Damn Reincarnation

at anything will change with you two just because Sienna comes back.”

Eugene felt pity at her trembling shoulders.
At the same time, he also felt confused.
Anise’s heart? He knew about it since she could not have made it more obvious.
He had also guessed the same about Kristina.
However, he had never imagined that the two of them were conscious of Sienna in this way.

“To be honest, I don’t know what Sienna will be like.
However, there’s no way I would look at you differently just because Sienna returns,” said Eugene.

“That means….” She raised her head.
It was clearly Anise.
Although he did not doubt the tears that brimmed in her eyes, Eugene could also feel a crafty snake behind her eyes.

“Sir Eugene, can I take that as a sign that you have me in your heart as well?” But before Eugene could respond, Kristina added her tearful plea, making the weight of her words heavier than even Molon’s fists.
Eugene felt overwhelmed and tried to take a step back unconsciously, but a hand firmly held onto the hem of his clothing, preventing him from moving away.
He couldn ’t tell whether it was Kristina or Anise who held him in place.

“Even if Sienna comes back, I can keep doing this, right?”

“If Lady Sienna treats me like a thief and tries to harm me, will you stand in the way and protect me?”

“Wait… wait.
Anise, even if Sienna returns, you… uh, you’re free to do as you please.
Well, actually, I don’t think you would change just because Sienna returns…,” Eugene scuttled on.
“And….
Kristina….
I… don’t think Sienna would… treat you like a thief… and she probably won’t try to harm you either….
Well, if she does try, then, of course, I will protect you, but….
Umm… shouldn’t we talk more about this after Sienna returns…?”

“What a trashy thing to say with a handsome face.”

“Hamel, you are trash.”

The same accusation came from the same face and same voice.
Eugene trembled with a red face.

“What the fuck do you want me to do!?” Eugene felt that their words were unjustified.
Both Kristina and Anise stared at Eugene, embarrassed and helpless, with narrowed, thin eyes.
It caused stagnant tears to flow from her eyes once more.

“Hmm….
I’m saying this in case you misunderstand, Sir Eugene, but these tears are real.
I’m not the only one who cried, either.
Lady Anise cried first.”

“Kristina!”

“It’s better to admit these things, Sister.” After saying so, Kristina leaned against Eugene once more, embracing him.
“…If you don’t know what to do, just don’t say anything and hug me.”

Eugene lowered his awkwardly positioned arms around Kristina’s back.
He had thought Kristina’s personality had become rather loose because of Anise, but he could no longer think so.
Come to think of it, Kristina had shown a subtle, insidious madness from their first meeting that set her apart from Anise.

“I can feel you shivering.
I often thought about this, but you are quite cute.”

“Is it you, Anise…?”

“I wonder who it is?” The Saint smiled without giving a proper answer.
Afraid of discovering the truth, Eugene quietly patted her back.

***

Cyan had drank only alcohol, not wanting to use the hallucinogen.
However, he was having difficulties falling asleep.
After tossing and turning for a long time, he eventually sat up with a long sigh.
The scene he saw earlier kept on playing in his head.
There had been too many dead bodies and beating hearts being removed as sacrifices.
Such things were too terrible for Cyan to accept.

“If you’re scared, you can just stay here.” A voice came from his side.
It was Eugene.
He was busily fiddling with Akasha, absorbed in something.
Cyan pressed his fingers against his temple as he turned his gaze toward Eugene.

Eugene was sitting on the floor, and next to him was Raimira.
She was curled into a ball, sleeping.
She had been struggling to stay awake due to a nightmare that plagued her mind, but Kristina’s divine magic had managed to lull her into slumber.

“Are you still doing that?” grumbled Cyan instead of answering Eugene’s question.
He knew what Eugene was up to.
He was trying to create space inside the Cloak of Darkness that could house Raimira.
Since dragons could survive on mana alone, Eugene was attempting to isolate a subspace inside the cloak to create a place where Raimira could stay.

It wasn’t an easy feat by any means.
He had to meddle with the Cloak of Darkness, which was already a finished artifact, and alter the existing magic imbued into the object.
Since Raimira could not utilize high-level Draconic as a hatchling, Eugene had to complete the task himself.

“You could just ask Sir Lovellian or Lady Melkith for help,” said Cyan.

“They’re both busy.
And this is mine, so I should do it on my own,” responded Eugene.

“Didn’t you technically borrow it from Lady Melkith?” said Cyan.

“Technically, yes, but it’s essentially mine,” Eugene answered with a shameless expression.
It was true that both wizards were busy.
Lovellian was working on a combination of summons for the upcoming war while Melkith was away from the capital.
It was so she could attempt to make a contract with Ifrit in the spirit-filled, mana-dense forest.

Eugene was trying to modify the cloak so that he could protect Raimira.
He couldn’t leave her here or anywhere else.
Since Edmund had discovered her existence, it was entirely possible that he would try to take her if she were left alone.

“I’m telling you.
If you’re scared, you can just stay back.” Eugene repeated himself while looking up at Cyan.
He was almost done with the cloak.

Cyan hesitated without giving an answer.
Although he was born into the Lionheart family, a family of warriors, he did not know war.
It wasn’t just him, either.
For the people of this era, war was only a vague concept.

It wasn’t just war either.
Cyan had always been a skilled fighter, able to take down monsters and demons with ease.
But he had never killed a human before, and the thought of it weighed heavily on him.
He had never been fond of the Samar natives, but seeing their lifeless bodies scattered around him had shaken him to his core.
He would see many more corpses in the upcoming war, and he knew he would be responsible for some of it as well.

“Killing people isn’t a good experience,” Eugene said.
Cyan remained silent.
Eugene had such experiences.
Eward had died at Eugene’s hands as well.
“If possible, it’ll be better to never experience such things for the rest of your life.”

“How did you feel when you first killed someone?” asked Cyan.

“It didn’t really feel like anything,” Eugene answered with a nonchalant expression.
“It was a situation where I had to kill them, and it was someone I had to kill.
If I didn’t, they would have killed me.
What was I supposed to feel? Guilt? There was nothing like that.
I guess I was thinking along the lines of, that’s what you get, bastard, or something similar.”

Cyan laughed after hearing Eugene’s answer.

“That’s just like you,” he commented.

“What about you? How do you think you’ll feel?” asked Eugene.

“Wouldn’t it be something similar? It’s a war, so it’s natural that I have to kill someone to live.
Those bastards will be trying to kill me as well, right?” said Cyan.

“Well, I suppose so, but there’s still no need to have to experience something like that.”

“I’m the next head of the Lionheart family,” answered Cyan.
“Now that I know about the ritual, I won’t step down.
This all stemmed from the Lionhearts… from Eward.
As the next head of the family, I will take responsibility.
I’m obliged to get involved.
I have no intention of putting you in charge as well.”

“You’ve matured, brat.”

“I get that you might be a little bit more mature than me, but I’m still your brother.
I’m not much younger than you,” said Cyan, shaking his head.
His words weren’t addressed only to Eugene but to himself as well.

“I didn’t want to say this because I thought it might put you on a pedestal, but I think you’ll make a better head than I thought,” said Eugene.

“…Ha.
Don’t say the obvious.
I have been trained for this ever since I was young.
I was faithful to the training, too,” replied Cyan.

“I think you have me to thank more than Lady Ancilla,” said Eugene.

“And what did you ever do for me besides beating me up and cursing at me?” Cyan spat with embarrassment, preparing himself for a smack from Eugene.
But contrary to his expectation, Eugene only smirked.

“You shouldn’t die with your skills but try to be careful.
Don’t get hurt,” said Eugene.

“Speak for yourself.”

“I’m being serious.
Be careful.
Lady Ancilla will try to kill me if you get hurt anywhere.”

“Like I said, worry about yourself,” grumbled Cyan before lying down.
There were many things he could not understand.
He didn’t know how Eugene could be so calm.
Regardless of how strong he was, this would be Eugene’s first time participating in a war of this size.

‘…But that’s more like you.’

Cyan felt reassured that Eugene would be fine, even in a war of this size.
Cyan could not imagine Eugene getting hurt or falling down.

He knew that he needed to be careful, knowing that he could be a burden to his brother.
Even so, he wanted to be Eugene’s equal.
That’s what it meant to be brothers.

‘If you think about it, I’m the older brother.’

But he knew voicing the complaint would only result in a smack.

Such thoughts helped calm his mind.

He remembered how Eugene had faced the Death Knight with malice and killing intent.

No matter how scary the war was, he didn’t think it would be as scary as angry Eugene.