26. I Hate Sister Even More

26. I Hate Sister Even More

“Hmph!”

I hate Sister. For deceiving me like that.

Even after entering the room, locking the door, and covering myself with the blanket up to my head, my anger didn’t subside. Sister had disappointed me that much.

I truly believed Sister. If Sister had said something absurd like, ‘Actually, you’re a fox,’ while looking at me, I would have been willing to believe it, just a little. Of course, I’m a cool wolf.

But Sister… lied to me. And a very big lie at that.

And then she didn’t apologize, just made excuses. Lying is wrong, but making a mistake and not apologizing is an even bigger mistake.

But what makes me even sadder is that Sister said that because she cares about me. If, well, for example, a bad rabbit on the street had lied to me to tease me, then it would be entirely the rabbit’s fault. I could curse the rabbit all I wanted. Then I would feel relieved.

But this conflict, which arose because Sister cares about me and because I trust Sister, whose fault is it? I can’t exactly criticize Sister, nor can I blame myself. It’s frustrating.

Although I shouted “I hate you!” at Sister earlier, it was just my overwhelming sadness boiling over and spilling out of the pot. In my heart, I understood Sister’s feelings to some extent, and I felt very uncomfortable about shouting at Sister, who cares about me.

If Sister had apologized to me right then and there, it might have ended with just a little crying. But… Sister didn’t. She was just busy making excuses. That’s something even a cunning fox wouldn’t do.

“Hing….”

If only I were a truly childish and immature child, I would have blamed Sister without thinking. But being a half-baked adult, I just couldn’t do that. This feeling of being stuck, unable to do either, made tears well up.

“Hwaaang….”

From my magnificent, fluffy tail, which I clutched tightly in the blanket, the faint scent of Sister’s body odor wafted. It seemed to be the scent from when she brushed my tail this morning. Smelling it, for some reason, made more tears flow.

“Hwaaaaaaaang!”

I wonder how much I cried. By the time the bed was soaked with tears, there was a knock on the door. Following that, a familiar voice was heard from beyond the door.

“Seol-ah, are you inside…?”

Hup. I pressed my hand to my mouth, lest my breathing be heard. As soon as I heard Sister’s voice, I had to exert considerable effort to close my mouth, which naturally wanted to open. Sister asked again.

“Seol-ah?”

I didn’t want to let Sister know I was inside. Isn’t it a bit childish to suddenly pretend no one is here when I was crying loudly just a moment ago? But I just wanted to do that.

“Seol-ah, um… Sister is sorry. I was wrong.”

Sister seemed convinced I was inside and continued speaking. No, even though I said nothing, why does she think I’m here?

Sister apologized to me, but it was too late. I was already very upset and had no intention of seeing Sister for a while. I held my breath and tried my best to hide my presence.

“Sister was worried that Seol-ah might get hurt. Um… remember when you lost to the rabbit… no, when you caught the rabbit, you fainted.”

No! … I almost shouted, but I managed to hold it back.

That was because the rabbit hid its strength, which is why I was defeated. Rather, shouldn’t it be right to judge that I will win perfectly next time, given that I managed to counter-attack even after being ambushed? But Sister still seemed to see me as just a small, weak baby wolf.

“Seol-ah, Sister… I’m really sorry. Won’t you forgive me?”

Seeing Sister speak in such a dejected voice, my heart felt a little weak. Sister seems to have reflected enough, shouldn’t I, the mature one, go out and forgive her? But I still don’t want to forgive Sister. Two conflicting feelings clash, sparking a conflict.

“Seol-ah, um… you are inside, right?”

As I continued to not respond, Sister seemed unsure if I was inside. I felt a strange sense of victory at that fact. After calling my name a few times, Sister paused for a moment and then spoke.

“Seol-ah is really such a cool, strong, and powerful wolf.”

Flinch.

“She’s so good at hunting, and she makes snow wolves so well. Seol-ah is just too reliable. What if Seol-ah grows taller than Sister? That would be a real disaster.”

Flinch, flinch.

“Our Seol-ah is so cool. Right?”

“Yes!”

Huk. I quickly covered my mouth. In my delight at being praised, I let out a sound. This is a huge mistake!

“… Seol-ah, if you’re inside, can you answer me?”

Sister seemed to have regained her certainty and started speaking to me again. Previously, it felt like she was speaking generally into the room, but this time, she was speaking directly towards my location.

Ugh, what a foolish mistake. I must have been a pathetic fox, not a wolf. Cold sweat poured down my face.

“Seol-ah. You’re inside, right?”

I panicked, unsure of what to do, and then quietly whispered towards the door.

“Ah, Seol-ah isn’t here…!”

“Really?”

“Yes…!”

“Really, really not here?”

“Really, really not here…!”

“Oh my… Then is there no one in Seol-ah’s room?”

“Yes, there’s no one in my room…!”

I deceived Sister with all my might. Pressing my ear against the door, I listened to the sounds, and gradually heard Sister’s footsteps moving away from the room. I didn’t expect Sister to fall for such a simple trick, but it seems I succeeded!

“Hehe….”

Sister also has a childish side if she believes something like this. No, it seems it’s because my acting was too realistic. It was acting imbued with the soul of a wolf.

Huk, wait a minute. Then am I a versatile wolf, strong, cool, good at drawing, good at sculpting, and good at acting – truly the ultimate of the ultimate?

I raised my tail high and puffed out my chest. I was too amazing!

After wagging my fluffy butt for a moment, I soon heard someone else approaching. I stiffened my body like a stone and listened intently to the sounds outside.

“Our Seol-ah, is she really not in her room~”

N-no way, did she find something suspicious in my brilliant performance? It’s entirely possible. At first, she was fooled by my acting, but after returning to the living room and thinking about it, she might have noticed something strange.

Should I say there’s no one here again? No, no matter what, I can’t use the same trick twice. Sister isn’t stupid, so if I did, she’d catch on immediately. I held my breath again and tried my best to pretend no one was inside.

“Then Sister was talking to herself in a room where no one was there? How embarrassing. What if Seol-ah sees it and laughs.”

“Hehe… Hup.”

Thinking of Sister talking diligently to a room where I wasn’t, I couldn’t help but giggle. I quickly covered my mouth with my tiny hand and held my breath again.

This is truly a moment of life and death.

“If Seol-ah isn’t inside, then the Ice fruit candy Sister brought will melt… What a shame. I borrowed it from Mom specifically to apologize to Seol-ah.”

“Huk….”

Mom’s punishment of no snacks, which she had mentioned not long ago, had not yet ended. That’s why I could only drool at the sight of Ice fruit in the house’s storage, unable to eat it. But Sister was now saying that she had brought Ice fruit, defying Mom’s strict orders, just to apologize to me.

Given this, shouldn’t I forgive Sister, considering her sincerity? Yes, Sister is so sorry, she’s clearly struggling, and she even brought Ice fruit candy.

At this point, it would be more appropriate to act maturely, talk, and apologize, rather than continuing this meaningless stubborn fight like a child. I threw open the door and shouted.

“Sister!!”

“Seol-ah.”

Sister’s appearance was the same. Sister had snow-white hair and perked-up ears, and looked down at me with blue eyes as clear as the sky. However, the difference was that the index fingers of Sister’s beautiful hands were tightly wrapped in bandages.

As Sister was about to open her mouth to apologize, I spoke first, maturely.

“Sister, you really…”

“The Ice fruit?!”

Sister’s hands were empty except for the bandages wrapped around them and the herbs tucked inside. I looked up to see if she was carrying it on her head, and glared at Sister’s slightly protruding tail, but not even the letter ‘i’ of ‘Ice fruit’ was visible.

“Where’s the Ice fruit?!”

“S-Seol-ah, well, actually, there’s no Ice fruit… but I thought if I stayed still, Seol-ah wouldn’t come out. No, I did try to bring it, but you know, when Mom banned snacks, she really didn’t give them. S-Seol-ah, just a moment, listen to Sister-“

I opened my mouth wide and trembled. Sister lied to me again!!!

“I hate you, Sister!!!”

I slammed the door shut and went back inside. I didn’t forget to lock the door and threw myself into the blanket. Sister frantically knocked on the door and made excuses, but I didn’t listen to any of them. I didn’t want to hear them.

This time, I will truly, truly not forgive you.

Really!!