Cinderella's Brother

Looking back on old memories, my father’s credo has always been that if his son did something foolish, he should be punished with a rod. So, I grew up getting beaten up a lot from a young age. Sadly, I never saw my brother hit. If I were half as old as my older brother, I would have been beaten less. Unlike me, who is clumsy, cries a lot, and is very shy, it wouldn’t be strange if my brother started reading and jumping as soon as he was born. Ever since Levina came to our house, getting beaten up seems to have become a daily occurrence. When I was young, I was relatively easily beaten with a club until my legs were broken, but after my head grew to a certain extent, I was beaten to death. Did the boy just get hit? She did rebel. Just once, during puberty, everyone loses their fear at least once. Afterwards, he was beaten to the brink of death for daring to challenge his heavenly father. Even though it was midday, the Milky Way was almost visible, so I told you everything. If my brother hadn’t stopped me at that time, I might have died that day. Sigh. Why are you listing these not-so-beautiful past events one after another? This is to let you know that I am a person who is good at getting beaten up. However, what I overlooked is that I am currently a girl, and the biological fact that a girl’s physical strength is not as strong as that of a 60-year-old grandfather.

 

“Hehehehehe… Our poor girl… Why did you say all these horrible things that you never said before…”

 

The sound of our Emma sobbing just feels very annoying. How terrible do you say that was? Sheesh. After I tell you the bold words of the regular army knights, everyone will turn a blind eye.

 

“You’d rather just say I did something wrong… Ugh…”

 

That’s right. Why did I do that? No matter how much I think about it, I can only come to the conclusion that I lost my mind for a moment. I’m crazy, I’m crazy! It’s all because of that damn dream! To be exact, it’s because of my old colleagues with rags in their mouths!… By the way, ma’am, please stop crying, okay? Then, that warm face will all be ruined. Emma, who had no way of knowing my inner thoughts, showed no signs of stopping crying, and she made a fuss, saying she would give me a poultice or apply medicine, and after a long fight, I was finally able to let our professional-minded lady go. I was able to. Oh no, she’s dying by the way. As she struggled to lift the hem of her heavy skirt, the shape of her calves was quite impressive. Tsk tsk, what on earth is this on the girl’s leg? It could be said that what happened after I uttered the curse words, “Fuck you, blah, blah, blah,” was a set procedure. Several of the weak employees fainted, Levina rolled her eyes and cried, and I was paralyzed for a moment because I couldn’t believe what I had done. In the midst of that chaos, my father showed truly amazing action skills.

 

My father didn’t yell at me or hit me right away. He just had a very calm expression on his face, as if he was saying, ‘Haha, if you’re a child, you should swear at your parents,’ and told me to follow him. I followed obediently, prepared to be beaten at least once, and for the first time in a long time, I realized the meaning of seeing stars in broad daylight. My father didn’t slap me like before or beat me to death. Compared to the beatings I had received in the past, getting hit on the calf with a cane was like a child’s joke. The problem is that with this soft body, the pain and scars felt are ten times more severe than before. Including the crime of swearing at my father in front of my subordinates and the crime of lying, I received only about 20 blows, but my calf was so swollen that it was on the verge of bleeding.

 

Sobbing. 

 

I’m dying of sadness. There’s nothing to be sad about now, but it seems like my mind is weakening because my body hurts. I kept thinking only negative thoughts. Maybe I’m hopeless here forever. I spewed out two curses at my father in front of all the employees, so even if my brother heard about this, there was very little chance that he would take my side. Maybe they will believe that the culprit who cut up that damn bear doll was really me. So maybe I will die at my brother’s hands this time… No, no! As soon as my thoughts reached that point, fear and regret came flooding back to me at the same time. I’m crazy, I’m crazy! Why should I do such a thing! Whoosh! Are you going to make all the efforts you have made so far in vain, you stone-headed idiot? God, have mercy on the people of this lesser empire. But what can you do when all that has accumulated explodes at will? Ugh.

 

After pounding on the pillow for a while and reflecting rather than reflecting, I sat up and tried to think of a way to run away. I feel like I’m going to explode with inexplicable sadness, I don’t know when my brother will come back, and maybe there was no place for me in this family to begin with, regardless of my gender… Ugh. ruined. I’m screwed. I don’t even know anymore that it was ruined anyway. I just don’t want to be stuck here and shivering alone anymore. After a few minutes of thinking about this and that, I came to my senses and before I knew it, I had sneaked out of my place and was heading to the stables near the back garden. Fortunately, it was a quiet time, so there was no stable keeper in sight. So I did my second crazy thing today. The day seemed to be ending, but dark clouds gathered in and it started to drizzle. Fortunately, I had brought a hood with me, so I was able to avoid the unfortunate event of my long hair getting soaked. After riding without thinking for a while, I finally reached a place that even I had never thought of. Where is it?

 

This was the Temple of Pros. It seems that my unconscious mind, thinking that I might have to run away from home like this, led me here. What on earth did I do that brought me here? I tried to turn my head right away, but I was a little curious about the appearance of the Temple of Pros, which looked no different from an ordinary temple, just a little flashy on the outside. The story below is that they might actually end up running away here, so why not explore exactly how this place works? Goddess Pros, who cares for all women, give the girls hope. I got off my horse, tied it roughly near the fountain, and started climbing the white marble stairs. Ugh, the hem of my skirt keeps rubbing against my leg and it hurts. It seems to get more swollen and painful as time goes by. 

 

Sobbing…

 

“Who are you? What brings you here?”

 

Oh, what a surprise. Why does this guy come out without warning and make a fuss? A man dressed as a paladin appeared out of nowhere, looking me up and down with sparkling eyes. Then she scratched her head with one hand and spoke again.

 

“You seem like a noble person… do you know where this place is?”

 

“It’s the Temple of Pros.”

 

“Ah, you came here knowing. Haha. What is the purpose of your visit?”

 

This is a bit of a difficult question. ‘I came here to check if this was really a brothel disguised as a temple,’ I felt too embarrassed to confess, so I cleared my throat and answered.

 

“I would like to meet the priest.”

 

“Oh, is that so? I’ll call you soon. Then would you mind telling me your name?”

 

“…”

 

“Tch…”

 

What, why are you clicking her tongue? There’s no reason for me to reveal my identity to someone who isn’t even a priest, right? The driver, who was muttering something to himself and clicking his tongue as I stood there in a daze, eventually turned to the inside and loudly shouted something. It was hard to understand because he spoke so quickly, but it seemed to be roughly that he was telling me to bring the priest. Then he smiled kindly and looked at me again.

 

“The priest will be out soon. Now, can you tell me your name?”

 

“…”

 

“Tch…”

 

…I don’t know what kind of person the priest is, but I think we need to make sure we educate him. There was silence for a moment. I quietly sat down on the landing and waited, and the strange knight kept standing there, muttering to himself. Is this person a little crazy? No, maybe he’s reciting a prayer.

 

“Hey!”

 

I reflexively stood up when another loud voice suddenly came from behind me. Then I was surprised.

 

“What did you come here for? This is no place for a noble brat like you! Don’t mess around and just go home!”

 

The reason I was surprised was not because of the ferocious appearance of a group of bandits who suddenly appeared and started hurling harsh words at me from the first moment. It was because of the fact that they were wearing paladin uniforms. In all my life, I’ve never seen knights who didn’t look like knights like that! What’s more, isn’t he a paladin who guards the temple?

 

“Hey Zach, it’s not like that…”

 

“Why are you staring at me with your eyes open?! You’ve been so unlucky since early evening, you just can’t turn it off?!”

 

Correct. They are not bandit-like paladins, but just neighborhood gangsters. No, but what did that bastard just say? Is that what you say to a young girl when you first meet her? You bastards, you are a disgrace to knights!

 

“Are you kissing your wife with that snout?”

 

Above the beautiful stairs at the entrance to the temple, a place of divine beauty became a realm of silence for a moment. The tongue-in-cheek man who was trying to stop his colleagues and the knight who looked like a neighborhood gangster were dazed for a moment and looked at me with dumbfounded faces. A moment later, the rugged blue-bearded knight who had become the object of my abusive remarks took a step towards me, cracking his knuckles.

 

“This kid… what did he just say?”

 

“Oops, sorry. There’s no way he has a wife. don’t cry.”

 

“Is this little girl crazy!”

 

Ah… I feel like my head is spinning. What am I most afraid of in the world? This is my older brother. Next are my father and Levina. Don’t ask why the older brother is the first priority rather than the latter. I do not know. Anyway, except for my family, I rarely see myself.

I am confident that there are not many people I can scare. Moreover, as a former commander, wouldn’t I be intimidated by knights who don’t even look like knights? A girl? I’m already in a state of shock because I went from a black-faced boy to a soft-spoken girl, so you’re calling me a girl? I’m on the verge of rolling my eyes because I’ve been thrown back into that guy’s disgusting corner as a weak girl I never knew existed. What’s wrong, what’s going on? Do you guys even know how difficult it is to live as a woman?! Ah, why can’t everyone keep catching me? What did I do?! I didn’t even have the slightest desire to return! Even more so, I wanted to change gender! Just kill me, kill me!

 

“Did you just call me a sissy…?”

 

“So are you a girl or a boy?!”

 

“Are you going to die of pride over something with just a dick, you fake knight and bastard!”

 

“Hey!!!”

 

Wow!!!

 

…This didn’t come from my head. The sound came from the head of a blue-bearded knight who was preparing to charge at me with his eyes wide open.

 

“What are you guys doing again?! There are so many wild boar-like boys harassing such a slender young lady?! Aren’t you embarrassed?!”

 

“Sigh, priest! That’s not it…”

 

“I warned you last time! But you did not heed my warning! Therefore, you will have the honor of meeting Goddess Pross today!”

 

“No, priest, that’s not true, we’ll just kick him out… Hwaaaaaaa! Please save me!!!!!”

 

Thump, thump, thump, thump! Sloak, clang, clang, clang!

 

At the entrance to the temple, where a wide variety of beating sounds harmonized like a choir, I just watched the scene of violence before my eyes in fascination. How could you beat those big guys so carefully with just a pair of slippers? Respect rises. The beating that seemed like it would never end finally stopped, and the pretty woman, who had quickly sewn the slippers she was holding back onto her feet, now turned to me with a dazzling smile. It’s so loud that I can’t help but whistle. Oh my goodness, this is a woman who seems to embody the word sensuality. Water-colored hair flowing down to her waist, light coffee-colored skin without any blemishes, and purple eyes! Hey, it feels like my eyes are being purified! It feels like drool is flowing out of my open mouth!

 

“Welcome, noble one. We sincerely welcome you to the Temple of Pros. We have many precious visitors today. Did those bad guys bother you a lot?”

 

It seemed like the knights lying in a pile of blood behind me were really going to die, so I just smiled brightly at this pretty girl. Then they looked at me with very grateful eyes. Surprisingly, they weren’t worth the character, huh? The place where the beautiful priestess who introduced herself as Elysia led me was none other than the chapel. A place with stained glass covering the sky-high dome ceiling, a golden altar, and a huge stone statue of the Goddess Pross looking down majestically at the believers… But surprisingly, there is no one there? As I was looking around the chapel, which looked like an ordinary temple, in fascination, Elysia, who had been lighting her incense as she approached the altar, suddenly turned around and said.

 

“You are the Lady of Duke Tidis, right?”

 

“Yes? Ah, that…”

 

“Just as I heard, you look a lot like your mother.”

 

“Do you know my mother?”

 

“Of course. Even though I look like this, I’m quite old.”

 

What do you have a lot of, sister? No matter how you look at it, he only looks like he’s in his early 20s? Anyway, the mention of her mother from a stranger made me feel happy again. Sniff.

 

“It’s unfortunate that she passed away so early… She was one of the patrons of this temple when she was alive. She was a really nice person.”

 

Eh? Are you saying that my mother was one of the patrons of the Temple of Pros? Does she find something unbelievable? Elysia, who seemed to have noticed my suspicious gaze, smiled slightly and approached me holding a holy light in one hand.

 

“I guess you don’t believe me.”

 

“Oh, it’s not that I don’t believe it… I mean, this place is…”

 

“It is a welfare, entertainment, education, and medical institution for women who have nowhere else to go.”

 

Oh, when you say that, it makes something more plausible, doesn’t it? It is a legal brothel, shelter, and medical institution disguised as a temple to the Hagisa Temple, so it could be called that. After all, people have to learn and see a lot, cancer. As she was stroking her hair by herself, Elysia, who had been looking at her face for a moment, stretched out a hand and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

 

“You must have been going through a lot of pain.”

 

“Yes…?”

 

“What we talk about here will never be leaked, so feel free to tell us about your troubles.”

 

It was truly a friendly voice. So it’s like… Is that the tone her mother would say to her daughter? Or her older sister to her younger brother… Of course, on the condition that she is not sisters like me and Levina. As I looked into the priest’s extremely profound purple eyes, I strangely felt my heart become soft, like melting chocolate. Is this why you are a priest? It seems like no matter what I say, they will listen. Even if you are a priest, it would be difficult to handle crazy things like, ‘I was actually a boy in my past life!’

 

“It’s just… I don’t know if I’m doing a good job.”

 

“….”

 

“So, what I’m saying is that I’m like this, looking completely different from my original self, putting on and taking off masks that don’t suit me…”

 

Okay. I don’t even know what I’m talking about. As I was speaking out as if I was going to a confession, my words became twisted. Huh.

 

As I was whimpering and clutching her head and trying to choose the right words, the beautiful priest’s hand suddenly caressed my cheek. When I lifted my head, flinching from the unexpected warmth, I saw purple eyes filled with something like compassion that was difficult to describe, looking at me.

 

“Poor princess… There are not many women who can survive ‘as they are’ in this cruel world. Regardless of social status.”

 

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