CHAPTER 03
A week after falling into the pond, I was finally given permission to leave my bed.
As I stepped out of my room to go eat breakfast, I noticed someone standing in front of the door.
It was my younger brother.
“Yardral? What’s wrong?”
“S-Sister…”
His large eyes were already filled with tears. They seemed clouded with fear and anxiety.
“I’m… sorry.”
The moment his trembling voice reached my ears, tears spilled from his eyes at the same time.
“Yard, it’s all right,” I said gently. “I’m not angry with you. Actually, I’m the one who should apologize. I only wanted to show you the frog because I thought it was cute. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
At my words, my little brother burst into tears.
Seriously, anyone looking at us would think I had just made him cry.
“Do you… like me, Sister?”
For a brief moment, I remembered a former coworker from my previous life complaining about how troublesome his girlfriend could be. The situation oddly reminded me of that.
Still, I smiled warmly and wrapped my arms around my brother.
“Of course I do.”
The instant I answered, he clung tightly to me.
How adorable!
My little brother was unbelievably cute.
His big sister was completely captivated.
As we hugged each other tightly, a soft chuckle reached us.
Watching us with an amused smile was my older brother.
“It looks like you two have become quite close. Can your big brother join in as well?”
“Brother!” Yardral exclaimed. “Sister is really beautiful and kind! She’s exactly the wonderful person you said she was!”
Wait a minute.
Why did it feel like the expectations for me had suddenly risen to impossible heights?
The bar had gone from normal height to Olympic high-jump level.
There was no way I could clear that!
“My stomach is getting hungry,” I said quickly. “Shall we go have breakfast?”
“Yes, Sister!”
Then he looked at me hopefully.
“Sister, can I stay with you today?”
What was this?
My little brother was literally an angel.
“Of course you can. There’s a book I wanted to read together with you. I’ll read it to you.”
“Yes! Sister!”
It seemed the distance between us had never been very great to begin with.
What a relief.
My brother truly was an angel.
And my older brother, who was watching us with a fond smile, was as handsome as ever.
Honestly, if either of these two ever condemned me like in the story’s bad ending, I felt like I would die on the spot.
I wanted to become someone both my brothers could trust.
Someone worthy of their faith.
Until the very last day.
After breakfast, my older brother headed to the mansion’s library to read.
Yardral and I followed him there.
I had devised a strategy to increase my younger brother’s affection for me.
That strategy was simple:
Read him lots of picture books.
One after another, I read stories aloud.
By the time I had finished around ten books, the child beside me had fallen asleep.
“Yard is really excited because you’ve been so kind to him,” my older brother said.
“Do you think he understands how much I love him?”
“Of course he does, Cardi.”
My brother gently patted my head.
I smiled back at him and then took the blanket draped over my lap and carefully covered my sleeping younger brother with it.
The library was enormous.
Since Yardral had fallen asleep, I decided to look around for something I wanted to read.
In my previous life, I had worked as a researcher for a medical company.
Naturally, I began searching for books about plants.
If I could develop medicines in this world, I would never have to worry about making a living.
I needed to work hard.
If my memory of the story was correct, the main plot would probably begin when I was sixteen or seventeen.
That meant I only had about ten years left.
In that time, I needed to become capable of handling anything.
It would be fine.
In my previous life, I had been over forty years old.
My body might belong to a child now, but my mind was still that of an adult.
I studied the books on plants with intense concentration.
Thank goodness.
Many of the plants that existed on Earth also existed in this world.
There were even magical plants with unusual properties.
That made the subject surprisingly fun.
“You’re reading something difficult.”
I looked up.
It was my older brother.
“Brother, I want to become someone who can create medicines.”
“Medicines?”
“Yes. If I can make useful medicines, wouldn’t that help the kingdom?”
“The kingdom?”
He looked genuinely surprised.
Now I wondered whether my statement sounded noble or simply suspicious.
“Cardi,” he said, “if you’re interested in medicine, the King’s younger brother possesses remarkable knowledge in that field.”
“The King’s younger brother?”
“Yes. He was born after the former king stepped down from the throne. He’s sixteen years old now.”
“He’s only sixteen and already knowledgeable about medicine?”
“Apparently so. Because he has black hair and black eyes, he doesn’t have succession rights to the throne. Since he can’t become king, he’s dedicated himself to serving the kingdom in other ways.”
What was that?
That sounded incredibly cool.
“People with black hair and black eyes lose their right to inherit the throne?”
“Officially, it doesn’t really matter,” my brother explained. “But for generations, every king has had blond hair and blue eyes. Because of that tradition, many nobles refuse to accept the prince.”
Royal families really had it rough.
“Being royalty sounds troublesome.”
“It certainly is,” my brother laughed. “I already attend many meetings involving the crown prince, and even I find them exhausting.”
That made sense.
As the son of an important noble family, he had already been assigned to assist the prince in preparation for the future.
It was exactly like those stories where the prince became student council president and the prime minister’s son served as vice president.
“If I can create medicines,” I declared enthusiastically, “then I’ll be able to help you too, Brother! I’ll do my best!”
My brother responded with a smile so warm it seemed ready to melt.
Perfect.
That should leave a good impression.
As I returned his smile, I quietly congratulated myself.
At least for now, everything seemed to be going according to plan.
