Reincarnated as the Heroine’s Big Sister, but My Little Sister Fell for Me Instead - Chapter 4

Lian was a child who often fell.

I realized it two months after being reborn. It was a side of her unseen in the game. Though she overflowed with talent for light magic and could kindle a dazzling light upon her finger, she was, after all, a tomboy who ran without properly watching her feet. She would impulsively break into a run, whether in the garden or the hallway. And she frequently tripped over the seams in the stone pavement or on steps, often tumbling down.

That’s why I always carried a handkerchief.

Near the flowerbed at the edge of the garden, Lian was on her knees on the stone pavement. A maid was engaged in another task some distance away. She didn’t seem to have noticed Lian’s state.

Holding my book under my arm, I walked over to Lian.

I crouched down and looked at her knee. A scrape had formed. On her wax-like, translucent white leg, a faint trace of blood was seeping through.

“Does it hurt?” I asked.

“Just a little.”

I took the handkerchief from my pocket. It seemed even a future candidate for saintess couldn’t heal wounds yet. I wiped the mud from her knee with the handkerchief. Lian silently extended her leg. When I touched the wound, she closed her eyes slightly, but showed no further signs of being in pain.

“Watch your step.”

Saying that, I offered her my hand. Lian looked surprised, then grasped my hand with both of hers, as if enveloping it.

I pulled her up. Lian’s body was surprisingly light.

“Your hand is cold, Sister.”

“Is it?”

“It’s cool and feels nice.”

Nothing more was said. I silently started walking. Without letting go of my hand, Lian walked beside me as if being pulled along.

We walked side by side on the path back to the mansion. As if she hadn’t been injured at all, Lian’s steps were light. She asked me the names of the plants growing along the path, her eyes sparkling.

It was unbearably endearing.

I remembered why I had supported Lian in the game from my previous life. It was this innocence. That defenselessness, the curiosity she directed at everyone with the same warmth. When I was on the other side of the screen, I thought it was only natural the capture targets were drawn to her.

I imagined this child, not too far in the future, smiling at the center of everyone. I felt a slight unease in my chest.

But for now, just for now.

“Sister, that cloud looks like a rabbit.”

I looked up at the sky. The cloud at the tip of Lian’s finger looked nothing like a rabbit.

“I suppose  it’s not impossible to see.”

“See!” Lian laughed. It was like a flower blooming. “You understand too, Sister.”

I had postponed giving a name to this feeling for a while. It felt like what was inside me was too quiet to call it doting.

But—

“Sister.”

“What?”

“The handkerchief from earlier got dirty, so I’ll wash it and return it next time.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

“But,” Lian thought for a moment. “Then, I’ll keep it so you can use it when I fall again.”

“‘Again’? Are you planning on falling?”

“I’m not planning to,” Lian smiled a little. “But I might fall again, you know?”

For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to criticize the chaotic leap in logic of keeping my handkerchief because she might fall.

Soon, the mansion’s entrance came into view.

Lian let go of my hand. When she let go, I didn’t miss the slight hint of reluctance. It made me happy. I hoped it wasn’t just my imagination.

Opening the front door, Lian entered first.

The maid, Marie, spotted Lian and rushed over. “Young lady, your knee—” Lian said, “Sister wiped it for me.” Marie looked at me. She seemed to want to say something, but stopped.

I headed to my room.

Walking down the hallway, I looked at my palm.

It was the hand Lian had held. No warmth remained. But it felt like it still did.

At night, while practicing dark magic, I recalled the earlier scene.

She fell, got her knee covered in mud, and asked me if I thought she was angry. There was no reason for me to be angry. I couldn’t possibly be angry. If asked why, I still couldn’t find the words.

A dark mist seeped from my fingertips.

There was a feeling of being filled.

Dark magic was always like that. It didn’t wither. It didn’t deplete. But tonight, apart from that, I felt filled with something else.

This is the shape of my doting. Quietly, as if drowning, I love Lian.

Thinking that, I looked up at the moon.