Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!-Chapter 82: Sister’s Affection

William couldn’t sleep.

He had been lying in bed for two hours, staring at the ceiling while his father’s words echoed in his mind. ’The competition might solve everyone’s problems by removing you from the equation entirely.’

Eventually he gave up trying and sat by the window, watching the darkened estate grounds while processing everything from the dinner.

A soft knock on his door pulled him from his thoughts.

"William? Are you awake?" Seraphine’s voice, quiet through the wood.

He opened the door to find his sister still fully dressed despite the late hour, a mischievous smile on her face.

"I couldn’t sleep either," she said, slipping into his room before he could respond. "Too excited about tomorrow. But then I thought — why wait for tomorrow when tonight is right here?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Let’s go into town. Right now." Seraphine’s eyes were bright with excitement. "Everyone’s asleep, the guards do their rounds on schedule, and I know exactly how to get past them. We can actually have fun without Mother watching or servants reporting everything we do."

"That’s a terrible idea."

"That’s why it’s a good idea." She grabbed his arm. "Come on, William. When was the last time you did something just because you wanted to? Not for training or politics or family expectations. Just for fun."

William looked at his thirteen-year-old sister who was practically vibrating with barely contained energy and realized she had a point. When had he done something just for fun?

"Fine. But if we get caught—"

"We won’t!" Seraphine was already pulling him toward his closet. "Change into normal clothes. Nothing that screams ’noble family.’ We’re going to blend in."

Fifteen minutes later, they were sneaking through the manor’s corridors like conspirators. Seraphine moved with practiced ease, clearly having done this before, leading William through servant passages and side routes he hadn’t known existed.

They made it outside without encountering anyone, and Seraphine led him to a section of the estate wall where old stones provided convenient handholds.

"You’re joking," William said, staring at the wall.

"I’m really not. Come on!" She was already climbing, moving with surprising agility.

William followed, glad that his academy training had at least prepared him for this kind of physical activity. They dropped down on the other side into a wooded area, and Seraphine grabbed his hand to pull him along a narrow path.

"How often do you sneak out?" William asked.

"Often enough to know the route." She grinned back at him. "Don’t tell Mother. She thinks I’m the good child."

The walk to town took about twenty minutes. The streets were quieter at night but not deserted — taverns were still open, people moved between establishments, and the market square had a few late-night vendors still operating.

Seraphine’s entire demeanor changed once they reached the town. She let go of William’s hand and looped her arm through his instead, leaning against him in a way that looked almost couple-like.

"Seraphine—"

"Relax! I’m just making sure no one recognizes us as nobility." She pulled him toward the market stalls. "If we look like a young couple out for a walk, people won’t look too closely."

They wandered through the night market, and William found himself genuinely enjoying it. Seraphine pointed out interesting items, haggled with vendors over prices of things she had no intention of buying just for the fun of it, and maintained a constant stream of chatter that was surprisingly entertaining.

"Oh! There’s a bakery that stays open late. They make these amazing honey pastries." She tugged him in that direction, still holding his arm.

They got the pastries and found a bench near a fountain in the square. Seraphine ate hers with obvious delight, getting honey on her fingers and laughing when William pointed it out.

"This is nice," she said after a moment of comfortable silence. "Just being normal people for a bit. No guards, no servants, no one bowing and calling me ’Lady Seraphine’ like I’m some fragile noble daughter who can’t function without supervision."

"You seem pretty functional to me."

"That’s because you actually see me as a person instead of a political piece." Seraphine leaned her head against his shoulder. "Everyone else in that house treats me like I’m either a marriage bargaining chip for future alliances or a delicate flower that needs protection from reality. But you’ve never done that."

William wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he just sat there while his sister enjoyed her moment of freedom.

They were getting up to explore more of the market when three young men approached. Late teens or early twenties, well-dressed enough to suggest merchant family wealth but with the swagger of people who’d been drinking.

"Well hello there," one of them said, looking at Seraphine with obvious interest. "Haven’t seen you around here before, beautiful."

Seraphine’s expression immediately shifted to something colder. "Not interested."

"Come on, don’t be like that." The guy stepped closer, ignoring William entirely. "Let me buy you a drink. Your friend here won’t mind, right?"

"I’m her brother," William said flatly, moving slightly to put himself between them and Seraphine.

"Brother?" The guy laughed. "Sure you are. Look, why don’t you run along and let me talk to the lady—"

He reached for Seraphine’s arm and William moved without thinking.

His hand caught the guy’s wrist and twisted, forcing him back with strength that came from months of combat training. The drunk guy stumbled and his two friends immediately stepped forward aggressively.

"You want to do this?" William asked quietly.

"William—" Seraphine started.

The first guy swung at him. William ducked under it easily, his essence sense making the obvious punch seem laughably slow. He drove his fist into the guy’s stomach — pulling the hit enough not to seriously injure him but hard enough to send him gasping to his knees.

The second attacker came from the side. William caught his arm, used his momentum against him, and sent him crashing into a market stall.

The third guy actually looked competent, moving with trained footwork that suggested some martial experience. They exchanged a few strikes, drawing attention from people in the square, before William found an opening and swept his legs out from under him.

All three were on the ground within maybe fifteen seconds.

"We’re leaving," William said to Seraphine, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

She nodded quickly and they walked away before the situation could escalate further. Behind them, William heard the guys starting to get up, cursing and arguing about what had just happened.

They made it two streets over before Seraphine grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop.

"That was amazing! Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"The academy. Training." William was checking to make sure no one had followed them. "We should head back before this causes problems."

"No way. That was the most exciting thing that’s happened in months." Seraphine’s eyes were bright. "You completely destroyed them! And you weren’t even trying hard, I could tell."

"They were drunk and untrained."

"Still! You were so cool!" She hugged his arm again, practically skipping as they walked. "My brother the secret combat expert. Wait until I tell—" She stopped. "Actually, I can’t tell anyone because we weren’t supposed to be here."

"Exactly."

They made their way back toward the estate, taking a different route to avoid running into those guys again. Seraphine kept chattering about how impressive the fight had been, clearly viewing the whole incident as an adventure rather than a problem.

When they reached the wall, William helped her climb back over first, then followed. They snuck back through the manor’s passages, and Seraphine stopped outside William’s door.

"Thank you for tonight," she said seriously. "For treating me like a normal person, for the adventure, for protecting me when those jerks showed up. You’re a really good brother, William."

Before he could respond, she hugged him quickly and disappeared down the hallway toward her own room.

William entered his room and closed the door, finally alone with his thoughts.

His sister clearly had feelings that went beyond normal sibling affection, even if she didn’t fully understand them herself yet. The way she’d acted tonight, holding his arm, leaning against him, it was concerning.

He pushed the thought aside and collapsed onto his bed, exhausted from the emotional roller coaster of the day.

Tomorrow he’d return to the academy. Back to Kai and time loops and assassination attempts. Back to a world that at least made sense in its dangers.

Tonight though, he’d had a few hours of something almost resembling normal life.

He closed his eyes and finally, mercifully, fell asleep.