Chapter 56
I think my energy’s been weak lately.”
“…What?”
I stared blankly at Leon, who had suddenly started talking about his energy out of nowhere.
He clutched his white hair as if in distress and hunched over.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t you trust me?”
“What do my eyes look like?”
“Like the eyes of a rotten pollock.”
…Should I just—
“Now you kind of look like a roaring black bear.”
“……”
Everything was such a pain.
I’d come to the storage shed to check on the seedlings I’d raised earlier. Leon suddenly appearing and pouring out his suffering was beyond random.
Watching Leon twist his body like he desperately wanted me to ask for a reason, I weakly did so.
“Fine. Why? Why do you think your energy’s weak? Did something happen lately? Did your ancestors suddenly appear in your dream and tell you it’s time to come with them?”
“…T-that kind of terrifying dream actually exists? I guess I still have a long way to go.”
As I stared blankly at Leon while he spoke, I noticed something slightly different about him than usual.
‘Hmm. His dark circles are pretty bad.’
Since his entire body was so pale to begin with, the dark circles stood out even more.
“So it’s not an ancestor dream. Then what is it?”
Leon pouted and grumbled.
“Well, you see… these things called seedlings are just so cute. Every night, I secretly came here without telling you and sang to them.”
“You… sang?”
“Yes! To grow well, they need good sleep first. So I sang them lullabies.”
Someone please stop this lunatic.
The fact that he used to be my favorite character when I read the original novel tormented me deeply. As reality hit me, I staggered and grabbed my head. Leon, startled, grabbed me.
“Ah! Big sis! So you were the one dreaming of ancestors!”
…Should I just kill him?
That would at least shut that mouth that keeps spewing nonsense.
While I was seriously considering it, Leon pointed somewhere and kept rambling.
His long finger pointed at the seedlings.
“Look over there—those babies started sparkling after I sang to them!”
“…?”
What on earth is he talking about? Even nonsense has limits.
I stared at Leon with a sour expression.
“That makes no sense. You must’ve been hallucinating.”
“That’s exactly my point! No matter how crazy I am, I know it’s strange for plants to suddenly sparkle on their own!”
Ah. Amazing.
I was genuinely impressed by Leon’s level of common sense. He knew he was crazy. Truly impressive. I decided to raise my evaluation of him just a bit.
Seeing my admiring gaze, Leon straightened his shoulders and continued.
“So that’s why I think my energy’s been weak lately, big sis.”
Phew.
He let out a deep breath and lightly patted his shoulder.
“I haven’t been sleeping well either. I keep seeing strange things.”
Phewww.
After taking another deep breath, he cleared his throat and put on a serious face.
“So, big sis.”
It was the face of a general standing before the battle of his lifetime.
I instinctively grew serious too.
“Yes. What is it?”
“I’ve been thinking. The reason my energy’s been drained like this is…”
He glanced around, then whispered in a tiny voice as if sharing a secret.
“I think it’s because I haven’t eaten rice cakes lately. Right? So, before the others get here, please hurry and give me some rice—!”
I didn’t know my face had turned as pale as freshly pulled radish, but Leon happily continued shouting about rice cakes.
Then suddenly, he went flying.
“Gyak!”
With a shrill scream.
“Hey, you squad leader bastard. You think we wouldn’t notice you sneaking here alone to butter up big sis? We saw everything, huh?”
“That’s right! That cowardly squad leader trying to ditch us and hog the rice cakes for himself?”
“Die! Die!”
Thud. Thud. Thud thud thud.
Black Hawks suddenly swarmed in and started stomping Leon.
I stared at them with enlightened eyes for a moment, then quietly left.
No one tried to stop them as I shook my head and exited the storage shed.
Sigh. I really should stop engaging with them altogether.
“I should go see Vanilla before she leaves.”
Thinking that the sparkling Leon claimed to see was probably just an excuse to get rice cakes, I stopped by my room, picked up Axion, and quickly headed out.
“Axion, shall we go say goodbye to big sis?”
“Uuun?”
We were going to wish Vanilla well—since she’d be attending the Field of Repose with Dazar for the first time.
‘We decided not to go.’
By “we,” I meant the Evanroir household—me, Axion, and Kal.
From my last meeting with Retsy, I learned that the Followers of Ruben would appear at the Field of Repose.
And with the possibility that Axion might be Ruben…
A place like the Field of Repose was far too dangerous.
‘On top of that, they’re trying to draw in someone who looks similar to me.’
For many reasons, it was too risky.
I’d already told Dazar I wouldn’t attend. He’d readily agreed.
But—
“Nooooo! Don’t goooo! If you don’t go, I won’t go either!”
“Vanilla…”
I hadn’t expected to face a barrier named Vanilla.
I stared dumbfounded at Vanilla, who lay on the floor flailing her limbs and wailing.
“If big sis and Shion don’t go, then I won’t either!”
Dazar stood beside me, his face full of bewilderment. Mine probably looked the same.
“I’ve never seen her throw a tantrum like this before.”
“Really…?”
If Dazar said so, then it must be true.
“Uuuh… uuuhhh…”
“Ah, Axion.”
As Vanilla cried, Axion started tearing up too.
No—don’t cry!
“Waaah… waaah!”
“Waaahhh!”
“Kids, wait, okay? Let’s stop, okay? Stop!”
I desperately tried to calm them, but once the crying started, it showed no sign of stopping.
As the mansion echoed with their cries, I saw Dazar slowly raise both hands.
A defeated surrender.
His face screamed:
Do something!
Gah. In the chaos, I hastily wiped my face and scooped Vanilla up.
“Waa… hic!”
Startled by being lifted, Vanilla stopped crying for a moment. I didn’t miss the chance and hugged her tightly, speaking as gently as I could.
“Why is our beautiful Vanilla crying so sadly? If you cry like this, Shion’s heart will hurt.”
“Shion’s…?”
“Yes. Because you’re crying, Shion is crying too.”
“Uu… hic.”
Only then did she seem to realize Axion was crying. She bit her lip and tried hard to hold back her tears.
Tear tracks stained her red cheeks.
I gently wiped them away and asked softly.
“Can our Vanilla tell Shion why she’s so sad?”
“Well…”
She lowered her head, fidgeting, then hesitantly spoke.
“I read it in a book. It said… if you don’t go there, you can’t.”
“You can’t? Why?”
“If you don’t go there, you’re not family.”
…Not family?
What did that mean?
As I blinked in confusion, Dazar, looking like he understood, spoke up.
“She’s referring to the common belief nobles have about the Field of Repose.”
“A belief?”
“Yes.”
Dazar ran a hand through his hair, looking troubled.
“The Field of Repose is the biggest annual event that all imperial nobles attend—semi-mandatorily. And that ‘semi’ exists because of what nobles believe about it.”
Strangely enough, even Silia—who had been obsessed with farming and uninterested in politics—attended every year.
I remembered Sylvestain begging her to go every time.
‘Sister. If you skip even the Field of Repose, people will think you’ve been expelled from House Evanroir.’
‘Let them think that.’
‘Siliaaa. Are you abandoning your brother like this? Are we no longer family? Huh?’
Still, she seemed weak to Sylvestain in the end. She went every year.
Let’s not remember all the incidents she caused each time.
“Since most nobles attend, those who don’t are seen as… people rejected by their families. Flawed individuals.”
Why are you glancing at me?
I stared at Dazar with a sulky face.
“B-but we are family. We have to go together. Silia and Shion and Dazar and me—we’re all family! Right?”
Vanilla sniffled loudly as she said it.
…Family?
Me and Dazar?
At the same time, Dazar and I locked eyes.
