Siriel's Request
It was past midday when Siriel arrived at Eldrina's chambers.
"Mother! Mother!"
Fresh from training and a quick shower, Siriel went straight to find her.
"Hm? What brings my little one here? Your etiquette tutor is supposed to come after practice, isn't she?"
Eldrina smiled at the girl who had come rushing in. Siriel's hair was still damp from how hurriedly she had come. Ordinarily the maids would have seen to her properly, but knowing the private tutor was due after training had left her too impatient to wait.
"...There's still time, so it's fine!"
Siriel flicked a glance at the wall clock. A full thirty minutes remained—more than enough to state her business.
"Very well. Let's dry your hair first. Come sit here."
Eldrina pointed to a chair. Softly she intoned a short chant, and a warm, quiet breeze stirred into being. Siriel's face eased into the gentle heat.
The moment she remembered why she had come, however, her eyes sharpened and her small fists clenched tight.
"Mother. I have a favor to ask."
"...And what favor might that be?"
Eldrina regarded her with a warm smile. Ordinarily any request would have gone through the head butler before reaching her. That Siriel had come to her directly was the first time in years; curiosity stirred at how serious the matter must be.
Permission given, Siriel turned fully toward her and spoke with force.
"Please make the servants stop speaking ill of Brother Shiron!"
"......?"
Eldrina paused. The request was so far from anything she had expected that her smile nearly slipped.
This is what she ran all the way here to ask?
"Ahem."
A discreet cough restored her composure. Then she answered firmly.
"I'm afraid not."
"......Why not?"
Faced with the blunt refusal, Siriel did not whine. She simply asked. The admirable restraint nearly undid Eldrina's resolve, but she held firm.
Wanting to be the ideal wife and mother, Eldrina stroked her beloved daughter's hair several times before speaking gently.
"Do you know how many servants this mansion employs, Siriel?"
"...Not exactly. But I know there are a lot."
"Three hundred thirty-four. More, if you count the escort knights. From what Philip tells me, a great many of them have already been cautioned for gossiping about Shiron. Every one of those reports reaches me without fail."
"..."
Siriel's eyes went wide. Her mother had already grasped the entire situation.
"Think carefully. Why do you suppose I have chosen to overlook it?"
Whenever a problem arose, Eldrina always gave Siriel time to think. Solving a given situation required deep reflection. She wanted her daughter to form the habit of carving her own path even when no clear answer existed.
Arms folded, Siriel tilted her head a few times before speaking.
"Do you dislike Brother Shiron, Mother?"
"......My. Does your mother look like someone who would dislike a child?"
"I'm sorry. But I can't think of any other reason..."
Seeing Siriel wilt, Eldrina let out a soft sigh.
"Sealing their mouths is possible, of course. But..."
"But?"
"Whether it is money or loyalty that binds them, they are people we gathered by posting notices for this household. They are not slaves who obey every order without question. Each of them has thoughts and feelings of their own. Force their silence and other frictions will arise. Even if we dismissed them, the root cause would remain unchanged, so the situation would not improve."
Eldrina spoke calmly. Siriel slowly lifted her head and met her mother's gaze.
"Then... do you believe the problem lies with Brother?"
"I do. Do you know why the servants speak ill of Shiron?"
"...I've heard rumors that he mistreats them."
"You know it well, then."
"Is it true, then? That Brother is cruel to the servants?"
Siriel stared at her with wide eyes. Eldrina gave a slow nod.
"The household staff are educated people, even by the capital's standards. They have no reason to tear someone down over matters that do not concern them. Spreading a little gossip about a young master who treats them poorly, however... that much they can and will do."
"Then... why would Brother Shiron treat them badly? He isn't that kind of person..."
Siriel clutched her skirt and bowed her head.
She could not understand it.
To her, Shiron was the kind older brother who always gave her delicious candy. How could that same brother torment other people?
"Hmm..."
Eldrina made a soft, intrigued sound, as though she had spotted something interesting.
"And what makes you so certain he isn't that kind of person?"
"...Because Brother is a good person who doesn't even know how to be jealous."
"Jealous?"
"Yes."
Siriel nodded once. She was stating a fact beyond doubt, and there was not the slightest hesitation in her voice.
Brother is kind and gentle.
Not long ago, when she had finally learned to wrap herself in protective Aura, the first person she had run to brag to was him.
Shiron had called it amazing and praised her. He had given her not only candy but cookies as well, and stroked her hair.
Something even sweeter than the pride of training had filled her chest.
But that night she realized her mistake. In the moment of praise she had not noticed, yet she had stood before someone who could not wield mana at all and flaunted the very things he lacked.
Only the next day had she been able to go to him, tearful, and apologize. Shiron had told her it was fine and popped a candy into her mouth.
He told me not to worry about it and comforted me instead.
He had even asked her to come tell him whenever she achieved something new. The stronger she became, he said, the more reassured he felt...
He even lied on purpose so I wouldn't feel embarrassed...
Sometimes Siriel found herself envious of Lucia, even resentful.
Lucia had taken fewer elixirs and started training later, yet Siriel had never once beaten her. The thought left her heart feeling murky.
It was frustrating.
Was this the emotion called jealousy?
When she had poured out that frustration, Yohan had told her it was Heaven's will. That she simply had to work harder.
Just like her father, Hugo.
Shiron did not feel such ordinary emotions. On the contrary, he seemed happier for her than she was herself, and the smile on his face had looked so genuine it shone.
"Well then. How about this?"
Eldrina beamed at the girl whose eyes were bright with feeling.
"Why don't you go and face it yourself? You could ask Shiron why he behaves that way. Or go further—perhaps you could even help him with whatever troubles him."
"Me?"
"Yes."
Eldrina nodded.
A child not yet ten years old. She had seen a familiar emotion flicker through Siriel's eyes—the same look she had witnessed in countless women.
She's completely smitten with that cheeky little brat.
Eldrina chuckled softly.
Learning that her daughter had fallen for some boy did not trouble her in the least.
The child Hugo had brought home—Shiron—was supposedly the legitimate heir of the Prien family head, was he not? In that case, the situation was hardly unfavorable.
Meeting him in person, she had found no particularly sharp edges to the boy.
He has backbone, and he knows how to use his head.
Eldrina snorted at the rumors circulating through the mansion.
But he still hasn't outgrown a child's clumsy theatrics. That half-baked performance isn't enough to fool me. One look at the way he selectively plays the gentle soul is enough.
A thought occurred to her.
What if she matched Siriel and Shiron? Like Hugo and herself, the two seemed well-suited.
Siriel the outward face of the house; Shiron its inward pillar.
And what advantage would that bring?
The answer came easily.
Siriel would become direct blood of her husband's house, the Priens. Grandsons and granddaughters of the direct line went without saying.
Not bad.
In fact, rather good.
Her daughter did not yet seem to recognize what she felt as love, but what of it? Even if the two never became a couple and simply grew close, there was nothing to lose.
Eldrina decided she would cheer Siriel on.
"I—I... for Brother..."
Siriel fidgeted with her fingers and mumbled. Inwardly she was delighted. The chance to help the brother she adored had her heart pounding.
But unease crept back across her face.
"...But would Brother even want my help? What if he turns me down?"
The doubt was natural. She had never really done anything for Shiron or given him anything of worth. And had she not made another mistake just recently? She could not trust her own way with words.
"...I'm scared that if I say something wrong, it'll ruin things between us."
Watching her daughter's expression change by the second, Eldrina felt a fond ache.
"Then come back to me if that happens. If he truly is the kind, good-hearted boy you believe him to be—one who doesn't even know jealousy—then a child's slip of the tongue would never open a rift that could never be mended."
"...Now that you say it, Mother, I think you're right."
Siriel remembered the times she had made grave mistakes with Shiron. After the succession ceremony, and again when she had misspoken in the carriage—each time, a single apology had been enough for him to let it go.
She thought a moment longer, then broke into a bright smile.
"I'll try!"
No sooner had she spoken than she glanced at the clock and startled.
Five past four.
She was late for etiquette class.
Siriel bolted from the room in a panic.