29.

As Aisa had anticipated, the Diazi brothers had a tearful reunion.

Nicholas couldn’t wait quietly at the estate for Norma. Upon hearing news of his brother, he rushed back from Baghdad and waited outside the castle for Norma.

People who knew Nicholas well had never seen him so anxious. Of course, except for matters related to ‘her,’ the one outside the Diazi estate who couldn’t be named “Ophelia.”

To everyone in the Diazi community, Ophelia’s presence was like a savior, especially to the young lord who had poured years into searching for his lost brother. For the Diazi people who had pitied him for searching desperately for his brother, Ophelia’s existence was like the sun personified.

That Ophelia couldn’t hide Nicholas’s restlessness was astonishing to all.

However, people soon recalled the twelve years their lord had desperately searched for his brother and fell silent. It had been a long and arduous journey. No matter how strong Nicholas Diazi was, there must have been limits to his endurance.

Everyone eagerly awaited the reunion of the lost eldest son of the fallen family, following their lord in unity.

Thanks to this, Norma faced his older brother with a less-prepared heart than he would have liked. Suddenly, he stood facing his younger but aged brother.

“…”

“…”

A silence lingered between the two brothers for a while. Onlookers held their breaths as they witnessed the reunion of the siblings.

Norma looked at the man who resembled him so much as if he was looking into a mirror, as if he was possessed. Norma’s time seemed to freeze as he stared at the man who looked exactly like himself. Norma was still in his twenties, looking like his past self, while Nicholas, who had been a twelve-year-old boy when Norma disappeared, had grown into a fully developed twenty-five-year-old man.

Although Nicholas had grown older by merely three years compared to Norma, the two of them looked like twins, feeling like the age difference didn’t matter more than their brotherhood.

Their faces, the color of their eyes, their builds—they were eerily similar.

“Brother.”

It was Nicholas who moved first.

Norma even thought that his voice calling his name sounded similar to his own.

The only difference was that the man had a much sterner expression and, unlike Norma, inherited their late mother’s black hair. The shape of his eyebrows was slightly sharper than Norma’s, but it was a stretch to find any significant differences.

‘This man is Nicholas.’

Caught off guard by the sudden reunion, Norma forgot his plans to apologize as soon as he saw Nicholas’s face.

Instead, he nervously looked into the man’s eyes, finding his Adam’s apple.

There were no scars on the man’s, Nicholas’s, neck. As if that day had been a dream, there was no trace left behind.

His emotions were mixed. It felt as if he had been tormented by a formless nightmare.

Then, the man with an expressionless face, the man with the same face as himself, began to shed tears silently.

Norma stared in dismay as he watched the man shedding heavy tears without pause, like his eyes were made of gold. His heart tightened involuntarily as he watched the large teardrops falling to the ground.

Seeing the man shedding tears without any change in expression, more than anything else, filled Norma with sadness, making him feel dizzy.

At that moment, the crying man looked at him, and Nicholas hesitated for a moment before taking a step closer. Nicholas carefully opened his arms. He was subtly trembling.

Nicholas held Norma, who was frozen in place, tightly.

“Brother Norma, I…”

Norma held his breath for a moment.

Nicholas’s voice, his tears dropping one by one, was surprisingly clear. However, the voice of his grown-up younger brother felt unfamiliar to Norma.

“I wanted to see you, Brother. I missed you so, so much…”

Norma’s golden eyes shook slightly.

“Your younger brother has never resented you for a moment.”

In an instant, the words Aisa had once spoken brushed against Norma’s ears.

“I believed that you were alive, Brother. I thought there was no way you could be dead. That’s how I managed to live. Brother, thank you so much for being alive.”

“Many things have changed over the years. But you don’t need to be afraid. There are many people waiting for you.”

The image of Aisa, smiling with an expression that said, ‘I’ll let you know personally. Consider it an honor,’ flashed through his mind like a stream.

“I’ve missed you so much.”

Nicholas’s voice, which had been calm, finally broke.

Ah…

‘You’re right. I’ve been worrying unnecessarily.’

Norma felt his heart pounding faster and faster from deep within.

Thump, thump…

‘I am alive. There’s no need to die.’

How could she be so sure? Maybe being part of the knowledgeable McFoy family, like you said.

At that moment, Nicholas gradually loosened his arms that had been wrapped tightly around Norma. Only then could Norma breathe again. Two pairs of golden eyes met once more.

“Thank you for enduring, and for coming back to meet me. Brother.”

Nicholas Diazi said with a faint smile, tears still trickling down and dropping onto the ground.

Just like his crying, Nicholas’s smiling face was precious. From a young age, the only person who could bring a smile to Nicholas’s face was his older brother, Norma. Of course, it wasn’t like Norma got to see that smile often.

‘What’s with the immediate apology? Are you someone else? You could have just said you wanted to see me right away and quietly hugged your younger brother.’

Interestingly, the words Aisa had casually thrown out were all correct. Norma thought that this would also be the right answer as he spoke.

“Nicholas.”

‘My brother, Nico. No matter how much you call me…’

Norma’s lips reflexively curved upward. The habit of smiling whenever he called his beloved younger brother Nicholas remained intact.

“I missed you a lot too. Really, you’ve grown so much.”

‘I won’t follow you.’

This day became the first official day that Nicholas Diazi openly shed tears, leaving a mark in the Diazi records.

* * *

The young knight of Diazi, Sir Von Bains, stole a quick glance at the dramatically returned “First Sibling.”

Twelve years ago, eight-year-old Von, who dreamed of becoming a Holy Knight, had hoped to become a knight like Norma Diazi. Though he ended up as an ordinary knight due to lacking the power of sanctity, being a knight of the Diazi family still held an honorable position.

‘Nobody thought you would truly be alive, let alone sealed away.’

Everyone, driven to search for Norma like mad, pitied Nicholas Diazi. This was because they had naturally assumed that Norma Diazi must have died.

Von was among those people. To him, Norma was the object of his envy for dreaming of becoming a knight, but Von also thought that Norma had undoubtedly died.

‘And yet…’

Norma, who had been staring out the window endlessly, resembled the Norma that Von had often seen when he followed his father into the core twelve years ago.

Norma had come back alive and well, and not only that, he looked more like his peer who had just turned twenty than a knight. His skin was so smooth that it made the concept of age irrelevant.

‘Life really knows how to throw you for a loop. I’m escorting my idol, that ‘Norma Diazi.’ And I’m doing it all by myself!’

It had been a week since Norma returned to Diazi.

Von, who was the son of the former Diazi knight commander, Kelly Bains, and had a resemblance to Norma from the past, was assigned to be his escort. Despite being a newcomer knight, he was given a rapid promotion due to his bloodline and his relationship with Norma.

‘How come you’re just the same? It’s fascinating.’

With such thoughts in mind, Von momentarily forgot his duty and gazed at Norma’s profile.

“Von. No, Sir Bains.”

Until Norma unexpectedly called his name.

“Yes, uh-huh.”

Von was greatly taken aback. Understandably so, as Norma had been preoccupied since his arrival at Diazi Keep, appearing as if his mind was somewhere else. It was the first time that Norma initiated a conversation with him.

“Do you have something to tell me?”

Norma asked with his characteristic gentle smile.

“No, sir. I apologize.”

Von bowed respectfully with a rigid posture. Norma fixed his gaze on Von’s knightly stance, akin to a sharp sword.

“…You’ve grown a lot.”

As sweat trickled down Von’s tense back, Norma murmured in an intrigued manner. In response, Von openly nodded his head, acknowledging the comment.

“…It’s an honor that you remember. I, Von Bains, received my knighthood in the ‘past two years’ from the Diazi family.”

Struggling to maintain his composure and standing in perfect posture, Von emphasized the ‘past two years’ with his stern face. He had become a respectable knight, that was the point.

“I know. I remember when you grabbed onto Kelly Bains’s cloak and pinched his neck artery. I thought you were different from that moment. I also remember when you stubbornly insisted on holding a sword that didn’t fit your size, and you were scolded by Sir Bains. It led to half a day of punishment in the corridor that led to the training grounds.”

But Norma was only twenty-two at the time. He was someone who remembered all the times when the young Von, who followed his father into the keep, got into numerous accidents.

Von was surprised once again by how vividly Norma remembered him.

“I knew it. You were like a well-sharpened chisel.”

“…!”

However, before Von could respond, Norma gestured towards the middle of his own thigh, murmuring intriguingly once more.

Reluctantly compromising with his pleading father and Nicholas, Norma was surprised to find that the “Von Bains” assigned as his escort was the same person as the youngest son of Kelly, the former knight commander. And in Norma’s memory…

“That much! …No, I didn’t.”

“Back then, you were still young, so it’s possible you don’t remember well. When you were seven years old—”

“Oh, come on, stop teasing me! Sir Diazi, I’m a respectable knight now, and I’m currently on a mission!”

He was a very good target for teasing.

Von, who had been adept at maintaining a knightly expression, finally lost his cool. He had become quite the capable knight, but he was still susceptible to provocation. Discovering one more thing that hadn’t changed, Norma secretly chuckled.

‘Come to think of it, he’s done this more than once!’

Once again, Norma turned his head to gaze out of the window, and Von noticed a subtle twitch in his lips.

Von eventually gave up maintaining his expression and let his frustration show. Since Norma Diazi was so highly respected as a noble knight, his image was idealized in the memories of those around him, including Von.

Norma had a knack for subtly teasing people. He was mischievous by nature. He particularly enjoyed teasing people who reacted well to his antics.

Even if he briefly recalled his memories, whenever Norma Diazi followed his father to the keep and playfully teased people, he wore that elegant face.

However, everyone was fooled by his reputation and appearance, and no one believed that Norma would tease Von! The young knight Von felt unfairly treated.

“Just like when you were young. It’s not a good thing for a knight to show their emotions easily.”

Regardless of what was said, Norma continued to murmur while gazing out the window with his graceful expression.

“No—.”

Von, who was inexperienced in controlling his temper, hesitated as he was about to retort. Wasn’t there something too wistful in his gaze as he looked out the window, despite having just teased people so enthusiastically?

Because of that realization, Von, who had been about to exclaim, “No, you were the one who teased first!” ended up sealing his lips. He felt that if he said anything, tears might start flowing from those glittering eyes.

In fact, this wasn’t the first time Norma had looked out the window with such a face.

“What’s really out there? Why does he keep looking out the window all week as if he’s become a widow, with such a desolate expression? I really can’t figure it out.”

As if to be cautious, Von slightly turned his head to glance in the direction Norma was looking. Once again, all he could see were the peaceful west tower of the Diazi keep and the blue sky of their estate.