We left the place where kuso ouji was, feeling quite refreshed, and after meeting up with imouto-san and her husband, who I don’t really get it but had proud looks in their faces, the four of us went out to the terrace through the large glass doors that were open in order to discuss things further.
The terrace, however, went straight through and out to the courtyard, or in other words, outside.
There were various plants and trees planted, and beautiful pale flowers that I didn't know were blooming.
They were not lilies, roses, or peonies.
They were more like bellflowers and carnations in shape.
If you can see it from the front because it has a lot of petals, it's probably closer to a peony or a carnation.
But I don't know much about flowers, so I’m not sure
Looking into Augusto-san's knowledge, I found out that the national flower of this country is called "Luna".
The flower blooms around the time of the country's founding anniversary, and it's in its prime right now.
I also learned that the roots of this flower can be infused and drunk to enhance natural healing power, and that it was almost cut down during the war and was in danger of extinction.
In addition to being used as a remedy for wounds, it was often taken as a comforting remedy for diseases that were prevalent at the same time.
I immediately felt a queasy feeling in my chest, almost like a stomachache, probably because I had a flashback of Julia and Augusto-san at the time of her deaths from the disease.
This flower was also used as a treatment for Julia.
However, it was not a cure for the disease itself, so it did not cure her, and more importantly, it did not work on time.
The disease was classified as an epidemic.
There were no rules as to what caused the disease, and some families were cursed with the disease, while others had it only in one person in a house with dozens of people.
Julia was unlucky enough to be one of those rare cases.
The characteristic of this disease is that it is difficult to detect that you have it.
At first, the symptoms are like a cold, which is why it is often discovered late, and by the time you realize it, you are very sick.
Well, even if you find out that you have this disease in the beginning, without a cure, there is nothing you can do.
In the middle of the cold-like symptoms, the body gradually loses magic power, strength, resistance, muscle power, and everything else.
As a result, at the end, they would welcome death looking similar to a dead tree-like old man.
That is why the disease was called "dead tree disease" at that time.
I don't know if it was caused by the quantity or quality of magic power, because there were no such experts in this country to investigate.
But the people who get it are random, and the time of death is also random.
The only saving grace is that there is a cure.
People seemed to think that it was not a curse because the medicine worked, but for Augusto-san, it was no different from a curse.
Even though it wasn't my own memory, experiencing it as if it was my own memory was weird.
"Luna's flower......, is it already this time of year……"
"I don't care how many national flowers there are, I don't like them very much."
Meikko-chan looked at me strangely as her sister and her husband muttered these words.
I guess it's the difference between those who know the time and those who don't.
If you don't know, it's just a beautiful pale blue flower.
"It's National Day, that means it's that time of year."
As I quietly walked forward, I saw imouto-san and her husband out of the corner of my eye, looking complicated.
It seems that they are trying to make up for it, but both of them are still not very good at acting.
As I thought about this in a comforting way, I decided to analyze the situation calmly, trying to shake off the disgust and other things swirling in my chest.
... And then it occurred to me.
I wondered if the outbreak of the epidemic had been the enemy's plan.
Then I thought about how strange it was that only an enemy country could have a cure for a disease that just happened to be spreading.
Another hypothesis that came to mind was that the water might have been contaminated at that time.
Water is essential for life, so it is the least likely to be noticed and the easiest, most accurate, and cruel way to set something in motion.
This thought came to my mind because I remembered that it was often used in dramas and movies to spread contagious diseases in the other country during wartime.
I searched Augusto-san's memory and made a map in my mind of the distribution of the disease, and found that it was more common in the areas near the reservoir.
Ah, yes, it's obviously a trick.
This means that the type of people who are favored by the water spirits were probably less likely to be affected.
In any case, the magic power that spirits like is something of a delicious meal to them, so they naturally don't like the idea that if a person who always gives it to them were to die because of the attribute they control, water.
...... If this is the case, then the neighboring countries that we were at war with are very suspicious.
I'm not sure if it's even classified as an epidemic at this point.
I'm still guessing, and I don't know all the details, but it's highly possible.
If I can, it might be a good idea to ask the Spirit Kings about what happened back then.
If I'm able to ask him, and get a real confirmation ...... I wonder what I will do.
At any rate, as soon as I find the person who started the war, I'm going to beat him up for all the people who died in the war, but I'm worried about what I might do if I actually saw him in front of me because of Augusto-san's memories.
Thinking about this, I looked around the courtyard again.
There seemed to be tables set up all over the courtyard, where I could see other nobles relaxing and gazing at the scenery in a graceful manner while exclaiming how wonderful it was.
However, as I got closer and closer, the nobles all over the place quickly left their seats and went away in a hurry.
...... No, you know what, I was just walking around, I wasn't intimidating or anything, I didn't have any other intentions, okay?
Why is everyone going away with such a pale face?
Wait, wait, I didn't do anything, okay?
I'm not going to do anything, okay? You don't have to run away, okay?
Why are you so desperate?
Well, uhm, it’s not like I don’t get it, you know?
I mean, it's really domineering to see an ojisama who looks like an evil general walking around followed by a couple of people.
And two of them are a little bit tough-looking, so they’re really decently domineering, I suppose it can’t be helped.
I don’t really get it, but I want to cry.
“Oh my, a seat just opened in time"
“That’s right, huh, Rosa, let’s sit here then.
If it’s here, instead of those flowers we can see purple roses that are perfectly fitting for brother-in-law."
Hohoho, hohoh, imouto-san and her husband, who started to take the empty seats while laughing at each other, seemed to be very used to it.
That means, this is a regular thing, I didn't want to know.
They casually say something like that to raise up Augusto-san’s spirits, but that seat makes me feel subtle, as if we robbed it, low-key don't want to sit.
"Well, it really is a nice purple color for you, oniisama.
Come on, Christia, take your seat."
"Ye, yes, mother."
Unaware that I was standing still, meikko-chan, urged on by imouto-san, hurriedly took an empty seat.
Oh, I don't feel like I can go anywhere else.
No, I'm sure they'll move her if I tell them, but I have a feeling that if I do, they'll get scared and rob a seat again like before! I don't know what to do.
All right, that's enough. I wanted to visit the castle garden or something, but I'll give up walking around today.
Maybe next time, I'll have plenty of opportunities.
Maybe.
"...... Hey, you, four cups of tea, please."
"Hah! Yes! Understood! I'll bring them to you right away!"
When I called out to the boyish man who was looking at me from afar, I got a very scared reaction, and he ran away from me as fast as he could.
... He was really fast, but he's really going to bring me some tea, isn't he? It's okay, right? It's not like he ran away because he was scared or anything, right?
He just hurried away to get the tea, didn’t he? Isn't that right?
I don't know what's wrong, but I feel like crying again.
No good, no good, let's think of something else.
When I looked ahead while switching my thoughts, I saw a view with a very high-class atmosphere.
A white table, purple roses in the background, beautiful men and beautiful women in glittering outfits in their seats.
It was just too high class...what was this kind of thing? The only thing that came to mind was Faburiー〇¹.
I feel like it’s close, but why can I only come up with something wrong like this.
When it comes to this, I really can't remember anything else, damn it.
Also, what the hell is fubu〇-. It's a shame that my brain is so bad that it's ruining everything.
I was fed up with my own stupidity, but I didn't show it on my face at all, and tried my best to look elegant as I took the last remaining seat.
Aside from my appearance, I felt out of place on the inside.
I've never dealt with people like this before! What am I supposed to do with this!
No, I'll do my best, but...! My life depends on it! Damn it!
At that moment, meikko-chan, who was sitting on my left, called out to me with a look of fear.
“Ah, uh, ojisama ……."
"What's wrong, Christia?"
"...... I'm really sorry about earlier, I was too shallow. ……"
With a sad expression on her face and her voice trembling, she apologized and looked like she was about to start crying.
I'm not sure why you're so depressed, meikko-chan.
Don't worry about what happened earlier. It's important to be remorseful, but if you drag it out too much, you'll end up like Augusto-san.
The next moment, as I was about to reply something to her, words came from the side and front, interrupting the exchange between my niece and me.
“That’s right, Christia, what the hell are you thinking of challenging His Highness?"
“That’s right, Christia, what would you do if something irreparable happened?"
Imouto-san sitting to my right hides her mouth with a fan, wrinkles her brow, and say in a somewhat prickly tone of voice.
The other was the husband sitting in front of me, who asked in a somewhat regretful tone of voice with a sighing expression of dismay.
From my observation, I could tell that both of them were worried about meikko-chan.
Because Augusto-san's body specs are really impressive, the fan that hides imouto-san's face is as good as nothing.
In other words, from my point of view, I could see the worried expression on her face under the fan.
And as for the husband, if you ask me, his acting skills were lacking.
He was trying too hard to hide the fact that he was worried and overreacted, resulting in a dumbfounded expression that was probably not the expression he wanted to make.
This is a typical example of how the facial muscles work in a strange way.
But that's not the problem.
It was meikko-chan who looked hurt for a moment and then smiled in a familiar, mended way.
Hey, wait a minute.
Are you used to this? No, no, no, this is bad, a bad thing, no matter what you think.
"Wait a minute, both of you."
“Oh my, what's the matter, oniisama?"
Imouto-san who smiles gracefully is very beautiful, but let’s leave that for now.
"...... I'm sure you don't mean to imply that this is the way you've been treating Christia?"
"Yes, I have, but what's the problem?"
Yes, that’s an out!!
This mother, what are you doing! Are you an idiot!
You're an idiot! I got it!
"Hmhn, I will now objectively point out your attitude towards your own daughter."
"...... Huh…?"
I was annoyed with the husband who sounded curious.
You are unaware of this?
I know it's none of my business to complain about another family's education policy, but I couldn't help but mention it.
It’s a failure as a good parent if the child is making such a sad face and you don’t even notice it.
I did my best to hide my frustration and told myself to calm down, and opened my mouth quietly, trying not to change my expression, trying to be calm and collected, but with a lot of dignity.
"... First of all, Rosalind, you seem to think that your own daughter is depressing, disgusting, and annoying."
"...... Excuse me?"
As soon as she finished, imouto-san asked back in a spiky voice, hiding her irritated and distorted expression under her fan.
That's the only way I can see this shit as you idiot.
Normally, I would have been too scared to even respond to imouto-san's swordsmanship, but now that my frustration was getting the better of me, I didn't feel afraid of anything.
I ignored her for the time being, and then turned my attention to my husband.
"Next, brother-in-law, the same goes for you, you act like your own daughter is annoying because of her inadequacy, and you seem to be looking at her as if she were a fool."
"...... Eh?"
When I told him crisply, he muttered with a pouting expression, like a pigeon that had been hit by a peashooter.
Ah, uhm, you were seriously unaware, failure of a father.
I mean, I tried calling you brother-in-law, but you didn't respond much. If you're okay with it, I'll just keep calling you that, okay?
At that moment, my niece, looking somewhat flustered, but still with the same mended smile pasted on her face as before, pulled on the sleeve of my dress.
“Ojisama, it's okay! I am already aware of the fact that father and mother do not like me! So, ……!"
A single tear dripped down her cheek.
Uhm, is that so.
You've been holding back for a long time, haven't you?
Don't worry, I'm just going to give them a little lecture.
I let out a breath as I lightly stroked meikko-chan's head.
"Christia, first of all, you're wrong."
“Eh?"
Meikko-chan who tilted her head with a curious expression was really adorable.
That's why I couldn't forgive her parents for doing something incomprehensible.
"Rosa, quit trying to look good and lower your fan."
“B, but ……"
I’m sure she realized that her daughter felt that way at all.
Maybe she finally realized that with meikko-chan's words earlier.
Imouto-san's eyes swam from place to place as she stammered, covering her eyes with a fan to hide her turmoil.
As I cross-referenced my memory with Augusto-san's, I had a vague idea of what imouto-san was feeling, and opened my mouth again.
"The fan is only necessary for public occasions such as social gatherings.
Your expression immediately appears on your mouth.
I can understand that you are concerned about that."
Early on, I guessed she's not a very good actor.
The evidence is that she is averting her gaze in response to my words in an unhappy manner.
"But as a family, that would be the equivalent of not trusting or having faith in your daughter or family.
If you do that, it's no wonder you're misunderstood."
"......... Yes."
I'm not sure if she was thinking about it or not, but imouto-san looked a little depressed as she slowly lowered her fan and closed it with a snap.
Now, the next one is this idiot father.
I turned my gaze to the front and rubbed against Augusto-san's memory, for the data of the man in front of me, to discover why this happened.
Uhm, I guess this is it.
Parents of smart children tend to fall into the trap of thinking that their child is a genius! So it's okay! So, it's okay!
"And brother-in-law, I understand that you value and expect a lot from Christia."
As soon as I told him that, he looked at me as if to say, Isn't my kid amazing? I didn't miss the look on his face and the smile he put on his face.
Yes, this one is decided as a no good father.
I sucked in a little breath and continued to speak as I let it out.
“But she's still inexperienced.
You should know that she is not yet skilled enough to see through your performance."
"Well... Christia is smart and intelligent!"
Yes, let's face it, you're an idiot.
"But you're forgetting that she's not even twelve yet."
"...... Oh, ……."
He looked as if he finally remembered after I told him.
"She's just trying to hold it all together, desperately trying to stand tall, to be accepted by you.
She's still a young, needy child who needs to be pampered and protected."
No matter how noble you are, what on earth are you doing with such a cute child, you're the parents.
That's why she's so mature and capable of sacrificing herself, isn't it?
"So... Then what we were doing…"
"All you were doing was giving Christia a hard time and pushing her away"
I turned to the stunned and muttering husband and crisply said to the idiot father.
"Oh my God, ......! I'm sorry, Christia, but I was just being silly and stubborn. ……!"
As such imouto-san walked behind me, half crying, she walked up to meikko-chan and touches her cheek as if she was handling a broken object.
Next, her husband also got up from his seat and got down on one knee to make eye contact with meikko-chan
"I'm really sorry, Christia, I had no idea that I was giving you a hard time. ……!"
“Eh? Eh?"
I guess she didn't expect any of this.
You can see from the look on her face that she is disgusted with herself for hoping for such a thing, even though she thinks it is impossible.
She wanted to believe her parents' words, but she was too scared to do so.
"... I'm sure you're confused by this sudden turn of events, Christia. But it's real and it's true."
After being apologized to by her mother from the front and her father from the side with a face that looked like it was about to cry, she shook her head and opened her mouth in fear.
“I- hated by father and mother. ……"
“Was not!!"
I almost laughed at their crisp, overlapping assertions.
They're so desperate, these two.
I don't blame them, though, because they might not be trusted by their daughter at all.
Inwardly, I laughed, with a pukusukusu², and turned my gaze to meikko-chan.
“You heard that?"
“Rea, lly?"
The interrupted words sounded as if she was unsure whether to believe them or not, and her expression looked as if she was about to start crying.
“Ahn, really."
The next moment after I gently called out to meikko-chan, she became calm, really abruptly.
I had been laughing at her earlier, but that feeling was no longer there, not even slightly.
It was because I realized that from what I remembered of Augusto-san, neither of them were the kind of people who would do this to a child.
The little girl began to cry as if she had burst into tears, perhaps because her anxiety had been dispelled, and the mother gently hugged her child from the front.
The mother gently hugs her child from the front, and the father gently hugs them from the side.
As I look at the smiling scene where the crack between the parent and child has been filled, my calm mind thinks.
Imotou-san in my memory was a lovely girl, who could not be honest, but was very compassionate and emotional.
Her husband was a classmate of Augusto-san's. He was kind, cheerful, serious, and a wonderful person.
Both of them had normal sensitivity, courtesy, and pride.
It was unthinkable that they could lose sight of their surroundings like that.
There must be a reason.
... But then again, the king was originally a very talented man.
Maybe it's all because Augusto-san had become like that.
It's just self-consciousness! How much better it would have been if I could have kicked him out of the room.
For better or worse, Augusto-san has a great influence on them.
Of course, anyone would be shocked if someone close to them went crazy.
So, at the very least, Augusto-san was the cause of the problem.
But that's what happened because Julia passed away.
... In short, the person who started the war is the cause of everything.
Since the war broke out and Julia died, the gears gradually broke down, the damage gradually increased, and the result is now.
No one is at fault.
Me, Augusto-san, imouto-san, husband-san, the king, and the queen.
Everyone is a victim.
However, the only one who can correct it and deal with the psychological trauma is Augusto-san, who was the party closest to the root of the problem.
I'm sure Augusto-san would want that.
If this kind of thing is happening everywhere because of me, I have to stop it.
He would probably say that and work hard until he was destroyed.
He will not rely on anyone, but on himself alone.
He will probably scramble again, grinding himself to a pulp.
He really is a clumsy person.
Thinking to that extent, I felt anger welling up from the bottom of my stomach.
I can't forgive him.
Because, isn't that so?
If there hadn't been a war, we wouldn't have gotten into this mess.
Oh, my God, seriously, what the hell have you been doing, don’t joke with me.
I'm going to find him.
I'm not thinking about what happens after I find him, but I don't care right now.
I don't know who you are, but I'm gonna find you and I'm gonna make you regret it.
He knew that he had messed with the country where Augusto Werstein was.
I made up my mind and looked at the sky.
I clenched my fists as I kept the clear, sunny sky in sight.
Wash your neck and wait for me, you son of a bitch!!
//Melki: double update 'cause chapter 27 was quite short, you can already click next!
[1] : ファブリー〇 - 〇 is a place holder/zero/circle/correct (marking); I assume she wanted to say ファブリ(faburi)- something
[2] : プークスクス - SFX, expressing giggle or chuckle
I don't know who you are, but I'm gonna find you and I'm gonna make you regret it.
WAIT you seriously dont know!?
Well done Werstein! Thanks for the chapter!