Chapter 254: A lie told with love... and a truth hidden for protection.

"This ring... it carries the soul of our founder and I know you can see him too..."

Lyra said, her voice heavy as I widened my eyes just enough to avoid looking suspicious.

"What are you talking about, Lyra...?"

"You don’t need to act anymore. I know you see the old man behind me as well and don’t worry, he isn’t some resentful spirit or ghost, he is actually Romen Von Ashborn, or as many people know him, the founder of our family."

Lyra stared straight into my eyes, completely serious.

"You think you’re smart enough to fool me but you bastard, I’m your elder sister. Did you really think I wouldn’t see through your act? Trying to make it seem like you didn’t notice him..."

She continued, a smirk forming on her face.

"But the way you kept peeking at him was enough for us to know otherwise."

"So... he really is the founder. I suspected as much from the way he spoke and his features."

I acted surprised.

"This ring has been passed down through our generations but until now, nobody could awaken the ability to see him. But I did or at least, that’s what he said. I don’t really know what this power is but he mentioned that you’ve awakened it as well."

She continued her explanation.

"Long ago, some evil guy killed him but he used his last resort and transferred a part of his soul into this ring, hoping that one day, a descendant compatible with his soul would be able to see him so he could pass down his wisdom."

She shook her head.

"But until me, nobody did. When I first saw this old man, I was surprised as well but then he slowly started teaching me strange but useful techniques and helped me a lot, you know."

I just kept nodding along, even though I knew most of it was bullshit that the bastard made up to fool my sister. Hell, even the techniques he taught her were flawed, meant to actually damage her body, but Lyra, with her absurd talent, somehow made even those faulty techniques work.

I always knew she was the more talented one between us and if her absurd talent wasn’t enough, she was even born with a Seed of Divinity unlike me, who gained it later.

Honestly, she felt more like the protagonist than Noah himself was at this point... but that only made me worry more.

Because if she was this broken, then why wasn’t she mentioned even once in the novel?

I understood that the story was from Noah’s point of view, but people like her who defied the limits of talent itself usually made waves. There should have been at least some mention somewhere.

But there wasn’t.

...and that was enough for me to understand one thing.

She died in the future, before her potential could even bloom. I didn’t know how or why but she never reached her peak and I wasn’t about to let that happen in this life.

But I didn’t know when it would happen.

At first, I thought I would assign Naga as her bodyguard but that bastard was useless since he couldn’t even touch anyone or be perceived by them and I was stuck in the demon realm.

So, I didn’t know what exactly to do but then Ra gave me a perfect idea.

I raised my eyes to look at Lyra, my expression deliberately confused.

"Why are you telling me this now...?" I asked her.

Her smile widened.

"It’s because the founder has agreed to take you under his wing from now on. He said he sees potential in you and wishes to teach you."

She was genuinely excited.

"With his guidance, you can become much stronger very quickly, you know," she continued. "Although his teaching methods are a bit rough, he’s the one who helped me reach such a high rank at such a young age."

Naga was standing behind her, stroking his beard wordlessly. But the moment I looked at him, that bastard averted his eyes in guilt.

This bastard, under the pretense of training, had been pushing Lyra into dangerous dungeons. If she hadn’t been as strong and optimistic as she was, she would have died long ago.

Wait a minute...

Just then, a possibility appeared in my mind.

What if the reason she wasn’t mentioned in the novel was because she actually died because of Naga...?

The more I considered it, the more plausible it seemed. My eyes narrowed at him even further but I didn’t say anything just yet because it was still just a possibility.

Yes, she could have died because of him and maybe by taking him away from her, I had already averted that disaster but then again, she could have died for some entirely different reason as well.

So... I wasn’t willing to take that chance but in any case, I was going to take Naga away from her for now at least for a while.

I looked at Lyra once again as she pulled the ring off her finger and pushed it toward me.

"Here, take this."

"Are you sure I can take this...?"

I asked in a slightly nervous voice, just to sell the act better even though I was the one who had asked Naga to make her do this.

"Just take it already."

She pressed it into my hands.

I took it and turned it over a few times.

"Thanks, Lyra."

She slapped my shoulder.

"Tch, since when did you become so polite and tame?"

With those words, she got up and stood amidst the garden of flowers around us, her black hair drifting slightly with the breeze.

"You’re my only brother, so don’t throw yourself into danger." She said, her back facing me. "With the founder watching over you, I think I can rest easily."

She took a few steps forward before turning to face me with a wide smile.

"If your younger brother is weak, you just can’t help but worry about him. So take good care of yourself, you bastard and don’t make me worry. Because if you even dare to die, I’ll find you in the afterlife and kill you again."