From the early dawn, even though I was drinking, my father did not blame me.
He only suggested that we walk a little so I wouldn’t smell of alcohol.
I walked silently with my father away from the manor.
The street was crowded with people wearing anxious faces. They were all making shabby bundles of luggage.
Even though they lived in the city center, they were residents of the rural territory.
Their belongings were nothing worth mentioning.
Yet, each of those items carried the sweat and bl**d of their lives. Unable to abandon them, they had to wear sorrowful expressions.
They must have wanted to leave while grasping the traces of their lives.
But the time left for that was far too short.
Whenever my father would take a stroll, crowds would usually gather.
His kindness meant that he never looked down on commoners.
At times, he would even take the lead to help solve their troubles. Because of that, the territory residents respected and liked him, and I too grew up receiving love from many people since my childhood.
However, those friendly neighbors now seemed to be struggling to even take care of themselves.
Some of the territory residents who caught a glimpse of us came to greet us in surprise, but my father blocked them with a bitter smile.
He had no intention of stealing the little time we already had.
My father must have meant to stop them for that reason.
Thanks to that, I was able to have a peaceful walk with my father after a long time.
Although I could hear whispers about the faint smell of alcohol coming from me a few times.
I had been training in swordsmanship since dawn.
It was rare for me to drink in the morning, and if I ever did, I had never let it slip outside.
It would have been no surprise for everyone to react as if they found it unexpected.
But, I knew it wasn’t as disturbing as the situation they were in.
Thinking of that, my expression turned gloomy by itself, and it was then that my father finally spoke up.
“…Is it very hard?”
“What do you mean?”
The words that slipped out of my mouth were only sulky.
Even if I was scolded for being rude, I had no retort.
I wasn’t someone who didn’t understand my father’s intentions, but perhaps because of last night’s events, my head was a mess.
Liya said she had no memory before coming to the manor.
Asking when wouldn’t even make sense.
Because she said it had always been that way.
Only I among the family didn’t know about that important matter.
So I didn’t harbor any doubts even when I saw Miltram, who looked like Liya.
I simply thought there was something strange.
That point made me feel both upset and uncomfortable, so during this rare father-son time, my expression showed no signs of relaxing.
Whether my father knew that or not, he only wore a lonely expression.
“What can we do, it’s fate… We have to think of it as destiny.”
Once again, I became emotional at the mention of the word “destiny.”
Both Miltram and my father.
Lately, I had heard that word so often that my voice grew a little warmer.
“…Aren’t you feeling wronged?”
My father’s eyes turned to me at my counter-question.
Those golden eyes, once ablaze, were now weary from the storms of time.
Seeing that dim ember in his gaze, my emotions deepened even more.
“If you’re a noble, you should protect your territory! But now we have to leave as if we’re being chased, unable to protect either the territory or the residents…”
“That is impossible.”
It was just a single word.
However, within that short utterance, there was an inexplicable weight that made my mouth shut instinctively.
My father’s gaze was unwavering.
“And that’s why it’s called destiny. If you cling to the impossible and hope for a miracle, a human makes mistakes and becomes miserable… You shouldn’t go against destiny.”
“So are we abandoning the territory?”
“Otherwise, what can we do?”
My father asked me in a low voice as if soothing a tantrum-throwing child.
All I could do was chew my lips.
Perhaps due to the alcohol, my thoughts were somewhat emotional.
“If we gather our strength somehow…”
“A noble family is not a volunteer organization, I-an… What reason is there for the Rainelle Clan to support a magic troop for a territory they don’t even know? The same goes for the Yuridina Clan.”
Every argument that followed was valid.
In fact, discussions about the Yuridina Clan’s soldiers had already been concluded with Senior Delphine, but even in such hopeless situations, we couldn’t seek help.
The retinue of the Dark Cult was a formidable enemy.
With a thousand soldiers, we couldn’t recklessly oppose them.
Although it was frustrating, Miltram was right.
It was insufficient to crush the plans that the Dark Cult had toiled over for over ten years.
At the very least, the elite forces of the Empire’s central army had to intervene.
“And as you know, our Percus family is quite modest. Except for you, there isn’t even a proper knight… If we can’t stop it, we have to minimize the damage.”
“…Hundreds will d*e and be injured.”
“Not just hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands might d*e.”
With that, my father let out a deep sigh.
It seemed that my father’s heart wasn’t exactly at ease while saying that.
Well, that was to be expected.
He was the one who had to make the most painful choices as a noble.
“Anyway, you will find your way out on your own, but remember this: Nobles must always make choices, and be prepared to bear the responsibilities that come with them. A wrong choice always comes with a price… I do not wish to make such foolish errors again.”
My father’s face looked quite desolate.
Perhaps it was due to his sense of helplessness, or maybe because he recalled a sad past.
I merely felt the words “wrong choice” unexpectedly embed themselves in my mind.
Looking back, my father had warned me before departing to hunt down Miltram.
Not to be deceived by the Dark Cult.
At the time, I had thought it was just common advice from a father.
But after hearing the stories of Miltram and Liya in succession, I couldn’t help but harbor a strange suspicion.
An impulsive question escaped my lips.
“What about my sister?”
It was an abrupt question.
My father looked at me with a bewildered expression. He followed up with a natural counter-question.
“…What do you mean?”
“I mean Liya, she said she has no memory before coming to the manor.”
Even after hearing my explanation, my father remained silent.
He stared at me blankly for quite some time before he finally turned his head away.
He let slip a standard excuse.
“Maybe it’s because she was seriously ill in her childhood, so don’t worry too much…”
“What about the dark priest?”
It seemed that this was news even my father hadn’t heard before.
It was information that had been kept secret even among our party, so it made sense.
There was nothing good to gain from revealing it to Liya, so it was a story I had kept hidden.
But now, when it was just the two of us, it was something that had to be communicated.
Additionally, there were still parts I needed to probe into.
“That dark priest looked just like Liya.”
Even with that shocking statement, my father didn’t turn his gaze to me.
He merely let out a faint sigh and lowered his head.
In a grave voice, he asked,
“…Are you sure you weren’t mistaken?”
“There’s no way, it wasn’t even someone similar… It was Liya herself.”
Of course, she didn’t have a mole on her collarbone, but I wasn’t willing to mention that detail.
It would be like confessing that an older brother knew about his younger sister’s collarbone mole. I would only end up hearing that it was disgusting from others.
Perhaps she didn’t know. Maybe Liya would like it a bit.
That’s how special the family bond was.
The fact that my sister had a secret I didn’t even know about was unbearable.
I had to ask my father again in a weary voice.
“Father, what on earth is going on… Why can the Dark Cult create a replica of Liya?”
My father, who had been standing still, finally squeezed his eyes shut.
After hesitating for a while, he spoke in a hushed tone.
“…It’s not something to discuss on the street.”
It meant it wasn’t something appropriate for the public.
If it were a story that could be openly told, there would have been no need to keep it a secret in the first place.
I obediently followed my father as we walked.
We turned down the street and headed back to the manor.
Only when we reached the rarely visited backyard of the manor did my father stop walking.
His expression seemed melancholic and lonely.
Even the servants who came out to greet us seemed to flinch and step aside.
The conversation between my father and me had already long ceased.
I only hoped my father would gather his thoughts and tell me the truth.
It was a secret that couldn’t be hidden any longer.
Fortunately, it seemed my father had come to a similar conclusion.
After a long sigh, he revealed the family’s secret.
“…Liya is not your sister.”
I had expected that to some degree.
Yet, the moment I heard those words, my heart seemed to stop with a thud.
I opened my mouth wanting to say something, but then closed it again.
No appropriate words came to mind.
I didn’t know what to say or what feelings to express.
With a troubled expression, my father began to unfold the story to me.
“To be precise, one could say she is genetically identical to your sister… I didn’t want to hide it from you. However, you and Liya seemed particularly close in your childhood…”
It was then that something fell with a light thud.
Both my father and I turned around with a start, realizing it was a mistake to choose the backyard as a place to talk so as not to break the serious atmosphere.
There was someone who would usually come around with a wet towel when I returned from a stroll.
The protagonist of that story was standing right behind me.
With black hair that fell well beyond her waist and golden eyes that looked as if they were made by melting down gold bars.
It was my sister, Liya.
Her face turned pale, as if she were unaware of the secret.
Neither my father nor I could say anything, both of us shocked.
As the silence lingered among the three of us in the backyard, Liya finally stumbled over her words.
“D-di-di…”
With a sorrowful expression, my father bowed his head, and I placed my hand on my forehead.
I felt like cursing inwardly.
I couldn’t even imagine what Liya was feeling right now.
“…Is it true?!”
Indeed, I could hardly imagine.
Hearing Liya’s voice suddenly filled with excitement, both my father and I were left dumbfounded.
The gazes of the two of us, filled with disbelief, turned towards Liya.
But no matter how much we looked, there was no sign of sadness on Liya’s face.
Rather, her eyes sparkled with an inexplicable liveliness as she asked the question.
After the silence, all I could do was ask back in bewilderment.
“…Why are you happy about that?”
Liya seemed quite pleased that we weren’t biological siblings.
What a pity it was.
