chapter 14
14 – A younger brother needs a sister.(2)
Damien Krauss plays the villain in <The Princess is Loved>, the original novel of this world. It is also a villain who is eliminated at the beginning. It wasn’t that there wasn’t a way to recycle the once-defeated villain, but at least in the development of the novel I saw, it didn’t appear any more.
From the standpoint of the reader, who is the main character, Damian, who is only a supporting character unless otherwise described, is only a signal to announce the start of Elena’s full-scale action, but he is still set as the successor of Count Kraus, the third largest military family in the Empire. It’s a bastard.
Among the candidates for the male lead, there was Reinhard Kromel, the ‘Sword of the Sky’ who was from the same family as Damian and would later reach the level of Sword Master, so even though he had not reached the highest level of Sword Master at the time, Reinhardt Perhaps because of the majesty he showed, some readers were interested in the progress of the Count Krause family, of which the Sword Master is the head of the family.
Arthur, the owner of the house, personally apologized to Elena and Yoheim on his knees, but the readers said, ‘Actually, he will be grinding his teeth behind the scenes and waiting for the time to take revenge.’ They set up speculations such as, anticipating the reappearance of Damian, but as a result, what they hoped for did not happen.
In the Krause family, the only idiot is Damien Krause. It was only this one person.
After that, after the story develops to some extent, the Count Krause family appears again. Through a boy named Alphonse Krause.
Alphonse is the new heir to the county, replacing Damian, and appears as Elena’s helper.
The reason was as follows.
The reason why the Krause family could be the great lord and ruler of the south wasn’t just because the land was fertile and the location was good. The biggest reason was that Krause was a famous swordsman, not purely because of his strong military power, but because he was a guardian of the Rune Proud Mountains, infested with demonic beasts.
Once a year, the monsters living in the mountain range start a large-scale movement toward the place where people live, and Krause’s role was to protect the people from the march of the demons and lead them at the forefront.
However, in this place, pagans, who can be called black attacks in the novel, appear and the front line that has been maintained by them collapses. Since then, most of the southern part has fallen and only Sarham, guarded by Arthur Krause, remains as the last bastion.
In order to support such Sarham, various families of the empire went to support, and one of them, of course, was the Duke of Edelweiss, and among those who supported was Elena, who had grown into an outstanding wizard.
The fate of the pagans has already been decided by the main character’s arrival. The cultists are quickly dealt with by Elena and the male lead candidates following her.
At this time, Alphonse stood in the position of Krause’s successor, met Elena, apologized for what Damian had done in the past, and appeared in the role of helping Elena’s demon subjugation go smoothly.
Far from the return of Damian that readers thought, Damian’s name only came out, but Alphonse’s words were in a state of obscurity. At those words, many readers said that Damian was the cause of the monster wave, and that he jumped out of fear.
Perhaps thanks to having such an older brother, Alphonse’s appearance was well-received.
It was because he apologized for his brother’s mistake as if it were his own, and he showed himself worthy of being called a hero in every single action throughout the subjugation.
Some even made a fuss about whether he was a new male lead candidate.
This episode proves that the only trash in the Krause family is Damian Krause. At this point, I wonder if the human named Damian was created by the real god with the only malice against Elena.
So if my body is only related to Elena, is it the same shape? I’m really excited.
Of course, now I am Damian and I am grateful to have such a good younger brother. In the past, if you listened to the words of acquaintances around you, the existence of a younger brother, regardless of gender, the older you get, the more you will throw away all of your old personality.
But was it because he knew such a future?
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Maybe I was relieved because I knew the future where I grew up well on my own even with a trash like Damian as my older brother.
Even forgetting that the child was still only a child, not even ten years old.
***
A portrait hanging over my and Elena’s heads.
In the painting, a woman was sitting in a chair. Green eyes resembling emeralds with light brown hair. The atmosphere of her, which gives a comfortable feeling just by being in the seat, was well melted in the picture.
And a little boy of the same color as him now trembles in front of me.
I looked around once. No other people were visible besides us, probably because there was no servant. Maybe you’ve lost your way. Lord Krause’s castle is huge, so it wouldn’t be strange if a child got lost.
But that’s why he had an attendant by his side.
Just looking at the armor decorated in the hallway, it was the same. Even if you are a strong adult man, you never know what kind of accident will happen if you fall under it. Where the hell did the attendants go and left Alphonse alone? Regardless of how he would grow up in the future, Alphonse was now a seven-year-old child.
Perhaps because of that, I inadvertently put strength between my eyebrows.
“Tongue, bro…that’s it…”
Seeing my face like that, Alphonse, who was speechless, held something in his hand.
It wasn’t something that could be covered by a child’s tiny hands. A string of gold glittering flowed through the cracks in Alphonse’s hand. Hanging on the gold line was a necklace engraved with the pattern of our family. I knew very well what that necklace was.
A portrait of the mother with the cloth down, the Isilia Pavilion full of traces of the mother. And the rocket in Alphonse’s hand.
Only then did I begin to understand what had happened.
I rubbed my crumpled forehead with my finger then knelt down to meet Alphonse at eye level before speaking.
“Alphonse. What if I come here alone without any attendants? What if I get hurt?”
“Sorry…”
“Are you always here at this hour?”
“…”
Alphonse didn’t answer. However, it was clear that the silence meant affirmation without having to listen to the answer.
The time I went to the Isilia Pavilion was always fixed. And today wasn’t that day. If it wasn’t for Elena, it would have been normal for the Isilia Pavilion to be empty today. Then why was Alphonse going to Isilia Pavilion without a servant, avoiding my eyes?
Although Isilia Pavilion was not particularly forbidden.
‘father.’
In fact, the answer to that was already vaguely guessed. Because there was only one person in the family who could control Alphonse’s actions.
I turned and looked up at Elena, who was standing next to me.
She made eye contact with me without saying anything.
Elena smiled and greeted Alphonse.
“I saw you last night. My name is Elena Edelweiss.”
Alphonse, who had been silent at Elena’s greeting, finally opened his mouth. Alphonse, though still young, was learning the etiquette of an aristocrat, so he knew that it was rude to silently ignore a lady’s greeting.
“…Ah, I’m Alphonse Krause. And…you can just call me Alphonse. I’m your fiancée.”
“Yes. I understand. Master Alphonse.”
Alphonse’s ears turned red at the sight of Elena smiling softly at the end.
After all, the power of beauty is great. I took down Alphonse in one fell swoop.
I took Alphonse’s hand and told her.
“Helena. I guess I should take Alphonse to my room. Unfortunately, I’ll stop exploring Isilia Hall today.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but I guess I should. So, shall we do it again tomorrow?”
“I’m sorry…it’s because of me…”
I gently brushed the hair of Alphonse, who continued to say sorry. Rather, it was on my side that I felt sorry. Alphonse seemed to keep an eye on me for fear of asking me about today’s events, but Alphonse wasn’t the one I was supposed to talk to.
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My head throbs again at the successive events. Following his engagement to Elena, Alphonse this time. Wasn’t the problem with the Krause family only my own?
It was as if time, which had been stopped, started to move again, as if the events that should have happened to me were pouring in all at once.