After those words, the memories ended.
A strange silence appeared between us. I watched how Louiseâs expression changed from astonishment to rage, sadness, and betrayal. Finally, she put on a bitter smile.
"I canât believe it..."
"Well, you saw it. The assassins were clearly aiming towards all of you. Iâm sure you have your methods to confirm if they were truly sent by Alan or not."
"... Not need, I believe you." Louise shook her head sadly. "Itâs just that I never thought that cousin Alan could do something like that. To think that our family has given him our unconditional support and he repays us this way."
"... What do you want to do now?" I asked.
Louise fell silent after hearing my question.
After a few seconds, she finally took a decision.
"I need to tell father. He needs to know what kind of man Alan is."
"Iâm sorry, but I think itâs not a good idea." I smiled wryly and shook my head. "How are you going to explain the assassinsâ deaths?"
Louise was startled. She then looked at me and let out an apologetic sigh. "... I forgot about that."
Louise was a smart girl, so she instantly understood my words. If she tells her father about the assassins, then she would be forced to reveal many other things.
How the assassins died? How did she learn about their origin? Why Claire and Lena donât know anything?
Furthermore, in the current situation, we canât use the excuse that my âmasterâ killed the assassins. After all, the Transcendent (beyond twelfth layer) beside eldest brother did not detect a powerhouse near me. Thus, besides the possibility that my âmasterâ is so strong than a normal Transcendent canât detect him, the only other possibility is that, in fact, it wasnât my âmasterâ who killed the assassins.
Thus, even if Louise doesnât reveal that I killed the assassins, when someone asks Lena or Claire about what happened, the truth will be revealed.
Louise looked at me and grabbed my hand. "Claus, thank you for protecting us before and for showing me the truth. Donât worry, Iâll not speak about it to anyone."
My lips curved slightly up. I stared right into Louiseâs green eyes and chuckled. "Okay. However, I think a deserve a reward."
"... What do you want?" Louise asked with a slight blush.
"This." Without giving Louise time to react, I stole her lips.
Louise opened her eyes wide for an instant, but in the next second, she closed her eyes and accepted my kiss wholeheartedly.
When our lips finally separated, she looked away and blushed.
"... D-Donât get any strange idea. Just now was an exception... This will not happen again."
I chuckled. As I thought, Louise has the potential to be a tsundere.
Hearing my laugh, Louise shot me a displeased look and walked away. I followed after her while keeping a smile.
Meanwhile, I used my consciousness to plant a small seed inside her mind.
This seed is completely harmless, and will not affect Louise in any way. However, it has a very useful function.
With this seed in her mind, if Louise thinks about revealing my secrets then the seed will cause her mild confusion, making her forget briefly about the idea.
After all, even if I want to trust her, after living for so long I learned that even the most loyal people can betray you if there is a good enough reason.
... There is simply no need to risk it.
Unbeknownst to the thoughts in my mind, Louise returned with the girls. I followed a bit behind her.
However, to the surprise of the girls, the doors blocking our path had suddenly opened.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Lena tilted her head doubtfully. "Why did the door open suddenly? We did not do anything..."
I forced a smile. Actually, I already knew the reason. "Forget about it. Letâs instead continue advancing." I said.
"But are you not curious brother?" Lena furrowed her brows. "The door opened without reason... Could it be that we resolved the riddle unintentionally?"
"Let me see..." Louise thought about Lenaâs words and looked at the door. "It says that to open the door, two hearts must be connected... Two hearts must be connected... Two hearts must bâ"
Suddenly, Louise opened her eyes wide.
She then looked at me as though to confirm her thoughts.
I shrugged helplessly and smiled. Seeing that, Louiseâs face turned completely red.
"T-Thinking about it, Claus is right. I-I think itâs better if w-we continue."
"Hm? Did you discover something, cousin?" Lena looked at Louise curiously.
Louise turned even redder than before. "N-Nothing, Claire. Letâs go."
"Mumumumu..." Lenaâs expression turned suspicious. She looked at Louise as though she wanted to see through her thoughts.
At that moment, someone else spoke.
"So it was what happened!" Claire suddenly exclaimed before looking at Louise and me with a teasing smile. "I see, two hearts connected..."
"Did you discover something!?" Lena asked Claire excitedly.
"Iâm sorry Claire, you are too young to know about it..." Claire feigned a mature expression and giggled.
"Hey! Our age is the same! Wait a moment, what are you hiding from me!?"
"Nothing nothing." Claire giggled condescendingly.
"Big bro!"
Iâm sorry, Lena. Big brother canât help you this time.
...
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