Chapter 52: Lost Switch (2)

The next day, Minon couldn’t meet Yukomis.

She had suddenly become ill and refused all interviews, disappearing like a ghost within the mansion.

It wasn’t entirely unfounded that she was sick.

She had also heard that Minon’s younger sibling had saved her life when she was ‘seriously ill,’
and from the beginning, the nominal reason for her staying at the mansion was for long-term recuperation.

“I’m sorry. Baron Minon. You came a long way…”

Parnen, who was conveying that fact to Minon, seemed to be sincerely sorry, not just saying it.

“Bu, but my sibling…”

“Baron. Your sibling is now… in a place that is a bit far away.”

“Yes?”

“I promise. When the Lady’s condition improves… you will meet again soon.”

“In the meantime, the Baron will be staying here as an honored guest.”

Minon was anxious, but she had no choice but to reluctantly accept those words.

On the other hand, Parnen was trying to speak softly, but she was actually as anxious as Minon.

Early in the morning.

She had gone to check on the Lady’s cough as usual, but she was faced with an empty bedroom.

It had never happened recently, but it wasn’t difficult for Parnen to guess where she was. There was a place that immediately came to mind.

The detached palace.

She had hurriedly gone to the detached palace with Aisha, and she felt dizzy when she saw the state of the place.

The entrance to the detached palace was smashed.

‘Did the master finally open the door?’

Aisha, who was standing beside her, said with a slightly hopeful voice when she saw that.

‘No… Aisha.’

But Parnen could see the flow of magic power that Aisha couldn’t see.

Not only the entrance to the detached palace, but also the magical barriers surrounding all the windows of the two-story detached palace building.

‘It’s a barrier to prevent the approach of a magician…’

The size of this detached palace, located in a remote place, was much larger than the mansion where Minon was staying.

The detached palace, with barriers surrounding each of the dozens of windows, was so paranoid that you could feel it just by looking at it.

Since each one was a small and weak barrier, a skilled magician could easily destroy it, but unfortunately, Yukomis was the only magician in this mansion with that much skill right now.

So it goes without saying who she wanted to prevent from approaching.

Minon, maybe herself, Thermis… no, Signa.

A person who was not a magician but carried magic power within their body.

‘Ah. Head Maid. Are you okay?’

Aisha hurriedly supported Parnen, who had staggered for a moment.

‘I’m sorry. But this is…’

She should have taken good care of her, who had become silent after the meeting with Minon.

She should have noticed that something was wrong…

‘Aisha.’

‘Yes. Head Maid.’

‘Go call Karat.’

And she would first buy time with Minon and prevent anyone from approaching the detached palace…

Ah. What should I do?

‘And… since it has become like this, I think you will have to talk to the master instead of me.’

Parnen, whom Aisha looked at, looked more complicated than ever.

Last night, when Yukomis had finally broken the door and entered, Signa thought that Yukomis had finally come to her senses. But when she looked up at her, Signa immediately realized that none of what she had planned had worked properly.

Convulsing lips, haggard eyes, lost focus.

Signa knew very well that was what she looked like when she was mentally at her limit.

Above all, in one hand that didn’t hold a staff, she was holding a shackle with a chain and a leash that she didn’t even know where it came from.

“…Why… ugh?”

As soon as she uttered her first word, Yukomis attacked her with a surprise hug.

Yukomis, embracing Signa and collapsing just beyond the entrance, whispered softly.

“You can’t go anywhere.”

Before she could react, Signa, who was in her arms, was flustered by the fact that the hug was much stronger than she had expected.

“You have to be with me.”

The voice of those words was similar to when Signa first met Yukomis.

“We, well. Of course, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Liar.”

“Yes?”

“Liar.”

As soon as those words were finished, something jingled near her legs.

Looking at her feet, Yukomis was reaching out to her legs with one hand that wasn’t hugging her. The metal shining in the moonlight that shone through the open door was the shackle she had been holding just now.

Since it was a shackle made for adults, it fit Signa’s slender ankle perfectly.

“Wh, what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry.”

Yukomis apologized again.

“But because you only lie…!”

“Lies? I’m just…”

Yukomis didn’t listen to the answer and lifted Signa up.

“Uh oh oh…”

Ignoring Signa’s timid struggles, she crossed the hallway,
and threw her into the detached palace bedroom where Signa always slept alone.

And she stood by the entrance, only looking at this side with empty eyes.

Jingle. As Signa moved, the short shackle immediately restricted the movement of her ankle.

Despite the uneasy situation, Signa thought that this was a very familiar situation.

Being tied up wasn’t uncommon even in her previous life.

As soon as she was resurrected, she was kidnapped as soon as she left the self-governing family and tied up, tied up by Manya, and even imprisoned in the basement of this mansion for a night because she had caused an accident.

“Please explain what’s going on…”

“Signa.”

Yukomis cut her off.

“How much do you hate me?”

“Yes?”

It wasn’t ‘Do you hate me?’ but ‘How much do you hate me?’

Signa was suffocated by the weight contained in that question.

“I don’t hate you. Why would I hate you?”

“You said you would hate me.”

“I told you, it’s just that you seemed too desperate.”

“You said you would hate me…”

“We, we just need a proper distance from each other…”

“But you said you would hate me.”

Yukomis only muttered those words as if she were broken.

“I opened the door like this, I opened it by force… Don’t you hate me?”

“Yes.”

Signa said calmly.

“Rather, I think it’s a relief. It’s like you’ve returned to your former self for a moment…”

Signa deliberately didn’t talk about the shackles on her ankle.

“Really?”

“…Yes.”

“No matter what happens, you don’t hate me?”

“Th, that’s right.”

“Then… you can just receive what I give you.”

“…Yes?”

“You can just receive everything I do for you.”

“I was just trying to get away for a while because I was too burdened by that part of you…”

“Signa… why are you doing this? Why don’t you do as I say?”

“I, I told you, it’s about maintaining distance…”

“I don’t need that!!!”

For the first time, Yukomis shouted.

“All of that is stupid! You just have to receive what I do for you!”

Signa was stunned by that shout.

“Just stay by my side! Is that such a difficult story?”

Yukomis continued to speak.

“Tell me you’re grateful. Tell me everything’s okay. That’s what you have to do. A younger sibling can just do that!”

“There’s no need to run away, be mean, hide your true feelings, or anything like that!”

Signa thought she didn’t know when she had last seen Yukomis so angry.

“Do you hate me? Do you hate me for making you a woman, for asking you to stay as a woman, for hurting you, for harassing you and being strict with you? Is that really it?”

“No, Si, Sister. I said it’s absolutely not like that. I really…”

“Really?”

The pursuit continued again.

“Yes…”

“No matter what happens, it’s not a lie?”

“Yes.”

“Really, no matter what happens, even if the world collapses, you don’t hate me?”

“That’s right! I told you!”

Although the relationship had been estranged, Signa had never hated Yukomis, even since she was Thermis.

She just thought it was an unfortunate relationship created by misunderstandings.

“Then you just have to be honest with me!!”

Yukomis shouted again.

“Tell me you’re hurting when you’re hurting. Tell me you don’t like what you don’t like. Tell me what you want me to do. Just don’t lock the door. Don’t shut your mouth, just talk!!”

“Yes…?”

“Just do that!!”

Yukomis looked as sad as she was angry.

“I told you not to act like my sister. I told you not to become like my sister!!”

Tears fell from her eyes.

“Why are you trying to act like my sister?”

“It’s not like that!!”

There was something that made Yukomis even angrier.

She told her not to act like her sister, but the image of Signa that she had seen was rather like herself.

I’ll say it today, or I’ll say it tomorrow, or it’s just someday.

She kept seeing herself locking the door and blocking the affection that her sister was giving her.

She was going crazy because she was reminded of herself, who had only postponed it and eventually couldn’t convey her true feelings.

What she was saying out loud was the sisterly relationship she had dreamed of.

A relationship where she received as she gave, said thank you, and reaffirmed her affection every moment.

“I want to believe you too. Signa. I want to believe that you don’t hate me.”

So…

Why did she need time to be apart from each other?

Distance? The more it increased, the more estranged they would become, right?

“But… but I can’t believe it. What should I do? Why are you making me so uneasy? Why don’t you receive what I give you? Why are you trying to get away from me?”

To her, Signa’s words only sounded like an excuse to avoid her.

“I’m sorry. I said I’m sorry. I’ll apologize a million more times if I have to. I can do anything for you. Really anything…”

Honestly. I wish you would just say you like what you like, and you don’t like what you don’t like.
I’m uneasy. Because of what I did to make you like that. Because of what I did wrong to you. Because I broke this door. Because I put you in shackles now.

“And…”

“I’m afraid that you’ll hate me even more because you know I can’t believe you.”

I’m afraid you’ll hate me more and run away, and this time you’ll do something worse.

I’m afraid I’ll be despised for not being able to believe you, and I’m becoming more anxious…

That feedback was just continuing like that.

Yukomis thought her appearance was unsightly and ridiculous.

She herself, who had ordered her to be honest, was still hiding the fact that her sister had come from Signa, and was even afraid to say a single word.

However, she needed proof.

Proof that Signa would not leave her no matter what happened.

“What do I have to do.”

Signa said quietly to Yukomis, who was crying.

“What do I have to do to make you believe that I don’t hate you?”

“How can I believe that?”

“…I don’t know.”

But where would such a thing be?

There was no magic to read minds.

Others would remain others forever. No matter how much you said you loved them, it was just words.

Even at this moment, if Signa was just spewing lies to reassure her, Yukomis could never know that.

Lies. Always lies.

That was what Yukomis had been doing all her life.

Lying to the people at the Imperial Palace. Lying to her mother. Lying to her sister.

As much as she cynically thought that she couldn’t be someone people could believe in…
She could never believe even someone she liked.

“Tell me.”

However, Yukomis wanted it.

She wanted clear and unchanging proof of her heart, which couldn’t exist in this world.

And if there was such a thing, there was only one.

Looking at the shackles that were still shining on Signa’s slender ankles, she had just realized that fact.

“Stay here.”

“…Yes?”

“Stay with me.”

Being together forever.

She was still holding the leash in her left hand.

“Let’s just stay here together forever…”

That was a proposal that Signa could never accept.