Was He Related to Carlotta by Blood?

Montelli Manor.

Kexi knelt on the ground, holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands, looking up at Carlotta with a smile on her face that she thought was incredibly affectionate.

Carlotta covered her mouth, took two steps back, and stared wide-eyed. "Are you crazy?! I'm your sister!"

"Second Sister, I'm not crazy." Kexi's voice was low and firm as she pushed the flowers forward. "I've finally figured things out. From childhood to adulthood, you've cleaned up my messes, taken the blame for me, fed me, dressed me, and managed my finances. You've worried about me more than the entire Montelli combined. I was immature before, and I thought you were annoying and nosy. Now I understand, it was all love."

Carlotta's expression cracked: "Don't give me that nonsense—"

"Second sister, let me finish." Kexi stood up and took a step forward. "I know I'm a jerk, I cause trouble, I'm unreliable. But every time I mess things up, you're the first one to rush to my rescue. When I was being chased all over the street, you were the one who got Brant to bail me out. When I was about to be expelled from the family, you were the one who sat in the meeting room and held the fort alone. Carlotta, how could I let someone else marry such a good woman like you?"

Carlotta's breathing quickened, and her face flushed—not from embarrassment, but from anger. "Did you get your brain slammed in a door?"

"I'm serious!" Kexi thrust the flowers in front of her. "Marry me, Second Sister. I promise I won't cause any more trouble. I'll help you manage Montelli, I'll serve you tea and water every day, I'll even warm your bed—"

"Shut up!" Carlotta jumped up and slapped him on the forehead.

Kexi was slapped so hard she leaned back, but didn't fall. Clutching her forehead, she continued affectionately, "Second sister, hit me, scold me, the more you hit me, the cuter I find you—"

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Francis came out leaning on his cane.

He glanced at Kexi, who was kneeling on the ground holding flowers, and then at Carlotta, whose face was flushed red. His brows were so furrowed they could trap a mosquito.

What happened?

"Old man!" Kexi turned to look at Francis, her expression even more serious than before, "I'm proposing to Carlotta! Please grant my request!"

Francis nearly dropped his cane.

"What did you say?" The old man took two steps forward, looked down at Kexi, and said, "Say it again?"

"I want to marry Carlotta!" Kexi held the flowers even higher. "She's the most capable, beautiful, and responsible woman I've ever met! I want to grow old with her!"

Francis remained silent for a full three seconds.

Then he raised his cane and struck Kexi on the head.

"Ouch!" Kexi covered her head and dodged to the side, "Old man, why did you hit me!"

"Hit you? I'll beat you to death today!" Francis's beard trembled with rage. "Do you know what you're saying?"

"Of course I know! I love Carlotta! I want to marry her!"

"She's your older sister!!"

"I know, but she's not my blood relative!"

"No."

Francis took a deep breath, then exhaled a long breath before speaking.

"You two are siblings, related by blood."

"Ah???"

Kexi knelt on the ground, her hand holding the flower frozen in mid-air.

"... ah?"

"Put the flowers down first." Francis sighed, sat down on the stone steps beside him, rested his cane on his knees, and his expression was more somber than usual. "I was planning to take this to my grave. But with your outburst today, I have no choice but to tell you."

Carlotta stood to the side, her face flushing and paling by turns. Her lips moved, but she finally managed to squeeze out, "Grandfather, please stop talking."

"Let him hear it." Francis raised his chin, looking at Kexi. "When I adopted Carlotta, I specifically checked her background. She's not an orphan; she has a mother. It's just that her mother couldn't afford to raise her, or for some other reason, she abandoned her."

The flowers in Kexi's hand fell to the ground.

"I followed the clues and found the town where her mother lived. When I arrived, the town had just Tacet Discord the afterimages; all the houses had collapsed, and the streets were covered in blood." Francis's voice was calm. "Her mother lay on her doorstep, a large gash torn open in her back by the Tacet Discord, holding an infant in her arms."

"Her mother was on her last breath. When she saw me arrive with my men, she gripped my sleeve tightly and tried to shove the child in her arms into mine. She said she wasn't going to live and begged me to take the child away. I agreed, and she breathed her last."

Francis looked at Kexi, "Guess who that baby in the swaddling clothes is?"

Upon hearing this, Kexi was completely petrified.

Francis disregarded him and continued to state the cruel truth.

Yes, that's right, that child is you!

"So you are half-siblings, sharing the same mother but different fathers."

Carlotta stood to the side, her expression unchanged. She had clearly known about this all along, but had simply kept quiet.

Kexi slumped back and collapsed onto the ground.

He murmured to himself absentmindedly.

No... impossible... impossible!

He looked up and chuckled softly, unable to believe it was true.

"It's fake! It must be fake!"

"It's all fake!"

Kexi sat up abruptly in bed, the blanket rolling off the bed onto the floor.

He was panting heavily, his back was covered in cold sweat, and his heart was pounding as if he had just run 800 meters.

Francis's phrase "half-siblings" from his dream was still buzzing in his head. He wiped the sweat from his face; his fingers were icy cold.

"It was a dream. Thank goodness it was just a dream." Kexi breathed a sigh of relief.

"What half-sibling relationship? How could I possibly be related to her by blood? It was just a dream, hahaha."

He wiped his face again, took a few deep breaths, and his heartbeat slowly calmed down.

Kexi shook her head, getting rid of all the messy things.

"Half-siblings? That's bullshit."

He rolled out of bed, got dressed, and went out of the room.

The salty sea breeze rushed towards me, scattering most of the lingering dreams in my mind.

The campfire in the center of the camp was already burning. Baldorio squatted beside the fire, poking at the embers with a stick. A frying pan was placed on top of the fire, frying a few fish that had just been caught.

"Young man, you're awake?" Baldorio didn't even turn his head, gesturing with his stick to a stack of bowls and chopsticks beside him. "Help yourself. There aren't that many rules on this island."

Kexi went over, scooped up a bowl of fish soup, squatted down by the fire, and took a couple of bites.

The fish wasn't particularly fresh, but it was plentiful and filling. He ate until his mouth was greasy, but his mind kept replaying that dream.

"What are you thinking about?" Baldorio glanced at him.

"Nothing. Just a nightmare." Kexi downed the soup in her bowl, stood up, and patted her pants. "Where's Brant?"

"They're repairing the sails over at the dock."

When Kexi found the dock, Brant was squatting at the bow of the boat, with a piece of canvas spread on his knees and sewing and mending with a needle and thread in his hand.

"I want to go back to Ragunna," Kexi said bluntly, standing on the dock.

Brant stopped what he was doing.

He tossed the canvas aside, stood up, and dusted off his knees. "Back to Ragunna? You're wanted by the authorities now."

"Jinhsi is awake. I need to see her. If I can clear up the misunderstanding with her, I won't be wanted by the police anymore."

Brant glanced at him for two seconds, then jumped off the bow of the boat without asking any questions. "When are you leaving? I'll give you a ride; the troupe's boat is fast."

"No need." Kexi shook her head.

"No need?" Brant frowned. "Then how will you get there?"

Kexi didn't respond.

He took two steps back and stood on a slightly more open stone slab by the dock.

Brant watched his movements, his expression shifting from confusion to wariness.

What are you doing?

"Brant." Kexi turned her head, grinned at him, and said, "Step back a little."

What exactly do you want?

"Just step back."

Brant hesitated for a moment, then took a few steps back.

Kexi took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

The system panel flashed before his eyes, and a line of text appeared.

[Summon Fallacy of No Return Armament?]

"Yes."

The ground began to shake.

The water next to the dock exploded.

A huge red and black figure burst out of the seabed, splashing water more than ten meters high, and the entire ship was pushed to the side by the waves by half a meter.

The mech landed in front of Kexi. Its red and black armor reflected a metallic sheen in the morning light. Its shark-like head was slightly lowered, and its two eyelights glowed with a dark red light.

His five-meter-tall frame cast a shadow over Brant as he stood on the dock.

Brant tilted his head back, his mouth agape wide enough to fit the whole fish.

"What... what is this thing?"

"My Gundam." Kexi patted the mecha's leg armor, her expression full of pride. "How about it? Isn't it cool?"

Before he could respond, a red light emanated from Aleph-1's chest, enveloping his entire body. Then Kexi's figure was dragged into Aleph-1's body along with the red light.

"I'm leaving," Kexi's voice came from inside the mecha. "Tell Baldorio for me that the fish soup was good."

As soon as he finished speaking, Aleph-1 leaped into the air.

The pebbles on the dock were hurled into the air by the gusts of wind, Brant's hat was blown off, spinning three times in the air before falling into the sea.

He stood there, his hair blown back by the wind, looking as if he had been hit head-on by a typhoon.

The mech ascended into the air, changed direction, and shot off towards the southwest.

The red trail of flame left a long trail on the sea surface, and after a few seconds it disappeared completely.

Brant stood there for a long time, looking down at his trousers soaked by the waves and his hat floating on the sea, then looking up at the direction where Kexi had disappeared.

"... Holy crap."

"Who the hell is this guy?"