Chapter 45: Shining Knight (3)

“…Actually, I also had an older brother.” Ewin said.

“..really?”

“…yes. I too… my brother, I liked him a lot… but when I was 8 years old, he was adopted and left me. He said he didn’t want to go… But, the people who took him seem to have started sponsoring the orphanage.”

“Ah….”

Keirsey felt sympathy for her. She felt pity for her just imagining how much Cayden leaving her would hurt.

Did this girl named Ewin experience such pain?

Ewin smiled sheepishly and clapped her hands.

“Thanks to everyone in the orphanage, I was able to grow up well…but my heart aches. There were many other older sisters and older brothers at the orphanage, but no one could replace him.”

“…if you have someone you like, no one can replace them.”

“Right. That’s why I said that I was envious… If I had grown up with my older brother back then… would we have had a good relationship like Keirsey-sama?”

“…it must have been, Ewin. There is no one better than a kind-hearted person like you.”

Keirsey showed a slightly more mature appearance.

“…Thank you, Keirsey-sama. Still, I miss him sometimes. Is he doing well…? As much as he is not with me… I want him to be as happy as I was.”

Keirsey was surprised by Ewin’s thoughts. She didn’t know that a woman of the same age, who looked so delicate, would have such a heart.

Keirsey also unwittingly put Cayden into the situation. If he left her, would she be able to bless him as Ewin did? Could she pray for him to be happy?

She couldn’t be sure. If he left, whether she could bless him or not, but the woman who'd be next to him would surely be cursed a lot.

She would hate the woman who took her place for the rest of her life. She was just imagining it, but if she got a chance to get revenge in the future, she might do it without hesitation.

Occasionally, whenever she faced such a vicious inner world, Keirsey was surprised, but now she was able to quickly get used to it. Anyway, that was her heart. It was a mind she would understand if she let go of her self-esteem.

“…Ewin is strong.”

Keirsey said frankly.

“…it's an overstatement.”

After that, the conversation was cut off. As it was such a topic, having a long conversation was not possible.

“Ah…! It seems that the sauce is almost ready!”

Ewin raised her voice and lifted the subdued atmosphere.

“Now we can finish it by just boiling the noodles. It’s your first time, but I think you did a really good job.”

“It’s all thanks to Ewin. Thank you so much.”

Again, the friendly atmosphere continued. Keirsey smiled comfortably and asked Ewin.

“Oh, Ewin. As for the ending…I want to do it in front of my brother, is it okay?”

“Yes, of course. No problem.”

“..that..then it’s time for the appointment… so I’ll go pick up my oppa.”

“Sure. I will stir well so that the sauce does not burn.”

Keirsey tried to turn around, but then she hesitatingly asked.

“Ah…that…and when my oppa comes… you can tell him the truth. I’ve worked hard on it… Let’s talk about it…”

Ewin smiled as if Keirsey was cute, and answered with a bright expression.

“Yes, I will. I will tell him every single detail of how hard you worked.”

Keirsey smiled and left the kitchen.

✧ ✧ ✧

Keirsey looked at Cayden from afar and her eyes were wide open. Because when he looked at her, he smiled. 

It wasn’t the hard expression he had always shown nowadays, Instead, he had the expression he usually showed back at home.

She really started to feel that they were reconciling today.

It was strange to set a date like this and reconcile, but Keirsey didn’t care. In the end, it was all about reconciliation.

Keirsey flew toward him to hug him.

But again, Cayden raised his hand to stop her.

She was a little sad, but she knew that she was behaving impatiently.

Just as she was about to feel a little down, Cayden said.

“Not yet. If the food doesn’t taste good, I’ll never forgive lady.”

His playful voice rang out. 

Upon hearing his words, Keirsey felt the sadness in her heart melt away.

In the end, he seemed to be relieved, too. So he was playing these pranks.

Keirsey didn’t like the sense of distance given by the respectful tone. She felt that her heart was gone, and that was the most painful thing.

Of course, she hadn't liked the respectful tone now either…but anyway. The way he played pranks like this was similar to before, so she could feel that their hearts were getting closer again. That's why she was able to tolerate it to some extent. Even hearing his respectful tone, she didn’t feel as dark and dirty as she used to.

"It will be delicious. I worked really hard." 

"Is that so? Can you show me your hand?"

Keirsey held out her hands.

Cayden frowned, wondering if she was hurt, and grabbed her hand in a fairly quick motion.

Keirsey was gently startled by his actions. Normally, if he was like this, she would have taken it naturally, but since it’s been a long time, she was very happy that he was worried about her.

And then she got a little embarrassed. Because Ewin’s assistance didn’t seriously injure her hand. There were only a few shreds of evidence left that could be seen only if one looked closely. It wasn’t also that she wanted to show him, because her fingers were wrinkled with moistured and didn't look beautiful as before.

“…are you hurt?”

When Cayden, who was examining her hands, asked with a serious expression, Keirsey hesitated for a moment before answering. Because he was holding her hand after a long time. She wanted to stay still until the warmth he gave her reached her heart.

But she couldn’t keep the silence for that long. Before Cayden wondered, Keirsey finally answered.

“Ah… no… it’s just that my fingers are wrinkled.”

“Ah.”

Cayden smiled and put her hand away. Keirsey looked at his smile, and contagious emotions and laughter came out at the same time.

After that, Keirsey began to lead him into the kitchen. She wanted to walk arm-in-arm with him, but he didn’t allow her yet, so she had to be content with being by his side.

Keirsey’s steps toward the kitchen were light. Her heart was getting even lighter. 

As if lifting a weight one after another, with each step, the next step became even lighter.

When they reached the kitchen, she was on the verge of laughter. She was looking forward to seeing what he would say after eating.

Just as she was about to open the wooden door leading to the kitchen, Cayden called Keirsey.

“Lady Keirsey.”

He still didn’t leave that tone, but Keirsey looked at him with a smile, already glad he called her.

“…have I been childish lately?”

As soon as she heard those words, Keirsey instantly choked.

She wondered if tears could fill up so quickly again.

It was so hard, and she was happy to let herself know that everything was over. Reconciliation was finally reached.

“…No...Oppa...I was wrong.”

“…it’s okay. We need to do better with each other in the future. Sorry for making you sad. As you may know…it’s just acting, but I’ve never hated you for even a single moment.”

“Ugh…”

Keirsey nodded her head. She was happy to have this fact confirmed with his mouth. Tears of joy continued to flow. She was so happy she shook off all the sadness at that moment.

“…I will do well in the future.”

Keirsey stretched out her hands. She wanted to hug him.

But Cayden laughed.

“I said it. No hugs, if the food doesn’t taste good.”

At his joke, Keirsey, who had been crying, laughed again.

Cayden appeared to be preparing for a clean ending. Just because they reconciled in the middle didn’t mean everything was forgotten right away, but it seemed like he was trying to set the exact end point and brush it all off after that.

So Keirsey had no choice but to follow him.

Wiping away her tears, she smiled and opened the kitchen door. 

A fragrant scent spread and hit their nose.

“…Oppa. It's almost ready. I wanted to show you how it'd finish… Watch me for a little bit. I’ll show you how good I am.”

“……”

But from the moment she opened the door, everything became quiet as if the sound of the world had disappeared.

Keirsey looked straight ahead. Ewin was looking at their side with a blank expression.

It was different from what she expected; to be greeted with a pleasant and polite greeting.

When Keirsey felt puzzled, Ewin’s expression distorted, and asked with a watery voice.

“…Oppa?”

“….uh?”

Keirsey doubted her ears. But with a cool breeze, Cayden passed her like the wind.

Everything suddenly seemed like a slow scene. Cayden hurriedly ran and shouted.

"Ewin."

She hadn’t told him her name, but he had already guessed it right.

Cayden’s arms spread out. For several days, no matter how much Keirsey begged, the arms did not open... Not even just before entering the kitchen.

And into those arms, Ewin jumped in.

The two people shared a strong hug. Ewin scratched his back, and Cayden strengthened his hands holding Ewin’s waist and head.

“Oppa!!”

Ewin shouted.

For a moment, Keirsey felt like she had lost her place - the place of being his sister.

Even in her eyes, they were getting along like a real family.

A word suddenly came to her mind: orphanage.

All the puzzles were falling into place.

Keirsey felt her excited heart sinking again seeing this unbelievable scene.

[T/N: Join Patreon to support the translation and to read upto 5 chapters ahead of the release: https://www.patreon.com/DylanVittori   ]

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