Cinderella's Brother

“Oh my mom? Why are you doing this alone? Are you unwell?”

 

As Ryun asked repeatedly with a worried voice, the noble woman, who was holding on to the pillar with a look on her face as if she would collapse at any moment, faintly shook her head. She then placed one of her hands on Ryun’s shoulder and whispered in a voice so low that it was difficult to hear.

 

“No. I’m just worried… are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine now.”

 

The Empress looked at Ryun with blank eyes for a moment as he answered with force, then slowly turned her head and turned her blurry amber gaze towards me. Hmm, I’m really worried about your face being as pale as a corpse. Anyway, I quickly bowed my head and showed respect.

 

“May the glory of God Irund be with you, Your Majesty. This is Ray Genovan de Tidis.”

 

Even though I greeted her in the most friendly way possible, our Empress did not respond. I just rolled my eyes and took a quick look to see that the Empress was now shaking, with her face turning pale and turning blue. Are you really sick?

 

“What?”

 

“…Ah, this is rude. Well, nice to meet you.”

 

Oh, until Her Majesty the Empress calls it rude. But why are you staring at my face like that? I feel like I’m a ghost? Sheesh. Today, in many ways, I’m getting all the attention I wish I didn’t have.

 

“You have a bad complexion. I will take you to Bonita Palace.”

 

“It’s okay. I was just worried about the prince, so now the mother…”

 

It was at that time that the Empress, who seemed to be turning away while answering in a shaky voice, stumbled greatly. Both I and I were startled by her and hurriedly approached her.

 

“Your majesty?”

 

“What?”

 

“Gwae, it’s okay. really…”

 

The Empress trailed off in a trembling voice and stared at my face again with her empty amber eyes. I couldn’t help but be puzzled by this. Are you thinking of my deceased mother? It could have been because he was her cousin and they had a good relationship. Seeing, I miss her mother the same way. Of course, I have no memory of her mother at all…

 

“Your majesty.”

 

It was then that a dry voice suddenly intervened. The person who caught our eyes as we simultaneously turned our heads was none other than our elegant older brother. There was an eerie silence for a moment. The older brother, who was staring at the empress with calm, sunken eyes, soon approached and held out his hand.

 

“Your Majesty, are you unwell?”

 

“Ah, Prime Minister… Ah!”

 

The Empress, who was still trying to hold her brother’s hand with a dazed expression, stumbled once again, and her brother quickly stretched out his arm and grabbed her waist to support her. I don’t know how it can feel so business-like, even though it seems like a very considerate action. It feels like you are claiming that all manners that are naturally ingrained in you are just habits. Ugh, what a heartless person.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Oh my god, I’m sorry for all of this obscenity.”

 

Unlike the Empress, who seemed to have come to her senses only then, her pale face blushing brightly, my older brother still maintained an expressionless, even blunt expression.

 

“Your complexion is not good, so I will call the palace doctor.”

 

“Oh, no. I’m just worried about the prince, so I’ll just go.”

 

“Oh my god-”

 

“It’s really okay, Prince. I’m going to leave now, so study hard in class.”

 

After staring blankly at the Empress’ vague back as she hurriedly left, I suddenly turned my head and looked up at her older brother. The stiff expression on his face was somehow unusual, so just as he was about to speak carefully, Ryun spoke first.

 

“Master? Has something bad happened?”

 

…Look at this guy? Now you’re hijacking my lines? Hey, you bastard, what is so good about that horrible person? Sobbing. Well, I’m not in a position to argue, but what is it that makes my mentality so crooked later on? Is this really a dual personality?

 

“No, Your Highness.”

 

My brother, who responded bluntly, now turned his eyes and looked at me. The sea-green eyes, which had seemed frozen for some reason, now had a much softer glow. Is it just my imagination?

 

“It’s become quite a headache.”

 

…quite? What on earth do you mean, brother? To roughly summarize the entire incident that I heard from my brother, it was as follows: The holy high priest did not back down from his claim that I was the Secretariat. In the process, he even invoked the name of God Irund. Oh my gosh!

 

So, upon receiving this news, His Majesty the Emperor summoned the priest, my father, and my older brother to discuss what to do next, and the conclusion reached was that since I am still young and inexperienced, I will have one-on-one lessons with the priest at the palace every day from now on. It was said that you would receive it! What class is this? This is a temple study class! It’s crazy. Does that priest have some kind of hard feelings towards me? No matter how I look on the outside, I’m a hot-blooded child of the empire on the inside. How can it be possible for me to be called Secreta? If Ryun was really sick and it wasn’t because of me that he got cured, but instead he was just faking it, then how are you going to deal with it? Unlike me, who couldn’t help but feel sad, Ryun was laughing heartily with an amused expression. Then he took another drink and said this.

 

“I thought it was just a made-up myth. Are you going to use your life force to heal the sick later, just like you did in the book?”

 

I want to tell you to please shut up, but if you really do that, my head will be ripped off, so I have no choice but to endure it. Ugh, why on earth are you doing this to me? yes?! Do you hate me that much?! I feel sad. I’m so sad, I’m really dying. As I was lying down, suppressing the urge to cry, my older brother, who had been watching me silently, poked my cheek with his finger and said,

 

“Don’t think negatively. It was boring to just stay at home anyway.”

 

Why is this heartless person trying to comfort me? Feeling utterly amazed, I sobbed pitifully and looked up at my brother’s handsome face, which was as bright as the sky.

 

“But… if the priest made a mistake…”

 

“That’s unlikely, but even if that were the case, it’s okay to assume that you studied theology a bit. No one will dare laugh at you, so don’t worry about that.”

 

“Yes, Master, you are right. Is there anything to think about?”

 

Seeing my brother speaking seriously with his blue eyes downcast and Ryun just enthusiastically helping me made me feel a little lighter. Ugh, yeah. I was dying of frustration just staying at home anyway, so I decided to study theology, which I had no interest in before, and build up some connections. After all, you can’t keep sulking when your brother tells you that after so long, right? Sniff. Anyway, the extremely different reactions of my brother and father to this incident are really interesting. When the priest claimed that I was the Secretariat, my father’s reaction was more like he didn’t want to believe it rather than really not believing it. If the opponent had not been a high priest of the Irund Temple, he would have been treated as a psychopath long ago. On the other hand, my brother was reacting very casually, as if Secreta was some kind of new job. No matter what he was thinking inside, that’s how I saw it.

 

I don’t know which of the two is normal. It’s just… no matter how much my father disapproves of me, he reacts so sharply when he says his child is Secreta. Now, I’m not surprised, but I can’t help but feel bitter. It would have been quite different if the target had been Levina instead of me. You can do whatever you want. Sheesh. Because I will do whatever I want.

 

“Sister, what exactly is Secretariat?”

 

This was a question that Levina, who was sitting across from me and smiling brightly, asked without filtering at an awkward lunch where the whole family was eating together for the first time on a golden holiday day. It goes without saying that the expression on my father’s face, who was just cutting bread with a knife, immediately hardened.

 

What is Secretariat? Well, I’m really curious too, right? Haha, I was actually curious when you asked that question. How can you be so obvious?

 

“Well, I don’t know!”

 

I smiled brightly and responded in an idiotic tone, then began tearing the soft bread into pieces with my hands and throwing it into the fragrant almond soup. Kyahaha, since ancient times this is how soup and bread should be eaten…

 

“Ray, don’t eat like that. Aren’t you setting a bad example for your younger brother?”

 

…Holy crap, that guy’s father is really! I can’t even eat comfortably?! Huh. Dirty world! The duke’s Yeongsik, the count’s Yeongsik, and the knights of the regular army are all treated like this?! To make matters worse, Levina, who was smiling and making a motion to cut bread with a knife, once again turned to me and her eyes sparkled.

 

“Sister, I heard you will be studying with a priest at the imperial palace from now on?”

 

“Huh? Yep.”

 

“You know, can’t I follow along? It’s so lonely to be alone at home. Father, can’t I follow my sister and study?”

 

My father, who had been looking at Levina with love as if she was lovingly asking her question while twisting her wavy silver hair in her hands, turned her eyes and looked at me. What, why are you looking at me? Why do you want to listen to my opinion in a way that doesn’t suit me when it will end anyway if you allow it? Sheesh. Would you like to follow me to and from the imperial palace? Okay, feel free to do whatever you want. No matter what you imagine, you will experience more than that. Hahaha! I was already planning to launch a preemptive attack, but you took the bait!

 

“Well, if you go with me, I’d be happy too.”

 

“Really? Wow, thank you, sister!”

 

“What do you have to thank me for?”

 

Yes, yes, it is too early to say thank you. I still vividly remember getting beat up by that damn teddy bear. It’s so vivid that I want to give you a taste of it too. Just as I was mulling over evil thoughts and trying to focus on eating again, it was at that moment that my brother, who had been dissecting a truffle pie with a quiet, indifferent manner, put down his knife. Everyone looked at him in bewilderment as he looked somewhat out of the ordinary, and the next move the older bastard made after glancing around at the crowd was to pick up a huge piece of bread the size of his palm that was placed in front of him. Then, using his hands that were almost like weapons, he cut off the poor bread’s body and threw it into my bowl of soup. There was a moment of dumb silence. While not only my father, but also Levina and I watched in bewilderment, my older brother, who was now holding a spoon and stirring a bowl of soup, suddenly raised his eyes and tilted his head in a truly innocent way.

 

“What happened, Ray? Do you have no appetite?”

 

The person who answered instead of me, who couldn’t even open his mouth, was my father, who had a very sad expression on his face.

 

“Eugene, what on earth are you doing now?”

 

“Can’t you tell by looking? I’m eating. Do you have any problem..?”

 

“…”

 

It was clear that my father wanted to say something, but he just cleared his throat and said nothing more. Even if it were me, it would be difficult to find something to say.

 

Puhahahaha! I don’t know what went wrong with that elegant guy, but seeing my father speechless was truly exhilarating, wasn’t it? He wants to laugh, but he can’t, he’s going crazy. Regardless of what kind of expression my father was making, I trusted my fierce brother sitting next to me and finished my meal comfortably, then dessert came out. They come in a wide variety of flavors, from bitter coffee and light biscuits to sweet cocoa, brownies, and fruit pies topped with plenty of whipped cream. I’m the only one in my house who likes sweets, so I have to praise the chef for his great sense! I’ve always liked sweet things, but I think I started liking them even more after transforming into this body. Especially when I was having my period, I had a craving for sweet food like crazy. I don’t even know why it’s like that. Sniff.

 

“I guess she really likes that kind of thing.”

 

No, this bitch keeps eating. Should I bother you? Yes, I like it. What should I do? So what do you and your father enjoy eating such bland, sawdust-like biscuits? Sheesh. While I was devouring the truly delicious dessert, my brother was sitting next to me, sipping bitter coffee very slowly. While doing so, he occasionally glanced at me with eyes whose meaning I could not understand. Hmm, why is it like that? Have you ever wondered what it tastes like?”

 

“Why, brother? Do you want to eat too?”

 

I asked with a lot of cuteness, and the older brother, who was staring at my face for a long time, said this is what he was going to do next.

 

“No. I’m just curious to see where it all goes.”

 

…Ha, I have nothing to say. What does my poor brother know who doesn’t know how to enjoy the blessings of sweetness? Since ancient times, the human stomach is made up of food and snacks! Umhahaha! …Sweet. My brother continued to sit there until I leisurely destroyed the entire dessert. I definitely feel more at peace now that my father and Levina left. More than anything, when my father is in front of me, my body gets nervous and I have a hard time eating… Khem hem!

 

“Ray.”

 

“Yeah, huh? Brother?”

 

“Shall we go horseback riding?”

 

…yes? What can you say, brother like the sky? What did you just say to this poor little brother? My older brother is the person who sits in front of his desk and works all day long, whether it’s a holiday or a holiday. But that kind of person is talking like this while staring blankly into my eyes in the early hours of this golden holiday.

 

“No matter how well you learned it in your dreams, you have to practice it in real life.”

 

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