Chapter 39 : Little Tricks from My Yandere Sister

Hall was taken aback by Lorraine’s words.

His first instinct was to refuse.
No matter how he thought about it, “Come to my room tonight” was far too dangerous a proposition.

But Lov was standing right there, and Lorraine was looking at him with such expectant eyes.

Finding a way to turn her down became the real problem.

Hall thought for a moment.

Judging by the timeline, Lorraine’s route hadn’t officially started yet.
According to his calculations, until he had slept with Lorraine—or with any other heroine—his chance of getting “stabbed” was basically zero.

So maybe it was fine to humor her for now.

At least it would keep other strange branches from triggering.

“We’ll see when the time comes. For now, let’s eat.”

He hadn’t completely agreed, but Lorraine still showed a happy smile.
Just looking at that face could make anyone feel healed.

But Hall remembered a certain scene in the game—Lorraine’s cheeks splattered with blood right after his death.

That woke him up immediately.

Tonight’s dinner was, for the first time in a while, held in the Faxtius family’s main hall.

The hall was enormous.
In Hall’s memory, ever since his mother died, it had only been used for hosting banquets with friends and relatives.

But since Admiral Faxtius was rarely home, even banquets were usually just a New Year tradition, when Himan’s family would be invited over.

After his eldest sister left, the hall had been used even less.

Today, since Lorraine had returned, Lov suggested it was a rare opportunity.
The servants had just cleaned the hall recently, and before the Admiral returned at the end of the year, it would be cleaned again anyway—so why not let Hall and Lorraine enjoy a candlelit dinner there?

Lorraine was delighted.

Hall felt it was unnecessarily extravagant, but since Lov had already made the arrangements, he had no reason to refuse.

As for Lov’s motives, they were, of course, to please Lorraine.

Lov understood the situation clearly.
Lorraine and Himan—or Christine—were different.

Lorraine was Hall’s sister.
Even if Lorraine liked him, that relationship would only ever go as far as sibling affection.

And breaking that bond between them? Lov didn’t think that was even possible.

In Lov’s eyes, Hall’s feelings toward Lorraine were purely brotherly, nothing more.

Ever since they were children, Hall had been a good older brother, but he had never clung to her.
He’d bring her tasty treats from time to time, but he wouldn’t grant her every request.

Between Hall and the young lady, there was a subtle line—drawn by Hall himself.

Lov believed that line still existed.

That was why she felt secure.
No matter how much Lorraine liked him, Hall would never treat her like a lover.

With that as a premise, Lov could go all out in pleasing Lorraine, both for personal and practical reasons.

“By the way, Brother, I heard the Saintess candidate Christine came to see you?”

Halfway through the meal, Lorraine—cutting into a slice of strawberry milk cake with her fork and knife—brought up the topic.

Hall nodded without denial.
“She came to see me once, a while back.”

“What for?”

“She’s going to compete in the Saintess election at the end of next year. Our Faxtius family is one of the most prestigious in Saint Louis. Maybe her Cardinal, Rohn, instructed her to strengthen ties with us.”

He spoke casually.

After all, it was unlikely that anyone else in the world knew what had really happened that day.

Christine would keep the secret, and so would he.

So the public explanation was entirely up to him to decide.

Besides, among the seven Cardinals, Rohn was one of the few with no real background.

He wasn’t even from the Papal State.
In the game’s plot, Rohn had indeed sought secret alliances with several major families in Saint Louis, promising to redistribute benefits and power once he became Pope.

“Oh… I heard Cardinal Rohn is a scary person. You should be careful, Brother.”

Lorraine spoke while taking another bite of cake.

Hall nodded again.
Rohn was indeed dangerous—every Cardinal was.

In some of Christine’s routes, he would even sacrifice Christine herself, despite how valuable she was to him.

But that was late in the story.
Within the next year, Hall was unlikely to cross paths with him at all.

Still, Lorraine’s words made Hall realize something: whether or not Christine knew about his mana-replenishing ability, her choosing to meet him in private would definitely be reported to Rohn.

He was just about to recall more of the game’s plot and think ahead to prevent future dangers—

When he suddenly felt something soft creeping onto his thigh.

Looking down, he saw that Lorraine had somehow shifted her sitting position.

She had been seated normally at his side, but now she sat sideways, her legs draped across him—her feet, clad in white cherry-patterned ankle socks, resting on his lap.

“Brother, my feet are so cold…”

Her soft murmur lingered in the silence, blending with the candlelit atmosphere.

Lov was not in the hall at the moment—the busy maid had many chores after serving the meal.

Only the two siblings remained.

The moment Hall met Lorraine’s gaze, he felt a strange daze come over him.

And for some reason, he suddenly felt a bit tired.

“Can I put my feet somewhere warm, Brother~?”

Her smile was pure and angelic, but her small feet crept slowly along his thigh like tiny caterpillars, as if searching for a gap in his clothing to slip into.

It was the kind of request few could refuse.

And in Lorraine’s mind, no one would refuse.

Because she had used a little trick—

The Succubus Feather.

The Succubus Feather was the same type of item as the Succubus Blood that Leticia had once wanted to buy.

Its effect was weaker, but it was far easier to obtain—and the Seminary’s laboratories often kept some in stock.

According to Church doctrine, succubi were the descendants of fallen angels from ancient times.

Their black-and-red bloodline was considered completely corrupt, but priests believed their feathers might still be purified and restored to holiness.

That was how Lorraine had gotten one.
Using the feather as a base, she added special magical ingredients to make a potion.

Since it wasn’t as potent as Succubus Blood, she could only apply it to her eyelashes and pupils.

While Hall had been thinking about Rohn earlier, she had pretended to have trouble with her eyes, dropping the potion onto her lashes and into her eyes.

The opportunity was too good to pass up, and seeing Hall hesitate, Lorraine had no intention of waiting until they went to her room to “see her painting.”

Now, she possessed an allure far beyond her years.

Seeing her brother’s dazed expression and slightly heavier breathing, she knew her plan had worked.

Her courage grew.
She wanted to press her foot against Hall’s crotch and lean into his chest.

She had been looking forward to this day for quite some time.

Ever since she had learned about men and women, she had been holding back.

Before, she had hesitated because they were siblings.

But what gave her the resolve this time—

Was the fact that she had recently discovered a certain secret of the Faxtius family.

‘If that’s the case, then how could I let another woman take my brother away?
The only one who gets to taste this forbidden fruit with him… is me.’

Outside, the rain poured down in torrents.

The girl’s slender shadow bent over him, illuminated by the flash of lightning on the wall.