Merry Christmas!

She was Carlos' older sister.

She was supposed to be the one protecting him, the one that loved him so tremendously that she could give up the world for him.

At least, that's what she always thought.

Yet, she couldn't do a thing when the perpetrator was her father.

At the critical moment, she lost to a mere servant.

To a monster she looked down upon.

To a monster that she thought was too hideous and unfit to be by her brother's side.

But in the end, that monster was able to protect him better than she could.

It wasn't about the superior physique, the better reflexes.

She couldn't even make an excuse for herself! ... Because she knew very well that even if she had the superior physique, had the better reflexes, she still wouldn't have forsaken her relationship with her father to protect her younger brother.

Because in her head, the importance of her status and propriety surpassed that of her brother.

'She wanted him to live freely, without any useless restrictions. She wanted to protect him with the miniscule power that she had to preserve the boy's purity.'

But the truth is, just 'wanting' isn't enough because Carol ultimately did not choose to act upon her will. She was limited in her options to perform because, eventually, she decided to be the arrogant miss that she was.

Too afraid to be anything else.

Every time Carlos was yelled at and beaten by their father, Carol had always lowered her head and averted her eyes, acting like an obedient daughter.

She was afraid of losing favor, being the target of his outrage.

Sometimes, she thought about talking back to her father and reasoning with him; but in the end, these were just fleeting thoughts that never came true.

After the incidents happened, Carol would coax herself, saying that in the end, Father didn't go too overboard, and Carlos didn't seem that injured anyway. If I interfered, maybe the situation would've gotten worse. So it was good that I didn't interfere.

Thinking about it now, those thoughts were just excuses for her behavior.

Carol laid on her bed, looking at the ceiling. That mutant probably doesn't have any idea how much her actions affected me.

It was like this from the start.

From that strangely emotionally invoking letter five years ago, to her actions this evening.

Her words and actions are so carefree, her thoughts so simple, whole-heartedly focused on protecting Carlos, without any consideration for any consequences brought by her behavior.

I… I wish I could be like that.

Carol's eyebrows quivered.

Let's not think any more about that. Such thoughts are dangerous to have.

Silently, she sat up and reached over to one of the drawers on the side of her bed. She took out several tool kits, but her hands soon reached back into the drawer. After some more rummaging, the young woman finally found what she was looking for. In her hands was a large bronze pocket watch, and she casually flicked it open.

This was her latest project that involved the almost lost art of machinery. She enjoyed not only experimenting with modern technology but also all aspects of anything that she could physically work with using her hands, and that mentally worked her mind.

But Carol couldn't focus. Her thoughts kept wandering all over the place, and finally, she gave up. She reached up and pulled off her hair band, letting her thick blond hair fall over her eyes, before collapsing on her bed again.

This time, she didn't get up again.

…

In a certain open corridor of the Rochester mansion, a woman with brown hair past her shoulders and silver eyes walked with four guards following a couple feet behind her.

She looked outside, at the lightly falling snowflakes, and sighed inaudibly.

Too many things had changed from the past, and it's now out of my control, Eyrie thought solemnly to herself.

Fei had acted completely out of her expectations.

Even though she felt that having the mutant watch as her master was harshly criticized was a pretty bad idea, she was curious about her reaction and thus did not stop it.

What Eyrie did not expect was her to raise a hand against Mr. Rochester. She recalled that Fei was normally very respectful to him, and she followed all of his orders without question – like the obedience she showed towards Carlos.

Knowing that after the incident happened, her father would be in a state of extreme shock, Eyrie had waited until everyone else left and requested an audience with him.

But she had been turned away without hesitation; he said that he needed some time alone.

Then, when she wanted to take a look at Fei's condition and went over to Carlos' room, Eyrie overheard the conversation between the mutant and her younger sister.

In her past life, Eyrie had never heard Carol utter a 'thank you,' nor sound so unsure of herself. She had always been aloof and full of confidence facing everyone.

It wasn't until the family fell did the two grow closer. Would it change in this life?

Eyrie sighed again.

She was heading to the roof to board a high powered mech to head home.

The young woman had received a text earlier that her husband returned home already – to her surprise. But he had already eaten beforehand, so he was going to retire his room first.

She took out a small switch from her pocket and clicked it.

A neat projection appeared in front of her, showing her list of tasks to be done, suggested assignments, and most recent news.

At the top right-hand corner, there was the time and the date, along with a few words in bold.

8:56 PM … December 24th, XXXX

Merry Christmas!

So, Christmas is going to end like this, huh?