Hearing the sound Irene made, Otto stood up and brushed the snow off his back.
Pretending nothing happened, he watched Irene emerge from the igloo, her face still a bit dazed and tired, looking like she had not slept well.
"Mmh."
Humming through her nose, the newly awakened Irene pressed the back of her hand against her mouth and yawned.
Even half asleep right now, she still maintained her elegant posture.
It was just that her clothes were a bit messy. The dark purple dress was already gorgeous, leaving Otto's gaze unsure of where to look.
It was too beautiful after all. He wanted to look carefully everywhere, his eyes feeling somewhat insufficient.
Although a little shy, the boy did not look away, admiring her openly like appreciating a work of art.
And a thought was born along with it.
He really wanted to just hug her like this.
This unguarded appearance stirred Otto's mind.
Otto did not know Kallen. He was not an obsessed fool with only one girl in his heart. Being more sensitive, the youth liked to get close to beautiful things, liking to be surrounded by colorful beauty.
Gloom did not suit a young boy. A young boy was more suited to fiery passion.
Not to mention, this happened right in front of a pretty girl he had feelings for.
Irene felt exhausted, having fallen asleep quite late last night. She originally wanted to lean against her little brother for a good night's rest, but she never expected to hear such shocking sleep talk.
Irene gathered only one piece of information from Otto's sleep talk.
Why was her little brother only talking about girls?
Nothing but girls' names spilled from his lips. Irene found no joy in hearing that. No one could stand having a boy lie right next to them while mumbling about other women.
So she stayed awake for half the night, finally curling up in a small corner to sleep late into the darkness, leaving her clothes a bit rumpled.
Rubbing her eyes, she found sleeping on the snow deeply uncomfortable despite the igloo blocking the night's wind and snow.
A slight chill clung to her body. Her clothes felt slightly askew, but she paid it no mind. Only her little brother was by her side anyway, making it perfectly fine even if he caught a glimpse.
He could protect her well.
Such an unexpected sense of security, my little brother.
Irene smiled with half-closed eyes, only to suddenly feel a pair of large hands wrapping around her.
Her delicate, soft body was pulled into a warm embrace.
Wine-red eyes widened, sweeping away the remaining traces of sleepiness.
Otto hugged Irene, wrapping his left arm around the girl's slender waist and resting his right hand on her back, pressing against the ash-blonde hair cascading down her spine.
"Eh?"
Suddenly embraced, Irene let out a cute little cry, blinking her large eyes.
He always managed to do things beyond her expectations.
Placing both hands on Otto's sides, she did not push him away directly, instead applying a slight pressure.
She did not want to make her relationship with Otto awkward. That slight pressure was just meant to wake up the somewhat impulsive boy.
"Sister Irene, it is all your fault."
Resting his chin on Irene's left shoulder, Otto rubbed his left cheek against hers, like two little kittens nuzzling each other.
"You are so pretty." Warm breath spilled over the back of Irene's neck. The two of them were pressed very close together, close enough at this distance to feel each other's heartbeats.
"I wanted to hug you like this last night."
"Hugging Sister Irene like this makes me really happy."
Otto said that hugging was the most out-of-line thing he could think of.
"Am I being a little weird like this?" Otto's throat tightened, making him feel that his state was a bit weird.
He could hold it back, but holding it back would be very uncomfortable, so he embraced Irene, releasing his pent-up emotions.
The boy's fragility and unease could be felt.
Honestly, his constant look of being abandoned was exactly what made her unable to stop worrying about him.
Irene sighed inwardly, wondering what kind of life her little brother had lived before, looking so lonely and afraid of being abandoned.
After all, how could someone who had experienced warmth ever want to return to the cold?
Otto used to be all alone, but with more and more people around him now, an uncontrollable thought emerged.
What if he returned to his previous state of being all alone?
Having obtained what he wanted, he inevitably feared losing it.
This made him not want to let go of the things around him.
He had hugged Rosemary Rita out of impulse, and after the hug, the impulse cooled down, only to be replaced by lingering fear.
Would Sister Irene hate him for his impulse and then leave him?
Those negative thoughts made him want to hold onto Irene even more, leading to the current situation.
"Alright, alright, I will let you hug me."
Irene did not struggle, realizing Otto had hugged her out of impulse at first, holding onto her now out of a fear of loss. He really was a sensitive boy.
He was like a girl. Should she find a chance to have him try out women's clothes?
However, Otto still had not let go of Irene as time passed.
It seemed he would never let go.
Irene fell silent for a moment. A trace of panic flashed across her originally elegant gaze, deepening the color on her already flushed cheeks.
I only let you hug me for a bit. You need to know when to stop!
She did not flee from Otto's embrace, instead feeling his hug.
But Irene, no, Fallen Rosemary also felt her rationality on the verge of snapping. She was not a saint free of worldly desires.
Experiencing such intimate contact with a man for the first time made Irene's consciousness a little hazy.
Although Otto did not know what to do next, he simply continued the embrace, not even changing the position of his hands.
But Irene knew.
She was the rosemary of the Sea of Quanta, possessing a captivating charm. An intoxicating scent lingered around the two of them, her small tongue tracing her upper lip.
Exhaling sweet breath, her eyes turned hazy. Her body was no longer stiff, instead melting against Otto like honey.
The two of them seemed to stand at the edge of an abyss. If they moved just a little to the side, they would fall into the depths.
"Rumble, rumble, rumble."
At this moment, an abrupt sound rang out, breaking this harmonious peace.
This was not the sound of the Cyber Dragon taking off. It was the sound of a vehicle.
The sound of a vehicle rang out abruptly at this moment.
It was not close, but the noise grew clearer and clearer.
Otto and Irene stopped their movements at the same time. The two people who were about to step into an indescribable abyss regained their senses from the edge.
A sense of regret inexplicably arose in Irene. There was nothing to be done at this time, however.
Because someone was driving.
Judging from the sound, the driver was getting closer and closer to their location.
A lantern resembling a will-o'-the-wisp appeared in her left hand. A dark purple scythe materialized in Irene's grasp.
She kept her guard up.
The newcomer might be an existence capable of stabbing the Herrscher of Ice to death with a single thrust of a spear.