Chapter 272: Eve and Her Little Brother

She got up.

Scratching her disheveled hair, she heard sparrows chirping outside, signaling the start of the day.

Sunlight streamed through the window, brightly illuminating the room. The walls were covered with pictures of Isaac in his uniform.

Eve Ropenheim let out a deep sigh. Her body felt refreshed, but her mind was troubled.

The semester has already started...

She hadn’t spoken to Isaac since the Ropenheim Barony incident.

The break was over before she knew it.

***“It’s been a while! Have you lost weight?”

“What did you do over the break?”

“Hello!”

Märchen Academy was bustling with students returning from vacation.

Conversations about what happened over their breaks filled the air. The hottest topic, of course, was the Ropenheim Barony incident.

Given that this was a prestigious academy with a high percentage of nobles, the details of the Ropenheim Barony incident, which had spread widely in noble society, naturally reached everyone’s ears.

“Did you hear that Baron Ropenheim was trafficking children?”

“Yeah, I was so shocked when I heard it. But did you know that the one to stop it was Senior Issac?”

“Wow, uhh, Senior Isaac... I think I’m falling for him all over again...”

Naturally, the news of Isaac’s involvement in resolving the incident followed.

Isaac himself wasn’t fully aware, but he was very popular at the academy. The only thing keeping the girls from approaching him was Luce, who constantly loomed over Isaac and shot murderous glances at those who even dared to glance in his general vicinity.

Meanwhile, a third-year student was walking dejectedly, overhearing the conversations among the girls. It was Isaac’s sister, Eve Ropenheim.

“Eveeee!!”

“Eek!”

A short-haired third-year student, Alicia, ran up and hugged Eve from behind. Startled, Eve let out a strange scream.

“Long time no see, Eve!”

“Long time no see, Alicia...”

“Even though the semester has started, isn’t it too much to be so down already? Are you worried more demons will appear?”

“No, that’s not it...”

“It’s fine! The Ice Sovereign said there wouldn’t be any more incidents like that! We’ve safely gotten through all the big incidents so far, so don’t you think things will be quiet until we graduate?!”

The protests triggered by numerous incidents continued unabated, and the Imperial Knights’ protection had become even stronger.

Outsiders might wonder why Märchen Academy hadn’t shut down. It was because shutting down Märchen Academy would be an overreaction that would cause more harm than good. Besides, since it was under the protection of the Imperial Court, closing the academy wasn’t even an option.

The academy had no choice but to continue operating, and the students wanted it to remain open as well.

However, Eve’s low spirits were not due to what Alicia had mentioned.

That’s not it. It’s because I still haven’t been able to talk to Isaac...

Eve felt a strong sense of self-doubt for not having spoken to Isaac until the end of the break.

I want to join in the girls' discussion about my brother, I want to brag about how handsome, cool, and sexy he is...! And then, I want to proudly declare, “I am Isaac’s elder sister.”

The mere thought excited her. It brought her a sense of satisfaction.

But since she hadn’t spoken to Isaac since the Ropenheim Barony incident...

She felt like nothing had been resolved between them. Bragging about being Isaac’s sister felt like an inconsiderate and shameless act that didn’t take her brother’s feelings into account.

“Eve?”

“Yeah... Hopefully, nothing else happens until we graduate.”

Eve sighed, pretending to be worried.

***The class placement evaluation would be held in three days. Until then, the students would be in temporary classes.

Eve, who was holding a drink, reached the second-year floor of the Orphin Hall, discreetly peeking into one of the temporary classrooms.

Among the many students, one particularly radiant boy with glasses stood out. It was Isaac.

Eve’s face broke into a wide grin.

Even the way he organizes his books is so adorable...

Though siblings often quarreled, Eve, who had to love Isaac from a distance, had no such sibling pride.

She only adored her little brother’s cuteness.

Students passing by glanced nervously at Eve as she peeked into the second-year classroom like a stalker. Many had seen her doing the same last semester. Eve was a repeat offender.

However, Eve was too immersed in watching Isaac to care about others’ stares.

I need to talk to him soon...

Today, she was determined to talk to Isaac. She had even bought a drink for that purpose, to use as an excuse to start a conversation.

Once the class placement evaluation was over, Isaac would naturally join Class A, and then his admirers would likely flock around him.

Come on, be brave. Get it together.

Eve encouraged herself.

At that moment, Isaac stood up from his seat.

“Gasp...!”

“I’m sorry... I was so foolish... I’m sorry for leaving after saying such harsh words.”

I took a sip and spoke softly, “We were just kids back then. We were helpless before Baron Ropenheim’s schemes. Don’t cry. I understand how you must have felt.”

“Why are you acting more mature than me...”

Eve sniffled a bit, then wiped her tears and regained her composure.

“You’re still not like you used to be... When did you start hiding your true self?”

My true self. It was obvious what she meant.

Isaac, who had no talent for magic, was now recognized as an archwizard. She was asking why I had hidden such power from my family.

“It seems I had some latent potential. It awakened one day after Mom passed away. It’s hard to explain. I don’t fully understand it myself.”

“...So, you weren’t hiding it?”

“No, I wasn’t. By the way, what was I like back then?”

“Huh? Don’t tell me you can’t remember your childhood?”

I nodded.

“It seems like a side effect of my potential awakening. I’ve lost parts of my memory, especially the older ones.”

Of course, this was a lie. I just didn’t know how I had interacted with Eve in the past.

I decided that it was best to tell it like this.

If I said I lost my memory due to a mental shock, Eve would feel even more guilty.

If I truthfully said I didn’t know because I had possessed the body of her brother, Eve would be deeply shocked or react with disbelief.

That would only add to my guilt.

“How could such a thing happen...?”

“Who knows.”

“...”

While I sipped my drink, Eve collected her thoughts, cleared her throat, and then averted her gaze from me.

Then she started to speak, “Every morning and night, we kissed.”

Good morning kisses, good night kisses, like what I’ve seen in foreign movies.

“And?”

“We often bathed together too...”

We were young then, so it made sense. We wouldn’t have had any knowledge of sexual matters at the time.

But... it’s starting to sound strange.

“Whenever anything happened, you always tried to hug me, act cute, and hold my hand. And you always said you would grow up to be like me, marry me, and that you didn’t need anything else... You were always saying, ‘I love you, Sis.’ Before going to sleep, you insisted on staring at my face for ten minutes, and I was always reflected in your eyes.”

“...”

Did Isaac have a sister complex? It’s possible... But I detected lies in Eve’s story.

Using [Psychological Insight], I noticed Eve was mixing in a few lies.

But every time she lied, what she said was becoming more and more like the truth and she would believe her own lies, deceiving herself. As a result, it seemed like she wasn’t lying.

Eve continued speaking while staring into space. Her face grew calmer, and a small smile crept up her lips.

I stood still, listening silently to Eve’s words. Her story gradually became more poetic, like something out of a novel.

“As you grew older, you still only had eyes for me. Most nights we slept in each others’ arms. I remember the warmth of your breath, your cute breathing still resonates in my ears. Whenever I patted your head, you would always smile brightly and say you liked it. Even when we went to the flower garden holding hands. You probably don’t remember, but you put a crown of flowers on my head. Just like I protected you, you said you would protect me forever when you grew up. You were as gentle as a spring breeze and as bright as a midday sun.”

“Sis.”

“And also...”

“Sis.”

“Huh... yeah?”

I brought Eve back to reality as she was getting immersed in her own world.

“The bell rang. Let’s talk again later.”

“Ah.”

The class bell was ringing. It was time to head back.

“Right... Yeah, let’s go back.”

We walked into Orphin Hall.

“Hey, Isaac.”

“Yeah.”

“Can’t we go back to the way things were?”

“...That might be difficult.”

“Yeah... I guess so. Take care.”

Eve waved at me and headed towards the third-year floor.

At some point, I couldn’t tell.

Just now, I didn’t know which part of Eve’s memories were true and which ones were lies.