As soon as the door opened, a young girl immediately hugged him tightly. Her body was warm, her black hair fragrant like tulips. She only reached up to Edward's chin. At first Edward hesitated, but then he returned her embrace.
"You took so long to open the door! I thought something happened to you, Brother!" the girl spoke quickly, her tone filled with worry.
Edward fell silent. His hands were stiff. Then he gently pushed his younger sister a little away from him. Of course, he did it softly.
"I… I'm fine," he said, his voice a little hoarse.
The girl stared at Edward's face. Her eyes were large, clear, full of curiosity. She was about seventeen years old, her face still pure but naturally beautiful, and from the way she spoke, it was obvious that she really was the sister of this body. Their faces were similar, but in front of him was the female version of it.
"You look pale, Brother. Are you sick?" she asked, scanning Edward from top to bottom.
Edward restrained himself from reacting too strangely. "Just… a little dizzy. I slept too long. You don't need to worry." He gently patted his sister's head.
His sister sighed in relief, then gave a faint smile. "Thank goodness. I thought you had locked yourself inside because of something bad."
Edward only nodded, trying to hide how foreign all this felt, and what had happened to this body before.
For a while they stayed silent, then the girl spoke again, this time in a lighter tone. "If that's the case, could you go to the market for a bit? It's already late afternoon. We've run out of wheat bread. Also buy some vegetables and meat. I already wrote it down on this paper."
She handed him a small piece of paper containing the shopping list. Edward stared at it, then looked back at his sister.
"The market?" he muttered softly. Such a simple word, yet in his mind, wild questions began to appear. This world, its people, even his relationship with the girl calling him brother… everything still felt foreign.
But he knew one thing: if he wanted to survive in this unknown world, he had to blend in. Pretend. He could not be suspicious.
Edward gave a faint smile, trying to imitate the warm attitude of an older brother. "Alright. I'll go."
His sister smiled again. "Thank you, Brother. Be careful on the way."
"I'll change my clothes first!" Edward said.
He wanted to close his room door, but his sister quickly pulled him and pushed him out of the room. Edward wanted to say something, but she immediately locked the door and put the key into her pocket.
Edward let out a long sigh. "Alright."
"If I don't do this, Brother will just go back into the room and forget what I asked you to do," his sister complained.
Edward was surprised that Qeuun Redblood, or rather the owner of this body, was seen that way in his sister's eyes. But after Edward dug deeper, what she said was true. Qeuun Redblood often locked himself in his room these past few days.
Yet he was an educated young man. He was a graduate in philosophy. Many universities had offered him positions to teach there. Qeuun Redblood was a genius, the top graduate of his university.
But instead, he chose to open a family restaurant. The restaurant was not too crowded and sometimes he even lost money. Lately, with him often locking himself in, the restaurant he had founded was on the verge of bankruptcy.
If not for Alice Redblood, the restaurant would have already closed five days ago.
"Why aren't you leaving yet?" Alice scolded.
Edward looked at his sister for a moment, then turned his body. After that he began to walk. His mind was still circling around the hidden passage and the blood-soaked clothes he had hidden under the table beside the wardrobe. If his sister found them, he would be in trouble.
"I hope she doesn't see them," Edward muttered.
He wore a long coat that covered his bleeding stomach. The blood was still flowing, but much better than before. Still, Edward could feel the sting in his belly. Even just walking made him grimace in pain.
He went down to the lower floor. Below was a small restaurant owned by the landlord of the apartment where Edward and his family lived. They rented two rooms: one small room for himself, and one larger room for his two sisters.
As he was walking down, Edward felt someone's gaze on him. He quickly turned in that direction, but there was no one there. He shrugged his shoulders and kept walking, ignoring the feeling.
He took a deep breath and nodded with determination as he prepared to leave the apartment.
***
Elsewhere. A few people were sitting casually. Their eyes glanced at Edward who had just left the apartment. The two of them exchanged looks. Both were shocked to see Edward—Qeuun Redblood—still alive.
Not long after, another person arrived at their table. "Why isn't he dead yet?" he growled.
The two sitting shook their heads. "We don't know. We were absolutely sure he was dead."
"I checked his pulse and heartbeat. There were no signs of life at all. I swear it," one of them said.
"Then why is he still alive?" the third voice was heavy, full of suppressed anger. He stared sharply at the two men in front of him.
One of them clenched his fist. "That's my question too. It's impossible for someone who has stopped breathing to rise again. Unless…" He fell silent, reluctant to finish the sentence.
"Your words are dangerous," the other cut him off coldly. "If you're thinking of that, then most likely a third party has interfered."
The third person narrowed his eyes. "A third party? Who do you mean?"
The two exchanged glances. One of them lowered his head and whispered softly. "The rune researcher. You know, Qeuun Redblood was obsessed with studying ancient symbols. There's a possibility he discovered something… something that should never be used by ordinary humans, like resurrection."
"That's nonsense!" the leader slammed the table with his palm, making the glass on it tremble. "I don't care. You must kill Qeuun Redblood again! This time, make sure he truly dies."
The third man, their leader, was convinced that Qeuun Redblood's survival was due to his subordinates' carelessness. That explanation was far more reasonable than believing Qeuun had actually succeeded in performing some rune ritual to resurrect himself.
That was impossible.
"Find him and kill him!" the leader barked.
The two subordinates stood and nodded. "Understood."
They immediately left to follow Qeuun Redblood. Of course, with the sole purpose of killing the young man. They were paid for this mission. If they failed… then they themselves would be the ones killed.