Chapter 544: Siberia Hates Benjamin

I was invisible and practically intangible, a ghost in their midst. In fact, they would sooner spot a ghost than me.

And I could see them clearly now.

Siberia’s hair was wet, plastered to her scalp, making her look younger and more vulnerable than I’d ever seen her.

Kapil was sitting across from her, his expression relaxed, and his guard down for once.

They were talking in low voices despite being alone, but I was close enough to hear them perfectly well.

Now, let the flood gates of dark secrets open!

Though... Siberia paid me a short glance before Kapil’s voice broke her attention.

The moment her dark eyes flickered in my direction, my heart seized in my chest, my breath catching in my throat like I’d swallowed a stone.

For a split second, I was certain she’d seen me, that my carefully constructed veil of invisibility had failed, that I was about to be exposed as a peeping tom of the worst kind.

But then Kapil spoke, and her focus shifted, her gaze moving away from my hidden position as if I’d never been there at all.

PHEW. Safe.

I let out a slow, silent breath, feeling the tension drain from my shoulders like water flowing over a dam.

However, while I was currently staring at two naked heroes of the guild right now, but it didn’t feel so.

After seeing so many naked men and women in the changing rooms, after being groped, ogled, and nearly stripped bare, the shock had worn off entirely, replaced by a strange clinical detachment.

Bodies were just bodies now, flesh and bone and skin, no more scandalous than a tree or a rock.

But Siberia sure was an attractive woman—when you looked past every danger bell her presence sent you.

Her form was lean and powerful, toned muscles showing beneath light skin that seemed to glow in the soft crystal light underneath the basin, some scars crisscrossing her body like an indicator of her battles and her survival.

She was beautiful in the way a storm was beautiful: terrifying, awe-inspiring, and nearly impossible to look away from.

"I said do not call me your sister!"

Oh?! Siberia’s voice!

It wasn’t the husky, deathly hushed tone she used when nagging in the guild, the one that made people fidget and scramble to obey.

It was more level and unforced, possessing a warmth that I’d never heard from her before, and look at her there, being all relaxed and safe.

The difference was startling and jarring, like watching a completely different person inhabit the same skin.

This wasn’t the cold, distant warrior I’d seen in the guild hall, the one who could silence a room with a single glance.

This was a woman, vulnerable and open, speaking with a warmth I’d never seen from her in public, her guard completely lowered in the presence of the one person she trusted.

She was laying on Kapil’s chest with her back, both of them in the hot spring, the water lapping gently around their shoulders.

Her head was tilted back, resting against his shoulder, her eyes mildly closed, her expression peaceful and content.

Kapil’s arms were wrapped around her, holding her close in a gesture that was intimate and familiar, the kind of embrace that spoke of years of shared history and deep, unshakeable trust.

"Why do you always say that?" Kapil asked her, trying to look at her face, his voice gentle and probing, his orange eyes soft with concern. "We ARE brother and sister, aren’t we?"

"Stop playing dumb, Kapil! At least, don’t say that when we’re together." Siberia hit his thigh a bit, still a little grumpy as I knew her, her blows landing with sharp, stinging slaps that made him wince. "After we left the north... our relationship was tarnished. We are just normal party members now."

"Well, we were never truly brother and sister in the first place, so," Kapil shrugged, as Siberia continued her attack on his thighs, her fists raining down with renewed vigor.

"How cruel of you to say that..." Then she relaxed unto his chest again, watching the sky, her dark eyes soft and distant, her voice dropping to a whisper. "You... You’ll always be my brother, blood or not."

"Haha! What do.you want from me, woman? You’re hardly honest with yourself, no?" Kapil laughed and patted her head, his hand moving in soothing circles, his fingers threading through her wet hair.

Yeah, they call them tsundere! I have a few of them in three kingdoms.

The silent opinion was almost amused, a flicker of humor in the midst of my covert observation.

I’d seen enough tsunderes in my time on earth to recognize the pattern—the gruff exterior, the reluctant affection, the inability to admit to feelings until they were forced to.

They were a familiar type, and seeing Siberia display those traits was somewhat endearing.

"Back to what we were saying," Kapil started again, his orange eyes glistening from the inner glow of the crystals below the rocky basin, their light casting dancing shadows across his face. "why do you dislike the new girl? Benjamin... I think it was her name."

Ah, they’re gossiping about me now...?

And I’m a man, damnit!

If not for the reincarnation giving me a young androgynous-looking body, I was a middle-aged man, in fact!

I’d been a grown adult in my previous life, with a beard, a gruff demeanor, lots of muscles, and all the trappings of masculinity [Author’s note: this is not accurate. Benjamin is bluffing].

And now I was stuck in this body, this beautiful, delicate, feminine-looking body that made everyone assume I was a woman.

The injustice of it burned, a constant irritation that never quite faded.

"I hate her guts."

Siberia?!

Why does she hate my guts?

The declaration was so blunt and matter-of-fact, that I nearly lost my concentration and dropped my veil.

I stared at her, my mind racing, trying to understand what I’d done to earn such enmity.

I’d barely interacted with her, had only exchanged a few words in the guild hall. What could possibly have inspired such hatred?

She continued:

"I sense something about her that doesn’t sit well with my instincts. The smile, the feigned innocence, the cheerfulness... It’s all fake, I just know it." Her voice was sharp with conviction and certainty, the judgment of someone who thought they’d seen enough deception to recognize it on sight.

There was no hesitation in her words, no doubt. She was absolutely convinced of what she was saying.

"If that is the case..." Kapil squeezed Siberia closer, his arms tightening around her waist. "don’t you think you’re JEALOUS of her?"

"Please don’t mock me." Siberia hissed, her voice sharp with indignation, her body stiffening in his embrace. "I know I had a terrible childhood, and I’ve been practically running away from death all my life, but I know who I am... I don’t pretend like she does."

"Oh? But I’m cheerful and bright as well, don’t you think?" Kapil closed one eye and smiled brightly, his expression deliberately playful, trying to lighten the mood.

"You are..." Siberia looked up to his face, and I sensed her rage calmed down a bit, like a storm passing. "You’re like fire to a cold kitten... You’re different from her."

"Hahaha! So you think yourself a kitten? You wolf?!" Kapil laughed heartily, earning him a pinch and slap from Siberia, her blows landing with enough force to make him wince. "Why do you think I’m different from her? Siberia, if what you said is true about her, then should we not be lending her a hand?"

"A hand...?" Siberia wondered out loud, her brow furrowing in confusion, her eyes searching his face for meaning.