CHAPTER 200: CHAPTER 200: MY BROTHER [1]

Chapter 200 – My brother [1]

"Daela...I have something to tell you." Kaden’s voice echoed in the enclosed room, trembling and shaking with confusion and apprehension.

Daela snapped her head toward him faster than thought, her red eyes locking on him. She had heard the faint tremor in his voice, and immediately knew something was wrong.

She nodded softly, heart beating faster, urging her little brother to continue.

Kaden drew in a deep breath. "I want—!"

He stopped mid-pitch.

He didn’t actually know how to say it.

He could say it directly, but Kaden knew speaking bluntly about such things would do more harm than good, especially to someone not used to hearing them.

So he closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, his gaze fixed on the portrait of Scarlet, as if she could grant him the strength to continue.

"How would you feel if I chose to change a tradition inside this house?" he asked, his voice carrying apprehension, but also an undertone of hopelessness.

Helplessness, because Kaden knew his sister.

He knew she wasn’t the type to sit with you and discuss the mysteries of life over tea and pastries.

She wasn’t the type to see you conflicted, sad, drowning in a forlorn expression heavy enough to make worlds weep, and then come to comfort you.

That didn’t mean Daela was bad or heartless — no. Outwardly she might look that way, but inwardly she felt everything, more deeply than most.

In fact, she was more observant than any of the Warborn. Even more than Kaden.

She noticed things others overlooked.

Because she was silent.

And especially because...she listened to understand, not to respond.

That alone made her different.

People nowadays don’t listen to understand. They listen only to answer.

Yes, it might look like they are listening, but really, they are just waiting to speak back.

And in that process they don’t stop to think about what you meant, why you said it, or how to respond so that you won’t feel misunderstood or dismissed.

They didn’t care. Or maybe, more accurately...they were ignorant.

Because when you live in a world that bombards you with billions of pieces of information — mostly useless — every day, your mind is already too tired to care about the hidden meanings behind your interlocutor’s words.

And in such a world, Daela had learned that silence was better than wasted noise.

It was because of this particularity of her that she understood immediately: something was wrong with her brother.

Something that made his voice tremble.

And so...

Daela decided to hold a conversation today.

She closed her eyes briefly, then placed her hand on Kaden’s shoulder, turning him so their eyes met.

Red against red.

Blood against blood.

An unspoken tension swelled between them, filling the room like mist.

"What would I do if you were to change a tradition?" she asked, her voice losing its apathetic taste, shifting into something neutral.

Kaden was taken aback by the change. And especially by the way Daela’s eyes fixed on him.

Because right now...he felt listened to.

And in a way, that only made him more nervous.

But still, he steeled his heart, steadied his breathing, and answered. "Yes."

Daela responded softly, "What tradition do you wish to change?"

Kaden’s eyes darted nervously around the Archive, his fingers twitching before an awkward smile tugged at his lips.

"Well, sister...what if I told you that I want..." He faltered, struggling to finish.

But he knew he couldn’t keep dragging it out.

So he closed his eyes and blurted it all at once, fast, as though ripping off a bandage.

"I want more than one wife!"

The words came out louder than he meant, echoing through the room again and again.

Each echo made him want to dig a pit and crawl into it to bury his face.

Kaden cringed heavily. A flush of red spread across his cheeks, his embarrassment plain.

After a moment without hearing a response, he slowly opened his eyes.

Daela stood staring at him with wide, red eyes. Eyes filled with shock and indignation.

But Kaden missed something else hiding deep within them...insecurity.

"...Why?" she finally managed, her voice hoarse, carrying unspoken feelings.

"Why do you want more than one wife? No...what do you even want from a wife?" she asked again, her voice trembling, threatening to break.

Kaden stood silent, eyes locked on hers.

He had known Daela would not be thrilled to hear him speak against tradition. But now that he had said it, he had to defend it.

And that was the real issue.

How do you justify wanting multiple wives?

More children? More prosperity?

That was nonsense. The Warborn didn’t need what they already had.

So what good could it bring?

Kaden didn’t know, honestly. He was still young, only fifteen. Even combining his two lives, his maturity wasn’t high enough to fully grasp it.

But there was one thing he knew...his desires.

"Because...I love more than one woman." His words came out simple, tinged with guilt.

The words rang in Daela’s mind like a trumpet blast, echoing painfully, like someone had taken a spike as thick as a tree trunk and driven it through her heart.

It hurt. Gods, it hurt so badly.

It hurt to hear her brother confess he loved other women — not just her.

’Did I not love him enough?’ she wondered desperately.

Panic and fear flushed through her veins like venom.

Because suddenly, she felt she was going to lose her brother to other girls.

She imagined someone taking all of Kaden’s attention, monopolizing him until she could no longer see him.

Her thoughts spiraled wild. She saw him with children, forgetting she even existed.

Yes...why would he care about a sister once he had wives who gave him babies and happiness?

Why would he care about her when other women could love him, spoil him, give him everything?

Yes...what role would she have left in her brother’s world?

Her breathing grew ragged.

"Daela...?" Kaden called hesitantly, seeing her face.

But Daela didn’t hear. She was spiraling, lost in tormenting thoughts.

She was afraid.

Afraid of losing her brother’s love.

Afraid of losing his attention.

She couldn’t afford it. He was the only one she felt safe with.

The only one she would lay down her life for.

The only one whose touch she craved, even if it was just a pat on the head.

The only one who gave her care when the world gave her nothing.

She remembered that cave, after he saved her from the steelbeasts. The moment when he patted her head.

That was the best moment of her life. And perhaps it always would be, until the day she died.

Yes...she loved him that much.

Not romantically, as some might think.

But as a sister.

As a protective sister.

As a loving sister.

As a sister who was too shy to ask openly for affection.

As a sister who stayed silent, afraid of being misunderstood.

As a sister who always feared she wasn’t loving enough.

As a sister who wanted only one thing: for her brother to remain her brother, not a husband to others.

Yes, that was all she wanted.

She wasn’t asking for the moon to be plucked from the heavens and placed before her on a plate forged from sunlight.

She wasn’t asking for riches, or protection, or favors.

She only wanted her brother...to be her brother.

So...

"...Why?"

Her voice broke, trembling on the edge of sobs. Her body shook like a leaf whipped by the wind, her heart so heavy she nearly collapsed.

What she didn’t know...was that Kaden’s heart shattered too.

His chest felt torn apart, as if Death itself had come to rip it open, watching his sister in such a state.

He staggered down and whimpered.

"S-Sister...?!"

—End of Chapter 200—