He looked at her pleadingly, silently begging her to rescue him.

Serene nodded seriously and walked over, standing directly in front of his tied-up figure. Aira stood nearby, watching them calmly without moving an inch.

Just as Zane expected Serene to break his bindings and save him, he heard a sudden, stifled sound of amusement.

*Pfft...*

"Hehe... Hahaha..."

Serene couldn’t help but laugh. The stupid boy sitting there looked exactly like an abandoned puppy. He was truly in a worse situation than she was! At least she could run freely around her own mansion, but seeing him literally manhandled by his own sister was too much. She couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore.

"Hahaha... Zane... You look so cute sitting like that! You should stay tied up for a while!"

Hearing the word ’cute’, Zane’s face instantly turned a bright, tomato red with sheer embarrassment.

Serene, having had her fun teasing him, looked over at Aira. She ran toward the older girl and threw her arms around her.

"Sister Aira~! I missed you!"

Aira, whose face had been completely expressionless and cold up until now, broke into a warm, gentle smile. She hugged Serene back affectionately.

"I missed you too! Are you alright, Sera? Did that little guy bother you during your journey?"

Aira asked, shooting Zane a terrifyingly sharp glare over Serene’s shoulder.

Zane slumped his shoulders in absolute defeat, staring at his sister’s complete change in demeanor. One moment, she was acting like a terrifying, overprotective captor, and the very next moment, she was taking Serene’s side!

’Ughh!... Did Serene steal my sister too? When did that even happen?!’ Zane groaned internally.

"No, I’m perfectly okay!" Serene smiled. "Though... Zane did annoy me a little bit. He didn’t listen to what I said once."

Serene tightened her hug on Aira and shot Zane a sidelong pout.

"I told him we should hold hands so we wouldn’t get lost in the crowd when we went to the market. But he got so angry! His face turned bright red, and he completely refused my request..."

Zane looked completely bewildered and deeply embarrassed.

’What is she saying?! When did I ever refuse her request out of anger?!’

He stared at her, and then the memory finally clicked into place.

’Ah! I remember now! I went to the market with her before we entered the Dimensional Gate, and she suddenly asked me to hold her hand! Ughh... How could I possibly do such an embarrassing thing in broad daylight?!’

’I wasn’t angry at all! I was just dying of embarrassment!’

He sat there feeling incredibly pitiful, realizing he had been completely misunderstood by the girl he liked.

’Does no one in this world trust me?! At least if that silver-haired bastard Alen had been with me at the time, he would have pointed out the truth... Wait! Who am I even talking about?! That scumbag would have just exposed my feelings completely! Forget it.’

Aira listened to Serene’s complaint and narrowed her eyes playfully. She instantly understood what had actually happened. She knew her little brother better than anyone else in the world.

She also knew that if Serene had asked Zane to jump off a tower, he would have done it without a single second of hesitation. The only thing in the world he was actually afraid of was a genuine romantic moment with Serene.

Aira looked down at Serene’s petite body clinging to her and gently patted her head.

"Mhmm... So that’s how it is," Aira said smoothly.

"Well, let me tell you what actually happened..."

Zane looked up in absolute shock and panic.

He frantically shook his head, gesturing desperately for his sister to stay quiet, but Aira completely ignored his silent pleas.

She leaned forward and whispered something directly into Serene’s ear. Zane couldn’t hear a single word. He just sat there helplessly, sweating bullets while his dark, embarrassing secrets were seemingly exposed.

Serene’s expression softened as she listened. She turned back toward Zane.

"Oh... Sorry, Zane... I didn’t know about that..."

Zane stared at her in sheer confusion. Did his sister really tell her everything? Did his sister lie to her to cover for him? Or was it something else entirely?

He had no idea.

Serene pulled back from Aira’s embrace and walked toward him. Zane broke out into a cold sweat. He felt his face flush as she closed the distance, having absolutely no idea if she had found out the truth about his crush or not.

Serene paused right in front of where he was bound to the chair.

"Sorry, Zane... I didn’t know you were sweating and feeling sick at the time. I thought you were just angry because I asked you to walk with me."

Zane finally let out a massive sigh of relief.

’Thank the gods! My sister still has a little bit of pity left for me! At least she saved me from not being able to meet Serene’s eyes for days.’

"But..." Serene tilted her head curiously. "Why were you blushing so much at that time?"

Zane froze. He shot a frantic glance at Aira, who was giving him an incredibly smug, victorious smile.

’Damn it... She really told her everything, didn’t she?!’

"Zane? Your face is turning red again. Are you blushing right now?" Serene asked, leaning in closer.

Zane’s mind went completely blank. He couldn’t even lift his hands to hide his burning face because of the magical bindings.

He looked at his sister with sheer, desperate pleading, begging her with his eyes to undo the ropes so he could dig a hole and bury himself in the ground.

But Aira simply ignored him. She sat back down on the bed and calmly returned to reading her book.

Zane forced down his overflowing embarrassment and offered Serene a reassuring, albeit strained, smile.

"No! W-Why would I be blushing? I—I am just... Ah, yes! I feel hot because I have been sitting in this exact same place for hours! Sera, can you please convince my sister to unbind me? Please!"

Serene finally looked convinced by his frantic excuse. She looked down at his glowing bindings. With her sharp senses, she could feel that this was no normal rope. It was constructed from a magical imprinting material specifically designed to restrict the mana circuits of the bound person.

She knew that a binding like this could only be undone by the person who had imprinted their magic onto it.

"Okay... I’ll try."

She turned around and walked back over to the bed.

"Sister Aira~? Can you please open Zane’s bindings? Please?" Serene requested sweetly.

Aira didn’t even look up from her book, but she casually flicked her finger. Instantly, the magical ropes disintegrated into ash.

Zane finally stood up from the chair, rubbing his wrists and relishing his freedom.

"Sigh... I will be okay now," he muttered.

He glared fiercely at his older sister. He had been begging her for hours, and she had completely ignored his constant pleas—yet just one single, sweet sentence from Serene was enough for Aira to instantly grant the request!

Aira completely ignored his glare, turning a page in her book.

"Traitor..." Zane muttered under his breath.