The Iron-Blooded Empress (6)
Piel had never known how to keep up appearances, not even in front of her older brother, the young lord. She fixed Kael with a hard stare, then dropped heavily onto the guest sofa in his office.
"I'll pour you a drink."
The giant's voice was unexpectedly gentle, soft in a way that did not match his frame. His face remained expressionless, yet the tone carried a clear affection for his younger sister.
When she nodded, Kael brought over an antique oak cask and filled a glass.
— Clink.
A thick glass of juice settled onto the table. It was mandarin juice, one of Bayorn territory's specialty products.
The girl's mouth twisted into a full pout. What? "I'll pour you a drink"? Making a production out of serving juice, of all things.
"Fuck, this isn't alcohol."
"You're sixteen, Piel. Wait one more year. As the young lady of Bayorn, you ought to maintain some dignity."
"Don't make me laugh. Who the hell are you to lecture me about dignity?"
The younger sister's voice cut sharp as she rebuked her brother. Only three years separated them, yet she was ferocious without restraint. From the start, the only people Piel ever showed courtesy to were her parents and her liege, the Grand Duke of the North.
Above all, her older brother—the young lord—was a beast wearing human skin. Piel saw no reason to waste manners on an animal.
The one who had always endured such vicious criticism, however, only looked surprised.
"I don't know why, but your speech has grown much softer."
He meant it. In the past she had spat every variety of curse imaginable—this bastard, that bastard, every kind of bastard under the sun.
"As far as I know, the Magic Tower doesn't teach etiquette or character at all…"
"…Cut the bullshit. What are you trying to say?"
Kael nodded at his sister's interruption. In the three years since she had reunited with their mother, Piel seemed to have grown more thoughtful. Was his own blood finally starting to mature?
Yet the reason her curses toward her brother had lessened was nothing so wholesome. Kael did not seem entirely unaware either; the corners of his eyes slowly narrowed.
"I plan to join the Hero's party soon."
The announcement caught her completely off guard. Her brother had never been a man of great ambition. More than that—this man who was obsessed with his own mother was going to leave his post for years? And join the Hero on a journey that would be anything but easy…
Even cool-headed Piel could not hide her agitation at her blood relative's plans. The hand that had been about to lift the juice froze mid-air.
"What kind of scheme is this…?"
"It's no scheme. It's for the family."
For the family? Did he mean he would work to help the provincial House of Bayorn advance into the Imperial Capital? But that would bring more harm than good.
The capital nobles were a breed obsessed with tearing others down and keeping them in check. The Imperial Capital was the very heart of power, so it was only natural. Even if things somehow went well, it would only mean endless headaches.
For Piel, who aimed to become a martial officer, nothing could be more bothersome. And if the eyes of the Empire fixed on a remote provincial territory…
The chances of Mother's existence being discovered would rise.
If high-ranking nobles set their sights on their mother, not only House Bayorn but the people of the territory would find themselves in a difficult position.
Relying on the Grand Duke of the North's protection was one option, yet the Grand Duke himself was merely another man who coveted their mother. Besides, the fact that her existence had never been reported to the capital was strange in itself.
Was it so that he could monopolize her once their father was gone, or did he have some other design?
Unlike their straightforward, simple-hearted father, he was a man whose depths could not be read. From Piel's position he was someone to whom she owed loyalty, yet not knowing her liege's true intentions left her uneasy.
Therefore, in Piel's judgment, her brother's actions sprang less from concern for the family than from personal greed. She still did not understand why he would do such a thing, but for now she had to stop her brother from chasing this impossible desire.
"For the family? You sure this isn't just for your own selfish ends?"
"I'm serious. If things continue like this, it will become dangerous in many ways."
"…Dangerous how?"
The young lord gave no answer to his sister's puzzled look. He only stared at the office wall with seething eyes.
Heat began to rise slowly in the beast's blue gaze. The intense killing intent that bloomed there seemed directed at someone on the other side of that wall.
Someone with sharp senses would have no trouble reading her brother's intent. The space beyond that wall was the office of their father, Viscount Bayorn.
"Y-you're serious, Kael?"
"Yes… Even if I don't want it, time will force the issue eventually."
"You fucking incestuous bastard, what do you mean you don't want it? Just endure it and move on! Even little kids know that husbands and wives have that kind of relationship."
"True. To everyone else it's natural and obvious. But not to me. It's like I was robbed of my woman from the moment I was born."
It was the deranged logic of a beast. — Bang! Unable to listen any longer, Piel slammed her fist down on the table. The thick marble desk split cleanly in half under the girl's monstrous strength.
"I knew you were insane, but I never thought it was this bad."
"Piel, your brother isn't exactly happy about it either."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"I was born different from other people."
"No, ha… fuck!"
Piel glared at her brother, veins standing out on her neck. Yet because they shared the same blood, the words "born different from other people" carried a faint note of pity as well.
"Fine, so you're a lunatic… but can't you just accept it and live? I'm younger than you, but I still know the difference between what a human should and shouldn't do."
"If that were possible, I wouldn't be telling you any of this."
"…What?"
"The urges that come every night grow stronger by the day. Considering my current state, it wouldn't be strange if I caused an incident at any moment."
— Crack!
A fist burning with fury smashed into the young lord's cheek. The impact was nothing like the playful taps the Queen of the Mandarin Trees sometimes gave his face. A blue bruise swelled on the giant's cheek, hardened by hellish training.
— Swish.
Kael simply wiped the blood away with a handkerchief as if nothing had happened. It was not that it did not hurt. It was not that he felt nothing. But their mother's words always echoed in his mind, so the young lord could not raise a hand against his sister.
Your sister Piel is like another part of you. As her older brother, you must cherish and protect her.
"What the hell are you planning to do to the parents who raised you?"
Yet the feelings Piel held toward Kael were far from tender.
As time passed, only revulsion filled the girl's blue eyes.
And now that it had come to this, she understood perfectly why her brother wanted to leave.
Her older brother had long since faced the truth that he himself was a monster who would destroy the family.
"You crazy fucking psycho."
Kael did not deny his sister's condemnation. There was nothing wrong with the words. He simply nodded calmly, expression cold.
"So what—are you going on this journey to go independent and never come back? Or are you going to get your head straight and return?"
"I just want to confirm something. Whether I can give her up or not."
— Crack!
The man's head snapped to the side. This time the fist struck the opposite cheek.
"What the fuck is 'her'? That's your mother, you rude piece of shit."
Even though they were blood, she considered him a beast, so beating him was not difficult at all. Ugly purple blossoms of bruises bloomed across both of the man's cheeks.
His face throbbed, yet he did not shift from his chair. As young lord and older brother, he had to be able to state his position without shame. In barbarian society, the weak were never treated as superiors.
"Just go die out there. Get killed by the Demon King or some demon and never come back."
"…That might not be so bad either."
He was far too calm about his own death. Piel raised her fist again, then stopped. The bastard did not truly wish to die, and if she hit him too hard she would have no excuse left for their mother.
"Why tell me all this? So I'll beat you to death if you come back still out of your mind?"
"That's not it."
"Then what?"
"Because when I'm gone, you're the only one who can protect Mother."
"Father's here, isn't he?"
"That man is nothing more than my rival."
"You piece of shit. Even the way you talk is fucked."
"I'm asking you, Piel."
His words were absurd, yet his manner was utterly earnest. Piel looked into the blue eyes so like her own and felt boundless rage, but her own thoughts were not so different, so she accepted the request.
"Ha, isn't that obvious? Even if you never said a word, I'd protect Mom myself. I'd do a better job than you, actually."
Faced with his sister's utterly confident attitude, Kael smiled. Bold and shameless as she was, it only made her more trustworthy.
"That's a relief."
It was a warm smile free of any lust. Every time Piel saw it, her face twisted. Because in those moments the damned bastard radiated a gentle warmth that reminded her of someone.
"And stop treating Mom like someone who needs protecting."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
His swollen, ugly face looked thoroughly puzzled, as if he had just heard something completely unexpected.
— Thud.
Piel drove her fist into her frustrating brother's side and continued.
"Did you forget who took care of us when we were little? Just because you've gotten taller and your head's a bit bigger, don't you dare treat your own parent like a child!"
This was her true feeling, one way or another. Piel did not consider her mother weak. If she had been that kind of woman, she never could have raised two children with such devotion.
"Strength isn't limited to the physical."
Even as he clutched his side where the dull impact had landed, Kael took his sister's lesson deeply to heart. For all her outward arrogance, she was superior to him—short-sighted as he was—in many ways.
"I'll remember that."
Hearing her brother's firm reply, Piel shot him a half-hearted glare and shoved the door open. She added a threat that if he still had not come to his senses when he returned, she would not let it slide.
"Go die or don't. Do whatever you want."
A beast of a brother leaving the house? That was fine by her. Nothing bad about it, nothing to oppose. Since power was not his main goal, her worries lessened.
And even if that were not the case—what of it?
He was her brother, and any nobles who took an interest could simply be beaten down by her.
"Piel."
Did he still have something left to say? Piel turned her head at the voice that stopped her.
"Just in case… the way you've been looking at Mother lately seems very different."
Hearing her brother's concern, Piel let out a scornful laugh. Being blood siblings, she knew this bastard's inner thoughts, and he seemed to have sensed something of hers as well.
"What does that have to do with anything? What the hell does my feelings have to do with you?"
But it was the worthless worry of an idiot. She only laughed boldly in his face.
"Even if I had those feelings, not seeing your own parent as a romantic interest is what's normal."
Because unlike that beast, she was human.
"Does he think everyone's like him? What a moron."
— Bang!
Silence settled over the young lord's office, which had already become a complete mess.
Yet the man only smiled, filled with nothing but relief.
Piel.
The name of the angel who resembled their mother, the name of his other self.
Yes. A good child like that could never be the same as a beast like him.
How fortunate that was.