The Case Where I Found Out My Big Sister with a Brother Complex Was Actually My Stepsister, Tried to Hide It, but She Found Out Immediately and Became Uncontrollable - 20

Chapter 20: My Big Sister and the School Festival

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“I’m going to get to walk around the culture festival with Tsumugu today!”

“Yeah.”

My big sister and I were talking about today’s culture festival as we walked to school together.

Today was the second day of the festival, and since I had promised to go around it with my big sister on this day, I had been really looking forward to it.

“We don’t have to bring our school bags for the culture festival, so we can just enjoy the festival together without stopping by the classroom to drop them off! I’m so happy!”

“You’re awfully energetic this morning, Nee-san.”

To be precise, it wasn’t just this morning. Nee-san had been like this since last night.

“I can’t help it! I wanted to walk around the festival with you last year when you started high school, but I was too busy, and we couldn’t do it… That’s why I decided that this year, I’d definitely go around the festival with you!”

“I see… Then I’ll enjoy it as much as I can so you can enjoy it too.”

“Yeah! Show me lots of your happy face, okay?”

She said that with a bright smile. I really liked that smile of hers. When we got to school, it was ten minutes before the second day of the culture festival was set to begin.

“Is there anywhere you want to go first, Nee-san?”

“I want to say, ‘wherever Tsumugu wants to go!’ but… I really want you to see the play my class is putting on.”

“Got it. Then let’s go see your class’s play… It’s in the gym, right?”

“Yes!”

My big sister and I started walking toward the gymnasium. There were a lot of booths along the way, so it wasn’t a straight shot, but ten minutes wasn’t too long or too short of a walk to get there. On the way there, I casually asked her a question.

“Why do you want me to see your class’s play, Nee-san?”

“Well… My classmates worked really hard, practicing every day after school, and I want you to see that effort… That’s one reason.”

She seemed a little hesitant at first, but she continued.

“More than that though… I have a personal reason. I want you to see it for me.”

“I see… In that case, I’ll look forward to it.”

It took us about five minutes to reach the gym. There were still five minutes left before the doors opened, but talking with Nee-san made the time fly by. Soon, the doors opened, and we entered the gym and took our seats. People quickly began to gather, and soon the gym was nearly full. The play began right away.

“The title of the play is ‘Love and Blood.'”

A person who seemed to be the narrator announced the title, and the curtain slowly rose.

…Love and Blood, huh? Sounds like a pretty heavy title.

The story up to the middle was about a son and daughter of noble families in the Middle Ages. The two grew up not knowing they were siblings and ended up falling in love and even promising to marry. But then they were told the truth—that they were actually siblings. The story then became about whether they would still choose to follow their love despite that, just as the title suggested: love and blood.

If we went by historical context, maybe in the Middle Ages it wouldn’t have been such a big deal even with a blood connection, but the story was told with modern values so that people could relate to the story more easily.

“Oh! God! Why did you make us of the same blood!”

“Yes! If not for that, we wouldn’t have to suffer so much from this poison called love!”

Now at the climax, the characters were expressing the feelings they had held inside.

“Are we… Supposed to follow the rules?”

“Or… Are we supposed to defy them?”

After releasing all those feelings, the two embraced with pained expressions—whether it was the pain of love they couldn’t fulfill or the pain of having to go against something, it was hard to say. With that embrace, the curtain came down. A loud round of applause erupted from the audience. Of course, Nee-san and I clapped too before stepping outside the gym.

“I could tell just how hard your classmates worked… I was completely drawn in to the play.”

“Yeah! Everyone really did their best, so I think they’ll be happy to hear that! …What did you think of the story?”

Nee-san asked, her tone a little more somber.

“I think… It was a sad story. When I imagined how the two of them felt, I felt really hurt too.”

“Yeah… It hurts.”

It seemed Nee-san had empathized with the characters too—she looked truly pained. It was rare for her to show an expression like that, but given how heavy the story was, it was understandable for her to empathize with the character. I figured she had probably seen the play before during practice, but that didn’t make the content any less heavy.

“But… I want to believe that in the end, the two of them decided to stay together in the end. I think they embraced each other because of that.”

“Huh…? Why do you want to believe that, Tsumugu?”

“The reason is simple, really… I just think that if you find someone you truly want to love, being able to love them the way you want would make you happier rather than forcing yourself to go against your feelings.”

“But they were siblings, you know?”

Realistically speaking, marriage and such would definitely be difficult, but happiness came in many forms.

“I think the fact that they were siblings is important too, but even if that relationship changes into something else… As long as they’re happy, I think that’s okay.”

When I said that, Nee-san gave a small smile and muttered something.

“I wish I could think like that too… But still…”

“Nee-san?”

She turned to me with her usual bright smile and said.

“Thanks to you, Tsumugu, I realized it’s not a bad thing to wish for happiness! Thank you!”

“Is that so…? I don’t really get it, but I’m glad to know if I was able to help you somehow.”

And with that, I continued walking around the culture festival together with Nee-san, who seemed to have let go of something inside her heart. The culture festival with Nee-san had only just begun.

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