Chapter 119

EP.119 The Worst First Meeting Without Any Argument (4)

Recently, she began to look forward to mornings.

Even without the sound of the church bell announcing the dawn, her eyes naturally opened, and her consciousness was brightly lit without having to scrub her face with cold water.

By today, she was even waking up an entire hour earlier than her diligent sister.

However, now she was not pleased with her industriousness; instead, she was deep in thought, arms crossed firmly, lost in contemplation.

With sweat-dripping cold sweat, her anxious behavior occasionally produced nervous noises as if she were being chased by something.

“Huu… okay…”

Suddenly, with her hands clenched tightly, she exhaled a resolute breath, gathering an unnamed determination.

One hour left until her sister woke up.

For others, it might be a generous, relaxing hour, but for her, who lacked skill, there couldn’t be more pressing time than this.

“Well, it’s fine… I’ve seen my sister do it countless times… I, I’m grown up now. I can make at least a sandwich all by myself…”

Determined, her sky-blue eyes turned toward the scattered food before her.

Delicious bread. Fresh green vegetables. Ham cut into eating-sized pieces.

All of this was top-notch ingredients her sister had prepared in advance for her breakfast the night before.

Just days ago, she had been accepting the meals her sister laid out while still half-asleep, but today, today was different.

Today was the day that man, who had completely ended her secret torment, was leaving the monastery after finishing his training as a novice priest.

Moreover, it was the day she vowed to repay him with a homemade dish.

“Then first, I need to cut the bread in half with the k, k, knife…”

Just as she was about to slowly raise the knife tightly gripped in her trembling hands.

Crack.

“!”

Suddenly, another hand grasped her wrist without warning.

Realizing only a beat later that someone was standing behind her, the girl turned to look, her neck creaking.

“Be, Beltein, o, o, sister…”

“…”

The identity of the stranger was her sister, who was looking down at her with a cold expression even chillier than usual.

Just the other day, when she tried to cook while her sister was away, she was fiercely scolded for daring to handle sharp objects.

Thus, when faced with her sister’s icy gaze that seemed to have morphed her into an embodiment of frost, despairing tears began to form in the girl’s eyes.

“O, o, sister, th, that’s not it!”

Trying to throw out any lame excuse that popped into her head, she knew it was already too late.

Her sister’s hand, raised to the ceiling, was already positioned to deliver a severe punishment.

“Our Welna! You must be up early!”

“Yikes!”

When the girl let out a terrified scream, her small body was nearly buried in her sister’s embrace.

“Hmph! Our precious one! Why are you up so early today? Normally, you’d still be snoring away! You’re just eager to eat the yummy food your sister makes, aren’t you? Right?”

“O, o, sister! I… I can’t breathe!”

She struggled with all her might, but her weak strength was no match for her sister, who was cuddling her face against her cheek, making her sound like a baby bird.

Though she maintained a meticulously cool demeanor in front of others, somehow, when it was just the two of them, her sister showed none of that thorough behavior.

With lips sprawling wide open, showering kisses over her face, it reminded her of a woodpecker drill.

“Huh? But it’s strange~ I distinctly told you it was too early for you to be cooking! I said that if you touched dangerous things like knives with your tiny hands, it’d be a boo-boo! Did you forget everything I said? Looks like a spanking is in order~!”

“Uu, uhh!”

“No lies! I won’t spank you~! There’s no way your sister would hurt our lovely Welna~! But! You still need a punishment! You think so, right? Good! This time, I’ll make an exception and just give you a hundred pecks for forgiveness!”

“Th, that’s!”

Honestly, being hit would be better. Just hit me, please.

Those pleas that had been voiced a hundred times before, yet had never been granted, echoed in her heart.

“O, sister… Wel, Welna did wrong… I promise I won’t touch sharp objects again… So, so can you skip the cheek pecks…? Please?”

“Hmmm?”

Suppressing her embarrassment, she barely managed to spit out her charms.

With narrowed eyes, Beltein offered a wicked smile that she would never have imagined in her wildest dreams.

“What should I do~ What should I do~”

“Uu…”

While Beltein gleefully held her like a stuffed bear, jumping around the room, the girl was caught in an epic internal battle, covering her blushing face with both hands.

‘This was meant to be made before sister woke up… But I’m glad it didn’t get out that I planned to cook for someone else…’

A light sense of relief bloomed amidst the intense regret.

If the information that she had intended to make food for a man reached her sister, it was hard to imagine what kind of horrific situation would ensue.

Knock knock.

Just then.

A knock from the door provided the girl, who was sunk in despair, with a lifeline.

“I’m sorry to disturb you so early. Sister Beltein. Bishop Ransel has an urgent matter to discuss…”

“…Understood. Please tell Bishop Ransel I’ll be right there, just a moment.”

Instantly turning her flabby expression back to her usual sharp demeanor, her sister responded calmly to the voice from beyond the door—it was no longer surprising.

“Woo~ Welna~ Your sister will be right back from work, so let’s finish our kisses when I return~ Okay~?”

“U, uhhh… Sister…”

Now she was just relieved that her sister’s harsh punishment had been postponed.

“So! How about we have 5 quick pecks before I go?”

“…”

◈◈◈

“Ha ha, from the looks of that, you must have been grilled by your sister again?”

“Le, leave me alone!”

Her sister’s morning kisses, which usually ended at around three, had surpassed ten today.

Looking at the many lip marks on her face, the boy struggling to contain his laughter felt like a pinch more annoying than usual.

“Wow, after all that suffering, you’re already flaunting and bragging about kissing Sister Beltein? I must admit, I’m a bit jealous.”

“Eep! If you keep teasing me like that! I’ll take back that farewell gift I just gave you!”

“Hey~ who takes back gifts~”

Dodging the girl, who was frantically lunging at him, the boy raised the small gift box above his head.

As a result, the girl ended up straddling his lap almost entirely, but there was not a trace of mistrust in either of their expressions.

“By the way, a rosary with a blade type built in? Where did you even get this?”

“Th, that’s what I’ve been saying! I was tricked by a shady dealer and mistakenly bought it! I told you I’d get something else! Bet I said it a million times! When did you insist on using this?”

“Objects aren’t at fault. Plus, it would be too wasteful to just throw it away after receiving it.”

On the outside, she was pretending to be furious, but inside, she felt like crying right away while hugging her knees.

Her big breakfast plan had miserably failed due to her sister’s interference, and the gift rosary she saved up her pocket money for turned out to be a defective product.

She had lived with more failures than successes in her life, but at least in front of this person, she wanted just once to show a perfect self.

Now, with all her diligent plans in ruins, the despair weighing down on her thoughts was beyond words.

“It’s okay, Sister. Like I said earlier, I really liked this rosary! And guys tend to prefer weirdly functional stuff like this over ordinary items.”

“R, really?”

“Yes, of course! I could swear on God right here and now. So what you should do isn’t crying because you gave me a strange gift, but be proud because you successfully handed me the perfect gift that fits my taste!”

“Uu…”

With him gently stroking her head, whispering all the words she wanted to hear, the girl felt more annoyed than ever.

She couldn’t believe she was receiving comfort from someone she had been sure was a pathetic adult, even less worthy than herself.

“Ugh…”

“Please don’t cry…”

Even with the boy patting her back for a long time, trying to comfort her, her tears didn’t calm down.

No, his kindness only unearthed the dark thoughts she had kept hidden until now.

“R, Regis… Why are you being so nice to me…?”

“Uh?”

As her words came out, sharp regret flooded her heart.

Why was he being so kind to her, a nobody when everyone adored his perfect sister?

To her pitiful question, filled with suspicion and longing, the boy soon replied.

“That’s…”