Chapter 61
“Wow, really! How did you know?”
I clapped my hands and beamed.
“They say our Moren has a talent for magic! Recently, he met with the Magus Tower master, right? At first, I thought it was just some eccentric master bothering Moren, but that wasn’t the case!”
“It seems he recognized Moren’s potential,” Brindel said. His expression and voice were impossibly gentle.
“They say that if Lornod becomes a magician, he’ll be incredibly powerful. And to think that my little brother is that person—it’s truly joyful.”
Of course, I didn’t believe those words.
Thinking about it, it was bitterly ironic.
“There was a time when I even thought Brindel becoming the next emperor wouldn’t be so bad.”
Among the brothers likely to become emperor, the one I was closest to was the one before me.
So I assumed that at least Brindel would guarantee the safety of Moren and me.
“But….”
I sipped my tea and glanced at Brindel.
He was my ambitious older brother, always welcoming me and occasionally sharing tea with me.
Yet, having read the original story in its entirety, I could no longer see him as I once did.
“Because I found out what Brindel obsessively craves in his madness.”
In the original story, Brindel’s obsession was mentioned only once, in the recollection of the third empress.
And that was…
“The flawless throne!”
He didn’t simply want the throne out of a desire for power.
He wanted to eliminate every Lornod who shared the same blood as him and become the sole, radiant supreme ruler.
That was Brindel’s most primal and intense desire.
“Like the emperor my aunt feared in those days.”
No, probably even worse than the emperor.
At least the emperor had spared my aunt, who was his full-blooded sister.
In the original story, this madness wasn’t a major problem.
Brindel eventually succumbed to his severe auditory hallucinations and chose death.
But now, Brindel was alive and breathing.
“I saved him.”
I had unwittingly twisted the original story.
In a far more negative direction than expected.
Recalling that made me uneasy.
“Why so quiet? Is something bothering you?”
I had fallen silent, and Brindel spoke with concern in his voice.
As always, he was looking at me with a warm gaze.
I forced down the words that threatened to escape.
“You were my first patient that I saved with my medicine.”
That had given me courage and made me more proactive in preparing medicines for Hebaro.
Continuing this work wasn’t just about building connections with various families and earning their favor—it was one of the few acts that gave me real pride.
“It’s all thanks to you, Brindel.”
So, you’re more than just a close older brother to me.
“Brindel.”
I called him in a slightly subdued voice.
“Yes?”
“Do you want to become emperor?”
“…….”
“You entered politics in earnest after escaping the hallucinations. Everyone says that in this competition, you and Darion will fight the fiercest.”
“Neroli.”
“What do you think?”
I could ask because I was wearing the mask of innocence.
I asked with complete sincerity.
“If you become emperor, will our relationship change?”
Brindel stopped moving entirely and looked at me quietly.
I didn’t avoid his gaze.
I just waited for his answer, unable to hide my nervous expression.
Soon, Brindel’s lips opened heavily.
“Even if I become crown prince, nothing will change.”
He reached out and placed his hand over mine, patting it at a steady pace.
Like an older brother comforting a tenderhearted younger sibling.
“You’re worried, aren’t you? About what lies ahead.”
“I…”
“Don’t worry. You were the one who stepped up and helped me as if it were your own business when I was tormented by hallucinations. How could I ever harm you?”
“Brindel.”
“Even if Darion becomes emperor, it’s the same. You know how much he cherishes you, right?”
“…….”
“So, Neroli, nothing will happen to you. I promise.”
At that moment, Nesgal quietly appeared and perched on my shoulder.
[Still too young. Can’t perfectly hide the false energy fluctuating within.]
I twitched at the spirit’s whisper.
I forced the sense of betrayal from my face and put on a look of being moved.
“Thank you so much for saying that, Brindel.”
“I was just speaking sincerely, Neroli.”
I secretly checked with Nesgal again.
“Is it certain?”
[Tsk tsk, no doubt about it.]
I had consistently provided snacks to everyone in the palace, so of course I wouldn’t let Brindel go without taking the medicine I prepared.
It was tricky because Brindel, being Lornod, didn’t absorb the medicine easily, but I managed to develop one that worked on him too.
And now…
Nesgal peered intently at Brindel’s energy and whispered:
[You can see his energy very clearly. All the flashy words are lies, so be careful, Master.]
The more certain Nesgal was, the brighter I smiled.
“Yes! Thanks to you, most of my anxiety has subsided!”
To appear as a sister who trusts him completely, without any suspicion.
“You really are a reliable older brother!”
“Of course. We’re family with the same blood flowing through us.”
Family…
Yes, family.
I bitterly mocked myself in my heart.
“Seeing him promise lies without a change in expression, I guess we really did grow up in the same environment.”
Even if we didn’t share the same blood.
A bitter taste of inevitable betrayal lingered in my mouth.
But… what can I do?
I was the only one who had given him a special meaning, and Brindel was drawing a completely different picture.
“Perhaps it’s for the best that I realized reality so quickly.”
At that moment:
“Ah, now that I think about it, Neroli.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve been debating whether to tell you this.”
Brindel hesitated with a troubled expression.
I quickly guessed what he was about to say.
“You want to bring up this topic first, huh?”
There was no reason to refuse.
“Don’t keep me in suspense~. Go ahead!”
I urged him, and he reluctantly began.
“Have you heard? The rumors circulating in the palace lately.”
“Rumors? You know I just returned from my travels yesterday.”
“Exactly, so you wouldn’t know anything. It’s absurd, but… Neroli, there’s a rumor that you’re not His Majesty’s biological child.”
“What?”
“Haha, even I find it ridiculous saying it. Don’t you?”
Brindel smiled awkwardly as he said it.
Blinking innocently, I asked him back.
“Such a ridiculous rumor is spreading? Suddenly?”
“You were shocked. Don’t worry, Neroli. In the palace, absurd rumors sometimes spread without evidence and vanish on their own. This one will disappear if left alone.”
Brindel whispered kindly.
At his whisper, I gripped my teacup slightly tighter.
“Just leave it be?”
This rumor insulted not just me, but my mother.
And it wasn’t secret enough—it had reached my ears.
“Then of course the correct course is to find those spreading it and punish them severely.”
Brindel must have known that.
Yet he spoke as if it were nothing, perhaps to gauge my reaction.
Unfazed, he continued.
“I thought it’d be better for you to hear it from me than from someone below, is that okay?”
In his eyes, I could clearly see he was observing me.
I hid a cynical smile deep in my chest.
In the palace, if someone acted like that, the law was to put on an even thicker mask.
“Of course it’s fine! I know rumors circulate in the palace, but this is the most ridiculous one yet!”
“If the rumor spreads further, tell His Majesty.”
“Thanks for the advice, but is it really worth it? Anyway, where did such an absurd story come from?”
“I know, right? Audacious, isn’t it?”
Brindel looked straight into my eyes and smiled.
“To think someone dares to toy with the royal family… If caught, one life wouldn’t be enough.”
His words were sharp, and I returned a skillful smile.
“Whoever it is, they’re still a citizen of the empire we must protect! We have to wish them luck!”
I jokingly said, trying to resolve the situation.
There were few groups capable of systematically spreading rumors in the palace.
The main ones: the emperor’s secret police.
And…
“The information network of the Third Empress and Brindel’s maternal family, the Count of Zelaur.”
Particularly, the source of this rumor was someone who had witnessed me coughing up blood at the Telum Duke’s estate.
So, compared to the emperor’s secret police based in the capital, the Zelaur Count’s information network spread across the empire was a more likely culprit.
“And now Brindel brings it up first.”
Thanks to that, I could be certain of two things.
First, I had become someone Brindel didn’t see as a significant threat.
As proof, he had dropped his testing attitude and was enjoying tea leisurely.
And second…
“He intends to use me to keep Moren in check.”
