Chapter 6

Joshua, who had good reflexes, caught it right away. She didn’t throw it to attack in the first place, so it was easy to catch.

“…… What’s this?”

“You told me to throw it.” Joshua, who opened his fists, was embarrassed.

It was candy.

The sickly Seraphine took a lot of medicine, and because it was so bitter, she had candy on her side.

“Who, who cares about this?!”

The pink candy wrapped in shiny plastic stole the attention of his eyes. Meanwhile, Seraphine really thought of Joshua as a child.

‘My brother feels very different from my sister.’

During her time in the Tilmun Kingdom, Seraphine had one younger sister. She was as cute as a cat and wanted to hog the love of their parents. Even though her hair was rising, she smiled as she said, I’m the only one who can hug you like this.

T/n: Since she referred to her sister like a cat, the hair rising part was like a cat’s behavior.

On the other hand, the younger brother was bigger and harder to break his boundaries. No matter what he does, he seems to be on guard all the time, let alone laugh.

Isn’t that still the case?

“He was so worried, so father told me to stay here. I’m the only one at home right now —if I had known this would happen, I would have said that I had an appointment.”

“I made you worry.”

“…Did you take any poison? What’s wrong with you today?” Joshua was disgusted.

Still, he didn’t throw away the candy.

Seraphine then thought for a moment, thinking that her words were more honest than her body. She asked,

“What would you think if I really died with poison?”

“… What kind of nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Joshua had a bewildered expression for a moment; he hated it.

“Are you going to drink poison this time? Are you crazy? No, you’re not sane.” Joshua, who looked at Seraphine with contemptuous eyes, continued.

“I was foolish to believe that my sister was sane even for a moment. Don’t think anything strange; take some medicine and go to sleep.”

No matter how much he hated it, they seemed like a family. He hated her but never told her to die in front of him.

‘Well, no one wants to see their blood dead… except for my father.’

Seraphine, who had grasped Joshua’s personality after a few conversations, then nodded her head. However, Joshua was a little embarrassed to see Seraphine, who only knew how to shout and spoke harshly, lying down obediently.

Is it because she has a cold?

Why are you so obedient?

As for the candy you gave me earlier…

Joshua suddenly felt the candy in his hand and frowned.

“Aren’t you eating candy?”

Joshua stood tall, stared at the candy, and was feeling strange.

After she took medicine, her mind quickly became hazy, and the patient, who was about to sleep, asked with her eyes open. When hearing her voice, Joshua lifted his face in surprise.

It was the most languid and peaceful appearance of her sister he had seen in his entire life. It didn’t seem like she wanted to give up life at all. She also said she tried to commit suicide, yet he didn’t fully understand what changed her mind.

“Is this what strawberries taste like? It’s a strawberry flavor.”

Seraphine, who didn’t even know it tasted like strawberries, thought calmly, ‘Joshua doesn’t like the taste of strawberries.’

“What candy do you like? I’ll prepare it for you tomorrow. So come and get it.”

“Do you want me to take care of you again tomorrow?” Joshua snorted.

Seraphine, who didn’t really mean it that way, wanted to say no.

“Are you going to pass a cold to a healthy person?”

“Oh, then I’ll have a maid send your candy…”

“Then I’ll look like a candy lover!”

“Then is that not good?”

There was no malice in Seraphine’s eyes as she looked at Joshua. He was the only one who imagined receiving a bunch of candy from his sister.

He was not yet an adult, but Joshua, who didn’t like being treated like a child, shouted with a blush on his face.

“I will come! I’ll come!” The embarrassed Seraphine tried to say something but couldn’t.

Bang!

It was because Joshua left the door vigorously.

‘No, if you don’t want to come, you don’t have to, so why are you like that?’

Was it because you hated strawberry-flavored candy so much?

Seraphine, knowing her brother’s taste, closed her eyes again.

She wanted to sleep a little longer.

* * *

Joshua came to take care of her every single day.

Even though she said he didn’t have to come, he inevitably opened the door.

“Sister, did you eat properly? Did you just eat this? Is this bird feed?” He grunted as soon as he saw Seraphine’s face.

He showed signs of reluctance as if he was ordered to come, but when she told him to go back, he didn’t leave as if he was stuck here.

Seraphine, who was sick, could not stop the person from coming.

The bizarre time with her sibling together grew longer and longer.

“You look like you’re dying today. Is it cold? Why have you been sick for so long?”

“I’m not as healthy as you, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”

When she told Joshua, as a matter of fact, he felt like he was stabbed. Perhaps it was because she had already died once, so Seraphine didn’t come to terms that she only had a few lives left.

An empire was built on the site of a kingdom. But this was no longer the place Seraphine knew —both her people and memories died, leaving only Seraphine’s memories.

So she didn’t try to remain in people’s memory for a long time. She just took it for granted, saying, ‘If I die like this, so be it.’

However, Joshua didn’t seem to like the attitude. In the first place, he didn’t like Seraphine, so it wasn’t new. And even though it’s called nursing, Joshua wasn’t particularly doing anything. It was natural for the maid to take care of everything.

There were only two things Joshua did when he suddenly came into Seraphine’s room.

First, quarreling. Second, observing Seraphine.

“Are you supposed to look at me like that while I’m taking my medicine?”

When Seraphine couldn’t stand it and said something, Joshua responded as if it was natural.

“If you pretend to digest it, you’ll grow sick even more.”

“A sick person should get well, and who said that?”

“Sister did that before.”

As Joshua said, the owner of the body never took medicine.

She did it because the medicine was horrible, but Joshua won’t sympathize even if she explained it.

Seraphine then shook her head.

“It won’t happen now. Would you like some candy? Today it tastes like lemon.” She picked up the candies as soon as her hands got on them.

One was for Seraphine, and the other was Joshua’s.

Contrary to his harsh tone, Joshua obediently took the candy and left.

‘Now that I see it, it looks like he was trying to monitor whether I was taking my medicine or not.’

As the time spent in one space increased, she could tell. Joshua was not the younger brother who hated his sister as much as this body owner remembered.

He’s hot-tempered, and the way he spoke was harsh; it wasn’t too noticeable, but he was worried about Seraphine. He said that he came because he was the only person who had the most leisure in the house, but Seraphine knew. That it was not so easy to take attendance stamps every time.

‘Neither Joshua nor the owner of this body learned to speak honestly, so I can understand why they didn’t get along well. By nature, they’re the polar opposite.’

Joshua reminded me of my sister.

So Seraphine gave Joshua plenty of candy, just as she did to her sister. After receiving the candy with both hands, Joshua made a very subtle expression.

A few days later, Seraphine was well enough to go out. Joshua, who didn’t know this, still came to visit Seraphine every day.

“Sister, what are you doing not lying in bed?”

Contrary to her usual pajamas, Joshua frowned upon seeing Seraphine in her outdoor clothes.

“I’m fine now. After all, it didn’t last long since it’s a mild cold.”

Then you don’t have to watch from the side anymore.

“You didn’t tell me to come early,” Joshua grunted and tried to get back. But Seraphine grabbed Joshua with a somewhat impatient look.

“You must have been around town often, haven’t you?” Joshua nodded his head as if it was only natural.

“Then why don’t you go out with me today? I wish for you to give directions.”

“Are you trying to treat me like a porter?”

“Huh? Porter?”

“In addition to your fiancé, there have been rumors that you’ve been dating several men lately, so you can get a servant for something like that.”

It was a story that everyone knew. She had a crush on her fiancé. The owner of her body was also aware of this.

She recently had an affair in an attempt to somehow get her fiance to reflect. However, it was a shabby operation. Because even jealousy could have to be based on affection.

On the other hand, Seraphine, who has nothing to be ashamed of, frankly confided her destination.

“How about an art museum? I love going to a place like that.”

“There’s something I’d like to check.”

The Empire was founded on the site of the Tilmun Kingdom. And with the kingdom’s fall, an empire was established. Thus, learning the history of an empire had marked the first page with the fall of a kingdom. Every time Seraphine opened a history book, she was confronted with an unbelievable truth.

‘The person who brought the kingdom to ruin.’

She was going to the art museum now to make sure she got the truth right. As it was related to her past life, Seraphine became more nervous than usual.

“If it’s impossible, I’ll ask someone else to go with me, as you said.”

“Are you going to take a real bastard with you? And if you fall down again, our father will nag me.”

Joshua seemed to have no choice but to accompany Seraphine. Seraphine made it clear she would take the maids out if Joshua refused. Still, it was convenient for someone who knew her face to give directions, so she rode out with Joshua in the carriage.

As for her outing, she informed the Duke of Rubia early, so there was no difficulty.

But there was one problem.

“……”

“……”

Neither of them has a friendly personality, so a heavy silence lingered when they got into the carriage together.

Seraphine, who was only looking out of her window, opened her mouth because one thing came to mind since she was talking about medicine earlier.

“You should spend time with your fiancée too, but it seems like you are wasting your time on something useless.”

“Sister.”

Did I make a mistake?

Joshua’s expression was not very good.

“What you just said is a stern remark like a grandmother from a hundred years ago.”

T/n: you’re not wrong tho, she’s lived about 5 centuries.

“……”

“And I don’t have a fiancee. How come you do not know if your brother is single or not? Well, of course, you don’t because you only care about yourself.”

It was better to just keep her mouth shut. Since Joshua is the second son of the Duke’s family, there have been several marriage proposals.

It was an honor to bring this up because of such a memory.

Looking back, she hadn’t seen Joshua with a positive look except when she gave him candy.

‘If that is also positive, it is positive.’

There was no conversation after that.

After a long time, the two were able to get off the wagon full of bleak atmosphere. When Seraphine arrived at the museum with Joshua, she rushed forward as if she was looking for something.

“Sister, didn’t you come to the art museum to look at paintings? What are you looking for so eagerly?”

“This is not it.”

“I can’t believe this. What do you……si, sister!”

Since the museum was quiet, Joshua lowered his voice and called Seraphine, who was leading the way. Now, Seraphine seemed to be possessed by something. After passing through many paintings, Seraphine finally stopped walking. Joshua, who was following her, was startled by his sister, who suddenly stood tall and halted.

“Do give a heads-up. I’m going to bump into you, ah.”

However, Seraphine looked up at the portrait of the first emperor in silence as if she could not hear Joshua. It was partially erased due to the passage of time, but it was recognizable.

Icarus.

He, a mere slave and beaten in place of Seraphine, overthrew the kingdom, established an empire and became the first emperor.