A Flower for the Fairest
A single bloom—one that I, Kirsi, and Caiden had all nurtured together—landed gently on Daisy’s lap.
“To the most beautiful lady.”
His soft voice carried across the once-quiet arena, and the sight of the usually stern knight offering such words sent the crowd into an uproar. The men applauded his boldness in presenting the gift before everyone, while the women sighed with envy and sweet longing. Cheers, whistles, clapping, and excited murmurs filled the space.
Asena looked around. She wanted to stop the exploding atmosphere, but alone she was powerless. Even to her eyes, the black-armored knight handing over the flower and the woman receiving it looked like a perfect painting.
Asena scanned the surroundings quickly. Everyone seemed to be cheering for the pair. It felt like a nightmare.
Student Council President Lucil Hober grabbed Asena’s shoulder and whispered in her ear.
“Wow… Your brother is really brave.”
“……”
Asena clenched her teeth. She had to stop this. She wanted to run to Caiden right now and demand to know what he was doing. But Caiden had already turned his horse without a second glance, heading back toward the stage where he had first been called.
Asena’s gaze inevitably fixed on the one left behind—Daisy Hextor. The girl’s cheeks were flushed with shyness as she stared at the ground, looking exactly like an innocent country maiden who had just received a flower.
“……”
Asena stared at her coldly. A hollow laugh threatened to escape. Daisy was misunderstanding everything. She probably thought the flower carried deep meaning, but it didn’t. It was just a gift. Something pretty given on a whim. Nothing more.
After all, Caiden had always told Asena she was the prettiest. She had heard it hundreds of times. Watching Daisy blush and grow shy over hearing it once made Asena’s blood boil.
The applause eventually died down, and people began returning to their seats one by one. Asena clutched her skirt. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It meant nothing, so she needed to calm down.
…But the anger refused to fade.
****
I left the roaring arena behind and returned to the temporary tent. My heart was pounding. I dismounted and calmed Rush, who was just as excited as I was. At first I had thought him a willful horse, but now affection had grown between us. Was this the bond Lord Hoslo had spoken of?
“You did amazing, Rush. Thank you, my friend.”
I stroked Rush while expressing my gratitude. Because the lance was short, there had been several truly dangerous moments. Each time, I believed Rush’s consideration had pulled us through—slowing his pace slightly, lowering his stance… He was a clever horse.
My legs were still trembling. The thrill of battle had not yet subsided. To steady myself, I pulled the remaining flower from the saddlebag and inhaled its scent.
I had prepared two blooms. Naturally, they were meant for the twins. But… my mind had changed midway. I could admit it had been somewhat impulsive. A reluctance to gift the twins anything after everything that had happened. Grandmother Liana’s advice. And my own affection for Daisy. Those three things aligned, and without thinking, I offered the flower.
The way the crowd reacted—as though a new couple had formed—was embarrassing, if nothing else. For Daisy Hextor, it might even have been an awkward situation.
“Haa…”
Still, it was just a gift given while complimenting her beauty. What could possibly go wrong?
I began removing my heavy armor piece by piece.
-Flutter!
Someone burst into the tent like a gust of wind.
“……Oh dear, what’s this?”
Startled, I reacted like an old man. At the entrance stood Kirsi, feet planted firmly on the ground, her face rigid. Asena followed quietly behind her.
“……”
Kirsi did not shout “Brother!” as usual and throw herself into my arms, nor did she wear her usual foolish smile. Asena, too, looked at me with an even stiffer expression than normal. Having both twins like this created quite the intimidating atmosphere.
And yet, their brother had just become champion. It was confusing. If these were the twins I had known and grown up with, they would be acting this way because they hadn’t received a flower. If they were the twins who had badmouthed me behind my back, sabotaged my lance, and truly disliked me, they would be acting this way because I had performed well in the tournament.
For now, I greeted them lightly.
“…Aren’t you going to congratulate your brother for becoming champion?”
I stood up, leaving the last boot on my left leg half-removed, and spread both arms. Only then did Kirsi move. Her expression still unchanged, she strode toward me.
…Honestly, I swallowed a bit of fear. I worried she might reveal her true feelings, like the gossip I had overheard, and hurt me.
-Thud!
But instead of words, she attacked me with her body. She pushed against my chest with both arms, trying to drive me toward the wall. Yet after the intense battle, my body was defensive against external stimuli, and as a result, I did not budge.
“……”
When I refused to move, Kirsi frowned even harder and shoved me again—once, twice. Still I did not move. Growing frustrated, she began punching my chest without a word.
-Thud! Thud! Thud!
Her cotton-ball fists did not hurt. They only confused me. She had never acted this way toward me before.
“Kirsi, why?”
I continued to accept her attacks with my arms spread. At the sound of my voice, Kirsi’s angry expression began to crumble into tears. She did not stop.
-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Eventually, I grabbed her hands. She struggled with both arms restrained, then shouted at me.
“Why are you ignoring me?!”
“…What?”
“Why, when I’m right here…! Why did you give that woman the flower and leave me behind?”
Still furious, she kept trying to pull her arms free. It seemed she still wanted to hit me. Rush neighed beside us as if amused.
I wanted to hug and soothe her, but if I let go she would probably lash out again, so I couldn’t.
I asked, “……Did you want the flower?”
“Of course I did…!”
The answer came without a moment’s hesitation. I sighed and held both her wrists with one hand. With the other, I picked up the flower I had taken out earlier to smell. I tucked it behind Kirsi’s ear. It suited her beautiful silver hair perfectly.
“…Here.”
But Kirsi shook her head vigorously.
“…What meaning does it have if I get it now, Brother!”
“……Good grief.”
Whatever was bothering her, she continued to sulk. She looked ready to cry at any moment. She couldn’t even congratulate me—what was this? I felt hurt.
“And…! It was a flower we grew together…! How could you just give it to another woman without saying anything?”
“……You helped grow it, but it wasn’t your flower.”
“Brother!!”
When she got like this, I wasn’t entirely without things to say. Words I had been holding back because they sounded petty. I let out a long sigh and asked,
“Kirsi, what about you?”
“What?”
“If you wanted it, you could have at least cheered for me. You could have said ‘Good luck, Brother’ once, couldn’t you?”
“……Ah……”
“Throughout the entire tournament, every time I defeated an opponent, I looked at you two. But both of you looked completely indifferent.”
Kirsi’s arms lost their strength. Of course she had something to feel guilty about. I gathered her hands in front of her and continued.
“The people who were badmouthing me cheered louder.”
Kirsi closed her mouth and looked at the ground.
“……”
“I clearly asked you to cheer for me. Why did both of you just stand there? I think our eyes met a few times—didn’t you feel that I was waiting for your support?”
Asena and Kirsi had not sent me encouragement to a disappointing degree. Asena had only waved her hand a little. Considering the bond we had built, that was far too little. If it had been me—if the twins had been competing in any kind of tournament—I would have cheered until my voice gave out.
They were the only ones who knew I was fighting at a disadvantage. They alone would have understood that the victory I had achieved was not as simple as it appeared. Yet they had not cheered for me. Whether it was because of appearances or because they truly disliked me, I could not draw a single reaction from the two people whose support I had wanted most.
“Did you think I wouldn’t feel hurt by something like this?”
I felt as though I had truly become the “abandoned adopted child of the Freister family” that everyone had been whispering about behind my back. It was a thoroughly unpleasant feeling. That was why I had mustered even more courage to give the flower to Daisy.
“Asena. Don’t you think so too?”
When I glared at Asena and asked, she turned her head away. She seemed to have nothing to say in response to my point. Silence settled over the tent. What was this on such a good day? I sighed, released the dejected Kirsi, and sat on the floor. I began removing the rest of my armor. Whether they felt hurt or not was none of my business.
“……”
“……”
Outside the tent, the lingering heat of the festival still rippled. Laughter, singing, drumbeats, and music could be heard. It was the complete opposite of the atmosphere inside. That was what I had wanted. I had hoped the twins would come in, see me differently, and stop thinking I was incompetent. I had resolved not to care about their opinions, but apparently that was impossible. In the end, as much as I loved them, I still craved their recognition.
Men live on recognition, women on love—so they say. I was no different.
As I roughly stripped off my equipment, Kirsi had at some point crept up and sat to my right. She grabbed my collar like a puppy and spoke.
“……I’m sorry.”
She seemed to have come to her senses after my words. There were times when I had to scold them like this. Perhaps I had spoiled them too much; sometimes they did not consider my feelings.
“It’s fine.”
I did not hide my hurt feelings. I knew I shouldn’t act this way, but I kept becoming childish myself.
Asena also approached and quietly sat beside me.
“……”
She said nothing. I stopped what I was doing and simply stayed still.
Kirsi kept speaking.
“……I was just… so jealous of that person… so I got really angry……”
Her sentences trailed off as she made excuses. Only now did I notice teardrops rolling down her cheeks. Again. Again. My heart softened like a fool. Was it because her face was cute? Because she was my sister? I couldn’t just leave her crying.
I sighed and pulled her into my arms. She came easily and buried herself in my lap, beginning to sob.
“……All right. Stop crying.”
“I was wrong… I did everything wrong……”
“I said I understand. Let’s stop on such a good day.”
I patted her bottom lightly and soothed her. Asena murmured quietly from beside us.
“……You were cool.”
Late encouragement.
“……Is that so.”
A smile formed on my lips. Asena flinched ever so slightly beside me. After the somewhat chaotic events, I still couldn’t read her true intentions, but normally this behavior would mean she wanted to get closer to me. Since my dull head couldn’t perfectly understand her inner thoughts, I acted according to my own mood. I raised a hand and pulled Asena’s opposite cheek toward me. She offered no resistance and leaned her head against my shoulder.
“……Next time I’ll cheer much harder.”
She said.
“……Please do. It hurts my feelings otherwise.”
“……”
Asena rubbed her head ever so slightly against my shoulder. A sweet fragrance rose. My heart calmed with the peace we had regained. It felt as though we had recovered the time we used to spend in the Freister domain.
For a while, we quietly savored the peace that had returned.
“……Brother.”
When Kirsi had also stopped crying and was resting comfortably, Asena called me.
“What.”
“……Then… the flowers were originally prepared for us?”
“……Yeah.”
“……”
The heavy atmosphere in the tent felt noticeably lighter.
“……You gave it to Daisy in a fit of anger?”
“……To some extent.”
I caught the faint smile at the corner of Asena’s eye. She lifted her head and looked at me.
“…Then the part about being the most beautiful……”
I met her gaze directly.
“Ah, that was real. Her beauty, wow… she really was stunning. Daisy.”
At my admiring words, Asena’s expression hardened terrifyingly.