The Family I Thought Was Absolute Trash
It felt like I'd been smacked hard over the head with a book.
Just what the hell was going on here?
Not only had Frelic drawn pictures capturing Bern's likeness — he was such a brother-con that he'd even compiled them into a book and kept them?
I shook my head from side to side at this impossible reality, but only for a moment.
"Master, what's going on?!"
The brief commotion brought Rene and Lin, who'd been in my room, out to the guest chamber. What they found was the bizarre scene of me restraining Frelic while holding a coconut in one hand and peering into a picture book. Both of them tilted their heads in confusion — and in that instant, Frelic started grinning.
"Uhyo! Sister-in-laws, come over here and take a look at these pictures of little Bern!"
What the hell kind of person was this guy?
After roughly sorting out the situation and exchanging a few words, the misunderstanding was cleared up. Frelic had only brought the picture book. He hadn't brought any other suspicious items. And so now he was cheerfully showing the pictures to Rene and Lin, smiling happily. Watching from a distance, my feelings were extremely complicated.
[They are playing so joyfully — why then do you wear such a displeased expression?]
The Frelic I knew was frivolous and shallow, the kind of guy who wouldn't hesitate to steal another man's woman. But the person I'm looking at right now doesn't feel like that at all.
His way of speaking was as lighthearted as I'd remembered. But he didn't look like the type to casually snatch someone else's woman. In the original novel, he'd been absolute trash — yet seeing him in reality, he was just a somewhat eccentric older brother. Even Frelic, just like their parents, seemed to cherish Bern deeply. Without affection, he wouldn't have preserved memories of his little brother in drawings in a world without photographs. It was only possible because of a special family bond.
[Could it be that you have misunderstood something?]
I'd like that to be the case, but I still don't know for sure.
There were cases of guys approaching their little brother's women casually like that and stealing them away. I still shouldn't let my guard down. I had to question everything — especially when NTR was involved.
"C-cute! Little Bern was adorable in every single one of these!"
"He's a sullen guy now, but back then he was an absolute cutie. Well, the fact that he's a good kid hasn't changed one bit!"
"Making pictures by connecting pebbles together… that's incredible! Thanks to that, even I, who cannot see, can get a sense of what Master was like in the past!"
"Drawing my cute little brother with just a brush every time felt a bit lacking, you know? So I incorporated a new method. Never thought it'd help out like this, though!"
"Your craftsmanship is quite impressive, Brother-in-law."
"Hehehe! Believe it or not, I was almost a court painter once, you know?"
"Then how did you end up becoming a merchant?"
"That's a sore subject. I'd rather you didn't bring that up."
Watching him advance the conversation with witty remarks, his social skills were exceptionally sharp. It was something I should have paid attention to, but the sudden praise for Bern kept softening my wariness. An older brother who doted so terribly on his little brother was something that shouldn't exist in this world — but remembering their parents' kind natures, it wasn't entirely impossible.
But then why had such a good older brother stolen Kate away?
No matter how hard I thought about it, I just couldn't understand.
I really don't get it at all…
I looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh. We were leaving our hometown tomorrow anyway — was I just overreacting? As I groaned under the weight of these various worries, a hand tugged at my sleeve. Looking down, I found Rene whispering softly.
"Bern, is something troubling you?"
"Ah…"
I couldn't badmouth Frelic by saying he was a bad person and to stay away from him. If I cursed someone who was praising me, wouldn't I just end up looking like the trash? As I hemmed and hawed, unable to do this or that, Rene smiled gently.
"If it's hard to say, you can take your time telling me."
"Sorry."
"It's okay! More than that, Brother-in-law seems like a really wonderful person!"
"Really?"
"Yes! The light he carries is so warm that just looking at him puts me at ease."
Come to think of it, Rene had the power to distinguish good from evil, didn't she? If Rene was vouching for him as a good person, then it was safe to trust. I'd fretted like an idiot over something that would have been settled if I'd just checked Rene's reaction from the start. Reproaching myself for my foolish judgment, I stroked Rene's hair.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, my worries are resolved."
"Hehe, I don't really understand, but I'm glad it's resolved!"
With the conclusion that there was no problem thanks to Rene, I shook off all my anxiety. The Kate incident had large chunks of middle content omitted, so there might have been a behind-the-scenes story I didn't know about. Maybe Kate's type simply was a guy like Frelic. If that was the case, then the author bastard was seriously trash — making Frelic's appearance the very embodiment of NTR, the golden-tanned gigolo type, and then making his behavior trash on top of that.
If Kate's heart had simply turned toward Frelic, it couldn't be called netorare. Bern had feelings for her too, but only as a person — not as a romantic interest. In other words, the author had made a pair of brothers with deep affection look like a dysfunctional mess, and painted Bern as a pathetic guy who just took hits the whole time. In all my life, I'd never seen such a malicious piece of work. It was enough to make me wonder if the person who'd bullied the author in school had been named Bern.
"What are you thinking so hard about?"
"Ah, Brother. I'm sorry about earlier."
Frelic draped an arm over my shoulder, smiling brightly.
"It's fine. It just means you care that much about your sister-in-laws, right? I would have done the same."
"Brother…"
"And I was also at fault for coming to meet your sister-in-laws without your permission just because I was embarrassed. So don't take it to heart. If you feel guilty over something like that, this big brother's face will be ruined, you know?"
With my colored glasses off, Frelic… no, my brother looked like nothing but light itself. Light, pure and simple. Was his appearance actually meant to allude to the sun? His magnanimity as vast as the sea made me smile naturally as well.
"I understand, Brother."
"And just keep cherishing and loving your sister-in-laws like you are now. From what this big brother can see, both of them have kind and good hearts."
"You don't need to worry about that."
"Right. I'm sure you'll handle it just fine."
My brother patted my shoulder, expressing his trust. After calmly looking through the picture book, he left with a request to return it tomorrow morning. I only realized it now, but his back was broader than I'd thought.
[So it was your misunderstanding after all.]
Yeah. There's no way such a reliable big brother would steal someone else's woman.
With all misunderstandings resolved, I was able to spend a peaceful night in Briant.
The next morning.
Bern's party left the village early, heading for Rene's nest. The Coolam family had also come out to see them off, and Bern and his family faced each other, exchanging farewells.
"Well then, we'll be going now."
"You could stay a little longer…"
"There's something I absolutely have to do. I'll come visit again later."
"Alright. Always take care of yourself."
"I will, Father."
"Next time you come, make sure to bring your sister-in-laws again, okay? I want to show them something even hotter."
It was a remark ripe with room for misunderstanding, but Bern just laughed it off good-naturedly. What had happened last night had brought a change to his heart.
"Haha, got it."
"Bern, if you ever need help, contact us anytime, okay? Understood?"
"Yes, I understand."
With those final words of concern, Bern's family waved as they sent them off. They stayed put until their son's figure was no longer visible. The moment they were sure he was gone, they immediately returned home and held a family meeting. The topic, ironically, was Bern's women.
"Everyone, report your investigation results."
"The prospective daughters-in-law were all lovely. Not packaged beauty like Sherin, but pure from the root. Especially the morning greeting they showed when coming out of the bathroom — it seared itself into my mind and is still there. End of report."
"No problems with their character, and both of their looks rank among the top ten women I've ever seen. You can barely find women of this caliber even in the royal capital — I want to ask how he managed to meet two of them!"
"They weren't picky about food either, and even without being asked, they stepped up to help with housework. If they'd just passed the final test, it would have been an automatic pass without question."
Mother's sharp gaze turned toward Frelic. At that, he smiled leisurely and continued his report.
"I tested whether they had any ulterior motives toward Bern, and no problems at all. Both of them just stare at Bern steadfastly like sunflowers. If they'd approached him with bad intentions, I would have punished them with my handiwork, you know."
Frelic frivolously flicked his tongue and smacked his lips. His parents gave him a scolding for that.
"If you so much as try that with the daughters-in-law, I'll cut off your hands."
"Hands? We should just smash his head with a coconut and make him a half-wit."
"Yes, yes! I absolutely won't, so both of you calm down."
A cruel side and chilly atmosphere they never showed in front of Bern. As if blood couldn't lie, you could tell Bern's cold ruthlessness was inherited from his parents.
"Anyway, it's a real relief that Bern cleanly gave up on Sherin."
"I could never understand why he liked that bundle of pretension."
"We should prepare just in case Sherin tries to find Bern again later. Heheheh!"
One way or another, a family that treasured Bern. At the same time, they were complete brother-fools and son-fools.