“It’s been a while, Sabina. How have you been?”
As I let out a deep sigh, my brother greeted my sister.
“So-so. More importantly, how’s your body?”
Sabina nodded and looked at my brother with concern.
He let out a dry laugh.
“Geez, Sabina, really. Do you think I’m so weak I’d collapse from a tap?”
My eyes widened at that.
Although he was trying hard to appear calm, something about my brother seemed off.
Like his pupils trembling as if there had been an earthquake, or the way his lips were twitching.
Was Adrian… maybe a little flustered? Or was I imagining things?
“You’ve already collapsed several times.”
Seemingly oblivious to his reaction, Sabina replied flatly.
Adrian was left speechless.
It must have hit a nerve.
Well, it’s true he’s been constantly sick all this time.
I understood.
He was severely injured when we first met, and just recently he’d been bedridden for nearly a month.
Though the last one was mostly because of the royal physician’s shenanigans…
“I like healthy men.”
Sabina added with a smirk.
At that moment, I saw it.
My brother froze without a sound.
Honestly, he looked like he’d crumble to pieces if someone poked him.
“I-I’m healthy too!”
Adrian shouted desperately.
“Huh? I may not look it, but I’m a Sword Master. I’m not as weak as you think—”
“…”
Why was it that the more he talked, the colder the mood became?
Sabina looked at him with what could only be described as disappointment, then—
“Who said otherwise?”
She snapped and walked off inside.
Oh, brother.
Feeling sorry for him, I hugged the candy jar tightly to my chest.
Then I patted Adrian’s arm.
“Cheer up, Adrian.”
“Mei?”
“One day, you’ll be just as healthy as she wants.”
His green eyes, looking at me, trembled like an earthquake.
Then he closed them tightly before opening them again, speaking in a shaky voice.
“Yeah… Thanks…”
—
A little while later, after checking my brother’s condition, the three of us sat around the table.
“At least have a meal before you go.”
Sabina said curtly, though her expression had softened slightly.
In the past, she never would have invited us to eat, afraid we’d see how modestly she lived.
But now, she seemed a bit more at ease.
That made me quietly happy.
However…
“See? I’m healthy, right? Who’s healthier than me, huh?”
Adrian still clung to Sabina, refusing to give up.
Hey, bro.
The more you say that, the more pathetic you sound…
I bit back the words rising to my throat.
Because honestly, there was something else bothering me more than Adrian.
I frowned as I looked down at my plate.
Ugh… I hate broccoli…
Yes.
My ruthless sister hadn’t stopped at mixing medicinal herbs into my food.
She had piled a mountain of broccoli on my plate!
I get it—Sabina wants me to eat healthy.
When I was still a cat, I mainly ate meat, but now that I was human, I had to eat a balanced diet.
Especially if I wanted to stay healthy in this form.
But still, this was too much!
Even if picky eating is bad for you…
Does she think I’m a rabbit or something?!
I glanced at my brother from the corner of my eye.
Well, she said she likes healthy people…
Maybe I should give him my share of the broccoli?
If he eats more vegetables, maybe he’ll get healthier?
So, I subtly started moving my broccoli onto his plate.
Adrian looked at me, as if to ask what I was doing.
Eat this and you’ll get healthy.
I silently mouthed the words with a straight face.
He stared at me, baffled, then let out a small chuckle and picked up his fork.
Oh, is he really going to eat it?
Just as I started to brighten up—
“Mei, what did I say about being picky?”
A stern voice pierced my ears.
Gasp!
I froze, shoulders stiffening.
When I slowly looked up, Sabina was glaring at me with narrow, triangle-shaped eyes.
“If you don’t eat your broccoli, no candy.”
“Sis!!”
I cried out desperately.
But she was firm.
“You can only have candy after you finish all your vegetables. Understand?”
Then she turned to Adrian with a sharp look.
“You too, Adrian.”
“Uh, me?”
“If the kid refuses to eat, you should make her. Why are you indulging her like that?”
So in the end, both Adrian and I got scolded by Sabina… Hmph.
—
Then, in the middle of all that—
“Ah, by the way!”
After enduring Sabina’s lecture for a while, Adrian suddenly changed the subject in a panic.
“The Regalis Order invited me.”
“The Order?”
Sabina paused for the first time.
I perked up too.
“Why?”
She asked defensively.
Adrian responded with a strange look.
“Apparently to commend me for my service at the Holy Temple.”
“Your contributions?”
“Yeah, supposedly it’s a gesture of appreciation for investigating the rise in monsters.”
He’d been back in the capital for months now—why now?
Honestly, it sounded suspicious.
More likely, it was a peace offering.
Ever since the Duke’s family dismissed the Order’s appointed physician, relations between them had been frosty.
Wait a second.
My eyes widened.
Isn’t the Holy Temple where Dominique is?
And Adrian is officially recognized by the Temple as a Hero!
If things go well… we might be able to improve Dominique’s situation!
Thinking that, I eagerly raised my hand.
“Me too! I want to go too!”
“You do?”
“Yep!”
I nodded enthusiastically.
But then—I hit an unexpected roadblock.
That roadblock was none other than Sabina.
“No.”
She cut in firmly.
I gave her my best puppy-dog eyes.
“Why not? I want to see the Holy Temple.”
“No means no.”
She shook her head with finality.
Her sharp response caught me off guard.
Why is she so against it?
Now that I think about it, even before the regression, Sabina avoided the Holy Temple.
She never really explained why.
But considering they labeled her a witch and ultimately burned her…
Ugh.
The memory left a bad taste in my mouth.
As I frowned deeply, Adrian turned to Sabina.
“Oh, right—Sabina, they invited you too.”
“Me?”
She asked with a complex expression.
“Yeah. You’re the reason I recovered so quickly, after all.”
He shrugged casually.
“Apparently the Saint herself wants to meet you.”
