Chapter 8: 8

“What’s is your name sister?”

“Lucia Agnes.”

“I’m Henry Phoenaeus, and I want you to marry me, sister!”

“What?”

“Henry!”

“Awww, brother!”

Before Lucia could be embarrassed, Herwin hurriedly pulled Henry away.

Henry struggled to free himself from Herwin’s grasp.

At that moment, Lucia and Herwin’s eyes met.

It was strange to see a face that was both familiar and nostalgic. When Herwin opened his mouth to speak, Lucia spoke first.

“Herwin, it’s been a while.”

“Huh? Uh…yeah, it’s been a while.”

“Herwin, you’ve grown so much! I’m not short either!”

Lucas, who was next to Lucia, stuck his face out. Herwin’s eyes widened for a moment, then he let out a smirk.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, too.”

“Oh, you remember me?”

“Of course, I remember you. I was in the Islands for over a year.”

“Really? Lucia didn’t remember much, and since you’re the same age as her, I figured you wouldn’t remember much either.”

He was so happy to see her, he assumed she remembered everything as he did. Or did she not?

When Herwin turned his attention to Lucia, she scratched her cheek absently.

“Whoa, get off me!”

Henry scrambled away from Herwin and landed on Lucia like a cicada.

“Henry-?”

Henry shuddered as Herwin spoke, his voice both frightening and gentle. The red eyes in his fine, slanted sockets were sharp.

“What kind of behavior is this for a visitor?”

“Uh, it’s, uh, it’s…….”

No matter how stubborn he was, he couldn’t ignore his brother’s words. When Henry was scared of Herwin, Lucia, who had been watching the situation, put her arm around Henry’s back.

“I’m fine, Henry, do you want to play with me?”

“……Yes, sis!”

“Then why don’t we hold hands and I’ll have fun with you?”

Henry’s dangling position made it hard to keep his balance. Lucia laughed and held out her hand, and Henry’s eyes lit up.

“Okay, okay!”

Herwin was not pleased to see Henry hanging on to Lucia, grinning from ear to ear.

Glaring at Henry, Herwin quickly looked away as his eyes locked with Lucia’s.

The reunion of the two former childhood friends hadn’t gone as smoothly as anyone had expected.

There was a strange discomfort in the air. But underneath it all, there was a palpable sense of anticipation and excitement for each other.

* * *

“Wow, your castle is really big. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Yeah, well, we’re the ruling family of the North, so it’s big enough to rival the Imperial Palace!”

Lucia and Lucas were led by Herwin and Henry on a tour of the Duchy.

Herwin walked ahead, showing them around the castle, while Henry followed close behind, never letting go of Lucia’s hand.

“Sis, sis. They say there used to be a scary witch living here, and that’s why it’s haunted.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of spooky.”

Lucia squirmed uncomfortably, and Henry’s eyes widened.

“Are you scared? Don’t worry! I’ll protect you!”

“You’ve never changed, you never wanted to leave Lucia’s side before.”

“I’ll give my sister anything to be my bride!”

“Hey, kid, marriage is who gets married, and I’m not going to give my sister to you, so dream on.”

“Ew, don’t interrupt me!”

Lucas giggled and pushed Henry’s head.

Henry flailed his arms in earnest and tried to shove Lucas away, but there was no way a five-year-old could beat a ten-year-old boy.

Lucia finally broke free of Henry and sneaked over to Herwin’s side.

As she approached, Herwin’s mouth dropped open.

Unlike Lucas and Henry, who were joking around in front of them, the two of them were unable to make light of the situation.

Lucia felt very uncomfortable in this situation. Wondering if she was the only one who was uncomfortable, she lifted her lowered head.

Just like that.

Her eyes locked with Herwin’s.

Both of them shuddered in surprise and jerked their heads away.

Her heart pounding, Lucia wondered for a moment what the hell was going on.

“Over there…….”

“Huh?”

Herwin replied awkwardly, wondering if Lucia was feeling the same way.

“Um, how have you been……?”

“Huh? Uh, well, yeah…….”

She trailed off, unable to continue. There was silence again, and this time Herwin spoke first.

“How are you, too?”

“Me? Me, well…I’ve been learning piano with a new teacher lately. What about you?”

“Uhm…I’m just, uh…I’m taking a bunch of classes from my normal tutor, and I’m doing liberal arts. I’m taking swordsmanship.”

“Swordsmanship? You want to be a knight?”

“I don’t want to be a knight, I want to be a good swordsman like my father.”

Herwin’s face relaxed slightly.

“Well, I’ve heard that Duke Phoenaeus is a very famous swordsman. He must be a sword, sword… what was it…….”

“A sword master. The idol of all swordsmen. With my dad, he can defeat any enemy that comes our way! Not only that, but Sword Masters can manipulate auras freely, and my dad is one of the most powerful auras……!”

Suddenly excited, Herwin rambled on about Hail’s story but stopped when he saw a large hole in the wall.

“Oh, me, I’m sorry… I got a little excited and…….”

“Eh, no, I see, you’re really into the Duke, aren’t you?”

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“Well… everyone does.”

“Me too, he’s my favorite person in the whole world!”

Scratching his head, Herwin locked eyes with a smiling Lucia.

Much of the awkwardness was gone, and a sense of comfort was beginning to creep in.

“Aaahhhhhhhhhh!”

The wailing broke through the middle.

Henry ran to Lucia, sobbing, and hugged her. He must have been calling for Herwin, but it was Lucia he was looking for.

“Hu hu hu hu hu hu hu huh hu!”

Henry blinked back tears and pointed at Lucas behind him.

“Ummm…what did my brother say?”

“He said I’m too young to marry my sister, but I’m going to marry my sister!”

“Did I say that wrong, I’m not going to give my sister to anyone else?”

Lucas teased Henry, putting his arm around Lucia’s shoulders.

Henry started yelling at him to stop, to see if he was high again.

“Big brother, stop teasing him. He’s still young…….”

“Hahaha, sorry, sorry. It’s supposed to be funny how he reacts.”

“I hate you the most!”

“Well, if you don’t like me, I’m Lucia’s brother.”

Lucas put his face next to Lucia’s, and it was obvious that they were siblings.

Henry’s jaw dropped as he looked at the equally clean walls.

“Ah, it’ll be dinner time in a little while. Shall we go to the dining room?”

Herwin interrupted to lighten the mood.

“What time is it?”

“Half past six.”

“Is that all it is, then why am I so hungry?”

“Because we’ve been touring the castle for three hours.”

Unlike Lucia, who felt awkward, Herwin felt comfortable talking to Lucas.

Lucia watched them slowly walk away.

“Aren’t you going?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah, I’m going.”

Startled by Henry’s call, Lucia grabbed his hand and hurried after them.

* * *

It had been five days since their arrival in the duchy.

Sister Agnes and Brother Phoenaeus were as close as they had ever been together on the Isles, and their time together was less awkward than their first meeting.

The only difference was that Herwin no longer stayed by Lucia’s side.

Whether it was because he didn’t have all the memories of the past, or because he was more comfortable with Lucas, who was older than him, he hung out with Lucas more often than Lucia.

That didn’t mean he was pushing Lucia away.

They still got along well when they were together, and they could still joke around, but it was awkward to call them best friends.

“Sis, Sis, I want you to read this to me!”

Lucia stared blankly at Herwin, who was smiling broadly as he chatted with Lucas when Henry called out to her.

“Yes, what do you want me to read to you?”

“This one, is sister in it?”

“What? I’m in it?”

“Yes! Look at you!”

Henry, casually sitting on Lucia’s lap, opened the book and showed her a scene.

There was a woman with brown hair and blue eyes like Lucia’s, smelling flowers in the middle of a forest.

‘Huh? I think I recognize this.’

The picture and the storybook were new to her, but strangely enough, this moment felt familiar. Like she’d been it before.

Lucia stared at the picture that looked so much like her, wondering at her sudden vision.

Henry, who had been chattering away, looked up in surprise at the silence behind him, and his mouth fell open.

She must have been thinking about something because her beautiful eyes were drenched in water.

Henry felt a tickle in his chest.

‘Mommy says if you see something you like, put your spit on it first.’

He’ll leave his mark before anyone else does, Henry thought.

Sideways.

The room, which had been noisy with chatter, suddenly fell silent. This made the sound of Henry’s kiss loud.

Lucia, who was suddenly the recipient of a kiss, as well as Lucas and Herwin, who had been chatting amiably among themselves, turned to look at him with wide eyes.

“You’re mine now, sister.”

“…… This looks familiar.”

Lucia nervously stroked her cheek and looked down at Henry.

“That…that…kid!”

Lucas’s face contorted as he hurriedly pulled Henry away from Lucia.

Even now, Lucia felt a strange sense of disorientation, as if she were in a dream. She turned her gaze back to Herwin.

It occurred to her that it should be Herwyn, not Lucas, who was pulling Henry away from her.

“I’m sorry my brother bothered you. He must have really liked you. He doesn’t usually do that.”

“Huh? Uh…it’s okay, maybe he does.”

“I’m going to spank him. It won’t happen again.”

Herwin stood up and started to stop Lucas and Henry, who were now arguing.

“That’s not …….”

An inexplicable sense of loss washed over her.

Herwin’s behavior toward his brother was completely natural, but somehow it made her sad.

In this situation, it was natural to be angry, not happy… Is it weird?

Thump. Thump. Hump…….!

The silent heart began to make its presence felt.

The pounding grew louder and louder, bringing with it a strange feeling of discomfort. 

Lucia didn’t know what to make of what she was feeling.

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