Chapter 59: Alliance(2)

Asena’s first kiss was when she was 15. It was five years ago, but she remembered it as if it had happened yesterday.

Certainly, she wasn't feeling good that day.

She was going through a difficult time. She had just taken over the position of head of the family from her grandmother, Liana, and was starting to take her first steps in politics.

As everything was new, she was struggling with paperwork for a long time that day.

When Liana noticed this, she urged Asena to make quick and wise decisions and continuously informed her of what she was lacking and what she needed to be cautious of.

Asena couldn't help but feel frustrated. After hearing Liana's words, she felt like a fool, and even her confidence as the head of the family disappeared.

She had the sudden urge to meet Cayden, but as the head of the family, she didn’t have enough free time to do that.

Keirsey, who was a twin but was born a little later, would be hanging out with Cayden. Asena couldn't understand why she was sitting here disappointing her grandmother.

But she endured it anyway.

Because she knew that the harder she worked, the more her Oppa would praise her. 

To a 15-year-old girl… no, even now, her Oppa was everything to her.

Thinking about the bright smile and gentle pat he would give while praising her made her bear with it.

"... Let's stop here for today, Asena."

“…”

When Grandma Liana announced the end, Asena sighed inwardly.

It was already a late night.

Since it was a day when things didn't go well, she wanted to see Cayden as soon as possible.

After organizing the papers and quills, she hurriedly stood up from the chair, and Liana, seeing it, gave her a small smile.

Liana also seemed to know what Asena wanted.

“Talk to your brother for a bit and then go back to your room. Tomorrow will be a busy day too. Got it?”

“…Yes, Grandma. Thank you.”

Asena bent her waist and bowed her head. Because Cayden always told her to greet everyone properly.

Then, Asena ran to Cayden's room quickly.

She was planning to tell him everything that happened today, how much Grandma had been pressuring her, how difficult it was, and how hard she had worked.

Of course, Grandma Liana had told her to reduce her excessive dependence on Cayden, but Asena didn’t care.

"Oppa."

Asena hurriedly opened the door and called out to Cayden, pretending not to be excited. She instinctively knew that she had to act a little sullen to get more affection.

“……”

However, when she opened the door, a sudden sense of disappointment overwhelmed her.

The light was off, and Cayden was already fast asleep.

He had fallen asleep without even talking to her.

At first, Asena burst out laughing when she saw the scene, but then she pouted at Cayden, who fell asleep first without waiting for her.

".... Ha."

It was a trivial thing, but it was even more sad because her Oppa did it.

After all, she had been waiting all day to see him, but he had not done the same.

Asena quietly closed the door and approached him, who was sleeping soundly.

In the moonlight, she noticed a few fresh bruises on his arm.

Did he train hard again today? Was that why Oppa was so tired and fell asleep first?

She understood why he must have slept already, but the dissatisfaction still did not go away.

All of her expectations had vanished in an instant just like bubbles did on touch, and what was already a bad day soon turned into the worst one.

In the end, she shook Cayden because of heartbreak. She deserved to receive some compensation, no matter how small.

"Oppa, wake up..."

"....Hmm..."

But his eyes didn't open. Was he that tired?

"...Wake up, Oppa."

-Shake, shake.

Even though she pushed and shook him quite strongly, Cayden didn't open his eyes at all.

“…”

Asena sat right next to his face, looking down at him with cold eyes.

Slowly moving her hand, she pressed his cheek. She wanted to tease him a little.

"....Hmm...."

With a slight frown on his face, he waved his hand to shoo away whatever was annoying him.

At his defenseless appearance, Asena finally burst out laughing.

No matter how hard she tried to be angry, looking at him couldn’t help but ease her anger.

Whenever she harbored negative emotions towards him, who always supported her when she was struggling, everything always worked out itself.

Asena eventually gave up on waking him up and just stared at him.

She slowly played with his cheek and hair, studying him closely.

It was then Asena found out for the first time that she could love someone so much.

Even though he was her adopted brother and looked nothing like her, they were still connected as siblings.

She wondered if other people liked their brothers this much.

Her fingers moved from his hair to his eyebrows, nose, and cheeks.

Asena’s eyes were fixed on his cheeks.

His soft cheek that she always kissed.

Even though he was already asleep, she still wanted to kiss him.

It wasn't the act of kissing itself that she liked, but rather the symbolism behind it.

It expressed how much one person loved the other. That's also why Asena loved receiving kisses from him so much. 

That's what a kiss meant to her; According to her, the person whose lips touched the other person’s cheek was basically expressing their love for the other person.

Asena hung the lock of her hair behind her ear and slowly lowered her body towards him.

She leaned in to give him a light kiss on the cheek, but…

“...Hmm…”

Cayden suddenly turned his head a little, and…

-Pwuch!

She accidentally kissed his lips.

“..Ah..!”

Asena was startled and pulled back.

Her heart started pounding harder than usual. It somehow felt different than when she kissed his cheek…

Wait! Who showed love to whom now?

Originally, if the person whose lips touched the other person’s cheek was expressing their love, then this felt like they were giving and receiving each other's love simultaneously.

It felt like they were sharing their affection.

Her head was spinning, and her lips remembered the touch of his lips. 

As her head became complicated, she got up from her seat. She could feel the heat rising and her face reddening in real time.

She needed time. 

Covering her face with her hands, she left Cayden’s room.

Even the next day, Asena couldn’t concentrate because of the sensation of Cayden’s lips.

Although she received a scolding from her Grandma, her mind was too full for anything to affect her.

In the end, Asena, who couldn’t concentrate, was ordered by Liana to take a break and cool her head for the next day.

That’s how some free time was created.

Normally, Asena would have gone to find Cayden, but she didn’t on that day.

Something...was up.

She had a lot of things she was puzzled about.

Asena finally went into her room, and after sitting for a while she asked Helen, the head maid.

"Helen, have you seen anyone kissing lips with lips...is there such a thing?"

As Asena had never received s*x education, she asked what she was puzzled about to Helen, who was much older than her. 

Helen had always been able to distinguish what she could and could not talk about and answered appropriately, so Asena somewhat trusted her.

Helen pondered for a while, then said with a soft smile.

“Okay, since Asena-sama is 15 years old, there's nothing wrong with knowing it. But you do not do it with everyone.”

“…?”

“Hmm… let’s say if kissing someone’s cheek is a sign of showing your affection, kissing on lips is something only lovers do.”

“…..Ah.”

At the words that it was an act that only lovers do, Asena's heart started pounding again.

So, what she did to Cayden last night… meant that…? 

Although, it felt very wrong now when she found its meaning… It also felt very right.

“Yes. Kissing on cheeks and forehead can be a sign of intimacy with many people…but kissing on lips.... It's something that only two people can do, to show that they are the most important person to each other.”

“…only two people?”

"Only two people…"

Suddenly, Asena felt a possessiveness that she didn't even know existed. 

If Cayden considered her special and ‘kissed’ only her...not even to Keirsey but only to her...her face began to blush just thinking about it. 

Looking at her, Helen made a cute expression of not knowing what to do. 

“…Haah… just wait for it, Asena-sama. One day, you will find someone who will kiss you.”

“….uh? That… Oppa…”

“Of course not! As I said, kissing on the lips is different, so we don’t do that to family members.”

“……”

At those words, Asena’s heart turned cold. 

Of course, she listened when an experienced person taught her, but today, a small anger broke out in her heart when Helen said she shouldn’t ‘kiss’ Cayden.

---  End Of The Chapter ---

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