My gaze was stuck on the pair of mysterious blue-violet eyes that didn't bother looking away from me either. My hands that just brushed past her hair soon felt the warmth of this stranger's hand. There was a moment of silence between us and I could barely notice the vanishing footsteps of my father that left me with this girl.
The half-baked smile on my face was a poor attempt to lift the heavy tension in my heart.
"Helen, now that you have the name of this household, I hope that you don't feel left out. I'm your older sister now so I guess it means we should get to know each other..." Would you look at that, I still managed to say something nice.
To think that I could still say such a sisterly thing… Perhaps the heroine's charms are already working on me?
The girl nodded. Oh. Even her short nod was cute.
Realizing that I have a sudden feeling of wanting to dote on her, it's possible that I never had a younger sister in my past life. Or maybe I did and I was a siscon. Whatever it may be, the thrill of taking care of this girl is ruling over my worries.
I guess I can say that I have cooled down seeing how precious this girl looks.
I was planning to continue the conversation we have when suddenly I realized that I've been holding her hand for a while now. The way her head hung low and how she avoided my gaze again only meant she was getting uncomfortable.
Whoops.
"Well," I clear my throat and let go of her hand, "why don't we take a bath together?" I don't know why I said that either but her cheeks suddenly flushing made me understand that I just wanted to tease her.
"T-that.. well... um… " The way she stammered made me smile. This girl is so angelic I could see flowers blooming in the background… Now I can see why she's the heroine.
I wanted to tease her a bit more but after knowing that she's uncomfortable, I recollected my thoughts. "Or not. We could play together instead if you want?" Helen finally looked me in the eye again.
Looks like I'm getting across somehow.
"I'd play with you, you can tell me the game you want."
"Umm..."
"Indoors? Outdoors?"
"O-Outdoors?" She reluctantly answered me. That's all I needed to hear.
Without a warning, I took her hand once again and held it tighter. I could see the surprise in her face as if she wanted to retort and that made me grin. Once the cloudy skies and the sunlight hit our faces, Helen's blue-violet eyes shone.
The thought of suddenly having a sister without any warning or word from your own father was upsetting but now I kind of understand why he didn't tell me. Maybe he wanted to surprise me and see how I'll react… kind of rude but okay.
"Want to play tag? Or maybe go and see the flowers first?"
"Flowers...!" Even if looking at flowers isn't my thing, the excited look on her face was enough for me to nod in agreement.
"Alright, the garden it is!" With my hand still holding onto her wrist, I led her to the garden. The awe on her face as I pulled her along made me genuinely happy that I wonder where my pride and anger earlier went.
The sight of flowers, beauty, and a huge fountain was in front of me before I even realized it. No matter how much I visit here, it'll always be as pretty as I first saw it. I'm usually with Rachel when I take a stroll around here but now I guess I'm the guide instead.
I'm pretty sure Rachel is lurking somewhere around here watching us from afar.
"Pretty..." I barely heard the little girl mumbled. Her eyes were shining and her smile was just as dazzling as I gazed at this queen flower of the garden. "Very, very pretty...!"
"I'm glad you like it. Is this your first time seeing these kinds of flowers?" Helen meekly nods. I suddenly felt guilty for saying that even if I simply wanted to tease her.
Right now I feel like I need to show her the garden on a daily basis.
I'm Alianne Flaine, the sister of this little girl named Helen Flaine, and she is the heroine of a story that I could barely even remember. It's so mysterious as to how it's even possible… but whatever reason God may have, I'm sure He would want me to be beside this character - no - this person.
My hands curled into a fist and that was when I realized I already let go of her wrist. She walks around, admiring the bundles of flowers before looking back at me with such a precious smile.
Ah.
How could I even get mad at her at this point?
Her curiosity only seemed to grow further the more we walk around the garden. With her genuine excitement and calming smiles, I didn't realize that I was enjoying myself too. She would ask me about flowers and I could only vaguely answer her.
Well uh... I'm not a flower expert.
When we reached the patio, a group of flowers on the side caught my attention. "Helen, look." I don't recall what it's called but its color and shade reminded me of the little girl's hair. "It's quite similar to your hair."
Pink colored flowers aren't uncommon so I'm not sure why this one attracted me.
"Well, in any case, your hair color isn't something I've seen before honestly." I have a feeling in my past life there were only very limited natural hair colors. "It's pretty."
"Pretty? My… hair color?"
"Mhm," I nod, "just like the pink flowers that bloom. It's such an odd yet very pretty color. I didn't know how a person could have hair color like you do, so in my eyes, that's unique-" I stopped looking at the flowers and placed my gaze on Helen only to be dumbfounded.
Wait.
Why does it look like she's about to cry?
Huh?! Did I just make her cry?!?
"W-woah what's wrong? Do you hate the flower? Or was it something else that I said?" I started to panic but when she shook her head I was confused instead.
"I like flowers." She spoke meekly. "But… my hair I don't like."
D...did I hear that right? Did she just say she doesn't like her hair color, which is literally the color of the flowers she admires? "Wait, how is that even possible? You have such pretty hair, I don't understand why you wouldn't like it. It's special, y'know."
"My hair ... special?"
"Yeah! Of course it is. If you don't like the color of your hair then it's like you're saying you don't like the color of the flowers you're seeing." The tears that were threatening to rush down made me panic so I raised my hand and rubbed the corner of her eye.
Why is this child crying over her own hair color even if it's actually really pretty? I didn't know the heroine was this odd...
"I don't understand why you're crying about it but I promise you that your hair is beautiful. No one can tell me otherwise."
"B-but they said-" Helen's eyes suddenly widened and she stopped herself from speaking further.
"Who? Who said what now?" I feel myself getting worked up again but my anger wasn't towards this girl who I'm now holding in my arms. I couldn't take it to see tears fall down from her cheeks and I wouldn't want her to see the anger in my face either.
This girl… I may not know what happened to her before she came here but I don't want to remind her of it. I'll make sure that she forgets it all and only remembers the happy memories. I can't even believe I was annoyed that she's suddenly part of our family.
How did I even get angry at a four-year-old?
"Nevermind what I asked you, just know that whatever they said wasn't true. You and your hair are beautiful and whoever says the opposite is an idiot." I pat her in hopes of calming her down. A relieved smile curved on my lips when her sniffs became quieter as she clung closer to me.
This kid is too cute... this character is so unfair for having such cuteness!
As I tried to calm her down, I also tried to ignore the heavy stare I've been feeling for a while now. The familiar figure from the corner of my eyes made sense... Rachel must be worried for Helen (ha, I knew she was watching us). I hope she doesn't think I'm bullying my new sister or something!
You know what? I don't even care if Helen literally just barged in my life unannounced. This fragile little girl is just a child - who needs affection, happiness, and friends - just like me. I'm not gonna be a mean step-sister to this kid, I can't bring myself to bully her.
Whatever may happen to the plot - from this day onward - I'll be part of her story. I may be a no-name side character but now I'm finally making my debut.
"Get ready, plot! I'll protect her from bad stuff!"
"Plot..? What you mean, sister?" I snap out of my thoughts before ruffling Helen's hair. Even though it's fluffy, it's surprisingly rugged and tangled from a closer look.
"On second thought… maybe we need to take a bath after all."
The way her puffy eyes suddenly regain its color made me giggle.
"Bath? But.. but.. sister I-" I shook my head and placed a finger on her lips before she could say more.
"No buts. We'll take a bath together later, alright?" Her short nod is so cute. Why did the author make her so adorable?
While we were talking and chatting on the patio, Helen started to seem tired. Her eyes seemed to be getting heavy and so I went to her side and made sure she'd feel comfortable sleeping on my shoulder.
I guess I'll have to carry her back to my room later if I can… but for now, as this little girl sleeps so peacefully beside me, I swear in my name that I will be by her side. Even if I wouldn't be much help I want to be there when she needs someone to lean on.
The thought of it made me feel light. I never knew there'll be a day where I would be accompanying the main character in a story I'm not even a part of.
But now that I'm here destroying the original plot, I'm going to do my best to do whatever I can!