Chapter 94

Karentina, too, found it difficult to contain the swell of emotion as she looked at him. Was it because her body still remembered? In that moment, when she thought she might collapse at any second and her hand moved to clutch the hem of her dress—

Drip.

—A tear slid down her cheek.

“Huh?”

She couldn’t understand why she was crying. She had always thought of herself as just a character in a story. Even if she’d been reincarnated into this body, she believed she could greet her first family with a smile. But the surge of emotion was too much for her to bear, and her vision grew misty.

Damion took a step closer to her. His gentle voice settled softly in her ear.

“Why are you crying?”

He had the same silvery hair as Karentina, and vivid green eyes that seemed almost out of place in the northern lands. Even though there were differences between them, the resemblance was undeniable.

“Karen. My little sister.”

Damion removed his gauntlets and offered a gentle, smiling gaze. With very careful hands, he brushed away the tears trailing down her cheek.

“Have you been well?”

Though sixteen long years had separated them, he greeted her with the same warmth as if they’d seen each other only yesterday. Karentina threw her arms around him and, like a child, burst into tears in his embrace.

“Brother… big brother!”

Damion let out a soft, wistful laugh, recalling the little sister who used to run through the castle hand in hand with him as a child.

“My little one. I’ve missed you so much.”

He smiled with joy and embraced her tenderly.

Damion and Karentina brushed away the years of longing and shared the happiness of reunion. Some of the household servants, moved by the touching scene, discreetly wiped away tears from afar. As if to bless their meeting, warm sunlight poured down in golden streams.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ୨ৎ ໒꒱ ‧₊ ୧‿︵

Ignis stood rigidly frozen, his gaze fixed silently on Damion and Karentina.

‘This is maddening.’

The moment he saw Karentina in tears…

He couldn’t understand why his heart ached so sharply, as if it were being torn apart. Why…?

“I’ve never seen Karen cry like that…”

It was only when he heard Stella’s voice that Ignis snapped out of his thoughts.

“…The Lady will be all right. She’s crying because she’s happy.”

At least, that was what he told himself.

He felt as if he were burning up from a thirst that nothing could quench. His chest was tight, and a persistent headache throbbed at his temples. Pressing his fingers to his brow, he furrowed his brow in discomfort.

“Brother, are you hurt?”

Just as Stella said, it did feel as though he’d come down with a serious illness. He doubted whether even the knights’ physicians, capable of curing the ailments of transcendents, could help, but he resolved to seek treatment before the day was over.

“No, it’s nothing. I’m just a bit tired.”

“That’s a relief… Oh, right! Brother, on New Year’s Day you promised to sleep in the same bed as Karentina and me, but then you ran away!”

Stella narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion.

“I waited until the break of dawn before I left the room. I’d say that’s enough to count as keeping my promise to the queen, don’t you think?”

Stella’s eyes grew round in surprise at his unexpected answer.

“Really? You actually stayed that late?”

She couldn’t believe it.

‘My brother, who can’t stand noble ladies, actually slept in the same bed as me and Karentina? I only schemed to get the two of them together… Did he really fall asleep with us?’

The little girl’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Could it be that her brother was finally starting to take an interest in Karentina? The way he looked at her was certainly different from before. Even though the child didn’t understand what he was feeling, the smallest change in her brother, who usually shuddered at the thought of women, filled her with hope.

‘Since when did this start?’

It seemed that sending the two of them off alone to the West had worked better than she’d expected.

‘I’ll help them even more! I have to make sure Karen becomes my sister. Then we can all live together in the Imperial Palace!’

Stella’s mind raced with plans. She needed to send the two of them off somewhere before they returned to the palace.

‘If only there were a deserted island, I’d send them there. This is so exciting. What should I do?’

Just then, a clear voice drifted down above her head.

“Your Highness the Princess, it has been a while.”

A woman with black hair, tied back in a single braid, bowed politely behind Ignis and Stella. Ignis, with his back turned, answered in a dry voice.

“Baroness Dunalley.”

Stella recognized Ceria, Ignis’s aide, and pouted with a curt expression. Ceria, in turn, gave her a sly smile, curling one corner of her mouth in return.

“Your Highness, my apologies for the delay. I was sending a letter to the Information Guild.”

“It’s fine.”

Ceria glanced curiously at Ignis, who seemed strangely absent-minded. Following his gaze, she saw Damion embracing a lady, both of them in tears.

Her demeanor turned cold.

“Who is that lady? I don’t believe I’ve seen her before. Could she possibly be the vice-captain’s lov—”

“No! That’s Karentina! They’re siblings, just like me and my brother!”

Stella put her hands on her hips and scolded her. At that, Ceriaeria looked surprised for a moment, then let out a small, amused laugh.

“Your Highness, you’ve changed so much. You used to be like a little child, always hiding behind His Highness and never speaking to me…”

At those words, Stella’s face flushed with anger.

“I’m not a child!”

Brimming with anger, the child spun around and stormed off toward Gemma. Ceria watched her go, then turned her gaze away and looked straight ahead once more.

“Lady Karentina Lorraine…”

Ceria’s voice was cold and detached as she uttered Karentina’s name.