38.
“I know that your orders are more important than anything else, but I apologize in advance for not being able to follow them.”
“What?”
“I am currently the princess’s temporary escort, and I prioritize her safety. Naturally, if there is no order from the princess, it is my duty to serve by her side.”
“… … her? Hey, chaff. Since when have you been around such a troublesome guy?”
[T/N: Chaff refers to something worthless. In this context, he’s calling Rainante a troublesome, rubbish knight.]
“Don’t say that.”
“What?”
Laiya frowned and then pouted her tiny lips.
“I don’t know why my brother says this and that to Sir Rainante, but as you’ve heard, Rainante is my knight. Brother, you are not speaking correctly to such a competent knight. Don’t you understand that it’s your younger sister who wants you to go away, not Rainante?”
“Now you—”
“—Or did you come here to show off by giving me a pass? Like Roman and Charon? That’s what they do best, yes?”
“What does that mean?”
The little girl just smiled as she gazed up at the taller figure.
I don’t know why he was pretending not to know.
“Are they the ones who say they will save me and show off the most about what I don’t have? If you want to do the same thing, I won’t stop you… So tell me, do you want to be like those people?”
“Who wants to be like them! What’s so special about them?”
“That’s not important, is it? Let’s get to the point then brother Stephen, why did you come?”
Stephen frowned as he considered his reply and ruffled his hair.
This guy has always seemed a little crazy, but today he looks really strange.
Now that I think about it, you’re dressed very flashy, right?
In her memories of her second brother, he would always appear in training clothes.
Hmm… Is it because today is the day of that dinner?
“Ah… Yes, that’s it… Honestly, I have something to say to you, though I wish to convey it to just the two of us…”
[T/N: First part muttered under his breath.]
When Stephen finally spoke so seriously, Laiya was at a loss for words.
Regardless of what he wanted to say, the expression on his face when he spoke to her was very strange.
His usual shameless expression took on the appearance of a defeated soldier.
The little girl wasn’t accustomed to such an expression from her usually arrogant second brother.
Laiya wrinkled her nose, made her decision then turned to face the knight.
“Sir Rainante, you go to my room first.”
“But princess—”
“Are you disobeying me? It’s an order.”
Rainante kept his mouth shut as his little master had made up her mind.
Thinking that he would understand the reasoning behind her aggressive tone, Laiya concluded their chat and made to turn once more.
Alas, the girl was taken by surprise when her sturdy knight knelt down before her and whispered very softly.
“If anything happens, scream, I will come to your aid.”
“…What are you talking about? How can you hear my voice from my room?”
“I will always be listening to the princess.”
“…”
“…”
“Certainly.”
His expression was so serious and earnest that she couldn’t say anything to reject his request.
One look into his honest eyes, and Laiya really felt like he would come running if something happened.
With that thought, she felt strangely depressed.
Having received her acceptance, Rainante saluted the little daughter of BlackWinter, burning turning in his heel to leave.
Laiya slowly swiveled her head to watch his back as he retreated.
[Master, protection. This guardian’s share!]
As soon as Rainante disappeared, Ice stuck stickily to her cheek, eager to voice out his loyalty.
Although it was only for a short time, it was enough to quickly fill the disappointment she felt when Rainante disappeared.
The little girl smiled to herself and touched the floating snowman lightly.
It really is overly cute!
Hmm… By the way…
As far as she knew, Stephen was also a BlackWinter who never went anywhere, a swordsman with great talent.
That means… His reason for seeking me out is…
“Hey, what did that guy just say? What did you agree on? Are you going to be screaming?”
Of course, I’d expected nothing better brother. I knew you’d have tried to strain your swordmaster ears to eavesdrop on my conversation.
There’s no way Rainante didn’t know this… Oh well.
Unfazed, she shrugged her shoulders.
“Do not be angry, brother. Maybe it’s because I saw you getting upset last time, I feel you are easy to anger.”
“Petulance? From me? When have I ever displayed such disgraceful, childish behavior?”
“I’m still paying for the last time, brother. Ah, um, you don’t know, yes? For a young girl like me, when faced with such anger from my very own brother…”
Laiya tapped her chin and toddled over to Stephen.
As she bravely approached, Stephen paused for a moment.
Having a short distance to close, Laiya looked up at her brother and thought he was too tall.
“I feel scared when someone even slightly bigger than me, like my brother, gets angry. It feels like a big shadow is covering me.”
“…”
“But people don’t seem to know this about me so they are always angry and raising their voices.”
Stephen lowered his hand awkwardly and took a half step back.
“I-I’ve never been angry—”
“Has your voice never gotten louder? Have you ever frowned at me? Have you called me by a derogatory title other than my name?”
“…”
“Older brother, people say that makes them angry.”
The expression on Stephen’s face I saw for the first time came to mind.
It was a quite complex expression that was difficult for her to interpret.
Well, I wasn’t particularly interested in what this second guy was thinking. Still, I was curious as to what this guy wanted to say.
More than anything, I wanted to visit this guy at least once more, but I didn’t know he would come to me on his own like this.
So, what does the grumpy second brother want?
“You probably don’t want to see me for much longer, brother, so say what you want to say quickly. It just so happened that no one will come here at this time.”
“I probably don’t want to see you for much longer…? Hey! Why do you act like you know everything that goes on in my head?”
“Well, brother, are you saying my guesses were wrong?”
“Not everyone will hit or have it out for you!”
Stephen huffed and looked away when they accidentally made eye contact.
“Honestly, I don’t really know why I looked for you, I just wanted to go find you instinctively!”
“So suddenly? Why?”
“I don’t know!”
“That’s really strange, you’ve never been here to see me before… Did something happen suddenly? Why today of all days?”
“That…”
Stephen hesitated and then looked like he was about to cry.
Crying? Who knew that this prickly and self-indulgent person would even cry?
Laiya looked at the second child with some curiosity.
Stephen was an older brother who always said rude things to her whenever they crossed paths.
This was also the case before she remembered her reincarnation.
Roman and Charon were the ones who bothered her the most, but she had been emotionally hurt by her second brother who occasionally showed up and said crooked things.
Of course, my previous self also wanted to be close to my second brother.
…No, there was a time when I really desperately wanted to be close to my entire family. This was before I remembered reincarnation.
“Today… Yeah, it happened, although it is an embarrassing thing to say. Anyway! Can’t you just speak up and tell me what you want to say?”
Stephen finally raised his head and stared at his little sister fiercely.
“It’s just that I was particularly worried about you today.”
“…”
What kind of nonsense are you talking about now?
Laiya blinked widely.
“…That’s strange. Haven’t you been calling me ‘chaff’ all this time?”
[T/N: Chaff means useless or worthless thing.]
“Well, you are!”
“You truly thought that way about me, but you didn’t even know or think about what I thought or how I felt about those words my own flesh and blood mocked me by.”
To be honest, Laiya was annoyed for a moment.
You’ve been making fun of me all this time, but now you’re talking about some kind of worry or care, you second bast*rd son?
Laiya could have gotten angry, but she held back her reaction.
That only happens when you don’t remember reincarnation.
Laiya changed her mind right away, she didn’t need to get angry at family members who never placed her in their hearts.
What if you came to me for some inexplicable reason?
In fact, what that guy said wasn’t even wrong.
Because I am the real chaff in this family.
Now that I’m here, I don’t really feel any pain.
…But I’m a wizard now! I inherited an ancient power!
I also have a wonderful guardian!
[The Guardian shows off his chest proudly!]
As if the Ice had been waiting for Laiya’s thoughts, he flew up and puffed out his chest in triumph.
Wow, even a snowman can puff out his chest.
Laiya had to barely suppress her laughter as she watched the snowman resemble a sparrow with its feathers puffed up.
Anyway, I was rather grateful that Stephen came to visit me in person. I don’t know what kind of change of heart it is, but… Hmm…
“OK, got it. Are you saying that you came here because you were concerned about me for some unexplainable reason? I will believe it.”
“Why are you speaking as if you’re being generous!”
“I also wanted to visit my brother.”
“What? You wanted to visit me?”
“What is that expression? Can’t I come visit?”
“You’re interested in me, are you?”
“That’s right.”
“…”
Why does he have an unsuitably gloomy face again?
I’m sorry, but that’s an expression that suits our third little black puppy.
Laiya furrowed her forehead slightly and then opened her mouth to speak.
“This may be a bit strange, but would you like to hear it, brother? Instead, if you listen, you have to listen until the end.”
“Then I will listen to what you have to say.”
Huh, he answered with no hesitation. Good. Let’s cooperate with him.
“So where do I begin? This could be a really weird story, older brother, do you want to implement a strategy with me?”
“…Secret operations?”
When sneaking into Grandfather Kronos BlackWinter’s room, you also had to consider the possibility of being caught… And when we get caught, the best scenario is that it ends with something like, “These grandchildren were so curious about their grandfather that they secretly went to sneak in for a family visit.”
For that, the person I need is someone who is young and has some level of trust from the retainers, the head of the family, and the father.
In fact, the situation was narrowed down to either Kyle or this guy.
Kyle never does anything immature, so this guy would be a good fit.
The problem was how to persuade him… Haa, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.
“What operation?”
“This is a mission that my brother absolutely needs to be a part of.”
What I chose was a direct call of action. If you try it and it doesn’t work, you have to think of another way…
“…You need me?”
When Laiya looked up, the second child flinched as his eyes held a strange element of expectation.
“Huh? Yes, it has to be my brother.”
“Is it really me? …Not your other smaller brother?”
“Why would I ask my second brother if I didn’t want your help?”
Stephen frowned as he felt uncomfortable just thinking about it.
Then the guy rolled his eyes and glanced at her.
“No, that’s because I only need my second brother—”
When she saw him lowering his head, Laiya unconsciously opened her mouth and reassured him.
“I’m someone you don’t need… just…”
Huh, what is this again?
This guy’s mental condition is also serious.
Laiya remembered seeing him the night she sneaked into her father’s study for Roy.
“Shit! I can’t find it, where is it?”
He’d gotten angry, vomited out words of anger, and finally ended up crying.
“…If I had been more talented, my father would not only seek out older brother Kyle, but I would at least once, hic, been called upon.”
It was the first time Laiya thought she could have a conversation with her second brother without them parting in anger.
Oh well, I was determined to attack it someday.
I had no idea that my brother’s mental illness would be this serious.
