Han Yuri rubbed her eyes and looked at the child being carried on the back of her stepmother, Erses.
A child who had now become her sibling. Coincidentally, she had only thought of the child as someone with a name similar to her deceased younger sibling, but Han Yuri had heard it clearly.
It wasn’t a mistake on her part, and Erses also told the child,
“Not ‘nuna’—you should say ‘unnie.’”
Even though her mother was the one calling her, the child’s gaze was fixed on Han Yuri.
It was a reaction similar to what she had seen back in the prison.
The resemblance in the name, the way the child stared intently at her every time they met, and even the words the child had unconsciously muttered moments ago.
Han Yuri pulled out the doubts she had tucked away in a corner of her heart.
“Since Mom needs to rest, could Minho help unnie find her way around the house?”
“Yuri is still unfamiliar with dragons, so it’s a good chance for you two to get closer.”
Erses, noticing Yuri’s serious expression, asked,
“…Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“Ah! Y-Yes, I’m fine.”
“That’s good to hear, then.”
Erses handed over the child, who was still half-asleep and glaring at Yuri.
“This one is usually so lively. I guess they’re just not fully awake yet.”
“I-Is that so?”
“Yes. Don’t you think they’re adorable?”
At those words, Han Yuri looked at the child in her arms, who was rubbing their eyes.
They were undeniably adorable. Clear, pure skin, golden eyes, and dazzlingly bright golden horns and tail.
Even the hair was a pristine white.
How could anyone say this child wasn’t lovely?
Yet, Han Yuri couldn’t shake the vague sense of unease she felt.
“Take care, then.”
“Yes.”
Just as Han Yuri, burdened with worry, was about to step out the door, Erses called after her.
“Yuri.”
“Yes?”
“To me, it doesn’t feel like this is the first time I’ve seen you. You keep lingering in my mind.”
“…I see.”
“It’s like you’re my own child, one I gave birth to.”
The word “mother.” It had been so long since she’d heard it.
Hearing that word from a woman who claimed to be her mother was enough to bring tears to Han Yuri’s eyes.
“…M-Mom.”
“Yes, I’m your mother.”
Looking at Erses’ gentle smile, Han Yuri smiled faintly as well.
Tears that had welled up streamed down her cheeks.
“Oh dear, don’t cry.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. Don’t worry.”
Han Yuri made a resolution. She wouldn’t lose this new family she had gained.
That included her younger sibling, who was now in her arms.
“Take care, okay?”
“Yes!”
Han Yuri’s slightly more confident reply echoed through the room.
What am I doing right now?
“This is where the elders are, um, staying!”
“Oh, I see~! Thank you!”
The woman who looked like my sister responded with a bright smile.
I still didn’t know her name.
“…Ho. No, Minho?”
“Yes?!”
Startled, I quickly turned around.
Even when I looked back, the woman just kept smiling at me warmly.
She really looks similar.
But no matter how I looked, there were many clear differences from my sister.
Her long, gray hair looked dry and messy, and her eyes had a faint red tint.
The last time I saw my sister before I died, her hair was mid-length.
It didn’t make sense for it to have grown this long in just a few years.
I thought about opening my status window to check her name, but…
[The King strictly forbids it.]
‘Mister, don’t interfere. Let me open it.’
[It’s for your safety.]
‘Where’s the GM? Bring your superior!!’
[…They’re not my superior, they’re a colleague. And the □■ you call the GM is currently very ill.]
What does that even mean?
The status window seemed to have a will of its own, making it hard to open.
Sigh.
“M-Minho?”
Oops, I let out a sigh without realizing it.
“N-no. Unnie needs to go somewhere else now. She’s busy.”
“O-okay!”
I almost slipped up and said something I shouldn’t have. Flustered, I quickly started walking away.
“Minho! It’s dangerous to run!”
“I’m fine.”
As I dashed forward, I saw people greeting me along the way.
“Princess!”
“Hello.”
“Hoho, are you well?”
While continuing to run, I suddenly—
Thud!
“Ouch!”
“…?”
I had collided with someone and ended up landing on the ground, hitting my backside.
“That hurts…”
“Are you alright? I’m certain I warned you not to run.”
When I looked up, I saw a maid with red eyes staring at me.
Black hair and red eyes—she seemed familiar somehow.
“Princess, are you running through the halls again?”
“Uh, well…”
I had been scolded harshly not long ago for running in the halls, so I couldn’t help but hang my head low.
“Don’t move. If you struggle, I might really drop you.”
I wiggled around, trying to get away, but the woman who resembled my sister suddenly came running over in a panic.
“I-I’m sorry! The child still has a lot to learn.”
“Oh. Hello.”
“…Yes…”
“A child looking after a child—what a heartwarming sight.”
“Ah, haha…”
The woman who looked like my sister laughed awkwardly.
Maybe it felt strange for her to treat me like a child since, in human years, I wasn’t technically one.
Honestly, if I’d been treated like this in my former life, I probably would’ve gone mad.
As I dangled helplessly and stared at the maid before me, she suddenly said a shocking name.
“…Han Yuri, was it?”
“Welcome. There’s no longer any discrimination against half-dragons here.”
“…Though there aren’t any half-dragons left. Ah, my apologies.”
“It’s alright. I was never truly a half-dragon to begin with.”
Han Yuri.
Just three ordinary syllables.
But those three syllables sent shockwaves through my mind and shook me to my core.
Han Yuri?
…Even the name is the same?
Something was definitely wrong.
How did my sister end up here?
How would I explain her long, gray hair, her eye color, or even her presence here in this world?
And why, of all things, is my sister a half-dragon?
My thoughts spiraled into chaos.
…I have to ask.
It might make me look like a complete lunatic, but if I didn’t ask, I knew I’d regret it forever.
“Let’s head out. I need to show Unnie around the house.”
“Alright.”
Minho—or rather, Han Minho—was walking alongside Han Yuri, heading down to the underground prison where no one else was.
It was where Han Yuri and Damian had stayed, where Void had been before.
Although Minho had said he was showing her unfamiliar places, why were they going down here?
Han Yuri stared at the empty spaces on the walls, where torches might have once been, feeling puzzled.
“M-Minho? Why are we going down here?”
“…To look around.”
“To look around?”
“Yeah.”
Minho furrowed his brow as if lost in deep thought, descending the stairs slowly.
Seeing him like that, Han Yuri found herself unable to say much.
And so, the two continued down the stairs, deeper and deeper.
The air grew colder, and Minho’s quiet, brooding demeanor only added to the eerie atmosphere.
Just as Han Yuri began to feel a chill run down her spine, something happened.
“Mi-Minho?”
“……”
Minho stopped in his tracks.
“Unnie…”
“Hm?”
When Minho turned to face her, his eyes seemed to hold the weight of a serious decision.
“No, Nuna.”
“What?!”
Han Yuri looked at the small child standing below her, stunned, her two trembling eyes fixed on him.
“…Are you really Nuna?”
Despite Minho’s words, Han Yuri couldn’t answer.
She just stared at Minho blankly, her expression dazed.
To be honest, Han Yuri was confused.
A small child, standing before her, was suddenly asking if she was really his older sister?
She had thought about it earlier in the underground prison, and again this morning.
But she had brushed it off as a coincidence and buried her suspicions deep.
Now, those doubts were rising to the surface again, right in front of her.
“…Minho?”
As she whispered his name softly, Minho nodded slightly, his fingers fidgeting nervously.
His eyes avoided hers, and even his drooping tail reflected his lack of energy.
“Minho…!”
“Y-yeah?!”
Han Yuri, seeing Minho looking so dejected, hugged him tightly.
“N-Nuna?”
“Are you really Minho? My Minho?”
Tears welled up as she hugged him tighter, refusing to let go.
Finally, Han Yuri couldn’t hold back any longer, and her tears began to fall.
“Nuna… Nuna waited so long for you.”
“You said you’d come! And so…”
“It was so hard. I was so lonely.”
Pouring out all the sorrow and pain she had bottled up, Han Yuri cried as Minho patted her back gently.
“I missed you… so much…”
As Han Yuri sobbed and spoke, Minho smiled softly at her.
“And thank you… for coming to see me. I’m sorry.”
“…Yeah.”
“Nuna, when did you grow your hair out? I couldn’t recognize you.”
“Me? After you died, for three years. If that’s why you didn’t recognize me, I’m a little hurt.”
“Three years?! That long?”
“Yeah. Don’t I look like an old lady now?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey! Do you want to die?!”
Han Yuri laughed with teary eyes, flashing a mischievous smile.
“You know, I promised myself something every time I drank.”
“What was it?”
“That I’d be your Nuna in the next life, too.”
Minho understood exactly what Han Yuri meant.
“And now, it really happened.”
“Yeah, it did.”
“Nuna, I was about to get married before I came here.”
“What?!”
Minho looked at her, utterly shocked.
“Was it that guy?”
“Who?”
“You know, the new hire you always talked about at the hospital. What was his name… Kim Seungho?”
“…Yeah, that’s him. Wow, you remember that? But I can’t see him anymore.”
“Nuna, are you okay?”
“I’d be lying if I said I was.”
Han Yuri gave a bittersweet smile and quickly changed the subject.
“Didn’t you say you’d ruin things for me?”
“Well, I don’t know. They interpreted my wish in a strange way.”
“Pfft, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t laugh!”
“It’s a relief, though, that we can talk like this.”
After laughing for a while, Han Yuri gently poked Minho’s forehead.
“Now call me Unnie, okay?”
“You didn’t come, so I came instead.”
“You can at least do that much, right? I want to hear it.”
Smiling slyly, Han Yuri waited for his response.
“I’ll… try.”
“Alright.”
“I’m hungry.”
“Shall we head up?”
“Yeah.”
Though there was so much they hadn’t said yet, so many things they wanted to talk about, they decided to save it for another time.
Now, they had plenty of time.