"Sister..."
Rachel pressed herself close to me. A warm heat enveloped my body.
As if awakened since her contact with Noelier's fire, Rachel's body was growing hotter day by day.
However, Rachel made a tearful face as if overwhelmed by the forgotten anger.
“It’s too hot.”
“Is it hot?”
"Yes, it looks like fire is about to come out any moment..."
"What?"
Ash Ending Alert Activated!
"Come, come over here! I'll hug you!"
I quickly opened my arms toward Rachel. Then, as if she had been waiting, Rachel clung to my embrace.
As my cold touch reached her, Rachel let out a pleasant sigh and blushed.
Thanks to that, Noelier and I ended up hugging our respective younger siblings.
Zion was dazed and disoriented by the warmth he was feeling for the first time.
"It's warm..."
Watching his face droop in delight, I kept fidgeting with anxiety. I didn't know when his ears might pop out.
Our little mouse, our little cutie, like a ticking time bomb...
“...It’s cute.”
Noelier smiled faintly as she looked at Zion like that.
"Rachel... couldn't be held like this."
"Is it so?"
Was the sibling relationship not good?
However, in the original story, Rachel killed all the wolves to avenge her brother's death...
It was around the time I was reviewing the original work, feeling puzzled.
"I, I like this guy..."
Intoxicated by the heat, Zion muttered, swaying limply as if talking in his sleep.
"Besides, it's my older sister's style..."
....What is our little mouse talking about right now?
You're suddenly revealing my preferences like this?
Noelier also looked at Zion in his arms with a bewildered expression at the sudden remark.
I opened my arms toward Zion with a flustered look on my face.
"Z-Zion, are you sleepy? Do you want to come over to your older sister?"
However, my cute and adorable younger sibling did not stop and continued speaking.
“You’re handsome...”
"Zion talks in his sleep really badly. He's not usually like this..."
"Sister said she likes guys who cry prettily, but what about you, brother...?"
“Wow!”
I reflexively screamed and sprang up while holding Rachel.
Rachel urgently grabbed my arm as my body was suddenly lifted up.
Noelier also looked up at me with his eyes wide open.
"Haha! Zion is talking nonsense today!"
"..."
"Zion. Won't you come over here? Let's talk."
I put Rachel down and pulled Zion closer.
Zion shivered at the warmth that suddenly slipped away.
"No... I want to stay with this older brother."
Zion struggled and tried to pull away from my side.
Where do you think you're going, you little mouse?
I hugged Zion tightly, as if to show him. Zion let out a small groan of cold, but I couldn't let it slide.
Hey man, who told you to carelessly reveal my preferences? Huh?!
Of all things, how could you say my type is men who cry!
It was wrong to giggle and tease Zion whenever he cried, saying, 'I like men who cry.'
'Yes, of course, it was a matter of taste, too.'
But why are you telling me this now? And of all times, right in front of Noelier!
I hugged Zion while letting out a silent scream. I had no face to show them, so I even bowed my head low.
"A man who cries beautifully..."
I heard the dragon siblings muttering softly. It felt even more humiliating to hear them recite that sentence in a serious voice.
I could have gotten away with it if I had just pretended nothing was wrong and said, 'He must be sleep-talking!', but since I had even screamed out of guilt, I couldn't pretend I didn't know.
Just as I was sobbing silently, Zion blinked his eyes and innocently asked back.
"...Wasn't it your type, older sister?"
Someone, please help my younger sibling find a clue...!
***
"Well then, I'll be heading back now."
Noelier, standing in front of the door, turned to look at me and spoke.
I saw him off in a battered state.
Please, please leave quickly... Because I want to die...
The children, unaware of my feelings, looked up at Noelier while clinging tightly to both legs.
He smiled slightly and waved to the children.
“See you next time.”
"..."
"..."
The children buried their faces in my chest with their mouths tightly shut. They had said they didn't like it, but it seemed okay once they actually experienced it.
Zion, in particular, seemed to take quite a liking to him. The corners of his mouth, tightly closed as if full of stubbornness, were curling up slightly.
You sly little mouse. You made a mess of me like this, and you think it’s all okay as long as you’re happy...?
I looked at Zion with a hollow expression.
Right, all of this is my karma. It was my fault for having a man who cries prettily as my ideal type...
I saw him off with a half-dazed look on my face.
"Goodbye..."
I will see you again soon.
Noelier said that and greeted me politely. I waved my hand weakly.
However, he seemed to have something to say. Seeing his slightly hesitant expression, I tilted my head.
“Do you have anything to say?”
"..."
Noelier merely clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly and could not easily answer.
...Are you seriously trying to say that you can't entrust your sibling to someone with this kind of taste?
No, taste is just taste!
I waited for him to speak, feeling extremely nervous.
"I am..."
Noelier trailed off. His red eyes dropped. I followed his gaze down.
"..."
"..."
Zion and Rachel were looking up at us with shining eyes.
This is too burdensome.
Noelier seemed to share the same thought as me. Our eyes met.
He said, shaking his head.
"I will talk about it again later."
“Tsk.”
A faint clicking sound was heard. Thinking it was undoubtedly Zion, I pressed down firmly on Zion's head so as not to hurt him.
“It’s not me!”
I heard a low grumbling voice, but I lightly ignored it.
"See you again."
After bidding farewell to the children as well, he turned and left the forest.
'What was he trying to say?'
I tilted my head and brought the children inside the house.
***
The cold northern wind brushed past his cheek.
Noelier raised his head and looked back at the snow-covered forest. The snow continued to pour down, making it impossible to find footprints.
Left alone, Noelier quietly looked down at his palm.
Because of having only one heart, he had never once properly held another person's hand. This was because he was born without another heart to control.
To him, contact meant death. He unintentionally killed many people. Among them were his own parents.
Noelier also feared his own power. He didn't know when it might run wild and overwhelm him.
But Eve couldn't do that.
No, on the contrary, it calmed this raging heat. In fact, immediately after Eve's hand touched it, there was no adverse reaction even when coming into contact with others.
Is it because of the ice magic she possesses?
That said, there were many who possessed ice magic.
Even the King of the human world, who was said to possess many abilities, could use ice magic, and there were also those among the wolves who possessed ice magic.
However, even an exceptional wizard could not control Noelier's fire. It was said that the ice magic would disappear before anyone could even lay a hand on him.
"..."
Noelier thought of Eve.
Her light silver hair was like snow fallen in the forest. It was transparent yet sparkling, enough to make him instinctively want to touch it and smell its scent.
"...Eve."
He muttered a name that was both familiar and unfamiliar. His heart burned as if it were on fire. Judging by the throbbing sensation, it seemed to be pain.
Noelier recalled Rachel, who had stuck close to Eve's side until the very end.
He had vowed to bring her back no matter what, but now he even felt relieved that he was able to meet Eve.
A small smile formed on Noelier's lips.
If the other dragons had seen it, they would have thought, "The leader is angry!" His smile was that rare.
"..."
At that moment, the laughter stopped abruptly. It was because he himself recognized his own smile.
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