“It was a strange day.”
Sedrick let out a heavy sigh.
“I sneaked out of the house without my mother and father knowing. It was to buy something I’ve been waiting for a long time. Gilbert, who came to find me that day, was pale, even though it wasn’t the first time I had sneaked out like that.”
“Is that so?”
“…He said that my father passed away. Why did the carriage on the boulevard slow down so slowly? Gilbert hugged me tightly and comforted me when I cried. He smelled of earth, wood, and thick cigars.”
“You must have been very sad.”
“Yes. Lisa, everyone says that their share of grief seemed to be the greatest. I’m not a very good person, more so. My sorrow felt the greatest that I couldn’t look back at my family.”
“……”
“There was someone who lifted me like that. It was Gilbert and Mona, and my one and only brother.”
“Brother… Sid had a brother, too. He must be a really good brother.”
“Yes.”
“Is that still the case?”
“Maybe so.”
Seidrick laughed faintly. Kendrick was and still is a good older brother. As he traced the traces Kendrick left behind, he could truly feel his older brother. Seidrick was a good master who drove the business forward and never forgot to give. It was all thanks to his older brother, who taught him and the things he left behind.
Kendrick meticulously prepared his business plan, even while being busy with swordsmanship training and war. At the end of it was written ‘To Seidrick. From the beginning, it was for Seidrick. He carefully summarized it so that his younger brother, who had been traveling abroad, wouldn’t find it difficult for him to understand the situation in this country.
It was also Kendrick’s credit that it was not difficult for Seidrick to take over the business.
Alyssa said to him.
“Sid must be a good brother too.”
With a white smile on her face.
Seidrick felt like he was about to cry. No, the tears that had already warmed the corners of his eyes were blurring his vision. He clenched his teeth and turned his head.
Kendrick overlaid Alyssa’s face, whom he had in mind.
As much as Kendrick was a good older brother, was he a good little brother?
What is a good little brother who has Alyssa in his heart, who might have been Kendrick’s wife?
Seidrick let out a long sigh.
It was Seidrick’s secret that he swallowed in the trembling breath and tears.
“……I hope so.”
He hopes Kendrick doesn’t hate him. Even Seidrick would be disillusioned with his selfish self. Juliana convinces him that the living must live, but Seidrick can’t because he’s still living in the footsteps of Kendrick.
He couldn’t completely forget it.
So the compromise he found was Kendrick’s ashes.
He thought this guilt would fade after Kendrick returned to the mansion. He thinks he’ll feel like he’s done his part.
Alyssa stared at Sid’s back as he put dry wood into the bonfire. For some reason, that warm back seems to have gotten smaller. So she just spoke.
“What should we have for breakfast tomorrow? I’m pretty good at grilling fish. Shall I prepare it?”
“…who will fish?”
“Sid, go.”
Alyssa laughed bashfully. Come to think of it, the fish didn’t just come out. When this happens, she realizes that her own ability to live is meager. You can always stock up on fish at the mansion, but not here.
Seeing Alyssa’s mischievous smile, Seidrick suggested.
“…have you ever walked through the garden at night?”
“No.”
“It’s autumn, so you won’t see fireflies, but because it’s autumn, there are other things you can see.”
It was meant to go out and walk. Alyssa nodded her head quickly.
“I also make sure to catch fish on the way back.”
“Tonight?”
“Even fish sleep at night. Their pace slows down. In this case, you can catch fish with your hands instead of a fishing rod.”
“Would the water be pretty deep?”
“It’s okay for a while. Unlike Lisa, I am strong.”
“Then, if you catch a cold, you can’t blame me?”
Alyssa spoke playfully.
With her puffy face, she struggles to smile. Seidrick also brushes away the remnants of his deep emotions. Right now, he’s only thinking of Alyssa. Just Alyssa.
About the injustice she suffered today.
Seidrick nodded slowly.
“If that’s the case, cut down on a month’s worth of eggs, Lisa. I will have to sell the eggs and buy medicine.”
Both of them knew that the words on his serious face were a joke. Alyssa laughed loudly at him.
Alyssa didn’t know how precious this rare face feels to Seidrick.
How dazzling she is with the smile on her face that has removed all the shades of the world. Seidrick stared blankly at Alyssa.
He couldn’t take his eyes off Alyssa, who came down and put her feet in the dirty slippers.
She swiped her hair back.
“I’m all ready!”
It seems like the two of them are left alone in this world. As if complicated external circumstances had nothing to do with them. Meeting Norfe and Vanessa felt like a distant past. So she was able to laugh.
This was one of the few feelings of happiness that Alyssa was given.
Sid, Gilbert, and Mona.
People she never wanted to lose.
The time with them is one of the few happiest times that is most precious to her.