CHAPTER 59

I heard a familiar sound from my older brother’s stomach. Without realizing it, I looked at him in response to the noise of his empty stomach rumbling.

“Are you hungry?”

“Are you not hungry too?” 

“I’m hungry too.”

“Ah, I didn’t expect something like this to happen, so I didn’t bring any food.”

There was a cart carrying provisions, but my older brother, who was a nobleman’s son, didn’t have a separate bag for food.

“Finding food to eat here will be difficult, so let’s wait until Father comes to find us.”

When will he come? Father had no way of knowing that we were on this mountain. There were other mountains nearby. Even if we were luckily discovered by Father, it seemed likely that we would be scolded.

To minimize our movements, my brother, who was sitting on one side, pulled me close and embraced me.

“The nights on the mountain are cold, so it’s better to stay like this.”

Already, a slight chill was setting in. I clung to my brother, shivering.

“Brother, do you think there’s a passage where the snake disappeared earlier?”

There was no way a very large snake would shoot up into the sky. It had disappeared into the darkness that was not illuminated by the cat’s eye. That meant there was a high probability that there was a passage. If this was an anti-imperialist stronghold, they wouldn’t just dig a pit for a trap. It had to lead somewhere. If it was to attack those who invaded the mountain without being detected by the Imperialist knights.

“Hmm, what you’re saying doesn’t seem entirely wrong. But how do you know all this when you haven’t received proper education yet?”

I felt a momentary embarrassment and forced an awkward smile. I couldn’t tell them that I had lived somewhere else for a while. I kept the secret hidden deep inside and rummaged through my bag.

“What could be in the bag… never mind. Anyway, I have nothing to say because of you.”

In my hand, I held a rice cake, thick and solid. Just in case, I had asked Jenny to pack something for me as a snack when we were in the carriage. What Jenny gave me was roasted glutinous rice cake.

I didn’t even want to see the roasted glutinous rice cake, but Jenny had forcibly put it in my bag. Perhaps it was a good idea, as the roasted glutinous rice cake she gave me to chew while riding the carriage emitted a delicious fragrance.

Crunch, crunch…

When my brother and I saw the glutinous rice cake, our stomachs rumbled once again.

“Brother, let’s eat.”

“Sure, let’s eat together.”

My brother tried to cut the glutinous rice cake, but it wasn’t easy to cut. Instead, it just stretched.

We had no choice but to chew on the glutinous rice cake, one bite at a time. Did they call it a market side dish? I usually didn’t even go near rice cakes, but today the roasted glutinous rice cake, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, tasted even better. 

After both of us had finished one glutinous rice cake, our stomachs finally seemed satisfied and didn’t make any more noise.

While we were eating the glutinous rice cake, Ciel slipped out of my arms and disappeared into the darkness. It seemed like he wanted to go hunting on his own. Unable to stop him, I snuggled into my brother’s arms, closed my eyes, and endured the cold.

A little later, when Ciel revealed himself again, his belly looked round. It seemed like he had feasted on something. Ciel sat next to my brother, opened his eyes wide, and stared.

“You don’t think he’s doing this so he can get laid, do you?”

Ciel remained still in his place, not moving an inch. Even when my brother and I dozed off, he kept his eyes wide open, watching our surroundings.

“Well, they say cats have better hearing than dogs, so it’s better to entrust the night to this fellow today.”

“Huh? Does Ciel have good ears?”

“Yes, he’s your cat, so if he feels anything strange, he’ll let you know with a sound. Then I’ll be ready to respond.”

It seemed like my older brother knew that once a young child like me fell asleep, it would be difficult to wake them up. Nodding at my brother’s words, I spoke to Ciel.

“Ciel, guard us.” 

Meow.

Ciel patted my hand with his head and then returned to his spot. With the cat’s eye in place, I closed my eyes. I felt the strain of our movements in the mountains, so I cuddled up in my brother’s arms and dozed off.

“Umm, sleepy.”

“If you’re sleepy, then sleep. I’ll watch over you.”

“Umm.”

Although he was only thirteen years old, my brother’s words sounded quite dependable, and before I knew it, I had fallen into a deep slumber.

* * *

Eugene’s gaze softened as he looked at Rafi, who was comfortably asleep in his arms. 

“Honestly, where did you find this pumpkin-like kid rolling around?”

Holding Rafi, Eugene gently stroked the child’s back. Despite his stroking, there was no sign of her waking up, showing just how exhausted she must have been.

Seeing this, Eugene recalled the letter that had brought news of Rafi.

Not long ago, after attending classes at the academy and dragging his tired body back to the dormitory, a dormitory attendant hurriedly delivered something to him.

“What’s this? Three letters at once?”

He received letters from the East, South, and North at the same time. Eugene first opened the letter from his father, a letter he had never received before, and his brow furrowed in disbelief.

“What? They’ve registered a child under our family’s name? And with Lady Erica’s permission? This is ridiculous…”

The letter contained only the information that Erica had given her consent and registered a girl under Duke Panteur’s family name, without any proper explanation.

It was frustrating, but there was nothing he could do about it by immediately objecting. Even if he were to protest, it wouldn’t change anything. If Erica had given her consent and registered the child, there was no way his father would listen to his complaints.

Besides, he was past the age of throwing tantrums and making a fuss.

Having folded the brief letter from his father, Eugene proceeded to read the letter sent by Erica this time.

“She said the child resembles mother? And that the child even spoke the same words as she said?” 

He considered it a mere coincidence. Knowing how much Erica missed their mother, he thought that even a slightly similar child could be taken in.

Then, he moved on to read the last letter, sent by his maternal grandparents. Eugene, usually of a reserved disposition, wouldn’t have been particularly warm even if his grandfather were coming to visit. He typically responded briefly to inquiries and then moved on.

Eugene, who had expressed his regret several times for not pursuing the path of a magician, knew there was no way he could learn magic due to his magical motion sickness.

“Haah, even my grandfather has fallen under the spell of this child. Did he call her a soft rice cake that looks just like her daughter and fell from the sky?”

Eugene could only sigh in amazement as he read the letter from Duke Tigris whom he saw once or twice a year since his mother’s passing.

“Good heavens, what kind of child is she to have captivated these three households like this? It would be difficult to break through even in a single household. Is she that much like mother?”

It was clear that merely resembling his mother wouldn’t be enough to capture the hearts of all three households. It wasn’t just any household; it was a Duke’s household. People from the Duke’s household had no reason to cheer for a single girl. It was evident how guarded that place was.

“Has a three-year-old learned the art of seduction? Or has she been trained as a spy elsewhere?”

No matter how one looked at it, it would be difficult for her to gain recognition from all three households simultaneously. Eugene shook his head in disbelief as he read the letters that simultaneously conveyed unbelievable news.

“What if I go see her in person?”

“Why have you been talking to yourself like this since earlier?” 

Eugene’s roommate asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“They say I got a little sister.”

“Yeah? When did Duke Panteur get remarried?”

“It’s not like that. They contacted me and said they adopted a three-year-old girl who fell from the sky.”

Upon hearing Eugene’s words, his roommate blinked for a moment, then seemed to come to some conclusion and opened their lips. 

“Is she cute?”

“I don’t know. They said she looks like roasted rice cake, soft rice cake, and rice cake filled with bean paste.” 

All three households referred to everything as rice cakes. Upon hearing Eugene’s words, the roommate chuckled.

“If she looks like a rice cake, she must be really cute. Show her to me when she comes here.”

“Forget it. I haven’t accepted her as my sister yet.”

Eugene was feeling somewhat irritated by his roommate’s request to show the child. Since that day, the roommate had kept pestering him to show the child, but Eugene had always built a wall. He hadn’t even seen the child, so how could he show her? 

However, when the vacation came, Eugene contacted his family faster than usual. He told them he would be home soon. That’s when his father revealed another fact. After hearing that, Eugene couldn’t stay still.

With lightning speed, Eugene packed his belongings and headed for the East. He didn’t forget to conceal his face. He was secretly traveling to the East. 

While it was fine within the academy, outside, he had to avoid the attacks from those with grudges against the East. As he entered the eastern outskirts, someone was waiting for him, as always. This time, it was probably Max Warren, the Marquis. 

Normally, they send someone else, but they must treasure him to have Warren come personally. However, what made Eugene pause was the girl who appeared after him. She had silver hair and a golden eye, just like his mother. Just looking at her, she seemed like a child who had perfectly inherited her mother’s youthful appearance, without a trace of shyness.

‘Hello, brother! I’m Rafi. And this is Ciel.’

From the very first meeting, Rafi addressed him as “brother” without hesitation. But Rafi didn’t seem like a typical child. It was as if an adult had inhabited a child’s body, having lived for decades and suddenly possessed the body of a child. 

Her voice was that of a child, but her way of speaking was on par with an adult. Eugene, upon seeing Rafi intentionally keep her words short and speak like a child, felt a slight resistance.

Was it because she resembled his mother too much? Or maybe because she was a child acknowledged by all three families at once? Or perhaps it was because he envied the innocence of a child who hadn’t suffered even a bit. He wasn’t sure. 

Glancing at the thoughts that passed briefly, Eugene looked down at Rafi, who was now sleeping soundly in his arms. The most certain thing he had to do right now was protect this child who had been registered under Duke Panteur’s family registry. 

His mother hadn’t been able to do that. When he was just ten years old, Eugene received news of his mother’s passing while he was attending classes at the academy. Despite overcoming magical motion sickness and rushing home through a warp gate, his mother had already passed away at the palace. Carrying his unborn, unrecognized brother in her womb, who would have been Rafi’s age if he had been born.

“Whenever I was sick, Mother used to recite spells for me… Are you really Mother’s daughter?”

Every time he was unwell, his mother would recite spells like, “Let the pain go away,” and he would recover. Eugene hadn’t heard those words in a very long time, and they brought tears to his eyes.

“Whew, just where were you living before falling from the sky at three years old? Could it be… you were in the heavenly realm with Mother for three years before coming down?”

It was an inhuman thing to say, but it wasn’t entirely made up. He knew that the royal family had called her a child of destruction because she fell from the sky, and the temple had tried to take her to kill her.

“A child of destruction, yet so small and insignificant.”

The child couldn’t even speak properly yet and was sound asleep in his arms.

“Br.. Brother, I’ll protect…”

Hearing Rafi’s sleep talk, Eugene found himself subconsciously lifting the corner of his lips.

“If you’re going to protect me, you’ve got a long way to go.”

He held Rafi, who had called him “Brother”, dearly. When he was ten years old, he couldn’t protect his mother, but now, at thirteen, he had to protect his mysterious younger sibling.