"Big Sister..." Watching Kaede catch her blade with both hands, Kurome kept backing away. The blade had slipped from her palms. Kurome's eyes widened. At this moment, she finally came to her senses. What on earth was she doing? She actually wanted to kill Kaede?
"Hmm, it's okay. Come here," Kaede said, looking at Kurome.
"Uh..." Kurome looked at Kaede's face, which didn't seem to show any signs of anger, and her heart settled slightly. But at this moment, a wave of guilt welled up in her heart. How much had Kaede done for them, and she actually... actually wanted to turn Kaede into a puppet!
"Silly girl, don't overthink it." Watching Kurome's expression change rapidly, Kaede finally took the initiative to pull Kurome to her side and then rubbed Kurome's hair. "Big Sister won't blame you."
"But... but." Kurome knew, she knew that her sister would never blame her, but she blamed herself. She felt guilty.
The more Kaede acted like this, the stronger the guilt in Kurome's heart became.
Pulling Kurome back into her arms, Kaede said, "Kurome, do you know? I seem to have trusted you both too much."
"Mm." Kurome nodded.
"I believed Akame could resolve the things she was facing, but in the end, Akame chose to defect." A look of despondency flashed in Kaede's eyes. If she had forced her to talk earlier, would Akame have relented in the end?
"Mm..." Hearing this, Kurome couldn't help but shed tears once again.
"And you, Kurome." Kaede narrowed her eyes, looking at the moonlight outside, and said, "I want to ask you, is the Empire more important, or are Akame and I more important?"
"Of course the Emp..." Kurome instinctively wanted to answer, but she couldn't continue halfway through. Looking at her sister in front of her, could it be that she also... A black aura flashed in Kurome's eyes once again.
"Thump!"
"Ow, that hurts!" Kurome rubbed her forehead, which Kaede had just flicked.
"You silly girl, don't overthink it. I'm not going to betray the Empire yet," Kaede said. "I just originally believed that the bond between the three of us could surpass everything, whether it be the Empire or justice or whatever. It seems that was just my wishful thinking."
As she spoke, a bitter smile appeared on Kaede's lips. She looked at Kurome and continued, "I know you were brainwashed by Bill, but I believe in you more. Even if you were brainwashed again, I believe you would still put us first. But, you rejected Akame."
"But, I still have you, Sister..." Kurome couldn't help but say.
"Don't talk about me. You and Akame both know, right! If I wanted to leave, even if Gozuki were still alive, he wouldn't be able to stop me," Kaede said directly. "So, it seems I was being too wishful."
Kurome's expression was one of struggle. Had she really been brainwashed? But why didn't she feel anything?
The Empire, my sister...
In the end, a look of sadness appeared on Kurome's face, and she said to Kaede, "I'm sorry, Kaede, I... I..."
"Alright, I know." Kaede stroked Kurome's hair, then finally pressed her forehead against Kurome's, saying, "It's okay. Even if that's the case, I will always stay by your side."
Although she said that, a trace of disappointment couldn't help but appear in Kaede's eyes.
"Mmm, Sister..." Kurome felt that her heart, which had been broken by Akame, seemed to be quietly recovering, and she felt warmth.
"Sister, I love you the most!" Kurome said.
"Yeah, Sister loves Kurome too." To be honest, Kaede didn't blame Kurome at all for wanting to cut her, because she had experienced something similar. She, too, had felt that impulse to destroy the whole world. However, fortunately, she had the best sister, and so, she had recovered.
At this moment, how could Kaede blame Kurome? It was just that Kaede was a little worried—could she comfort Kurome as well as her own sister had?
"This time, really go to sleep." Kaede said softly. Of course, the way Kurome had pretended to fall asleep earlier couldn't fool Kaede.
Of course, even if Kaede were truly asleep, it would be impossible for Kurome to get up without waking Kaede; the gap between them was still too large. Therefore, Kaede wouldn't have any issues from the start.
"Mmm." Kurome nodded and snuggled into Kaede's arms. At this moment, the unease brought about by Akame's betrayal finally disappeared completely. Now, Kurome only felt that her sister's arms were so warm, warm enough to make her want to fall asleep.
Kaede felt Kurome in her arms slowly drift into a true sleep. She then straightened Kurome's hair, pulled the blanket up for her, and began to think about what would happen next.
As for hunting down Akame? Even if Nahash didn't say it, Kaede knew that someone would definitely do it; perhaps they had already started.
But, Kaede still chose to believe in Akame, to believe that Akame would not die in such a pursuit. As for the fact that Akame was now her enemy?
Well, in Kaede's eyes, no matter what status Akame held, her primary status was that of her younger sister. Being her sister, she should care for her, that's all.
Then, the remaining thing was the other mission. A genocide mission?
Just hearing the name, Kaede knew the difficulty involved. But, so what if it was difficult? Would she be afraid now? Was this mission meant to send her to her death?
At this moment, a strange smile appeared on Kaede's lips. Perhaps this was a suicide mission for others, but for her, it might not be.
Then, Kaede's eyes flashed. Let the world see just how strong she was now!
Kaede's strength had been growing, continuously growing, improving at every moment. After training under the Imperial General Budo, she could have fearlessly shown her strength, but she never had the chance. This time, the opportunity had arrived.
And it came just at the right time. Kaede really needed to vent now; she urgently needed a slaughter to resolve the restlessness in her heart!
Having endured for so long, she would eventually erupt. When that eruption was complete, she would no longer be a rat in the darkness; she would walk upright onto the stage of the Empire, and no one would be able to stop her from entering.
Everything depends on strength!
Even in an Empire as corrupt as this, this principle could not be violated: the strong are respected. Do you not see? Someone as strong as Esdeath, relying on her own strength, managed to go from being the survivor of a slaughtered clan to becoming an Imperial General, and she lived quite comfortably.
However, Kaede still intended to do this mission alone. If Kurome went with her, she would conversely be unable to let loose.
If Kurome knew, she would probably make a fuss, right? A bitter smile appeared on Kaede's lips, but this time she really couldn't take Kurome with her. Even if it meant asking Nahash to watch over Kurome, she absolutely could not let Kurome follow her to do this mission.
With these thoughts, Kaede also drifted off to sleep.
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