I Became the Narrow-Eyed Character in the Little Prince Game

A stark white hospital room.
Sunlight peeked through the curtains, slipping into the space.
The woman awoke with the warmth of the morning air.

"······."
Her closed eyelids fluttered open.
Revealing red irises.

Drowsy and unfocused, her gaze confirmed that morning had arrived.
Selena lay in bed.
There was no pain, no lingering discomfort.

But she remained in the hospital bed at the insistence of a certain student.
The drunkard, though reluctant, had been unable to refuse the eyes that had looked up at her.
And so, she found herself with too much free time.

—I’ll handle the rest.
—Please focus on resting, Professor.
—It’s my sincere request as your student.
Still—
It wasn’t a bad feeling.

Being worried about was… odd.
But there was something about it that gently nudged her heart.
The warmth of it made her cheeks feel inexplicably warm as she muttered to herself.

‘I don’t get it at all.’
Was he just overly cautious?
Or simply too kind?
The drunkard chuckled to herself at the thought of the boy, shaking off her lingering drowsiness like the remnants of intoxication.

Leaving behind that fleeting aftertaste, she slowly pushed herself up.
"Mm."
A new day had dawned.

The dull routine of hospital life.
Or, in another sense—peaceful days.
As she idly pondered how to pass the time—

A voice unexpectedly reached her ears.
"You’re awake?"
A youthful voice.

Selena froze in place.
"······."
Her shoulders stiffened.

Her eyes shook.
Perhaps… because it had been far too long since she had last heard that voice.
She couldn't hide the shock or confusion from her face.

A voice she had forgotten, one she should have forgotten—one she never wanted to forget.
It echoed in her ears.
Right beside her hospital bed.

"······."
The drunkard turned her head.
The curtains swayed gently by the window.

Bathed in white light, a girl was looking at her.
A face she had not seen in years.
And yet—

"You’re still such a sleepyhead. Didn’t even notice someone sitting beside you."
She had not forgotten.
How could she forget that face?

The half of the world she had lost.
Selena, lips parted in shock, whispered the name.
"······Lianne?"

"Big sis."
The girl smiled brightly as her name was called.
Even that expression was exactly as she remembered.

Lianne Drunkard.
The drunkard was staring at the ghost of her younger sister.
Her red eyes trembled.

"How…?"
Was this an illusion?
A dream?

Selena couldn’t tell.
She only knew one thing—this could not be real.
If it were, her thoughts wouldn’t be so clear.

‘This is…’
The girl had not changed at all.
She looked exactly as Selena last remembered her.

That only made it more certain.
Lianne’s life had ended at fifteen.
But for those who had been left behind, ten years had passed.

Selena’s rational mind whispered that none of this was real.
But—
"Lin…!"

—What did that matter?
Emotions always take a step ahead of reason.
Whaam—!

The woman threw her arms around the girl.
Clutching her tightly, as if to make up for all the years lost.
‘Lin.’

The nickname she had once called her so freely.
Nearly ten years had passed since she had last spoken it.
Since Lianne had died, there had been no one left to say it to.

"Kyah! Isn't this reaction a bit too much? You must have missed your cute little sister a lot!"
That same playful voice.
A warmth filled her arms.

A tangible warmth.
It was… warm.
"Ah, ahh…."

Her throat tightened.
She could not speak.
There had been so much she wanted to say.

So many words she had saved, hoping to share them one day.
Stories about magic, about their childhood, about the days without her.
Her heart had piled them up, until they could have filled mountains and seas.

And yet—
She couldn’t say a single one.
As if caught in a cruel spell.

"Lianne, Lin…"
Selena could only repeat her name.
Like a woman drunk.

"Big sis."
Did she understand?
The girl, still held in her embrace, smiled.

Then, with her small hands, she gently patted her sister’s back.
As if telling her—don’t cry.
"You’ve been through so much, haven’t you?"

"······."
"Don’t be so hard on yourself. I know you tried your best."
"No… Lianne. I almost ruined everything. You shouldn’t try to comfort me with those words…"

"Shh."
A rising storm of emotions.
Lianne silenced her sister’s self-blame.

"Big sis, do you remember?"
That last conversation they had shared.
The words she had spoken that day.

She had apologized.
She had wanted to stay by her sister’s side.
She had wanted her sister to stay by hers.
But she couldn’t.

So, she had said sorry.
She had always wanted to apologize for that.
Because, in the end, she thought her sadness had only hurt Selena more.

Because she felt like her sorrow had drowned her sister in grief.
So, once again—
"I’m sorry."

"No… Lianne, I’m sorry. I was the one who—"
"Big sis, you don’t need to apologize."
"But…!"

"Because—"
Lianne smiled.
A grin so bright it banished the shadows from the room.

"Big sis is still the coolest sister in the world!"
Tightly.
Hands too small to have truly grown up.

Yet, just as her sister had once held her, she, too, held her sister with all her might.
The corners of both their eyes were as red as a spring sunset.
The girl whispered softly.

"I don’t want you to be sad anymore."
I don’t want you to drink anymore.
I want you to laugh more.

I don’t want you to be haunted by nightmares.
I want you to form new bonds with people and never be alone again.
And—

I hope you make amends with your master, whom you’ve drifted apart from.
Because, more than anything—
"I want you to be happy, big sis."

"······."
The quiet sincerity of her words made tears fall at last.
Warm, clear streaks ran down her cheeks.

With a voice full of sobs, the drunkard finally spoke her heart—one she had carried for the past ten years.
"I wanted to protect you."
She wanted to keep her safe.

They had nothing but each other in the wretched life they were born into.
No matter what it took, as long as they had each other, she thought it would be enough.
But—

"I’m sorry."
In the end—
She failed to protect her.

"Ugh… I’m sorry for giving up. I’m sorry for not dying with you. I wanted to take your pain instead, but I couldn’t even do that. I feel like I ruined everything. ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) I’m sorry… for being a sister who could do nothing."
"Don’t cry, big sis. If you’re sad, I’ll be sad too."
A gentle warmth.

Even through sobs, her voice was firm.
A feeling she had buried away for so long.
Selena spoke and spoke, her voice breaking over and over, but she did not stop.

She let the words pour out.
Until, finally—
"Ah."

She knew it.
She was about to wake up.
Her mind, once clear, was beginning to blur.

"Lianne."
It was ending already.
The sweetness of this moment crumbled like a fleeting dream.

What she loved dissipated like mist.
Opening her eyes in the morning would surely be painful.
‘Before that—’

There was something she needed to say.
Something she had to say.
The drunkard forced herself to stop crying.

She steadied her breath.
With an unsteady smile, she met the eyes that mirrored hers.
Both a deep, vivid red—a sign of their shared blood.

Selena parted her lips.
"I… from now on, I’m going to try living properly."
The drunkard had realized something through everything that had happened.

Just how foolish she had been.
—I’ll die instead.
At first—

The moment she understood, she had wanted to give up.
She told herself she had no more chances left.
—Selena Drunkard.
—I will forgive you.

But then.
A certain boy had saved her.
Had told her to come home.

She knew that, as a wretched adult, she didn’t deserve this kindness.
But because of that, she didn’t want to lose it.
Selena Drunkard—

She was no longer alone.
"I won’t be sad anymore."
I’ll stop drinking.

I’ll smile for my students more.
I won’t spend my nights drowning in terrible thoughts.
I won’t be so cold to my fellow professors—I’ll try to be kind.

I’ll find my old master and apologize.
Because—
"I’m going to try to be happy."

The hospital room began to fade.
The dream was collapsing.
Her mind blurred further, and her sister, too, began dissolving into dust.

Through tears, the drunkard smiled.
Leaving behind her final words.
"And one day, when I’ve lived long enough… if I ever reach you, I’ll tell you all the stories you never got to hear."

That day—
Let’s meet without tears.
"Goodbye, my eternal half."

CRASH—!
Somewhere, the sound of shattering glass rang out.
Selena’s consciousness plunged into the void.

And in the final moment before the dream vanished completely—
She saw a girl nodding.
From across the veil of fantasy, a voice echoed.

So clearly.
"Mm! I’ll be waiting…!"
And then.

The woman woke up.
A stark white hospital room.
Sunlight peeked through the curtains.

The woman awoke with the warmth of the morning air.
"······."
Her closed eyelids fluttered open.

Revealing red irises.
The dampness clinging to her lashes confirmed—morning had arrived.
Selena lay in bed.

As she traced the remnants of last night’s dream, a voice called out to her.
"You’re awake, Professor."
A gold-haired boy.

Standing in the exact spot where her sister had just been.
She hurriedly wiped away the mess of tears on her face.
And quietly—

She asked.
"Yuda."
"Yes."

"The dream I just had… was that your ability?"
Or…
"Do you really want to know the answer?"

"······Forget it."
She shook her head.
Instead of an answer—

She simply reached out.
And embraced him.
Just as she had embraced her sister.

But just a little differently.
"Thank you."
Her voice was muffled against his chest.

The drunkard made sure he couldn’t see her face as she whispered.
The boy, held tightly in her arms, patted her back.
Just as her sister had done.

But just a little differently.
"For lying to me."
A lie does not hold truth.

And because of that, some might say that lies are wrong.
That they are meaningless.
But—

There are those who live by clinging to falsehoods.
Humans are fragile.
Sometimes, they need lies to keep going.

Especially adults.
"Think nothing of it."
"I’ll be counting on you from now on."

"Likewise, Professor."
At last—
The drunkard had let go of her past.

She held onto the snake for a long time.
Until their warmth fully intertwined.
***

The Next Day.
Everything had settled.
All problems had been resolved.

And I—
Found myself in an unexpected conversation.
Well—

It wasn’t exactly a conversation.
More like… I had barged in uninvited.
I raised my teacup.

"So."
Across from me, a white-haired old man sat.
A matching teacup in hand.

He looked at me—
And asked.
"What brings you here?"

Headmaster Gaston Galimar.
I was sitting face to face with the Prophet of the Apocalypse.