I grabbed onto Meteor's collar.

I absolutely couldn’t lose consciousness.

If I fell asleep like Meteor said, things might get even worse.

And most importantly, I didn’t want to become a burden to him.

But right now, I was being carried like a piece of luggage.

My mind was troubled. While I was trying to help him, I never wanted to be the one being helped.

Meteor, still holding onto my Pinky, moved quickly toward the castle. His pace was as fast as if he were flying.

When we arrived in front of the enormous castle gates, they creaked open.

The ice doors emitted a cold, heavy aura, almost as if they had been waiting for us.

Meteor cautiously but nimbly entered through the gap in the doors, keeping an eye on his surroundings.

He exhaled with a sigh.

“It’s just as cold in here. It’s almost the same as outside.”

“Yeah.”

“You need to thaw out quickly or it’ll spread further.”

“…It’s so humiliating.”

Damn it!

How did I not notice the ice knight approaching at that moment?

Was I too absorbed in clearing the knights surrounding Meteor?

I couldn’t believe I ended up in this position, being carried by him.

But contrary to my thoughts, the cold began to creep deep into my brain.

“Ugh.”

So cold…

Since being stabbed in the chest, it had only gotten worse. My entire body felt like it was freezing.

Meteor, still holding me, quickly scanned the inside of the castle.

Fortunately, there were no knights in sight inside the castle.

The lobby was as vast as a training hall, surrounded by countless doors. It was so large that just wandering around could take half a day.

After checking a few of the rooms, Meteor spoke.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to check everything in this condition.”

“I’m fine. Just put me down.”

I squirmed, trying to get down.

It seemed like it would be better for us to split up and explore the castle.

However, Meteor didn’t set me down. Instead, he tightened his hold and shut the ice door behind us.

The sharp click of the door closing made my eyes widen.

Why did he close the door?

In the meantime, Meteor made his way to the center of the room.

Only then did he finally put me down. But that wasn’t all. He sat down, still holding me in his arms.

What was he trying to do here?

I looked up at him with confusion.

Meteor stared at me for a moment, then spoke.

“Don’t think it’s weird. This is the only way I can help right now.”

“Hmm?”

What was he saying not to think was weird?

What was he doing?

At that moment, he took off his outer jacket and covered my legs with it. My legs had lost all sensation long ago.

Ah, so he’s trying to cover me with his jacket...

Just as I was thinking that, he lifted my upper body and pulled me into his arms.

I stiffened, frozen in place.

“….”

Our faces were close to each other’s necks.

My face rested against his shoulder, and his arms tightly embraced me.

His body heat radiated through me, so close that it felt like we were one.

My heart was pounding like it was going to burst out of my chest.

I thought my heart might stop from the cold, but it was wildly alive.

…Why is my heart beating so hard?

There was no reason for it, right?

Why is this happening?

Is it because this is the first time I’ve been held by someone other than my dad?

I knew why he was holding me. It was to warm up my freezing body.

It was basically a kind of treatment.

It wasn’t strange for my heart to beat during medical treatment.

As my heartbeat quickened, the blood flowed through my body more rapidly.

The jacket that Meteor had draped over my legs felt like it was radiating warmth.

Could it be warmth? Does that even make sense?

Was it a misunderstanding?

For some reason, the system window was unusually silent.

The adults had gone wild even when I merely touched Meteor’s hand earlier, but now, I could only imagine how they would react. Maybe they were so shocked they passed out.

Thump, thump…

The sound of my heart filled my ears.

I hoped Meteor couldn’t hear it.

The sound of our hearts beating between us felt like something horribly inappropriate. Of course, it wasn’t my intention for my heart to act this way, but it was doing it on its own.

No sister would ever have their heart race for their older brother.

Not even a step-sister.

Unless, of course, my heart was racing because I was so angry that I wanted to hit him.

Finally regaining some sense, I forced myself to speak.

“…I’m fine. Shouldn’t we be looking for the orb?”

“You can’t do that in your condition. You’ll freeze even faster if you push yourself.”

Meteor’s voice was firm.

He was right. Thanks to the warmth coming from him, the chill in my chest seemed to ease a little.

But I couldn’t just stay like this forever.

“Then you go. We don’t have time for this.”

My voice, sharper than Meteor’s, left my mouth without hesitation.

He briefly pulled away from me and stared at me in disbelief.

“Do you not realize you’re dying right now?”

“Still, finding the orb is the priority.”

“….”

Tch.

Meteor looked down and sighed lightly.

I understood his frustration.

But I wanted to take this chance to be alone.

I had to find Winter Duke with the teleportation ticket.

The teleportation ticket could only be used by me, so I couldn’t go with Meteor.

It would be better to part ways here.

Even though my body was freezing, there was no time to casually thaw out. Meteor likely thought the same.

“You have to go. I’ll stay here for a bit. If it were me, I would’ve left you behind by now. There’s more urgent business to attend to. Other people’s lives are at stake.”

“Hey.”

He exclaimed in disbelief.

His face was filled with frustration, as if he couldn’t understand me.

But I didn’t back down from his reaction.

“It’s faster for us to split up and check the castle. Let’s not waste time.”

“….”

Meteor didn’t open his mouth.

He looked like he felt betrayed. I was rejecting his kindness.

I felt sorry for him, but I knew he also realized that what I was saying was true.

Finally, Meteor took a deep breath as if he had made up his mind.

“Fine. Now that I think about it, you’re right. I got a little too carried away because you’re my sister…”

“….”

Was he hurt by that?

I spoke sharply to try to push him away.

But even without the teleportation ticket, time was of the essence in this situation. There was no time to hold me just to warm me up.

Meteor set me down and stood up, and I shakily rose to meet him.

He gazed at me for a moment before speaking.

“You haven’t changed at all.”

“Huh?”

I paused, thinking about what he meant by saying I hadn’t changed.

Then it hit me.

Right.

Now that I think about it, there was a time like this before.

I had told him not to come after me if I disappeared. Now I was telling him to leave me behind. Of course, I must seem the same as back then.

I felt a bit unfair about it.

‘I didn’t want to do this, you know…’

But what else could I do?

Anyway, I had to save everyone from this freezing cold Demon Realm with the ability I had.

Meteor had his way of doing things, and I had mine.

“Wait here. I’ll go find the orb.”

“Be careful.”

Before my words were even finished, he turned around and left.

The door slammed shut.

I stared blankly at the door.

In my hands was the jacket Meteor had taken off.

Would he really get mad if I took this with me?

With a heavy heart, I put on his jacket, then layered Adrian’s jacket over it.

Finally, the time had come to fight using the only way I knew.

I felt bad for Meteor, but I was more determined than ever.

I gritted my teeth and used the teleportation ticket.

‘Finally, I’ll meet Winter Duke. Damn it, let me see his face.’

Ding!

<‘Teleportation Ticket’—1 usage has been consumed!>

<Remaining ‘Teleportation Tickets’—8.>