he say? I clenched my fists. I
think it's cute.
"If
from the start, it was that easy......!"
I
took a deep breath. Then, I accidentally tripped, and he put his arm around my
waist. I was surprised by his actions, I quickly let go of his arm.
"...From
the start? Tell me, Sis. I'll listen."
Alexander
said in a calmer tone as if trying to calm me down. He only touched me for a
moment, but I still felt like I was being hugged by him. Slowly I calm myself
down. For a moment, I was almost completely mad at him.
"No,
no. I didn't mean that."
I
shook my head. Promises are made to be broken. My mother never kept her promise
to me even though we had done the pinky finger promise. She says this is the
last time and she will be happy here. But all of that is just sheer lies.
Why
did my mother, who had promised that this was the last time, hide the syringes
in the Duke's Manor? Oh, stop. I don't want to keep thinking about it. Feeling
a little dizzy, I put my hand on my forehead.
"......Alex,
I'm tired. Won't the investigator get suspicious of you if you approach me like
this?"
"Do
you care more about your first-time investigator than I do?"
"I
didn't say that."
"What
is the difference?"
Playing
on words like this is not Alexander's style. Even if there was something he
didn't like, he would just stay silent, showing displeasure. That's why I thought
that he was more mature than me. Am I wrong?
"Your
reaction is a bit exaggerated. Between siblings, such a thing doesn't
happen."
"......Are
we siblings? Are we brother and sister?"
"Stop.
Talking about this makes me tired."
His
voice was getting higher and higher. I immediately cut off the conversation
without listening to Alexander until the end. What are you doing this for? Do
you want to stop the brother-sister game now?
Alexander
said, "Sis, you......!" He immediately covered his mouth. He looked
at me with a dissatisfied look.
I
just want to scream, what exactly are you talking about? I didn't even realize
we were on the stairs so I pushed him as hard as I could.
But
Alexander wasn't one to leave just because he was pushed. He didn't move.
Instead, he covered his face with his hands as if sad.
His
broad shoulders began to shake.
"......My
dear sister, am I that insignificant?"
Alexander
looked so sad. He began to sigh and groan and sob.
With
just this one thing, he erased all of our previous fights. I just pushed
Alexander away, not kicking or giving him a blank look. But Alexander was
crying.
"I
swear I didn't think like that. Why do you talk like that? When did I say
that?"
Even
though I comforted him by whispering those words, Alexander's tears still
didn't stop. I put my hand on his rock-hard shoulder. I patted him gently, but
instead, he started sobbing and kept covering his face with both hands. He
sounded like he was in pain,
"Urgh...
I, I... I, don't mean......"
He
stuttered. Just tapping his shoulder didn't calm him down. How can I get him to
stop crying? In the past, after the funeral was over, how would I comfort him
who was crying because he felt lonely?
"...Stop
it."
I
remember. I just need to hug Alexander tightly. I stretched out my hand and
hugged him.
"...Hiks,
I don't like it. I don't like it like this."
Alexander
shook his head sadly. But he didn't try to get out of my arms. He continued to
cry softly in my arms.
He
is already big but still like a child. After I realized it, I understood why he
kept begging me to stay here. Maybe his heart was still glued on that day, the
day of the funeral. I decided to calm him down my way.
"Yeah,
I don't like it either."
I
stroked the nape of his blushing neck. Every time I did, Alexander kept on
shuddering. I grinned briefly, then let go of the hand that had been covering
his face. Then I looked at him.
He
was sobbing uncontrollably until the area around his eyes turned very red in
contrast to his pure white skin. Hot tears fell from the corners of his eyes
and ran down his cheeks and fingers. His black eyelashes became wet and blurred
his vision. Alexander frowned gently as if it made him uncomfortable.
"......What
you don't like?"
"You're
the one crying like this."
His
voice sounded heavy. As soon as Alexander heard that answer, Alexander's heart
pounded wildly.
"Lie."
"......What?"
"Doesn't
you like to see me crying, Sis? Only in times like these.... ...You're being
kind to me."
That
sounds so ridiculous. I was worried about Alexander so I stroked his hair.
Alexander's crying slowly stopped as he called out to me, "Oh,
Sister."
"You
seem to have calmed down a bit now."
His
tears wet my shoulders. I pulled Alexander so he leaned against me. But the
more I did, the more Alexander cried and clung to me, refusing to stay away
from me. Finally, I muttered dissatisfiedly,
"......I've
cried enough already, so let me go."
"I
didn't mean it that way, but... All right."
Alexander
licked his lips. That's a big deal. Do you think it looks funny? He's clearly
mad. I try to ignore it.
"You
are overreacting."
"You
want to repeat this conversation again, huh?"
I
looked back at Alexander who pursed his lips without saying a word. Luckily, as
I reached over to the banister to head back up the stairs, he gently held my
hand. Instantly my body temperature rose because I could feel the heat from our
entwined hands.
He
climbed the stairs, matching my slower pace than his. Even though he was crying
like that, he was still a man. Alexander walked me to the room.
As
soon as I entered my room, I leaned against the door without moving. I waited
till Alexander left. As soon as his footsteps were far enough away, I opened
the door and returned to the corridor.
Alexander
had gone into his room and the door was closed. Without hesitation, I headed
straight down. And I found a rat hiding under the stairs, thinking she wouldn't
get caught.
"It's
obvious I'm giving you a vacation."
As
soon as I put my hand on its shoulder, the mouse trembled and looked at me.
"Ah,
Miss. The weather is bad and I have nowhere to go... So I'm back."
Good
grief! This mouse talks when I look at it, do I want to know? Henrietta lowered
her head, trying to avoid my gaze. I smiled as if I understood.
"Even
if you die, you will still think that this is your home."
"......Miss-"
"Even
if you're back, you can rest today and only start work tomorrow."
"Ah,
Miss. Thank you!"
Henrietta
put down the things she was carrying. She tried to kneel before me. I raised my
hand to stop her.
"If
anyone saw, they would think that I was threatening you. I even covered up your
mistakes and allowed you to be by my side as you wish."
"Oh,
that-"
Henrietta
muttered. She repeatedly tried to open and close her mouth, rubbing her palms
against the hem of her skirt. She looked nervous. Cold sweat started running
down her forehead.
"Anything
you want to say?"
"Oh,
no. I'm very grateful for that......"
"I've
heard enough thanks from you that I'm bored."
I
smiled as I tucked her hair, much curly than before, behind her ear. Henrietta
pulled back the corner of her mouth forcefully, she really looked so nervous
that I felt sorry for her.
By
the way, why am I feeling magic power from her?
"You
know very well that you won't be able to tickle me with your powers."
I
glanced down at the ray of light radiating from her fingertips gripping her
skirt. One glance was enough to cut through Henrietta's magic. Instantly
nothing glowed in the dark anymore.
"After
I leave, this place will still be yours. Don't do anything useless."
I
wiped the back of Henrietta's hand while saying that.
It's
not even funny. Are you trying to fight with this kind of strength? Is this
your reason for going on holiday and then coming back?
For
some reason, I thought everything would settle down without anything happening.
Looks like she's been working hard to improve her magic secretly.
During
this time she often in and out of the library. I think she did it because she
couldn't stand me alone with Alexander. I didn't expect that she was preparing
such sweet revenge. There are several books on magic in the library.
Apparently, it was the previous Duke who bought those books for Henrietta. But
in the first place, she must have instinctively known that the capacity for
magical power each person possessed had a different dimension.
"Urghhhh...
Arghhh!"
Henrietta
sat down on the floor. Since I put back the mana she was forcibly expelled,
then she won't be able to move properly for a while.
"Henrietta."
"......Hah."
"Now
do you understand?"
She nodded her head with all her might. Her tightly closed eyes trembled. I bent down and patted Henrietta's cheeks. Then I turned around, leaving her who continued to sit on the floor.
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