I Will Protect My Sister
“Miyaaa!!”
Big sis!!!
I jumped up from my seat.
Leaping into her lap, I rubbed my tear- and snot-streaked face against her chest.
Her familiar warm scent tickled my nose.
“Whoa, what are you—?! Wait, Mei, are you crying?”
She only hesitated for a moment as she picked me up, startled.
My sister’s eyes widened in surprise as she asked.
“What’s wrong? Did something scare you?”
Her warm body hugged me tight.
Her voice full of affection tickled my ears.
The sister in front of me felt so vividly alive—
So unmistakably real—
My nose tingled again.
‘Oh no… it’s really my sister.’
I sniffled and burrowed deeper into her arms.
She gently patted my back, not knowing what to do.
And then—
“Was it a bug? Want me to get it?”
My tears stopped cold.
“…?”
I looked up at her blankly.
She was smirking playfully down at me.
“You’re a cat, but you can’t even deal with bugs. What would you do without your sister?”
Seriously? She brings up bugs in this moment?
Okay, sure—I am scared of bugs, but still!
“Kyaung!”
I couldn’t hold it in and swiped my paw at her.
As if expecting it, she leaned back quickly to dodge the attack.
Then she grinned widely and teased me.
“See? I dodged it.”
Ugh! So annoying!
Only she could make my tears disappear this fast!
I flailed in protest, full of indignation.
My sister chuckled softly, then stood up while still holding me in her arms.
“Poor little Mei. Did you have a nightmare?”
Her teasing tone was gentle, and her hand on my back was comforting.
I slowly stopped struggling.
A dream…
Was it all really just a dream?
I blinked groggily and looked up to meet my sister’s eyes.
She smiled softly.
“What kind of dream makes you this clingy?”
“Meow, nyang, uyaang.”
Don’t you remember, sis?
The Saint said that it was because of you that Brother Adrian died.
So the people tied you to the stake and—
No.
I gave up trying to explain and instead focused on sorting out the situation.
A calendar from ten years ago.
My sister, alive and well, without a single burn mark.
I was still more comfortable in my cat form, not yet used to being human.
And the familiar surroundings of our room.
It was clear.
‘This must be the time right after Brother Adrian helped us settle in the capital.’
Everything pointed to one conclusion:
‘I’ve come back to the past!’
—
Meow.
I lifted my left paw.
The fluffy white cat in the mirror lifted its paw too, with a grumpy face.
Myaaaow.
I raised my right paw.
Once again, the cat mimicked me.
Now it looked like a silly little thing, holding both front paws up as if in surrender.
Its clear blue eyes stared blankly at me.
Yes.
This is me right now.
My sister’s one and only feline familiar—Maybel!
So what is a familiar?
A magical being whose soul is bound to a mage.
My sister shared her magic with me when I was dying, saving my life.
And so, she and I share a one-of-a-kind connection.
‘Though… it’s not like I can use magic as skillfully as my sister.’
I tapped my tail against the floor in frustration, then fell silent.
‘I’m a clumsy familiar who can’t even transform properly into a human.’
Thinking about how I once held my sister back—how she was captured by humans because of me—
Kyaaaung!!
Fury surged through me, turning my vision red.
I bristled with rage.
Those wretched humans!
They put my sister through such horrors!!
—
“The witch seduced the hero!”
What an utterly absurd lie.
My sister had no reason to seduce the hero.
She didn’t even like humans! She chose to live alone deep in the mountains!
Then one day—
“Myaa, mya!! (Sister, there’s a person here!)”
While out on a walk near our house, I found a badly injured man collapsed on the ground.
Adrian von Valencia.
With golden hair like sunlight and sparkling green eyes, he was stunning—
It turned out he was a beloved hero of the Regalis Order.
And the second son of the empire’s only ducal house—the Valencia family!
—
“I’ve saved your life. Now leave.”
As soon as his treatment was done, my sister coldly ordered him to go.
But Brother Adrian kept clinging to her.
“Come with me to the capital. Please?”
He explained that the number of monsters was rising at an alarming rate.
He had been traveling the empire to find a solution.
My sister, already concerned about the monsters, eventually agreed to go with him.
And that’s how we ended up in the capital.
But one day, Brother Adrian disappeared while out hunting monsters.
And everyone blamed my sister for it…
Myaaaow…
Remembering her final moments made me tear up again, but I forced it down.
I can’t be a weak little cat.
I can’t lose her again.
‘I have to get stronger!’
I raised my head with determination.
I wouldn’t hold her back like before.
To do that—
‘I have to master human transformation first!’
Furrowing my brow, I stared at the fluffy white kitten in the mirror.
“Myaaa.”
When I meowed in annoyance, the kitten did the same.
I knew my sister loved me like this.
But in this tiny kitten form, I couldn’t protect her.
Before, I hadn’t managed to transform at this age—but this time is different. I’ve come back.
‘This life, I’m going to master it early!’
And with that power, I’ll protect her!
I closed my eyes tightly and focused with all my might.
To succeed in transforming, I first had to—
‘Draw out the magic my sister shared with me.’
Darkness closed in around me.
I swallowed hard.
‘Focus.’
Even though I couldn’t see, it was fine.
I just had to remember how it felt the first time I succeeded.
With a desperate heart, I reached within myself.
‘It’s there.’
That warm, sister-like magic…
After what felt like ages diving inward—
A faint light shimmered in the darkness.
It flickered in a dazzling violet hue—
‘Wow!’
I gasped in delight.
‘Found it!’
I reached out my paw and grabbed the light.
In that instant, white light exploded from my body.
It was soft like dandelion fluff, gentle like down feathers.
Finally, the light began to fade.
Blink, blink.
I slowly opened my heavy eyelids.
Reflected in the mirror was a small girl.
Long, shimmering silver hair.
Bright blue eyes like the summer sky.
Chubby cheeks full of baby fat—a six-year-old child!
“Waaaah!”
The girl in the mirror blushed and clenched her fists in excitement.
A smile spread across my face before I realized it.
“I did it!!”
Just then—
Click.
The door opened.
Sabina poked her head in.
“Mei, what are you doing al—”
Thud.
The basket in her hands dropped, spilling herbs all over the floor.
Her face went rigid with shock, and I froze.
‘Gasp.’
I gulped.
My sister’s magic flared and bound my body tightly!
‘I—I can’t move!’
Her crimson eyes, filled with a deadly aura, locked onto me.
“Who are you?”
S-sis…?
It’s me! Maybel!!
I opened and closed my mouth in silent panic.
—
