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128 Chapter

“……I can explain. Just listen to me.”

With a lot to say, I hurriedly spoke while sweating cold behind my back. If I let those two speak first, I’d have to endure nagging until the bomb went off.

“Fine. Let’s hear it. Why is our sister, who has to skip a royal event because she’s in pain… here dressed like that?”

Aria, with her arms crossed, looked at me with strict eyes. There was a definite warning in her gaze that suggested I shouldn’t even think about passing this off without a proper explanation.

All I could feel was how unlucky I was and how ridiculous this situation was becoming.

“S-so…”

“If you’re going to give an unreasonable excuse, it’s best to hold that back. I won’t let it slide. I had a feeling something was off from the moment you started pretending to be sick… but seeing you in that Mir outfit means something serious is going on.”

Kal cut me off as I stumbled through half-hearted lies.

The sharpness in his fiery red eyes was something I’d never felt so terrifyingly intense before.

‘Damn it! What do I say now?’

I tried to act nonchalant and frantically brainstormed. However, there was no excuse that could cover up why I was in the plaza dressed in a Mir outfit while faking sickness.

“Big sister.”

Seemingly sensing my distress, Aria, gazing at me with those beloved blue eyes, called out. I turned to her with a somewhat ambiguous expression that didn’t quite hide my discomfort.

“You know I have good instincts.”

Aria approached me with a leisurely gait, but it felt like a predator coming to confront its prey.

“I can see it. Your pupils are wavering. You usually do that when you’re in trouble. I know all about you.”

Her small, white hand held my cheek. Though her hand radiated warmth, I felt a strange chill from it.

As she said, Aria had always been overly perceptive. I had to keep any thoughts of lying tucked away whenever she was around.

She was almost beast-like in her sensitivity, with her pale blue eyes sparkling fiercely when she caught sight of her prey.

Between me and Aria, who were as different as day and night, the only resemblance we shared was that innate sense of perception.

“I really hate it when you lie to me. So just be honest.”

With a gentle smile, Aria brushed her fingers down my cheek, her eyes narrowing.

It was a contradictory situation where she looked sweet while the atmosphere felt chilling.

I briefly looked down at Aria.

Her little body, which had never exuded any force and always made me feel like I needed to protect her, had grown strong with magical training, and it was no longer an easy opponent.

In those once-innocent eyes, wisdom and ambition shone through, and that once-pretty fairy-like face held a stern rationality.

Aria had grown so much that she no longer appeared to be someone I needed to protect.

‘Still, I want you to be safe.’

I felt like a mother bird trying to keep her baby chick nestled in her nest long after it was old enough to fly.

Though I knew Aria wasn’t that weak, I was uncertain whether to share this incident with her.

‘What if she gets involved? What if she gets hurt? If that happens, will I ever forgive myself?’

Since Aria was born and became my younger sister, I had rushed forward only for her safety. Now that she was no longer in danger, I could have stopped that pursuit, but my concern for her well-being hadn’t diminished.

No matter how many new meanings came into my life, Aria would always hold the most significant meaning for me. I absolutely didn’t want to see her get hurt.

“……Can’t you just let it slide?”

I felt like a coward. Terrified that everyone around me would get hurt, I couldn’t muster the courage to say anything and ended up hiding my head in my shell like a turtle.

I couldn’t even look at Aria as I bowed my head deeply.

“……I see. There’s trouble again. Given that you’re dressed like that, it’s pretty obvious.”

Aria, who had been staring at me, chuckled softly.

I flinched at the sound. For some reason, my reactions became overly honest around Aria.

Even without looking directly at her, I could feel her anger through the mana.

I couldn’t give up the bomb, but I also couldn’t push Aria away. I felt like that five-year-old kid about to get scolded by her parents, caught between the flow of time and the serious expression on Aria’s face.

“You’re going to try and handle this alone again, aren’t you? Just like always. You want me to be safe and not worry… so you’re planning to keep quiet and deal with it all by yourself.”

Her previously gentle voice had turned icy. Her tone was filled with a confidence that suggested she had already pieced everything together. I clenched my fists, unable to retort.

“Look at me.”

Aria, with her teeth gritted, grabbed my chin and lifted my head. Unable to dare shake her hand off, I obediently looked up, meeting her fiercely burning sky-blue eyes.

It was a flame that felt impossible to extinguish. Mixed in were anger, frustration, determination, and resolve, all so solid and heavy they could burn me alive.

I couldn’t look away from those eyes.

“Is my safety that important to you?”

Her lips, once painted with warmth, now moved to ask the most obvious question. So obvious that neither of us needed to answer.

“……Yeah.”

I had answered that question with my life.

My life had been a sacrifice for her safety.

At my humble response, Aria’s eyes sparkled.

“More important than my happiness? More important than my happiness, is that bastard’s safety more important to you?”

Though her tone sounded cold as ice, something moist broke into her voice, cracking it in a way that suggested something was festering beneath.

“I…”

“Then, if you really love me!”

As I opened my trembling lips to excuse myself, their quiver got swallowed by the rising intensity of Aria’s voice. She grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to face her directly.

“Don’t just hide me behind you. Let me stand with you. I am not weak anymore!”

Her fervent plea felt like a shout, and I found myself paralyzed.

Aria was no longer that innocent little girl. She had trained hard to learn magic and strengthen herself, carving out time amidst her chaotic business and social life to grow stronger. Every time I tried to stop her, her answer remained the same.

‘I will no longer be protected by you like a fragile child.’

With a face full of determination that resembled a fierce warrior more than anything else, Aria spoke.

The precious chick, who I hoped would never lose a feather, was now trying to fly on its own.

“Tell me. Just tell me what’s going on, what you plan to do. Please let me… be with you.”

Her pale blue eyes sparkled like jewels, but they didn’t spill a single tear. It was as if she thought she couldn’t afford to lose even one.

Aria had left my nest.

I could no longer hide the truth from her.

‘I don’t want to hide anymore.’

I no longer wanted to conceal things from my family.

“……I don’t have the time for a long explanation. Kal. Come here.”

I gestured for Kal to come over, keeping my voice low since this wasn’t something to create a ruckus about. Kal, who had been silently observing me and Aria, approached with a satisfied expression.

“Okay. So what’s the deal?”

I took a deep breath and, heavily, looked back and forth between the two of them.

“There’s going to be a bomb explosion at the festival.”

The expressions of both of them hardened instantly.

I explained the involvement of Cyprus and that the whistleblower was Tina, carefully omitting certain details about Zigmund.

When I finished speaking, they looked at me with an expression that combined the urge to say something with frustration.

“There’s no time to waste on discussions now. We’re on a tight schedule.”

I hurriedly added, fearing they’d have something to say. They turned their serious expressions away from me.

“If the compass is broken… how do you plan to locate it?”

“I’ll go by instinct. If we stay alert, I think we can find it.”

I quickly answered Kal’s query. He nodded gravely, his expression hardening.

“Aria and I are going too.”

He spoke the words that I least wanted to hear.

‘Just telling you about this incident is risky enough. It’s much more efficient to move alone.’

I shook my head vigorously.

“No! I’m going alone. You two should help clean up after I disarm the bomb, and if I fail to disarm it… please help the people evacuate.”

At my words, both of them glared at me, but I stood firm.

“To put it bluntly, you two would most likely just be a hindrance. Right now, disarming the bomb must be our top priority. Please handle the rear.”

Seeing that my words were final, they bore discontent on their faces but didn’t say anything more.

‘There’s no time to waste.’

I turned my back on the two of them and gripped the hilt of my sword.

“You have the communication device. Contact me after it’s over…”

And just then, something brushed against my senses.

Having survived countless deadly moments solely by my instincts, I couldn’t ignore them.

Trusting my intuition, I lunged forward into the air.

“Ugh!”

The figures that appeared in mid-air just a beat behind my attack were hit by my aura. They were not critically injured, as they’d dodged just in time, but they certainly took a hit.

“Who goes there?”

I grunted, holding my sword up with a neutral tone.

The energy I sensed indicated a group of three: two sword experts and one mid-level mage, all wearing masks, surrounding me.

Kal and Aria tried to approach, but I gestured with my eyes to stop them and focused on the person who appeared to be their leader standing directly in front of me.

“Sorry, but you can’t go any further.”

The masked intruder declared, smiling ominously as he blocked my path.

 

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