Stockholm Syndrome

"Looks like you're depressed. Maybe it's because you've learned the truth." Rei-sama saw through me. 

"No, it's just I feel like I am not needed." I told her the truth. 

"Nope, you are needed. At least to me. Right now, you and I are the only heirs remaining. A duke's house like us needs a lot of heirs for back up at least. I can't make a lot of babies. So, I think we need you. You're the most needed person for our Silverstorm house at least." Rei-sama reassured me. 

It's somehow embarrassing how she says things like making babies. But if she's telling the truth, that means I am the only male alive who has the right to be head of the family. 

"Making babies!?" 

"Yeah, making babies. You see, you and I are the only heirs left. So, you have to marry a lot of ladies to make our house bigger." Rei-sama explained to me. 

"But isn't it unfaithful?" I asked. 

"In which world are you in? You see, right now you are the heir of Silverstorm house. It's inevitable that you have to marry more than one person. You know that within nobles, there are major shortages of males. Let me tell you, there are only three males within the royal and duke families in your generation. Among them, one is a homo. If a duke's family married off their daughter to a high and mid-type noble, their reputation would get worse. Pride is the only thing that a noble doesn't want to lose. So, for them, you will be an easy target. They would definitely want you to pregnant their daughter, even if they know that you already have a wife," Rei-sama explained. 

I guess she is right. Most of the time, it depends on gene that how much mana a person will have. Basically, descendants of a royal or duke's family have more mana than an average noble family. 

It's like they were able to get in this upper position just because they have more mana. So, to ensure that your next generation will have an awaken one with high mana capacity, you have to marry your daughter off to an awaken one with high mana capacity. 

But according to the temple, I wasn't able to awaken an attribute. Won't it affect my reputation? I mean who is marrying her daughter off with someone who doesn't have mana. 

"But about me...  You know, I wasn't able to awaken. Who would marry his daughter off to me." I tried to act like I didn't know about my awakening. 

"Oh, about that.... You don't have to act like you don't know about it. You see, I have a skill called {Appraisal eyes}. I can see through a person's status. I know that after that incident you have gained some skills. Like {Secret system}, {Hero summoning}. You also awaken Dark attributes. I thought that it was impossible to get new attributes. It seems something must have happened after you got attacked by that orc," Rei-sama revealed. 

She is acting as if it's normal for her to know about it. 

I mean, how did she know about that? No, I do know about that. She has already confirmed that she has a skill called {Appraisal eyes}. If I am not wrong, it's a skill to see through the opponent's status. When she said that I got new skills after getting attacked,  then that meant she knew about my status before I was able to know. She is extremely dangerous. I don't know if I should trust her or not. Well,  if we're going to become a family, then I should trust her. The same goes for her. 

So, I should act like I don't know about it. I will be able to find out about her in this process. 

"I don't know what you mean." 

"Seems like you're trying to confirm if I am trustworthy or not. Fair enough." Rei-sama nodded. 

She sees through me! Is she an Esper or something? 

"Are you perhaps an Esper?" 

"Haha. Maybe I am secretly an angel." saying that she moistened her lips with her tongue. 

She looks like a succubus right now. 

"Yeah, maybe I will come to your wet dream today." She replied with a lopsided grin. 

I give up. I think I should believe her. It's not like I have anything to lose. Either way, I have to tell everyone about that. I know I am trusting her like a fool. 

[If you know about that, then please don't think about being disgusting from the beginning.] 

You don't really miss a chance to humiliate me. Well, I did miss you. You were silent, so I thought something might have happened to you, system. 

[Fool, it's not like I would be happy to hear that. Fool, you fool.] 

If you're to act like a tsundere, please, use 'baka' instead of 'Fool'. 'Baka' fits well with tsundere. 

[I have never thought in my dreams that I would take advice from you.]

Yeah, yeah,  now if possible, could you shut up a bit. 

"Then I guess, I have to tell you." 

"It's not like I am forcing you to tell me. Just take your time." Rei-sama told me. 

"No, I think if want to be a part of the Silverstorm family, then I have to trust you guys. I won't be able to calm myself if I don't trust you enough," I said. 

"I guess you're right. I do trust my family. The same goes for you too. You have been my family ever since you were born," Rei-sama said. 

"Rei-sama." 

For some reason, I felt happy. There is someone who thinks of me as a family. No, my mom and sister too. They think of me as their family too. 

"Now that I think of it, you are calling me Rei-sama. I said that I am your cousin. Call me 'Rei-sama' or 'Rei-nee'." Rei-sama advised me to call her either Rei-nee or Rei-oneesama. 

"Then Rei-oneesama?" 

"No, that's bad in its own way. When a girl calls another one 'onee-sama', I feel like they are in a relationship. You know that famous Yuri stuff?" Rei-sama told me. 

"But I am a boy." 

"You should not say that with that face of yours. Even the person you love has started to hate you because she thinks you are gonna steal her boyfriend."(Rei-sama)

"What do you mean?" 

Yeah, I don't really understand. The girl I like? Is it Yukino? But why would Yukino think that I was gonna steal Limon from her?

"You love Yukino girl like a mad person, right?" Rei-sama asked. 

How did she know? No, I do know that I love her. But is it like a mad man?

"I do love her. But how did you know?" I asked. 

"You see, you are the heir of the Silverstorm family. So, I sent a person to keep an eye on you. She is a professional ninja. She protects you from the shadow. I got daily reports from her. So, I know every situation," Rei-sama said with a smocky face.

"Then why didn't she take action when I was attacked by the orc?" I asked. 

"I ordered her not to interfere with her daily life. So, she would only take action when she thinks that she has to. I mean she will only take action when it's confirmed that if she doesn't interfere you will die. Maybe that moment, she thought it was best not to interfere. She did report to me that incident though," Rei-sama explained. 

"I guess, I understand. Rei-sama." 

"You're still calling me Rei-sama." Rei-sama pouted. 

"Okay, okay, I give up. I will call you Rei-nee."

"That's like a good boy. Okay, let's return to your love life. Before starting talking about you, I would like to tell you the story of an ero-novel." Rei-nee said. 

"Why ero-novel? Besides, is that something you should talk to other?"

"The story starts with our protagonist getting to know that the girl he likes is dating one of his classmates. He didn't like it. Then, with the help of some other character, he rapes her. What's strange is that the girl he likes is called Yukino. Yeah, Shirasaka Yukino," Rei-nee said. 

Strange. I feel like my story is somehow similar to that novel. The author must be a genius. 

"Later in the story, it's revealed that the protagonist has Stockholm syndrome."(Rei)

"Stockholm syndrome?" 

"Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response. It occurs when hostages or abuse victims bond with their captors or abusers. This psychological connection develops over the course of days, weeks, months, or even years of captivity or abuse.

But in your case, you developed this syndrome when Yukino encouraged you in your crucial time. It's not like she really cares about you that much. She just thought you were an odd girl, so she tried to make you her underling. She just thought that it would be good to have a follower who is a noble. But later she finds out that you are a boy. Also, you're a person who doesn't have a good relationship with his family. So, she gave up on you. She was a great actor from the beginning. So, she tried to act like a good person in front of everyone. She finds you creepy because you were staring at her all the time. She knew that she wouldn't be able to make you give up. So, when Limon confessed to her she accepted it. She thought she got two birds in one stone. Limon is a good looking boy. He is from a rich family. And you will stop looking at her. So, she started dating him. She would definitely break up with him if she gets a more rich person. That kind of person Yukino is," Rei-nee revealed. 

I feel like something cracked inside me. It was something I didn't want to hear. I don't want to believe that Yukino is a person like this. Yeah,  it's just that Rei-nee thinks Yukino is a bad person. That's wrong. I believe that Yukino is a good person. She may not like me, but that doesn't explain why she is a bad person. 

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