Christian's attention was entirely on his sister.
It seemed to him as if she had been holding back countless feelings inside her, keeping them bottled up for so long, and now, finally, she was trying to release them all.
And Christian... he was determined to be there for her, to listen to her until the very end, to accept everything she wanted to give him… be it whatever it was.
'So, then... what comes after that?' Christian wondered, and waited patiently.
Luckily, he didn't need to wait long before Annabelle continued, "That's when I arrived at the conclusion that I was too half-hearted... that I was distracted by too many things."
"… And I decided to stop caring about all of that."
"Just do what you want."
"As long as you are happy... as long as I'm by your side... then I don't care."
'After all of that, this is what you arrived at?' Christian couldn't help but think, feeling both surprised and moved.
It wasn't that he wasn't touched. No, he was, deeply so.
He felt happy... immensely happy, warmed to the core by his sister's affection.
But even so… even if she could love him this much… shouldn't she still have something just for herself too? Something that was hers alone, something that gave her joy without needing to involve him?
That's why, after a moment of silence, he finally said, "How about you also take me out of the equation... and just think about something solely for yourself?"
"... Starting with the essence technique, for example. You could try to select a field aside from fighting, maybe Find your next favorite novel on NovelHub today!.. then don't worry. I will always be there."
That's what Christian said.
But... how could he possibly change the mind of his stubborn sister?
Annabelle, while shaking her head lightly, replied, "You're getting something wrong."
"This technique isn't just for being able to stay by your side."
"It's also for reaching your enemies, so that if you want to kill them, I can help you with that."
'Again?' Christian thought, feeling the urge to facepalm at this topic she didn't seem willing to let go of.
Still, he asked, a little exasperated, "So you still haven't given up on that?"
"Why? Is that wrong?" Annabelle asked cheekily, tilting her head with an innocent smile.
Christian, feeling troubled, looked at his sister's refreshed expression, and said uncertainly, "Well... it's not that. But..."
Christian didn't plan to concede to his sister, not when it came to letting her act as she wants like during Damian's incident.
Yet now, faced with her stubbornness, he didn't quite know what else to say.
In the end, like she told him, he really planned to do what he wanted after all.
… So, maybe he could do what he wanted, and she could do what she wanted too?
While that was Christian's thought… he actually misunderstood her… he actually got the wrong idea. Because unlike before, Annabelle's intentions weren't the same as during the incident with Damian.
This time, it was different. If before, her thoughts were that she needed to be the one to do these kinds of things instead of her brother.
Then this time, it was simply that she wanted to do it for him. To be helpful to him.
If it was something that would compromise what he had in mind… like in Damian's case, where he wanted to vent his feelings, then she would naturally not interfere.
Her intention wasn't focused just on the killing part too. She simply wanted to become a Find your next favorite novel on NovelHub today!
And coincidentally, the best path she felt she could walk was with a space-related technique… if she wasn't strong enough, she could at least run away safely in any situation, after all.
Find your next favorite novel on NovelHub today!
From how she understood her brother's actions and plans, especially with those robots.
She knew it would either succeed completely or fail completely.
And if it failed… they would probably all be gone anyway.
And more than anything, there was Eva.
Once the problem regarding her condition was fixed, she would probably choose something related to healing.
From what Annabelle understood about her during these five months together, Eva wasn't someone who liked fighting and preferred to stand in the backline.
She even heard her talk about healing once before.
And Annabelle, truthfully, didn't have the confidence to do better than her.
While unaware of the full extent of his sister's thoughts, Christian still didn't plan to dissuade her anymore.
He just sighed and, while cupping her cheeks, said, "My Annabelle… just why are you becoming so much more complicated?"
Annabelle's green eyes quivered at the way her brother called her, and while feeling happy and surprised, she blushed… and wanted to avoid his intense gaze.
But Christian, not allowing her to do so, leaned in closer and caught her lips in a passionate kiss.
He looked at how she closed her eyes tightly, with his own eyes still open… and felt that she was even more embarrassed than the first time they kissed.
Nonetheless, he continued the kiss for a few minutes before finally pulling his head away.
His gaze didn't move from her, and after savoring her taste in his mouth for a moment, he finally said, "Just do what you want. As long as you don't feel stifled, and are really free."
'Unlike how you were restricted because of me before, then…'
"Then, I don't mind."
"You doing what you want… was actually something I always wanted to happen."
It wasn't like he was giving permission for her to interfere with everything he did.
But Christian didn't feel like he would let his guard down again, like during that time… and let her take advantage of it.
His strength, his abilities, and the information he now held were not the same… but most importantly, the sense of control he had, was constantly rising too.
… And no matter what… even if it was cruel to her, and arrogant of him, he actually thought, that she was never going to catch up to him.
So, at this moment, instead of worrying about what she could do.
He was looking forward to what she would do… and possibly surprise him.
… And thinking like that, Christian suddenly felt as if all the chains binding him were released… and he felt like he didn't care about that incident anymore.