Chapter 19: The Weight of a Sister’s Secret

“Oh, really?” Leila chuckled, a hint of excitement in her voice, as she stared intently into Ira’s violet eyes in the mirror.

Leila’s face drew closer to Ira’s ear, her hand still combing Ira’s hair. Her crimson lips parted and closed, speaking in a teasing whisper.

“So, my dear sister, what power did you use last night?”

“I… this…”

‘Didn’t that old hag return to the Abyss last night? How could she possibly know about my transformation?’

‘Did she never leave?’

‘Impossible. I watched Leila with my own eyes as she returned to the Abyss through the rift.’

Ira felt a deep sense of shame that her secret had been discovered, especially by Leila. Just yesterday morning, she had firmly vowed not to use the Dark Princess’s power, yet by nightfall, she had transformed, contradicting her own words.

The boomerang of karma had returned with startling speed.

Although she had been forced to use the power to protect her sister, this did not prevent Ira from feeling instinctively awkward in Leila’s presence.

Leila, hearing Ira’s thoughts, bloomed into a smile, her lips curving upwards in involuntary delight.

“Could it be that little Ira has forgotten? This very body of yours was reshaped by your sister using the same source of black mud. As black mud of the same origin, we can merge into one. So, every single movement of your body, your sister here knows like the back of her hand.”

With that, Leila’s hand unconsciously delved into Ira’s disheveled collar, her slender fingers tracing along Ira’s jade-like skin.

The sharp nails didn’t hurt, but they made Ira’s body instinctively tingle with an unsettling itch.

“However, remember not to use the Dark Princess’s power today. Although the seed I left for you lasts twelve hours, you still need time to adapt to your body. Otherwise, there’s a risk of being corrupted by the black mud.”

“Little Mona is a very promising Magical Girl, and your sister, I, certainly wouldn’t want such an excellent student to lose her good brother, now would I?”

As Leila mentioned Mona, Ira abruptly snapped out of her shame. She forcefully slapped away Leila’s hand, which had been exploring lower and lower.

The horrific image of Mona being chased by the Spider Cadaver Beast instantly flooded her mind. If Dumpling had flown over just a few seconds later, all Ira would have seen was her sister already transformed into a Cadaver Beast.

Just imagining that scene made Ira’s soul tremble.

Mona was Ira’s only family in this world. If Mona were to die due to the black mud because of her, and Ira had to witness her become the very Cadaver Beast Mona abhorred, she might despair and succumb to darkness, transforming into the Dark Princess herself, thus fulfilling Leila’s desire for her to proactively become the Dark Princess.

‘Hah, that truly fits her insidious and cunning nature.’

‘I almost fell for her deception again.’

‘I really shouldn’t have naively believed that old hag would keep her promise. It’s all because of this modified body, which makes me subconsciously trust Leila’s words.’

‘Not a single word from this woman’s mouth can be trusted!’

Turning her head, Ira looked directly into Leila’s smiling face and, enraged, laughed mockingly.

“Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?” Ira scoffed, a wry twist to her lips. “Didn’t you break our agreement first by sending Cadaver Beasts to attack little Mona?”

“Are you trying to play the good person now, my dear sister?”

Leila froze, her mischievous smile stiffening as she heard Ira’s thoughts and words.

She lowered her head, her long black hair and the long dress she wore fluttering without a breeze.

“Oh dear, my sister’s words wound me so deeply,” Leila said, raising her face. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she covered her mouth with one hand, a half-smile playing on her lips.

But the very next second, she opened her eyes fully, her gaze cold yet familiar as it fixed on Ira.

Yaya climbed out of the pool, then silently jumped away.

‘This gaze…’

Ira felt suffocated by an invisible aura. It was as if she had been transported back ten years, to the first time she, as Magical Girl: White Rose, had met the Dark Demon Princess Leila.

Even then, Leila had looked at her with such eyes.

Perhaps it was due to the influence of her modified body and her current understanding, or perhaps Ira had subconsciously forgotten that the woman before her was the Dark Demon Princess, who had effortlessly defeated her and whose mere emergence from the Abyss was enough to devastate an entire continent!

If she were to provoke Leila, not only would Ira herself be immediately brainwashed by the black mud once more and become her toy, but everyone else in this small town, including her sister, would also incur Leila’s wrath.

Yet, even knowing this, Ira had no intention of bowing to Leila. Their violet eyes met, sparks seemingly flashing between them.

She was Magical Girl: White Rose. Even with a weakness in Leila’s hands, she would not allow herself to be toyed with.

One pair of eyes held coldness mixed with sorrow, the other, hatred tinged with confusion.

‘Leila… cried?’

As she watched, perhaps because her body shared the same origin as Leila’s, if Leila could sense Ira’s changes, then Ira too could perceive something in the haze.

Deep within those hollow, violet eyes, like a vast starry sky, was a single tear, shimmering like a distant star.

Ira suddenly felt uneasy, even guilty. It was like a child who had misspoken in front of an elder, unconsciously averting her gaze, too ashamed to meet Leila’s eyes.

‘Come to think of it, if Leila truly wanted to do such a thing, why would she only send a three-star Spider Cadaver Beast?’

‘It must be because of the modified body!’

‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘Leila must have given me some kind of suggestion or hypnosis again.’

‘How could I…’ Ira tried to convince herself with this excuse, and just as she looked up to meet Leila’s gaze once more, Leila unexpectedly retracted the oppressive aura she had placed on Ira.

Leila smiled faintly as she approached Ira, then slowly opened her arms and embraced the stunned girl, resting her face on Ira’s shoulder as she whispered softly.

“My dear sister, I will never lie to you.”

Ira froze.

Her eyes shifted from resentment to confusion, and now, they were filled with utter bewilderment.

‘Could it be that I truly wronged Leila?’

As this thought crossed her mind, Ira’s body unconsciously opened, wanting to lean against Leila’s back and return the embrace.

Just then, she felt a lightness on her body. Leila had suddenly vanished from Ira’s arms.

‘Eh?’

‘Did Leila just use instant transmission to leave?’

Her empty hands hung in the air. Ira turned to the mirror in a daze; her half-combed hair looked odd, both messy and neat. Ira picked up the comb Leila had left on the chair, blinking her eyes, feeling as if something was missing.

“Ira, let your sister comb your hair for the rest of your life from now on.”

“Huh, why is it that I have to do all the housework, but sister insists on doing this one thing for me?”

In her memories, Leila had never once left halfway through combing her hair. This was a first.

“Teacher Bele, Sister Ira, aren’t you two coming down for dinner yet?”

Mona walked upstairs, eating her rice as she went, intending to call them down for dinner.

But on the chair in the washroom, only Ira sat, staring blankly at the comb.

Mona walked over and sat beside Ira, looking curiously at the comb in her hand.

“Hey, isn’t this the comb my brother gave me?”

‘The comb I gave to little Mona? Did I?’

Ira tilted her head, trying to recall, a hint of confusion in her expression.

Ira didn’t remember things from too long ago very clearly; her brain had once been a sticky mess from the black mud, her memories almost completely burned away.

Aside from her combat experiences as Magical Girl: White Rose and the five years as the Blood Demon Princess, she didn’t remember much of her ordinary life as Moyue.

This was also why, even after her body had completely transformed into a girl, Ira was so accustomed to it.

“Mm-hmm.” Mona naturally took the comb from Ira’s hand and spoke, a reminiscent tone in her voice. “This was the comb my brother used the very first time he ever combed my hair.”

“He always had a cold expression every day, but he would always confidently take the comb. Oh, and my brother’s hair-combing skills were just as terrible as yours, Sister Ira, yet he was always so enthusiastic about doing it for me. You two truly are a match made in heaven.”

‘I was enthusiastic about combing little Mona’s hair? Was there such a thing?’

“I asked my brother back then why he always loved to comb my hair, Sister Ira. Guess what he said?”

Mona was lost in her fond memories of the past. Ira didn’t want to interrupt her, instead just gazing at the comb, recalling how she had once asked Leila the same question Mona had.

‘How did Leila answer back then?’

“Because I’m your only brother, of course I have to comb my sister’s hair.”

‘Because I’m your only sister, of course I have to comb my sister’s hair.’

Ira sat silently on the small sofa.