CHAPTER~52
“……Huh?”
Be careful?
What on earth was I supposed to be careful about?
Mela, having heard Morris’s words, couldn’t even react and only blinked blankly.
That was because she couldn’t even begin to guess what she was supposed to be careful of.
“Th-then I’ll go too! Bye!”
“Hey, wait—!”
After leaving behind only those ominous words, Morris hurriedly tried to leave, and Mela rushed after him and grabbed him.
“Talk to me for a bit—.”
The moment she firmly grabbed his shoulder, Morris flinched violently, stepped back, and then covered his head.
“S-sorry. Please don’t hit me!”
At his rather exaggerated reaction, Mela let out an incredulous snort.
A kid bigger than her was trembling like that.
Good thing no one was in the hallway.
It was a situation just begging to be misunderstood.
“……Anyone who saw this would think I’m a violent person.
Hey.
That aside, why did you tell me to be careful—.
What’s wrong with you?”
Mela, speaking in disbelief, suddenly stopped mid-sentence after noticing something.
“B-being careful can’t hurt, r-right…….”
No wonder.
On Morris’s neck, in a spot she’d just noticed, was a bluish bruise she had never seen before.
Just in case, she checked his wrist.
It was fainter than the one on his neck, but there was a similar bruise there as well.
Realizing something, Mela asked seriously.
“Morris, what are these bruises?”
Morris jolted in shock, hurriedly covering his neck and pulling down his sleeve.
“Ah, i-it’s nothing……!
I’m just really clumsy, so I fell a few times.”
But Mela didn’t believe him.
The bruises on his neck and wrist were in places too ambiguous to be caused by simply falling.
Come to think of it, the way he freaked out just because I grabbed his shoulder…….
Being timid and scared doesn’t cause reactions like that.
In other words, these were injuries inflicted by someone.
The moment she realized it, Mela’s expression turned grim as she tightened her grip.
“Morris, don’t tell me you’re getting beaten by your brother.
That damn bastard.
Where is he?
Bring him here right now.
I’ll teach him a lesson!”
“H-huh? No, no, you can’t!”
Just as Mela started moving, fully intending to go headbutt him twice in a row—
Morris grabbed her around the waist and desperately tried to stop her.
“What do you mean I can’t, you idiot pushover!
Let go of me!”
“I-I’m saying that’s not it!
I really did just fall!
Ow.
Why is a girl this strong!”
But it was far from enough to stop Mela, who possessed almost brute strength.
Morris was dragged along like a piece of paper fluttering in the wind.
“Geez.
You’re the one who’s stupid and stubborn.
I’ve been beaten by my siblings plenty before, so I know.
This kind of thing has to be corrected—!”
Just as Mela was angrily shouting—
“I-I’m telling you!
I mean, it’s not my brother!
Uagh!”
At the unbelievable words she heard, Mela stopped in her tracks.
And soon after, as if she had realized something, she covered her mouth.
* * *
“Here, eat.
I was saving it, but I’ll give you half.
Morris.”
After the commotion died down, the two secretly headed to the mansion’s backyard, away from the servants.
Mela broke the cookie she had brought in half and handed one piece to Morris.
“R-really?
Is it okay for me to eat it?”
“Have you lived your whole life being fooled?
I said you can eat it, so eat it.”
“But you— n-no, you said you were saving it, sis…….
I’m fine.”
“……What kind of kid are you.”
Stupidly kind.
No, this wasn’t just kindness.
It was closer to foolishness.
He really was too soft-hearted.
“Good grief.
When your older sister tells you to eat, you just take it.”
“Mm— mhmm!”
Saying that, Mela forcefully stuffed the cookie into Morris’s mouth.
Morris struggled for a moment, then began chewing as if it tasted good.
After finishing the cookie, Morris cautiously spoke to her.
“Now that I think about it, I’m sorry again.
No matter how I think about it, my brother went too far.
Leaving you lost in the forest.”
“Ah, that?
It’s fine.
Thanks to that, I gained a cute friend.”
“A friend?”
Morris looked at Mela with eyes that seemed to ask, Me?
His eyes, usually dull and lifeless, were faintly sparkling.
“Ugh, don’t look at me like that.
It’s kind of pressuring.”
“Ah!
I see.
Sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for now.”
Mela clicked her tongue unconsciously as she looked at Morris, who had drooped again.
Taking advantage of the subdued mood, she carefully asked—
“……Since when?”
Morris hesitated, stalling, before slowly parting his small lips.
“Mm.
There’s not really a ‘since when.’
I just became aware of it at some point.”
“…….”
“But lately, it seems to have gotten worse.
My mother, when things don’t go her way, gets furious.
So angry it feels like she has devil horns growing out of her head.
When that happens, she’s really scary.”
Morris raised his fingers above his head, making horns.
Trying to imitate his mother’s expression, he twisted his gentle face into a fierce one.
Mela didn’t find it scary at all.
She only felt sorry for him.
“Unlike my brother, I’m not good at anything.
There’s nothing I can do properly.
I’m weak and stupid…….
So I understand why Mother hates me.”
Mela didn’t respond.
She simply stared blankly into the air, deep in thought.
Morris continued.
“Ah, anyway, that’s why I told you to be careful…….
My mother is a scary person.
I don’t think she likes you very much.”
So that’s what he meant.
Now I get why he told me to be careful.
But usually, people don’t say things like that.
She’s still his mother.
And we’re not even that close.
As Mela thought that, she realized something.
This kid really was kind to the point of stupidity.
Kind enough to worry about someone he wasn’t even close to.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Just that the kids here tend to be stupidly kind and self-sacrificing.”
“Mm?
But you’re one of the kids here too, sis…….”
“Oh, right.
That’s true.
Anyway!
I heard there are kids who are the complete opposite of you living on the other side.”
“Really?
What kind of kids?”
At Morris’s innocent question, Mela hesitated and fell silent.
A sorrowful shadow filled her eyes.
“Half-siblings attack and betray each other just to survive.
A man who calls himself their father feeds poison to children and teaches them how to kill people, all to make them strong.
And out of them, he loves only the one child who survives.
Because surviving means being strong.
Even if they commit evil just to live…….”
“…….”
Realizing the atmosphere had grown heavy, Mela suddenly smiled brightly and spoke in a cheerful voice.
“Apparently, kids like that exist!
Isn’t that strange?
Still, compared to that, you’re incredibly kind.”
“I-is that so?
But being kind isn’t always good.
Those kids…….
Surviving might be their dream!”
Is there really anyone whose dream is just to live?
Mela’s face darkened again as something came to mind.
‘I actually wanted to become a woodcutter and live an ordinary life.
I didn’t want to become a magician.’
Everyone born human has a dream.
Big or small, grand or modest.
But no one dreams of merely surviving.
“Yeah.
That’s it!”
Suddenly, as if she had realized something, Mela widened her eyes.
She sharply turned her head toward Morris.
“Mm?
W-why are you suddenly so close—.”
Startled, Morris leaned his face back.
At the words that followed, his gentle face filled with confusion.
“Do you have a dream?
If not, you’ll make one with me starting now.”
“A d-dream?
With you……?”
Morris blinked his large eyes repeatedly, flustered by Mela suddenly talking about dreams.
“Yeah.
A dream.
Just think about what you want to do right now.
Then, even if you’re not good at anything, you’ll find something you want to become good at.”
“…….”
“When people want to protect something, they unleash superhuman strength!
If you become like that, won’t you end up having at least one thing you’re good at?
So don’t be discouraged, punk.
You can do it.”
“Ugh.
That hurts.”
Mela’s hand was small, but it hurt an awful lot.
She really was like a little giant.
Too mature for a five-year-old, with a steady gaze.
My dream…….
Morris rubbed his stinging back and sank into thought.
Just as he was about to say something—
“Miss, there you are.
Madam is looking for you.
Hurry up.”
At the maid’s call, Mela quickly stood up.
“I’m going, Morris.
If anything happens, tell me!”
“O-okay.
Yeah!”
For a moment, Morris’s regret-filled hand hovered in the air.
He waved goodbye.
She really feels like a friend.
As that thought reached him, Morris’s face flushed bright red.
‘Just think about what you want to do right now.
Then, even if you’re not good at anything, you’ll find something you want to become good at.’
“…….”
Is there something I want to do?
After pondering, Morris looked up at the sky for the first time.
The sky was as hazy as ever.
But the eyes of the boy who had begun to dream sparkled unlike usual.
Unaware that someone was approaching from behind.
