CHAPTER 201: CHAPTER 201: MY BROTHER [2]

Chapter 201 – My brother [2]

Daela didn’t know how to control these waves of emotions that threatened to drown her in endless pain.

How could she know?

She had always lived by keeping a tight leash on her emotions, forcing herself not to be overwhelmed by them.

Because she had to. Otherwise she would always be depressed, always trapped in agony.

Do not forget, Garros and Serene had always gone out to battle, even when Dain and Daela were born — even when they were only toddlers in need of affection and their parents’ presence.

They were battle freaks through and through, and so they hardly played their role as parents correctly for the two of them.

And so...can you imagine how much fear a little girl, not even five years old, would feel when her parents were out fighting beasts she could not even begin to fathom?

Do you know how much pain a helpless child would feel when the ones she needed most chose battle over her?

It was agonizing.

It was...shattering.

And so, to survive, Daela instinctively learned to keep all her feelings locked away and controlled. She learned to numb herself.

And through that, she discovered the meaning of silence in a world where people were too busy with their own concerns to step back and see things from her perspective.

That was why, when her feelings burst free and flooded her entire being in a cascading wave...she became once more that helpless little girl, five years old, crying alone in her room because her parents weren’t home.

Yes...that pitiful girl.

Daela’s knees buckled, striking the floor with a loud thud. She collapsed, hands covering her face, her body quivering like a soul trapped in frozen hell.

Her thoughts spun out of control, and the air in her lungs thinned until she gasped like a fish out of water.

She was panicking.

Kaden staggered forward, his heart ready to explode with fear, pain, and confusion at the sight of his sister breaking.

Guilt surged in his chest like a dam bursting but he pushed it aside, focusing only on her.

"S-Sister...what’s going on?" he rasped.

Daela didn’t respond.

In truth, she couldn’t even hear him.

Her mind was consumed by fear, doubt, insecurities she had buried now clawing their way out.

She wondered if she would feel again the same helplessness of her childhood.

Would she be left alone again?

Would she cry again at night with no one there to dry her tears?

Would she...would she...would she...

The questions spun in circles, dragging her deeper into the fragile state.

Her chest rose and fell in jagged rhythm, her breathing turning heavier, harsher.

She coughed, mouth opening wide to draw in air — but nothing. It felt like something inside her was choking her from within.

She wheezed.

Her head grew dizzy. Her vision blurred. Light dimmed into darkness. For a moment...

...Daela truly thought she would die.

A bitter, lonely chuckle escaped her trembling lips.

Dying because of fear?

Dying because of emotions she couldn’t control?

’...p-pathetic...’ she thought as she teetered on the edge of unconsciousness.

All because she had never learned to face her emotions — only to bury them.

To hide them. To fear them.

And now, confronted with something sharp enough to shatter her fragile heart into billions of pieces scattered across the world...

She broke.

She broke like the pitiful, fragile girl she truly was.

Strong? Warborn?

Ah!

She was simply a weak girl who had suffered heartbreak in childhood and leaned on her brother for every scrap of relief, for every drop of comfort.

A girl who could endure the most torturous physical pain...but let a single word about her brother strike, and she would collapse, gasping for breath, as the world darkened around her.

Just like today.

’Ah...I am so—!’

"DAELA!!!"

Kaden’s bellow ripped through her spiraling thoughts.

She jerked her head up and saw him.

His eyes were wide, dilated with fear, pain, guilt, and confusion. His face slick with sweat, his lips trembling.

When he saw her looking at him, his eyes lit with desperate relief. He rushed forward, wrapping her in his arms, pressing her tightly against his chest and Daela felt how violently his heart was pounding.

It was so hard, so loud, she thought for a moment it might stop from the strain. And yet...to Daela, the sound was beautiful. Pleasing.

"I-I’m sorry! You don’t have to act like this! If you want...I won’t marry—!" Kaden croaked, his voice breaking with guilt.

He thought it was because of his words, because of his wish to change tradition, because of his selfish desire for more than one wife, that she had fallen into this state.

Trembling, shaking, gasping as if she were about to die of grief.

And the guilt tore at him.

Daela was his closest family.

The one who was always there, waiting for him at the door when he returned.

The same when he first completed his trial.

The same when he came back from the east.

She was always there.

The one who forced herself into his training, who made him wear the same clothes, the same suits, so they would match.

The one who came into the training grounds to criticize his swordsmanship with harsh words, but always with concern hidden behind her tone.

The one who carried him to bed and tucked him in with blankets when he collapsed from exhaustion.

All of that...Daela.

The silent but loving sister.

The one who cared for him most.

So how...how could he bear to see her like this?

He would have chosen to die a billion gruesome deaths, his heart ripped out, his eyes gouged from their sockets, his organs spilling like water, his blood drained dry — he would have chosen all of it over seeing Daela like this.

So he held her tighter, wrapping his arms around her twitching body, feeling her ragged breaths cut into his chest. His heart broke further, but he clenched his jaw and whispered—

"I won’t...I won’t..."

He repeated it again and again.

He didn’t know the cause, didn’t know the answer. But he knew he had to soothe her.

And it worked.

His embrace grounded her, made her feel safe. Gradually, her trembling stilled. Her breathing steadied.

She pressed closer against him, clinging to the warmth, letting it calm the storm inside her.

But the storm wasn’t gone. Not yet.

Kaden asked nothing. He just stayed, silent, patient, willing to give her all the time she needed.

Even if it took days. Even if it took weeks.

He would wait.

But the silence didn’t last.

Soon, Daela spoke.

Kaden had never heard her voice sound so weak, so fragile. It cut into him deeper than he expected.

"Kaden..." she hissed softly.

"Yes..." he answered at once.

A mournful silence lingered, heavy and suffocating.

Then Daela whispered...brokenly,

"Kaden...I don’t want to lose you."

—End of Chapter 201—