Chapter 2: Raise your sister

Six months passed since Ariel was born.

Taking care of a baby isn’t easy.

They cry at every opportunity, so there’s no day you get proper sleep.

And it’s a common occurrence to only realize they’ve soiled themselves without a word, then hurriedly change their diaper.

Moreover, if you diligently feed them milk, you start to wonder if the person taking care of the baby doesn’t need care themselves.

Well, Ariel was different, though.

“Oh, good job.”

I put the bottle to Ariel’s lips.

My sister gulped down the milk with her tiny, precise lips.

Her expression didn’t change at all, so I couldn’t tell if she liked it or not.

She must like it, or she wouldn’t be drinking it, right?

“Bwuh.”

“Don’t talk while you’re eating, kid.”

“Bwuh.”

“What? You don’t like it because it’s not Mom’s milk? Mom’s sick, so she can’t give it to you. Give up.”

“…….”

‘Don’t give me that look that says, ‘Are you just interpreting it however you want?’’

I can’t communicate with you, so I have to talk to myself, don’t I?

I’m satisfied that she takes the bottle well.

They say early education is important for everything, don’t they?

In that regard, I’m doing a very good job as her older brother.

But why am I the one taking care of all of this?

‘Because the servants won’t touch her.’

To be precise, they do touch her. Very rarely.

Just the bare minimum, enough to ensure she doesn’t die.

It’s not that the servants particularly dislike Ariel; it’s because they’re wary of Father, the head of the household.

Even now, Father isn’t fond of Ariel.

If she hadn’t just been born, wouldn’t he have killed her right away?

Our Duke Leonhart is incredibly strict about his mission to protect the Empire and humanity.

He probably regards Ariel as a calamity… so I’m taking care of her out of pity.

Essentially, I’ve been acting as her nanny since I was six.

Me, acting mature despite my young age. Very commendable.

“Bwuh.”

“Alright, alright. That’s enough.”

I took the bottle away and sighed in relief.

Ariel stared at me expressionlessly.

Sometimes I wonder if she ever looks at anyone else besides me.

Currently, Ariel is no longer confined to solitary confinement.

As the second daughter of the head of the household, she was allowed into a family member’s room.

But since the servants don’t actually come in, she ends up only looking at me.

“Hurry up and get moving. I’m bored.”

“Bwuh.”

“You’re not going to play with me? That’s really unfair. If you’re so ungrateful, you’ll be cursed by heaven.”

I mumbled idle jokes and looked up at the ceiling.

These days, I’m taking sword lessons from the family knights.

The Leonhart family is the most renowned swordsmanship family in the Empire.

It’s natural for me, the eldest son, to train from a young age.

Fortunately, it wasn’t particularly difficult.

Even though I was only six years old when I picked up a sword, it felt incredibly light to swing.

Maybe I have some talent?

“Can I brag a little about this?”

“Bwuh?”

“Oh. That’s a word you wouldn’t know. Don’t worry about it.”

Anyway, I hope things continue to flow peacefully like this.

****

Ariel turned three.

These days, she’s off the bottle and eating soup heartily.

It’s truly a good sight to see her meticulously tearing soft bread and dipping it into the soup.

“Oppwa.”

“What?”

“Oppwa, aren’t you going to eat?”

“I ate before I came to you, kiddo.”

I was already eight years old.

My sword training had also progressed quite a bit.

After just endlessly swinging my sword, I was now learning about swordsmanship itself.

Swordsmanship in this world is a bit unique; rather than pure sword forms, it places more importance on sword forms that utilize mana.

Perhaps that’s the difference from medieval swordsmanship in my previous life.

I’m still only learning pure sword forms, but well, I’ll naturally learn everything later.

“Here. Oppa.”

I was lost in thought when Ariel did something mischievous.

She dipped a piece of bread into the soup and held it out to me.

Her eyes were wide, as if telling me to eat it.

Somehow, I felt a wave of emotion wash over me.

“Oppa isn’t usually like this, but it brings tears to my eyes.”

“That’s a lie. Oppa isn’t crying.”

“Those are tears of the heart, little sister.”

I took the bread and put it in my mouth.

Chewing slowly, I asked how she was, as usual.

“Are you okay these days? Is anyone bothering you?”

“No. Nobody touches me. Nobody comes here anyway.”

“Hmm… that’s a relief. It’s a 180-degree turn of a relief.”

At any rate, my sister is slowly being accepted into our family.

To be precise, it’s more like she’s an outcast rather than a true member of the family.

It’s a bitter reality, even though she’s not an illegitimate child like those in other families.

But there’s nothing I can do. When the Duke’s will is so strong, those below him have no choice but to obey.

“I’ll play with you, at least. How about it, aren’t you grateful?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Oh, my. Your answer was so straightforward, it’s making me blush.”

By the way, one peculiar thing is that my sister follows me very well.

Of course, I’ve been continuously taking care of her since she was little.

I really did everything, from changing diapers to washing her if she spilled something.

It’s understandable that she’d follow me well.

That’s true. That’s true, but.

“But could you perhaps get off my lap? My knees are starting to tingle.”

“No. Oppa’s lap is nice.”

“Honestly. It seems you and I aren’t like typical siblings.”

“???”

‘Something’s… um… something’s a bit off, isn’t it?’

‘Why is she sitting squarely between my legs and diligently eating her meal?’

‘Hmm… or maybe not? Come to think of it, this might be a normal case.’

‘After all, I don’t know much about sibling relationships in this world.’

‘It’s possible that siblings in other families are like this too.’

Besides, Ariel is a child who hasn’t met many people, so she lacks social skills and lives in her own world.

If she finds this comfortable, there’s nothing I, as her older brother, can’t do for her.

“Fine. Do as you please.”

“Yes. Oppa is mine to do as I please with.”

“There’s a surprising fact that I didn’t permit that far.”

For now, let’s just continue like this.

****

And finally, Ariel turned five.

Now she can walk well on her own and take care of herself.

I’ve reduced the frequency of our meetings since she can live well on her own without me constantly going to her.

Instead, I’ve focused on my own duties.

“You’re amazing today too, Young Master.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“It’s already been three hours since you started training, hasn’t it? Yet there’s no sign of exhaustion in the strength with which you swing your sword.”

“Alfred, you’re the kind of person who’d praise someone for just breathing.”

“Hahaha! That’s what I truly like to see, Young Master.”

Alfred, our family’s Knight Commander, came up beside me and showered me with praise.

Honestly, this is partly why I train my sword even harder.

It’s true that I have talent, but when everyone around you shouts ‘Amazing!’ ‘Incredible!’ ‘Sugooooi!’ every time you do something, how can you not do it?

Ultimately, since I’m pouring all the time I’ve cut from Ariel into sword training, it’s no wonder Alfred acts like that.

“By the way, you haven’t visited the Second Young Lady’s room lately.”

“She can live on her own now. If I dote on her too much, she’ll develop bad habits.”

“Haha. Talking with you, Young Master, sometimes feels like talking to a sage. That said…”

Alfred trailed off after saying that much.

He brought up Ariel’s topic first and then seemed to get cold feet.

“Ahem. Since the Duke isn’t very pleased, wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t go anymore, Young Master?”

“Why? Are you afraid I’ll fall behind in the succession line?”

“Ahem! That too, but as the Duke says, she is an ominous presence. Sometimes I encounter her when I’m coming and going, but… there are many times I feel she isn’t human. I hope you don’t get unnecessarily entangled, Young Master.”

Thud.

Hearing those words, I lowered my sword.

Conversing about this and that while training with the sword is enjoyable.

It helps pass the time without getting bored.

But that didn’t mean I condoned every topic.

“Alfred.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t ever insult Ariel in front of me again. No matter who you are, I won’t forgive you.”

“…! …Understood. I will correct myself.”

Alfred immediately bowed to me.

Honestly, as the Knight Commander, he didn’t need to show me this much deference.

He simply acknowledged that he had greatly offended me, the Duke’s eldest son, and conceded.

‘Haa.’

I put my sword back in its place and scratched my head.

Truly, our family is good in every way, but they’re just too cold to my sister.

They blame it on Father, the Duke, but there’s a limit to it.

Shouldn’t at least one person treat her well?

“Alfred. I apologize for what I just said. But I want you to know. Ariel is my precious little sister. Even if no one else acknowledges her.”

“Even at this age, I still learn so much from you, Young Master.”

After our conversation, I prepared to leave the training ground.

I wasted my time today, so I should eat early.

Just then.

Thump!

Near the training ground, I heard the sound of something about 15kg falling.

“What was that?”

“That’s strange. Shall I go check?”

Even Alfred didn’t notice a presence?

Is that even possible?

There’s no way a skilled person like our family’s Knight Commander wouldn’t notice….

“Ah.”

I realized.

Who had done such a mischievous thing.

“No. I’ll go. You just rest.”

“But Young Master.”

“Don’t worry. If I’m right, there’s no problem.”

I waved my hand and entered the mansion.

My destination was Ariel’s room.

Knock, knock.

“Ariel. I’m coming in.”

“….”

I opened the door and stepped inside.

And there, as if she had never left, Ariel was sitting demurely.

It was truly perfect. If I didn’t have such keen observation skills, I would have just thought she had been in her room the whole time.

“Why, Oppa?”

Her adorable eyes seemed to say, ‘I didn’t do anything,’ making me want to flick her forehead playfully.

By the way, this kid calls me Oppa, unlike in the original story.

She probably finds me comfortable.

She doesn’t even use honorifics.

That fact, a testament to how different I was from the original me, made me proud.

“Where were you?”

“I was just in my room the whole time.”

“Oh, really. So the leaves on your skirt are just my eyes playing tricks on me?”

“Gasp.”

Ariel instantly glanced down at her skirt, then realized she had fallen for my trick and subtly frowned.

“Liar.”

“You too. Why did you tell such a useless lie?”

“To be considerate of Oppa.”

“If you wanted to be considerate of me, you shouldn’t have gotten caught.”

I walked over to Ariel and plopped down beside her.

As I met her eye level, Ariel subtly averted her gaze.

Hmph.

She never avoids eye contact in front of other people.

It’s only when she’s with me that she shows such girlish reactions.

“Why were you hiding? Are you a voyeur, perhaps?”

“No. I don’t know what a voyeur is, but no.”

“A voyeur is someone who has a preference for looking at other people’s naked bodies.”

“I don’t want to know. I didn’t ask. And besides, I’m not a voyeur. I was just watching…”

She started to speak again, then realized she had fallen for my trick and clammed up.

‘Tsk, tsk.’

‘See, you shouldn’t try to win an argument with me, little sister.’

“…I just… wanted to see Oppa.”

My sister mumbled with her lips and replied.

Her expression hadn’t changed at all, but I could feel her shyness.

‘Is this the observation skill of an older brother?’

“Then just come see me.”

“People don’t like it when I’m around.”

“I’ll tell them not to bother you.”

“No. Then Oppa will be disturbed.”

‘Oh, look at this one.’

She’s being incredibly clever and considerate of me.

She’s truly a cute little thing.

“I have nothing to do without Oppa. …So I tried to watch from afar.”

“Hmm.”

Anyway, the crux of the problem is this.

Ariel has nothing she can do without me.

Because no one else will interact with her.

So she tried to be with me, even from afar.

Of course, if I had my way, I’d want to be with her all day.

But I can’t do that. I have my own life to live.

So, is there a good method?

‘Ah.’

‘Come to think of it, there was something.’

—Brother. Please play the flute again.

—Get lost. I regret playing the flute for a wretch like you.

In the original story, Craine made a flute for Ariel.

I don’t know the exact details, but the important thing is that he made it and that his sister asked him to play it again.

That means Craine can make a flute, and his sister saw him play it.

Yes. This will work.

“Then this older brother will personally make you something you can play with when you’re alone.”

“Oppa? How?”

“I have my ways.”

I chuckled and ruffled Ariel’s hair.

Ariel subtly frowned, yet gently pushed her head into my palm.

Good. I’ve decided.

For this cute little sister, I’ll make a flute tomorrow.