Transmigrated Young Master's Yandere Harem

Liona kept her expression pleasant and mildly curious. "Forgive me for asking. But you seem quite close to this young man." A small pause. "Is he perhaps... your boyfriend?"

The effect was immediate.

Arista’s composure vanished entirely for exactly two seconds. A vivid flush spread across her face and she shook her head so quickly it was almost alarming.

"No no no. Absolutely not." She waved one hand. "He is my younger brother. Azael Ignivar. I apologize, you likely haven’t seen him much since he has never made many public appearances."

Liona blinked.

She heard it clear. He was her brother. Her younger brother.

She processed this information quietly and thoroughly.

The tight and nameless thing in her chest loosened all at once. Like a knot that had been pulled carefully free. She exhaled without meaning to, a slow and deeply relieved breath.

’Brother,’ she thought. ’Of course. He is her brother. Obviously.’

"Of course I am her younger brother," Azael said, his tone easy and his smile small and amused. He glanced sideways at Arista. "Look at our eyes. Similar color. Hard to miss, really."

Liona looked.

Arista’s eyes were a clear amethyst. Azael’s leaned more toward violet, slightly deeper in shade. But the similarity was there once you saw it. The same family of color. Those eyes similar to late Duke. Unmistakable once pointed out.

She nodded. "Yes. I can see it now." She let out a small, genuine laugh. "Forgive me. From where I was standing you two looked rather like a couple. That is why I asked."

Arista folded her arms and gave Liona a look of mild disbelief. She couldn’t understand why she said like this.

"A couple." She repeated the word. "I just paid for his things. Usually men do this. Then Icalled him a good boy, and patted his head. Which part of that looked romantic to you?"

Liona pressed her lips together, holding back a wider smile. "Well... I don’t get out very much, I’ll admit. But I do know that there are couples where the older woman tends to spoil her younger partner quite openly." She tilted her head innocently. "I simply thought perhaps you were that sort of pair."

Arista stared at her.

"That sort of couple actually exists?"

"Apparently so."

Azael burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Arista you are more innocent than i thought."

He made no effort to contain it. It came out warm and completely genuine, his shoulders shaking slightly with it.

Arista turned and looked at him.

"Stop laughing." She said with crimson cheeks in shame.

"I’m not laughing." He said while trying to contain his laugh.

"You are very clearly laughing."

"I’m just breathing enthusiastically. Pftt-" he covered his mouth with palm.

She pointed at him with disapproval.

He grinned back at her. She turned back to Liona with the expression of someone surrounded by unhelpful people and choosing to rise above it.

Liona laughed too. Quietly and honestly, the forced quality completely gone from it for a moment.

They exchanged a few more easy words after that. Nothing significant. The comfortable small talk of people wrapping up a visit pleasantly. Then Arista gathered the last of her things, gave Liona a warm goodbye, and led Azael out through the door.

The old wood creaked as it swung shut behind them.

The bell chimed once.

And then the shop was quiet again.

---

Liona stood behind the counter for a moment without moving. Her eyes locked on to the door from where the pair just gone.

Then she walked slowly back to her chair and sat down.

She leaned back. Let out a long breath.

Then she laughed. Softly. To herself.

"Brother and sister," she murmured. "Of course they are." She shook her head with a small smile. "I was worried over absolutely nothing."

The relief was genuine. Real and complete.

She sat with it for a moment.

Then something shifted.

The smile faded slightly.

A small and inconvenient thought had arrived uninvited. A realization hit her very hard.

’Wait.’

She straightened up slowly in her chair.

’Why was I worried at all?’

She turned that question over carefully.

When she had seen their hands. Fingers laced together. Standing close. She had felt something. Something cold and sharp and entirely unwelcome that had moved through her chest before she had time to stop it.

She had not liked seeing that.

’Why did I was bother by that sight? Whether they were siblings or lovers...it was not my problem.’

But truth was she had not liked it at all.

And when Arista had said the word brother, that cold thing had vanished completely. Replaced by relief so immediate and total that it had come out of her as a breath she hadn’t known she was holding.

’Why?’ She questioned.

She stared at the counter in front of her.

"Why did it matter to me? Why did seeing them standing like that feel so..." she muttered in disbelief.

She pressed her lips together.

"Wrong," she finished quietly. "It felt wrong. Like something that belonged somewhere else was in the wrong place."

She sat with that for a long moment.

Then shook her head.

"Stop it," she said to herself firmly. Out loud. To the empty shop. "You asked them outright if they were a couple. You. Asked. That." She pressed one hand flat against the counter. "What kind of person does that?"

The shop offered no answer.

"Someone who felt something they shouldn’t be feeling," she said. Then immediately shook her head again. "No. That’s not it. I was just being observant. Being thorough. It was a completely reasonable question given the circumstances."

She nodded once. The decided.

Then undecided it almost immediately.

Because the relief came back to her again. That overwhelming, boneless relief the moment Arista had said the word brother. And honest people, even honest people talking only to themselves in empty rooms, could not really call that nothing.

She put her elbows on the counter and dropped her head into her hands.

"I met him twice," she said quietly. "Twice before today. That is all." She pressed her fingers against her temples. "Once when he came in to buy something. Once when he showed up at my door bleeding and half-conscious." She paused. "And once just now." She lifted her head and looked at the door he had walked out of. "Three times total. That is nothing. That is barely anything."

The door stayed closed and said nothing back.

"Someone like me," she said, softer now, "has lived for hundreds of years and never once thought about love. Never cared about it. Never needed it." She looked at her own hands on the counter. "I have watched kingdoms fall. I have seen generations of people live and die and be completely forgotten." A pause. "And I was fine. I was always fine."

She was quiet for a moment.

"So this is nothing," she concluded. Firmly. Conclusively. "Whatever this feeling is. It is nothing. It will pass."

She nodded to herself.

Sat up straight.

Folded her hands neatly on the counter.

And then, unbidden, completely unwanted and entirely against her will, his face came back to her.

That smile.

The one he had given her when she nodded yes to the hug. Warm and unguarded and completely real.

She put her forehead down on the desk.

"...Why," she said, muffled against the wood. "Why does that keep coming back."

The empty shop gave her no answer.

Just silence.

And the faint lingering smell of herbs.

And the memory of a smile she had not asked to remember and could not seem to forget.

Her feeling were messy. Something that were unknown to her.

---

It was late afternoon.

Time was moving toward evening. The sunlight covering the city was turning orange. Currently, they were walking in the park.

The same one where Azael had met Ria.

Arista, who was walking beside Azael, stretched her arms in the air.

With a relaxed expression, she said, "Hhaaah!! That was a nice day."

She put her hands down behind her back.

With a gentle smile, she asked, "Shall we go back now?"

Azael nodded lightly and said, "Yes. We should. I also enjoyed our time together. Hope we can do it again."

With an excited expression, he added firmly, "Yes! Yes! We will do it again."

After a brief pause, with a curious look, he said, "By the way, sister. I was curious about something and wanted to ask this for a while now."

Arista tilted her head slightly and asked, "What is it?"

Azael thought for a moment and said, "Hmm... have you visited the elven kingdom?"

She raised her brow at his question and replied, "Why the sudden interest? Also, yes, I have visited it before."

With a casual tone, Azael said, "Nothing, I just read that elves are a really beautiful race. And the elven kingdom is the most beautiful when it comes to nature."

Arista nodded slightly and said, "Well, you are not wrong. Both of those things are true. Though I have not met the elven empress, everyone considers her the most beautiful elven woman."

With a slight smile, Azael said, "Wow! I hope I can meet her."

With an annoyed expression, she clicked her tongue and said, "Tch! Look at you. You are just acting like other men."

Azael chuckled at her.

With a teasing smile, he said, "It seems like someone is jealous."

He moved closer to her, then wrapped his arms around her from the side.

His lips pressed against her cheek in a deep kiss.

Chu~

With a playful tone, he said, "No matter what you say about that empress or what others say, I still think you are the most beautiful woman. So don’t get jealous, my dear sister~"

He released her from the hug.

She remained frozen, her cheeks flushed.

Meanwhile, Azael started to walk forward.

His pace was fast.

With a shocked and angry expression, she shouted, "AZAEL!!!"

Finally reacting, she ran after him.

Azael glanced back and, with a nervous expression, said, "Oh goodness, why is she angry!"

Then he also started to run.