Chapter 209: Crossroads of Love (1)

Therese is 15 years old. Still a minor, not yet an adult.

However, like many minors in a world rich in entertainment culture, she possessed knowledge about sexual matters that rivaled that of any adult. (Don’t ask how she knows.)

And based on that knowledge, the sight of blood on the bedsheets was by no means ordinary.
It was proof—undeniable—that the relationship between Marianne and Sion had gone all the way.

She had to confirm it.

Was her suspicion the truth, or just delusion?

Bang bang bang!

“Hero!! Hero!!!!”

Therese ran straight to Sion’s room and pounded on the door with urgency. The loud knocking echoed down the entire hallway.

After what felt like an eternity, Sion opened the door and stepped outside.

“Lady Therese? What brings you here at this hour? You look so flustered.”

“What do you mean, ‘what’s going on’? That’s what I want to ask YOU!”

Therese shouted at the top of her lungs.

“My little sister came in here just now, didn’t she?! Right?!”

“Uh……….”

For a brief moment, a clearly troubled expression crossed Sion’s face. Like she was debating: Should I hide it? Or just tell the truth?

But soon, she sighed in resignation and nodded at Therese’s words.

“Yes, that’s right. Lady Marianne is here. But why do you ask all of a sudden…?”

“I knew it! So I wasn’t seeing things! What were you two doing?! Come clean this instant!”

“What do you mean, ‘what were we doing’……………”

Sion looked genuinely perplexed. Just then—

“Ah, you scared me. Oh, it’s you, Sis?”

Marianne suddenly appeared behind her, dressed in a maid outfit.

“What’s the matter? You burst in here looking for me. Did something happen?”

“You! You little—perfect timing! What were you doing in this room?! Spit it out!”

“H-huh?! W-what do you mean, what was I doing…?”

As soon as she heard the question, Marianne blushed and began fiddling nervously with her fingers. She averted her gaze and mumbled shyly.

“N-nothing! We weren’t doing anything! I just came to hang out!”

“Don’t lie to me! Then what’s with the outfit you’re wearing—”

Just as she raised her voice to interrogate her sister further, Therese suddenly noticed something—and it shocked her.

Her sister’s once-neat hair and clothes were now a mess. And it hadn’t even been ten minutes since she entered the room.

Not only that, but she was breathing heavily for some reason.

Like she had been doing something… intense.

You’d have to be a fool not to get it.

All the circumstantial evidence pointed to that.

And that brazen thought alone was enough to leave Therese—who, despite her bold personality, was still a pure virgin—completely speechless.

“Ugh, kgh… grrr…!”

“?!”

Marianne tilted her head in confusion at the sight of Therese trembling all over.

“What’s wrong, Sis? Are you sick or something?”

“N-nooo!! It’s nothing!!!”

Therese shouted, her voice filled with embarrassment. She quickly turned her head to the side as if trying to hide it.

“I… I’m going back! You two can have your fun or whatever!”

SLAM!

With a line that sounded far from any proper farewell, Therese slammed the door shut and stormed off down the hallway, her face bright red like a radish.

Her heart was boiling over with a confusing mixture of defeat and frustration.

“Damn it, damn iiiiit!!! That Marianne… How dare she climb the stairs to adulthood before I did!!!
I’ll never forgive her! Never, ever!!!”

She hated it. She hated everything.

She hated her little sister for daring to outpace her in leaving childhood behind.

She hated the Hero for seducing her innocent little sister and taking her away.

She hated those two who had, unknowingly, left her behind.

She didn’t care if Marianne was the one who made the first move.

The fact that Sion didn’t firmly reject her was enough to make her guilty too.

What sacred flower? What symbol of purity?

Behind closed doors, she was doing dirty things with someone not even of age yet!

Absolutely unforgivable!

“Aaaaaaah!!! Damn it, daaaaaamn it all!!! I’m so jealouuuuus!!!!!!”

Therese ran down the corridor, screaming in frustration, not even realizing that her true feelings had just slipped out.

Only the maids, who had no idea what was going on, watched with puzzled expressions as she fled.

Meanwhile, back in the room, the two who had been left behind…

“What the hell was that…? She suddenly barged in, started rambling nonsense, and then disappeared…”

“Seriously. Maybe she had some weird delusion? She is your sister, after all.”

Marianne shrugged as she replied, her gesture clearly saying she was used to this level of chaos—it was practically a daily occurrence.

Right after, she clung tightly to Sion and began rubbing her cheek against hers fervently.

“Ahh, haaa……By the way, Sion, are you really not planning to have me? Really? I’ve stayed a virgin just for this day… If it’s you, I’d give you my body and heart, everything.”

“I said I don’t need it!!! Stop clinging to me already!!!”

Sion shouted in horror as she tried to peel Marianne off her. During the scuffle, their hair got tangled again, and their clothes became disheveled.

In an unexpected twist, Therese’s misunderstanding was… about half right. In a certain sense.

And the next day…

“I need your help, Isabella! Please, lend me your strength!!”

“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Feeling in her gut that she couldn’t just leave the situation between the two alone, Therese ran straight to Isabella and confessed everything—everything she had seen, heard, and experienced.

After hearing the whole story, Isabella scoffed and said,

“Come on, you must have misunderstood. There’s no way Marianne and your sister are that kind of couple. I’ve tried hitting on her hundreds of times and never even made a dent. There’s no way she’d just fall like that.

You must’ve seen it wrong. Or you’re just terribly mistaken.”

SLAM!

“I’m not mistaken!!”

Therese yelled furiously, slamming the desk.

“If you think I’m lying, go check for yourself! Marianne was even dressed in a maid outfit and doing some master-servant play. From what I saw, I’m certain they’ve already done the deed! No doubt about it!”

“Done the deed? What does that mean?”

“…D-Do I really have to spell it out with my own mouth?! Y’know, that word that ends in x! Read between the lines!”

“!?”

Isabella gasped in shock.

‘A kiss?! They’ve already gotten that far? No way!’

“That… that can’t be!! It took me seven years just to hold her hand!! There’s no way!!”

“If you don’t want to believe it, then fine. But in that case, you’ll just end up like some clueless protagonist in an NTR manga who gets cucked while doing nothing but sitting on her hands. Hmph.

But hey, your choice.”

Isabella bit her lip in frustration.

Therese was prone to exaggeration, so it wasn’t wise to take her at face value—but with all the detail, maybe it was worth checking out.

After all, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. She must’ve seen something to be talking like this.

“Um….”

At that moment, Lancia, who had been quietly listening in from the side, timidly raised her hand and spoke in a small, nervous voice while glancing between the two of them.

“Even if what Miss Therese said is true… so what? Is it really a problem if those two are dating?”

“Of course it’s a problem!!!”

“!?”

Therese and Isabella shouted in unison, making Lancia flinch and step back in fear.

“I mean, seriously! There’s something called code of honor, and she dares to throw herself at the sister I staked my claim on first? And she calls herself a friend?!

If it’s true, I’ll never forgive her. I’ll strip her to her underwear and hang her upside down from a tree!”

“Agreed. There’s a proper order to these things in life, and breaking that order is just absurd!

Obviously, the sister should date someone first, and then the younger one can follow. How can I still be single while she evolves into a lovey-dovey couple all on her own?!

It’s a betrayal—a betrayal of our old promise to remain proud, eternal otakus together!”

“………”

As the two of them ranted with angry passion, Lancia—the only sane one in the group—thought to herself:

‘Aren’t both of them just spouting nonsense?’

“Anyway, if what you’re saying is true, this situation is pretty serious. We need to confirm it immediately.

And if they’re guilty… we’ll have to give them the punishment they deserve.”

“Heh, now that’s the princess I know.

I knew you’d join me. This is our operation to bring justice to that overreaching Marianne who doesn’t know her place.”

“Fufufu.”

“Kuhuhu.”

The two girls exchanged eerie, sinister laughter.

Thus, the alliance was formed. Salem and Sanchina had joined hands.

With the power they possessed, they could do anything. Absolutely anything.

Their goal was singular: to confirm the relationship between Sion and Marianne—and to tear them apart.

And so, the sabotage plan, fueled by burning jealousy, began its curtain rise.