29: A Night of Thunder
I heard my sister’s voice.
“Elder Sister…”
My eyes snapped open.
I quickly assessed the situation, eyes still closed.
There was only my sister’s presence.
Confirming that, I opened my eyes and sat up.
My sister sighed in relief.
“…Can I… come over there?”
But what was with her demeanor?
――A tearful, frightened voice.
The tone of Leticia’s voice instantly heightened my alertness, jolting me awake.
Even in the dim light of the dying embers in the fireplace, I could tell something was wrong with my sister.
The room was warm. She had a blanket draped over her shoulders and was clutching a pillow, yet she was trembling—the cause of her trembling didn’t seem to be the cold.
Her voice told me one thing—she was afraid.
The rain had intensified.
The constant drumming of the rain against the roof, combined with the overflowing gutters, created a symphony of dripping and splashing sounds.
Then, the rumble of approaching thunder echoed, intensifying my sister’s fear, and she looked around nervously.
The moment she squeezed her eyes shut, a deafening crash reverberated through the air.
“—…!”
Lightning must have struck nearby.
My sister let out a wordless cry.
“…Th-thunder… I… I only have two fears…!”
Another rumble of thunder, the sound of the storm clouds gathering their power, echoed, and my sister’s shoulders trembled.
Then, kicking off her slippers, she climbed onto the bed and clung to me, burying her face in my pillow.
“—!”
Another crash of thunder, and my sister tightened her embrace.
If this was an act, she could join the Vanderwaals “shadows” right away; her fear was that genuine.
I placed my hands on her shoulders.
“I-I’m sorry… but just… just for now…”
“Wait here.”
“Elder Sister…?”
I stood up, slipped on my slippers, and went to the water pitcher on the bedside table.
I poured water into a glass.
Then, I took out the medicine I carried with me, unfolded the paper packet, and poured the powder into the glass.
I swirled the glass, dissolving the medicine in the water.
Another rumble of thunder, followed almost immediately by a stomach-churning crash.
The storm clouds seemed to be directly overhead.
“E-Elder Sister…”
Covering her ears with her hands, Leticia huddled, her voice trembling as she called out to me.
Just this once, I would allow her to call me that.
“…Drink this.”
“O-okay…”
Removing her hands from her ears, Leticia took the glass and drank the contents without hesitation.
I placed the empty glass on the bedside table and patted her shoulder gently.
“Get under the covers and go to sleep.”
“O-okay…”
As instructed, she adjusted her pillow, got under the covers, and looked up at me.
“Elder Sis—”
“I’m going to sleep too.”
I lay down next to her, and my sister gazed at me intently.
Her face was close.
“Um… Elder Sister… is it okay… if I hug you?”
“…Yes. Until the thunder stops.”
Everyone had their fears.
Just as I was afraid of hindering her happy future… she also had her fears.
The mansion, and this guesthouse, should have been protected against lightning strikes, but the “back alley”… was probably not as well-equipped.
Another rumble of thunder echoed.
I held my sister’s head, as she timidly and hesitantly snuggled closer, and pulled her to my chest.
“—!”
“Close your eyes. This room is safe, and the storm will pass soon.”
Another clap of thunder, but this time, Leticia didn’t seem as frightened.
As I had said, the storm clouds seemed to be moving away; the intervals between the rumbles grew longer, and the thunder sounded more distant.
While the wind wasn’t strong at ground level, it seemed to be quite powerful higher up, judging by the sound against the windows.
“—There’s nothing to be afraid of. Fate is on your side.”
To say she was loved by fate… her destiny was quite unusual.
But she would find happiness.
As the protagonist of the story.
Another rumble of thunder.
“I’ll cover your ears. Go to sleep…”
I gently covered her ears with my hands.
“O-okay…”
The warm breath against my chest gradually slowed.
As I held her, my sister’s tense body began to relax… and she went limp.
Then, she began to breathe softly, falling asleep.
The Vanderwaals family also excelled in pharmacology.
Primarily in the field of poisons, but… poison was far more reliable than something that was neither poison nor medicine.
What I had given Leticia was a mild sleeping draught.
I hadn’t brought anything too dangerous, but I always carried a few medicines for emergencies.
As expected of a Vanderwaals sleeping draught, it was quite effective.
After confirming she was asleep, I hugged her tightly, one last time.
I wouldn’t be able to do this while she was awake.
Perhaps the ‘villainous sister’ thing to do would be to banish her to the servants’ quarters and have Ciel comfort her.
But I didn’t want to deprive Ciel of sleep, and I didn’t want my sister to fall for Ciel either.
Besides, I wanted to do this, just once.
I gently released my sister and adjusted her position so she would be more comfortable.
I softly ran my fingers through her short blonde hair.
The embers in the fireplace faintly illuminated its beauty, like captured sunlight, in contrast to my silver hair.
I stroked her hair one last time.
Because I wouldn’t be able to do this while she was awake either.
“…Goodnight, Leticia.”
I could say the things I wanted to say but couldn’t, now.
…Even though I was a useless older sister who could only say such things while she was asleep.
My adorable little sister.
The [Protagonist] of this world, chosen by fate.
――She had already endured so much.
The time I could spend with her was short.
――She would face even greater hardships.
Her only blood relative, her older sister, was a haughty young lady who didn’t understand her affection.
However, the selfless protagonist, despite being subjected to her half-sister’s meanness, would remain unbroken, undistorted, growing into a true noble, while ‘retaining her commoner’s perspective.’
That was a true noble.
An ideal… a virtuous being that didn’t exist in reality.
――Did fate demand such a thing from a sixteen-year-old girl?
Did it intend to burden her, who had apparently lost her parents at a young age and struggled alone in the “back alley,” with even more?
A burning rage surged within me, then dissipated without a target.
――I, too, was complicit in fate’s plan.
“Elder… Sis…”
I flinched, but she mumbled something unintelligible and then sighed contentedly.
However, despite my efforts to make her comfortable, she rolled over in her sleep and clung to me.
…Was she awake? I touched her cheek to check, but there was no reaction.
I tried to sleep, but my sister’s warmth, her softness, everything about her clinging to me made it difficult to fall asleep.
I had also half-forced myself awake in the middle of my sleep.
…Should I take a sleeping draught too?
But having Leticia next to me while she slept was a rare—and, in principle, forbidden—occurrence.
I had to wake up before my sister tomorrow.
So, I wouldn’t rely on medicine.
Resigned, I wrapped my arms around Leticia, who was clinging to me, like a body pillow.
Her warmth and softness lulled me back to sleep.
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