Tap Tap Tap Tap.
The sound of my toes tapping on the carriage floor echoed around.
I bit my nails while completely folding my long ears.
I’m nervous.
I have no idea what kind of face I should show when I meet my sister.
Since long ago, Yerina has been a player at reading people’s expressions and emotions.
Under normal circumstances, I might not have worried too much.
But ever since that bastard took the rosary from me, my poker face has crumbled…
Damn that bastard. Every time I think of him… Aahh. I’m getting wet again.
I don’t know if I can deceive my sister safely.
I’ve done laundry and taken baths several times, so there shouldn’t be any scent of Yoo Jin on me.
I just need to perform well. Just the act.
“Whoo. My heart is beating too hard… Hugh?!”
“Alicia!”
Thud thud thud.
I turned to the sound of knocking on the window and passed out from shock.
My sister’s face is peeking out from outside the window.
I thought it was a ghost…
“Huh?”
Wait a minute.
Aren’t we currently moving at full speed in this carriage?
“Driver! Stop!”
Only then did I notice that my sister was riding alongside us.
He hurriedly stopped the carriage.
The carriage slowed and came to a stop.
My sister walked alongside it and climbed aboard.
And then the carriage started moving slowly again.
“Oof! We just ran into each other while jogging, huh?”
“……”
That was jogging?
Given that she’s not even out of breath, I guess it was really light jogging.
Her stamina is astonishing as always.
“On your way back?”
“Uh-huh. From Basel…”
“You stopped by Clockwork City too, right?”
“Uh, yeah! Right! I stopped by Clockwork City on the way back.”
I quickly changed the subject in surprise.
Now that I think about it, I had claimed I was stopping by Clockwork City while I was at Elvenguard.
I almost got caught in a lie right from the start.
“While wandering around Basel, you saw something suspicious and decided to go to Clockwork City, right? So you… Hmm? You seem to have become prettier?”
“What?”
“Something’s changed? I feel like your scent has changed a bit…”
Sniff sniff.
My sister perked up her ears and buried her nose in my clothes, sniffing constantly.
She says my scent is different?
There’s nothing wrong with my clothes…
At that moment, my sister smirked slyly.
“Aha. I see. You’re in heat.”
“Oh, no, I’m not?!”
“Not at all? The pheromone scent is wafting all around. You’ve finally decided to stop using that libido suppressor. Good call. You look much prettier now. You seem more natural. Before, you looked too stiff and mechanical.”
“……”
So she thought that too.
That it’s better for me not to have a libido suppressor…
I’ve been aware that my dependency on it has been strong.
Even if it’s said that rabbit demihumans have a strong libido, I knew it was only slightly more than ordinary people, so it wouldn’t affect my daily life.
But I had been so obsessed with showing a perfect and iron-like image that I ended up abusing the suppressor.
As a result, without it, even a passing breeze would get me riled up…
Now that I’ve spent a few days forcibly without it, my dependency has indeed lessened.
I think I can live without the suppressor now.
“I’m glad you’re being more like Alicia now!”
“Is that so…?”
But does my sister know?
That I had tried to hide my lust and become an emotionless iron person all because I wanted to be like her.
She probably doesn’t.
And maybe she never needs to know.
Because I learned that she can live her way, and I can live mine.
“I didn’t find any traces of the man you’re looking for in Clockwork City.”
“Really? That’s a shame. Good job. It must have been quite a long journey. Wasn’t it tough?”
“It was okay… I lost my magical tool, though…”
“Oh my. A magical tool?”
“Uh-huh. It’s fine now. I got a new one. It’s this ring…”
As I continue explaining, I sensed something was off with her demeanor.
I thought she would ask more probing questions about Yoo Jin.
Surprisingly, she just changed the subject without saying much.
The atmosphere surrounding her seemed different than when I had left Palana.
Back then, she was incredibly anxious and restless.
She looked precariously on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
Now, she seems unfazed.
She looks calm and collected.
Should I say she seems to have regained her mental stability?
Has her feelings for Yoo Jin faded?
Has her desire to find Yoo Jin lessened significantly?
That’s some good news!
After all, he was not someone worth worrying about so much.
He’s just somewhat handsome, has a charming smile, and is a bit capricious but occasionally shows concern. That’s it.
He doesn’t suit my sister.
Of course, it’s normal to forget someone over time.
I’m really relieved.
That way, it wouldn’t be taking something away from my sister.
The guilt that had been pent up in a corner of my heart seems to have evaporated.
“You seem to be in a really good state, sis. It looks like something good happened.”
“Haha. Can you tell? I guess there’s no other choice. Actually, I think I might have found the person you were looking for. Yoo Jin.”
“What…?”
My heart sank.
What did she just say?
She found Yoo Jin…?
“What do you mean, sis?”
“Elvenguard sent a joint request to us. It seems that the invasion from another dimension has officially started. But it’s strange. Those foolish earfolk wouldn’t figure that out this early. This can only mean one thing. Yoo Jin has been to Elvenguard.”
“……!”
“I was really scared. I thought that person had truly disappeared. I thought I was the only one remembering him, that I was going insane or something. I was so scared… But I found him. Finally. Yoo Jin definitely exists. He’s alive in the same world. Now, I just need to track him down. It’s still a mystery why he hasn’t come to find me first, but… Oh! Maybe he hit his head and forgot about me! So he might be living forgetting me! What should I do?! I need to find him before it’s too late!”
This is bad.
My sister’s regained composure wasn’t because she had discarded her obsession with Yoo Jin.
On the contrary.
She thinks she has him found.
She believes they will meet soon.
She has merely regained her stability after confirming that everything isn’t just her delusion.
“Isn’t it a mistake?”
“I’m sure. At this point, that spider monster. Only Kali knows about it. Yoo Jin must have told the earfolk. That’s all.”
“……”
Her determination is unwavering and firm.
I shivered.
It seems she’s gotten her conviction through something only she and Yoo Jin knew back then.
“How can we track him…?”
“We have no choice but to confront them directly. I’ll notify Elvenguard. If they don’t provide information about Yoo Jin, I will leak their confidentiality to the world. Coincidentally, I happen to know some secrets about those earfolk.”
“……”
I just realized.
The bond between Yoo Jin and my sister runs deeper than I had expected.
My sister misses Yoo Jin far more than I had predicted.
Nothing can break her heart.
No one can stop her.
At this rate, she will soon find Yoo Jin.
I need to contact Yoo Jin quickly!
Once my sister starts her pursuit, catching up to Yoo Jin is just a matter of time.
So I have to inform Yoo Jin right away.
That my sister has begun tracking him.
He must never get caught by her.
Hmm…? But why? Why shouldn’t he get caught?
Suddenly, a primal question engulfed me.
I can’t let my sister meet Yoo Jin.
I’ve taken this for granted, never doubting it.
After all, he’s the degenerate who took my libido suppressor the first time we met and made me wet myself right in front of him.
I couldn’t bear to see my sister head over heels for that guy, giving him everything.
But after briefly traveling with Yoo Jin and witnessing his personality and strength right beside him, I realized my sister’s feelings weren’t just simple infatuation.
Even if his personality was a bit twisted, Yoo Jin is undeniably a good person.
He’s even strong enough to surpass my sister.
Objectively speaking, he is more than adequate to be a husband for her.
Shouldn’t I bless them as a younger sibling?
For the revival of Palana and the Frost lineage, should I let Yoo Jin go?
Why was I hiding Yoo Jin so desperately?
Suddenly, such questions emerged, and I felt a sense of disconnection.
“Alicia? Are you okay?”
“Ah, yes… Sis.”
“What is it?”
“Can I ask why you’re looking for him?”
“Well, I guess it would be unfair to keep secrets from the people helping me. Actually, he’s a really important person to me. We were separated for some reason… I want to get him back.”
“By any means?”
“Yes.”
“What if he doesn’t want you back?”
“He wouldn’t dare. He must be waiting for me desperately.”
“……”
I regained my senses.
There was no need to concern myself with this.
I had been caught up in strange questions.
I really can’t allow them to meet.
I’ll admit.
Yoo Jin is more than deserving to stand by my sister’s side.
But if he himself doesn’t wish for that, then the story changes.
My sister might miss Yoo Jin, but the reverse does not hold true.
I don’t know what happened between them, but at the very least, Yoo Jin does not want to return to my sister.
That much is clear.
I can’t help it then. Poor Yoo Jin.
No matter how much I am loyal to my sister, I can’t completely ruin the life of an innocent person for her sake.
I can’t catch someone who ran away saying they don’t want to and drop them at my sister’s feet.
“Are you going to keep helping me, right?”
“Of course. He’s a person precious to you…”
“Hehe. Thanks, Alicia.”
“……”
That’s why.
I respect Yoo Jin’s wishes.
So, I’ll help Yoo Jin escape.
There’s no other reason.
Really.
Maybe…
