Episode 11
Chapter 4. Until Turning Ten (3)
Luna and Jin had a nineteen-year age gap between them. It was only natural, considering they were the eldest and youngest among Siron and Rosa’s thirteen children.
Usually, when there’s such a big age difference, the youngest sibling is doted on endlessly… but that wasn’t the case for Jin in his previous life.
So, Luna’s sudden visit was more bewildering than welcome.
‘This feels like a burden for no reason. Has our eldest sister ever shown interest in any of her siblings before?’
Jin racked his memory but couldn’t recall a single instance.
Among the Seins, Luna was known as the White Whale—an epithet likening her to the mythical white whale: noble, untouchable, and utterly aloof. There was only one white whale in the world, after all, reflecting her solitary nature.
“Greetings to the eldest lady!”
“Greetings to the eldest lady!”
The guardian knights burst out, clapping loudly as they rushed forward.
Though Luna hadn’t yet entered the manor, even the servants gathered around the dining table had already bowed their heads.
“Let’s go downstairs to welcome sister, nanny.”
Gilly, too, seemed a bit dazed. It was rare for Luna to visit the family, so the tension was palpable.
“Yes, young master.”
Jin met Luna in the central hall. It was the first time he’d seen his eldest sister since the selection ceremony.
Her silver hair shimmered, her skin was like polished jade, and her deep eyes seemed to pierce through everything.
There was an indescribable majesty in Luna’s gaze—the kind only someone who had spent a lifetime approaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship, cutting down countless formidable foes, could possess.
Jin’s heart pounded as he met that gaze.
‘Is this what it feels like to be looked at by one of the strongest humans?’
But there was no time to be awestruck. Luna might have sensed that Murakan had awakened and come looking for him.
If that was the case, how should he handle this?
While Jin was lost in thought, Luna relaxed the rigid posture of the guardian knights standing nearby.
“You’ve grown a lot, little one.”
Her voice was calm and dry—hardly fitting for someone meeting her youngest sibling after eight years.
Still, Jin caught a faint kindness hidden beneath that dryness. It was too soon to feel reassured, but it was there.
“If you had given notice, I would have greeted you in a tidier outfit. Thank you for coming all this way.”
“You speak so sweetly. Is it really necessary to send word just to see a sibling?”
Luna ruffled Jin’s hair as she spoke.
In his previous life, they barely exchanged a word, and now she was touching his head… Jin couldn’t make sense of it.
‘Why?’
‘Why?’
‘Why is she acting like this?’
The questions piled up in an instant.
When Siron had visited, everything had gone as expected, but Luna was unreadable.
Still, just because she was hard to read didn’t mean he should stop trying. No matter how formidable Luna was, she was still only twenty-eight.
Meanwhile, Jin had lived thirty-seven years—there was no need to feel intimidated.
“That’s true. Since you’re stepping foot on Runcandel’s land, there’s no need to be so formal. But honestly… you feel a little unfamiliar, and somehow, it makes me nervous.”
Luna’s hand stopped stroking Jin’s hair. Gilly, overhearing Jin’s cheeky words, coughed nervously. The guardian knights nearby widened their eyes in surprise.
A tense silence fell. Everyone around sensed the charged exchange between the siblings and tensed up.
“Nervous…?”
“Yes, sister.”
“Does that mean I make you uncomfortable?”
“No, not uncomfortable. It’s just that, for me, this is almost like meeting you for the first time…”
Another pause.
But Luna’s expression was strange.
The guardian knights and nanny expected anger, but instead, her deep blue eyes revealed something no one anticipated.
Sadness, regret, and bitterness.
Those were the emotions flickering across Luna’s face.
“…I see. I was thoughtless. Even if you’re still young, I momentarily forgot that you are Runcandel’s youngest. I’m sorry.”
Jin was equally taken aback by her reaction.
Runcandel—the great swordsmanship family—was not one to foster sibling bonds through sacrifice and support.
Their family tradition was to watch each other closely, to seize and trample on one another. So when Luna heard Jin’s words, she thought he saw her as an obstacle.
That was why her eyes were filled with sorrow.
“Everyone else, please step back… no, Jin. May I have your guardian knights and nanny step outside for a moment?”
Luna lowered herself to Jin’s eye level. When he nodded silently, the knights and Gilly left the central hall.
Jin still couldn’t read her thoughts, but he judged the situation wasn’t bad.
“My youngest sibling.”
“Yes, sister.”
“The reason I came to see you so suddenly… is because I have something to say. And today happens to be your birthday.”
Jin relaxed the guarded expression on his face a little.
“What is it you want to say…?”
“Your father and all your siblings are watching over you. I don’t think I need to explain what that means, seeing you for myself.”
Everyone in Runcandel was watching Jin.
The reason was clear: last year, Siron’s visit to the Storm Fortress was officially accepted as a way to check on his youngest son.
Plus, Jin had chosen Barisada during the selection ceremony, so it was only natural he’d be under scrutiny.
“Yes, I understand. From the moment I left the Storm Fortress, it means the others might start keeping an eye on me.”
Luna set her axe-sword, Krantel, down on the floor. Even though she placed it carefully, the heavy thud echoed through the hall.
“Yes, you understand well. Your wariness of me comes from knowing this.”
Jin met her gaze without replying.
“But, little one, what I want to say is this: I don’t want you to get caught up in the family’s dirty fights and lose your happiness.”
It felt like a hammer blow to the back of his head.
‘So this is what my eldest sister has been thinking all along? That’s why she never joined the bloody battles to become head of the family?’
Luna was the strongest among the siblings and could have taken Joshua’s place as the next head whenever she wished.
Yet she had kept her distance from the family’s internal bloodshed. Her words weren’t out of the blue. Still, hearing it directly from her was surprising.
But Jin felt a twinge of resistance.
‘If she didn’t want me to be sacrificed in sibling fights, why didn’t she say anything in my previous life?’
Maybe it wasn’t worth mentioning. Or perhaps the others didn’t even see Jin as a rival. That thought crossed his mind, but it wasn’t important right now.
“Sister Luna.”
“Speak.”
“I’m truly grateful for your words, but I have no intention of stepping out of the fight.”
His tone was firm but respectful.
“I’m sincere. I’m not saying this because I’m worried you might threaten me someday.”
“I feel that too, sister. Thank you so much. Honestly, I never thought the others would worry about me.”
“…May I ask why?”
“You probably don’t know.”
Jin took a deep breath before continuing.
“I’ve already survived one assassination attempt. It’s something I’ve never told anyone—not even Gilly. In that sense, the fight has already begun.”
To be precise, it wasn’t an assassination attempt but a curse. The “Blade’s Widow” curse was worse than death for a Runcandel member, so it wasn’t an exaggeration.
“How dare they!”
Luna shouted, and particles of her aura burst forth. A whirlwind of energy swirled around her, shaking the central hall as if an earthquake had struck.
“How dare a sibling try to kill you here at the Storm Fortress! Who was it? Was it one of Tona’s lot?”
“That I cannot say.”
Jin answered dryly, but seeing Luna so furious on his behalf made his chest tighten.
“It’s not that I can’t say—I just don’t know.”
“Hah!”
There was no need to say more.
Luna had no choice but to accept that her youngest sibling was already mired in the family’s dirty battles.
After a while, Luna’s face grew troubled. Jin cautiously wrapped his arms around her neck.
“But not all siblings hate me. Thanks to you today, I’m truly glad to realize that.”
“Jin, my little brother… I am so very sad.”
Who would have thought the White Whale, Luna Runcandel, was such a fragile person?
To Jin, she was no longer a fearsome nine-star knight, but simply a human being suffering from sorrow.
“Don’t be so sad.”
Luna stayed for two more hours before leaving the Storm Fortress. Her presence had brightened Jin’s otherwise bleak birthday gathering.
‘I never knew my eldest sister had this side to her.’
Jin toyed with the pendant hanging around his neck—a birthday gift Luna had left behind.
‘She told me to break this gem only once, when something truly unbearable happens.’
If you break the blue gem set in the pendant, you can teleport directly to where Luna is—but only once. It was an artifact Luna had gotten after slaying a demon.
“Oh, kid, is that around your neck? No way—that’s the Demon Lord Orgal’s, isn’t it? Yep! Wow, you got yourself a rare birthday gift. A thousand years ago, dozens of kings lost their lives trying to get their hands on that.”
“Who’s this Demon Lord Orgal?”
“He was a powerful demon active in my time. I can recognize it at a glance. Since the one with that overwhelming energy gave it to you, it’s like you’ve gained a life. Congratulations, kid.”
Murakan knew exactly what the pendant could do.
“I get that it’s valuable, Murakan, but you said ‘overwhelming energy’? You could actually feel that?”
“Of course, man. I may have lost a lot of my strength, but I’m still a dragon. At first, I thought it might be your father, but since he noticed me and just walked away, I guess not.”
“What? Wait—are you saying my oldest sister noticed you?”
Jin’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Haha, so the one with that energy was your sister? Man, your family really is something else. I was even thinking of running off with you if things got rough.”
“Ha.”
“Well, since your sister gave you Orgal’s pendant, I doubt she’s going to report us to the family. Things are looking up.”
“Do you think she’ll turn a blind eye?”
“I’d bet a hundred apple pies on it. If she were that petty, she wouldn’t have handed over the pendant. You’ve got a good sister. Lucky you, kid. Meanwhile, my sister…”
As Murakan went on about his own sister, Jin couldn’t help but worry that Luna might reveal Murakan’s existence to their family.
But just before Murakan left, Jin remembered what Luna had said, and his heart eased.
“Just remember one thing, Jin. My little brother.”
“No matter what you do, no matter who you become, I’ll always be cheering for you.”