Misfortune 99

Chapter 99

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The sister who was thought to be dead had returned alive. It was a miracle that would never happen again in his life.

However, the joy of the siblings reuniting, which seemed like a miracle, did not last long. They had to face a cruel reality before they could even share their joy.

Perhaps the reality was all the more tragic because Lena was still alive.

“Why, why….”

Lena, who had witnessed Delnia lying motionless on the bed, covered her mouth with both hands in horror.

“What happened? Why is the Young Lady…?”

Lena rushed toward Delnia, unable to hide her sigh of despair. She gently stroked Delnia’s pale face, then lightly massaged her arm, moving frantically.

Roan was so frustrated with himself that he couldn't even touch the woman, while his sister was freely touching her.

Roan stepped forward, trying not to show his jealousy.

“Let’s move to another place first.”

For Delnia’s sake, and to continue the conversation they hadn’t finished, he felt the need to arrange a separate seat for Lena.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

Though she couldn’t take her eyes off Delnia, Lena readily agreed and followed him out.

They headed to Roan’s study, which was not far from Delnia’s bedroom, rather than the parlor on the first floor.

Roan invited Lena to sit down and soon sat across from her.

“….”

The two remained silent for a while, unable to figure out how to start the conversation.

Perhaps it was because the time they had been apart had been too long, or perhaps it was because his mind had not yet caught up with the surreal situation of a family member he had believed to be dead being alive.

Lena might feel differently, but Roan was definitely closer to the latter. The fact that he was still so overwhelmed by the realization that he was facing his grown-up younger sister spoke volumes.

“Excuse me.”

In the midst of the awkward silence, the butler kindly brought out some tea. A fragrant cup of black tea was placed before both of them.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Lena expressed her gratitude to Milan in a polite tone.

He didn’t know how she had lived her life, but at least she hadn’t grown up to be a rude, ill-mannered person, which made him feel a little more at ease. The image of her throwing a tantrum demanding to meet Delnia had already been neatly erased from his mind.

Roan sipped the tea, which was steaming warm, with a sigh of relief.

Lena followed suit and picked up her teacup. However, instead of sipping the tea, she blew on it to cool it down.

“Even when I was young, I couldn’t handle hot things well.”

Seeing this, it seemed that he was indeed facing the real Lena.

Overcome by a strange and unfamiliar feeling, he carefully took in the sight of his younger sister, who had grown so much.

They had parted ways when they were young, and her exotic attire made her seem unfamiliar, but upon closer inspection, traces of her past remained.

Her eyes, which were unusually gentle, and her sturdy build, which seemed stronger than her peers.

Even the habit of swinging her feet when feeling awkward remained unchanged.

It was puzzling that he hadn't recognized her immediately, but she was still the Lena he had known.

Yet, seeing her grown into a proper adult, Roan couldn’t help but feel proud.

“You’ve grown up well.”

He began with words that came from the bottom of his heart.

Though the situation still felt half like a dream, it was impossible for him not to rejoice at the miracle of Lena’s return.

At that, Lena’s eyes quickly filled with tears.

“You too, brother. You’ve become a fine adult.”

Surprised by the unexpected compliment, Roan let out a small laugh. He quickly suppressed the twitching of his facial muscles, which had begun to twitch along the corners of his mouth.

Still, even though they had only exchanged a few words, the awkwardness that had built up over the years seemed to melt away like snow.

Lena seemed to feel the same way, her tense expression relaxing into a more comfortable one. Her restless feet had also come to a calm stop.

“I’ve heard rumors about Colonel Barthez, but I never thought it could be my brother. When did you get such a cool surname?”

“It was granted by His Majesty as a reward for repelling the Sharak fleet of Dalos.”

“Wow, really? My brother is a naval hero of Blois?”

Lena clasped her hands together and her eyes sparkled. She was taking the lead in the conversation as soon as the awkwardness faded.

The Lena he remembered wasn’t very talkative. This was definitely different from when she was younger.

“What about you?”

He lowered his gaze, which had been observing Lena, and asked in return.

"Me?"

“Where have you been and what have you been up to all this time?”

Lena curled her lips upward and shrugged her shoulders defiantly.

“Don’t be surprised. I’m about to become the branch manager of the Golden Wheel Trading Company’s Blois branch.”

“………………Golden Wheel? The guild that held the exhibition in the capital recently?”

“That’s right. The Golden Wheel.”

Watching Lena confirm it so casually, Roan couldn’t help but gape in astonishment.

It was, of course, surprising that she belonged to such a renowned guild, but more than that, the Golden Wheel was a guild based on another continent.

Considering that this was the first time the Golden Wheel had officially entered Blois, Roan couldn't help but be shocked beyond belief.

After all, it was impossible for Lena to be connected to it unless she had crossed the sea alone.

“If I were to tell you everything, the story would go on forever, so I’ll summarize it for you.”

As if fully understanding his feelings, Lena shrugged her shoulders and continued speaking.

“There’s an elderly gentleman who saved my life. He’s originally from the Eastern Continent, but his life was quite turbulent, so he ended up in Brunois by chance. One day, he happened to save me when I fell into the water. Because of that connection, he decided to take me in.”

As Lena put it, the story was simply summarized, but it was by no means simple, and Roan’s eyes widened.

“We crossed over to the Eastern Continent together to build up the trading company, and this time we’ve expanded into Blois. As a celebration of becoming an adult, I finally received permission to lead the trading company across the ocean.”

"Such..."

“Actually, the elder tried to dissuade me, saying it was too soon, but I insisted. I wanted to meet my older brother as soon as possible. So, once things were more or less settled, I went to Belfort alone. But……….”

The voice, heavy with emotion, trailed off. But Roan already knew what had happened to Lena afterward.

“What exactly happened with Miss Delnia?”

Faced with the direct question, Roan felt overwhelmed.

Yes. What happened to them?

What on earth did he do to her?

His vision suddenly grew blurry, and Roan kept blinking his eyes.

But he couldn’t keep silent in front of his younger sister, who was staring at him.

"I…."

He forced his lips, which had been stiff as if he had never smiled in his life, to part.

He tried to explain as objectively as possible, but he couldn’t tell if he was speaking properly.

As the story dragged on, Lena's increasingly stiff expression was the only confirmation that he was indeed saying something.

“How could such a thing………………”

Finally, when he finished speaking, Lena, who had been covering her mouth with both hands, let out a deep sigh.

But she couldn't bring herself to scold Roan. After all, the reason he couldn't stop blaming Delnia was because of her.

"That day… Miss Delnia suddenly took me to a cave in the mountains. She told me not to move and said she would come back for me."

Lena recalled the memory she had buried for years in a matter-of-fact tone.

"But I couldn't stand the prolonged wait and left the cave. I was trying to find my way back to the castle. Then someone spotted me and came running toward me angrily…”

“….”

"It was clearly someone I recognized, but for some reason, I felt a strong urge to flee. I realized that the lady had been trying to hide me because of that person."

“….”

"So I ran blindly, but I stumbled and fell into the valley."

Hearing the full story of that day directly from his sister’s mouth, he couldn’t even open his mouth. All he could do was clench his fists in response to the vividly revived helplessness of that time.

Moreover, even though it was a story he had never heard before, the fact that it felt so familiar despite being something he didn't know...

"The next thing I knew, I had been rescued by an elderly man. He had originally intended to send me back to where I had been living, but at that age, I had no idea where to go or how to get there."

“….”

"Perhaps the impression of the person who chased me at the end was too strong, so I didn't want to go back."

Lena muttered bitterly, then suddenly seemed puzzled and tilted her head, adding.

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