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Lina is Ill (2)
“Cousin, you are here.” Lina’s voice was feeble and hoarse. She stared at me with a smile and tried to sit on the bed.
Aunt Sera hurriedly went to help her.
“Careful, baby. What are you doing?”
“Stop, mom. I’m not a cripple yet.” Lina then looked at me. “Cousin, you also came to see me die?”
“Lina!”
“… My bad.” Lina smiled bitterly and apologized.
I sighed and observed my Lina’s condition.
Lina could be considered as a very cute girl. She inherited the red hair of her father and the black eyes of her mother, and her petite body brimmed with youthfulness.
At 1.6 meters of height and fifteen years of age, the best way to describe her was a very cute tiny. I have memories of her being mischievous when we played together as kids.
But now, although her pale skin and the bags under her eyes gave her a kind of sickly beauty, her dispirited eyes were completely different from her normal mischievous self. Although she tried to hide her emotions with bad jokes, anyone could notice how she really felt.
Of Aunt Sera’s daughters, Andrea tended to be the shy one and Lina the lively one. So to be honest, the current dispirited Lina was a bit shocking.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
Lina shrugged. “My body hurt a lot and I can’t feel my legs, so… Yeah, I think I’m feeling good.”
“Well, at least you still can speak.” I joked back.
Lina giggled. “Hey! Are you saying I’m too talkative!?”
“These are your words, not mine.”
“Hmph! Do you think I don’t know what were you thinking?” Lina pouted in feigned anger and looked away.
One second later, she was unable to control herself and erupted in laughter.
I smiled seeing that. “Do you feel better now?”
“Yeah. Thank you, cousin.” Lina looked at me gratefully before turning toward her mother. “Mom, is dad not back yet?”
Aunt Sera’s expression stiffened before returning to normal an instant later. “Not yet, he is still trying to invite an Archbishop to treat you.”
“Is it so? Such a shame. I want to see him.”
Aunt Sera nodded and stroke Sera’s head. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m sure your father will come back soon.”
Mm? Did something happen to uncle?
Thinking about it, I had not seen him yet. Could it be that it’s as aunt said and he is out finding an Archbishop? But judging from Aunt Sera and Lina’s expression, it did not seems to be the case.
Anyway, I’ll treat Lina first and think about that later.
“Aunt, why don’t you rest for a while and I take care of Lina for you? To be honest, you look awful.”
“Huh? No no no. Don’t worry, Claus, I’m alright.”
“No, mom, cousin is right. You have been taking care of me since I fell ill. If you don’t take care of yourself, you will fall ill too.”
Aunt Sera hesitated for a while, but after Lina and I convinced her for a while more, she finally agreed with a reluctant expression.
“… I guess I need a nap. Claus, keep an eye on Lina. If something happens, wake me up.”
I nodded and sent aunt Sera out. When I returned to the room, Lina was looking at me with a smirk.
“Then Cousin, what is it that you don’t want my mother to know?”
I smiled in amusement. “You are as perceptive as always, little Lina.”
“Well, you did not make an effort to hide it.”
I chuckled. “Clever girl. Okay, give me your hand. I want to check something.”
“Oh? Could it be you are planning to put your claws on me like did on my sister!? Beast! Someone, please save me!” Lina feigned a terrified look.
I raised an eyebrow. “You know about that?”
“… Well, big sis has been skipping and smiling like a fool lately, so I thought it was related to you. Imagine my surprise when I asked about how far she had gone with you and she reacted all flustered… Unfortunately, no matter how much I asked, she never told me how far you two have reached. Are you still in the first base or in the second? That reaction… No, I’m sure cousin is not the kind of beast that reached third base with his family.”
This precocious girl…
… Cough, I think I’m a beast.
I flicked Lina’s forehead with a smile. “And why are you so curious, huh?”
“… Idiot.” Lina blushed and hid her face behind her quilt.
I laughed again and took her hand. Then, I sent my mana inside her body.
Seeing how serious I was, Lina stopped joking. She looked at my face with an expression of fear and a tiny little bit of hope.
But her hope was almost unexistent. Lina had already heard about her condition from different medics and healers, and every one of them said that it was not hopeful.
So, when she saw my frown, she did her best to suppress her disappointment and forced out a smile.
“How is it? Bad, right? I think I’m going to die soon.”
I heaved a sigh and put my hand on her head. “Don’t worry, it’s certainly bad, but your cousin is very incredible.”
Lina smiled bitterly. “You don’t have to console me, cousin. I know that unless an archbishop treats my condition I’m going to die… I think I have only one week left or so.”
I smiled wryly. This girl…
“Don’t you trust your cousin?”
Lina rolled her eyes. “Well, big sis trusted you and look where she ended. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to end in your bed.”
I flicked Lina’s forehead again. “Little girl, where did you learn to be so disrespectful to this older brother?”
“Ouch! It hurts! Do you enjoy flicking my forehead!?”
I shook my head and stroked Lina’s head again. “Little princess, trust me. Nothing will happen.”
Lina lowered her head and stayed silent.
After a few seconds, I saw a tear falling on the bed.
“… Cousin, I don’t want to die.”
“… Lina.”
“*Sob*… I don’t want to die, cousin… Please… I don’t want to die… Sob… wahhhhhh!”
I sighed and hugged Lina tightly.
Her tears rolled down her cheek, falling in my chest and drenching my shirt.
My heart was filled with pity and anger. I felt pitiful for this little girl that feigned to be happy to not worry her family despite the fact that she was terrified inwardly.
At the same time, I felt anger towards the bastards that did this to her.
Yeah, I had already confirmed that this was not an accident.
And I was going to make them pay for this.
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