She’s The Older Sister Of The Yandere Male Lead In A BL Novel - Chapter 20

“Take that.”

I pointed to the box neatly placed at the side. In the meantime, I was organizing the gifts that Frey had sent me. I put them in a different box.

Since he’s already here, I was going to ask him to take my stuff back.

I could ask other people to do it, but should I do that when I already have the best luggage boy?

There were a lot of jewels, so it’s a bit heavy. But for Lisandro, it’ll be as light as a feather.

“Oh, and…”

“Yeah?”

“Congratulations on becoming the youngest swordmaster. I’m really proud of you.”

At my big smile, Lisandro blinked in a daze. But he soon ducked his head as though he was embarrassed by the compliment.

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter because his red ears could clearly be seen poking out through his white hair.

“What about Frey?”

“Hm?”

“Is there any word that he’s coming back?”

I asked just in case he sent a letter to Lisandro.

I got to ask this naturally because those two had become best friends over the years.

Well, I’m not actually sure if Lisandro thinks of him as a best friend, but at the very least unlike when they were younger, the relationship between them really was just friendship.

“Why are you so curious about that guy?”

This obstinate Lisandro. In the past, I thought that he just didn’t want me to get closer to Frey, but I realized that he was generally just wary of the men around me.

“Can’t I be curious?”

“No.”

“Tell me before I hit you.”

“…There’s nothing about his return. He’s probably training his mental fortitude, so we won’t be able to get in touch.”

Certainly, he also wrote in his letters that he’ll be training. I looked at Lisandro with expectation, waiting for him to tell me more.

“He entered into a contract with a spirit king. He can’t do that with a normal mind, so he shortened his stay at the academy from five to three years. I mean, he’s a great guy, but his mental strength needs constant training. So we can’t contact him at all when he’s in the middle of that training.”

He explained Frey’s situation in detail, contrary to the seemingly disinterested tone of his voice.

“What was that again. I heard that he can also enter contracts with spirits other than the spirit king of fire. That’s why he’s working harder on his mental training.”

“Is that possible?”

Surprised, I asked with my eyes widened.

To reiterate, it’s really not easy to enter a contract with a spirit king.

As far as history had recorded, elementalists were only able to enter a contract with one spirit.

No, it didn’t really matter if they could enter a contract with more than one spirit. Most of the time, the human mind wouldn’t be able to hold out and they’d go crazy.

That’s why for the sake of their sanity, elementalists only signed with one spirit.

With the case of lower-ranked spirits and intermediate spirits, it didn’t matter if there were one or two, as long as they weren’t too strong. But if there were four of them with just one elementalist, their mentality wouldn’t be able to hold out.

Frey had already entered a contract with a spirit king, but he’s saying that he wants to enter a contract with one more.

“Isn’t it better if he gets a low-ranked spirit?”

“I heard he’s aiming for a higher ranked one.”

“Insane.”

The word just popped out. He already has a spirit king, but now he’s aiming for another high-ranked spirit. He wouldn’t be able to maintain his sanity.

“That’s why he hasn’t been sending many letters. When he starts training, he has to focus there, so he can’t contact anyone.”

After listening to Lisandro, I grew worried about Frey. He’s clearly overdoing it.

I wondered if there’s a special reason why he needs to enter a contract with another higher-ranked spirit.

In the novel, Frey couldn’t withstand Lisandro’s harassment, so he couldn’t continue his contract with his spirit there.

No matter how hard he’d train his mind, would Frey be able to maintain his mental fortitude if someone like the original Lisandro would come along?

Ever since I healed his sickness, everyone in the academy praised Frey’s power and abilities to the point of drooling. But for me, he was still a small, fragile child that must be protected at all costs.

“Maybe he’ll be back in a year. He said that there’s something he needs to find.”

“……”

When I just shook my head without saying a word, Lisandro’s brows furrowed, expressing his disgruntlement.

“I don’t like it. He should just never come back.”

My commendable baby brother.

Although he hasn’t lost a lot of his cheekiness, I could feel that I can finally rest easy on the matter of him and Frey.

“You can’t say that about your friend.”

“He’s saying worse things to my face!”

After that, Lisandro chattered on about all sorts of things he did at the academy these days, then I sent him back after we ate dinner together in the evening.

As I recalled how I smacked the back of his head because he didn’t want to go back home, I didn’t realize that I was smiling.

“What’s making you look so happy, Your Eminence?”

“Ack!”

I was startled by the low voice coming from behind me. I looked back.

It was Verdo who said that, leaning against a wall, his hair a dazzling shade of blond as usual.

If I were to compare him and Lisandro, Verdo was a different kind of handsome who looked calm enough that he seemed like the opposite of Lisandro.

“Did Your Eminence have a great time with your brother?”

“Yes. He’s becoming more adorable by the day.”

“You’re the only person who thinks that he’s adorable.”

Verdo replied with a low voice, his expression uniquely indifferent today as well.

I agreed with Verdo. While living in the temple, I’ve met not only the commoners but even the nobles who come by here, so I’ve heard about Lisandro’s reputation.

That he was cold, rude and looked at people as though they were mere insects.

However, his crazy prowess with the sword trumps over his terrible personality. That’s how the public had evaluated Lisandro.

As expected, when you become famous, people would clap their hands even though it’s dung.

Lisandro spewed sh*t whenever he opened his mouth, but everyone was still clamoring to gain his favor.

“Your Eminence is leaving in fifteen days.”

“Are you sad?”

I asked him with a playful tone. As I smiled, Verdo’s forehead wrinkled.

While we were in the ministry academy, I thought that he didn’t like me, but now…

I still didn’t know.

He didn’t answer my question, so I didn’t pry. So for a while, I hadn’t smiled that much in front of Verdo. But when that happened…

”Why aren’t you smiling more these days, Your Eminence? Is there something the matter?”

“It’s nothing. I just think that senior¹ doesn’t like it when I smile.”

When we were still attending the ministry academy, I used to call him ‘senior’ because he wasn’t an official paladin yet. But in return, he used extreme honorifics and formal language with me since I was a saint.

At my answer, Verdo briefly licked his lips, then spoke.

”…That’s impossible, Your Eminence. Please smile as you always did.”

And at that, I asked him why he always furrowed his brows whenever I smiled, but he only answered ‘It’s a habit.’ He’s yet to give me a straight answer.

Isn’t it because I’m too dazzling? Ha ha.

No, I’m kidding. Don’t be so serious.

“I’ve had a lot of fun thanks to Sir Verdo.”

“I as well.”

He bowed deeply.

“It was a lot of fun.”

His golden hair fluttered gently in the wind.

“You smell nice!”

The scent carried by the wind reached the tip of my nose. I took in the scent.

“You kind of smell like flowers?”

“The children made me a flower crown earlier and I wore it for a while. The scent must have stayed.”

“You smell good. The scent suits Sir Verdo.”

I praised the subtle scent of flowers, but there was no answer as usual.

After this, I always somehow found that the subtle fragrance of flowers always followed Verdo.

* * * 

“Nooniiiim.”

“You’re here again. Why do you keep coming?”

Lisandro returned after only two days.

He visited not too long ago, but he came again as if he couldn’t wait any longer.

“Why are you greeting me like that. I brought some desserts for my lovely older sister who misses the secular world.”

He eased his way in by setting the desserts on the table and brewing tea.

“By the way, what are you up to these days? Are you just training? You’re going to join the Rogelio family’s chivalric order, right?”

Unless there’s some unexpected change, that’s probably what he’s planning.

Although he received an offer after being scouted by the Imperial Order of the Knights, there was no need for him to go there since the Rogelio family’s chivalric order was formidable in its own right.

“No.”

But the answer came back too simply. After he answered calmly, he pushed a slice of cake in front of me.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m going to be Noonim’s escort knight.”

“…What?”

I was about to eat cake, but I froze midway.

“…What did you say you’re doing?”

“Noonim’s escort knight.”

Dumbfounded, I could only gape open as he whispered in a very excited voice.

“Mother and Father like the idea a lot. The people after you aren’t ordinary after all.”

That’s right.

I thought they’d give up trying to kidnap me to appease L’Aquila, and I didn’t think of it as a big deal at first.

But as if to mock me, I almost got abducted over and over again whenever I went out of the temple during my personal breaks.

The Lisandro and Frey I knew would have gone rampant, but the kidnappers already got killed by the hands of the paladins before they’d find out about it.

Even if the paladins didn’t kill them in the first place, just so we wouldn’t be able to find out who’s behind the abduction, they’d take their own lives.

Some were caught, but even if they did, more and more of those fiends would appear.

Of course, this wasn’t a good thing for me.

“Those guys are dead. They’re guilty anyway, even if they don’t admit it. Oh, but if I kill them, they won’t be able to talk. But that’s much better anyway.”

“You’re really crazy, huh.”

His bright expression quickly became sullen. Not minding his change in demeanor, I almost burst into laughter.

“Why… I thought Noonim would compliment me.”

“You’re using your abilities for dirty work just because of me. Do you think I’d like that?”

“What do you mean dirty work? What’s more important than protecting my sister?”

I was really proud of him, but I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to work well because he’d be watching me all the time. So I shook my head.

“No, no. It’s not that I don’t trust your abilities, but your skills would be wasted if you stay as just an escort knight.”

“Then I’ll join the chivalric order of Rogelio.”

“So you’re going to do both things?”

He gladly affirmed this.

“There won’t be a problem. I’ll work hard as a knight, then when Noonim goes somewhere, I’ll escort you all the time.”

In the past when he was a kid, he would have just said ‘I’ll do a great job, Noonim!’ and he’d leave it at that. But look at him now, trying to reach a compromise after acknowledging the issues I pointed out.

My heart felt so full. My baby brother grew up so well.

Ah, I’m being silly.

“Wouldn’t you have a hard time?”

“What’s going to be hard about it? It’ll be annoying to join the chivalric order, but it won’t be difficult.”

It would have been nice if I could have told him more kindly, but I decided not to do that.

“But if you have anything you want to do, you should quit when you want.”

Even when my words were laced with worry, he just shrugged in return and answered casually.

“Well, if you say so.”

“Your arrogance is getting on my nerves.”

“Shi— what am I supposed to say then?!”

“’Shi—’?!”

“I-It’s a slip of the tongue!”

After I slightly raised my voice and kind of glared at him, I almost laughed when he immediately cowered down.

——

t/n:
¹ back in the academy, Yurenia used to call Verdo ‘sunbae’ (or senpai), and this directly translates to ‘senior’, but it’s not an honorific that’s usually used in English (i know it’s sounds awkward argh but bear with me pls)