Reincarnated as a Son of the Sword Saint and the Sage

Chapter 376  Goodnight, Christine

"What? Your little brother hurt you?" For a brief moment, Christine partially forgot about her breakdown and became intrigued by Louise's past instead. Louise wanted Christine to know that she truly understood her, so she came up with something that sympathized with her. "Yeah. It all happened when I left home to attend the academy last year. I actually have a lover at home; she is one of our servants. During my time in the academy, Raphael did something that really broke my heart." "..." Christine silently listened to Louise's narration, as she was honestly curious about it. Christine subconsciously thought that if she shared her problems, Louise should make it even. "Before everything happened, my lover and I owed a huge favor from Raphael, so big that no amount of gold could compensate for it. In the end, after a long decision, we both agreed to have my lover offer her body to Raphael one time."

"?!" Christine's eyes widened upon hearing what decision Louise had made. She could not believe that Louise let her lover have a night with a person other than her; moreover, it was a man and her own brother of all people. Making such decisions would require strong wills. (Just how big that favor they owed was to the point of paying it with her body?) "She decided voluntarily, though, as I was aware that she had faint feelings for him. I forced myself to accept it, of course. So when I went to the empire, I knew that it would be the time that they would do it, and they really did it." "Well, I don't know what to say about it, but I think there are things that are better left unknown?" "Yeah, there are some details that are better left unsaid. But..." Louise said, the latter with heaviness in her tone. "But..?"

"But this little brother of mine did not keep those details between the two of them...! He actually made me watch them do the deed...!" "What?! Christine covered her mouth in shock, and then she remembered the distance between them. "But how, when you said that they did it while you were in the academy?" "If you don't know, Raphael is actually better than our Mom, the Sage, in magic. She taught her whatever spell he could learn, and he could make any of it better than hers. You know why I was outside my room when you found me?" "Um... I don't have any idea." "Raphael is also excellent at making convenient magic items and devices. He made a nearly indestructible device that can project motion images from afar. Utilizing the magic and skills he learned from Mom, he projected what was happening between them before my very eyes." "What the—?!"

"I can clearly see whatever they were doing—how fast he was pounding her, how loud her moans were, and everything else in full detail. The promise was only one time, but he kept sending me the projections three more times in a month. I could not watch any of them anymore, so I went outside every time they did it." "I see..."

"What he did to me really drove me nuts. I cannot simply forgive him. I was so mad at him that I attempted to slash my blade at him with the intention of killing him; however, he was way more powerful than me the time we met again. We used to be somewhat equally even when I left, so his power up really surprised me."

"How could your brother do such awful things to you?" "Well," Louise gazed up. "It turned out that I somewhat drove him to get to that point. I used to boss him around since we were young. You see, I always have this superiority and older sibling mindset in me. He eventually had enough of me, so he used that favor and the time I was away to remotely vent out his stress and do some retribution." "Just for that reason, he did those things just because you bossed him around...?" Christine could not fathom how her brother could do that to her due to some shallow reasons. Louise might have hurt his pride, but the damage he returned was way more than either of them could tolerate. "Yeah, something like that. But Raphael is quite a philanderer himself and has slept with multiple women already. It happened that my lover caught his eyes and used that favor to do the deed with her." "Is he that kind of person? I always thought of him as kind and respectful." "Even though he is a promiscuous man, he is still the version you thought." Louise then glanced at Christine. "You know the maid that is currently with us?" "You mean, Miss Natasha?"

"She is actually one of Raphael's "personal maids" who are tasked with taking care of his carnal desires, and he has several of them left at home. And he is probably doing her as we speak. That's why you should be careful around him." "I'll take note of that." Christine implanted Louise's warning into her mind. "But did you forgive him for the things he did? If so, how did you do it?" "He did apologize to me. It was not simple and I don't want to disclose the details of the process, but I forgave him in the end. Perhaps our bond is strong; we are siblings after all. Afterwards, we reconciled and we got closer than we have ever been. Let bygones be bygones and move on to make a better tomorrow." "I wish I had the same courage as you, Louise. You are such a brave and stunning woman. I didn't know you went through things that were probably more painful than I am suffering." "Christine..." "I am not anything like you. Even though I already accepted my loss, I don't think I could move on from this. His Imperial Highness means anything to me. The pain is still fresh in my heart, and it still hurts." "It's okay, Christine. I am here by your side." Louise once again stroked her back gently as Christine started sobbing once more. ◆◇◆◇◆◇ n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Some time later, Christine finally stopped crying and ultimately fell asleep. Louise put on the quilt, which was folded at the foot the whole time, over her before she lowered her head closer to hers. "Get well soon, Christine." While Christine was lying sideways facing her back to her, Louise whispered softly in her ear before she gently planted a light kiss on her hair. She really did not know why she did that; she just thought she could not let Christine's efforts to open herself be left unrewarded. Though she could not say if that was actually a reward she wanted,. Soon after, Louise got out of bed and made her way to the door. She stopped for a moment and took the last glance of the night at the sleeping, brokenhearted woman. "Good night." Louise bid her farewell for the night before she closed the door and let Christine get some rest. Unbeknownst to her, Christine was actually still awake and aware of what Louise just did. Just then, she began to rethink what Louise's intentions actually were.