“Father.”
I pushed open the office door. Across the desk, Father looked at me with tired eyes. The ribbon binding his blond hair had come loose. Stacks of documents were piled high on his desk.
“Albrecht. What is it?”
“I want to talk about Rein.”
Father’s hand stopped. The sound of his quill hitting the desk echoed more heavily than usual.
“It’s about Rein’s treatment. I heard Lady Katia was allowed to be present.”
“...Yes.”
“Why was she allowed to be there when I am not?”
“Because it is not something you should see.”
“As the Next Lord, how can I be expected to stay ignorant of my brother's condition? Rein is my brother. I won’t leave things I should naturally know unlearned.”
Father was silent for a moment, then closed his eyes.
“—Very well.”
“Father.”
“However, only once. You will be in Lady Therese’s way. And also...”
“—And also, what?”
“What you feel and how you handle it after seeing it is your burden. As a parent, I cannot help you with that.”
I nodded silently and left the room. For a split second as I closed the door, I caught a glimpse of Father letting out a long, heavy sigh.
Mira was standing in the hallway in front of the treatment room. When she saw me, she merely bowed her head without a word. Recently, Mira had changed in a way that felt final. Even if the shape of her smile remained, what lay behind it was different than before. Noticing my gaze, Mira narrowed her eyes ever so slightly.
“So, Lord Albrecht will be observing as well.”
“Yeah.”
“—Please, rest easy. I will protect Lord Rein.”
The way she said it bothered me. It was as if Rein had to be protected from something specific. But I had neither the knowledge to press her nor the mental leeway to do so right now.
With a deep breath, I stepped through the door of the treatment room.
◇◇◇
At a corner a short distance from the hallway where the treatment room was located, I spotted familiar red hair and came to a halt. He was walking away from the door, his steps faltering and unsteady.
“Elder Brother.”
When I called out to him, my brother looked up. His face was pale and utterly wretched, drained of all color.
“...Heide.”
“—Given that you're coming from the treatment room, does that mean Rein's...”
“Yeah. I was present for the treatment.”
Saying only that, my brother leaned his back against the nearby wall as if his legs could no longer support him, and he slowly slid down to a sitting position. I tucked my skirt and sat down beside him.
For a while, both of us were silent.
“Heide.”
“Yes.”
“The Saint's Miracle involves pain during the regeneration of wounds.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
“The degree of pain is the problem. —It’s not just ‘so painful you feel like you’ll die.’”
“Eh?”
“It is the pain of dying itself.”
The meaning of his words slowly sank in.
“His heart stops from the agony. Lady Therese said she could bring him back in a few seconds even if it stops. In fact, she did. It happens many times during the treatment. He dies from the pain, is brought back, dies, is brought back—that’s what the treatment was.”
“That's...”
“—And then, I realized something.”
For the first time, my brother’s voice trembled.
“I communicated with him through writing before the treatment, and he was completely normal. He had his usual expression and spoke the same way he always does.”
“—That's...”
“He’s already undergone that treatment many times. He knows that the pain of death is coming again, yet he shows no trembling, no fear, and no tears. It’s wrong, isn't it? Normally, it would be natural to just shake in terror before the next treatment. He’s ten years old, Heide. I’m certain I wouldn’t be able to endure it.”
My brother rested the back of his head against the wall and stared up at the ceiling.
“—Something inside him is already broken. Probably... it happened during those three years.”
A numbing pain throbbed deep in my chest.
The sight of that child on the day he was rescued flickered behind my eyes. Those lost limbs and that empty eye socket.
That didn't happen in an instant. It was done to him gradually.
Just what kind of horrific experiences must he have gone through?
“Heide,” my brother spoke in a raspy voice. “This time, I intend to protect him with everything I have. As the Next Lord. I’ll cooperate with Father to prepare for the threat of enemy nations and increase our domain's strength. I’ll coordinate with our neighbors as well.”
“—Me too.”
Before I knew it, the words had left my lips.
“I will maneuver so that he is never at a disadvantage in social circles. I’ll ensure that no one ever looks down on him for being kidnapped and made a slave. I’ll create an atmosphere where anyone who breathes a word against him is treated like a monster.”
My brother finally smiled just a little. It was an exhausted look, yet one filled with a fierce love for his younger brother.
“Let’s protect him together, you and I.”
“Yes.”
At the end of the hallway, the sound of someone's footsteps faded into the distance. For a long time, we were unable to move from that spot.
◇◇◇
The sunlight filtering through the trees in the garden swayed, creating patterns of light on Liese’s lap.
“I wonder if Elder Brother Rein still can’t leave his room.”
“Mother said he’s undergoing treatment for his injuries.”
“The treatment is taking too long. And we can’t even visit him.”
Rose puffed out her cheeks in a pout. Liese followed suit and puffed hers out too. The twins' cheeks puffed out in perfect unison, then deflated at the same time.
“The other day, he was in my dream.”
“Who?”
“Elder Brother Rein. A dream where he was making sweets for us.”
“Wow, that’s not fair.”
“It’s not unfair, it was a dream.”
Rose pouted her lips, then suddenly said as if a memory had just surfaced.
“You know, those small, round ones that are crispy on the outside and melt as soon as you put them in your mouth.”
“I remember. Elder Brother Rein placed one in each of our palms.”
“Yeah. They were delicious.”
The wind blew a little more strongly. Beyond the garden, the windows of the manor’s west wing were visible. Elder Brother Rein was in a room over there.
“I hope he gets well soon, Elder Brother Rein.”
“Yeah.”
Liese looked up at the sky. Through the gaps in the leaves, a single white cloud was drifting slowly by.