After that stunning, beautiful, yet also surprising reveal of Tenshi’s angelic wings, Steely decided that it was best to return home since he was sure that Stella was probably already waiting for him.

  The way Tenshi left did leave a strange feeling within Steely though.

  Was the astonishing aura that he felt from Tenshi still lingering? Was the beauty of her wings that complimented her looks still made him stunned? Or was it the combination of the two along with the flower field’s elegance?

  “I can’t seem to wrap these thoughts out of my head… Tenshi… Just what have you done…? No… In the first place, is it even fair of me to blame it all on Tenshi?” He pondered with a confused look on his face.

  “Just like she said, I don’t understand what she’s been going through. So I don’t think that the things she did back then in the flower field were all intentional. Because if so, she knew from the start that I’d be having this strange feeling…”

  Steely just shook his head once more before sliding both of his hands inside his pants’ pockets while the handles on the paper bags that he has were dangling on his wrists.

  “I don’t need to dwell on matters like these right now. What matters for now is that I get home and wait for Amber-nee’s return while also preparing myself for my Blood Transfusion Ritual Ceremony.” He muttered as he kept walking.

  “Gramps wants this day to be something special and something for me to always remember, so it’s best that I do my part properly so that I won’t embarrass both myself and my family.”

  Yet despite saying those words, he still really couldn’t get his head to throw away the thoughts in his head. It was both confusing, frustrating, and annoying at the same time. So with a sigh of defeat, he let out a stared at the now orange sky up above.

  “On second thought, maybe it really is fair of me to blame it all on Tenshi… Sorry, my friend.” He let out another sigh once more at that sentence.

  “You really made that sudden reveal a true hard memory for me to remove from my head. I’d probably never forget about this event even if I’m maybe about a hundred years of age from now.” He joked to himself.

  Steely kept walking and walking around the Festivity District. It would seem that despite the evening coming close, the Festivity District is still bustling as ever. The only changes are some of the other stalls closing down for the evening with a few visitors from other nations leaving.

  The only thing that Steely did notice was the red lamps turning on in one of the larger alleyways that leads to the “Pleasure Street” of the Akane Clan’s Festivity District along with the small hint of the blooming scent of “Petal Incense”.

  “I haven’t smelled Petal Incense in a while now.” Steely mused when he glanced at the lightened alley.

  “The sweet scent of Cherry Blossom petals along with the smell of Rosethorn Flowers mixed together to bring forth a calming yet also alluring scent around the air that it surrounds. I guess it’s still wildly used for enhancing pleasure other than just for calming oneself.”

  Going back on track, Steely stopped staring at the alleyway towards the “Pleasure District” and started walking to his trip back to his home.

  A few moments later…

  Steely found himself walking side by side with Stella once more when he encountered her leaning her back on one of the closed stalls’ poles. They’ve been walking silently for a while now as Steely noticed that Stella seemed to be having a gloomy feeling.

  So naturally, he didn’t wanted to ask Stella about it if it’s a sensitive topic to talk about that would leave his “sister” feeling more gloomy than the state that she is right now.

  He’d rather wait until Stella’s all good to talk before he begins to even start a conversation about this topic.

  “Hey, uh… bro… Can we talk about something for a bit?” And so Stella started.

  This was the cue for Steely to start talking too.

  “What do you want to talk about, sis?” He asked slowly, glancing a small look at Stella.

  The foxian maiden took a few seconds of silence as she tried to calm herself by taking deep breaths after deep breaths before she started speaking once more.

  “Have you… Ever felt like there’s something wrong going on with someone else but you just couldn’t pinpoint it? Or… Was there a time that you did notice it but… just couldn’t figure out even a single way to help them out?”

  This question caught Steely off-guard as it would seem like that these question were similar to the feelings and thoughts that he was having earlier about Tenshi.

  “Did Stella have a similar event happen to her when we were on our separate agendas?” The young nobleman wondered before he asked:

  “Why do you ask that? Did you perhaps came across a situation like that and need help to resolve it?”

  “No…”

  Stella denied it but Steely wasn’t buying it and it was clear based on the look that he was giving her. So in the end, she surrendered.

  “Alright, I’ll come out clean about it.” Stella sighed before she kept speaking.

  “Remember back then during the time we were spending around the different stalls and walking around the Festivity District? The time when you said that my mind went somewhere else when you were calling to me?”

  “Yeah, I remember that time. Is it related to what you want to talk about?”

  Stella nodded at her “brother’s” question and continued.

  “Well… I actually managed to catch a glimpse of someone running before I lost that person. After a while I managed to find the person again who turned out to be a young boy and I asked him if he wanted to eat something sweet with me.”

  “That’s a strange way of greeting someone you just met.” Steely commented and Stella pouted.

  “It was in the heat of the moment kind of thing, okay?! I just didn’t know what to say back then… Okay back to the topic.” She sighed before continuing.

  “When I asked him that, he agreed to eat with me. So we walked throughout the Festivity District, looking at different kinds of stalls before I finally bought him some dangos and a few mochis. We were having a good time together.”

  Stella looked down but still kept walking side by side with Steely as small smile crept her face.

  “I was teasing him about the way he reacted when he first took a bite on his first dango and it was quite funny, trust me. Of course, I stopped when he insisted that I don’t laugh. I then offered him to eat ramen next time at Yamori-san’s famous ramen restaurant after that and he accepted without much hesitation. But after that…”

  Stella seemed to trail for a long time. Steely noticed and kept quiet for a while, checking if Stella would still talk after a while. But when she didn’t speak a single word, he had to ask for himself.

  “And then what happened after that? Did you two went to Yamori-san’s restaurant?”

  Stella shook her head and her tone of voice turned into a solemn tone.

  “No… We were talking about how we enjoyed each other’s company after that, he even commented how sociable I was that I would even try to get to know someone even if I haven’t met that person before or it’s my first time meeting them.”

  “Of course you would take that statement as a compliment though.” Steely answered with a small grin on his face.

  Stella giggled at Steely’s answer and a small grin appeared on her face as well.

  “You know me, bro. Of course I’d take that statement of his as a compliment!”

  She giggled for a short while before her tone took a more sorrowful one as she got back to the topic at hand.

  “What happened after that though, it was something that I’d never forget…”

  Memories of Darsh’s sudden stiffened body and frightful look resurfaced within Stella’s mind and she can still even remember the way he talked ringing inside her ears.

  “He… He suddenly turned stiff when a man called his name. From the looks of it, the man seemed to be his father. Darsh, that was his name, and… he looked so terrified when he was called.”

  She shivered when she the image of Darsh’s terrified face appeared again in her mind.

  “And when he was called by the man again, his wings suddenly appeared. They were black in color and were really big. I don’t know why he suddenly showed his wings though. Maybe he wanted to hide me from his father or maybe it was just something he did because he was scared… I don’t really know.”

  Steely was keeping himself quiet the whole time as he kept on listening carefully to every word that Stella spoke. He then wrapped his left arm on his “sister’s” shoulder and patted it a few times, trying his best to comfort her.

  “There, there, Stella. It’s alright. You did said that you enjoyed each other’s company, so it isn’t your fault. I can tell that this “Darsh” person is a nice guy with the way you described your time with him.”

  “I’m sure that he was only trying to keep you safe and hidden away when he spread his wings, so don’t blame yourself because of it.” He added.

  “Haha… You’re not really helping a lot with comforting me right now, bro. But I really appreciate the effort though. At least it makes me feel a bit more reassured.” Stella admitted with a small yet sad smile.

  “I’m trying my best here, Stella.” Steely retorted.

  “If it makes you feel any better, I had a similar event happen to me just a while back.”

  “I see— Wait, you did?!” Stella questioned in shock.

  “Yeah. I met a girl when I was waiting for you. But I guess you could say that I met her again since I’ve already met her back then at Yamori-san’s Talis-Main Dish Restaurant.” He admitted.

  “The girl who had white hair, right?”

  When Stella answered correctly, Steely was surprised that his “sister” knew who person he was going to tell her about.

  “How did you know?”

  “I saw you having a chat with her when I was approaching the place that you told me you were going to wait for me. It was also at that time that I actually managed to find Darsh again and invited him to eat with me.” She admitted.

  “Well that at least clears out some of the explaining that I need to do then. I guess that I’ll start with what happened after we left the stall.”

  Steely then took a brief moment to gather his thoughts properly before he let a small huff of air out of his mouth and started to speak in a monotone voice.

  “Her name was Tenshi and I was told by her little sister, Shiroi, that she was blessed with beauty ever since birth. So beautiful in fact that I was only the third person she ever met without falling in love with her immediately or confess to her.”

  “Wow. She must be very beautiful then if you’re the third person that didn’t fell in love with her at first sight.” Stella commented.

  “I’d say that she’s very beautiful indeed, but our first time meeting didn’t kind of go in the way you’d expect a normal romance novel would turn out to be. Anyways, back to the topic.”

  Steely then continued speaking as he stared at the bright orange sun setting in the distance.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “Her little sister said that Tenshi tends to attract a lot of people because of her beauty, but the way she attracts them isn’t really her fault. And quite frankly, she hates the attention that she’s getting because it seemed like the effects were out of her control.”

  “What do you mean by that, bro?” Stella asked and Steely answered.

  “I mean that she feels like every single thing that she does, no matter how small, would become something that others may use against her. She found the attention annoying and suffocating in a way that I think she would wish that she wasn’t born with her beauty if she gets the chance.”

  “I was told that even in her own room and household, she feels like there is no privacy for her, not even one bit. And that she feels like she’ll always be targeted by people of both good and bad.”

  “That’s so sad…”

  “I know. The blessing became the curse, how ironic.”

  Steely’s voice then took in a warmer tone as he continued.

  “Anyways… So after that, she wanted to thank me for being the third person who wasn’t attracted to her in THAT way and wanted to be friends with me. She said that she had a place in mind, so I followed her while walking right next to her to see where she’ll take me.”

  “She was quite secretive about it at first and I wasn’t sure why. But when I asked, she insisted that it was best to be kept a secret. So I went along with it until we managed to reach the place that she mentioned to me.”

  “Ooh! Is this a “confession time” type of scenario that I’ve read in some of my novels about? I want all the details, bro!”

  Stella’s eyes gleamed with excitement as she could barely contain herself to know everything while her fox tails flapped from side to side.

  “Calm your horses down, sis! This isn’t a “confession time” type of scenario! Tenshi even said it herself that it was merely a sign of her thanks of me becoming her friend.”

  That information ruined some of Stella’s fun as she booed.

  “Well I’ll still take it as it is. Go on then, bro. I’m listening.”

  “Jeez. Thank you so much for your excitement to hear my story.”

  Steely said sarcastically as Stella pouted at him but he merely rolled his eyes before he continued speaking.

  “When we arrived at the location, it was quite a stunning view. Hidden within the overgrown trees in one of our clan’s districts, yet was still inside our clan’s walls, there lies a field of beautiful and blooming flowers of different colors.”

  “There’s a place like that hidden in one of our clan’s districts?!” Stella exclaimed.

  Steely immediately covered her mouth with his left hand.

  “Keep your voice down, will you?! I don’t want others to try and find that place because you suddenly spouted it out of your mouth! That place is special between the two of us because it’s the place where we marked our friendship!” He scolded.

  “Sorry…” Stella apologized.

  Steely sighed before speaking once more.

  “When we arrived at that flower field, she told me that the flowers bloomed by themselves thanks to the light of the sun and the water from the rain with no one else even taking care of the flowers. I was skeptical at first since it seemed unbelievable but it was her who confirmed it.”

  “When a sudden gust of wind appeared… I somehow couldn’t look away from her. It was like… she completed the scene. The way the wind blew through her hair, the way the flowers swayed beneath her… The word “beautiful” wouldn’t be enough to describe it.”

  “Are you sure that you haven’t fallen in love with her, bro?” Stella asked with a raised brow before she continued.

  “Because from the way you described it and the way you’re speaking, it seems like she made you fall in love with her. No matter how small it is, I can feel it in a way.”

  Steely bonked her on the head with a karate chop that had a small amount of force that wasn’t enough to hurt her much but was enough for her to yelp.

  “That hurt! W-What was that for?!”

  “Don’t even joke about things like that, Stella. No matter what you think, I haven’t fallen in love with her and that’s a given. If I did, then I’m sure that I would’ve noticed my heart pounding uncontrollably or my face heating up. But I didn’t.”

  “Okay, okay… What happened after then? Jeez, you hurt my poor little head…” Stella muttered the last sentence as Steely spoke once more.

  “What happened after was that she noticed my gaze of pity at her and told me that I shouldn’t pity her, that she’d already come into terms with who she was and how she was born, and how she accepted her beauty as part of her no matter how suffering it is.”

  Steely let out a small scoff at those words and his face turned grim.

  “Of course I didn’t believe a single word when she said those things. She may be able to fool others thanks to her beauty, but she can’t hide her suffering in the tone of her voice.”

  Steely’s face then returned to his neutral state and continued.

  “It was after she said those things that she revealed her wings to me. I couldn’t forget at how divine they looked. Pure angelic white wings… I hate the fact that it suited her so well that it stunned me to even speak a single word.”

  Steely then sighed.

  “She then left after flapping her wings a few times. It was like a blink of an eye though because when she flapped her wings, gusts of winds emerged which made me cover my eyes and when I opened them, she was gone.”

  Stella took in the story that her “brother” said to her with a careful thought before she spoke to him.

  “Your story is a bit different than mine, but it has some similarities.”

  Steely let out a small smile as he responded to her.

  “Yeah, it has some similarities. And from the looks of it, you don’t seem too worried anymore when I told you this.”

  “Well, it felt good to let others know what I’m going through as well as hearing what others go through. Hearing your story after you listened to mine really made me calm my nerves.”

  Stella then leaned forward with a small but bright grin on her face.

  “So thanks for sharing your story while you listened to mine, bro!”

  Steely closed his eyes as he let out a small grin on his face before patting her head.

  “It’s the least that I could do as your brother, sis. I’m glad that I managed to calm you down and remove some of your worries.”

  “Ow… Bro, your cold hand is hurting my head.” Stella complained in pain.

  Steely slowly removed his hand on his “sister’s” head but his small grin turned into a small smile and stared forward.

  “I just wished that I could’ve spoken even a few words to her before we parted ways though.” He muttered as the image of Tenshi’s looks came into his mind.

  “Hm? Did you say something, bro? I couldn’t hear you. Can you repeat it for me?” Stella asked when she barely heard what Steely muttered.

  “It’s nothing that you should worry about, Stella. It doesn’t concern you one bit.” Steely replied quickly.

  But with how quickly Steely replied made Stella grin and she gained the sudden urge to tease him and make him spit out the words that he said once more.

  “Hoho~? Well with the way that you replied back to me so quickly, that just makes me want to know what you said even more, brother~. So why don’t you spill it out already~?”

  “Will you shut it up?” Steely demanded, getting a bit irritated.

  “No matter what you do, you won’t be able to make me say it any more than when I said it earlier. You only hear it once and when it falls on deaf ears, you won’t hear again.”

  “Hmm~. But the way you’re denying it just makes me even more intrigued in it, bro~. So why don’t you say it to your sweet twin sister already and I’ll stop bothering you~.”

  Stella was relentlessly trying to make Steely repeat the words that he muttered. She leaned in closer and her grin grew larger, which only irritated Steely even more.

  He then groaned and was resisting the urge to smack her head again but his patience was running thinner and thinner by the second.

  “I’m telling you, Stella. Cut it out before I get even angrier than how I am now.” Steely was clenching his right fist hard to the point that it was shaking.

  But Stella didn’t listen and just kept on teasing him when she saw that he was getting even more furious.

  “Fufufu~. My brother, Steely, is getting all angry at me~. He’s getting shy and I don’t care, because when he doesn’t talk it’s just not fair~.” She mocked in a little tune.

  “Okay! That’s it!”

  Steely swung his arm and went in for another chop on Stella’s head but Stella managed to barely dodge the incoming chop before she grinned and ran while laughing.

  “Hahaha! You’re going to have to do better than that if you want to hurt me, brother!” She stuck her tongue out and waved at Steely.

  “Oh you annoying little mischievous foxian! Get back here!” Steely then chased after Stella.

  “You know I won’t, bro! Catch me if you can! Hahaha!” Stella quickened up her pace as she tried to get away from Steely.

  An annoyed yet also gleeful grin appeared on Steely’s face as he accepted the challenge that his “twin sister” is giving him.

  “You better run away as fast as you can, Stella! Or else you’ll be in for a lot of hurt and trouble, young lady! Run, run, run as fast as you can, you little fox!”

  Their little banter and chase continued on and on for several miles as the both of them ran and ran until they managed to reach their home.

  Noble Akane Household, Main Gates…

  Both Steely and Stella were panting for their own breath as the both of them are completely covered with sweat while their clothes were a bit messed up from their running.

  “You… *HUFF* How are you so fast, bro…? *HUFF* I didn’t think that… *HUFF* …You’d catch up so quickly.” Stella was extremely exhausted from running.

  “I’ve been… *HUFF* Training with Gramps, remember? *HUFF* So it’s only natural for me to… *HUFF* Be fast at running.” Steely was also exhausted but he wasn’t as exhausted as Stella though.

  “It’s a good thing that our gifts inside our bags aren’t ruined though… *HUFF* I’m sweating so much though…” Stella panted once more before straightening herself.

  “Well it certainly is a good sight that you two are having a lot of fun even though I’m not even here most of the time.”

  A familiar voice of a female said to them. It was a voice that they haven’t heard in a long while but not as long as Enrei’s.

  When they looked towards the entrance of their home, they finally saw her face again. Light blonde hair, foxian characteristics with nine fox tails and two black horns on her forehead, and a build that showed her starting growth spurt.

  ““Amber-nee!/Onee-chan!””

  Both Steely and Stella called out to their big sister, Amber Akane, with extreme joy. Finally happy that they get to see their big sister once again after so long.

  “The one and only!” Amber replied back with a bright grin on her face.