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A Lie to Lena (2)
“Lena!” “Sister!” “Lena!”
The worried voices of the emperor, the empress, and Dina sounded in the hall. The three of them hurriedly ran towards Lena.
But when the dust of the explosion cleared, they saw I was holding Lena on my arms, protecting her from the explosion at the cost of burning my clothes.
Lena’s eyes were trembling. She was looking at her mother with a look of fear and disbelief. Then, she put her head on my chest while crying.
I frowned and heaved a sigh. Then, I glared at Lilia with the coldest expression I could do.
“What a great mother you are.”
After that, I turned around to leave the hall with Lena on my arms.
“Hey, wait!” Lilia screamed again, but–
*Slap!*
A red mark appeared on her cheek.
Lilia held her injured cheek and looked at the emperor in disbelief.
For three entire seconds, she just stared at the emperor.
Then, she started to laugh.
“Hahaha, you slapped me, huh. You slapped me! My son, OUR son, was killed by this little bastard, and your answer is to slap me!? Hahaha, what an emperor, what a husband I’m married with!” She then turned around to leave the hall.
“Mother, wait!” Alan tried to stop her, but Lilia answered slapping his face.
“Get lost, useless son! You were not even able to protect your little brother! Heh, you probably don’t even care if he is alive or dead… What are you doing here!? Get lost of my sight!”
Alan held his cheek in surprise. Rage and hatred flashed through his eyes for an instant, but they disappeared immediately after that.
Then, he turned around and left the hall with a dark look.
I looked at that scene with a disdainful smile. This is truly a great family.
Well, this situation is almost perfect for me. And I say almost perfect because–
I looked at Lena with a complicated expression. She was still sobbing in my chest, too shocked to even move.
Sigh… What am I supposed to do here?
This is one of these situations where there is no right choice, just worst and least worse.
I shook my head. Now is not the time to think about that.
Instead, I better put my plan in march.
I left the hall with Dina and Lena (Dina followed us) and sent my voice into the ears of Hope, who was waiting for the empress in her room.
“Sister Hope, I need your help with something.”
I waited for Hope’s answer. When I received her confirmation, I told her the plan.
After I was done with that, I carried Lena to her room.
But when we arrived there, Lena grabbed my shirt and refused to let it go.
“… Brother, I don’t want to sleep alone tonight… Please…”
I sighed and looked at Dina. Dina hesitated briefly before nodding. “… Just take care of Lena for tonight.”
I nodded. After that, I took Lena to my room.
Lena was a mess. Her face was filled with tearstains and her eyes seemed emptier than normal. The lively girl I have always loved seemed like a completely different person.
On one hand, she was saddened by the death of her brother, and on the other hand, she had been almost injured by her own mother.
Moreover, she finally realized how deep the hatred between her family was.
So deep that her mother had even tried to kill her brother in front of her.
“… Big bro… Sorry…” Lena apologized between sobs. Her little body was trembling, as though afraid of my reaction.
I sighed and patted her head tenderly. “You don’t need to apologize, little doll. It’s not your fault.”
“B-But… Mom, she…”
“She tried to kill me? That was going to happen eventually. Besides, it’s not the first time someone in my family tries to kill me.”
“… Not the… first time…?”
I sighed. One second later, I walked towards my bed and put Lena on my lap. Then I hugged her body and put my chin on her head.
“Lena, I’ll be honest with you. If one day I have the kill Alan, or your mother, or even our father, I will not hesitate. Quite the opposite, I will be happy from the bottom of my heart.”
“Brother, what are you saying!?”
“The truth,” I said with utmost seriousness. In the current situation, I think the fairest for Lena is to learn the truth. “In fact, I’m sure that our father, your mother, or Alan, would be more than happy of killing me.”
Lena’s face turned ashen. Her body shivered, and her beautiful blue eyes got filled with tears.
“T-Then, I-I…”
I frowned and hugged Lena tighter. “I will never kill you, Lena. In fact, I will never let anyone hurt you. If someone tries to, I’ll kill him.”
“Big bro…” Lena shivered again before erupting in tears. During five minutes, she bawled without stop.
When she finally stopped, her clothes were drenched in tears.
I patted her head gently, using the warmth of my body to accompany her and let her calm down.
But at that moment, Lena finally bit her lips decided to ask something she did not want to believe.
“… B-Brother… About Bryan… Did you kill him?”
I fell silent for a moment. Then, I sighed. “I didn’t.”
That is true. He is not dead yet.
I could feel Lena sighing in relief. Despite that, though, she asked again.
“You swear?”
“I swear.”
“… Thank god.”
I smiled and pinched her nose. “Stop thinking about depressing things and go to sleep. You must be tired after today.”
Lena nodded. She then hesitated slightly and stood up from my bed, taking off her clothes until only her underwear was left.
When she saw my surprised expression, Lena lowered her head in embarrassment.
“S-Stop looking… M-My clothes were dirty.”
I smiled and took off my clothes too, but I left my pants on.
Then, I lay on the bed and wait for Lena to lay beside me.
When Lena was on my bed, I turned off the lights and whispered in her ear.
“A good night kiss?”
“Mm?”
I looked at the beautiful face of my little sister and smiled. Then, I kissed her tender lips softly.
“!!!”
Lena’s opened her eyes wide, but she did not resist. Instead, she hugged my back tightly and closed her eyes.
I continued kissing her for a while, tasting her soft lips and invading her mouth, only stopping when Lena was out of breath.
“Let’s sleep,” I said with a smile.
Lena nodded shyly and put her head on my chest, too embarrassed to look at me.
Then, she opened her lips again.
“… Brother, promise me you won’t kill them… please…”
“…”
“Brother, please…” Lena begged, almost too afraid of hearing my answer.
“If I kill them… will you hate me?” I asked.
“… I don’t know.”
I sighed inwardly. How complicated.
“… Brother, please…” Lena asked again.
After a bit of hesitation, I sighed and nodded.
“I promise you.”
Hearing that, Lena smiled in relief, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
I looked at her with a complicated expression. That last promise… I’m not sure I can keep it.
To be honest, I don’t mind leaving them alive. In fact, I have many ways to make them suffer a life worse than death.
But, will Dina accept that?
Will my mother’s family accept that?
And lastly, will Lena accept that?
Looking at the beautiful smile on Lena’s face, though, I could not say her the truth.
So, I could only lie.
I put a hand on Lena’s forehead and cast a sleeping spell. With this, she will sleep deeply until tomorrow.
Then, I stood up from my bed.
I still have work to do.
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