Swish.
“….Well, I’ll be going in now.”
Saelli politely took the sleeping Elli and moved to the next room.
I had thought she would explode in rage, saying she couldn’t even breathe the same air as ‘Anna Akaia,’ but her unexpectedly calm and polite demeanor actually left me surprised.
I was convinced that if anyone could shatter this fragile ice, it would be her, so that surprise only multiplied.
“….You.”
“……..”
But just as Saelli turned her head to enter the room, I could see her trembling gaze from the side, and I could feel it.
It was like a forcibly extinguished flame.
The red gaze, which should have been filled with rage, was, for some reason, just the ashes of a tree that had burned itself completely.
Was it a hatred of her kin?
Or perhaps a self-hatred?
I understood Saelli’s heart as I was the only one who knew her past.
That small, broken piece.
If it weren’t for Saelli, Elli would have died sadly in the cold winter river.
Though it was Saelli who saved her, it was also Saelli who had devoured Elli’s arm.
The fact that she rendered kindness couldn’t cover up the fact that she had acted with malice.
And the fact that she saved someone couldn’t absolve her.
The only two who could forgive her sins were Elli and Saelli herself.
But because of that, she must carry her guilt forever.
Knowing that the day Saelli would forgive herself would never come.
Really.
Poor thing.
“….Um, okay then.”
“….Good luck.”
Knowing the weight of that fragment, I could only nod.
Personally, since she was the person I had the closest bond with, I wanted her to stay by my side.
But Saelli looked weary, so it was unavoidable.
Moreover, after hearing that Elli had thrown herself into danger, I had to admit that keeping her nearby was a good choice while thinking about when Elli would wake up.
Both of their emotions would be taken care of.
For the time being, I hoped she would find peace caressing Elli’s head in the room.
…Hoo.
Now, the problem was on this side.
Tap, tap!
“─I can’t accept this! Why are you bringing her into this dorm!? Are you out of your mind?!”
“………”
It’s my dorm…
I just wanted to relax a bit and find some peace.
But the problem tormenting me wasn’t even close to revealing its answer, and I wasn’t even ready to pick up a pen.
An endless, daunting mountain.
In front of me, there was a standoff as if they were looking at the enemy of their parents, glaring at each other, no, one person glaring at another.
“………”
One person hastily wrapping bandages around various wounds, quietly looking down at the floor.
The culprit creating the current situation, Anna Akaia.
“Get out! Get out now!!”
The one banging on the floor in frustration was Remi Akaia.
If not for my intervention, I felt that the fight from earlier might have erupted again.
Now that I think about it, the one who was furious about bringing Anna Akaia into the room wasn’t Saelli but rather her blood-related Remi Akaia.
She was the one who had witnessed Anna Akaia stab Elli up close, so her reaction was inevitable.
I raised my hands in an attempt to calm her down and slowly spoke to her—
“Okay, okay. Just calm down, Remi Akaia. Let’s talk first—”
“─Shut up!!”
I got scolded.
And I mean, really scolded.
“What are you going to talk about with this scum!? Didn’t you see those wounds on Elli’s belly?!”
“………..”
“Stab, stab, stab… how many times did she stab her! I saw that child writhing in pain right in front of me! And you want to talk—?”
Slowly, she rose from her seat.
In a dim place, hidden by curtains, the gleam of her ferocious gaze sparkled in the shadows.
What kind of monster lurked within that burning flame?
Even without holding a sword, I could distinctly feel the killing intent, and I was certain that their relationship could never return to what it once was.
Though they had natures that didn’t adhere well, they were like powder sprinkled around rice cake.
It was a complete mess, a prime example of a chaotic household.
Bang!
“There’s no story, none whatsoever.”
“………..”
Her fist collided with the wall.
Faced with the tremor and noise that might wake Elli, I swallowed my retort.
Even without a sword, she could kill easily.
Her fists, her nails, her fangs would come down upon you.
It was as if Remi Akaia was saying that the story between her and Anna Akaia ended two years ago when she stabbed Elli and tossed her into the flowing river.
Essentially, it was her warning to never bring up Anna Akaia again.
Well, fair enough.
“Ugh…”
With such fierce resistance, I couldn’t dare say anything.
Anna Akaia, who had kept her head down and hadn’t even opened her mouth, seemed unhelpful either.
I could understand her feelings.
To be honest, if I had been in her shoes and someone suggested that I sit down and have a heart-to-heart with Anna Akaia, the one who had put Elli in such a state, I would have thrown a punch rather than offered praise.
I had once blamed her for her actions after hearing Saelli’s words.
In my mind, I would imagine her, someone I had never seen, and chew her out.
Instead, it was shocking to realize that I could remain composed in such a situation.
Instead of anger, I felt an inexplicable worry.
Instead of hatred, I felt an inexplicable sorrow.
Caught in that contradictory emotion stirring in my heart, I found myself in confusion just then.
A voice I had never heard before reached my ears.
“─Elli.”
“….?!”
Anna Akaia, who had kept silent until now, continued speaking without caring about my surprise.
Slowly and with a trembling voice.
“Elli… is… alive…?”
“….You?! You little punk?! You dare speak Elli’s name!? Of all people, YOU? Are you even human?!”
“Hey… hey!! Just hold on, please!!”
The first thing she uttered was about Elli’s life or death.
Her voice cracked and paused, raising Remi Akaia’s anger even more, declaring that Anna Akaia had no right to even say Elli’s name, promising to kill her if she said it again.
I tried to calm Remi down as best I could and said, “…..Uh. Um… Yeah, she’s alive.”
“Ah… Ahh…”
Drip, drip, it was hard to believe.
And strange, small sounds were heard.
No matter how you looked at it, it was the sound of the floor colliding with something.
Gradually, a small circular shape was soaking into the floor.
That sound made it impossible for me to accept the reality in front of me.
After all, the ‘Anna Akaia’ we had known until now was truly the embodiment of absolute evil.
Blinded by jealousy, she tried to kill her talented sister.
The infamous parricide who attempted to stab her own sister indiscriminately.
That must be why Remi Akaia wanted to get Anna Akaia away from Elli so quickly.
She didn’t know what Anna would do if she found out her sister was alive.
The cold-hearted lunatic psychopath.
It was a description that couldn’t even be fully expressed.
But what is this?
Could this really be the ‘Anna Akaia’ I knew?
“…..Really… really…”
Drip.
As she lifted her head, a stream of tears flowed down her face without a doubt.
She was pouring tears, yet the most beautiful smile hung on her lips.
It was the first smile that Anna Akaia had shown, contrasting with the frozen or guilty expressions she had worn until now, and I couldn’t bring myself to continue speaking the truth.
I wanted to say many things, like how Elli was discovered injured for the first time, how she had survived the last two years, and how she was about to attempt suicide due to the confusion after hearing her voice earlier.
There were so many things I wanted to blame her for.
“I’m so glad…”
“……….”
“Really, really glad…”
But that bright smiling face.
She radiated light as if she received salvation, with no trace of darkness in her smile.
She reminded me so much of Elli, who once smiled brightly at me.
“….Damn it.”
I finally understood why I had become attached to her.
“─Do you think I’ll go back?”
Anna Akaia’s sudden visit.
She said she came to ask Remi Akaia if she intended to return to the Tesillia Kingdom.
It had been a temporary measure sent to help Remi, who had become mentally shattered after Elli’s disappearance, and since the empire’s contract didn’t apply to royal family members, there was no reason for her to remain here.
To hear all this, it took an agonizing thirty minutes.
While effectively holding down Remi Akaia as she tried to bolt, I prevented Anna Akaia, who kept trying to bang her head against the wall, from doing so, absorbing the conversation, line by line.
But after all those minutes of effort, the answer was a cruel single word: ‘refusal.’
Understanding was one thing, but it felt so cruel.
“I’m not going back to where you are. Same for Elli. You should just disappear like this.”
“…Hey, she’s still your sister—”
“─If you say one more word, I’ll rip your tongue out.”
I flinched at her threatening tone.
Now that I think about it, Remi Akaia was a royal too.
So used to her childish and foolish demeanor since meeting Elli, I had forgotten she was royalty.
With the charisma of a royal making a rare appearance, I could only bow my head in submission.
Watching her pressure Tessa, I thought she was in the same class as mine.
Of course, it would have been a lie, but for an instant, it felt real.
“Tsk, should I just swiftly decapitate you for heresy… so you can be alone with Elli?”
…That must be a joke, right?
Surely it was, right? We’re friends after all.
That way, a single second felt like an hour passing by.
By now, quite a lot of time must’ve gone by, I thought as I looked up to see the clock indicating 1 PM.
“─Anyway, get rid of that jerk quickly.”
“……..…”
Today’s time was still long and lengthy.
It hadn’t come to an end yet.
