The encounter with the boy was fateful.
At least, that’s what young Ria thought.
The memories that the girl possessed were mismatched from the start.
One day, when she opened her eyes, Ria found herself in an unfamiliar manor.
All previous memories had been wiped away as if someone had deliberately made a blank slate.
Knowledge existed.
She was aware of languages, mathematics, and social common sense. She just couldn’t comprehend how she had acquired this knowledge or the circumstances surrounding it.
Ria was very frightened by this fact.
Strange environments and unfamiliar people surrounded her.
She understood her name and her identity.
But the label felt hollow, and the girl couldn’t even realize who she was.
“Ria Percus,” she is.
The title was merely wrapping paper. If the shell couldn’t be filled with substance, it meant nothing at all. Ria even found it hard to understand what ‘family’ meant.
When her parents looked at her, they always wore a pained expression.
Or they would only hug her with pity and sympathy.
They were good people, and Ria respected them.
But that was all.
They were not someone she could truly open her heart to and converse with.
However, there was one particularly peculiar person.
“Ria, have you eaten?”
The boy would always pop up and ask so familiarly.
Shy Ria could hardly meet her ‘older brother’s’ gaze.
“Uh, yes, yes…”
“Good, well done. You’re still not used to this manor, are you? For a while, I’ll guide you around my territory.”
The boy’s first impression was of a faint smell of sweat.
He wielded a sword from morning till night. Masters of swordsmanship, who had come from distant territories, trained him directly.
He got dirty, and his hands became calloused.
There were times when he got hit during sparring. His childhood friend, known as ‘Celin,’ was a handful, and it was common for them to get hurt while playing together.
If it had been Ria, she would have already burst into tears numerous times.
But the boy had never shown a single tear.
Instead, he would just give a wry smile when he saw Ria, who was always fidgeting.
The boy always comforted Ria.
“…It’s okay, Ria.”
For a few more years, it was like that.
He never once showed signs of hating or disliking her.
He would occasionally look at her with unfamiliar eyes, but that was it.
Rather, he even played the embarrassing role for Ria, who was trembling with anxiety.
‘Knight’ and ‘Princess.’
Even so, was it not treating her too much like a little child? But it felt good.
All of it.
Every time she met the boy, her heart pounded pleasantly.
Being patted on the head, receiving compliments, and sometimes bickering; the everyday life was happy.
Ria truly felt fortunate.
That she could be the boy’s little sister, and that he was her older brother.
Even after offering gratitude in prayer to the heavenly deities countless times, it didn’t feel enough.
But when did it start?
Ria realized that the thumping of her heart, the thrill of joy, and the deep sense of happiness she felt in the boy’s embrace were wrong.
The trigger was simple.
It was because she recognized that the boy’s feelings were similar yet different in essence from hers.
He was gradually pushing Ria away.
“Ria, no matter what, it’s not appropriate for siblings to do this…”
That day, a strong question lodged itself in Ria’s mind.
Why?
The boy loved Ria, and Ria loved the boy. So shouldn’t what they wanted align as well?
Ria wanted to close the distance with the boy.
She always wanted to be together and enjoy happiness in his arms.
But that was not allowed.
Ria was, after all, the boy’s sister.
The life that had felt like a sweet dream collapsed all at once.
Indeed, the feelings Ria harbored were not sibling affection.
Realizing this, Ria was tormented by maddening anguish.
Why, how, and what.
It was cruel and vile.
If he was going to push her away anyway, he should have done so from the start.
The thirsty little brat who yearned for affection should have been made to realize she was dreaming on her own.
Nail-biting and shivering, Ria spent several sleepless nights.
She tried to give up her feelings for the boy, but the emotions of her first love, nurtured over the years, couldn’t easily settle down.
After all, it was an impossible love.
The feelings the boy held were clearly different from those of the girl, and using that as leverage to trouble the boy was a wicked deed.
Ria still loved the boy, so instead, she wished for him to be happy.
But that didn’t happen.
It was maddening.
In her heart, she wanted to shatter her heart into pieces and discard only her affection for the boy.
How much of her heart should she throw away?
Seventy percent? No, eighty percent?
Or perhaps ninety percent.
He was the only family and love the girl held in her heart.
Those two coexisting statuses continuously tormented Ria.
Nevertheless, time heals many things.
Although her heart still throbbed for an impossible love, Ria gradually began to overcome the wound.
To be more precise, it would be right to say she had become an adult.
She learned how to compromise with reality.
Yes, even if they couldn’t be together, they could still live together.
They would not become lovers or spouses.
But someday, she could spend her remaining days with the boy.
Every trace Ria left behind was tinged with the boy’s color.
Creating a company and dreaming of independence.
Paying for her academy tuition with the profits from the company.
It was all merely actions taken for Ian.
With the debts she created, she hoped to one day secure Ian’s future.
That ambitious plan soon capsized.
As unbelievable tales of the boy’s exploits continued to pour in, Ria found herself at a loss.
“……No way.”
However, truly unbelievable events unfolded shortly thereafter.
With a thud, a blade pierced through flesh.
Ria blankly looked down at her hand.
There was blood on it.
Her beloved, brother’s blood.
“No….”
It was a lie.
There was no way this could be reality.
As she thrashed around, trying to deny the truth before her eyes.
With another thud, an unpleasant sound echoed once more.
Tears rolled down Ria’s cheek.
The sensation of stabbing someone felt too vivid.
“No, no, no… This can’t be true…”
And finally, a last thud resounded.
Ria’s bewildered eyes turned toward the boy.
He seemed to want to say something, but he could only let blood drip down.
Before his trembling hand could even reach the girl.
He collapsed, losing consciousness.
Like a corpse.
The girl screamed.
“You liar, liar… I, I love you so much, brother, huh? Why? No… no, no, no! NOOOOOOO!”
Ria opened her eyes right after that.
Drenched in cold sweat from a terrible nightmare, Ria curled up, trembling.
It had to be a dream.
There couldn’t be a more cruel reality than this.
How could she stab her beloved brother with her own hands?
It was a terrible sin, and amid the dense guilt, a certain gaze floated to mind.
Golden eyes that seemed to look upon a monster.
It felt as if that denied the only thread connecting Ria and Ian.
It felt like proof that she was indeed a monster.
How could a monster be beside a knight?
The knight’s side was meant for the princess.
A monster should be eradicated by the knight.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry… No! I-I made a mistake… I-I messed up… Don’t hate me. Don’t abandon me…”
Thus, Ria crouched down in some corner, crying for a long time.
It was when she came to her senses that a certain thought flashed through her mind.
What happened to her brother?
Only then did Ria’s tear-filled vision clear up.
The musty smell of old wood brushed against her nose. It was a space without a single window, but Ria knew.
Because she was also a merchant.
This was inside a carriage.
Moreover, restraints were fastened around her hands and feet.
A treatment that deemed her a monster in every sense.
But Ria was too preoccupied to care about that now.
With all her strength, she crawled to the carriage door with a thud.
“Open the door! Are you not going to open it?! What happened to brother? Is he alive?!”
Her mouth felt dry.
Even if they met, Ria might avoid him and hide.
Nevertheless, she wanted to know about his well-being.
No sounds came from outside.
Growing more anxious, Ria repeatedly threw herself against the door.
Until her desperation reached its peak, she continued to do so, for however long.
Until, suddenly, the lock of the carriage broke, and Ria inhaled the outside air.
It was a force she could never have imagined in normal circumstances, but Ria didn’t even realize that.
She just gasped and looked around.
Even after Ria escaped, no one paid her any attention.
They merely stared blankly at something.
Ria staggered up and immediately followed the gazes of the people.
And she had no choice but to hold her breath.
The scene before her eyes was showing the answer Ria had longed for so much.
Thunder and lightning struck.
With each flash of lightning during the storm, a grotesque figure made of countless corpses screamed. An overwhelmingly large army was engaged in a bloody struggle among the dead.
The aftermath alone was enough to disperse the blizzard around her.
Some people were facing the giant, their swords adorned with aura.
And among them, one man stood out the most.
“……Brother.”
With each clash of sword and fist, the giant’s arm was torn apart.
The giant staggered and retreated.
WOOOOOOOOOOO-!
The roaring sound rang in her ears, almost making her head ache.
Ria could only realize the truth upon witnessing that scene.
The boy, who was supposed to enjoy a simple happiness with her alone, was no longer there.
He had already grown too big.
The realization chilled Ria’s heart.
The girl quietly clenched her hands.
Uncaring if blood seeped from her palms.
