When Wise heard the system's words, he was left speechless.
That kind of curse felt far too cruel. He had no desire to experience the same fate as Louis XVI, and he didn't believe his sister or Anby would ever do something like that.
With those thoughts in mind, Wise unknowingly walked back to the Video Store. Noticing how late it had gotten, he decided to cook lunch himself instead of ordering ramen.
Speaking of cooking, he suddenly remembered that he had gained a talent for it before. Although it was only a B-rank talent, it should still be pretty decent, right?
"Wise, you're back!" Belle, who had been lazily scrolling through her phone in the store, looked up and happily walked over to him.
But the moment she got close, her expression changed.
"Hmm? Something's wrong. I'm sure there's definitely something off," she muttered, frowning.
"Uh, what's wro— hey, Belle, careful, there are other people here!"
Wise watched as Belle leaned in close, twitching her nose as if sniffing something. The more she did it, the more her brows drew together in suspicion.
After a short while, Belle finally stopped, but Wise could clearly see the displeasure in her eyes. Before he could react, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a room on the first floor.
Without saying a word, Belle slammed her hand against the wall beside him, trapping him in a classic kabedon. However because of her shorter height, Wise had to tilt his head down slightly to meet her intense gaze.
"What's going on, Belle?" he asked, a bit uneasy.
Seeing her unusually serious expression, Wise couldn't help but recall the system's earlier warning.
"It's strange..."
"W-What?" Wise stammered, blinking in confusion.
Belle narrowed her eyes, her expression unusually sharp. Her tone carried a hint of suspicion as she asked, "Why do you smell like another girl, Brother?"
'Holy cow! I'm screwed!'
Wise froze in alarm. It had been quite a while, so how could Belle still notice the scent? Was this some mysterious ability girls had, or was it just something unique to Belle?
Either way, this wasn't the time to dwell on it. He needed to figure out how to get out of this situation.
Actually, maybe he was just overthinking and making things more complicated than they really were. If he just told her honestly, she would probably understand.
Probably.
"T-This must be your imagination, Belle. The scent must have rubbed off on me by accident—"
Before he could say anything more, Belle immediately shot him down.
"Impossible! The scent of that girl on your clothes is way too strong for it to be accidental. And your heartbeat just spiked! That's definitely the reaction of someone lying!"
"..."
Wise stared blankly for a moment. At this point, Wise was starting to think his sister should be called Sherlock Belle.
He always knew Belle was smart, but did she really have to use that sharp mind on something like this?
'This makes things very difficult for me!'
"I'm counting to three, Big Brother. If you still don't tell me, then I'll… (start crying and throwing a tantrum!)"
Belle puffed her cheeks and raised three fingers, slowly lowering them one by one as she counted. Her tone made it clear she wasn't bluffing.
Seeing this, Wise realized he had no choice but to come clean.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you! I actually ran into Anby on the way back…"
"Anby?" Belle's eyes narrowed. "Why is she getting so close to you? Don't tell me Nicole asked her to use her body to seduce you for another discount on the commission fee!"
Hearing Belle's so-called logical reasoning, Wise couldn't hold back anymore and gave her a light chop on the forehead.
"Ow! That hurts!" she yelped, rubbing the spot with a pout.
"Alright, stop overthinking it. Anby and I just happened to meet at the toy store," Wise said with a sigh.
He then explained everything that had happened, including how he ended up giving Anby the W-Engine that the shop owner had gifted them.
"I thought it wouldn't really be useful for us, so I gave it to her. At least this way, it'll help her out when we work together on future commissions."
"I don't have any problem with you giving it to her, but the real question is, how did that scent end up on you? Tell me the truth!" Belle demanded, her suspicious gaze fixed on him.
Realizing she wasn't going to drop the issue, Wise sighed in defeat and tried to explain.
"What?! Brother, you actually used the W-Engine as a way to make Anby repay you like that? That's so shameless!" Belle gasped, her expression turning overly dramatic. "I can't believe it! You're such a pervert! Don't tell me you're planning to use that to blackmail her later!"
Belle's outburst left Wise completely speechless. For a second, his mind went blank.
What in the world had his sister been watching to come up with something like that?
"Stop, stop, stop! What are you even saying? I literally told you Anby was the one who made the first move! How did you twist it into that?"
"Anby initiated it? That's impossible. From what I know about her, she would never do something like that without someone guiding her. Big Brother, you're not allowed to lie to me."
Belle crossed her arms and gave him a sharp look. "And even if she did make the first move, you still have to take responsibility. Understand?"
Her words weren't wrong, but the problem was that Wise hadn't "guided" Anby into anything.
"Of course I know that. But the reason she acted that way was because she watched some questionable movies," Wise said, deciding it was best to just tell the truth.
After listening closely, Belle finally exhaled in relief. "Oh, so that's what it was? Good. I was this close to reporting you to the Public Security for corrupting an innocent girl, you pervert."
"Please stop calling your dear Big Brother a pervert. Anyway, since everything's cleared up, I'm going to make dinner," Wise said, waving his hand for Belle to let him go.
She obediently stepped back, though it was obvious she wasn't finished.
"Brother, from now on, if something important like this happens, you have to talk to me first. Finding a sister-in-law is a serious matter, and you should get my opinion before deciding anything."
"Alright, alright, I understand. So, what do you want for dinner tonight?"
Seeing that Wise clearly wasn't taking her words too seriously, Belle puffed her cheeks in frustration. Still, the mention of dinner quickly softened her mood, and she reluctantly told him what she wanted to eat.
Even so, a small trace of worry lingered in her heart. After all, in movies, it wasn't rare for older brothers to get a girlfriend and eventually move out, leaving their sisters behind because living together became inconvenient.
Belle couldn't help but imagine what would happen if that ever became reality.
A life without Big Brother… No, that was impossible. Something like that could never happen. They had always depended on each other.
Right?
...Right?