* * *
Sylvian hastily grabbed the spoon, trying to reject Zeroth’s offer to help him.
But his hand trembled as he held it.
“Sylvian, don’t push yourself.”
A gentle kiss brushed the tip of his nose.
His cheeks flushed in embarrassment as Zeroth brought a spoonful of soup to his lips.
“Ahh.”
“…Ah.”
As the warm soup entered his mouth, he felt alive again.
Though he had meant to keep some formality between them, Sylvian couldn’t resist the temptation and kept taking every spoonful Zeroth offered.
All the while, he kept sneaking glances at him and looked like he wanted to say something.
“Get some rest.”
“Y-Yeah…”
Even without being told, his eyes were already closing.
At the warm touch, a sigh of relief slipped from his lips.
“Brother, brother?!”
“Ha ha, Marti!”
Martius, who had been anxious since hearing his older brother had awakened, was finally able to see him the next day.
When he heard Sylvian had woken up, he hadn’t dared sleep, afraid he’d slip back into unconsciousness.
“Don’t cry, Marti. Goodness.”
“Sniff…”
Martius bit his lips, overwhelmed by the relief that his brother was finally safe.
When they first found him, the situation was too chaotic to even feel any relief.
“Marti, I’m really okay now. Paul said all I need is to eat well. I’ll be training again soon too.”
The hand that patted his back felt just like before.
Martius clutched his brother’s hand tightly.
“I’ll stay by your side and—mmph!”
“What are you saying? You need to live your own life.”
Sylvian cut him off and covered his mouth.
“You have to take over the Nertian estate.”
Finally, he could say it with ease.
“Have they still not found our parents?”
Just in case, he’d asked Elizabeth to investigate. She said she couldn’t find a trace of them anywhere.
“The Duke sent them to a safe place.”
“Safe?”
“Yeah. But they promised to repay their debts.”
So he handled it that gently?
Hearing Martius say Zeroth had told him in secret, Sylvian nodded.
“Where is the Duke?”
“I heard he hasn’t gone back to work.”
Not wanting to continue talking about their parents, Martius changed the topic.
“Ah… He did neglect his duties quite a bit.”
“The Imperial Court sent someone.”
This morning, as soon as he got up, Zeroth had insisted on helping him bathe, which Sylvian had shyly refused.
It felt awkward after so long, and there were still things left unsaid.
When he said, with a teary face, that the maids would help him instead, Zeroth had reluctantly stepped back—just as a royal summons arrived.
“He must have so much work piled up after being off for so long.”
“…He must be really busy.”
Seeing his brother’s face turn gloomy, Martius quickly added,
“Yuri! Yuri said she’d be coming soon. While the Duke’s working, she can stay with us!”
Martius’s back was drenched in sweat.
He knew he had to respect the time between the reunited couple, but he’d also heard that the Duke’s office was buried in paperwork.
“Should we do that? How’s Yuri?”
“He said he’d arrive around lunchtime, so by now—”
“Sir Sylvian!”
Before Martius could finish his sentence, a large figure came barreling in and tackled Sylvian, burying him into the bed.
“Hey!”
“Hahaha!”
“Waaah!”
Yuri, who had just arrived at the Duke’s estate, had overheard their conversation from outside, thrown open the door, and rushed in.
“Yuri? Are you alright? Goodness, your face is so swollen. How much did you cry?”
“Waaah, I’ve been crying since yesterday.”
When Sylvian gently lifted Yuri’s face, his handsome features were soaked with tears.
Martius recoiled in disgust at the tear- and snot-covered face.
Sniff.
Seeing that, Yuri clung tightly to Martius’s arm, demanding to know where he thought he was going.
“Wha… the… hell… are you doing.”
Martius gritted his teeth as Yuri grabbed him with hands still wet from wiping his face.
“You two seem closer than before.”
“No!”
“That’s not it.”
Both shook their heads vigorously at Sylvian’s comment.
Sniff.
“It’s all because of me. I’m… too weak…”
“Yuri. It’s because those bastards were terrible. It’s not your fault.”
Sylvian panicked, trying to calm Yuri down as he began crying again.
“Waaah. Next time, I’ll go instead.”
“Who would kidnap you? You’re too heavy to carry off.”
Martius shook his head in exasperation at the pitiful sight of Yuri crying into his brother’s arms. Sylvian chuckled quietly at the scene.
Yuri looked beautiful even as he sobbed, but as the distance between them seemed to grow again, Sylvian quickly began soothing him.
Sniffle.
“I’ve filed for a year’s leave from the academy. I’ll train hard and become a knight. A knight of the Duke’s estate—”
“And who says you’d be accepted?”
The one to crush that noble dream was Whisen, who had been quietly observing until then.
By Zeroth’s command, Whisen had returned to serve as Sylvian’s bodyguard—chosen because Sylvian was most familiar and comfortable with him.
“You’re… sniff so mean, Deputy Commander.”
“Just call me Sir Tarkan. I don’t believe we’re on terms for ‘Deputy Commander’ just yet, are we?”
Whisen’s return was like a cold wind blowing in again.
Sylvian wondered what happened to the other guards, as Whisen had been stationed in the corner of the room since morning.
“That’s so petty! I’ll take the entrance exam as soon as I graduate!”
“I’ll make sure you fail it immediately.”
While Yuri pouted, Ruai entered the room.
“I’m preparing lunch. Would you all like to eat together?”
“Great! And set it at the table—I want to get up.”
At Sylvian’s words, Yuri beamed and nodded. Martius helped his brother up and led him to the table.
Whisen watched over the Duke’s wife, Sylvian, as he dined with his brother and Yuri, staying by his side until evening.
‘Something still feels off.’
Sylvian woke abruptly at dawn.
He turned his head slightly to check on Zeroth.
Zeroth looked peaceful as he held Sylvian in his arms.
The edginess he had shown for the past few days was gone.
Anytime Sylvian even tried to move more than necessary, Zeroth and the staff would stop him.
Now that the culprit had been caught, there shouldn’t be anyone left who could harm the Duke’s wife.
But the Graham estate acted like Sylvian might vanish at the slightest breeze.
“Ugh…”
He moved slightly for no reason, and a hand rose gently to stroke his back.
“Shhh.”
The low voice that whispered by his ear felt like it was telling him everything would be alright.
“Mmh…”
“It’s okay.”
If Karl had told the truth about what happened, there’s no way he’d still be alive.
Most likely, he’d insisted he hadn’t crossed the line—that he hadn’t done anything that bad.
Sylvian whimpered deliberately and burrowed deeper into the broad chest.
“Yaaawn…”
“Are you sleepy? Should we go back in?”
Yuri’s eyes widened as Sylvian yawned unintentionally.
He looked ready to rush him back into bed, so Sylvian quickly shook his head.
“Yuri, are you really not going back to the academy?”
“The semester’s already started. If I go now, I’ll be late.”
“But because of me, your graduation got delayed…”
Apparently, Sylvian was the only one bothered by it.
If Martius had been there, he would’ve said something, but the younger brother had left for work with Zeroth.
“Is it true that Martius joined the 2nd Order?”
“He was recognized for helping root out the rebels. I even got a medal, but my parents really want me to graduate from the academy.”
* * *
