Fragment 18. Meet the (2nd) Sister (Part 2)

A girl suddenly appeared. She walked toward the throne, her head constantly turning to look at me. Her movements was gentle and refined. However, the high heels she wore gave off a firm impression with the sharp tapping sound they made every time she took a step.

The girl looked to be around fourteen years old. Her body was slender, with pale white skin. Her hair was long, straight, and ice-blue in color. Her eyebrows and eyelashes shared the same hue, giving her an unusual, cold impression. Her eyes were a pale blue, clear, like shards of ice reflecting light. Her fingers were slim, with long nails colored in a shimmering blue, as if dusted with fine glitter.

She wore a long dress that draped down close to the floor. The dress was a very light blue, almost white, with thin layers resembling ice petals. The chest area was simple, while the sleeves hung loosely. In several places, there were crystal-like patterns that looked as though they had formed naturally rather than being sewn.

When she reached the throne, she stopped for a moment, then turned around. She stepped up a small stair and sat down slowly. Her slender body looked even smaller against the towering backrest of the throne. She leaned back, neatly crossed her legs, and placed her hands on her lap.

Her gaze returned to me, cold and calm.

“What are you doing here?” she said, repeating the same question.

It was obvious that she wasn’t happy about my presence. Even so, I tried not to be swallowed by her intimidation and stood tall.

“Long time no see, Fuyuki. How have you been?”

Instead of answering my greeting, Fuyuki narrowed her eyes. She was clearly suspicious of me and didn’t believe that I had come just for small talk.

This is bad. Chinatsu said that Fuyuki was the one who had been hurt the most by the incident back then. But this wasn’t just hurt feelings—she truly hated me.

What should I do now? Should I just apologize right away? But is that really the right choice? I don’t remember what happened when we were kids. If I apologize without sincerity, wouldn’t that just make her even angrier?

No matter what, I have to choose my words very carefully.

“You see. I came to apologize.”

“Apologize?”

Hearing Fuyuki show a slight interest in what I was saying lifted my spirits.

“That’s right. I came to apologize for what happened ten years ago. At that time, I was so overwhelmed by grief when grandpa was injured that I said things I never should have said to you all. Because of that, I’m sorry.”

I bowed deeply. I was sincere in my apology, but I wasn’t sure how I looked in Fuyuki’s eyes. Thus, lowering my head felt like the right choice to avoid making eye contact—or at least, that’s what I thought.

“...now.”

“Hm?”

Fuyuki’s murmur was so quiet that I reflexively lifted my head to look at her.

“Why did you only come now?!”

Fuyuki jumped down from her throne in a burst of anger. Her hands clenched into fists, and her pale face flushed red.

“Why? Why did you only show up now, after all this time? Do you have any idea how I’ve felt all these years?!”

This is bad. The hole left in Fuyuki’s heart was deeper than I had imagined. If this keeps up, we’ll never be able to make up. Somehow, I have to calm her down.

“I’m sorry! But to be honest, I lost my memories until not too long ago. It’s not that I meant to abandon you—I just don’t remember doing something that cruel to you. That’s why I’m apologizing.”

“Lost your memories, you say?”

I couldn’t clearly read Fuyuki’s expression from here because her head was slightly lowered. But seeing her clenched fists slowly loosen, wasn’t that a good sign(?)

At the same time, I felt guilty toward her. I had exaggerated a bit by saying I lost my memories. But my memories about my powers really were sealed, and I truly had forgotten about my other personalities. Looking at it that way, I wasn’t lying, right?

When Fuyuki finally lifted her head, I thought I was about to receive good news. Instead, she wore an expression of disgust, far colder than before.

Tilting her head to the right and slightly lifting her chin, Fuyuki said, “Must be nice. Being able to lose your memories. If I could, I’d like to throw away all these bad memories too.”

Fuyuki's words made my heart stop beating. There was something in her tone that instantly made me realize I had just made a huge mistake. Instead of regaining her favor, I had stepped on a landmine.

“Listen, Fuyuki. I know I abandoned you for these past ten years. And I know that my mistake might not be something you can forgive easily. But I came here to fix that mistake. So please, can you give me a chance to make up for it?”

“A chance? Hah! Your chance ran out a long time ago! Do you know how awkward the dining room became after you said that? Do you know how long I waited for you after that? Do you know?! How I felt after you said you hated me and wished we didn’t exist?”

Fuyuki poured out all the emotions she had bottled up for so long. From the weight in her voice, I could tell that her words were coming straight from the deepest part of her heart.

Then, after the outburst, tears flowed down her cheeks.

“Must be nice being you. Living freely without being bound by the past. Meanwhile, all I could do was lock myself in my room, spending night after night reflecting on all my mistakes. I’m tired, you know. I'm tired of all this.”

Fuyuki sobbed uncontrollably. Yet she didn’t make any attempt to wipe away her tears. She just stood there, both hands clenched at her sides, letting her tears fall and soak the floor around her feet.

In moments like that, all I could do was stay silent and watch her vent her emotions. If I approached her with the intention of comforting her, it would only have the opposite effect. I didn’t want to make an already bad situation worse. So I stayed still, waiting for her to calm down on her own.

After Fuyuki’s crying finally stopped, I tried approaching her once more.

“I’m sorry. I know my apology probably sounds meaningless to you. But apologizing is all I can do. I can’t go back to the past and undo what I’ve done. The only thing I can do is try to fix what happened. So please, Fuyuki, I beg you—give me a chance to fix everything.”

I pretended to plead as sincerely as I could. Once again, I felt guilty for having “deceived” Fuyuki. But my priority right now was to regain her favor and bring her back to a safe line.

When I thought I had chosen my words as carefully as possible, and that this time, my words would reach her. But once again, I failed to do so.

“That’s enough. I don’t want to see your face or hear your voice ever again.”

After hearing that, it felt as though I had been blown away by a strong wind and thrown out of the castle. But when I opened my eyes, I was already sitting on one of the chairs in the dining room.