What's That Supposed to Mean?

When I opened my eyes, those last words never came. What found me instead was the jolt and rattle of a carriage, and a thin scent of night slipping in to catch at the tip of my nose.

The instant I understood that the voice had been a dream, I crumpled my face into a scowl, let out a long breath, and raked a hand back through my hair.

"I know, Father. I know that now."

I muttered it under my breath, alone, and looked out the carriage window. We were already drawing up on the main house.

A dream like that, right on the heels of everything that had just happened. Maybe Father was trying to warn me. Telling me, whatever else I did, never to forget it.

"I'm not going to forget, so you can stop worrying. Really."

Who did he still take me for, some twenty-year-old kid?

I huffed a hollow laugh, pulled my mind together, and felt the carriage begin to ease off. I straightened my clothes.

Woke up at just the right time.

When the carriage finally rolled to a full stop, I opened the door myself before the coachman could reach it, stepped down, and took a look around. Word must already have reached the house. Knights and servants were waiting to receive me.

"Welcome home."

"Yeah."

"The Family Head is in his study. Shall I show you in?"

It was a reception fit for the head of the house himself — or a guest of the highest honor. The original Allen, the scoundrel who had never been shown a scrap of respect or recognition, could never have dreamed of this. This was the kind of welcome you only earned once you'd locked down your place as the next Family Head.

I still wasn't the official heir. But as the eldest son, unless I had some serious disqualification or some other intention entirely, the house was supposed to pass to me. That was the principle of the thing. And I had never given them a reason to disqualify me. If anything, I had proven what I could do.

You could see it in the way the knights treated me. The original Allen had been someone they ignored as a matter of course. The moment I appeared, they snapped to attention, formed ranks, and showed me respect — and nobody had even told them to.

I wasn't particularly moved. Next Family Head, Count, whatever. If the world ended, none of it would matter.

"…Young Master?"

"No. Never mind."

The voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I waved a hand and started walking.

"Where's Sieg?"

"The second young master is in his room. I believe he's attending to official business."

"I'll go there."

By proper etiquette I ought to have presented myself to Father first, offered my greetings, and shown my face to say I'd returned safely. Not this time. And not a single person questioned the decision. That, in a nutshell, was how much authority a Count's house carried.

"The rest of you, go get some rest."

"You've worked hard, Young Master."

I waved off the servants and knights as they bowed and offered their respects, and made my way over at an unhurried pace. Just as I'd been told, a faint light was leaking from Sieg's room. He was still at work.

I shoved his door open without knocking and stepped inside, a small smile on my face.

"…Brother. You've arrived."

"You're no fun."

"It isn't as though this is the first or second time you've walked in like this."

"Oh, so you do know how to be sarcastic."

I grinned at that and dragged a chair over to sit across from him. Sieg had been working by the flame of a small artifact. His blue eyes lifted to me.

"To put it in the words you're always using, Brother — that isn't sarcasm. That's a fact."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure it is."

I glanced for a moment at the artifact, its flame fed by a magic stone, then shrugged and leaned back against the chair.

"So what brings you here? If this is about what happened at the banquet, I'm already handling it."

"Word sure travels fast."

"Mouths have always been faster than feet."

Honestly. You had to hand it to noble mouths — they leaked like sieves.

"And? How did it go?"

"How do you think it went? Lady Elina is weeping and wailing up a storm, and the young lords are falling over themselves trying to calm her down."

"Not that. Can you handle it?"

Whatever became of Elina — whether those men came looking for me with fire in their eyes — was none of my business. I had already confirmed, all over again, that that whole side of things was beyond saving. There was no reason to cling to it.

Sieg caught my meaning soon enough and gave a light nod.

"They won't be reckless enough to come after us directly. A scandal like that does neither side any good. However…"

"Father?"

"Yes. There's no helping it reaching the Family Head's ears."

"I've got a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way to deal with that."

It was a collision I was going to have to have sooner or later anyway.

"Understood."

"Ah. Right."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been about to stand when I realized I'd left something unsaid, and went on in the same even tone.

"You be the Family Head."

"Brother, is there something about the Family Head that doesn't sit well with you?"

"What's that supposed to mean all of a sudden?"

"…That is a request to depose the Family Head and seize the seat for yourself, is it not?"

Same calm face as mine. And out of that face, Sieg dropped a statement of that magnitude. I blinked at him, stunned.

"When did I ever say that?"

"I simply assumed that was what you meant."

This kid was more dangerous than I was.

I let out a hollow laugh at how casually he'd said it and shook my head.

"That's not it. I mean the next Family Head shouldn't be me. It should be you."

"…Brother."

His blue eyes settled, gone low and still, and fixed on me. I met that unreadable look without flinching. Sieg let out a small breath and went on, slowly.

"I can barely manage looking at what's right in front of me. Some days I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can hardly live through today, never mind tomorrow — and yet there are times, Brother, when it feels as though you're staring at something very far away."

He wasn't wrong. I had been moving, from the moment I possessed this world, to stop a destruction that would come in a distant future. But I couldn't tell him that, so I simply waited, even and quiet, for him to finish.

"What you say has generally been right, so I have always believed you."

"…"

"I don't know if I can this time. Compared to you, I'm lacking."

"Sieg."

There was something in his eyes I didn't usually see. Fear. He had always handled whatever he was given, diligently and well. Maybe that was why I had assumed, this time too, that he would manage.

"Everyone has something they're meant to do. You've got a real gift for leading this house. I'm just doing something else. If anything, you'll be better at it than I am."

Sieg. In the original story, he was the one who had taken the Count's house and led it brilliantly in place of Allen the scoundrel. Allen had torn through every disaster he could find and dragged the family's name through the mud, and Sieg had still, somehow, hauled House Dehvert back up again. Unlike me, scrambling and straining to change things by leaning on what I knew of the original plot.

I smiled a little and rose slowly to my feet.

"Like you said. I'm running toward something very far away."

The end of the world. And beyond that.

I turned my gaze aside, toward the faint message window hovering at the edge of my vision, and let out a small breath.

I pulled my eyes from it and looked at Sieg, who was watching me from right in front of me.

"So there are times I can't even tell if I'm moving forward or backward."

"…"

"When that happens, I need you to help me, Sieg. You're one of the few people I can trust."

"Even you say weak things sometimes, Brother."

A small smile. His face was easier than it had been a moment ago. I smiled back and nodded.

"Well. I'm human too."

"Human… I see."

"I will actually kill you."

I gave his head a light tap as he snickered, then turned my back without a shred of lingering attachment.

"I'll do my best."

"You don't have to do your best that hard. If you collapse, we're in real trouble."

I was about to leave when I stopped with my hand on the doorknob. What time was it, anyway? I glanced toward the window, then caught Sieg in the corner of my eye already reaching for the documents again, and let out a small breath.

That, I thought, was the real problem.

The thought had barely formed before I flicked my hand lightly through the air.

Crack!

I used aura to smash the light-giving artifact cleanly to pieces, then looked toward Sieg in the darkened room.

"Go to sleep. You won't grow any taller."

"Brother, do you have any idea how much that costs…!"

"Nope."

This brat, honestly. Stay up late and you don't grow.

I let Sieg's voice go in one ear and out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the other, and smiled quietly to myself. My little brother's health mattered more than some artifact.