The Heroine has Her Eyes on Me as Her Brother’s Wife - Chapter 4

It was when I was about to go back home after finishing my business.

“Benefactor-sister.”

“Huh?”

“That’s….”

Suddenly, Rachel called out to me. I moved my eyes toward where Rachel was pointing.

At the end of her small finger was a dream catcher sold at a grocery store.

“What’s that?”

“That’s called a Dreamcatcher.”

“Dreamcatcher?”

When Rachel tilted her head, her hood fell slightly. I fixed her hood and said,.

“It’s an object that filters out nightmares.”

“Nightmares…”

Rachel murmured quietly. Her shining red eyes sank in an instant. I recalled the original novel with an unfriendly face.

After losing her only family, the red riding hood that killed all the wolves could not fall asleep easily.

“Ahhh! Ahhh!”

Whenever she was about to fall asleep, her brother’s image would cry out to her  in a whirlpool of fire, saying “It’s painful, please save me”

“Heo-eok……. Heo-eok…”

Eventually, she had to give up.

Every time she closed her eyes, the nightmare repeated. Even if she isn’t sleeping or dreaming, the nightmare lives on.

Reddish eyes like her cloak. The only thing that could fill that empty heart, was revenge.

“Of course, it’s a long time before the original story begins, but…”

I realized again what kind of being was holding my hand.

The only time such a small and lovely being was able to escape the pain, was after meeting my brother, Zion.

After she meets Zion, she realizes her love for him and it allows her to sleep comfortably.

The weight of the pain that this delicate girl would have to bear was unimaginable. That’s what family can do.

Right now, I am struggling like this to protect my own family.

It was said that fate is something you make yourself. Although planning for it, seems wrong

Even so, while she was making up her mind about her life plan, Rachel couldn’t take her eyes off of the dreamcatcher.

“Do you want it?”

Rachel opened her eyes wide at my question.

“Oh, no. It’s just…”

Rachel shook her head but kept glancing at the dreamcatcher.

A smile came out as I looked at her childlike gestures. I took Rachel to the store.

“How much is this?” I asked with a husky voice.

The merchant who looked at me, who covered everything with a hat and mask, said, “50 shillings.”

“….”

I hesitated a little for the price that was higher than I thought.

“……Give it to me.”

However, since I made quite a lot of money by selling the brazier herb, I thought I could afford this level of luxury.

‘More than anything, I want to buy it for you.’

After paying the price, I came out with the dreamcatcher that Rachel told me about.

“Here.”

Rachel, as she looked at the dreamcatcher, asked carefully..

“… Can I have it?”

“Of course.”

“….”

Rahel received the dreamcatcher with an emotional look. With a small smile, I bent my knees to make eye contact with Rachel.

“Now you’ll only have sweet dreams.”

Rachel, who blinked her big eyes at my words, laughed bashfully.

“Thank you, Benefactor-sister.”

It was a smile that I couldn’t hide no matter how much I covered it with a hat. I laughed along.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

So, I suddenly became the guardian of the red riding hood, the heroine who would kill me.

* * *

The sun  sets fast in the north. I walked through the forest relying on the pouring moonlight. Far away, I saw a small cabin. When I opened the door, two round heads looked this way as if they had waited.

“Sister!”

“Sister!*”

^{T/n: it has the same meaning, but Zion use “Noona” which is said from younger boy to the oldest girl, and Rachel use “Eonni” which is said from the younger girl to oldest girl}

Ruby was playing with Zion’s hair tied back and forth. Oh, Ruby was the nickname we gave Rachel.

‘Your name is Ruby.’

^{PR/n: This is Eve telling Rachel her new name, since she has some sort of amnesia} 

I pretend to know nothing. Her eyes were shining like rubies, so there would be no better name than that.

“Sister, are you here? Did you sell a lot today?”

Ruby came to my side. I laughed and nodded. The children got along very well, contrary to my expectations. Zion was worried about revealing his ears and tail, but he seemed to be hiding them well. It was worthwhile to frighten him greatly. Ruby spoke with an excited voice.

“Isn’t Zion’s hair cute?”

“So cute. It looks good on you, Zion.”

I laughed and laid the heavy basket next to me. The children’s faces were so innocent that it made me forget my worries. I even felt rubbish when the content of the book came to my mind.

‘That’s a great development. Let’s get along well since we’re like this.’

I said with a happy smile.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you? I’ll get you a meal soon.”

I rummaged through the heavy basket. The weight was no joke since I bought two dinners at once. But I couldn’t help it. Zion and Ruby were still young, so they didn’t eat much, but their tastes were distinctly different. No. To be exact, the conditions I had were different.

I remembered what happened a few days ago. Zion was more vulnerable to cold than I. It was because he didn’t have the same ice magic as me. So Zion usually wanted  hot food. Although, it was the same for me. But that was the problem. It was the third day when I heated up the stew. I put Ruby’s share of food in front of her. She looked dejected at the stew.

“….”

Her expression didn’t look good. Isn’t it too much to eat the same food for a few days? I remembered the money left in my hand. I didn’t have much, except for the money saved to buy an identity. I didn’t want to spend it carelessly, but I also didn’t want to feed the children in my care poor food.

‘I was too careless.’

I’ll have to cook something else tomorrow. What’s good for Ruby’s taste? I thought about it for a short time and opened my mouth.

“You’re sick of it, aren’t you? Eating the same food for days.”

 “…What?” 

Ruby looked at me with a surprised look.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make what you want to eat tomorrow. What do you like? Do you have any food you remember?” 

Ruby shook her head violently. She denied it, but her embarrassment was evident. It was a characteristic of children who told lies.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself to eat.” 

“Oh, I’m not forcing myself. Really!”

Ruby shook her head firmly and lifted the spoon.

Like that, Ruby exclaimed with excitement, asking for a little more, even after eating all of her share.

Back then I didn’t know what to do

‘Have a nice meal!’

I was really pleased ……

I sighed. The me from back then was really an idiot.

As always, regret comes later. That evening, Ruby got sick.

“Ugh….”

Her little body was full of heat. I had to hold Ruby’s hand and let the chill from my hand flow all day long. After a full night’s sleep, the heat subsided. I quickly figured out the problem. Even if you have lost your memory, a dragon is still a dragon. Although she was such a small child, the power of fire she had was tremendous.

She has the power of  the dragon who gives his other heart to his companion to prevent the later explosion, I can’t believe I’ve been feeding her hot food all these days.

^{T/n: she’s talking about dragon in the legend}

‘If you’re gonna do this stupid stuff, you don’t need any of the original knowledge!*’

^{PR/n: since Eve didn’t take into account that Rachel wouldn’t do well with hot food, the og knowledge was useless. Because Eve didn’t use it, she is reprimanding herself for being careless.}

I blamed myself while watching a barely sleeping Ruby.

From that day on, I prepared a perfect separation between the two. Zion is hot food and Ruby is cold food. Together, they are the perfect temperature.

“Sister, give me your hand.”

“What about me, sister?”

“Yes, you should eat a lot, too, my brother.”

With a small smile, I tapped Zion’s soft cheeks.