episode_0015

It’s over.

Like the protagonist of some manga, I despaired. I never thought she’d suddenly confess like this.

“Go ahead, yell at me. You have every right to. If that’s not enough, you can do anything to me. Hit me, torture me—whatever you want. I don’t expect it’ll erase my sins, but…”

“That’s enough. Stop ta—Ugh?!”

Cough—

A violent cough wracked me, and I spat blood.

“Oppa?!”

As if mocking me, a small window appeared before my eyes.

[Bring true happiness to all main heroines! 0/4]

[Penalty (1/4) → Unwanted sympathy. Disclosure prohibited.]

After seeing that, I couldn’t help but laugh. Ha, so this is what they meant by trials? Yeah, definitely a trial.

“Chris, I’m fi—Ugh?!”

A tickling itch crawled up my throat, followed by the sensation of something bursting.

I clumsily covered my mouth, but blood still seeped through my fingers.

“Oppa! What’s happening?! Snap out of it! Are you okay?! If you can hear me, answer—”

“I’m fine. I’ll explain later… Hhk?”

I’m fine. I feel no pain, no dizziness.

This so-called “blood-spitting trial” was never about afflicting me with some strange disease. No, it was designed purely to interfere with me.

If you saw someone who looked perfectly healthy next to someone randomly coughing up blood—who do you think people would worry about? Obviously the latter.

What infuriated me more was that I wasn’t even in real pain. Should I call this “fake hemoptysis”? It felt like some extra blood had suddenly pooled in my body and was now being expelled.

If anything, it felt refreshing, like coughing up phlegm—so much so it almost made me want to jump around.

Normally, hemoptysis is a narrative device meant to elicit pity and guilt, essential for protagonists in regret-filled stories… But I don’t need it!

“I-I’m sorry, Oppa. I shouldn’t have said weird things and made you tense… W-wait! I’ll call a doctor right now! Just hold on! So just… huh?”

Perhaps shocked by the sight before her, Chris’s legs seemed rooted to the ground.

“Hah… haha? Weird, right? My legs won’t move. Ugh… Ah! I-I’m really fine!”

Now watching Chris desperately slap her own legs, trying to force herself to stand—tearful, nearly hysterical—I understood.

They weren’t wrong.

For some reason, seeing Chris struggle like this for my sake overlapped with memories of my past self. Yeah, they just couldn’t possibly understand me.

Nobody perfectly understands another person. It’s just that the gap between them and me was a bit wider.

Chris, Cecilia, Elia, Lucilla—they were all undeniably good people.

In this wretched world, they had each done their best in their own way. To blame them just because they didn’t listen to me would have been unfair.

Thinking like this put my mind at ease. Yeah, from now on, I don’t need to avoid them anymore.

In the end, interactions like these were meaningless. I wish first-round me had known that sooner.

——

Christine was dazed. The moment she saw Eric staggering while coughing up blood, her mind went blank.

Why all of a sudden?

Eric had shown no symptoms beforehand. And if he had known about this condition, he definitely would have—

“Ah…”

—hidden it. Given how much he despised worrying others or receiving sympathy, it made sense.

With no other recourse, she could only offer the most fundamental solution for the situation.

“I’ll do anything. What should… what should I do? Healing magic has to work. A doctor? Medicine? If nothing else, I’ll call that saintess—”

Cecilia would surely be refining her healing magic right now. Christine already had her contacts ready; summoning her was just a matter of a call.

“Chris, I…”

With every word, blood continued to drip from Eric’s lips, staining the floor red.

“D-don’t die. You can’t die yet, right? Right?! There’s still so much left to do!”

She poured every ounce of her mana into restoring his blood circulation—but bizarrely, it was already functioning normally.

So, like a priest comforting patients, she kept talking, unable to face the possibility of losing him.

“R-right! The Academy’s festival is coming up this year! Then… the elves will soon open their gates. Other races will gradually unite too.”

“Chris.”

“If you’re anxious, I’ll guard you. Treat me like a dog if you want—drag me around! I’ve got plenty of people begging for my family’s favor. So don’t worry about anyth—”

“Kristin Grave.”

Eric, looking utterly exhausted, spoke quietly.

“You’re the family head. You shouldn’t do this.”

Though his eyes still rested on her, they disregarded her entirely.

It wasn’t the resigned gaze he had shown before. No—this held something far worse.

Christine had once assumed Eric was like her younger self.

That even if he lashed out or wallowed in guilt, she could endure it.

Just as she had once suffered, she thought he was running from unbearable pain.

But she had overlooked one thing: Eric was far more resilient than she imagined. And because of that, once broken, their ties couldn’t be mended.

“O-Oppa…? Why… why are you saying this now?”

Eric hadn’t given up. He simply no longer saw her.

His eyes held neither warmth nor emotion—just the detached gaze one gives a stranger.

Christine thought she recognized this look.

Resignation? Disengagement?

No.

These were her eyes.

The ones she wore when reviewing endless documents, exchanging hollow pleasantries at parties, or maintaining appearances with passing acquaintances.

Pure indifference.

“Alright, stand up. It’s late, and you must be exhausted.”

Despite coughing blood moments ago, Eric smiled brightly. He no longer felt obligated toward them.

No—rather, he felt nothing.

Oh, he’d still engage with the Hero Party. Of course. The world needed them to defeat the Demon King.

But no matter what Christine said or did, none of it would ever reach his heart.

“Ah… Ah… Ugh…”

A terror far worse than facing the Demon King seized her.

Eric’s hemoptysis didn’t even matter anymore.

Clack, clack—

Despite the warmth of the room, her teeth chattered violently.

The idea of no longer being his sister—of becoming nothing but a stranger—was too horrifying.

“N-no! Right, food! I’ll cook whatever you want! Starting tomorrow—no, I’ll ask now! If you starve, I’ll starve too! O-or maybe I should take my clothes off here? Despite appearances, I’m quite the topic among nobles! It’ll make you feel better—I swear!”

“……”

“S-so please… If you really… I can’t… Ugh.”

She had been arrogant.

Even now, while believing she had reflected enough, she remained arrogant.

Her mistake wasn’t seeking forgiveness or vowing lifelong atonement.

She should’ve said, “Please, just spare me a shred of attention.”

“I’ll… I’ll do whatever you want. Kill whoever you need. Take whatever you desire—I’ll use my family’s power to get it. Just tell me… please!”

“Chris. Stop.”

His eyes held nothing but discomfort. Finally, Christine halted her desperate pleading.

She was smart enough to recognize her own limits.

“Th-then, Oppa. Let me help you return to the Academy.”

“The Academy?”

“Yeah! If you want to meet the others, waiting there is fastest, right?”

Eric nodded slightly—acknowledging her words.

“I’ve got tons of friends there! And I’m close with the professors too! I-I’ll help you with whatever you need. There’s plenty I can do as someone a grade above!”

Eric’s heart was already locked away. So she resolved to become indispensable.

To visit twice when others visited once.

To speak twice when others spoke once.

“B-because we’re family, right? Families support each other!”