Simond couldn't believe his eyes. He stared at her tall figure and long, blonde hair. It was her. It was truly her. "This cannot be. They said you were dead. You must be an illusion! Aldred, what kind of spell did you put me into?!"
"I don't put any spell on you. Even I am shocked to hear this. Mally, is Simond really your brother?"
"Mally? That was her name. How did you know her name?" Simond asked.
She sighed. "My name is Mally Fairburne. I am a High-Knight of the Ceraisian Empire, and," She looked at Simond. "Simond's brother."
"You cannot fool me. My sister died a long time ago."
Mally reached out with her hand, and the dark sword swiftly flew at her before landing on her palm gently.
Simond widened his eyes. "It's really you." Tears welled up in his eyes. "It's truly you. Sister, you're alive."
Mally knelt down and hugged him. "Yes, I am alive. You must have it hard all this time." She caressed his head.
"Why? Why did you leave us?" Simond asked.
"Long story short. I was assigned to a secret mission, and to do that, I need to have a completely new identity. So they said I was killed, but in truth, I just put a mask on and go somewhere."
"But it's been years! How can you not send us a letter or a message?"
"That will put the mission in jeopardy," Mally replied.
"Is the mission more important than your family?"
Mally was silent at first before she replied: "No. You are more important than anything, but it has to be done."
"What is the mission?" Simond asked.
"That's a secret."
Simond nodded in understanding. Since he was a soldier for a long time, he knew that a secret must be guarded not only to protect the nation but to prevent unnecessary death. If Mally told Simond about the secret, her enemies might come and torture him to obtain it.
"I understand," Simond said.
"I heard you've been a naughty boy, lately." Mally rubbed his head with a smile.
"I am not a kid anymore."
Mally chuckled as she kept rubbing his head. "To me, you'd always be a kid."
Simond hid his face, no one could see it, but he was actually smiling.
"Anyway, stop preventing girls from joining the battlefield."
"Okay."
"And stop hunting Aldred."
"Okay."
"Good," Mally said, nodding her head.
Aldred and his other wives were speechless. Simond had been bothering them and hunting them down for more than a year. For an entire year, all they wanted was to kill each other, but a single word from Mally threw it all out of the window.
'What about all that talk about saving the empire from collapsing, and saying that letting women on the battlefield will make Ceraisian Empire fall?' Aldred thought to himself.
"Sister, will you be coming back home?" Simond asked.
"No. I will be joining his journey until he gets the treasure." Mally pointed at Aldred.
"I see. If possible please come back home. Mom and Dad want to see you get married soon."
"Oh, I am married already."
"What? When?"
"A few weeks ago, I guess. Right after I fought you on the mothership."
"With whom?"
"That guy?" Mally pointed at Aldred.
"What?! But how could you marry him?" Simond was distressed. "He's not a good man for you, sister."
"I can marry whoever I like," Mally said.
"But… does that mean you two have done it already?" Simond asked.
"Oh, for sure. A couple of times in fact."
Simond's expression turned dark. His wounds healed completely, and he brandished his blade. "Aldred, I challenge you to another duel to the death!"
"Hell no. I don't want to kill my brother-in-law."
"Bastard!"
Before Simond could charge at him, Mally slammed his face to the ground. "What did I say earlier?"
"Stop hunting Aldred," Simond said as his mouth was kissing the sand.
"Good boy. Now stand up and go home."
Simond did as ordered and then looked at his long-lost sister. He sighed before hugging her again. "I miss you so much."
Mally hugged him back with a smile. "You know what. Don't come home yet. Let's enjoy ourselves a feast first."
"I agree with that. To welcome my brother-in-law, I ordered a grand feast to be held!" Aldred shouted. He didn't know what the heck just happened, but he'd immediately dived in. If his year-long enemy was actually his brother-in-law, then so be it. Aldred did not want to harm a family member.
Simond was of course agitated every time he heard the word 'brother-in-law'. The fact that this man did her sister… It enraged him inside, like a father who was unwilling to let go of his daughter.
Night came, and a huge bonfire was lit as the soldiers sang and feasted upon the food Bartrem made.
Aldred and his wives sat around the bonfire. Of course, Mally and Simond were there. They were the star tonight.
"Simond, did you remember how you used to hug my legs every time I disagree with you?"
"Sister! Don't bring that up."
Mally laughed maniacally when she saw Simond's cheek blushing.
"By the way, why didn't you tell me when we fought on the mothership that day?" Simond asked. A few weeks ago, he had fought against a pirate with a red skull mask who was actually his sister. The question was, why didn't she tell him about it that day?
"Well, I wasn't planning to tell you. But Aldred was about to kill you earlier, and I cannot let that happen."
"He's my brother-in-law now. So we're cool," Aldred said.
"Who said we're cool?" Simond glared at him. "I am watching you."
Aldred smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "I will take care of your sister, don't worry."
"Fuck!" Simond almost stood up from his seat and fight with Aldred right there and then.
"Calm down brother-in-law. Here, have a kebab."
Simond was about to slap the kebab away until he saw his sister glaring at him. He sighed and resigned to his fate, accepting the kebab and eating it. Thankfully, the food tasted good and the drinks were great.
That night, Mally and Simond chatted about their childhood memory when they used to hunt pigs near the river and train sword art together. They had a good laugh, and Simond still couldn't believe that his sister was alive. It was unreal. For years he had believed that his sister was killed in battle, but now here she was, smiling and laughing with him, reminiscing about their childhood memory.
Simond had pinched himself a couple of times, making sure that it wasn't a dream. He smiled every time he did it.
"It's late night," Mally said. "Go get some sleep. We will chat again tomorrow."
"Yes, sister."
As Simond walked to his tent, he turned around and saw his sister entering her own tent. And then Aldred came, looked at him, and gave a thumbs up before entering the tent as well.
That man was so annoying.
And then he heard his sister's cry from inside the tent. "Fucking bastard! I am going to kill you!"
