Chapter 43 - Blindness

Translator's Note:

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Here you go, and I wish you a good read.

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My Brother's Mate

 

What awaited Ren after he chased Aoi out of the party was a scene disturbingly close to what he had feared.

 

Two young male Alpha guests had been on the verge of assaulting Aoi's attendant, Yuto Fukaya.

 

Somehow, Aoi had sensed this before anyone else and had taken matters into his own hands, knocking the would-be assailants unconscious with his bare fists.

 

His eyes gleamed like a beast's, glowing gold.

 

Ren felt an indescribable unease at the sight of Aoi's cold, unyielding expression—a face he had never seen before.

 

—How did Aoi sense this attempted rape? And why would he lash out so violently on behalf of a mere servant boy?

 

The faces of those Alphas were so swollen that they were almost unrecognizable. Their noses and cheekbones were likely shattered. Ren couldn't hide his shock at discovering the ferocity that had lain dormant within Aoi.

 

Of course, it was the reckless Alphas who had initiated this situation. Yet, Ren couldn't help but feel a surge of anger toward Aoi, who had ruined this crucial day by turning it into a bloodbath.

 

And then, when Ren saw what lay around the neck of the servant boy who emerged from the back of the storage room, his blood ran cold.

 

Around the boy's neck was a black collar—the mark of an Omega.

 

A wave of fury rose inside Ren, dark and swirling.

 

He was enraged at the boy for deceiving them all, for seducing his precious younger brother. He felt disgust and revulsion. At the same time, he was furious with himself for failing to see through his lies.

 

But above all, what pierced Ren's heart most deeply was his anger at Aoi, who had defied all of Ren's teachings and was selfishly trying to bond with the boy.

 

The words Aoi had spoken in defense of the boy shattered everything Ren had worked so hard to build. Aoi was supposed to be pure, untouched. Ren had protected and raised him that way. That purity now seemed so cruel, and Ren's rationality finally collapsed.

 

"An Omega? You're telling me you plan to mate with some Omega we know nothing about? Aoi! You don't understand anything! How can you not see all I've done to protect you?"

 

"I do understand! I know, but—"

 

"Do you have any idea how many people envy the Kunishiro family's success? They're everywhere, waiting for a chance to take us down. That's why I've always watched over those who come close to you, to make sure no one with ill intentions would deceive you!"

 

"Ill intentions? Yuto has no ill intentions! Just listen to me! Why do you always deny me without even hearing me out?"

 

"I'm trying to protect you! Why can't you see that? ...Since the day you lost your sight, I've seen so many things I wish I hadn't. Our father and mother—"

 

"Father and mother? What? They died of illness, didn't they?"

 

Ren, unable to hold back his emotions, blurted out the truth about their parents' deaths in front of Aoi—something he had vowed to keep hidden. He was shocked at himself for revealing it so easily.

 

But it was too late to stop.

 

Ren couldn't contain his feelings any longer. He felt betrayed, as though everything he had hoped for Aoi had been utterly destroyed.

 

Simultaneously, a burning hatred towards Yuto festered within him.

 

This vile Omega, who had pretended to be a Beta, had seduced Ren's pure, untainted brother with his foul tricks. That was Ren's honest impression of Yuto Fukaya.

 

The fact that another Omega, like himself, had successfully infiltrated his precious brother's life so effortlessly—when Ren had fought so hard to conceal his own Omega nature while battling alone in an Alpha-dominated world—made him feel like his entire existence had been denied.

 

Ren had struggled endlessly, pretending to be an Alpha, suffering in isolation, all to protect his position.

 

He had sacrificed everything, even his health, to maintain his status… And yet, here was this boy, effortlessly captivating Aoi, ready to ruin the Kunishiro family and all of his efforts, using but sweet whispers of love and romance.

 

Ren swallowed his rage and, in a measured tone, announced Yuto's banishment from their household. However—

 

"What right do you have to blame Yuto for his deception, Brother?"

 

"...What did you say?"

 

"You're an Omega too, aren't you?"

 

The shock of hearing his Omega nature exposed was as gut-wrenching as when he had first been diagnosed.

 

It felt as if the ground beneath him had disappeared, plunging him into an endless darkness.

 

He couldn't speak.

 

He couldn't even deny it.

 

Aoi's deep blue eyes remained calm, filled with certainty, as if he had long seen through Ren's deception.

 

"It's true, isn't it? Brother?"

 

"..."

 

"You're not even going to deny it?"

 

Silence. That was as good as an admission.

 

Ren averted his gaze from Aoi's piercing stare and sighed deeply. With that exhalation, something that had been tightly locked within him seemed to unravel, as if a stubborn weight had finally been lifted. He felt a sense of surrender, a release from the tension he had carried for so long.

 

"...I suppose it's pointless to keep hiding anymore."

 

Ren resolved to tell Aoi everything.

 

He had grown weary of keeping secrets from the one person he wanted to hide nothing from.

 

As Ren recounted the truth of everything that had happened, Aoi's expression gradually stiffened. His face reflected deep regret, as if he were pained by the realization that he had left Ren to shoulder such a heavy burden alone for so long.

 

But Ren continued. He couldn't stop now.

 

This was what he had always wanted.

 

He had wanted someone—no, Aoi, his only family—to know the pain he had endured.

 

At some point, tears began to spill from Aoi's eyes. Ren couldn't remember the last time he had seen his brother cry. Aoi trembled like a child, his sobs escaping in broken gasps, and the sight was so endearing that Ren's tense expression softened. Though Aoi's body had grown into that of an adult, as Ren held him, it felt as though he were cradling the little boy Aoi had once been.

 

Ren recalled those days right after Aoi lost his sight, when he had cried out, "I can't see anything!" Ren remembered how Aoi had wept every night, overcome with fear and helplessness in his dark world. Even after Aoi had accepted his blindness, there were many moments when he had shed bitter tears, frustrated by the reality he couldn't change.

 

—If only I had told Aoi the truth earlier, maybe I wouldn't have become such a hardened person...

 

As Ren wiped the tears from Aoi's cheeks, he thought about this, even though he knew it was too late to change the past. Still, there was a lightness in his heart—a joy at finally feeling like brothers again, after all the masks had been cast aside.

 

Ren, now utterly drained, let his gaze drift to Yuto Fukaya.

 

Yuto was looking at Ren with earnest eyes. His lips trembled, as though he wanted to say something, and his face carried a sorrowful expression, on the verge of tears.

 

—The Omega that Aoi has chosen as his mate...

 

Ren found himself wanting to listen to this boy, whom Aoi had fought so hard to protect. He wanted to hear more about the life of this Omega, the one his brother cherished.

 

As Yuto haltingly shared his story, Ren noticed many parallels to his own.

 

The despair and anguish of being born an Omega. The pain of wearing a mask, of deceiving others, of having to betray even oneself and the ones they loved.

 

There wasn't the slightest hint of malice in Yuto's humble words. All Ren could feel was how much this boy needed Aoi, and how much Aoi loved this boy. It sank into Ren's heart like a stone dropped into still water.

 

The anger he had felt toward Aoi just moments ago, the disgust he had harbored toward Yuto, all seemed to have been washed away without him even realizing.

 

—Aoi's mate...

 

"...Fine. Do as you wish."

 

The words Ren muttered under his breath were, in his heart, a form of blessing.

 

The irresistible pull of fated mates had a power Ren could now fully understand. He no longer had the will to stand in the way of their bond.

 

As Ren watched Aoi's face light up with joy as he embraced his mate, it felt right. He realized that this was not a mistake. Aoi's mate meant that Ren's family had grown. For so long, it had been just the two of them—Ren and Aoi—facing the world together. Welcoming a new member into their family was something to be celebrated.

 

—Family...

 

Suddenly, the image of Mikado Haruto's bright smile flashed in Ren's mind. He was there—so close that if Ren reached out, he might be able to touch him.

 

Ren's true soul mate was within reach.

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