Iyue had thought of many words to defend herself.
She didn’t know how Nefi had learned about the things that happened during her and Lian’s journey…
In theory, the only ones who knew they called each other family were the two of them, plus the villagers of Jingye Village and the Ranger Corps members who traveled with them—
No, it didn’t matter how she found out. She had to clear up this misunderstanding first.
She had to tell Nefi that she and Lian En weren’t in the kind of relationship she imagined, that she had never thought of abandoning her family.
And the reason she had made Nefi leave back then was because she didn’t want her to follow in Mother’s footsteps…
But when she looked at her sister’s face, the excuses on her lips refused to come out.
What was there to defend? Everything she said was the truth. Even if there were a thousand reasons or ten thousand excuses, the one who drove her away that day was herself.
And now she truly was trying to steal the relic Nefi had found in order to break the seal on Lian, whom she considered family.
If everything I did was to protect her from harm… then why does she look so agonized right now?
“Nefi… it’s my fault.”
Looking at her expression, Iyue felt her heart ache as if pierced by a sharp arrow.
“An apology?”
Nephtalia stepped forward.
“Did I hear that right? My great sister… apologizing to me again? You probably don’t even remember the promise we made the last time you apologized, do you?”
—We sisters will stay together forever and ever.
“What unfulfillable promise are you going to make this time? After stealing my things for that family of yours, how long will you disappear again? What great feat will you accomplish next?”
—Sister, sister. Please forgive me. I just thought you couldn’t keep going like that… I didn’t want to see you become like Mother…
“Nefi…”
“See? Even now, you’re only backing away, moving farther from my side. Is what I did really so unforgivable to you?”
Iyue retreated to the wall. She slumped against it, looking at her sister’s frenzied smile.
“Sister, do you want me to tell you what expression you’re wearing right now? You look just as desperate as you did that day. Just like that day when I burned your father’s music score, you have that hollow, hopeless look.”
“Does my existence only bring you pain? If that’s the case, Sister, you might as well follow the prophecy of that relic and kill me.”
Uttering these terrible words, Nephtalia gently leaned against Iyue.
She pressed her face against the cold armor, then placed the knife—somehow already picked up again—back into Iyue’s hand.
“Sister, do you remember? Years ago, we used to fall asleep holding each other like this. In that seemingly endless, unceasing darkness, I always imagined such a thing.”
“Darkness… what darkness?”
A chilling dread suddenly crept up Iyue’s spine.
“Haven’t you seen it? That deep, deep underground prison, where only silence remains. Ah, maybe silence isn’t quite right. You can hear the sound of water there. Drip, drip, drip… like that, a rhythmic sound.”
“After I separated from you, I returned to the family. Because I defied the family’s orders, I was locked up there, punished to reflect.”
“Until I admitted my fault. If I didn’t admit it, the term was…” She tilted her head slightly as if recalling.
“Hmm, I don’t remember. At first I counted the days by the meals the guards brought, but later I somehow switched to counting the sound of dripping water. Anyway, after about ten years, I gave up counting. In the end, I could only admit my mistake to the old hag, telling her I would obey all her commands from then on and never defy the family again.”
“I’m pretty cowardly, you know? I heard Mother was locked up for nearly a hundred years before she compromised. Even though I don’t remember, the time I was actually locked up probably wasn’t even a third of that.”
“You… you… were locked in that place… and Mother…”
Drip, drip, drip.
That irritating sound of water seemed to echo in her ears. Iyue’s expression twisted in terror.
“Wow. Look at your face now, Sister.” Nephtalia chanted a spell, and a small ice mirror appeared in her palm. She held it up in front of Iyue:
“You’re the ranger who defeated the Demon King, the unprecedented great hero among elves. How can you make such a pathetic face? Is your own blood sister really scarier than the Demon King to you?”
“Ah… I…”
Iyue opened her mouth, dazed.
“Hold the knife steady, Sister. Like you used to do when sharpening arrows for me. Steady.”
Nephtalia used her own fingers to help Iyue grip the knife firmly.
“Don’t resist. Don’t defy fate. That way… we sisters can find release.”
Her smile suddenly turned hollow. Then, with a kind of hope, a kind of wish… she slowly moved the knife her sister held toward her own neck.
“Natalia, Natalia…!”
Just then, from outside the door came the shout of a certain girl on the grass, along with the sound of her approaching footsteps.
The two, caught up in their emotions, snapped awake… both of their hands loosened at the same time, and the knife clattered to the floor.
“Natalia!”
Before they could even separate, the girl with flame-like hair impatiently pushed the door open.
Since the owner of this house was her close friend, she never considered knocking—
“Where are you? I need to ask you something…” Milin was just about to look for her friend when she turned and saw the two sisters embracing against the wall.
“Natalia… and Sister Iyue? No wonder you weren’t home. Are you two… reconciled?”
She didn’t see the knife that had fallen by their side, so she spoke with a delighted expression.
“Yeah. We’re reconciled.” Nephtalia’s smile instantly turned as gentle as before. She took Iyue’s stiff hand and showed it to Milin.
“Right, Sister?”
She glanced at Iyue. Under her gaze, Iyue snapped out of her dazed state. She forced a smile and stood up from the floor, holding her sister’s hand.
“Mm.”
She only replied with that single word… because if she said any more, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t reveal something.
“That’s wonderful!” Milin suddenly cried tears of joy and wrapped her arms around both sisters. “The way you two were that day scared me to death… I thought I had done something wrong!”
“…Sorry for worrying you.”
“My dear Milin, didn’t I say it wasn’t your fault? Why are you starting to cry?”
Held in her embrace, the two of them were both startled… but in the next moment, they simultaneously patted her back to comfort her.
“Wah… I just couldn’t help it…”
“All teary and sniffly,” Nephtalia said, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to her. “Wipe your face.”
“Thanks…” Milin finally let them go. She ran to the corner of the room, wiped her tears and blew her nose with the handkerchief… After making sure her appearance was tidy, she seemed to remember something important and ran back to them, facing Iyue:
“Sister Iyue, I went to the Royal Palace to see Sister Lian. How should I put it… She’s been placed under house arrest by the Queen here.”