Chapter 41
Kai’s hand lost its strength. I gently grasped it again. The hand that had been as cold as ice soon softened like clay.
And it wasn’t just Kai’s hand that was warming up—my steps felt lighter, and so did my heart.
“Sorry for going back and forth like this, Kai. But I really do want to make my brothers reconcile.”
“Do you think it’s your fault that they’re mad at each other?”
“Partly, yes. But mostly… I just want to see them getting along.”
They don’t have to be best friends. There are plenty of siblings in the world who fight all the time. The fight a few days ago only became a problem because it involved their identities.
I just wish they would fight like immature kids.
Like, Elber yelling at Bennen, “You act like such a grown-up, it’s gross!” and Bennen replying, “You’re not that cute either!”—with both of them shouting and yelling like children…
Haha. But now that I try to imagine it, it’s kind of hard. Elber isn’t the type to yell. And the odds of Bennen acting childish are close to zero.
Still… I’d like to see it at least once.
“Sol, sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but I think there’s a way to make them reconcile.”
“Huh? How?”
“If you show your brothers the face you’re making right now while thinking about them.”
“Do I look funny or something?”
“How should I describe it… all soft and warm and fluffy…”
“Too long.”
“…Tell them you’ll give them a kiss if they make up!”
“….”
I stared at Kai with a solemn look.
Are you serious?
“That’s gross.”
“Gross?!”
“I mean, it’d be fine if I were like five or six. But at this age… it’s a bit much.”
“No, I’m sure they’d love it! Especially I—”
“Especially?”
“…N-nevermind. Let’s go down! One of our workers might be looking for me!”
Kai hurried his steps. I followed, caught off guard.
The frozen ground had started to thaw, and mud splattered here and there. We ran through it like the sounds were fireworks.
I occasionally threw snowballs at Kai’s feet, and he laughed as he kicked them back at me. It felt like we were dancing in our own way.
But happy moments always end too quickly. Soon, we arrived in front of the Lafrande carriage.
“Young master, did you have fun? We were about to request a search party.”
The worker who had been waiting for Kai stood up. He was smiling, but the veins next to his eyes were quite prominent.
“…Sorry.”
“It’s fortunate you weren’t too late. And thank you for guiding him, Lady Schlieger—ah, is that shawl yours?”
Kai flinched and quickly unwrapped the shawl. His golden hair sprung out in all directions like a lion’s mane. The worker bit his lower lip to stifle a laugh.
“Y-young master, ahem, we must be going now. I hope you didn’t make any unnecessary promises under the lady’s invitation?”
“Not today!”
I never invited him, though. The worker smiled.
“Understood. We’ll be leaving shortly, so please check you haven’t left anything behind.”
“Okay!”
Kai cheerfully replied and returned the shawl to me. It was warm—it even seemed to carry a faint scent of sunshine.
I had something to return to Kai too.
Would it have a trace of my scent as well? Or perhaps it smelled of the winter in Flogel? Just as I was wondering that and removing the glove on my left hand—
“Gasp.”
What the—why is the leather at the fingers bent and tattered? I knew the glove was a bit big since my fingers are shorter than Kai’s, but still.
“Kai, this…”
“Whoa, I’ve never seen anything like this!”
“This isn’t something to be amazed by!”
As I panicked, the worker, who had just closed the carriage’s luggage compartment, walked over and sighed at the sight of the glove.
“Young master, did you play with snow while wearing those gloves?”
“Huh?”
“This type of leather weakens if it gets wet inside. Ah… there’s a small tear.”
He made it sound so casual, but judging by his expression, it must’ve been quite valuable.
It was my fault. I must’ve gotten snow inside while playing with Kai.
I should just confess honestly. Even if the Duke gets mad, I’ll have to ask him for a replacement.
“Um…”
But the moment I opened my mouth, Kai pulled up the shawl to cover it. Gah!
“Hm? Did the Lady just call me?”
“You must’ve misheard.”
“……”
The worker looked at me. But Kai gripped my hand tightly, as if signaling something, and even after the shawl slipped down from my lips, I couldn’t call him again.
When the worker left to ready the next carriage, I asked Kai,
“Kai! Why’d you stop me just now?”
“Because you looked like you were going to say something like, ‘It’s my fault the glove got ruined, I’ll get a new one.’”
“That’s accurate. But why stop me?”
I was the one who brought him to a cold place, borrowed his gloves, and let snow get inside during our snowball fight.
But Kai shook his head.
“If we get new gloves, we’ll have to tell the Duke. That might cause issues between families.”
“……”
“And I thought you’d feel uncomfortable asking him. What if you get scolded?”
Every word was so thoughtful. I couldn’t help but sigh—how did such a good boy end up as the second lead?
Isn’t there anyone in the original story who can protect his kind heart? If he just ends up heartbroken again, that’s too cruel.
As my concern grew, Kai seemed to misinterpret my silence. He panicked and said,
“Sorry. I must’ve acted all high and mighty again.”
“You weren’t showing off—you were being kind. Thank you. I was scared to say anything to Father too.”
“Really? That’s a relief!”
“I’ll repay you for the gloves someday. Or maybe… I’ll give you something else instead?”
“No. Don’t repay me. And don’t tell anyone.”
“Huh?”
That was odd. As I tilted my head, Kai took a step closer and whispered in my ear.
“More than the gloves… I just want to share a small secret with you.”
“….”
“Haha, that’s another ‘I want to,’ right? I’m putting your lesson to good use!”
Why was he treating this silly incident like a precious treasure?
I was about to shout, “That just makes me feel more guilty! Think of something else!”—when I saw a worker approaching from afar. The carriages were all ready.
“Young master, it’s time to depart!”
“Got it! Sol, I’ll check the letter as soon as I get back!”
Oh, that letter!
Darn it. Didn’t I write it really coldly? Something like, “Don’t come during the festival because I’ll be busy”? What if he reads it and gets disappointed?
I wanted to at least say a warm goodbye—but maybe they were in a hurry, because the worker picked up Kai and placed him directly in the carriage. Kai waved and laughed brightly.
“Take care!”
Seven or eight supply wagons slowly disappeared into the distance. Kai’s voice was buried beneath the clatter of countless hooves.
But his gentle voice still echoed in my ears:
“Even just a small secret… I want to share one with you.”
Alkaios Lafrande, from To Save You, is known in the original story as the man with the most sincere heart. There were no lies in his life.
The only thing he kept secret until the end was his feelings for the heroine. Just one reason: he didn’t want to burden the saintess with his troubles.
Kai will probably grow into the same kind of man in this life too. That’s probably why even a small “secret” like this felt like a form of liberation to him.
To me, it was such a small, trivial thing…
But if it could be a tiny gift to you—someone who was neither saved nor able to save in To Save You—
I hope you can take today back as a happy memory.
And the rest of today’s memory for me was—
“Sol!”
“Soooooool!”
Just then, familiar voices snapped me back to reality.
As I turned toward the sound, Elber and Bennen ran up and hugged me tightly.
“Ugh!”
“Sol, where were you?! We were so worried!”
“Sorry, we shouldn’t have left you alone!”
Familiar voices apologized and promised “next time we’ll be together.” The winter scent of the ducal estate—now so familiar—filled my mind.
…It’s nice. So nice that even my annoyance at my little brothers melted away instantly.
I finally escaped their embrace and shouted,
“Did you two… make up?”
Elber hesitated before answering.
“Sol, what were you doing without even having a snack—”
“Yes, we made up.”
“….”
Bennen answered quickly. Elber looked at him with a somewhat wronged expression. I patted Bennen on the head for now.
“Good job! Elber, you made up too, right?”
“….”
“You made up… right?”
“…Yeah.”
I didn’t know why he was puffing out his cheeks, but still—I patted Elber’s head too. His lips curled up slightly.
“I knew you two could figure it out on your own!”
“Thanks for trusting us.”
“Actually, I… I looked up how to make family members reconcile in a self-help book. One tip was to offer a kiss on the cheek as a reward!”
“….”
“Even you two think that’s a bit much, right? Why are you both glaring at me?”
“We didn’t make up. Right, Elber?”
“Yeah. We never made up. Bennen’s always gross.”
“Exactly. And Elber’s a naive coward.”
Seriously, what am I going to do with you two little rascals?
* * *
To get rid of a small problem, you should start a bigger one—or so they say. During dinner, the Duke dropped a bombshell.
“Next week during the festival, we’ll all go on an outing.”
“An outing?”
“We’ll take a carriage around the festival, then have a meal together.”
It sounded like an incredibly wholesome suggestion. That is, until you remembered the person making it was the Duke—the least wholesome person ever.
Not that he was the only problem. Bennen and Elber looked awkwardly at each other again. Just watching them made me feel nauseous. I couldn’t even tell if they had made up or were fighting again!
The Duke asked them,
“What’s wrong? Is going out with your father uncomfortable?”
At that blunt question, both Bennen and Elber bit their spoons in frustration. Even a clueless father should realize something’s up when it gets this awkward.
“Even if it’s uncomfortable, you’re coming.”
…Yup. Just realized it and moved on. That’s our Duke.
But then he suddenly turned the fire on me.
“Sol’s looking forward to the festival. If we don’t go with her, she might try to go alone.”
I mean, I was looking forward to it—but saying it like that just sounds like he’s emotionally blackmailing them.
“Come on, Father! I wouldn’t go alone. What if I got kidnapped or something?”
“Kidnapped?”
“Yes. There’s no easier target than a little lady wandering around alone.”
“Point taken.”
“Right? If I do go out, I’d go with Linda…”
“Which means we need to make sure everyone knows whose daughter you are—so no petty thugs dare to target you.”
That’s not what I meant.
Bennen chimed in with nonsense.
“I’ll go too. It’s important to show that it’s not just Father who protects the Lady.”
The Duke nodded proudly, as if thinking, I raised this boy well. That’s not it.
Elber’s eyes sparkled.
“If it’s Bennen-hyung, he could spot troublemakers trying to ruin the festival! I’ll trust him and bring my sword!”
Bennen looked at Elber like he was surprised at the compliment.
Okay, I’m glad the walls between you all are coming down—but why do I feel like I’m being used for your family bonding?
