HP: Becoming a Maiden Heartthrob

"I didn't see the rest... I'm sorry, sister... I'm really sorry..."

The red-haired girl hugging Nalilian kept apologizing, and her figure was so transparent that it was about to collapse.

Nalilian curled up, clutching her chest, tears streaming down her face.

It turned out to be like this...

She remembered everything.

What perfect life? She only stole it... She was just a thief... And the reason she could live with peace of mind was simply because the pain she had to go through had already been borne by someone else...

Keston...

"Don't cry, sister," the red-haired girl floated in the air, kissing the tears on her cheeks. "Don't cry, don't cry. Actually, there is still a little bit, one last bit..."

With these words, the red-haired girl disappeared in mid-air.

The rainy night around suddenly changed.

The moonlight is like water, quietly shining into the room through the window.

Under the dim light, Kerston bent over his desk, dipped his quill pen into ink, and wrote a line on the parchment:

To Lillian:

I thought about staying away.”

Looking at the words, Nalilian's heart ached and tears rolled down her eyes.

He continues:

"I thought staying away would help me get rid of my delusions."

"But no."

"I can't lose you."

"I can't stand the thought of you belonging to another person."

"As your brother, I am closest to you, yet also the farthest away."

Tears kept dripping down Nalilian's face.

The words on the letter continue——

"I once thought about making you feel pain, making you cry, and dragging you into my world."

“I didn’t make it to the end.”

"That kind of stolen love is ridiculous."

The memory slowly emerged, and Nalilian opened her mouth, but her breathing was suppressed by pain and she couldn't make a sound.

He continued writing:

“The biggest failures in my life——”

"I didn't teach you well."

"I didn't love you well."

"I didn't let you live in a world without danger."

No... She held out her hand to him, no...

"Back then, you would just curl up when you were scared, always looking around in confusion, and using a flattering smile to please everyone."

"Weak and pathetic."

As he wrote this, a faint smile appeared on Kerston's face, revealing his warmth.

"I'm also ridiculous and arrogant."

"I thought I could be with you forever."

"I didn't expect to be so close to you."

Nalilian fell to her knees, her face soaked with tears.

Keston...

"Our lives are so closely intertwined and yet intertwined."

"but--"

As I wrote this, I heard bursts of crying outside the window.

He stood up suddenly, walked to the door leading to the balcony, swung it open and left his room.

Until daytime, he returned to the room covered with morning dew, picked up the parchment on the table, and wrote the last paragraph -

"But I'm honored."

"Become your elder brother."

"And love you."

After writing this sentence, he stared at the letter, and finally threw the parchment into the flames of the dying fireplace.

Nalilian had already curled up on the ground, crying bitterly.

elder brother……

【Do you want to save him? 】

A voice sounded in her mind, calm and seductive.

You still have a chance

[The branch system you opened remains in your soul]

You can pay a price to open it.

[Complete the side quest and you can trade with me]

Nalilian opened her tearful eyes, choked and cried continuously, her mouth open but no sound came out.

He traded his soul for your painful memories.

He used his body in exchange for the union of your soul and flesh.

【He traded his love for your bright future】

You can too

She couldn't utter a word, the breath drained from her chest.

Until her tears dried up and the pain became numb, she trembled and propped herself up, saying hoarsely, "I do..."

Even if it means sacrificing her soul, she will get him back.

*

Crouch Manor, master bedroom.

Regulus knelt on the ground, head bowed, awaiting the decision.

The room was dim, with only a faint glow from the burning fireplace. Beside the fireplace, a giant snake was coiled under a cherry wood round table. On the table was a golden birdcage. In the cage, a blue robin was sleeping in its own feathers. Beside the table, a snake-faced man in a dark wizard robe was lying on a single sofa.

He drummed his fingers on the armchair and looked at the blue bird sleeping on the table. After a long time, he spoke with a hissing hum and a sigh.

"Go start preparing, Rael."

"Yes, my master."

Regulus stood up, retreated respectfully, and closed the door.

After leaving the room, he strode out into the corridor, where the crowd gathered outside greeted him with fearful expressions.

"Good morning, Lord Black."

"Where is Lord Black going?"

"What are Lord Black's instructions?"

Regulus ignored them and walked straight down the corridor to the room below.

Inside the room, old Crouch, who always had a serious face, was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, playing with the green crystal dagger in his hand.

Seeing him come in, his eyes lit up, "He agreed?"

"Well," Regulus replied with a frown, "She began to fall asleep, so he agreed."

"Finally," Old Crouch showed a happy expression, "Finally..."

"Where?" Regulus didn't want to waste time talking to him.

"Under the bed," old Crouch knelt down on the ground and dragged out an iron box from under the bed.

He opened the iron box, revealing a person stuffed inside, who had the same face as him.

It was old Crouch.

"Will you do it, or should I?" Regulus asked.

He is his father after all.

"Of course I have to do it," said "Old Crouch", turning the green crystal dagger in his hand and stabbing it into the opponent's sternum.

The opponent twitched violently, a trace of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, and blood oozed out from the incision where the green crystal dagger was inserted, flowing down in streams.

"Old Crouch" indifferently swung the dagger, scraping it from the throat along the sternum, leaving a long cut. Blood gushed out along the flesh. He stopped, inserted his fingers into the flesh on the left side, and peeled it open with force, revealing the white ribs inside and the vigorously beating heart under the ribs.

"The heart of a loved one."

"Old Crouch" looked at the beating heart indifferently, with a sarcastic smile on his face.

“It’s not black.”