Episode 16: I Was Asked About My Brother.
Sergios.
My brother.
I totally didn’t expect that. To hear that name here again.
Because I’m his—sister.
……Huh? What does this mean?
“Marquis-sama, are you acquainted with my brother?”
My brother died a long time ago, and he was weak, so he didn’t go out much.
Not many people visited him from outside either.
At my words, the Marquis chuckled self-deprecatingly.
“A long time ago, at the Sword Tournament, a few times. We exchanged words lightly, a few times.”
The Marquis, having sat back down on the bed, began to speak with a distant look in his eyes.
“There was contempt. A poor noble, I thought.
However, after fighting him a few times, I dispelled such contempt and challenged him, but I couldn’t win. Not even once.”
……Hmm?
I’m getting a sense of déjà vu here?
That story, could it be—??
“Th-that tournament, was it a few years ago?”
“Ah, that’s right. However, from a certain point, he stopped showing his face at the matches altogether. When I asked, I heard he died of an illness.
I never, not once, could win against Sergios.”
……Ah.
That’s me.
That’s when I secretly participated in the Sword Tournament several times under my brother’s name and status, and it reached my mother’s ears, and I was confined to house arrest.
Actually, my brother died much earlier, but my mother, not wanting it to be known that her daughter participated and defeated other noble sons with a sword, put on appearances and glossed over the fact that my brother died after the matches.
……I see, the Marquis was one of my opponents in that tournament. I wasn’t aware at all.
He said we exchanged words, but I don’t remember at all.
“B-by the way, what kind of conversation did we have……?”
I hope I didn’t say anything stupid.
When I asked that, the Marquis rested his elbow on his knee and narrowed his eyes slightly, as if dazzled.
“……After losing, I once asked him why he was so strong. And then—”
And then?
“He said, it was because he simply wanted to know the strength of his sword, and he wasn’t putting on airs for his own honor or his family’s reputation.”
Ah, I think I said that to someone.
I mean, you know.
The noble opponents were all trying to flaunt their strength first, or using their family status as an umbrella to intimidate me, and their fighting style was just boring.
The reason I participated in the Sword Tournament was because I was usually told things like “for a woman,” “strong for a woman,” or “even though you’re a woman,” and it pissed me off.
I purely wanted to confirm how reliable my swordsmanship was, beyond gender.
If I fought in a woman’s form, they would say I was holding back or being careless, and I wouldn’t know if that was true or a lie.
“He, who wasn’t burdened by all the constraints, was certainly strong. His physique was slender due to the illness, but his unparalleled accuracy in using his opponent’s strength to return it, or attacking precise spots by exploiting openings, was truly amazing.”
Marquis Karamanlis, gazing dreamily into the air, spoke with rapture on his face.
Probably, in the Marquis’s head right now, the memories of that time are being beautifully decorated and replayed in a sparkling state.
This is.
That.
In other words……?
“Um, could it be that you married me because you wanted to continue your connection with Sergios, or because of Sergios’s……that……”
When I asked that timidly, a blush spread across the Marquis’s cheeks.
“……Ah. That’s right. Besides, it would be a waste to lose that talent.
That person is no longer in this world, but I learned that he had a twin sister.”
Hahaha. So, that’s what it is.
Well, I had a feeling there was something behind it.
The moment I realized, a simmering anger welled up from the bottom of my stomach.
This guy isn’t looking at me.
He’s looking at Sergios behind me, through me.
I knew it.
So, that’s what it is.
I quietly approached the Marquis, who was sitting on the bed, cupped his chin with both hands, and made him look up slightly.
The Marquis turned his eyes, moist with nostalgic memories, towards me.
“Selene, that’s why—”
“Don’t screw with me. Are you underestimating me?”
I managed to suppress my anger, but let it leak out in my tone as I grabbed the Marquis’s chin firmly.
“Isn’t it? What you wanted to ask me yesterday was, ‘Could it be that Sergios is still alive?'”
Yesterday, when the Marquis tried to confirm Sergios’s existence with me in his room, it wasn’t because he suspected that I was the one who barged in at that time, but because he wanted to ask if the information that Sergios had died was a lie?
Then, you have no intention of explaining to me what happened to Ati.
At that time, what occupied the Marquis’s mind wasn’t the worried me, or the burned Ati, but Sergios, right??
“S-Selene?”
The Marquis’s eyes were rolling back and forth.
He doesn’t seem to understand why I’m angry.
“You married me not because you wanted your own child, but because you wanted a child who inherited Sergios’s blood?”
When I said that, the Marquis gasped.
Do you understand what I’m trying to say?
Even if you do, I won’t stop.
“Is that it? My body’s scars are nothing if you consider inheriting Sergios’s blood, is that right?
In the end, you’re ‘pretending not to see the scars,’ aren’t you? Stop making a fool of me, okay??”
The fingers on the Marquis’s chin dug in. Should I crush it as it is?
“I didn’t mean to—”
“Don’t make lame excuses. In the end, it doesn’t have to be ‘me,’ does it?
It would be the same even if it were my sisters, right?
Huh? What is it? Am I wrong?”
When I asked, the Marquis hesitated. Bullseye, huh?
“Well, I can’t hand over my precious sisters to someone like you, though?
I’ve changed my mind. I thought it would be okay to be divorced at any time, but until you change your mind, or until you wither away, I’ll cling to this position by force, okay? Be prepared.”
I released the Marquis’s chin that I was holding.
With that momentum, the Marquis put his hand on the bed.
I thrust my knee into the Marquis’s stomach, who had lost his balance behind him, and grabbed his collar.
“So that I don’t have to resort to force and crush the Marquis-sama’s important parts……
Please be quiet, Marquis-sama.”
I told him that, and approached and moved away from his lips, almost touching them.
“Well then, good night.”
I quickly moved away from him and walked to the door.
Then I opened the door wide and bowed respectfully.
The Marquis hesitated for a while, but since I didn’t move, he gave up and reluctantly left my room.
Bang! I closed the door to the room with a loud noise.
Seriously. Everyone! It’s infuriating!!
In the end, no one sees ‘me’ for who I am, they only see my family, connections, and the things around me!!
Besides.
I realized that it would be bad if the Marquis found out about my cross-dressing.
I don’t know what will happen if he finds out my true identity.
How did this happen?
Is it me?
Is it bad that I was cross-dressing?
Should I stop cross-dressing?
──That was so cool!
At that moment, Ati’s happy voice echoed in my ears.
No, I want to be Ati’s hero. If Ati seeks Sergios, I will become him as many times as it takes.
Please, brother, lend me your strength.
The strength to protect Ati.
When I thought of Ati and my brother, my anger subsided.
I locked the door, got into bed, and recalled the scent of Ati’s scalp as I drifted off to sleep.