Not everyone grows old and passes away after living out their full life.
Some die in accidents,some are torn apart by monsters,some are killed by fellow humans,or starve to death.
Among all these deaths, there’s one that surpasses them in number: disease.
Many in the empire succumb to mysterious illnesses.
Iden, Emily’s younger brother, was one of them.
“Big sister, you’re here?”
Iden, lying in bed, opened his pale eyes and asked Emily.
“…Yeah. I’m back.”
Emily gently took Iden’s hand. Her warm touch covered his icy-cold palm, bringing a fleeting warmth to Iden’s chilled body.
Iden smiled faintly and said,
“…Just run away.”“Not gonna happen.”
Iden’s eyebrows furrowed at her firm reply.
“It’s not worth it because of me…”“Yeah, it is. Because of you.”
Her blunt statement caught Sirius’ attention from the side.
Though harsh, Emily’s next words softened its edge.
“So get better quickly. Iden, you need to get healthy so I can relax and go play.”
“…Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
“Sorry.” It was what Iden always told Emily.
Emily hated hearing it.
It wasn’t that she disliked Iden—it was that whenever she heard those words, ugly thoughts would creep into her mind, making her feel ashamed of herself.
Lost in thought, Emily snapped back as Iden turned his gaze to Sirius.
“Who’s this person?”“My… no, friend.”
“Friend?”
Since Iden fell ill, Emily hadn’t used the word “friend.” She’d cut ties with all her village friends.
They could sense it even if she never explicitly said anything—no one had visited in the past year or two, starting from the day Iden first took to bed.
But now, suddenly, a friend?
Iden squinted, trying to focus on Sirius through blurred vision.
His failing health made focusing difficult despite straining his eyes.
If only… If only they’d come closer…
At that moment,
Swish—
Sirius leaned close to Iden’s bedside.
The blurry image gradually sharpened, allowing Iden to finally see Sirius clearly.
After observing for a while, Iden quietly remarked,
“She’s pretty. Doesn’t really match you, sis.”
“Hey!”
Emily flared up, but Iden chuckled softly, amused.
Watching this exchange, Sirius thought,This is what siblings are like, huh?
Parents, siblings, brothers, sisters—things she’d only read about in books.
Now she was witnessing sibling dynamics firsthand.
Even though Emily scolded and Iden teased, neither action was negative—they both had smiles tugging at their lips.
Because they were positive signals, ones Sirius had learned to recognize.
As she watched them, another word embedded itself in Sirius’ mind:
Siblings. Emily and Iden.
—
Bubble bubble. The sound of something boiling reached Sirius’ ears.
Steam rose from the white broth, wafting directly toward her nose.
A smell entirely new to her—and good.
When Emily finished cooking, she carefully ladled it into a small bowl and placed it on the table.
Pointing at it with a finger, Sirius asked,
“What’s this called?”“What’s this called?”
Emily blinked in surprise.
She doesn’t know what soup is?Now Emily understood why Sirius had been staring earlier.
“It’s called soup.”“…Soup?”“Yeah, soup.”
Emily cautiously demonstrated how to eat it, worried Sirius might burn herself.
“You have to blow on it like this—hoo!—before eating. Otherwise, it’s too hot.”
Following Emily’s instructions, Sirius carefully scooped up some soup with a spoon and blew on it like extinguishing birthday candles.
Hooo—
Unlike candles, the soup needed several rounds of blowing before cooling.
To Sirius, who’d only ever eaten bread and crops, soup seemed inconvenient.
You had to wait for the heat to subside, which felt tedious.
Of course, compared to monster meat, it was undoubtedly better.
After blowing a few times, Sirius finally took a sip.
And simply said,
“…It’s delicious.”
Her eyes widened slightly at the unfamiliar yet pleasant taste.
“Tasty, right? Mom taught me! She was amazing at cooking!”
Excited by the compliment, Emily beamed brightly.
Soup was Emily’s favorite dish—and the one she was most confident in.
Back when her parents were still alive, her mom often made soup.
Emily loved the soups her mother prepared so much that she even asked to learn how to make it, despite not being particularly interested in cooking at the time.
Back then, she didn’t realize it would be the first and last recipe she’d learn from her mom.
Thinking about it now could make her sad, but instead, Emily smiled happily.
Because her mom’s soup was the best and most precious thing in the world.
That’s just how Emily’s world worked.
No matter how bleak things got, she tried to maintain an optimistic outlook without showing it outwardly.
Even when dark thoughts nibbled at her, she eventually cleared them away.
In her eyes,
“I’ll bring some to Iden too!”
The world was beautiful.
Nothing could tarnish her view of it—not when she shone so brightly, like the girl Sirius saw in the field.
Even if tragedy struck, Emily would continue to shine.
Like stars illuminating the night sky.
Radiantly.
“IDEN!!!”
Interrupting her thoughts, Emily’s desperate cry echoed through the house. Sirius, who’d been eating in the kitchen, put down her spoon and rushed to where Emily was.
“I said, snap out of it! Wake up! Come on, wake up!”
When Sirius arrived, Emily was violently shaking Iden.
Gripping his shoulders tightly, she shouted his name over and over.
Iden… Iden… Iden…
No matter how many times she called, his eyes wouldn’t open.
“Please… Please wake up! PLEASE… Hiccup…”
Tears finally burst forth, streaming down her cheeks and falling onto Iden’s face.
Thud. Thud. Droplets hit his skin.
This scene reminded Sirius of what she’d witnessed in LaBrana.
Each time someone passed away, everyone cried like this.
Sadness.
It was sadness.
Regaining her composure, Sirius bolted outside.
She scanned the area quickly and spotted the elderly man she’d met earlier walking between buildings in the distance.
She sprinted. Pushed herself faster and faster.
Thump!
Finally catching up, she grabbed the old man by the shoulder.
“You, you’re… ”“It’s Iden. He’s sick.”
Those two words from Sirius caused the old man’s eyes to widen.
—
Deep into the night, Dr. Brisel hurriedly arrived at the Flaplania residence by carriage and examined Iden.
He checked the boy’s wrist and leaned in close to his nose before turning to Emily.
“Based on his breathing, he’s still alive.”
Thud—
Relieved, Emily collapsed onto the floor.
“However, the situation remains critical.”
With trembling eyes, Emily looked up at the doctor.
“The symptoms have worsened despite the medicine I’ve prescribed multiple times. At this rate… he won’t last long.”
“Is… is there truly nothing else we can do?”
Faced with Emily’s earnest question, the doctor remained silent.
“No… There’s nothing we can do… Really nothing…”
Brisel felt a dagger pierce his heart as he looked at Emily.
Though he knew it wasn’t his fault, guilt still weighed heavily on him.
The feeling of helplessness compounded his pain as Brisel wrestled with the reality of watching people die despite dedicating himself to saving lives.
Every time he observed someone on the brink of death, all he could offer their family was the cold truth: there was no other treatment available.
Being a healer meant frequently feeling like a judge of hell, robbing others of life rather than giving it.
Yet, what could changing that accomplish?
Reality didn’t bend to anger or frustration.
Brisel knew this fact well, which only added to his frustration.
Don’t worry; he’ll definitely survive.
That’s what he wanted to say. That’s the kind of doctor he aimed to be.
Unfortunately, reality wasn’t so forgiving.
Irresponsible promises always came back to haunt him later, exacting their price.
Thus, Brisel couldn’t afford to make such empty assurances anymore.
Unless there was a real solution, offering false hope would only add insult to injury.
So he prayed.
Even though doctors in the empire typically didn’t believe in gods, Brisel wished for a miracle now more than ever.
‘…Miracle.’
Suddenly, he recalled something a colleague mentioned at a recent medical conference.
‘If that were true…’
Closing his eyes, Brisel pondered deeply before addressing Emily.
“Miss Emily.”“…Yes?”“I have a proposal for you.”
