The meeting with the boy was destined.
At least, that's what young Lia thought back then.
The girl's memories were fractured from the start.
One day, when she opened her eyes, Lia found herself in a strange mansion.
All previous memories were wiped clean, as if someone had deliberately turned them into a blank slate.
She retained knowledge.
She already knew language, math, and social norms. However, she had no idea how she had acquired this knowledge.
Lia was terrified of this fact.
Strange surroundings and unfamiliar people surrounded her.
She understood her own name and status.
But that label felt hollow, and she couldn't even feel her own identity.
"Lia Percus," they called her.
It was just a title, like wrapping paper. Without anything substantial inside, it meant nothing. Lia couldn't even fully grasp what "family" meant.
Her parents, whenever they looked at her, bore expressions of sadness.
Or they embraced her with sympathy and pity.
They were good people, and Lia respected them.
But that was all.
There was no one with whom she could truly open her heart and share her feelings.
Except, perhaps, for one unique person.
"Lia, have you eaten?"
The boy would suddenly appear and ask in a friendly tone.
Timid as she was, Lia couldn't even look her "brother" in the eyes.
"Y-yes… yes…"
"Good. You're still not used to the mansion, are you? I'll show you around the estate for a while."
The boy's first impression was a faint scent of sweat.
He practiced with the sword from morning till evening. Sword masters from distant lands came to train him personally.
He would get covered in dirt, calluses formed on his hands.
Sometimes, he got hit during sparring. His childhood friend "Celine" was quite rough, and they often got hurt playing together.
If it had been Lia, she would have burst into tears many times by now.
But the boy never cried, not once.
Instead, he'd offer a bitter smile when he saw Lia fidgeting anxiously.
The boy always comforted her.
"…It's okay, Lia."
For years, he remained that way.
He never showed any sign of hatred or disdain towards Lia.
He never looked at her with those strange, detached eyes.
On the contrary, he went so far as to take on an embarrassing role to ease Lia's anxieties.
A "knight" and a "princess."
It felt a little childish to her, almost as if he were treating her too much like a child.
But she liked it.
She liked everything about it.
Every time she met the boy, her heart pounded with excitement.
She loved it when he patted her head, praised her, and teased her at times. Her daily life with him felt blissful.
Lia was truly grateful.
For being able to be his sister, and for him being her "brother."
Even after countless prayers of gratitude to the celestial god, it still didn't feel like enough.
But at some point…
Lia realized that the fluttering excitement in her chest, the deep happiness she felt in his embrace, was all wrong.
The reason was simple.
She came to understand that the boy's feelings were similar yet inherently different from hers.
He had begun to push her away.
"Lia, no matter what, it's not right between siblings…"
A powerful question struck her mind that day.
Why?
The boy loved her, and she loved him. Didn't that mean their desires should align?
Lia wanted to close the distance between them.
She wanted to be with him always, to enjoy the happiness of being in his arms.
But it couldn't be.
Because Lia was the boy's sister.
The life she'd been living, like a sweet dream, crumbled in an instant.
That's right. The feelings Lia harbored were far from sibling affection.
Awakening to this realization threw her into a storm of torment.
Why? How? Why did it have to be this way?
It felt cruel and petty.
If he intended to push her away, he should have done so from the beginning.
He should have kept the lonely little girl from falling into the wrong dream.
After spending sleepless nights, biting her nails and trembling,
Lia tried to abandon her feelings for him. But her first love, nurtured over years, refused to disappear so easily.
It was a love that could never be fulfilled.
The boy's feelings were distinctly different from hers, and making him uncomfortable because of it would be cruel.
Since Lia still loved him, she wished for his happiness, even if it wasn't with her.
But it was impossible.
It drove her to the brink of madness.
She wished she could tear her heart into pieces, discarding only the affection she held for him.
How much of her heart would she have to throw away?
Seventy percent? No, maybe eighty?
Or perhaps ninety percent.
He was both her only family and her only love.
The two incompatible roles that he held in her heart endlessly tormented her.
But time has a way of healing.
Though her heart still ached with unfulfilled love, Lia gradually overcame her pain.
More accurately, she grew up.
She learned to make peace with reality.
Fine, maybe they couldn't be together, but they could still live side by side.
She couldn't be his lover or wife.
But perhaps, one day, she could live the rest of her life alone with him.
Every step she took was marked by his presence.
Her dreams of independence, her ambition to establish a trading company.
Even the tuition she paid for at the academy, all of it was for Ian.
One day, she'd use the fortune she accumulated to buy his future.
But her ambitious plan was shattered not long after.
When news of the boy's incredible achievements reached her one after another, Lia was left speechless.
"…This can't be."
But the real "impossible" incident happened soon after.
A sickening sensation as a blade sank into flesh.
Lia stared dumbly at her hand.
It was stained with blood.
The blood of her beloved brother.
"No…"
It couldn't be true.
This couldn't be reality.
As she tried to deny the truth before her eyes, another dreadful sound echoed.
A tear rolled down Lia's cheek.
The sensation of piercing someone was all too vivid.
"No, no, no… This can't be…"
And then, once more, came the dreadful sound.
Lia's panicked gaze fell upon the boy.
He looked as if he wanted to say something, but only blood trickled from his mouth.
Before his trembling hand could reach her,
He collapsed, unconscious.
Like a corpse.
Lia screamed.
"No, no… no way. I… I love you so much, brother. Why… Why would I? No… no, no, no! Noooo!"
Lia opened her eyes shortly afterward.
Covered in cold sweat from the terrible nightmare, she trembled as she curled up.
It had to be a dream.
There was no crueler reality imaginable.
How could she have stabbed her beloved brother with her own hand?
It was a monstrous crime, and within the sticky guilt, a pair of eyes surfaced in her mind.
Golden eyes, looking at her as if she were a monster.
It felt as though that gaze denied the only bond between her and Ian.
As if it was proof that she was a monster.
How could a monster stand beside a knight?
A knight's side was reserved for the princess.
A monster should be slain by the knight.
"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry… No! Please, please… don't hate me… Don't abandon me…"
And so, Lia stayed huddled in some corner, sobbing for a long time.
She finally came to her senses when a certain thought crossed her mind.
What had happened to her brother?
With that, the haze of tears cleared from Lia's eyes.
The stale smell of old wood reached her nose. Though it was a windowless space, Lia recognized it.
She was a merchant, after all.
This was the inside of a carriage.
Moreover, her hands and feet were shackled.
As if they were treating her like a dangerous monster.
But right now, Lia couldn't even spare a thought for that.
With all her strength, she threw herself against the carriage door with a thud.
"Open the door! Open it right now! My brother… is he alive?"
Her mouth was dry as she shouted.
Even if she did meet him, Lia knew she might end up hiding from him in shame.
Yet she needed to know if he was safe.
There was no response from outside.
Growing increasingly anxious, Lia threw herself against the door multiple times.
And then, just as her desperation reached its peak, the carriage's latch broke, and Lia inhaled the cold outside air.
Normally, she wouldn't have been capable of such strength, but she didn't notice it now.
Gasping, she looked around.
Despite her escape, no one paid her any attention.
They were all staring blankly in one direction.
Staggering to her feet, Lia followed their gaze.
And then she stopped breathing.
The sight before her eyes provided the answer she had desperately sought.
Thunder and lightning crashed.
Each flash of light revealed a massive creature made of countless corpses, howling. An army engaged in bloody combat against the giant.
The force alone was enough to part the surrounding snowstorm.
Several warriors, their swords imbued with aura, faced the giant.
And among them, one man stood out the most.
"…Brother."
Each clash between sword and fist shattered the giant's arms.
The
creature staggered backward.
Its roar reverberated painfully in her ears, nearly unbearable.
And in that moment, Lia realized.
The boy who had once shared a modest dream with her was gone.
He had grown far beyond her reach.
The realization cut coldly through her heart.
Quietly, Lia clenched her fists.
Unaware that blood was trickling from her palms.
The battle was reaching its final stage.
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