Chapter 175: The Three-Way Cuckold
When she first came to this parallel world and heard Silver Wing explain the origin of this world's Seele, it wasn't so much that Bronya suspected the dark-blue-haired girl before her was her sister, but that she hoped she was her Seele.
Compared to the idea of Seele crossing over to a parallel world, Bronya found it far more unbearable to imagine Seele enduring the punishment of absolute silence and absolute darkness in the sunless, void-like Sea of Quanta.
However, it was all that Caelus's fault!
She thought back to the scene when she first met Seele.
She had no idea how to face Seele, and she found it difficult to accept the fact that her little sister had been snatched away by that grey-haired boy.
She even had a fleeting thought, hoping this Seele wasn't her sister. But Bronya quickly cast that idea aside. Anything was better than drifting in the Sea of Quanta!
After composing herself, Bronya began using Silver Wing's body to observe Seele from a distance.
As the older sister who had spent every day with Seele at the orphanage, loving and caring for her, Bronya considered herself the world's foremost expert on Seele. Judging her identity from her daily behavior wouldn't be difficult.
After careful observation over a long period, Bronya was mostly certain, but still harbored some doubts.
The reason was that most of the time, she was identical to the Seele in her memories (when White Seele was in control), but occasionally, she felt a slight sense of unfamiliarity (when the other Seele was in control).
Because of this, Bronya couldn't be completely sure.
To definitively determine Seele's identity, she would have to get close and talk to her.
Unfortunately, Silver Wing then had to carry out the 'sleight of hand' mission, which meant separating from Seele and their companions.
Bronya planned to help first. This was her agreement with Silver Wing—to do her part in saving a civilization while also using the time to adjust her own state of mind.
Now that everything was over and they had reached a Happy End, a mentally prepared Bronya finally got her wish to personally meet with Seele.
A promise. To see the sea.
Catching those two keywords, Bronya's breath caught in her throat.
"Seele..."
Bronya gazed at the girl's face, so close to her own, and looked into those sea-blue eyes as she spoke:
"Seele, can you tell me the story of you and your Big Sis Bronya?"
"Of course~" White Seele smiled gently and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
In a voice as soft and sweet as malt candy, White Seele began to recount the story of the past.
The past the girl spoke of filled Bronya with a deep sorrow. It was as if she had returned to that time, to that magnificent summer of cicada song.
The little sister sitting beside her, lips curved upwards into a cute, faint dimple, gently biting a popsicle—she completely overlapped with the girl before her now.
In that instant, the thousands of thoughts, the tangled doubts in Bronya's heart, all vanished like smoke.
She was utterly, completely, and totally certain that the girl before her was her little sister!
"Big Sis Bronya?"
Amidst the rustling of the wind, a familiar voice gently entered her ears, pulling Bronya back from her sorrowful reminiscence.
Looking at the silver-haired beauty whose expression was a mixture of daze and excitement, White Seele's eyes were colored with a hint of surprise.
She clearly didn't know that the consciousness inside the body before her was her own Big Sis Bronya.
"Bronya is fine, just recalling a few things."
In her excitement, Bronya completely forgot to hide her habit of referring to herself in the third person.
"Oh, I see."
White Seele nodded, only half-understanding, feeling that this "parallel world Big Sis Bronya" was acting very strange today.
"Seele, Bronya actually..."
Now that Seele's identity was confirmed beyond a doubt, Bronya felt an immediate impulse to reveal her own identity completely!
After all, Silver Wing only asked her to try not to get exposed, she never said it was absolutely forbidden. When facing Seele, there was no need to hide anything, was there?
But just as the words left her lips, the rest caught in her throat. Countless images flashed through Bronya's mind.
Is it really okay to just say it like this?
How will Seele react?
Bronya once again recalled the scene in the bathroom that night, the girl's tear-streaked eyes, the pearly tears spilling from their corners.
Seele's words played on a loop in her mind.
Paired with the images of Silver Wing and Caelus tangled in bed, which also included the moments when she herself, having gained control of the body when Silver Wing's powers went haywire, did those things with Caelus...
The scenes replayed faintly in her mind, making Bronya's heart clench violently.
A sequence of thoughts began to snowball.
She had betrayed her dearest sister.
She had been used to betray her dearest sister.
Her dearest sister had been betrayed.
Just a slight reordering of the words produced three completely different meanings.
Even more bizarrely, Bronya felt all three sensations at this very moment!
Even with a healthy emotional center, it was still difficult to bear such an ultimately complex emotion. The tightness in her chest felt like a dam about to burst from a flood.
She was breaking apart!
Her thoughts completely reversed in the span of a few breaths. Bronya decided that before telling Seele her identity, she had to explain the situation between her and Caelus.
"Actually?"
Seeing Bronya's extremely troubled expression, White Seele tilted her head in confusion.
"Bronya wants to talk to Seele about Caelus."
Bronya felt a little guilty. After all, she had indeed used Silver Wing's body to do things with Caelus, but she still had to explain it clearly to Seele.
The engagement with Caelus was entirely Silver Wing's decision. She... she wasn't...
"Brother Caelus..."
What panicked Bronya was that upon mentioning Caelus, the girl immediately lowered her head, hiding her expression in the shadows, making it impossible to see what she was thinking.
"I'm sorry, Big Sis Bronya, Seele doesn't want to talk about this."
Bronya could see the girl's small face turn a shade paler, her smile gone, her eyes flashing with disappointment and even a tiny hint of resentment.
White Seele averted her gaze, refusing to look at the silver-haired beauty.
To be honest, her initial feelings toward this "Big Sis Bronya," who, like herself, was from a parallel Earth, were simple: a closeness born from the love she already held for 'Big Sis Bronya'.
But now, her feelings were very complicated.
This Big Sis Bronya was engaged to Brother Caelus, and her 'parallel world self' also liked Brother Caelus.
White Seele's personality was gentle and indecisive; she was not good at fighting for things.
If she were in this situation, she would make the same choice as her 'parallel world self'—not to compete with Big Sis Bronya for Brother Caelus, and to bless them silently.
But when 'Seele' actually made that choice, White Seele couldn't help but feel sad for 'her'!
Regardless of her own feelings for Caelus, 'Seele' had been taking meticulous care of her ever since she arrived in this world. Worried that she had been sealed away in the Sea of Quanta for too long, 'Seele' had even proactively lent her control of their body.
White Seele felt more than simple gratitude.
Her 'parallel world self' and her 'other self' were both the most important people to White Seele!
White Seele could tolerate being hurt or wronged herself, but she didn't want 'Seele' to be wronged.
And when Big Sis Bronya mentioned Brother Caelus, White Seele could clearly perceive 'Seele's' emotions through their mental link—a sharp, twisting pain, as if her heart were being wrung out.
[My parallel self, are you okay?]
With her eyes downcast, White Seele immediately showed concern for the other Seele.
[I'm fine...]
Though those were the words spoken, with their mental connection, White Seele could hear the heart-wrenching pain of watching the person you love get together with another woman.
This couldn't help but stir a small bit of displeasure in White Seele toward the Bronya in front of her.
In the end, she was just the Big Sis Bronya from a parallel world, not her Big Sis Bronya.
They hadn't known each other for very long. Even with the natural affinity bonus that came with the 'Bronya' identity, they could be friends, but it couldn't be said that their bond was particularly deep.
In White Seele's heart, her 'parallel world self' and the 'parallel world Bronya' weren't even in the same league.
Under these circumstances, instead of accepting 'Seele's' blessing and being with Brother Caelus, Big Sis Bronya was showing a reluctant expression as if she were 'being forced' and trying to explain things to 'Seele'.
Even someone as gentle as White Seele felt this Big Sis Bronya was going a bit too far.
It felt like she was feigning innocence after getting everything she wanted.
"Big Sis Bronya, you can't be like that."
Her personality made it rare for White Seele to get angry, but now she couldn't bear to watch any longer.
Judging from this Big Sis Bronya's actions in helping to save Belobog, White Seele didn't think she was doing it on purpose.
Perhaps... she just has low emotional intelligence in this area?
To prevent 'Seele' from being reminded of him and continuing to feel sad, White Seele earnestly advised Big Sis Bronya and then, ignoring her calls, immediately turned and left.
"Seele!"
"Seele!"
Bronya watched the girl leave as if she were fleeing. She took a few steps to follow, but the light gradually faded from her pink and silver eyes.
Why?
Finally confirming Seele's identity should have been a good thing, so why did things turn out like this?
Bronya bit her lower lip. Seeing that look in Seele's eyes, her heart felt like it had been pierced through by a blade of ice.
What should I do?
What am I supposed to do?
Having never experienced anything like this, Bronya was like a traveler just entering a forest, feeling lost and uneasy about the darkness ahead, completely at a loss about how to handle this three-way cuckold situation.
After some thought, she came to a conclusion: find Silver Wing!
Silver Wing must have a way to handle this!
Her mature and reliable 'self' would surely be able to fix her relationship with Seele.
That being said, after confirming the fact that Seele liked Brother Caelus, Bronya was still terribly upset.
Needing a fight to vent her inner turmoil, Bronya returned to the villa's courtyard and then went back to the Elysian Realm, where she began to unleash her frustrations wildly.
Meanwhile, Seele, who had just watched a good show, was enjoying White Seele's comfort.
By Aha!
She had only said a single sentence the entire time and had displayed an emotion consistent with her character. She hadn't done anything else!
Therefore, this matter had absolutely nothing to do with her!
This damn Path of Elation, why does it keep dragging me into things!
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