Little Sister

"Mn." Tylem slowly nodded. In fact, seeing the scared girl in front of him, he was quite confused. If she had a nightmare… shouldn't she be looking for her parents right now instead of him?

Moving to the side, Tylem lifted the black duvet cover for her. There was plenty of space on the relatively large bed. Furthermore, as a child, he did not take up much room.

Lynne did not act reserved as she hurriedly climbed into the bed, shivering slightly from the cold.

Seeing her pitiful state, Tylem sighed as he pressed her face against his chest, leaving her enough room to breathe as he tried to warm her up.

This seemed to shake Lynne awake, a streak of red appearing on her little face. Looking upward, she saw Tylem's calm handsome face as he attempted to coax her to sleep.

"Get some sleep, Lynne. We have school tomorrow." Tylem was thirsty, so his voice came out a bit hoarse. Nevertheless, he suppressed his urge to get a glass of water, lest Lynne became frightened alone.

"O-okay, good night." Lynne softly agreed, but when she tried to fall asleep, she found herself unable to do so. Unsurprisingly, this could not be hidden from Tylem, who was looking straight at her.

Tylem lacked experience with children, and he had no idea that him continually staring at Lynne made it difficult for her to fall asleep. Thus, the two awkwardly laid on the bed for a good while before the boy finally spoke up.

"I hope you don't mind me living in your home." Rather than trying to fall asleep for hours to no avail, Tylem started up a conversation instead.

"Lynne… doesn't mind at all. It's our home." Covering her red face with the duvet, Lynne murmured. When Tylem saw this, he didn't think that she was being shy; instead, he thought she was just trying to gather warmth.

"Heh. That makes me happy." Stroking her long hair, Tylem smiled.

So far, Tylem had no idea if he had been acting like a proper brother; he did not have experience with the matter. Living with them, he had decided to try his best to treat them as real family, even though he felt that his heart was too tainted to do so properly.

Talking like this, the two chatted away for a while, happily discussing their likes and dislikes while getting to know each other better. No longer afraid, it wasn't long before Lynne tired out and fell asleep.

It was long past midnight after all.

Hugging her warm body, Tylem closed his eyes as well to try and get some sleep.

"Good night… Little Sister."

* * *

"Mm…"

Waking up, Tylem heard his stomach loudly rumbling; his body had expended a lot of energy overnight to keep up with his growth. To his side, he noticed that his little sister was no longer there.

Slipping on the Ivla school uniform, Tylem checked his reflection. Neat and tidy, he had the striking look of an intelligent youngster. In the white uniform and tie, this fact was only further exemplified.

Ivla's logo was located atop the heart area. The logo was a four-clawed golden dragon crouched within a red cave background, primed to soar.

Brushing away some of the dust on his shoulder, Tylem walked out of the room, making his way toward the living room. The moment he exited, his sense of smell had been invaded by a sweet soupy fragrance.

"Thank you for making breakfast, Auntie." Tylem called out while bowing a tad.

"Good morning, Tylem. But ah, how many times has Auntie told you to stop bowing? We're family!" In the kitchen, Emily continued to cook up the sweet chicken and corn soup.

Sitting on his usual seat beside Lynne, Tylem acted like he didn't notice her unusual appearance; instead, he greeted the smiling person in front of him.

"Uncle, good morning." The two treated him very well, and Tylem was grateful. Like Weston had previously said, this kind, doting uncle really did listen to Emily's every word, and he treated him like a real family would.

"Morning, son!" Weston raised his bowl to drink a mouthful of the freshly cooked-up soup. Licking his lips, he grinned, "I hope you're looking forward to your first day of school."

"Yeah." Tylem quietly stared at his white bowl, having no intention to move in the slightest. Today, he would be attending the same school as his sister, and the two of them would be in the same grade.

Earlier in the week, when Emily had given him a difficult national school test, she was absolutely shocked at the near-perfect result; he could still remember her surprised, impressed face.

Coupled with this amazing result and Emily wanting the two siblings to care for each other, she had organized for Tylem to attend the same grade as Lynne, which was the seventh grade.

This meant that Tylem was now a seventh-grader, otherwise known as a second-year student of Ivla Middle School.

The two of them were eleven; however, the average age of second-years was around twelve to thirteen. The reason being was that his little sister's high intelligence had resulted in her skipping a grade when she was five.

Though, in a less than a month, it would be Tylem's birthday.

Them attending the same school together… Perhaps, that was the reason for her unusual appearance?

Tylem, the person himself, was oblivious of his own worry for her.

Truth be told, there was not much point in him learning at school. In Tylem's eyes, even though he did not have the best education growing up, middle school was still child's play.

However, it would put the husband-wife pair at ease if he showed that he was moving on, not dwelling on his past.

Therefore, it was a small price to pay. Besides, Tylem didn't have much of a choice; the national laws meant that he needed to go to school anyway.

Tylem was waiting for Emily to come sit down as well. It didn't feel right for him to begin eating without everyone present. Of course, Weston noticed this. It was indeed the proper etiquette, but he needed to leave early for work.

Furthermore, the two kids would need to catch the bus on time. Exchanging looks with Emily, Weston mouthed for her to come sit down; otherwise, it seemed that Tylem wouldn't start eating.

"Let's eat. I'm starving!" Emily untied her apron before leaving the kitchen, sitting down beside her husband. Smiling at the sight, the four of them seemed like a proper family.

Finally, Tylem lifted his spoon. There was a certain aura that Emily had which helped comfort the people around her. In this world, some special people had a distinct quality to them that helped them stand out amongst the masses.

Tylem was unaware, but he also possessed a unique air around him. Gobbling up the soup, he held the sweet-tasting corn with the tip of his tongue, closing his eyes in content.

"Eat up! Want more? Honey, a growing boy must eat plenty!" Emily giggled, and she was about to stand up to serve this adorable son of hers seconds.

"I'll do it, Em. Please rest." Weston walked into the kitchen, grabbing one of the clean white bowls while filling it to the brim with the fresh, hot corn soup.

Placing the large bowl before the frozen boy, Weston brightly laughed. With the plentiful corn floating to the top, Tylem nodded his thanks.

Not standing on ceremony, Tylem appreciatively dug in; he was indeed starving. Furthermore, Emily's cooking tasted really good; his appetite had been whet.

Emily watched the boy eagerly devour the food with a soft smile. Watching him eat with such enthusiasm, she wondered if her cooking actually did taste that good, and it made her hungry too.

It wasn't long before the family finished eating. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Tylem let the honied taste linger in his mouth before exhaling in satisfaction, "Thank you for the food."

Pulling the child's soft cheeks as he curled his lips, Emily praised, "Honey, you look so cool wearing the school uniform. I'm sure you'll be a hit with your classmates."

Tylem's expression did not disagree, but he didn't show any signs of approval either. Rather, he was now paying even closer attention to Lynne's fidgety appearance; something was troubling her.

"Brush your teeth, babies. Let's get going. We wouldn't want Tylem to be late on his first day!" Even Emily and Weston had not noticed their daughter's troubled, downcast look.

Seemingly, she was trying to hide something from them.