CH 4

As she tried to remember the previous Lizen’s latest memories, she was right about what had recently happened before she possessed Lizen’s body.

‘You’re not Caleb-!’ Oftentimes, Lizen would lash out whenever he acted differently.

As Lizen continued to reject her little brother’s death by seeing Razette as Caleb, her state would become unstable whenever reality hits her—that Razette was not Caleb.

And that was what had happened earlier. A situation again where Lizen got angry because Razette did not act like Caleb.

‘Sister, should we raise a dog? If it were to be trained well and kept by our side, we could take it for a walk, too. Furthermore, neither of us would be bored.’

Lizen and Caleb spend most of their time together. The two were having tea together. Razette was watching and feeling out her mood as she continued to hold and bother him.

However, as soon as he spoke, Lizen’s smiling face slowly hardened.

‘A dog?’

‘Yes, and it’s cute, too.’

‘Caleb hates dogs terribly. He’s so scared he can’t even get near them. Cute, you say?’

‘…S-sis, sister.’

‘You’re not Caleb! Caleb isn’t like this-!’

She stopped trying to recollect at that point.

After that scene, she possessed Lizen’s body and fainted after asking what her name was. She could not imagine how ridiculous the situation was, much less if she was Razette.

“Come here.” He stiffened at her call, his lower lip trembling. It was as if she had said something scary, but then he buried himself in her arms.

Lizen accepted his embrace in bewilderment.

‘But I didn’t tell him to hug me…?’ Lizen was taken aback at the sudden embrace, and she could not hide her confused face. But she knew she should not prolong this. She felt the need to apologize immediately to Razette, who must have been as surprised and confused as she was.

“I apologize for what happened earlier.”

“…….” Razette looked at her with a puzzled look, like someone who could not comprehend what she had just said.

He was kneeling on the floor as he hugged her, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, by the waist. He looked at her and tilted his head. “What was it, Sister?”

‘He’s pretending as if nothing happened. Then, I would, too… Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense.’ It would be embarrassing for her if she acted distinctly different from the original Lizen. Moreover, she had just recently shouted at him.

“You know, I screamed at you earlier. As you are already aware, I hate dogs. I was both saddened and angry that you asked for me to raise one.” It was Caleb who hated dogs, but she, who had possessed Lizen, thought she should end the issue here.

Razette, who became Caleb, did not know whether Lizen adored dogs or not. he may not even be interested in knowing.

“No matter how angry I was, I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that. I can’t seem to control myself these days.”

“…….” Razette still looked like he was pretending not to know.

“…I know,” Razette murmured softly, burrowing into her arms again. Then a weak voice came out. “I made Sister angry, so I understand. I’m sorry, Sister.” 

‘Why’s he acting like this?’

“Even if I was angry, for me to scream and lash out at you like that…”

She continued to persuade him. But it wasn’t right for her to continue this way, especially when she possessed the body of Lizen now.

Razette might laugh at her for being a hypocrite. So she decided to let it go. “Anyway, it’s not your fault.”

“…You’re too kind, Sister.”

Lizen sighed deep inside as she watched her fake young brother lie. She held him closer, shoulder to shoulder, and thought for a while. “Caleb, how old are you now?”

“What?” Razette asked in bewilderment. It was strange for her to suddenly ask when she was lost in thought and had not said anything for a while. “Why are you asking all of a sudden?”

“No, I just… I was just wondering if I remembered correctly. Just to make sure. To make sure.” She was curious how long it would be before Razette escapes from the manor, and how long before he becomes free from acting as Lizen’s dead young brother.

Only then she would know when she would die, and how much time she had left. Razette hates Lizen. It was inevitable.

His uncommon black hair. Green eyes, like hers. Due to two traits of Caleb’s being similar to his, he became Lizen’s fake younger brother.

“I’m two years younger than Sister.” He gave a vague answer. “And Sister’s 15th birthday is coming soon.”

Lizen then realized. Razette probably thought that she was testing him. A test to see how well Razette can imitate Lizen’s dead brother, Caleb.

“You remember it well,” She smiled at him as an approval of his answer.

Lizen initially planned to estimate the duration she had left, but she knew she had to act more like Lizen to some extent so that others would not be suspicious.

“Ah.” Razette had a look on his face that he had realized something too late. Razette then laughed—like he was trying to hide his embarrassment. 

“Wrong.”