Seele / Gentle Bronya

He could accomplish something like that because he possessed a technique that surpassed the limits of the human body—the Seven Nights Assassination Technique. But what was An relying on?

And compared to his own movements, hers were terrifying to an unimaginable degree. It was as if she could teleport... no, she was even faster than teleportation!

"Hehehe... Now do you understand the price of making me angry?" An wore a crazed smile, her mouth stretched wide as a pink tongue slipped out between her shark-like teeth and licked the blood from her dagger.

She looked exactly like a madwoman.

If Ishiu knew her ability, he probably would not have been surprised, because An's power was the ability to control time!

It was an innate ability of hers, but she could not use it very well. Only when her emotions were stirred could she manipulate it in a crude manner.

Just now, she had stopped time for 0.5 seconds, run behind Ishiu, and stabbed him.

If Ishiu had not reacted quickly, that strike would probably have sliced open his kidney.

Ishiu's expression turned grave. He let the wound at his waist drip blood continuously, because he had no time to tend to it. Treating a wound while confronting an enemy was no different from exposing his back to them. That was practically suicide.

"Ishiu-gege, you're bleeding so much..." Ishiu had told Seele and the others not to come over. Because of his authority as the second eldest at the Orphanage, the children obediently stayed back. But Seele, who had always been well-behaved and obedient, ran over quickly. Her little face was pale as she looked at the wound on Ishiu's waist, her eyes filled with panic and worry.

She hurriedly took out the handkerchief Ishiu had used to wipe her tears earlier, her hands trembling as she tried to help stop the bleeding.

Crystal-clear tears welled in Seele's eyes, but this time she held back her grief and heartache, refusing to let them fall. She bit her lip tightly and carefully wiped the blood around Ishiu's wound.

"Seele, go back first. It isn't safe here." Ishiu kept his eyes on An to stop her from making another sudden move as he urgently urged Seele to leave.

He did not want to see Seele get hurt too. Who knew whether An had truly gone mad? If she attacked Seele again, things would be terrible.

"No!" Seele stubbornly shook her head, her voice thick with tears. "Ishiu-gege, stop fighting. You're bleeding so much... Seele doesn't want to see you get hurt too!"

Today had definitely been an unforgettable day for Seele.

First, Bronya had fallen down the stairs and was still in the operating room, with no one knowing how she was doing. Then Ishiu had fought An, been stabbed, and bled all over the floor.

Seele did not know why things had turned out like this, but she knew that she had been completely useless in an accident like this... Just as An had said, she was a weak coward who could do nothing but cry...

As Seele thought this, she failed to notice that her sapphire-like bright eyes seemed to be faintly turning red.

A vivid, ominous red like blood.

"Seele..." Ishiu pursed his lips. Just as he was about to keep persuading Seele to leave, An's figure vanished again in the instant he was distracted.

Ishiu's hair stood on end at once, because he realized that this time, An had not appeared behind him, but... behind Seele!

"You annoying little good girl, lie down for me!" An sneered viciously as she swung her blade down at Seele's shoulder.

"Stop right there!"

But in the next second, a stern and furious voice rang through the corridor, making An's dagger stop less than ten centimeters from Seele's shoulder.

P.S. This is my first time writing a novel, so please take care of this newbie. It would be even better if you could send some recommendation votes.

Seele

Cocolia walked over with a frosty expression. Her military boots made dull footsteps against the smooth hospital floor, each step seeming to land on everyone's heart and making their hearts beat unconsciously in time with her rhythm.

This was the first time Ishiu had seen Cocolia angry. In the past, whenever she faced these children, she always wore a gentle smile. But this time, her face held only coldness and severity.

"What are you doing?" Cocolia came before them. Under her powerful presence, all the children obediently gathered together, except Seele, who was still helping Ishiu stop the bleeding.

"..." No one spoke. Ishiu shot An a cold glare and led Seele to the left.

"I asked you, what are you doing?!" Cocolia raised her voice. Her beautiful face was tightly furrowed, and when she saw the unceasing blood at Ishiu's waist, the gloom on her face deepened further.

"Mom, it's all An's fault! She pushed Bronya down the stairs, and she even slashed Ishiu!" Rosaliya pointed angrily at An.

Cocolia turned her gaze toward An, her eyes somewhat complicated. "An, is that true?"

"So what if it is?" An did not deny it and admitted it outright.

"Why did you do that?" A trace of disappointment flashed through Cocolia's eyes as she asked the same question Ishiu had asked before.

But this time, An did not answer. She merely turned her head away awkwardly.

Cocolia sighed, then looked at Ishiu. Her lovely brows immediately knit even tighter.

"What are you still standing around for? Call a doctor, now! How much blood do you plan on losing?" Seeing Ishiu's face turn pale from blood loss, Cocolia was both angry and distressed.

"I was the one who attacked An first." Ishiu shook his head, took the handkerchief from Seele, and pressed it directly against his wound, forcibly stopping the blood from continuing to flow.

He was not someone who liked to shift blame. What was what. An's fault was only injuring Bronya, while his own injury had been self-inflicted.

"Enough. I'll handle this matter. Go treat your wound first," Cocolia said.

"Mm." Ishiu nodded. After glancing at the silent An, he temporarily left the operating room.

Seele stayed tightly by Ishiu's side, equally silent.

"Seele, go wash your hands. I'm really sorry for getting them dirty." Seeing Seele's little hands stained red with his blood, and even some bloodstains on her clothes, Ishiu spoke apologetically.

Seele shook her head. Her azure eyes were full of dejection as she lowered her head, her voice so quiet it was almost impossible to hear.

"Ishiu-gege... Is Seele really useless?"

"How could that be? Seele, you're not useless. Don't listen to that crazy woman An talking nonsense." Ishiu hurriedly reassured her.

"But... I can't help with anything. Whether it's Bronya or you, Ishiu-gege, I can't help with anything... I only know how to cry..." Seele bit her lower lip tightly. Tears welled in her eyes, but she desperately held them back and did not let them fall.

She really did not want to cry anymore.

"Seele, Seele, don't cry. Listen to me. You aren't useless. Your strengths just aren't in this area." Ishiu stopped walking and, with some heartache, held Seele's shoulders. His other hand gently touched her fair cheek, lightly stroking it as though he were comforting an injured kitten.

"Everyone has things they are good at and things they are not good at. It's normal that you couldn't help with Bronya's accident, because I couldn't do much either. All we could do was wait and pray outside."

"And there's even less to say about my situation. In a fit of anger, I wanted to seek justice for Bronya, but I ended up like this instead... Luckily, I punched her earlier. Otherwise, I really would have taken a huge loss this time."

Ishiu did his best to comfort Seele. His words seemed effective, because Seele's delicate body, which had been trembling slightly, gradually calmed down.

Her hands tightly clutched the front of Ishiu's clothes. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she leaned against his shoulder.

"Ishiu-gege, thank you for comforting me. I know what I should do now..."

"Mm, it's good that you understand. So don't ever say things like you're useless again, okay?" Although Ishiu had no idea what the girl had understood, it was good that she had regained her spirits.

"Mm. Ishiu-gege, hurry and get your wound treated. Such a deep wound must hurt a lot..." Seele nodded. Though reluctant to leave Ishiu's embrace, she knew not to waste any more time.

"Huh?"

Ishiu did not know if it was just his imagination, but it seemed as though Seele's eyes had turned red just now, and even the color of her hair seemed to have changed slightly.

But after he blinked, Seele was still the same Seele. There was no red at all, making Ishiu wonder whether he had lost so much blood that his mind was beginning to blur.

So he quickly found a nearby doctor and had him bandage the wound. Only after that did he return with Seele to the area outside the operating room.

"Where are Mom Cocolia and An?" Ishiu looked around and realized that neither Cocolia nor An was there, so he asked.

"Mom called An away." As Liliya spoke, she came closer and looked worriedly at the gauze wrapped around Ishiu's waist. "Ishiu, how is your injury? Does it still hurt?"

They had been scared out of their wits earlier. For girls who had barely ever seen blood, the slash Ishiu had taken was like something from a horror movie. They had even thought Ishiu was going to die.

"I'm fine. It's only a small wound," Ishiu replied casually, while silently wondering how Cocolia would punish An.

Honestly, although Ishiu had never particularly liked An, he had never truly disliked her either. Even though she had a bad temper and often lashed out at the children in the Orphanage, Ishiu had not taken it too seriously. He had only thought it was the antics of a brat.

But now things were different. The children's scuffles were not even on the same level as An pushing Bronya down the stairs.

That had been an act driven entirely by malice, making even someone as good-tempered as Ishiu develop a strong dislike for An.

But An's matter could be set aside for now. What mattered most was Bronya...

He wondered how she was doing in the operating room...

Gentle Bronya

Time passed second by second. An hour later, the doors to the operating room opened, and the doctors and nurses filed out one after another.

Everyone hurriedly went up to ask about Bronya's condition.

"The patient's condition was not optimistic. Her head and body suffered injuries of varying severity. However, after treatment, she is currently out of danger. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Her legs will need several months of recuperation before she can walk normally. Her legs suffered the most severe damage in this incident. We have done everything we can. The rest depends on her own recovery and care."

Perhaps because they were all children, the doctor did not say much. After briefly explaining Bronya's current condition, he left.

"Ishiu-gege, is Bronya all right?" Seele asked fearfully.

Ishiu's expression was rather grim, but when he heard Seele's question, he still forced himself to smile at her. "She's fine. Didn't the doctor just say so? She'll recover after resting for a few months."

Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief. If Cocolia was the mother of all the children in the Orphanage, then Bronya was definitely their older sister. Her place in their hearts was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

Soon afterward, the nurses moved Bronya into a ward. As the anesthesia gradually wore off, Bronya slowly woke up.

"Everyone..." Bronya was still a little dazed when she first opened her eyes, but after seeing the snow-white ward and the hospital gown on herself, she understood. "I... am I in the hospital?"

"Bronya, do you remember what happened before? An pushed you down the stairs. You scared us all to death," Seele said as she moved to the bedside, her face full of concern.

"An..." Bronya's gaze became unfocused. She remembered that on the stairs, someone had indeed pushed her from behind. And for some reason, her body had felt paralyzed at the time. She could not move at all and could only watch herself fall.

So it had been An...

A trace of sorrow flashed through Bronya's eyes. She had not expected An to truly be so ruthless toward her.

"Ishiu tried to seek justice for you, and An even slashed him. That's why I said that girl is super annoying. It'd be great if Mom could kick her out of the Orphanage," Rosaliya said indignantly.

Bronya immediately turned to look at Ishiu, only to see him standing at the very back, with only his head visible.

"You. Come here," Bronya said.

"Uh... No need, right? I'm fine standing here." Ishiu's lips twitched as he gave a dry laugh and shook his head. Inside, he wanted nothing more than to hang Rosaliya up and spank her.

Damn it, you can talk about it all you want, but why did you have to mention that I got hurt?!

He knew Bronya's temper better than anyone. If she learned that An had slashed him because of her, her first reaction definitely would not be gratitude. Instead, she would kick him hard or punch him a few times.

Because she would surely say he had overestimated himself. Fighting An was one thing, but losing too? Was he not embarrassing her? After all, he had been taught by Bronya herself.

"Are you coming over or not?" When Ishiu refused to listen, Bronya frowned, raising her voice slightly. But perhaps because her emotions fluctuated too much and pulled at her injuries, a flash of pain crossed her pale little face.

Ishiu had no choice but to obediently part the crowd and walk to the bedside.

When she saw Ishiu's waist, still faintly seeping blood despite being wrapped in gauze, Bronya put on a stern expression and stared tightly at Ishiu's face. Without mercy, she scolded, "Are you an idiot? With those pathetic skills of yours, you thought you could seek justice for Bronya? Look at you now. You didn't get justice, but you got yourself hurt instead."

"I didn't lose. I punched her, at least. That should count as a draw, shouldn't it?" Ishiu said unwillingly.

"You still dare talk back?" Bronya struggled to extend a hand from beneath the blanket and reached toward Ishiu's face.

Ishiu curled his lips. He figured he was about to get hit, but he neither dodged nor resisted. Given Little Pudding's current condition, he was more worried about aggravating her injuries.

However, when Bronya's slightly cool little hand touched his cheek, what he felt was not the pain of being pinched, but a gentle caress.

At the same time, Bronya's slightly hoarse voice sounded.

"Idiot little brother... Don't be so foolish next time. And... thank you."

Ishiu froze for quite a while. Only after Bronya withdrew her hand did he come back to his senses and cry out.

"Holy crap?! Bronya, did someone possess you?! My Little Pudding can't possibly be this gentle!"

"..."

"..."

The ward instantly fell silent.

After a long while, Bronya's embarrassed and angry voice finally rang out.

"Damn Ishiu! Who are you calling Little Pudding?!"

Bronya's condition had stabilized. Although she still could not get out of bed, according to the doctor, she only needed another month of rest before she could be discharged, followed by a long period of recuperation.

Cocolia also came to visit Bronya, but she did not mention An. Bronya did not bring her up either. As though by mutual understanding, the two avoided the subject.

That evening, Ishiu had the children from the Orphanage go home. He and Rosaliya stayed behind to care for Bronya. After all, the ward was only so big, and they could not all stay.

Although Seele also wanted to remain, Ishiu did not agree. He told her to come back tomorrow to stay and look after Bronya.