Lena, pressed against the wall, showed no signs of backing down. She averted her gaze from Chiling, reiterating her refusal. “Even if you threaten me, I won’t tell you. She doesn’t wish for her life to be disturbed.”
Once again, the air grew hotter around them. The wrist Chiling held turned crimson from the intense heat, and a wince of pain made Lena furrow her brows and bite her lower lip.
Chiling still did not release her. She was waiting, anticipating the moment Lena would succumb to the agony and reveal Silverbloom’s whereabouts.
“Let go of Lena, Sister!”
Lilia, who had just arrived on the second floor, witnessed the scene, her eyes wide with shock and fury.
She charged forward, seizing Chiling’s arm, intent on separating her from Lena. It was only then that Chiling seemed to awaken from a trance, releasing Lena’s wrist and retreating a few steps.
Lilia stood protectively in front of Lena, blocking Chiling’s view, while simultaneously examining the injury on Lena’s wrist.
Observing Lilia’s face, etched with anger and disappointment, and the vivid red mark on Lena’s wrist, Chiling, now restored to her senses, finally realized the gravity of her actions.
She had actually resorted to violence against an ordinary person, all for information about Silverbloom.
She had believed that her temper had mellowed over the years, yet it seemed that anything concerning Silverbloom still ignited her old impulsiveness.
This was utterly unlike something a hero would do.
However, Lena’s stubbornness had also far exceeded her expectations.
“I’m sorry. I was too hasty.”
She offered an apology, attempting to tend to Lena’s injured wrist, but Lilia stood firm between them, refusing to let her come any closer.
“Even if you want to know where Senior Silverbloom is, you shouldn’t lay a hand on Lena, Sister! She’s just a normal person!”
Lilia exclaimed, her brows furrowed in a frown. She then grasped Lena’s wrist, examining the injury. A sigh of relief escaped her when she realized it was merely a burn.
She could not tolerate anyone harming Lena, not even a comrade of her idol.
‘I’ll do it again, won’t I? Even after all these years, I’m still swayed by my emotions.’
“It’s alright, it’s nothing.”
Lena waved a dismissive hand, not dwelling on the incident. A cool breeze drifted in from the balcony, and she took Celia’s hand, leading her downstairs.
“Will I ever see Silverbloom again?”
Chiling, perhaps recalling something, stood on the balcony with her back to the setting sun, asking one last question.
“If… she is willing to see you.”
With those words, Lena’s figure vanished from her sight. This ambiguous answer brought a bitter smile to Chiling’s lips.
****
Afterward, Chiling had intended to leave, but Lena persuaded her to stay. Yet, despite Chiling’s sincere apologies, Celia found it difficult to completely forgive her.
Fortunately, Chiling began recounting stories of Silverbloom, diverting Celia’s attention from the recent unpleasantness. Gradually, the atmosphere in the living room softened once more.
That was until the doorbell unexpectedly chimed.
Ding-dong—
“I’m coming.”
Slipping on her house slippers, Celia pattered to the door and opened it wide.
Standing before her was another red-haired girl, though her face appeared far more youthful and innocent.
“Roland?”
Celia was taken by surprise; she had never imagined Roland would come here.
Roland’s expression was visibly conflicted, her arms hanging unnaturally at her sides. She spoke softly, “Celia, I’ve thought about this for a long time. I wanted to ask if you know where Senior Silverbloom is. I have something important to discuss with her…”
‘Ah, another one looking for Senior Silverbloom.’ Celia motioned for her to enter. “Come in first, and we can talk.”
Roland nodded. After changing into house slippers in the entryway, she stepped into the living room. However, upon seeing Chiling on the sofa, her expression instantly changed.
“What are you doing here?”
Her face darkened, and she halted her steps. Chiling, too, was visibly stunned.
“Roland…”
The atmosphere among everyone instantly grew strange because of the two of them. Celia and Aurora exchanged glances between Roland and Chiling, intuiting something but remaining silent.
Only Isha continued to swing her legs on the sofa, a candy in her mouth, oblivious to the unfolding tension.
Before long, Roland addressed Celia. “I apologize, I just remembered I have something else to do. I’ll be leaving now.”
With that, she paid no mind to Celia’s reaction, turning directly back to the entryway, changing her shoes, and departing from Lena’s villa.
“Eh?”
Celia was somewhat bewildered. She could tell there was a conflict between Roland and Chiling, and it seemed to be a significant one, enough to make Roland react this way.
“What’s wrong with her?”
Though she asked in a soft voice, she didn’t expect an answer from Chiling. After all, she knew that seniors often preferred to keep such matters to themselves.
Sharlene, Lena, Silverbloom… they were all like that.
However, to her surprise, Chiling propped her chin on her hand and, with a wry smile, explained her relationship with Roland. “She’s my younger sister, but…”
‘…she really despises me.’
“Sister?!”
This revelation made Celia’s eyes widen in astonishment.
The news that Roland hailed from a major city had always circulated within the guild, and Celia was aware of it.
She had once wondered if Roland had been Chiling’s sister in the past, how different their lives might have been. But she had never once considered that Roland was actually the younger sister of the legendary hero, Chiling!
Lena, who had been quietly reading on the side, couldn’t help but look up at Chiling. She had heard Chiling speak of her sister before, but always only about her cuteness, never about the awkwardness in their relationship.
She had assumed their relationship was good, never expecting it to be like this. She feigned seriousness, flipping through her book, though her attention was entirely fixed on Chiling.
Rubbing her temples in distress, Chiling continued with a self-reproaching tone. “Yes, she’s my sister, and it’s all my fault that she’s become the way she is today.”
“When she was born, I was constantly traveling, rarely returning home to care for her. I wasn’t even there when our mother passed away.”
“That means from then on, as a young child, she endured a lot of hardship. She started becoming rebellious and gradually began to resent me, feeling that I wasn’t fit to be an older sister at all. In recent years, she even ran off to Vidona to avoid me…”
At this, Chiling gave a self-deprecating smile.
After fading from the public eye, she had no longer been active on the front lines. Later, she returned home, hoping to mend her relationship with Roland.
But instead of improving, their relationship only worsened, to the point that Roland no longer wished to see her and had run off to Vidona alone.
Even as one of the council members of the Hero’s Conclave, a hero who had left behind countless legends, she remained utterly helpless when it came to her family relationships.
Listening to her slowly recount why she and Roland had reached this point, Lena unconsciously lowered her book, her thoughts drifting back to the past.