"Brother~"
Helena once again offered a neatly cut piece of steak, her eyes shining as she waited for my reaction.
At first, I suspected that Helena might have poisoned the food…
But then I thought again. Helena seemed really serious about living with me in this old house, without any interruptions.
She even made this place feel like a prison…
If that's the case, there's no reason for her to poison me.
Still…
I wasn't really in the mood to eat. No matter how delicious Helena's cooking was, as she claimed, my feelings made everything taste bland and unexciting.
"Tasty, brother?"
Helena's hopeful gaze never left me.
"…Yeah, it's good."
I forced myself to swallow a few bites of steak.
"It really is good…"
Helena's smile widened as she happily grabbed another piece of vegetable.
"Try this! Brother, you have to eat a balanced meal, not just meat~"
I looked at the vegetables in front of me, then at Helena with a resigned expression.
"Uh… I'm actually not that hungry, I'm full…"
I gave a faint smile while pushing the vegetables aside.
That should have been a normal gesture, but to my surprise…
Helena's face immediately darkened.
The dining room seemed to drop several degrees in temperature.
[Helena]
[Affection: 100]
[Corruption: 72 ↑]
I was shocked to see her corruption level rise.
"Br…other!"
Her expression was gloomy, lips pressed tightly together, even her arm trembling slightly.
Signs of a mutation forming!
"Don't waste food!"
She stared from across the long table, every word sharp:
"This food, you must! Eat it all!!"
"…Huh?"
I froze. Wasn't that reaction a bit extreme?
I forced a bitter smile.
"Okay, okay… I'll eat, I'll eat."
Reluctantly, I picked up my plate and swallowed nervously.
There was no way I could finish all this food…
But right now, the only way to calm her was to comply, so she wouldn't lose control suddenly.
That way, I could buy time… time to prepare and eventually, catch her off guard.
So, I ate.
Seeing me obediently swallow my food, Helena's expression softened.
[Corruption: 71 ↓]
Dinner continued in silence.
After steak and bread, my stomach felt like it was going to explode.
Fortunately, Helena also shared the eating burden.
I stole a glance while chewing.
She pulled her chair right next to me, like some kind of supervisor. But even while watching, she ate.
Her speed was surprising—faster than mine, even though I was forced. And all the plates were clean with nothing left.
It reminded me of the past…
Back then, Helena always ate like this.
Her small body seemed to have a stomach that stretched into another dimension.
And every time she ate, she looked truly happy, as if food was the only thing that brought her joy.
All of it went back to her childhood…
That day, I found her in the slums of Saint Carlen's lower district. A skinny, starving child, trembling almost to death in a filthy shack.
Her first words to me:
"I'm so hungry…"
Abandoned by her family as a "monster," she ran away from the orphanage, only to spend her childhood being chased by Special Affairs Bureau agents.
Hunger and cold consumed half of her life.
No wonder she was so obsessed with food, especially hot meals.
Thinking of that, I watched her little mouth busily chew, my feelings mixed.
If none of this had happened, eating together in silence like this could have felt warm.
But…
The pain of betrayal still throbbed in my chest.
My sister was a monster.
A twisted, insane monster… who had once tried to kill me.
Just remembering that extinguished any sympathy I might have had.
I couldn't afford to feel pity!
My hand unconsciously slid into my pocket.
"Brother… can't eat anymore?"
The room went silent as Helena stared at me quietly.
"Is my cooking not good enough?"
"No, no…" I quickly pulled my hand back and grabbed my bowl of borscht.
"Hehe, it's just… I want to take a short break. Eating continuously is exhausting, you know…"
Helena didn't push. She wiped her lips with a napkin, then looked at me with an expression hard to read.
I tensed under her gaze, every hair on my body standing on end.
Did she notice something?
"Brother… you don't like living with me?"
Her head tilted slightly, her smile sweet and innocent.
"How could I?" I immediately denied.
But inside, I felt uneasy. Why did she ask that all of a sudden? Was she suspicious of my "plan"?
"Good…"
Helena looked around the empty house.
This two-story house felt so quiet with just the two of us.
Hugging herself, her small body shrank a little, radiating a fragile sense of insecurity.
"Even though I'm here with you… you still feel lonely, don't you, brother?"
"Lonely?" I frowned, unsure where this was going.
Her eyes fixed on me. Slowly, her lips curved into a strange smile.
"You never say it… but in your heart, you still miss them, don't you?"
My chest tightened. This was a devil's trap.
The last time she asked, she suddenly exploded and killed someone.
"Them? Who do you mean?" I laughed awkwardly, pretending not to understand. "Yours alone is more than enough, Helena."
"Oh~?"
Helena giggled softly, her tone meaningful. "Really?"
"Of course!!"
"Hmm…"
Helena stood, walking back to the kitchen as if searching for something.
"Good. I thought you still missed the times surrounded by other girls…"
"Haha… don't be ridiculous…" I forced a laugh.
But my laughter froze when Helena returned.
She was carrying something pitch black in her hands.
Thud!
The dark, heavy object fell to the floor like trash.
It slowly rolled to my feet, filling the air with the nauseating scent of blood.
As my eyes focused on it, my breath caught.
No acting could hide my fear.
My pupils shrank, and my body trembled uncontrollably.
It was… a head.
A severed woman's head!
The face looked familiar, a classmate of mine.
Her eyes were still wide open, full of fear and refusal.
"Brother, can you guess what I just did?"
Helena smiled brightly, almost gleeful.
"I met your classmate while shopping. She seemed to like you."
"She even greeted me, probably thinking she could get closer to you through me."
Her gaze darkened with hatred as she looked at the head.
"Hehe… stupid, vile woman. How dare she look at my brother!"
"Die! Die! Die! Die!"
Her voice was nearly insane, her once-clear eyes filled with red veins.
With one stomp, the head was crushed under her foot.
The smell of blood hit harder, making me nauseous.
Only after venting her rage did Helena's madness subside.
She gently touched my trembling face, her touch filled with a horrifying affection.
"You promised me, brother. You'll always be with me… No other woman will ever come between us."
In the dim candlelight, my expression was hard to read.
"Brother?"
Seeing me sit quietly, hea
d down, Helena chuckled.
"You want to say something?"
"…Brother?"
Finally, I moved.
Fists clenched, my whole body trembling.
A flood of unexplainable feelings rushed as my eyes met hers.
One word echoed in my heart.
Monster.
[TO BE CONTINUED]