Toward the Capital (2)
The Empire’s capital, home to the Academy, lay a considerable distance from Everhart territory.
It was an inconvenient stretch for coming and going, so there was a great deal to prepare before departing for the Capital. Of course, the servants handled most of it, so I rarely needed to lift a finger myself.
But there was one thing I had to collect with my own hands.
“So this is the place.”
The Everhart manor defied ordinary imagination. Calling it a typical noble residence was absurd—it was simply too vast. The sheer scale alone made the family’s power and influence easy to grasp.
A manor of that size naturally held a staggering number of rooms. The one I sought now sat tucked away in a neglected corner of the estate: a bedroom long left to itself.
Creeeak.
When I opened the door, the first thing that greeted me was the dust drifting lazily through the air.
A place that had never been cleaned—never even properly aired out. I pressed a handkerchief over my mouth and stepped inside.
“Hm.”
The floating motes settled against my skin, and disgust surged up through me in an instant. Apparently, the original Sirius had suffered from a severe case of mysophobia.
“Over something this trivial.”
At the same time, a faint irritation rose. That one was mine.
“As if this could stop me.”
A flood of sensations from the body seized at my ankles, trying to hold me back. It was almost funny. That mere dust could provoke such a fierce compulsion—
“I can’t even laugh.”
I forced down the urge to claw at my own skin and kept walking, searching through the dust-choked room.
It did not take long.
“Found it.”
A brown teddy bear roughly the size of a human torso sat neatly arranged on a shelf.
“Condition’s fine.”
I lifted the dust-covered thing into my hands. Revulsion flared, but it was manageable. My mind was beginning, little by little, to swallow Sirius’s flesh whole.
With the prize secured, I returned to my own chambers and packed the bear carefully into a box. Looking down at the meticulously wrapped package, a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth of its own accord.
“I look forward to this.”
The one who needed this teddy bear was in the Capital—the young lady who had fled the Everhart family after years of persecution. The protagonist of the author’s other work, I Abandoned My Family and Got Obsessed Over.
“I hope she likes it.”
I closed my eyes and recalled the girl from the original story, the one who had suffered insomnia every single night. That young lady had always longed for the teddy bear she left behind in her room.
Brother.
May this small gift of mine ease her into peaceful sleep at last.
Before Sirius left for the Academy, a knight came to the family head’s study.
“What is it?”
“The results of the investigation into Young Master Sirius, as you ordered last time, my lord.”
The duke set down his fountain pen and regarded the knight in silence. Interpreting that gaze as he pleased, the knight laid the report on the desk and began to speak.
“According to our findings, Young Master Sirius—”
A dismissive wave of the hand cut him off.
“Enough. I don’t need the report.”
The knight gaped.
“Pardon?”
Ordinarily, the duke hated being questioned. But he was in a good mood today, and so he let it pass without reprimand.
“As if that boy would ever use a heretic’s power.”
The duke smiled faintly.
“Ah—y-yes, of course, my lord.”
Sweat beaded on the knight’s brow at the unfamiliar sight. He had served the man for years and had never once seen him smile. The fact alone stirred a thin edge of fear.
Tap. Tap.
The duke drummed his fountain pen against the desk and stared into empty air, thinking of his youngest son—the one who had spent so long concealing his strength.
“Perhaps my faith was lacking.”
“My lord?!”
The knight’s eyes flew wide again. Self-reproach, from the mouth of the Everhart duke, famous for his arrogance?
“Sirius has been hiding his power. No one noticed.”
“Ah—yes, that’s correct.”
“He understood even as a child what his half-brothers would do if he ever revealed his talent.”
The duke laughed as if the thought amused him.
“Isn’t it fascinating?”
“Pardon? Ah—yes. Young Master Sirius is that clever—”
“No. That isn’t what I meant.”
The duke turned his gaze to the window. A cloudless, brilliant sky filled his sight.
“He has finally begun to show the ability he kept buried for so long. Because he is certain now that no one can stand in his way.”
Still smiling, the duke went on.
“Killing Azehar was only the beginning. From here, he will cut down countless throats. Even if bloodstained hands drag at his ankles, he will not stop.”
The air in the study grew thick. The duke’s eyes flashed. In the empty space before him, he saw Sirius carving a path painted in blood.
“The Sirius we knew is gone. He has changed completely—enough that one could believe he was another person entirely.”
At that, the knight glanced at the report he had brought and ventured carefully,
“That… could it not truly be another person, my lord? Some possession technique the heretics use, or—”
“Ha.”
A soft laugh cut him short. The duke sneered—not at the knight, but at the sheer absurdity of the suggestion.
“Rosenthal. Did you not see it? The cold flame burning in those eyes.”
Once more the duke recalled it: the insolent youngest son who had met his killing intent without so much as a flicker of expression—and whom, somehow, he could not bring himself to hate.
“That was Everhart’s.”
Duke Ares of Everhart knew better than anyone that the heretics who worshipped otherworldly beings could never seize an Everhart body with their sorcery.
“A filthy soul could never imitate it.”
Eyes full of family pride, prejudice, and arrogance turned on Rosenthal.
“It is a noble flame only an Everhart—a descendant of the Hero—can kindle.”
“…Is that so, my lord?”
Under that fierce gaze, the knight could only bow his head.
“So your worries are wasted.”
Duke Ares spoke with absolute certainty.
“That boy is unmistakably an Everhart.”
He thought of the son who had transformed overnight. Sirius no longer called him Father—and the duke found that immensely pleasing. Being swept up in petty personal affection was the thing he despised most.
“I’ll vouch for him myself.”
Azehar, Evankal—those two understood nothing. Every time they called him Father, it set his teeth on edge. The way they leaned on the trivial bonds of family struck him as utterly pathetic.
“He’s far better than the other two.”
“…It’s true that these days, even among the Iron-Blooded Knights, some have begun to look up to Young Master Sirius.”
“Of course they have.”
“…”
“An Everhart should inspire nothing less.”
Senior Knight Rosenthal stared blankly at his master. He had stood at the duke’s side for years and had never once seen him like this—that the man as cold and merciless as a sheet of ice could wear such a smile.
And at the same time, fear took root.
If Sirius ever failed to meet the duke’s expectations…
I’d rather not imagine it.
Rosenthal was certain of one thing. The moment disappointment clouded that expectant face, Sirius would meet an end more terrible than anything else imaginable.
Well-paved roads, people laughing freely, a city humming with life—this was the Empire’s capital.
“Albert! I want that!”
“I shall purchase it at once.”
“Mm-hm!”
Olivia tipped her face to the sky and smiled brightly. The rare outing seemed to have put her in excellent spirits.
“Here you are.”
“Thank you!”
Albert held out the ice cream with his bandaged hand.
“Mmm. It’s delicious!!”
Olivia licked at the treat as she wandered the street—but a single ice cream was never going to be enough. Every stall she passed seized her attention: cotton candy, skewers, and more.
“Albert! Please!!”
In the end she asked him to buy everything. She didn’t know how he managed it, but Albert always returned with food at remarkable speed, so she defaulted to asking him. Of course, had she known he used underhanded methods that inconvenienced others, she never would have…
“Huh?”
Then, mid-stroll, Olivia spotted something and her eyes went round.
A girl stood staring blankly through the glass of a doll shop. Olivia’s gaze locked onto her.
“That girl… I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere.”
Albert, following a step behind, leaned in and murmured,
“Aris Everhart. Young Master Sirius’s younger sister.”
Olivia jolted.
“What? Siu’s little sister? That adorable girl?! Wait—he has a sister?! Why didn’t I know?”
“Due to complicated circumstances, she left the family and is studying in the Capital under the patronage of Marquis Franz.”
“Huh? A child that small?”
“She is not to be underestimated. Aris Everhart is a genius who entered the Academy early and skipped grades. And she is not quite as young as she looks.”
Olivia nodded as if she understood—then promptly looked confused again.
“The Academy has grade-skipping?”
Albert adjusted his monocle.
“It exists officially. No one manages it, however.”
“Because it’s that hard?”
“Precisely.”
Olivia regarded the girl with open fascination.
“Heeh…”
That tiny girl was a genius capable of skipping grades at the Imperial Academy. Wouldn’t it be nice to become friends? She was about to approach and strike up a conversation when—
“Aris. What are you staring at so hard?”
Someone else reached her first. Aris turned her head with cool indifference.
“…Nothing.”
Even her chilly response could not erase the man’s easygoing smile. He followed her line of sight to the window display, then spoke again.
“Want me to buy it? You want that one, don’t you?”
“I don’t need it.”
“Doesn’t look that way to me.”
“Shut up.”
Under Aris’s sharp glare, he only shrugged.
“Fine. Then let’s go. Your brother is waiting.”
He held out his hand. Aris merely looked at it.
“…”
“Still shy, are you?”
“Shut your mouth.”
A chill bled into her voice.
“I just find the idea of touching the likes of you unpleasant.”
“All right, all right. I won’t take your hand. Just come along.”
“And stop acting like my brother. It’s disgusting.”
“Honestly. Every last Everhart has a mouth on them.”
With that, the two of them walked away.
“Who was that? Who did she leave with?”
Olivia’s muttering was answered by Albert, who knew noble society well.
“The second son of Marquis Franz.”
“Is that so?”
That aside, something else was nagging at Olivia.
What was she staring at this whole time?
Olivia was not the sort to sit on her curiosity.
Ughii!! I can’t stand not knowing!
She darted to the glass and pressed her face close to see what was inside.
A teddy bear?
On display beyond the window was a teddy bear about the size of a human torso. Olivia’s eyes sparkled at the adorable thing.
“Albert! I want to buy this!”
“A teddy bear… are you serious?”
At his question, Olivia flashed a silly grin.
“Ehehe! If I give it to her when we meet at the Academy, she’ll like it, right?”
Her head was already full of plans to befriend her fiancé’s little sister.