CLWE 29

Chapter 29

“I was surprised too while I was out for a walk. Thanks to that, I get to enjoy such sweet raspberry iced tea.”

After handing over the iced tea, I was about to sit down, when Louis—who, unlike usual, was stuck tightly to my back—caught on the chair’s backrest. Startled, I jumped up.

Louis, I’ve put the tray down. You can come around to the front now.

I tapped him lightly with my index finger to signal that, but Louis clung to my back even more tightly, like a sulky child. As I let out an awkward sigh, Grandma tilted her head and asked,

“But why is the Ego Sword stuck so tightly to your back? It doesn’t look like you’ve strapped it on with a belt.”

Since Grandma couldn’t hear Louis’s voice, it must have just looked like a sword hanging on my back. I shrugged.

“I don’t know. He keeps wailing like something terribly sad happened. It’s upsetting.”

Earlier he had been crying loudly, and now he was just sniffling—but either way, the noise was driving me crazy.

Even when Susan and I were making iced tea earlier, I could barely hear what she was saying.

When I let out a big sigh, Grandma’s eyes widened in surprise.

“The Ego Sword is crying?”

“Yes. Our Louis is really cute. He’s just a baby.”

“Hm.”

At my words, not only Grandma but also Kamin and Susan frowned. They looked at the sword on my back as if it were nothing more than a lump of ancient scrap metal, but I held my head high.

What’s wrong with our Louis? He’s cute, adorable, lovable—an incredibly precious sword that does everything on his own!

In any case, since only I could hear Louis’s crying, there was nothing more for the others to say. Grandma finally took her eyes off Louis and lifted the iced tea with both hands.

She pressed her lips to the chilled glass, beads of condensation clinging to it, and carefully sipped the red liquid. Then she swallowed slowly, savoring the taste.

As the sweet flavor lingered in her mouth, her wrinkled eyes widened for a moment. She beamed as she looked down at the iced tea.

“How curious. It’s tart, sweet, and even a little bitter. It feels like my thirst vanishes in an instant.”

“Right?”

Grandma not only has a good heart, but she’s always so expressive that I can’t help bringing her the tastiest things first. I shrugged and replied,

“Susan helped a lot, so we were able to make it quickly.”

“Susan?”

When Grandma turned to Susan with a full smile, Susan flinched, startled, then answered in a slightly awkward tone,

“It was fascinating. I’d never known such bright red juice could come out.”

I chuckled softly, recalling how Susan had practically crushed the raspberries when I told her to wash them.

Then Susan tilted her head and asked,

“But… doesn’t your way of speaking sound strange? Both you, Grandma, and you, Brother.”

At her comment, not only Grandma but even Kamin—who had been quietly sipping his iced tea—jumped in surprise.

Narrowing her eyes, Susan looked back and forth between me and the two of them, then asked slowly,

“…Don’t you know what kind of person Brother is?”

“Huh?”

Don’t know what kind of person Kamin is?

Is he someone of an incredibly high status?

Just as I was tilting my head, Kamin called out loudly,

“Susan!”

In a flash, he stood up and grabbed her arm, pulling her along. Even then, he had already drained his iced tea completely.

Forcing a smile, Kamin said,

“It’s been a while. Won’t you go and have a talk with your brother?”

Susan’s face, as she glanced between me and Kamin, flushed bright red in an instant. She shouted angrily,

“No, Brother! This is unbelievable!!”

“Let’s step outside and talk first.”

“This isn’t the time to talk! What are you even talking about?!”

“Susan! Let’s go outside first!”

“Brother!!”

Is that what a sibling fight looks like? I hunched my shoulders.

I don’t know what it is, but it feels like they’re fighting because of me.

Should I stop them? Or not?

Kamin practically carried Susan out. Once the door closed, I couldn’t hear their voices anymore.

They’re not going to start throwing punches out there, are they?

As I fidgeted and stared at the door they’d left through, Grandma spoke to me with a gentle smile.

“You must have been quite startled by Susan.”

“I was… pretty surprised.”

I mean, I’d woken up to find a young lady lying face-to-face with me, blinking her eyes—that alone was shocking enough. I’d even wondered if she was a ghost only I could see.

She really is a unique person.

It was strange enough that she’d been lying there studying me, but then she followed me along when I went for a walk—and now she’d even fought with Kamin.

And what did she mean about our way of speaking being strange?

Did that mean Grandma and Kamin usually didn’t speak the way they were now?

I don’t understand any of this.

As I kept tilting my head in confusion, Grandma added with a wry smile,

“She’s not a bad child. She’s just a bit fiery.”

“Is that so?”

Well, if she takes after Kamin, she must be kind at heart. I nodded.

“I didn’t even know Kamin had a younger sister.”

“He has two younger sisters. Susan probably came looking for him because he’d been gone for so long. Try to get along with her.”

“Yes.”

I answered meekly, wiggling my fingers. In truth, there was only one thought in my mind.

Two sisters-in-law?! Was that what he meant when he said he had many secrets?

It all seemed plausible. Lost in my thoughts, I let out a sigh.

Now that I think about it, I really don’t know anything about Kamin.

The realization felt oddly new.

Meanwhile, Susan—dragged outside by Kamin—started slapping his arm repeatedly the moment they were out, shouting,

“This is unbelievable! What on earth do you think you’re doing?!”

She’d had a bad feeling about this. No matter how close Lady Aurelian and Kamin were as grandmother and grandson, Kamin was still the Emperor, so Lady Aurelian had always spoken to him with proper honorifics.

But that familiar tone—like a normal family.

It clearly wasn’t something that had started just yesterday; their conversation had been incredibly natural.

He was hiding the fact that he’s the Emperor!

And for what crime did he deserve to hide his identity and laugh together like a truly ordinary family?

On top of that, seeing the Ego Sword—the very reason Kamin had come to the kingdom in the first place—clinging to Riena’s back was infuriating.

“And the Ego Sword is completely following that woman as its master! Why did you just leave it alone when it was right there?”

He could have snatched it, demanded it—there were plenty of ways.

To the indignant Susan, Kamin replied in a firm voice,

“Louis is a sword with its own will. As long as he serves Riena as his master, I can’t forcibly restrict Louis’s actions.”

“You call that an answer? Then if the Ego Sword decided it would never return to the Empire, were you planning to respect that will too?”

The Ego Sword was a symbol of the Imperial Emperor’s legitimacy. That was the very reason Kamin had left the throne vacant for so long and come all the way to the kingdom.

It’s not like you don’t know how important that is!

Susan glared at her brother, fuming. Even so, Kamin shook his head again and gave an answer that dashed her expectations.

“If that is Louis’s will, then there’s nothing I can do.”

“Oh, please—‘Louis’ this, ‘Louis’ that! You’ve already become friends with it, haven’t you?!”

It seemed he’d even given a single sword the grand name “Louis.” At a loss for words, Susan crossed her arms and pursed her lips. Kamin ruffled his hair.

Honestly, it’s a tempting sword.

He’d only swung it once, but Louis was truly an excellent blade. The sensation of it fitting perfectly into his palm still lingered.

Still, no matter how tempting it is, I can’t just take Louis by force.

Not only would Riena be disappointed, but once he realized that Louis genuinely regarded her as his master, he couldn’t treat it like an ordinary object.

Susan pressed him again in a sharp tone,

“Then why did you hide who you are? Without explaining that, none of this makes sense.”

Why couldn’t he say that he was the Emperor?

“You should have at least told her that the Ego Sword is the Emperor’s sword! If you had, that woman would have given up much more easily.”

Judging by the situation, even when he’d first gone to Riena’s house to ask for the Ego Sword, he’d approached her like an ordinary man.

And why didn’t you tell her that the woman you want to marry is the Ego Sword’s master?

Honestly, Brother—he never says the important things.

Growing increasingly frustrated, Susan groaned, then suddenly widened her eyes.

“Ah! Don’t tell me—you’re trying to marry her to get the Ego Sword?”

If it were Kamin, with his strong sense of duty, it wasn’t impossible. At Susan’s question, Kamin shook his head.

“Of course, if this were the old me, I might have. But I’ve changed my mind. A marriage without love would be cruel to both sides.”

“Huh?”

She couldn’t believe such words were coming from the mouth of someone who had always seemed like the poster child for political marriages.

Doubting her own eyes and ears, Susan exclaimed in shock,

“D-d-don’t tell me you fell in love at first sight?!”

At her words, Kamin firmly shook his head.

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?!”