Red-Eyed Siblings (6)

“Urgh……”

Claire rose from the bed with a headache. A hard bed and a dark room. Even dust floating in the air as if circulation was poor.

An environment that would make even a healthy person sick.

All of it was familiar.

All too familiar—the landscape of despair from her childhood.

“Ah, right. This is a dream……”

Claire, who had been staring blankly at the scenery, stroked her head and recalled her memories. This was a moment of past happiness presented by the <Dreamer>.

It was a phenomenon created by the <Morpheus’s Dream Fragment> that Revenna had received from Lost and passed on to her.

As soon as Claire realized this, she recalled what had happened.

“That person must have realized this is a dream by now. I need to move quickly.”

Claire knew she would be targeted. And she had anticipated how the enemy would approach her.

When they first encountered each other, Blade of Devastation Teska had borrowed the appearance of a child.

And when he came to drive a wedge between Claire and Lost, he had likewise taken the form of a child.

Why did it have to be a child?

It could be understood simply as making infiltration easier, or to give the opponent an unpleasant experience.

But was that really all?

Teska had already used such a method once to drive a wedge between Lost and Claire. Would he repeat a method he had already used?

From what she heard from Lost, the Blade of Devastation was quite cunning.

He was said to be so thorough that his appearance had never been confirmed until now.

It was hard to believe such a person would repeat a tactic he had already used.

‘Blade of Devastation, Teska must have originally looked like a child.’

Therefore, she thought there would be limitations to the methods he could use.

At minimum, he would need to have a similar age or build, or the same way of thinking.

Considering all these possibilities, Claire decided to prioritize the form of a ‘child’ first.

That’s why she could move first the moment she discovered the boy who opened her door. It was possible because the opponent was trying to deceive her.

By exploiting this gap, she was able to use <Morpheus’s Dream Fragment> as soon as the opponent revealed his identity.

At least until this dream breaks, Teska cannot harm her.

The spell Revenna taught her was different from what she taught Lost.

It was a method focused on invoking the inherent power of the <Dreamer>.

The difference was that the person using the fragment could be aware it was a dream. With this, she had bought time.

“Hmm……”

Between her subsiding headache, Claire finished assessing the current situation.

Morpheus is a trial that shows past moments of happiness.

Of course, there’s a price.

The longer the dream lasts, the more it takes something precious as payment.

Claire would need to wake up from the dream. When that happens, Teska, who was dragged in, would also wake up.

Buying time until then could be a method, but……

“I’m sorry to have done this to Línea-unnie.”

Claire’s purpose was different.

She was a clever person.

She didn’t believe Lost would have irresponsibly left her behind while heading to the front lines.

He would surely have arranged some form of protection, and that would be Línea.

After all, Línea had a record of defeating the Blade of Calamity, so she would be sufficient to check the weaker Blade of Devastation.

But Claire thought differently.

This was the turning point.

To give her own answer, there was no other way now.

She used <Morpheus’s Dream Fragment> to find her answer.

She had merely incidentally captured one of the enemy’s top commanders, the Blade of Devastation.

“By the way……”

Claire looked around again with a relatively clear mind.

Undeniably, this was her worst moment.

The time when she was half-imprisoned in the Ryan barony.

A room without a single window, with only this small annex as a place to move around.

It was a small cage that confined her.

“Is this supposed to be my moment of happiness?”

Claire tilted her head.

Could it be that the journey so far had been even worse than this?

Certainly, if measuring fatigue, there were more near-death experiences during the journey.

But there’s no way she would consider this moment her happiest.

She could firmly declare that the journey with Lost, who could be considered her enemy, had been happier.

How could being confined in such a small, dark space with dust flying around be happiness?

Claire, sitting on the hard bed, decided on her course of action.

There was no point in staying here as it was. Even if she thought she wanted to wake up from the dream, nothing would change.

Then it wasn’t this place.

There must be a separate medium that represented her happiness.

“Ugh…!”

Claire left the room, dragging her creaking body.

If this was a dream, it would have been nice if she could move freely.

Claire muttered such self-deprecating words as she leaned against the wall.

Click.

When she opened the door and went out, what she saw was a dark corridor without a point of light.

Claire smiled crookedly at the sight and moved forward.

Such darkness was familiar to her. A life imprisoned for being ominous just because of one thing—red eyes.

Her parents didn’t know the common sense that even somewhat educated people were aware of.

Splash. Splash.

The sound of water could be heard.

Claire frowned at the sound, like someone washing their face.

Looking down at her hands, they were trembling. She already knew what the source of that sound was.

“Oppa……”

“Huh? Claire?! What are you doing here? Are you feeling alright?”

Claire saw it.

The bloodstains on his sleeves that hadn’t been completely washed away.

The glimpse of red light in her oppa’s gentle eyes as he looked at her.

Yes, she had known all along.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

That Burke had already become a half-demon by this point.

She had known it all along.

*     *      *

Claire returned to her room with Burke’s help.

Despite her insistence that she was fine, Burke paid no heed.

With Burke’s support, Claire returned slowly and safely, then glanced up at Burke’s appearance.

‘So it was this moment.’

Though Burke didn’t seem to notice, Claire could clearly see the red light nestled in his eyes.

Today was probably the point when he had crossed the point of no return.

Thinking about that, a feeling of being too late came along with a heavy heart.

“Ah, is it still a bit awkward?”

“Huh?”

Burke spoke as if he knew Claire’s gaze.

Only then did Claire remember what this moment was.

Burke had no intention of hiding it.

No, he even seemed proud of it.

“Claire, can you see?”

“……What is that.”

As Burke pointed to his red eyes with a smile, Claire muttered in disbelief.

Why? Why on earth did he make such a choice? Why was he proud?

She……

‘What did I say back then?’

Claire couldn’t remember how she had responded to Burke’s appearance like this. But if this moment was a recreation of that time, this pounding she felt right now was clearly……

Joy stemming from a sense of kinship.

Claire trembled in disbelief at that shameful emotion.

“It’s just like yours.”

He had become a half-demon.

“It’s just that my eyes are red. Yes, just that. So there’s no need to worry about what others say.”

That’s not it.

Claire couldn’t bring herself to say those words.

She knew well what Burke was trying to say.

She knew one of the reasons why he had made such a choice.

“If those scornful words are hard for you, I’ll stand beside you and hear them too. Wouldn’t it be a bit better to know there’s someone like you here?”

Burke becoming a half-demon.

It was for Claire, who was imprisoned in this place just for having red eyes.

To tell her that her life, suffering among trash who believed in such superstitions, wasn’t wrong.

Yes, it was all for her sake.

“See, we’re family. We just have red eyes, that’s all. No matter what anyone says, we’re family like no other in the world. A family with the unique characteristic of red eyes.”

Claire understood.

Burke’s foolish choice. The result she was witnessing right now.

Clear and cruel.

And all too evident.

That this was indeed her happiest moment.

Claire finally realized she had been running away all along.

Even hating Lost was just an excuse, even thinking of him as an enemy was just a self-serving excuse.

Claire now understood why she hadn’t been able to awaken her holy power until now, why she couldn’t use that power despite being loved by the gods.

“Claire? Are you okay? You don’t look well…… Should I bring some medicine? Do you want to rest after taking it? Ah, I should get some water. Wait a moment.”

“Okay……”

It was natural that her body felt heavy. It was natural to suffer from their love.

Because she still didn’t know what she had been harboring all this time.

Because she hadn’t seized the second chance given to her.

Because despite having a clear opportunity to set things right, she had failed to act.

Because she was a coward who had been lying to herself all along.

“Hey, oppa.”

But now she knows.

No, she had known it all along.

What it meant that Burke had become a half-demon, what final fate awaited him, what she should have done at that time.

She had just refused to see it.

She had just refused to hear it.

She had just refused to acknowledge it.

“Can I ask you for a favor?”

“Huh? A favor? S-sure! What is it? It’s rare for you to ask for something. I’ll do anything I can. Is there something you want? Or do you want to go somewhere? I have some money saved up, so if we sneak out of the mansion……”

Burke smiled brightly.

His only family had made a rare request.

At this time, Claire was less expressive and simply resigned to living in this narrow, stifling space.

That’s why he was even happier.

The fact that he could be of help must have been joyful.

That’s the kind of person he was.

Just for that fact alone, he could smile such a happy smile—warm and gentle, Claire’s family.

“I’d like you to answer my question honestly.”

“That’s easy. Is there anything else you need? Hmm, clothes? Snacks? What would be good……”

“Could you die for me?”

“What……?”

Claire now understood.

What she had truly been sad about, what she had been regretting, what had been tormenting her, what she had been resenting.

It wasn’t Burke’s death, but her own inability to stop him.

Whoosh!

A small light rises above Claire’s outstretched hand.

This is what she should have done.

Not Lost, but she, Burke’s family, should have done this.

She should not have rejoiced at this moment.

She should not have left her family to live as a puppet.

She should have cut those strings herself, but she had closed her eyes and pretended not to know anything.

See the result.

Claire ultimately left Burke’s death in someone else’s hands.

Without even witnessing the end, he met a meaningless and lonely death.

“You can resent me.”

Even if Burke resisted. Even if they could never be family again. This was what she had to do.

“Claire……”

“You can resist if you want. I’ve already made up my mind.”

Claire decided to fight.

She stopped lying to herself.

She would regret her foolish past and do what she should have done.

In response, Burke……

“There’s money I’ve been saving under the drawer where I used to keep my diary.”

Smiled gently.

“Remember the layout from when I secretly took you outside the mansion? Do you remember the geography of this place?”

Claire was left speechless by that smile.

“It’s going to be hard from now on. No matter how difficult, no matter how painful, can you still live well?”

“Yes……”

Claire sobbed, shedding tears profusely. There’s no way she wouldn’t know the meaning of this exchange.

“Then it’s okay.”

Burke answered Claire’s question.

A response filled with his heart solely for his sister.

“Thank you, oppa.”

Claire quietly reached out her hand. Burke didn’t resist. Instead, as if in exchange, he firmly grasped Claire’s trembling hand.

“Will you become a priestess? Or maybe a splendid paladin would be good too. No, becoming a Templar might be possible as well.”

“Yes……”

“For that, you’ll need to build your strength first. You’ll have to study a lot too. And you’ll need to interact with many people, right? Looks like you have a lot to work on from now on.”

Claire corrected her trembling as she felt that warmth.

Burke hugged her tightly so that Claire couldn’t see his face.

“I’m sorry for being such a useless brother. If I had noticed a little sooner, I wouldn’t have made this choice…… I acted too thoughtlessly and left you with a harsh task.”

“No…… No, oppa.”

To accept his own death.

To avoid showing fear that might burden his younger sister.

Burke closed his eyes, hiding his flowing tears.

“I could be strong because you were here. I’m alive now because you made the effort.”

In contrast, Claire kept her eyes wide open.

To never forget this moment.

To engrave what she should have done onto her retina.

“Thank you, oppa.”

“Yes, stay strong from now on.”

She would no longer run away.

Because her happiness resided not in moments, but in people.

Even now, having left that moment, but still cherishing it in a corner of her heart.

Claire woke up from the dream.