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Ria had a long history of running away from home.

I don’t remember the exact reason.

I only recall being concerned about her excessive clinginess. She would hug me constantly, kiss my cheek or forehead and then giggle.

But wasn’t it just the antics of a twelve-year-old child?

Deep down, I wanted to interpret it as the cute antics of my little sister, but the Percus family was nobility. We couldn’t ignore public scrutiny.

No matter how close siblings were, there were boundaries between a boy and a girl.

Ria seemed to be deeply shocked by that fact.

That day, we had to search for her for hours. Since it was the first time such a thing happened, both the family and the servants were quite troubled.

Eventually, even the territory’s residents joined in the search for her.

The only fortunate part was that Ria at least had some sense of discernment.

Nobles carelessly wandering around were likely to be exposed to all kinds of crimes.

Especially since many criminals targeting young girls lacked common sense. Because of this, Ria always chose a place that probably no one knew as her temporary refuge.

The location changed each time.

However, there was one thing in common wherever Ria chose to hide.

It was always a place filled with memories of us.

I couldn’t determine the exact criteria she used to select her hiding spots.

But after searching for her several times, I began to have a rough idea of where Ria might go. From then on, our family stopped trying to prevent her from running away.

Even if I wasn’t there, Ria would return after a few days.

In fact, having some time alone often helped Ria to sort out her thoughts and regain her energy.

Everyone had the right to escape from the hustle and bustle from time to time.

That’s probably why the family tacitly allowed Ria to run away.

Although many people were distressed by my serious condition, her agony was the worst.

She stabbed me with a dagger while being controlled by the Dark Order.

Of course, it wasn’t Ria’s fault.

It wasn’t her will, just a stroke of bad luck.

Had it not been for the appearance of the ‘masked assailant,’ Ria never would have stabbed me.

Even so, regret and guilt seep in like rainwater through cracks in a rock.

Until the heart shatters with a sharp, cracking sound.

I truly realized this only today.

Contrary to what my family and I had expected, Ria’s condition seemed more severe.

Her complexion was pale, possibly from not eating for several days.

She already appeared frail, and now she had become so thin that she no longer even seemed delicate.

It was as if she could break with the slightest touch.

She truly resembled a solitary, delicate flower.

Ria, who had reddened eyes upon seeing me, suddenly looked startled.

She covered her face with her hands, as if trying to block out the sunlight streaming into the cave.

Or perhaps she didn’t want to see me.

“…D-Don’t come any closer.”

Her voice trembled with fear.

Ria, utterly terrified, pleaded desperately.

“Please, don’t come closer… I-I don’t want to see you, oppa.”

Her voice was tinged with a faint sob.

Her trembling body was pitiful to behold.

As I watched Ria desperately trying to hide herself, I let out a deep sigh.

“There you go again, saying things you don’t mean.”

“…I mean it.”

Ria, even while on the verge of tears, tried to maintain a cold tone.

But she couldn’t fool my eyes and ears, as I was her older brother.

She was lying.

There was no way she didn’t want to see me.

She had burrowed into this cave out of guilt because of me.

She truly was a little sister who loved her older brother to no end.

For a moment, I pondered on how to scold this little liar.

In the meantime, Ria continued in a dejected voice.

It was the first time she had ever said she disliked me, and her stammering voice carried a hint of reluctance.

“I-I don’t want to see you, Oppa… We’re not even real family anyway! I also know it now… I’m just a replacement…”

‘Replacement?’

I was at a loss for words at that dreadful term and simply stared at Ria.

Through the gap between her crossed arms, I could see the moisture in her eyes.

Like raindrops, those tears were about to fall..

I could hardly fathom how much Ria must be suffering.

It must have felt like the lifelong foundations of all of her beliefs were being shaken.

That’s why Ria was being stubborn.

To hide her true feelings, she kept lying.

Eventually, the girl cried out, tears streaming down her face.

“So stop bothering me and go away…!”

“I won’t.”

At my firm tone, Ria’s mouth clamped shut.

Her golden eyes started to waver.

It was always the older brother’s job to put an end to his little sister’s stubbornness.

So I decided to do what needed to be done.

The cave’s ceiling was a bit low, so I bent down and took a step forward. Ria flinched, her eyes filled with fear.

The way she scooted backward on her bottom showed that she was scared of me.

Perhaps, not of me.

So I didn’t stop walking.

With a trembling voice, Ria tried to stop me.

“I-I don’t want to see you, oppa…”

“But you do want to see me.”

I recalled the scent of the flowers in full bloom.

In the midsummer, the humid air suppresses the fragrant smells. Yet, there are scents that cannot be concealed.

The scent of sepia flowers was like that.

The fragrance of these flowers, blooming from spring through summer, was subtle yet persistent, often evoking memories whenever I smelled them.

I had made a promise to Ria once.

To become a knight and protect her.

Ria must have come to this place because of that day’s memories .

If she hadn’t wanted to be found, she wouldn’t have chosen this place in the first place.

Her true feelings were like the scent of those flowers in midsummer.

“So I came to see you… just like I promised before.”

“T-That’s a lie…”

Ria, sobbing, shook her head again.

It was heartbreaking to see her struggling as she pushed herself backward with her legs.

“That was a promise you made to your little sister.”

“That’s why I came looking for you, my little sister.”

“…No!”

It was a cry of desperation.

She glared at me, her eyes blazing like wildfire.

The emotions swirling within them were complex.

Anger, hatred, guilt, anxiety, and despair.

It was as if those raw emotions had been melted down into a golden ingot.

“I-I’m not your little sister! I’m just, just…”

Her head dropped with a dull thud, as if she had fainted.

She pressed her head down with both arms, burying her face between her knees.

“…just a monster.”

Her sobbing sounded pitiful.

I stopped walking for a moment.

At last, Ria confessed her true feelings.

“I-I’m so scared… scared that I’ll stab you again… scared that I’ll lose myself, and then end up killing you! Or maybe you’ll end up hating me…”

Ria’s worries all stemmed from that fear.

She had been happy to know she wasn’t my biological sister.

Thus there was no reason for her to suddenly blame herself for not being my real sister.

On the contrary, her fear lay elsewhere.

She was afraid she might stab me again.

Afraid that I might die or that I would come to hate her.

To Ria, these fears were worse than death.

I didn’t want to fathom what it would be like to harm the only person in the world I cherished with my own hands.

So I just took another step forward and called out her name.

“…Ria.”

“Don’t make me hope!”

She screamed.

Her voice, filled with years of pent-up anguish, made me pause for a moment.

By then, tears were already falling from Ria’s eyes.

“O-Oppa, you’re always like that…kind and gentle, making me get my hopes up! I-If only I hadn’t known, it wouldn’t have hurt so much!”

Her desperate voice hinted at a secret I hadn’t been aware of.

My eyes, with no clue what she was referring to, turned to Ria in confusion.

When our eyes met, Ria’s tears flowed even more sorrowfully.

“D-Do you know how much I’ve been suffering all this…?”

Her suffering and pain were evident in each tear that fell.

I sighed deeply and took a step forward.

“You’ll just push me away again…”

And then I took another step.

“You’ll just disappear again, leaving me all alone…”

Until I was finally within her reach.

“O-Oppa, you’re no longer just the second son of a countryside noble family… You’re now surrounded by people more beautiful and amazing than me, and if I’m going to be abandoned anyway…” Р

Silently, I pulled Ria into an embrace.

Contrary to her earlier protests of not wanting to see me, she didn’t resist.

She just let herself sink into my arms and wept.

“Regardless of anything, you’re still my little sister.”

That was my unvarnished truth.

Ria, still dazed and filled with disbelief, murmured,

“…But I’m just a counterfeit, aren’t I?”

As she asked me this, I tightened my arms around her.

There was no way that could be true.

Although, to someone else, it might seem that way.

After all, Ria was a being that had been created.

A counterfeit, destined to never truly be “real.” How tragic that existence must be.

But not to me.

I decided to express my true feelings I had been holding back.