“Could it be! Have you been kidnapped?!”

I don’t know why she came to that conclusion, but Eliza smacked her fist into her palm and solemnly nodded.

“You love snack time so much, you are not the type to order tea and just leave.”

Eliza rolled up her sleeves and briskly moved somewhere.

“It’s an emergency. I must go get the tools right away!”

When Eliza disappeared, I immediately tried to get out of hiding, but Kirian’s arm around my waist tightened, and I collapsed back into Kirian’s arms.

Looking up at Kirian with questioning eyes, Kirian let out a slight sigh and let me go.

“Are you leaving now?”

Kirian’s voice was calm, but he couldn’t hide a slight hint of regret.

I glanced down the path where Eliza had disappeared. It was best to go back quickly before Eliza, who had even packed tools, caused an accident, but strangely, my feet wouldn’t move.

I finally took a deep breath.

“What are you talking about?”

I squinted and crossed my arms.

“Is just saying sorry enough? If you’re really sorry, buy me something delicious, huh? Show some sincerity, sincerity. You always refuse to eat together. You are so shameless, shameless.”

Even as I was ranting, the corners of Kirian’s mouth subtly lifted. Apparently, he was lacking awareness of the seriousness of the situation.

To awaken his sense of alarm, I even propped up my knee and lifted my chin.

“Anyway, think hard about it. Unless it’s a very expensive gift, I won’t be satisfied. Think about what you have to do in this situation.”

“I understand.”

Kirian, who began to smile outright, suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Hold on tight, Sister.”

“What?!”

But in the blink of an eye, my body floated.

“Closing your eyes might be better.”

“But you’re not going to—”

But I couldn’t do anything but tightly close my eyes as the fierce wind began to blow.

(This is a time separator.)

“I’ll go with this. This one has quite a variety.”

Kirian immediately picked up the extralarge size handmade chocolate box that Reina had pointed to.

Already in both hands were boxes of macarons, bags of pastries that were practically stolen from a bakery, cake, and various cheeses, arguing that something salty was also necessary.

Reina patted Kirian’s arm with a contented smile.

“You’re not great when we’re moving, but I like that you’re strong for this.”

Kirian subtly smiled as he watched Reina’s retreating figure as she hurried off to raid the next store.

Everything was just clear.
Pale blonde hair fluttering in the breeze, breath hurriedly exhaled as if excited, lively steps moving with the rustling of fabric, a heart beating less strongly than his own but resiliently.

The streets were crowded with people, but the presence of his sister stood out like a dot of paint accidentally marked on a blackandwhite world, vividly discernible.

It had always been that way. Since he was very young.

But that day, just that day, Reina’s presence was not detected.

The memory of that day rushed back like a tidal wave, and Kirian’s eyes darkened.

“Ah.”

Only after a small exclamation echoed did he see it. A familiar figure in the midst of hellish chaos.

Faded blonde hair, a recognizable shape, a face that could be identified even from a distance.

At first, he thought it was a dream. The first sensation he would feel anywhere that day was vague and opaque, like an illusion, because it was unnoticeable.

But the next moment, when even Elding caught that faint presence, a cold reality descended like cracking ice. His sister was in danger. Because of that.

His heart thumped, and his head turned white, but his body instinctively ran towards where his sister was.

But for a moment, even that ambiguous presence left only a faint scent of blood and suddenly stopped. Elding seemed confused as well.

His sister’s presence, which should have been read most clearly, could not be grasped as if trapped in darkness.

He did not understand. No, it was an impossible situation from the start. It was inconceivable that his sister, not even his father, could hide her presence from him.

Chasing after the faint remaining scent of blood, the sky tore with a loud noise. And the next moment, Reina was suspended in midair, flailing.

Even thinking about it now made his blood run dry.

After catching his falling sister, the once faint scent of blood enveloped him heavily. He had gotten the blood of countless monsters on his hands, but this stench of blood was the foulest he had ever experienced.

His throat tightened as if choking, his stomach twisted, and his heart sank endlessly. It was a smell that he felt he could carve his flesh out a thousand times to make disappear.

His sister, whose hands were full of wounds, foolishly clung to him. The sleeves turned red, and the horrible smell of blood stung his heart.

Perhaps that was why. He couldn’t answer his sister’s question.

“Who are you?”

That simple word stopped his heartbeat.

It was a sensation he felt for the first time. It was only a few days later that he could define it. That the essence of this feeling was fear.

At that time, all he could do was shake his hands, trembling, and slowly detach his sleeves stained red with his hands.

If his sister found out that he was the cause of this, he was afraid of how she would look at him from then on. He had no confidence to live facing that gaze.

He felt like he had touched his sister’s hair for the last time. Rather than comforting his sister, he felt like he had touched it because he wanted comfort.