Alice puffed out her chest proudly. "The warden knew I was going to be freed once Mother finished the dungeon clear, so instead of holding me there uselessly for a few more days, he enlisted me in this 'special prisoner army' of awakened combatants that was hastily put together to fight the monsters rampaging across the country." Her proud little smile turned impish. "Naturally, I broke ranks instantly and escaped."

Kaiden's eye twitched.

"I rushed straight here because I saw the stream where you almost died!" she squealed, bouncing in his lap like an overexcited child. "Big brother, you're so amazing! A real hero!"

This was the perfect moment to strike, the girl decided. She leaned in for a second time, lips puckered once again, clearly aiming for another kiss. But this time, Aria was even more ready. Ready to police and keep their man from being a real sinner, just as Luna had asked her to.

Not that the girls needed to worry, for Kaiden was no degenerate, at least not of that magnitude…

But still, they didn't feel like sitting this one out. Especially not the yandere princess, whose hand snapped up like a steel trap, pressing firmly between Alice's lips and Kaiden's face.

Alice froze, then slowly growled from behind Aria's palm, her eyes narrowed into a psychotic murderer's glare. The sound was low and hostile, nothing like the earlier playful whining she weaponized against her brother.

The treatment between Paragon of Sin and his Valkyries couldn't have been any more different.

But Aria's silver gaze didn't flinch as she pressed harder, refusing to retreat.

The room practically vibrated with the energy of round two.

However, in the next moment, Kaiden's voice cut through the thick tension as if it never existed. "Alice."

The teenage girl with the epithet 'The Light That Destroys' had her entire body stiffen seeing his serious expression. Then he suddenly grabbed her slender waist and lifted her off his lap, setting her down on the floor in front of him. His tone shifted, becoming sharper, heavier, and impossible to mistake for anything but brotherly anger. "So…"

"Ah!!" Alice yelped instantly and almost managed to trip over her own feet. "I-I didn't do anything!" she blurted in pure panic and blinked rapidly, trying to lessen whatever anger Kaiden felt by reminding him that she was still his adorable little sister who loved him very dearly.

Sadly, that tactic of hers did not work this time around.

In fact, it only managed to earn the girl another round of laughter from Nyx, who nearly doubled over. Aria scoffed, shaking her head, though her smirk betrayed her satisfaction. Even Bastet, of all people, was snickering into her ice cream.

Kaiden, however, didn't smile. He sat back, with his eyes steady on Alice. "Did you notice anyone else in the room? Besides me and my four lovers."

Alice brightened, pointing to herself proudly. "Yes! Me! I'm here!"

His flat look made her enthusiasm wither like a flower under frost. "… Besides the six of us."

Her face twisted in confusion, but then the hazy memories she had ignored earlier crawled back into focus. Her eyes widened more than ever as color drained from her cheeks.

"There were," Aria decreed coolly while folding her arms under her chest.

"Sarah and Elara," Nyx purred, tone dripping with dangerous amusement. "One's a non-awakened woman, the other's still just a civilian despite being awakened. An innocent little girl."

"And now," Bastet added, licking her ice cream again with a wet slurp, "the gremlin has to explain to them the consequences of speaking out this little secret. What was it again? Ah, yes. That Vespera Ashborn will personally skin them alive if they breathe a word of it to anyone."

Alice shrank further and further under the combined weight of their words, her head drooping until she was staring down at her feet. She fidgeted with her fingers, shoulders trembling. "Mom will kill me… I'm sorry, Kai..."

Kaiden's eyes did not soften for a single second. His tone remained firm. "I don't want your apology, Alice. I want you to stop being a burden. First you appear in public while shouting about murdering all of ChronosX right after they release their viral video about accusing me, and now you're barging in my hospital room as if it were completely normal."

Hearing those extra cruel words, the teenage girl's head snapped up immediately, and her eyes began shimmering with tears.

"I love you dearly," Kaiden continued, "I would do anything to ensure you're safe. But you can't keep making these mistakes for me, Alice. I won't let you drag us down with your recklessness. I won't let you ruin what we're building here. If I have to alienate you to protect the future I envision with my girls, then I will. This isn't some friendly game we're playing. Our lives are on the line, and you are clearly not understanding of this fact. Being sheltered by our family and having been blessed with an S-tier class made it so you don't have to face any consequences, which has clearly impacted your grasp on reality."

Alice's lips trembled. The harshness of his words pierced straight through her. For once, even Aria's glare eased, and she even gulped once by the time Kaiden finished. She understood that her man was being very serious and enraged, hoping to teach the girl a real lesson.

"I… I'm truly sorry!" Alice cried out. By now her voice was outright breaking. A truly brutal breakdown was threatening her mind as she also understood how utterly angry, and even worse, disappointed she'd made her big brother.

Both of her hands were clutched to her chest as her tears pilled over in rapid streams.

"Please, don't abandon me, big brother! I'll be good! No more missteps! I promise! Please!"

Her words tumbled out frantically, desperate and trembling, while her petite frame began shivering as though the thought of losing his warmth was worse than death itself.

She looked so timid and frantic in this moment that the entire room went quiet, the weight of her desperation sinking into even Nyx's amusement.

Kaiden rose from his seat, towering over the trembling little sister.

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