“……Get rid of the meat chunk.”
“Meat chunk?!”
It was a single remark thrown out without even glancing away from the documents.
Liya seemed so shocked by the vocabulary that she jumped up and corrected her posture.
It was only natural that the excited Liya began to confront me.
“Then, what about the brother who was captivated by his little sister’s meat chunk?!”
“I was never captivated.”
“You were! You avoided my eyes and turned red!”
“It was hard to look at such a scene.”
“……Aaargh!”
Liya clutched her head with both hands and burst into a scream at my flawless logic.
I simply chuckled and continued reading the documents.
No matter what, I couldn’t say that I had any lust for my little sister.
The honor of a noble was secondary; it was a matter that involved my dignity as a human.
Along with the peace of the Percus Family.
However, no sense of ethics would matter to the outraged Liya.
After a while of suppressing her anger, she suddenly gave a meaningful smile, as if she had thought of something good.
The pleasant weight on my thigh came moments later.
Liya threw herself into my arms.
Startled at the sudden closeness with my little sister, I couldn’t help but blurt out a reprimanding word.
“Liya, you…!”
“……Oh, what’s wrong?”
Liya intentionally pushed her backside against me, pressing her body closer.
The scent of her feminine body almost made my mind hazy.
She had just been a little over ten years old when I first saw her, but how had that little girl grown so much?
I couldn’t help but feel at a loss.
While I was dumbfounded, Liya took it a step further and pressed herself tightly against my chest. A soft sensation transmitted from beyond the thin fabric.
Chuckling, she whispered in a sweet voice.
“You said you weren’t captivated by your little sister? Was that a lie after all?”
“……Of course, that’s the truth. I am not captivated by my little sister.”
“Ah, really?”
Then Liya subtly began to rub herself against my thigh with her backside, grinning as if she had thought of something amusing.
Her soft breath brushed against my cheek.
It was a sign that Liya would soon speak.
I had no choice but to momentarily avert my gaze from that tickling breath.
“……Then, how about a bet? To see if you get excited by your little sister or not.”
Desire was rippling in Liya’s golden eyes as she made this absurd proposal.
I tried to soothe my heart, thinking that perhaps it was just a competitive spirit.
In the end, I could only sigh countless times today.
“This is sexual harassment….”
Of course, Liya didn’t care at all about my lament.
On the contrary, she even chuckled as she wrapped her arms around my neck. To anyone else, it wouldn’t be odd to mistake us for newlyweds.
With an enchanting tone, the girl delivered the final blow.
“……If I win, we’ll sleep together tonight.”
Crazy girl.
I cursed inwardly and placed my hand on my forehead.
I regretted having allowed her to complain about not being able to sleep just a while ago.
Liya, who had not been able to have time alone with her brother, was this dangerous.
She was a girl who couldn’t stand not monopolizing her brother.
The sister’s rebellion ended as quickly as it began.
It was because I couldn’t hold back and flicked Liya’s forehead.
“……Ouch!”
Tears brimmed in Liya’s eyes, who had been teasing me with an arrogant attitude. It was inevitable that the arms wrapped around my neck would loosen up.
She had to rub her now pain-inducing forehead.
As Liya glared at me with teary eyes, I deliberately made a stern expression.
“Liya, no matter how much we’re family… a maiden of marriageable age can’t act like this.”
My reprimand instantly deflated Liya.
It was rare for me to genuinely scold her.
So, she tended to treat me especially congenially. I didn’t want to scold her if I could help it.
However, there were times when it was necessary to correct mistakes if she crossed the line.
That would be the correct relationship.
Yet, even while feeling down, Liya attempted some minor rebellion.
“……I, I won’t get married.”
“You can’t know that, Liya… You don’t know how your life will unfold later.”
Liya, who said this in a small voice, looked a little gloomy.
It was a reaction that suggested she hadn’t expected to be scolded.
Ultimately, my momentum also dwindled. I quietly pulled Liya into my embrace.
“Liya, I’m sorry for not being attentive after coming back. But I truly have urgent matters to attend to… I’ll make it up to you later.”
“……Really?”
I patted Liya’s back, as if to assure her not to worry.
To be honest, Liya’s puffed-up chest was a bit suffocating. However, it was a level I could bear as a brother.
If she were a saint, it would have been hard to hug her this tightly.
Inwardly harboring impious thoughts, Liya had no way of knowing my inner feelings.
She merely acted adorably within my embrace.
“Will you really do everything I ask?”
“Of course, naturally.”
“We’ll sleep together too?”
“No, that’s a bit… If our parents find out, it would be a problem.”
It was prone to misunderstandings when a man and woman of marriageable age entered a bedroom alone.
The last time I had tried to soothe Liya to sleep was around two years ago. I remembered that I had managed to convince myself because she was still young back then.
However, Liya was now a woman on the brink of entering the Academy next year.
I was certain that being caught by our parents wouldn’t end in a mere scolding.
Not knowing my feelings, Liya pouted her lips in dissatisfaction.
“Then, drive away all the other girls except me.”
“How can I do that to a guest?”
“……Tch.”
In the end, I had to spend more time than expected soothing Liya.
At least, I was glad that she was content with just going out to the city alone with me.
It was dangerous to have been even a bit closer to Liya.
I had felt an instinctive sense of crisis when Liya rubbed against me.
With a sigh, I left the reception room.
It was now time to visit Mr. Raymond.
*
Mr. Raymond was staying at a inn.
Though a bit old, it was a building that the owner had taken care of diligently. Among the few inns in the Perkus territory, it could be considered the best.
Even so, it was somewhat lacking for a guest of the caliber of the Magic Troops of the Rainelle Clan.
I was particularly worried about how Mr. Raymond was getting along, especially considering that strict character of his.
Thinking about Senior Elsi’s precedent, Mr. Raymond must have been treated with great respect in the Rainelle Clan too.
Living in a rundown inn in a rural territory must come with its own inconveniences.
Worrying about this, my father had decided to send some of the household staff from the manor, but Mr. Raymond had firmly refused, so it didn’t go through.
At that time, I thought Mr. Raymond was being unnecessarily prideful.
But when I actually encountered Mr. Raymond in the inn, those concerns seemed almost laughable.
Mr. Raymond was sitting in the room with his robe undone. He had always been a surly man, but it was clear he looked more relaxed.
In his room, there were a few books and an old staff.
When I showed interest in the staff, Mr. Raymond added an explanation in his usual inscrutable voice.
“This is the staff I used when I was a mercenary.”
“……A mercenary?”
My eyes widened at the unexpected past.
It was common for lower nobles to work as mercenaries due to lack of funds. However, for a high-ranking noble with no shortage of money to engage in such a dangerous profession was surprising.
Mr. Raymond shook his head without a word, as if to say he had known I would think that.
“It was the impetuousness of youth… Back then, I hated being bound by family ties. After breaking off with the woman I loved, I left my family in search of freedom.”
It seemed even this wooden man had once experienced love.
If this was the extent to which a person who prized family rules would abandon everything, it must have been quite a passionate love.
Romantic tales were a popular subject among people of all ages.
I was no exception and eagerly awaited the continuing story from Mr. Raymond.
“At first, it was good, I was happy… Perhaps because of that, even now, I find inns like this to be more comfortable than splendid bedrooms. But the bond of blood is more tenacious than one might think.”
“In the end, you returned to your family.”
In response to my statement, Mr. Raymond wore a faint smirk.
It was the first expression I had seen him show.
“……On the day I went missing, my brother ran around searching everywhere. He had been known for being strict and merciless since childhood.”
It seemed Mr. Raymond had struggled to overcome that emotion.
If they were bound by such strong brotherly ties, it made sense why he would be entrusted with the Magic Troops. Furthermore, Mr. Raymond left his family, so it was unlikely he would seek power.
Perhaps Count Rainelle had been aware of this and had been searching for his brother all along.
A being known as the ‘Archmage’ was in itself a powerful force.
Of course, it was just a conjecture.
It wasn’t something for an outsider like me to comment on. However, I felt that Mr. Raymond’s gaze towards the staff was slightly different.
His eyes were laced with nostalgia.
After staring at the staff for a moment, Mr. Raymond asked straightforwardly.
“……So, what is it you want?”
I began to recite the lines I had prepared.
It was mostly based on the information Senior Neoris had gathered.
There had been a similar disappearance case ten years ago, and the rumors that had circulated back then were resurfacing, and thus, we had gone to find the Yuridina Clan’s headquarters to uncover the truth behind the rumors.
When I reached the part about encountering Miltram, Mr. Raymond nodded with an impressed expression.
He sighed softly.
“……You are worth more than the entire Rainelle Magic Troops combined.”
Most of it was thanks to Senior Neoris, so I felt a bit embarrassed.
Then Mr. Raymond took a moment to collect his thoughts before slowly beginning to speak.
“Then, of course, the Rainelle Clan should cooperate. The Emperor’s command is also there, after all. However, I do have one question…….”
It was a positive response.
Having achieved my intended goal, I secretly clenched my fist. If the Rainelle Clan’s Magic Troops helped, the search would become several times easier.
Feeling cheerful, I looked at Mr. Raymond, signaling him to ask anything.
However, the question that Mr. Raymond tossed out right after was so unexpected.
“……Do you have any intention of getting engaged to Elsi?”
My mind went completely blank.
Depending on the answer I gave, my fate with Senior Elsi could change drastically.
