Evening

On a midsummer night, the cicadas were still clamoring without rest, screaming with all their strength.

They did so because they knew their lives were nearly over.

They had spent six or seven dark years as larvae, hiding beneath tree roots and in the soil, feeding on sap.

They feared their natural enemies, passing every day and night as if walking through darkness, muddling along in a haze.

By the time they grew into adult insects, they were already at the twilight of their lives.

Within just a few days, they would reach their end.

And this noisy chorus, every cry, was like the lament of the dying.

Chirp—chirp—chirrrrr—

“Sure enough, their wings really are beautiful…”

Yalen removed cicadas one by one from the paulownia tree.

She used plant resin to carefully glue them onto a pale yellow sheet of parchment.

She arranged them neatly together and examined them closely through a polished crystal.

Books in the library had long recorded that crystals ground into specific shapes could magnify objects.

Yalen felt she truly had too much free time.

Aside from organizing books, she had nothing else to do.

No matter how many books there were, there would always be a day when they were all sorted.

When she finally finished organizing the books with Kallianna’s help, she realized that all she could do now was read and sleep.

She was unbearably bored.

That was when she remembered a book about lenses.

She went outside to buy some cheap crystals and polishing tools and began grinding them herself.

Although Yalen was clumsy with her hands, after many attempts she eventually grasped the knack.

She spent two weeks making this magnifying lens.

When Kallianna saw it, she was completely astonished.

It was the first time she had realized such a magical object existed in the world.

Yalen proudly showed her the result.

“Mm… like this… and this… and then like this…”

Yalen carefully sketched the general structure of the insect with a charcoal pencil.

She used small wooden sticks to support its body, afraid of damaging the tiny creature.

Stroke by stroke, she traced the insect’s delicate outline.

She was careful not to miss even the smallest detail.

Using the magnifying glass, she examined the insects from side to side, searching for their shared characteristics.

“All done!”

Yalen muttered to herself.

Her small leather-covered notebook was already filled with countless drawings of insects and plants.

When she was young, she had loved drawing very much.

Back then, books and drawing were the only ways she could pass the time.

Over time, it became one of her hobbies and a way to relieve boredom.

That was why her drawing skills were quite good.

It was just that she had not used a charcoal pencil for so long that her hand felt a little rusty.

She removed the insects and placed them back on the tree.

Picking up her notebook, she planned to wander around while it was still evening.

She felt too bored to stay in one place.

Drawing was only a momentary whim.

She could not diligently draw every single day.

Still, cicadas truly were beautiful.

She had permanently collected their appearance in her notebook.

She intended to treasure these notes carefully.

“Hm hm hm hm hm~”

Humming an unfamiliar tune, Yalen hopped along the garden path step by step.

She felt rather cheerful.

This kind of life was comfortable and free.

And it even came with a fairly good salary, far more than her usual expenses.

Actually, this kind of life was not bad at all.

She thought silently to herself.

It was just a little too peaceful and monotonous.

“Watch out!

Danger!”

A shout came from afar, followed by a dark shadow flying rapidly in her direction.

Yalen took a closer look and saw that it was a ball flying toward her.

It seemed someone in the garden was playing football.

She realized it in an instant.

“Thud…”

Yalen saw the ball coming but failed to react in time.

She froze in place and was struck head-on by the dark shadow.

She toppled over completely and fell to the ground.

The notebook in her hands flew out of its leather cover.

Charcoal sketches scattered into the air like snowflakes filling the sky.

The charcoal pencil slipped from her hand and snapped cleanly in two when it hit the ground.

The culprit ball rolled twice and came to rest near Yalen’s feet.

“Ah!

I’m sorry!”

A man hurried over from a distance, clearly coming to apologize.

“Mosi…

(I’m fine.)”

Yalen muttered groggily as she climbed up from the ground.

She lowered her head and began picking up her notebook.

Seeing this, the man crouched down as well to help gather the pages.

“Thank you!”

Yalen raised her head to express her gratitude.

The moment she looked up, she was startled.

The man before her was none other than her second brother, Charlotte.

“Hiss—”

Yalen sucked in a sharp breath.

“Hm?

Does it still hurt?”

Charlotte thought Yalen had gasped because she was in pain and asked with concern.

“It doesn’t hurt.

Not at all.”

Yalen replied hurriedly.

Compared to her eldest brother, the second brother had been less ruthless in the past.

Although he bullied her, he always held back a little.

He never truly tried to destroy her.

Sometimes he would even secretly buy her drawings.

That had been her main source of pocket money back then.

Because of this buying and selling, their relationship had not become as strained as it was with her eldest brother.

However, in front of their eldest brother, Charlotte would become a completely different person.

He would secretly devise schemes behind the scenes.

Things like excluding her from playing football.

Or locking her in the wine cellar.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that only he could have come up with such ideas.

So from the wine cellar incident when she was eight, she had never interacted with him again.

After that, she had shut herself away for many years, as if she had developed a kind of autism.

Even when they met later, they never exchanged a single word.

“You can draw too?”

Charlotte asked with a gentle smile.

His smile was warm, like sunlight, carrying the demeanor of a kind older brother.

But Yalen felt only dread.

Because of the wine cellar incident, the clearest memory she had was the smile on Charlotte’s face as he closed the door with his own hands.

It was exactly the same smile.

“Yes…”

Yalen answered coldly.

She avoided Charlotte’s gaze and responded in a low voice.

She did not want to converse with him any further.

“Is that so…”

“I really envy people like you.”

Charlotte said softly, as if speaking to himself.

“Us?”

Yalen asked in confusion.

“Ah, don’t mind it.”

“I was talking about a deceased friend.”

“That’s all.”

“You reminded me of him.”

Charlotte replied with another smile.

“Only that?”

Yalen had roughly guessed who that friend was.

It was probably “me.”

She wanted to hear his opinion of her from his tone.

But before she could ask further, he interrupted her.

“I’m Charlotte.”

Charlotte raised his hand, intending to shake hers.

Yalen cautiously accepted the hand and shook it lightly twice.

She felt extremely uncomfortable holding his hand.

It felt like grasping a dead fish.

Sticky and cold.

It sent shivers across her body.

Of course, this was only her subjective sensation.

“Lian.”

Yalen said softly.

She still did not dare meet his gaze.

She could not understand what his smile truly meant.

Yalen stacked the notebook Charlotte was holding together with the one in her own hands.

She placed them into the kraft-paper folder.

Charlotte picked up his ball as well.

“Do you want to play football?”

Charlotte asked awkwardly in a low voice.

Silence.

The two fell into an awkward atmosphere.

“Sure.”

Yalen blurted out impulsively.

Back then, she had begged to play football, but they had refused her.

Now, why not?

Besides, she happened not to be wearing an inconvenient skirt today.

Instead, she was dressed in her original hunting outfit.

Black suspender trousers with a loose fit reached down to her calves.

They were paired with a white shirt.

The cuffs and collar were layered with ruffled edges.

At the collar was a sparkling crystal brooch.

A thin chain connected the two sides, making the collar neat yet elegant.

Below the calves were black long boots, seamlessly connecting trousers and shoes.

The trousers were slightly wider than the boots, creating a harmonious look.

She looked just like someone out on a hunt.

………

Yalen had played this kind of ball game back at school.

Because of her physical abilities at the time, she had even been called a “great demon king” by those who played with her.

So she did not need Charlotte to teach her at all.

She handled it with ease.

Her thinking had already reached the level of professional athletes.

Unfortunately, her body could not keep up with her mind.

After prolonged intense movement, the muscles in her calves began to ache intensely.

The pain in her ankle tendons came and went faintly.

But once she exercised for a while, that sensation disappeared.

“I didn’t expect you to be this good.”

Charlotte exclaimed in admiration.

He watched as Yalen dribbled and kicked the ball back and forth.

Each kick sent the ball accurately toward where it should go.

He could not help but feel astonished.

Her ball skills were far better than his.

Only her strength was lacking.

The ball would roll to a stop after traveling only a short distance.

She had to run forward to give it another kick.

But she ran slowly.

Sometimes she even tripped over small stones in the grass.

Yet she would immediately get back up and keep kicking.

Yalen had trained so hard at school entirely because of her brothers.

If they would not take her along, she would play by herself.

Even if she was ignored, she still had her pride.

This was the result of that final effort.

The reason she accepted this invitation was to prove that she was stronger than Charlotte.

So whenever Charlotte spoke to her, she ignored him and focused solely on kicking the ball.

Perhaps this was nothing more than one of Yalen’s obsessions.

However, in Charlotte’s eyes, Yalen looked like a foolish child.

She kept kicking endlessly.

Even when she fell, she got back up.

It looked painful, yet she pretended it was not.

She continued kicking the ball.

As a result, her white shirt became completely dirty.

Finally, Yalen could not kick anymore.

She sat down on a nearby stone bench and lowered her head to rest.

“You…”

Charlotte wanted to say something.

“My clothes are dirty.”

Yalen cut him off coldly.

“It’s fine…

I’ll—”

Charlotte suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

From beneath her lowered head, two streams of tears fell and wet the ground.

Yalen was crying.

She was in pain.

After she finished playing, she realized that aside from soreness and dirt all over her body, she had gained nothing.

What was meant to be a contest with Charlotte ended with him running behind her the entire time, watching her like a child.

In the end, she had gained absolutely nothing.