Episode 56
The reason I spent time with Lloydin was partly to give both of us some time together, but the bigger reason was that I wanted to spend my money freely.
Certainly, whenever I’m with Lloydin, it’s clear he’ll buy things.
But regarding Politz, I really wanted to give it as a gift, and for that, it was better for Lloydin not to be there.
After purchasing everything we needed, I returned by carriage.
The smile on the shopkeeper’s face as I left was still ingrained in my mind.
* * *
Meanwhile, after parting with Ayla, the two brothers went to the academy and bought a few things Ian would need.
Ian was all smiles while with Lloydin, as if he had already forgotten what happened yesterday.
On the contrary, Lloydin felt awkward and unsettled seeing Ian like that.
However, he didn’t want to show any sign of discomfort in front of his beloved younger brother.
So, he forced himself to smile while trying to push away his thoughts.
After stopping by a few shops, the two were walking down the street to return to the carriage.
“Brother, brother! I’m so happy to be out with you.”
“I’m happy too, Ian.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
That’s when it happened.
With excitement, Ian, who had been walking ahead, collided with someone passing by from behind.
“Ouch!”
As Ian stumbled backward from colliding with the man, fortunately, Lloydin swiftly wrapped his arms around the child.
“I’m, I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”
The man, who seemed like a commoner, apologized nervously to the brothers who looked noble and hastily ran away.
Watching the man leave in embarrassment, Lloydin turned his head towards Ian, who let out a short whimper.
“Are you hurt?”
“Ugh, no. I’m fine.”
“Where? Where does it hurt?”
“I’m fine, brother.”
Ian quickly pulled down the hand that Lloydin had on his side.
But it had already caught Lloydin’s attention, and in his eyes, his younger brother didn’t seem fine at all.
Lloydin took his brother to a corner where people couldn’t see them.
And as he tried to examine his body, Ian kept refusing his gestures.
“Brother, I’m r-really fine.”
“Just let me check for a moment.”
“It’s okay.”
As he lifted the collar of his shirt slightly, there was a faint bruise around his waist.
For a moment, there was silence between the two.
Lloydin was lost in thought as he looked at the bruise around his brother’s waist, while Ian wore an anxious expression, not knowing what to do.
“This is… maybe from the collision just now!”
Ian was saying something that made no sense at all, as bruises don’t appear instantly after a collision.
Lloydin let out a deep sigh and called out to Ian.
“Ian.”
“Yeah?”
“I heard about what happened yesterday.”
“What?”
Ian’s eyes shook with confusion at Lloydin’s words.
“If something like that happens, you should tell me right away. What good does hiding it do?”
“Brother, I’m sorry…”
Ian’s apology filled Lloydin with terrible guilt.
“No, I should be the one apologizing. Sigh…”
“Brother…”
“I’m sorry that you’re going through a hard time, and I can’t do anything to help.”
Lloydin apologized to Ian again.
In fact, he already knew what Ian would face when he went to the academy.
He had experienced it himself, his parents had experienced it, and going further up, everyone in his family had experienced it.
Yet, despite the unfair treatment and people’s rejection, they couldn’t do anything about it.
He also couldn’t do anything for his own brother.
He didn’t know there would be physical violence amidst the ignorance and persecution.
Although he had been treated as invisible or as dirty trash without anyone actually laying a hand on him, he had never been physically assaulted.
“No, brother…”
Ian stuttered, trying to comfort Lloydin instead.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, brother. You did what you had to. Our family has always done that. So, this is inevitable…”
Even as tears welled up in his eyes, Ian spoke with all his strength to comfort his brother.
He didn’t want to burden his brother with something inevitable.
It was easier to endure thinking that incidents like this were nothing compared to seeing his brother sad.
Lloydin felt sorry for his brother, who, at the age of twelve, already knew too much.
It was too painful and despairing.
He couldn’t see the way forward, didn’t know where to start.
Then, suddenly, the bright smiling face of Ayla came into his mind.
“Ayla.”
Thinking of Ayla suddenly brought a glimmer of hope from the depths of despair.
With a firm resolve, Lloydin clenched his fists tightly.
Yeah. It will be different now, just as she said.
“Ian. If something like this happens again in the future, never hide it. Understand?”
“Yeah. I will.”
Ian nodded vigorously as if he had realized something.
Lloydin gently wiped the corners of Ian’s eyes and stroked his hair after that.
Fortunately, Ian calmed down soon, and they headed back to where Ayla was waiting.
A faint light began to seep into the faces of the two who had been shadowed all along.
* * *
After taking a short rest in the carriage, Lloydin and Ian returned before long.
Ian’s expression was brighter than the owner of the Politz shop earlier, indicating how much he liked his brother.
After that, we visited several other shops together without any further incidents.
The time spent with them was very enjoyable.
Though I got a bit teary-eyed missing my brothers more than anyone else, it was quite a good time.
Thankfully, nothing like yesterday happened again.
Knowing that there were more than a few children bothering Ian, I worried that a peaceful day might be disrupted if he encountered children of his age again, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.
As time passed, we returned to the mansion when it was already dark outside.
Having been running around all day, Ian couldn’t resist sleep and eventually dozed off in the carriage.
We carefully laid him down in the room to make sure he wouldn’t wake up.
Lloydin left the room soon after, saying it would take quite some time to catch up on the work he had missed.
Although I told him I understood, in reality, I wanted to wait and stay.
But perhaps due to the aftermath of two consecutive outings, which would have been unimaginable on a normal day, it wasn’t easy to resist the overwhelming urge to sleep that engulfed me.
So, unknowingly, my eyes closed, and I couldn’t resist the comfort of the covers.
* * *
Several days passed.
Today was the day we would meet Brother Luke with Ian.
Unlike before, when Lloydin didn’t say anything when asked about what happened in the palace, he had been almost entering the palace every day lately.
After seeing him off to the palace today, I returned to the study.
Since it was obvious what would happen when the emperor sought Lloydin out, even though he didn’t say it, I had a rough idea.
Even if I knew about the expected event in advance, there wasn’t much I could do until Lloydin told me about it.
If I weren’t anxious, it would be a lie, but I planned to wait until Lloydin told me.
Instead of worrying about something that hadn’t happened yet and wasn’t certain, dealing with what was in front of me right now seemed more productive.
Before going out, I wrote a letter of introduction to the academy Ian attends.
I carefully wrote the letter of introduction since I had made a promise with Ian.
After writing the letter and stamping it, I asked Lya to attach the letter and quickly left for the next schedule with Ian.
Ian was already waiting in front of the carriage when I arrived.
“Ian.”
When I called Ian with delight, the child slightly lowered his head and responded.
“You came out early?”
“Just because… I didn’t really have anything else to do…”
“I see. Shall we depart right away?”
“Yes.”
As soon as we got on, the carriage departed from the mansion.
As we crossed the not-so-wide garden and passed through the main gate, the speed of the carriage gradually increased.
To reach the Politz practice field located on the outskirts of the capital, we had to pass through the bustling streets.
After a while of riding on a quiet road where not a single person was seen, the carriage arrived at the outskirts of the bustling area.
In the space that had been filled only with the sounds of horseshoes and rolling wheels, the voices of people began to mix one by one.
