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Join the Server“I want to be with you, Sister, forever.”
Hilvyn’s voice was soft, laced with a faint tremor. “I truly, truly like you.”
When Elara heard those words once more, her pupils constricted. The emotions surging within her heart were starkly different from before.
She knew that her stubborn thoughts had just wounded Hilvyn again. Hilvyn, however, would never blame anyone; she would silently shoulder the fault herself.
Yet, Hilvyn was not wrong. The error lay within Elara’s own conflicted soul.
Elara’s throat worked, the words she wanted to speak rising to her lips only to be swallowed back down. She finally spoke in a strange, awkward tone:
“When did you… begin to like me?”
“How about you guess, Sister?”
“I don’t want to guess…”
“Just guess, please.”
Unable to resist Hilvyn, Elara simply pulled out a random memory.
“Was it during the Hyena Squad incident?”
“No, it was even earlier.”
“When I gave you the pendant?”
“Not then either.”
“I’m not guessing anymore.”
“Aw, why not~” Hilvyn pouted slightly, her tone a little resentful. Then, she continued with a hint of shyness:
“Actually, it was when you, Sister, were outside the cage, saying you wanted to buy me.”
Elara’s breath hitched abruptly, and her fingers unconsciously clenched.
“Did you know what ‘like’ meant back then?”
“No,” Hilvyn admitted candidly. “But when I saw that Sister’s face, I just thought it was so beautiful. I wanted to be with her.”
“So I kept praying, praying that she would buy me. That fat man said I had a terminal illness, and I was especially sad because all those people before had given up on me when they heard about it. But she still decided to buy me, even after hearing I had a terminal illness.”
“Huh.” She suddenly called out softly.
“Sister.”
Hilvyn twirled a strand of Elara’s hair around her fingertip, then gently let it go.
“Do you know about love at first sight?”
“…I do.”
“The first moment I saw your face, Sister, I fell in love.”
Her voice was very soft, yet her tone was exceptionally firm.
“At first, I didn’t understand this feeling. I just wanted to be with you every day. Later, I gradually realized that this was indeed liking, but not the liking of a family member—it was the liking of a lover.”
Hilvyn quietly clenched her hand, the words on the tip of her tongue considered repeatedly. Finally, she mustered her courage.
“Perhaps, Sister, you see me as a younger sister… Is it strange for a girl to like another girl?”
She lowered her gaze, her voice trembling:
“Sister… tell me… am I a freak?”
Ultimately, she spoke words against her true feelings, not mentioning Elara’s hesitation or avoidance. Instead, she silently accused this world, dominated by heterosexual love, with a hint of resentment.
Hilvyn’s mind involuntarily recalled a day when she tentatively asked this question, and Aunt Martha had stated that same-s*x relationships were not accepted.
She was convinced that Elara harbored similar feelings for her, but due to the worldly conventions of this era, Elara had to suppress her own thoughts.
“No, you’re not.” Elara gritted her teeth. “You’re not…”
She then turned to face Hilvyn, enunciating each word: “If you are a freak—”
Elara noticed the lingering tear stains at Hilvyn’s eyes, and her heart ached, chastising herself once more.
“Then so am I… a freak.”
The two words, “a freak,” fell, and tears shimmered in Hilvyn’s suddenly constricted blue eyes. She gasped, still somewhat in disbelief.
*Also… a freak.*
Days of patient endurance, along with all the pain she had just suffered, transformed entirely into tears of joy at Elara’s ‘unconventional’ confession.
The beautiful silhouette of the black-haired, brown-eyed girl before her, illuminated by the moonlight, grew increasingly blurred in her vision. Tears broke through her eyelids, flowing silently down her cheeks.
“I knew it…”
Hilvyn finally sobbed aloud, yet it was not from sorrow.
Elara found that as she uttered those words, her heart inexplicably lightened, as if a thought long suppressed had finally been released.
Perhaps, just as Hilvyn initially didn’t understand the nature of her own feelings, Elara too was unclear about hers, and had been constantly trying to convince herself.
She had tried to convince herself that her feelings for Hilvyn were familial, never once questioning if this was truly correct.
Until this very moment, when the person before her wept tears of joy from the confirmation of this feeling, Elara felt no desire to correct this ‘proper emotion.’ Instead, she shared in the happiness.
Elara cupped the crying girl’s face, gently wiping away her tears with her fingers.
“Don’t cry anymore.”
“I… I’m just… too happy.”
Hilvyn struggled to control her emotions and tears, but it was futile. The tears flowed like a breached dam, unstoppable and uncontainable.
Elara’s arm lifted and fell, lifted and fell, before she finally yielded to her heart’s desire, pulling Hilvyn into her embrace. Just like before, she gently stroked Hilvyn’s back and head.
“Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling—”
The wind chimes outside the window were lifted by the breeze, then gently settled, releasing a medley of sounds that masked the soft cries from within her arms.
After a long while, perhaps from crying herself out or finally calming down, the sounds gradually ceased. Yet, her shoulders still hitched with quiet sobs.
“Sister.”
Hilvyn’s breaths brushed against Elara’s chest, warm and steady.
“Mhm.”
“You… you agreed, right?”
Elara was momentarily stunned, then found herself laughing silently, exasperated. She had expressed her feelings, yet Hilvyn still suspected it was a benevolent lie woven merely to placate her.
*Then I’ll say it again. What can I do when I spoil her so much?*
Elara gently pushed Hilvyn away, holding her shoulders, her expression earnest.
“…”
The two gazed into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, the only sound in the air coming from the wind chimes.
The words Elara had just formulated refused to leave her lips.
*Why does this feel so embarrassing…*
Her ears and cheeks flushed crimson, her eyelashes fluttering wildly in the moonlight.
She had never made such a solemn confession before. How was she supposed to say it? Why couldn’t she speak? She needed an answer, and fast.
Then, meeting Hilvyn’s beautiful, tear-filled eyes, the words in her throat became even more choked.
“Let’s sleep.”
*Elara, Elara, you’re such a waste! Why are you still being shy at a time like this?*
She berated herself inwardly. At such a crucial moment, instead of saying something useful to reassure Hilvyn, she had blurted out, “Let’s sleep.”
“Sister, you had something to say, didn’t you?”
“Uh… yes.”
“Sister, you… you agreed?”
“Yes.”
Elara truly wanted to slap herself. Even without experience, her intuition told her that a simple “yes” was far from enough right now.
*Say something, quickly, say something!*
“Hilvyn!”
“Sister!”
They spoke in unison, looking at each other.
“You first!” ×2
“Stop, I’ll go first,” Elara broke the cycle.
“I… like you,” she said. Perhaps feeling it was a bit too plain, she added, “This time, it’s different from before.”
Hilvyn wasn’t surprised; this was within her expectations. However, hearing it with her own ears still brought her immense peace of mind.
“Then what I want to say next should be even more audacious.”
“Audacious?”
Hilvyn moved swiftly, tilting her face slightly, and leaned directly towards her.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read The Moon Reflected In The Water! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : The Moon Reflected In The Water
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