The Oblivious Younger Brother - 1

Every day is a happy one. The son I could never love properly has grown into a fine man, become the head of the house, found a good match and married—and during the wedding itself, Enen’s blessing brought the Holy Kingdom’s Pope to our door. Beatification, perhaps even canonization… how could I not rejoice?

It is happiness far beyond what I deserve. At this point I almost believe Enen has blessed not only Karl and my daughters-in-law, but me as well. Compared to the karma of my past, the life I now enjoy is almost indecently bright.

And once Erich graduates from the Academy, Billy will step completely away from his duties; we will finally have quiet days as husband and wife. By then the first daughter-in-law should also be well settled into the role of mistress of the house.

Is it all right to be this happy?

I gazed at the snow-covered garden and let a soft smile bloom. My husband’s full retirement after a lifetime of overwork, my sons grown and content, the flourishing of the family—any one of those would have been reason enough to thank heaven. Having received them one after another, I would have to increase this year’s tithe well beyond last year’s.

Or perhaps next year’s as well.

Next year Erich will marry too, surely.

Just then Erich himself walked past the garden with a wooden practice sword, and my smile deepened. Nineteen already—an age more than ready for marriage. His elder brother the Count had already wed; there was no reason left to hesitate.

Had Erich been without a match, I would not have pressed him even at twenty-nine. Fortunately, he already had one.

Laura’s daughter, a girl I had always regarded as my own. Frail from birth and a constant source of worry, yet she recovered and grew into a strong young woman.

Sera as a daughter-in-law.

Sera, daughter of Baron Zaigel. She was the clear favorite to become Erich’s wife.

The thought alone made me smile. Two children who had been close since infancy would at last be joined as husband and wife. It was the sort of beautiful ending one only found in romance novels.

And I had long known Sera’s feelings for Erich, so alongside my delight came a quiet pride. Her quiet efforts were finally bearing fruit.

Living together at the Academy must have helped.

Children who were already fond of each other spending a full year in the same place—if that had produced no change, that would have been the stranger outcome.

“Nia, it’s me.”

While I watched Erich’s back disappear toward the training grounds, a short knock sounded at the door and Laura’s voice followed.

Strange. Today was supposed to be Laura’s day off; she should have been with her own family.

“What is it? If the head maid gives up her holiday and works, the other maids will feel awkward.”

I suppressed my curiosity, opened the door with a light jest—and froze the moment I saw Laura’s rigid face.

This was no small matter. Laura would never abandon her rest and appear with such a look for anything trivial.

It was not trivial at all.

“What did you say?”

Even to my own ears my voice sounded hollow. The news Laura brought was that grave.

“Sera and Erich… they aren’t anything to each other…”

Then she delivered still more dreadful information. Her expression was so stricken it was clear she herself did not want to believe it, yet the facts remained unchanged.

I stared at her, then lifted my eyes blankly to the ceiling. What had I just heard? Was Laura joking? If so, it was a joke ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with neither humor nor heart.

A lie.

My mind refused Laura’s words outright. The idea that Erich and Sera were not lovers was simply impossible.

How could it be? Those two had inherited the friendship Laura and I shared; they had been friends, practically family, since the day they were born.

It’s a lie.

Sera had held feelings for Erich ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for years, and only recently Erich had chosen the Hardiner barony as his fief. Hardiner bordered Zaigel, the very land where Sera lived. In other words, he had chosen the territory closest to her.

I had naturally assumed he had finally noticed her heart—and accepted it.

But no? They were still ordinary friends, and the choice of Hardiner had been pure coincidence?

That can’t be.

None of it could be coincidence. More than that, it was impossible that he had still not noticed Sera’s feelings.

In the past Erich had to travel all the way to Zaigel just to see her, and Sera herself had held back for fear her weak body would become a burden. But they had spent an entire year together at the Academy. A full year of a young man and a young woman living side by side.

He could not have failed to notice. Absolutely, absolutely not…

…

“Nia!”

I swayed, hand pressed to my forehead, and Laura hurriedly steadied me.

Unfortunately I could no longer deny it with confidence. When Erich chose the Hardiner barony as the title he would inherit, Laura and I had not thought “at last he understands,” we had thought “finally.”

I already knew the truth. Erich was dense. My own child, yet painfully, almost tragically dense. Because I knew it—because I had always half-suspected it—I had leapt for joy when he became Baron Hardiner, mistaking it for the first spark of insight, the moment he accepted Sera.

“Laura.”

I forced myself to face reality and spoke carefully.

“If I had raised him better… if as a mother I had taught him what love looks like… would this have happened?”

Tears threatened. Erich’s denseness was not his sin; it was mine. He had not grown up in a normal home, and so he remained numb to the affection of others.

Yes, that must be it. Karl, raised in the same house, had six lovers—but that only proved Karl’s excellence, not Erich’s deficiency—

“I raised them like my own sons in your place.”

“…….”

I closed my mouth.

It was true. In place of their inadequate mother, Laura the nanny had poured her whole heart into Karl and Erich. Even if they never knew a parent’s full affection, they had never lacked love.

Divine punishment, then.

That was the only conclusion left. Enen had not merely blessed me; He had also chastised me.

While the eldest son walked a flawless path, He had placed shackles on the second.

Deep in my heart I felt the seed of heresy begin to sprout.

After listening to Mother’s sorrowful explanation, my already heavy mouth clamped even tighter shut.

Why would they misunderstand like that?

Pity washed over me. I had watched Erich and Sera up close and could read their relationship at a glance, but Mother and the nanny were different. They saw the two only occasionally, and so they had spun unnecessary fantasies.

I should have explained properly back then.

Guilt surged at the same time. When I visited the fief to take over the Tailglehen countship, the nanny had already been under the impression that Erich and Sera’s relationship had progressed. At the time I kept silent, afraid of disappointing her; if I had known the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠truth would eventually come out like this, I would have spoken plainly.

But how had it been discovered? The fact that the nanny learned before Mother suggested the truth had come from Sera rather than Erich.

Don’t tell me…

A dizzying possibility struck me. Since I, the elder brother, had married, the next natural step was Erich and the girl everyone assumed was his lover—Sera. So the nanny, full of joy, must have asked Sera when the wedding would be. And Sera, who was in truth nothing more than Erich’s friend, must have corrected the misunderstanding with tears in her eyes.

My blood ran dry just imagining it. The thought of Sera having to say with her own mouth, “Erich and I aren’t anything to each other,” made me feel sick with secondhand guilt.

Mother straightened her posture and spoke again.

My mouth closed once more.

Ah. She had contacted me clinging to one last hope.

“W-well, I’m only watching from the sidelines, not one of the people involved. For all I know they might have grown closer without my noticing.”

Even I could hear how unconvincing that sounded, but I forced the words out. Comforting Mother came first.

Yet despite my attempt, Mother only shook her head with a bitter smile.

To my chagrin, I had to agree.

Mother ended the call with strangely moist eyes. She would probably take to her bed for a while under the emotional shock. I would need to visit the fief soon.

And the little triangle in my heart, activated by the sight of my mother’s face, issued its order: when a younger brother is in this state, the elder brother must perform filial duty in his stead.

No choice, then.

With grim resolve I activated the communication crystal. Mother and the nanny had reached a truth they should never have reached; I could no longer afford hesitation or leisure.

Fortunately heaven seemed moved by my determination; the connection formed at once.

“This is the designate for Minister of the Inspectorate Ministry, Karl Crassius of Tailglehen.”

Zenobia—formerly the Count of Horfelt—widened her eyes at the unexpected call and the abrupt shift to casual speech. I continued calmly. Right now I was not a minister of the administration contacting a member of the Imperial Diet.

“Sorry for the sudden call. I’m speaking not as a minister but as Erich’s older brother, so… may I drop the formalities?”

I was calling as the elder brother of a younger sibling who possessed not a single scrap of social awareness.

“Good. Thank you.”

It was a unilateral declaration dressed up as a request for permission, yet Zenobia nodded as though she were delighted. She seemed to focus on the fact that the elder brother of the man she loved intended to treat her familiarly.

“Zenobia.”

That only steeled my resolve further.

“I’ll help you become Erich’s first wife as much as I possibly can.”

No longer a bystander offering minor assistance—I would become an active participant.

Make Zenobia the first wife, Sera the second.

You bastard.

An older brother meddling in his little brother’s love life. What a grotesque situation this was.