That lonely figure was, in Bell’s eyes, a flag of victory fluttering mockingly over his battered heart.
Kyle stood with his mouth agape, looking from Bell to the classroom door, his expression a kaleidoscope of confusion.
“Hey, Bell… your sister… did she misunderstand something about me?”
Bell didn’t answer.
He simply withdrew his gaze slowly and lowered his head.
He curled into the corner as if trying to turn himself into a mindless stone.
Seeing him like this, Kyle scratched his head. The bright sunshine on his face dimmed slightly, replaced by a touch of bewilderment and concern.
“Are you okay?” he whispered. “Your sister seems… really attached to you.”
Attached?
Bell’s body gave an almost imperceptible shudder.
It wasn’t attachment.
It was the coil of a predator.
Seeing that Bell still wouldn’t speak, Kyle, a natural optimist, didn’t dwell on it further.
“Whatever, she’s just a kid, it’s understandable. But man, your sister is incredible. She’s cute and she’s… a genius! If I had a sister like that, I’d be laughing in my sleep!” Kyle chattered to himself, trying to lighten the mood.
However, every word he spoke was like a blade sawing back and forth across Bell’s nerves.
You don’t know.
You don’t know anything.
Soon, the instructor walked in, and the classroom fell silent.
Bell couldn’t absorb a single word.
He could feel the gazes coming from all directions—probing, sympathetic, and even accusatory.
He had become the “insensitive older brother.”
And Kyle had become the “bad friend who came between siblings.”
Cecilia had done nothing but shed a few tears and say a few innocent words, yet she had effortlessly turned everyone against him and the only person who might have been his friend.
Why did she do it?
A thought, like a venomous snake, slithered out from the icy depths of Bell’s heart.
She didn’t actually want to drive Kyle away.
She was… screening.
Screening for a “brother’s friend” she could exploit.
A new piece of leverage she could use to threaten him at any time.
Over the next month, Kyle was like an unshakeable sun, persistently sticking by Bell’s side.
“Bell! Let’s go grab lunch!”
“Bell! Let’s partner up for the afternoon practical!”
“Bell, look at this Earth Wall I just learned. Isn’t it way sturdier than the last one?”
Bell never responded, walking his path in a numb daze.
But Kyle didn’t care. He still appeared every day with a grin, sharing the latest news from the academy, complaining about a strict teacher, or showing off a new spell he had mastered.
Sometimes Bell wondered if the red-haired boy’s nerves were made of iron.
Until one day, Kyle leaned in with a mysterious look on his face.
“Hey, Bell, have you heard? Your sister… that Cecilia girl… she’s already learned everything the teachers have to offer!”
Bell’s footsteps faltered.
“What do you mean?” he finally spoke, his voice hauntingly dry.
“Exactly what I said!” Kyle’s face was full of disbelief. “I heard it from a friend in Aqua. Just yesterday, the last alchemy master willing to teach her announced on the spot that he was resigning to go retire in his hometown!”
Kyle mimicked the old professor’s tone, saying exaggeratedly, “‘I can’t teach her! I simply can’t! I’ve studied ancient runes my whole life, and she memorized them all in one glance—and even pointed out three translation errors I made! That’s a monster! That’s no student!’”
The entire academy was shaken.
Seven years old.
One month.
She had finished learning all the knowledge the Royal Academy of Magic had accumulated over centuries.
From Basic Magic Theory to high-level elemental applications, from ancient runology to forbidden magic analysis…
She only needed to see it once.
One look, and she understood.
Those white-haired magic masters, who had spent their entire lives immersed in their respective fields, went from initial ecstasy to shock, then to numbness, and finally to a deep sense of powerlessness one feels when facing a god.
The truths they had pursued their whole lives were as fragile as thin paper before a seven-year-old child.
“The academy higher-ups are having a massive headache right now,” Kyle continued, completely failing to notice Bell’s increasingly pale complexion. “They can’t find anyone left who can teach her. They say the dean personally wrote to the Sage’s Tower in the capital, trying to ask those old monsters to come out of seclusion!”
Monster.
Only that word remained in Bell’s mind.
She was getting stronger and stronger.
So strong that… this world might not be able to contain her much longer.
A suffocating despair seized Bell’s heart once again.
Just then.
A crisp, pleasant voice that made Bell’s skin crawl rang out not far behind them.
“Brother.”
Bell’s body stiffened instantly.
He slowly turned around.
Cecilia stood under the shade of a tree nearby, wearing a pure white dress, her honey-gold hair cascading over her shoulders.
She had grown a bit taller, and her features had become even more delicate, making her look more than ever like an angel descended to earth.
A sweet, pure smile hung on her face.
“Brother, Brother Kyle,” she greeted them politely, then stepped toward them.
“I heard from the teachers that the end-of-month practical exercise is next week.”
She walked up to Bell and tilted her innocent little face up.
“Brother, when the time comes, you’ll protect me, right?”
Rate on N.U.
