296. Siblings Ep – Immunity

– “If you knew, just go away. I don’t want to see your face. And from now on, don’t call my name. Don’t use casual speech either.”

– “Rena! Watch out!”

Thud. As I was pushed away, blood splattered. The fallen princess cried out, “Oh, brother, save me,” as she crawled on the ground, looking back.

What caught my eye was a bull-headed monster wielding an axe, knights blocking its path, and instead of me, someone had taken the axe hit…

“T-Tian! …Huh?”

As I reached out and stood up, the blood-soaked palace was gone, replaced by a dreary storage room.

Leriana blinked and lowered the arm she had raised.

‘What is this?’

The once vivid dream ebbed away like a wave.

Next to my cramped bedding lay an empty pillow.

My brother must have already gotten up and gone to clean.

Stretching, I searched for the wash water as usual. But soon realized, ‘Huh? What wash water?’ and got up, shaking off my bedding.

For some reason, folding the blanket felt bothersome, but I wasn’t foolish enough to confuse dreams with reality. I folded the blanket neatly and pushed it into the corner before adjusting my clothes.

Wearing only shabby pants and a top, I didn’t have much to tidy up, yet I neatly tucked part of my shirt into my pants, unlike usual.

Done. Now I should head out to work.

Leriana quietly stepped out of the storage room. I didn’t know the way well, but I thought I might find my brother where I’d cleaned yesterday. However, just a few steps out, I saw him sprinting towards me.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Uh? Did you come running thinking I woke up?”

Of course. {Tracking Skill} pinpointed the person Lean had in mind, and he usually thought of nothing but his sister.

“No. I thought it was about time I should wake you up, and look at that, my little sister got up first.”

“Hehe. I went to bed early.”

“…Alright. Let’s go have lunch.”

Despite skipping breakfast by falling asleep right after dinner last night, my sister didn’t seem very hungry.

Living on barely anything had become a habit.

Arriving at the dining room, Lean generously served bread and soup on the tray, but compassionately, Leriana seemed to think this was her only chance and began shoveling food into her mouth.

Lean felt he had given too much and ended up taking some of her food back.

At that moment,

“Brother, I had a dream.”

– “Brother, I had a dream.”

Thud. My heart dropped.

My sister, who had collapsed after drinking contaminated water, had said something similar.

I remembered the past flashback of holding her burning forehead and her cold hands while she weakly struggled. Lean knew that wasn’t the case, yet he checked his sister’s forehead, worrying about what sort of dream she might have had, licking his dry lips.

[ Achievement: Twenty Photos – Rena occasionally weakly remembers the past in her dreams. ]

‘Twenty Photos’. This bizarre achievement was to blame.

Thanks to this achievement, the Renes recalled parts of the previous rounds, but the effects varied.

Lerina from the childhood friend scenario.

It had a positive effect on Lea.

She, being perceptive, noticed much just from dreams and understood Reb’s plight, figuring out what she needed to do and her role.

Lerina from the engagement scenario.

Rela Ainar wasn’t affected at all.

Once she decided to sleep, she fell asleep immediately, seemingly not having dreams.

For Rela, sleep was merely a means to recover stamina.

On the other hand, Lerina from the Beggar Siblings scenario… had a negative effect on my sister.

Having spent half her life sleeping, my sister saw the world through dreams and learned.

For her, dreams were reality, and the miserable reality felt more like a dream, yet the issue was Leriana accepting that completely.

No, the real problem was that the Beggar Siblings scenario always ended in a horrific manner.

There couldn’t possibly be anything wrong with our lovely sister. It was my fault for not making her happy.

Lean asked, “What dream?” in a somewhat troubled tone. Leriana chewed and, with her cheeks stuffed, spoke after a while.

“Don’t tease me. I dreamt I became a princess. You were a prince. But in the end…”

“…?”

When she mentioned a bull-headed monster appeared and someone named Tian died in my place, it sounded just like the last Beggar Siblings round.

However, Leriana’s demeanor while speaking didn’t seem to regard it as important. If my memory served right, the sister who had a dream had changed her personality almost completely…?

Could it be because of {Immunity}?

[ I know the true name of the beggar sister Rena. She is granted {Immunity}. ]

As the Guardian Quest was unlocked, the Renes were granted unique traits. With an illustration emerging, Lea received {Holy}, Rela got {Mana Body}, and Leriana got {Immunity}.

{Holy} and {Mana Body} had intuitive names, so their effects could be roughly guessed.

Abilities befitting Lea, who wanted to be a priest, and Rela, who wanted to be a knight.

But I had no clue what sort of ability my sister received with {Immunity}. It wonders what she could be immune to…

Thinking back to when she died from drinking contaminated water, it might mean she was immune to poison? I speculated, yet it seemed that this {Immunity} was likely used in a much broader sense.

Perhaps it meant maintaining homeostasis both physically and mentally, giving her immunity to ‘all status ailments’.

If it were modern-day Minseo, who frequently played games, he would have yelled, “Wow! This is totally OP! They should’ve given it to Leo instead!” Status immunity boasted absurd effectiveness whether in the early or late game.

Essentially, a game-ending item, or a cheat code given to someone who had exhausted the game’s content and had nothing left to do, but Lean wouldn’t know that; he simply thought, ‘Thank goodness.’

Having finished the meal, Lean turned his sister back from leaving to clean.

“Leriana. You don’t have to clean anymore. I’ve talked to them. From now on, you can study and play with other kids your age who are here.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s good to study and make friends? Just listen to me. It’ll be fun.”

“Okay. Then you should also play and study with me.”

Lean chuckled, pinching his sister’s cheek humorously.

“How could you put your sky-like brother and yourself on the same level? No way.”

“Ugh! Why do you keep pinching my cheeks these days!”

Even with immunity to all status ailments, teasing still worked, huh? Haha. Leriana puffed her cheeks, huffing, while Lean successfully shifted the conversation and headed to find Oberg.

He greeted the teacher who taught the kids introduced by Oberg (“Oh? It’s the kid who was cleaning!”) and finally felt relieved after placing his sister among the noisy children of the Rauno Family.

It felt like he had finally provided a space for his sister to grow up healthily.

Leriana sat shyly beside the somewhat familiar Santian Rauno, and Lean turned to say, “Then study hard,” before walking away. He returned to the corridor and continued cleaning, which had started at dawn.

Calmly sweeping.

It was indeed a menial task unworthy of a prince.

But if it meant his sister could spend even a moment longer with her friends, it wasn’t pointless. Sunlight sparkled behind the sweeping prince.

*

For a while thereafter, nothing noteworthy happened.

This was normal.

Lean de Yeriel silently cleaned the Rauno Family mansion, and Leriana spent joyful days with her peers. At night, she lay down in the shabby storage room, chattering to her brother about the day’s events.

Lean was happy.

It was nice to see his sister, who usually didn’t talk much, opening up. “Today we studied history, and there was someone named Banun Raono from long ago.” Sharing silly bits of knowledge with her brother made the long day feel less tedious.

Additionally, Lean occasionally visited Ksenia.

He enjoyed her performances as the lead actress at the Arille Theater and shared meals with her.

Since she knew her boyfriend was short on money, Ksenia suggested they eat at her mansion to spare him any embarrassment.

Lean preferred it that way.

In a home setting, they could whisper and share deeper moments together. Ksenia often asked him to come by more.

“Why?”

“Why are you asking when you already know? Just teasing.”

Ksenia’s face turned slightly red, and Lean decided to spend a bit more time at her house.

Of course, he couldn’t help but feel awkward about Katrina’s incredulous expression every time…

Then one day, Ksenia said,

“Hey, do you want to go to an exhibition next time?”

“What kind of exhibition?”

Lean gently tugged at Ksenia’s hair and took in her scent.

Ksenia had her chin resting on Lean’s shoulder.

“Do you know Ellen? It’s his exhibition. He has a day open for commoners like us, so I’ve got a ticket.”

“Hahaha.”

“…Why are you laughing? Did I say something wrong?”

“No. Just ticklish. I’m fine with it. When’s the date?”

“Um… Sorry. It’s tomorrow. I should have told you earlier, but it was tough to get one… Do you have time?”

Lean barely restrained a chuckle.

No matter how popular Ellen was as an artist, it was unlikely that a noble like her would have trouble acquiring a ticket.

He found her adorable for that.

“Even if time is tight, I should make room. If it’s your request.”

Ksenia smiled brightly.

“…Just know it’s in two days. The first day is for his old works, and the second day is… Ugh.”

The next day, Lean and Ksenia were at the Arille Theater.

It was a large-scale exhibition planned to the extent of renting the entire theater. Naturally, the dates were generously set for the week. Ksenia cheerfully exclaimed, “Oh, I misunderstood!”

Lean strolled around admiring the paintings with her, some of which he already recognized, notably:

“This is Katrina.”

A painting of Katrina.

In the picture, she wore a beautiful dress and had a slightly bulging belly.

Her sunset-like red hair flowed long, softly enveloping her plump belly. Katrina’s smile was dazzlingly bright.

And next to it was a portrait of Ellen’s mother.

Clearly, Ellen knew what his wife, a knight, hoped for. Lean sighed and turned away,

“Whoa!”

“Ah!”

Both Lean and Ksenia screamed simultaneously.

Joseph Rauno, the boss of the Rauno Family, was staring intently at Lean. Ksenia was startled for a different reason.

“Hey, Lean. Let’s step this way for a moment…”

Edlyn Peter.

Her mother strode confidently into the exhibition hall. Ksenia hurriedly tugged on Lean.

‘Please wait a moment.’

Cruelly, Katrina had spilled the beans. Her daughter was making a scene bringing a beggar along.

Naturally, Edlyn came right away to confront her daughter, “I know you want to live your life your way, but this is going a bit too far!” Ksenia received a harsh scolding. She tried to defend Lean.

“He’s a good person. He’s a wonderful man.”

“You’re a noble! A commoner? Fine. If you like him. But a beggar? It’s obvious what his purpose is in approaching you! If your father finds out…”

“Mother, please. Don’t tell father.”

“How can I not tell your father about this! If he hears you’re associating with a beggar, he’ll have a heart attack. Or he’ll kill that guy.”

“Please, mother. I really like him. Honestly, you used to feel the same way. Father was a bastard son of Baron Monarch, right? You too…”

“A bastard and a beggar are the same? And your father became the successor. He loved me passionately, and he still does! So bring that man in front of me. Right now!”

“Mom… He doesn’t even know I’m a noble. He’s not using me.”

“Hah! If he finds out you’re a noble, he’ll run away in fear.”

“That’s not who he is! How many times do I have to say it!”

“Then bring him in!!”

The two women screamed until their voices went hoarse.

Ksenia broke down in tears, while Edlyn threatened she would never allow this. Ksenia was becoming increasingly frustrated.

She shouldn’t have relied on her mother from the start.

She should have left this Orville from the beginning, but yes, she should leave with this person even now. Just as she steeled her resolve.

The reason they ended up being intimate earlier than planned had to do with this.

She thought how nice it would be if a baby came along.

The theater wouldn’t be open for a while due to Ellen’s exhibition.

Ksenia pulled Lean away to escape Edlyn’s sight. In their rush, she collided with a spectator.

“Sorry.”

“…It’s okay.”

He was a knight.

Lean wondered why this person was here? He glanced briefly but was quickly pulled outside by Ksenia.

“Ksenia, what’s going on?”

“…”

Ksenia looked back silently. After confirming her mother wasn’t pursuing, she asked.

“You love me, right?”

“Of course.”

“Honestly, answer me. You’re not using me, are you? If that’s the case, take this and… leave.”

– Clink.

A pouch stuffed with gold coins was held in Lean’s hand.

Gold coins.

Lean couldn’t help but frown. Although he hadn’t even replied, that was enough for Ksenia to have her certainty.

This person isn’t interested in money.

“I’m sorry, but please tell me why you’re acting like this first. What did I do wrong to you?”

“Yes. You did something wrong. You definitely did. You are a really bad person. Marry me. Let’s marry and live far… far away.”

Ksenia beamed. Since he was the type to usually agree to her requests, she believed he would accept without a doubt.

“Marriage is fine. But I can’t leave.”

Her lover clasped their hands firmly and asked back.

With blue-tinted blonde hair and golden eyes, he inquired closely.

“What’s going on? Please tell me. If it’s for you, if I can marry you, I can solve it, no matter what it is.”

In that moment, Ksenia felt something enormous in his eyes.

The princely or even imperial aura radiated from the beggar boy, providing her with firm reassurance. Ksenia cautiously spoke the truth.

“My mother wants to meet you. But you can’t be surprised. Actually, I’m…”

“Ksenia!”

That was when Edlyn Peter burst out of the theater. Only then did Lean realize the reason and smiled broadly.

Was it surprising?

Unsettled yet confessing Ksenia was incredibly adorable, Lean embraced her waist.