Lilia raises her eyebrows and turns to Tina. Tina also seemed to be looking at her and their eyes met. Tina, too, tilts her head, apparently not knowing the details.
L–Sakura. Do you know anything about it?
S–What? Let’s see…….Sorry, I’m a little confused too…….If he is Keith’s brother, I mean, this is the guy…….Um…….
Sakura seems to be confused too. But, after all, she seems to know something about it. If that’s the case, I can ask her later. For now, I turned my attention to Keith.
Broso twisted Keith’s arm. Keith screamed and Broso silently kicked Keith away. Keith fell to the ground and looked at Broso in disbelief.
Broso was still silent. He just stared at Keith silently. Keith stood up, clenching his fists, and gave Tina and Lilia one last glare before running off. After seeing him off, Lilia and Tina turned to Broso.
“Um……….”
When Tina called out to him, Broso looked away. That was enough for Tina to say nothing, and she turned her head away. Lilia gave a small sigh and said to Broso.
“Let’s go back to the inn. Broso, you’re going to tell me what’s going on.”
Broso didn’t move for a moment, but eventually nodded.
We returned to the inn and headed for my brother’s room. When the three of us arrived, my brother had a very surprised look on his face, but he must have immediately understood what was going on, because he let the three of us into his room with a wry smile.
The four of us sat around a round table. Broso borrowed my brother’s luggage and brewed a pot of tea, which he distributed to the three of us.
“Sorry,” he said. “Now, where should I start……?”
My brother folded his arms and began to think, but soon Broso shook his head. As my brother tilted his head, Broso suddenly took off his helmet.
He was a young man with flaming red hair. He opened his mouth to say something, but immediately closed it with a look of anguish on his face.
“Take it easy,” said my brother.
My brother tapped Broso on the shoulder, and Broso’s shoulders slumped.
“He’s got a little bit of a throat problem,” he said. “He can’t speak. He can’t talk if he has to, but it hurts a lot. So don’t push him too hard.”
“I understand. And you are sure that Broso is Keith’s brother?”
Lilia asks, and her brother throws a look at Broso. Broso nodded slowly.
“What is the reason Keith hates the nobility so much?”
“Before we get into that, I’d like to…….Tina. How much do you know?”
Tina is surprised at being asked to speak so abruptly, but answers in a firm voice.
“I actually don’t know much about it. Keith didn’t like aristocrats from the moment I got to know him…….When he found out I was a baronet, he called me a traitor.”
My brother nodded, with a difficult expression on his face.
“It won’t take much time but it’s a rather unpleasant story, though.”
Then my brother began to speak slowly.
Broso and Keith were born in this town, and although they were commoners, they lived without any particular inconvenience. It is said that they were famous in the area for their close relationship. The older brother trained himself to protect his younger brother, and the younger brother admired him.
One day, Broso fell in love with a nobleman’s daughter. Her name was Phrygia Lester. She was the daughter of a nobleman who ruled this town, the Earldom of Leicester. He saw Phrygia singing in the garden and was attracted to her. The daughter of a family that ranks among the top nobility and Broso, a commoner, naturally, it was a love that would never come true.
Wanting to get as close to her as possible, he applied for a position when the Earl of Leicester began recruiting servants. Normally, a commoner would not be hired, but Broso was hired after a simple interview. At that time, he could not have been happier, and it was the most glorious time of his life.
“You should have suspected something there.”
My brother muttered and Broso nodded.
“Lilia, is it really that unusual for a commoner to be hired?”
Tina asks hesitantly, and Lilia explains.
“Most of the servants of the higher nobility are of the lower nobility.”
“Yes,” he said.”Knighthood, in the case of the lower nobility, is a job. Children who are not going to inherit the family often become servants of the higher nobility. They are more trustworthy than commoners. However, this is not absolute. The Aldis family, for example, is not so particular. However, we do conduct thorough background checks.”
My brother turned his gaze to Broso, then quickly back to me and Tina.
“In Broso’s case, it seems there was no such background check. I don’t know the details either, but I heard that Phrygia Lester wished to hire Broso. So Broso became a servant of the Earl of Leicester and was treated as her personal servant, according to Phrygia’s wishes.”
From then on, every day was happiness itself. He was able to stay by the side of the person he loved. Phrygia did not impose any unreasonable demands on him, and he spent his days in peace. He was able to return to his parents’ house from time to time for holidays, and when he did, he played with Keith until late at night.
But that life was short-lived. One day, Broso was summoned to Phrygia’s private office. Phrygia had so far only given permission to some of her servants to enter her private room. So he entered Phrygia’s private room feeling elated that he was finally trusted.
Phrygia was smiling and preparing tea. Broso hurriedly tried to take her place, but Phrygia stubbornly refused.
Then Phrygia said, “I want you to drink it.” Without question, Broso drank it, downed it, and rolled around in pain.
He was in such intense pain that his throat was burning, and he desperately called for help, but Phrygia was quiet and just stared at him with an emotionless face. Eventually, just before Broso lost consciousness, he saw Phrygia’s face showing an expression of ecstasy with a lecherous smile on her face.
When he came to his senses, Broso was taken into custody and evicted from the compound with only simple medical treatment, according to the report. This is a rumor, though, that Phrygia Lester is a person who takes pleasure in hurting those who cannot resist.
“She is the worst kind of person.”
Lilia said, then suddenly noticed that Sakura was quiet.
L –Sakura. What’s wrong?
S –Never mind. I’m just a little, well, very irritated.
Sakura’s voice sent a chill down even Lilia’s spine.
L –That’s unusual. I can’t believe you said that.
S –A little bit. I just remembered someone I didn’t want to remember. I didn’t think someone like that could actually exist.
L–Who’?
S –Uh…….Never mind.
Sakura laughed deceptively and finally took the edge off her voice. I was a little concerned about what Sakura was talking about, but since we were in the middle of a conversation, I turned my attention back to my brother.
“What happened to this Phrygia person?”
Tina asked, and my brother said with his eyes downcast.
“Nothing has happened. She is still living a normal life.”
“Can’t you capture her……?”
“I can’t.”
When Lilia answered, Tina rolled her eyes in surprise.
“That’s impossible. Even though they are counts, they are high ranking nobles. We can’t catch them on testimony alone. I heard these stories from Broso; they are not public knowledge.”
“What about the people around her?”
“Not many people would willingly get involved with the higher nobility. They are concerned with their own safety. Don’t blame them too much for this. Everyone has a family.”
If this were a matter between nobles, it would have been looked into more closely. Or if someone from the nobility with a sense of justice had known about it early on, they might have also looked into it more closely. But Broso is a commoner, and there was no opportunity for this to even become known. It was all in the past.
“It sounds harsh, but there is nothing we can do about it now. Besides, there are few people like Phrygia, but there are many more with similar stories.”
My brother’s gaze turns to me. I did not run away from his gaze, but looked straight back at him. My brother smiled thinly and looked somewhat satisfied.
“Does Keith know about this too?”
Tina asked, and my brother and Broso nodded at the same time.
“This is where Keith’s dislike of aristocrats comes from. At first it seems to have been a hatred towards Phrygia, but it seems to have grown to the Earls of Leicester, and then to a hatred of the nobility who refuse to look into anything.”
“It’s strange to hate other nobles whom he knows nothing about.”
When Lilia looked at Broso, Broso bowed his head expressionlessly.
“I hear that Broso has talked to him a few times, but Keith isn’t convinced. This is all up to Keith. I know this is unpleasant for both of you, but bear with him.”
“I’m fine.”
Tina nodded and then looked at Lilia there. Lilia, who somehow understands why, says with an understanding but slightly astonished look on her face.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Ha. Well, that’s good enough for me.”
My brother said this with a smile and got up to leave. Apparently, this was the end of the conversation. Lilia also stood up and headed for the door with Tina. As they were about to leave the room, Lilia stopped in her tracks.
“Broso, may I ask you something?”
She turns back to Broso and calls out to him. Broso nodded his head.
“You have a grudge against Phrygia?”
Broso stopped moving for a moment, but quickly shook his head with a sad smile on his face. I stare into his eyes and all I see there is a sad color.
Lilia lowered her eyes and quietly exited the room.
“Lilia.”
As soon as I left, my brother came into my face.
“Can I have a word?”
“Yes, Tina, can you wait in my room?”
“Yeah.”
After watching Tina walk into her room, Lilia turned her attention to her brother. He looked around and then whispered to Lilia.
“Leave Leicester alone.”
“Yes, I have no intention of doing anything of the sort.”
When Lilia answered immediately, her brother breathed a sigh of relief, although he seemed a little surprised.
S–You’re not really going to do anything, are you?
L–I’m not going to do it. If he could do anything about it, my brother would have already done it.
Lilia does not know everything about her brother’s character. Still, she can say this much. She believes that her brother is a man with a sense of justice, which is unusual for a nobleman. That is why he disliked Lilia, who was doing whatever she wanted.
“Brother didn’t do anything?”
When I asked him about it, he seemed a little lost, but then he told me more in a hushed voice.
“I swapped a maid in Aldis for a maid in Lester. If anything goes wrong in that mansion, we’ll know about it soon enough.”
“That was a bold move.”
“He seemed quite reluctant, but I forced him to go through with it. They are counts after all.”
My brother laughed coldly and Lilia laughed happily.
S–I guess this is blood after all.
Sakura sighed, but Lilia decided not to ask.
Lilia raises her eyebrows and turns to Tina. Tina also seemed to be looking at her and their eyes met. Tina, too, tilts her head, apparently not knowing the details.
L–Sakura. Do you know anything about it?
S–What? Let’s see…….Sorry, I’m a little confused too…….If he is Keith’s brother, I mean, this is the guy…….Um…….
Sakura seems to be confused too. But, after all, she seems to know something about it. If that’s the case, I can ask her later. For now, I turned my attention to Keith.
Broso twisted Keith’s arm. Keith screamed and Broso silently kicked Keith away. Keith fell to the ground and looked at Broso in disbelief.
Broso was still silent. He just stared at Keith silently. Keith stood up, clenching his fists, and gave Tina and Lilia one last glare before running off. After seeing him off, Lilia and Tina turned to Broso.
“Um……….”
When Tina called out to him, Broso looked away. That was enough for Tina to say nothing, and she turned her head away. Lilia gave a small sigh and said to Broso.
“Let’s go back to the inn. Broso, you’re going to tell me what’s going on.”
Broso didn’t move for a moment, but eventually nodded.
We returned to the inn and headed for my brother’s room. When the three of us arrived, my brother had a very surprised look on his face, but he must have immediately understood what was going on, because he let the three of us into his room with a wry smile.
The four of us sat around a round table. Broso borrowed my brother’s luggage and brewed a pot of tea, which he distributed to the three of us.
“Sorry,” he said. “Now, where should I start……?”
My brother folded his arms and began to think, but soon Broso shook his head. As my brother tilted his head, Broso suddenly took off his helmet.
He was a young man with flaming red hair. He opened his mouth to say something, but immediately closed it with a look of anguish on his face.
“Take it easy,” said my brother.
My brother tapped Broso on the shoulder, and Broso’s shoulders slumped.
“He’s got a little bit of a throat problem,” he said. “He can’t speak. He can’t talk if he has to, but it hurts a lot. So don’t push him too hard.”
“I understand. And you are sure that Broso is Keith’s brother?”
Lilia asks, and her brother throws a look at Broso. Broso nodded slowly.
“What is the reason Keith hates the nobility so much?”
“Before we get into that, I’d like to…….Tina. How much do you know?”
Tina is surprised at being asked to speak so abruptly, but answers in a firm voice.
“I actually don’t know much about it. Keith didn’t like aristocrats from the moment I got to know him…….When he found out I was a baronet, he called me a traitor.”
My brother nodded, with a difficult expression on his face.
“It won’t take much time but it’s a rather unpleasant story, though.”
Then my brother began to speak slowly.
Broso and Keith were born in this town, and although they were commoners, they lived without any particular inconvenience. It is said that they were famous in the area for their close relationship. The older brother trained himself to protect his younger brother, and the younger brother admired him.
One day, Broso fell in love with a nobleman’s daughter. Her name was Phrygia Lester. She was the daughter of a nobleman who ruled this town, the Earldom of Leicester. He saw Phrygia singing in the garden and was attracted to her. The daughter of a family that ranks among the top nobility and Broso, a commoner, naturally, it was a love that would never come true.
Wanting to get as close to her as possible, he applied for a position when the Earl of Leicester began recruiting servants. Normally, a commoner would not be hired, but Broso was hired after a simple interview. At that time, he could not have been happier, and it was the most glorious time of his life.
“You should have suspected something there.”
My brother muttered and Broso nodded.
“Lilia, is it really that unusual for a commoner to be hired?”
Tina asks hesitantly, and Lilia explains.
“Most of the servants of the higher nobility are of the lower nobility.”
“Yes,” he said.”Knighthood, in the case of the lower nobility, is a job. Children who are not going to inherit the family often become servants of the higher nobility. They are more trustworthy than commoners. However, this is not absolute. The Aldis family, for example, is not so particular. However, we do conduct thorough background checks.”
My brother turned his gaze to Broso, then quickly back to me and Tina.
“In Broso’s case, it seems there was no such background check. I don’t know the details either, but I heard that Phrygia Lester wished to hire Broso. So Broso became a servant of the Earl of Leicester and was treated as her personal servant, according to Phrygia’s wishes.”
From then on, every day was happiness itself. He was able to stay by the side of the person he loved. Phrygia did not impose any unreasonable demands on him, and he spent his days in peace. He was able to return to his parents’ house from time to time for holidays, and when he did, he played with Keith until late at night.
But that life was short-lived. One day, Broso was summoned to Phrygia’s private office. Phrygia had so far only given permission to some of her servants to enter her private room. So he entered Phrygia’s private room feeling elated that he was finally trusted.
Phrygia was smiling and preparing tea. Broso hurriedly tried to take her place, but Phrygia stubbornly refused.
Then Phrygia said, “I want you to drink it.” Without question, Broso drank it, downed it, and rolled around in pain.
He was in such intense pain that his throat was burning, and he desperately called for help, but Phrygia was quiet and just stared at him with an emotionless face. Eventually, just before Broso lost consciousness, he saw Phrygia’s face showing an expression of ecstasy with a lecherous smile on her face.
When he came to his senses, Broso was taken into custody and evicted from the compound with only simple medical treatment, according to the report. This is a rumor, though, that Phrygia Lester is a person who takes pleasure in hurting those who cannot resist.
“She is the worst kind of person.”
Lilia said, then suddenly noticed that Sakura was quiet.
L –Sakura. What’s wrong?
S –Never mind. I’m just a little, well, very irritated.
Sakura’s voice sent a chill down even Lilia’s spine.
L –That’s unusual. I can’t believe you said that.
S –A little bit. I just remembered someone I didn’t want to remember. I didn’t think someone like that could actually exist.
L–Who’?
S –Uh…….Never mind.
Sakura laughed deceptively and finally took the edge off her voice. I was a little concerned about what Sakura was talking about, but since we were in the middle of a conversation, I turned my attention back to my brother.
“What happened to this Phrygia person?”
Tina asked, and my brother said with his eyes downcast.
“Nothing has happened. She is still living a normal life.”
“Can’t you capture her……?”
“I can’t.”
When Lilia answered, Tina rolled her eyes in surprise.
“That’s impossible. Even though they are counts, they are high ranking nobles. We can’t catch them on testimony alone. I heard these stories from Broso; they are not public knowledge.”
“What about the people around her?”
“Not many people would willingly get involved with the higher nobility. They are concerned with their own safety. Don’t blame them too much for this. Everyone has a family.”
If this were a matter between nobles, it would have been looked into more closely. Or if someone from the nobility with a sense of justice had known about it early on, they might have also looked into it more closely. But Broso is a commoner, and there was no opportunity for this to even become known. It was all in the past.
“It sounds harsh, but there is nothing we can do about it now. Besides, there are few people like Phrygia, but there are many more with similar stories.”
My brother’s gaze turns to me. I did not run away from his gaze, but looked straight back at him. My brother smiled thinly and looked somewhat satisfied.
“Does Keith know about this too?”
Tina asked, and my brother and Broso nodded at the same time.
“This is where Keith’s dislike of aristocrats comes from. At first it seems to have been a hatred towards Phrygia, but it seems to have grown to the Earls of Leicester, and then to a hatred of the nobility who refuse to look into anything.”
“It’s strange to hate other nobles whom he knows nothing about.”
When Lilia looked at Broso, Broso bowed his head expressionlessly.
“I hear that Broso has talked to him a few times, but Keith isn’t convinced. This is all up to Keith. I know this is unpleasant for both of you, but bear with him.”
“I’m fine.”
Tina nodded and then looked at Lilia there. Lilia, who somehow understands why, says with an understanding but slightly astonished look on her face.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Ha. Well, that’s good enough for me.”
My brother said this with a smile and got up to leave. Apparently, this was the end of the conversation. Lilia also stood up and headed for the door with Tina. As they were about to leave the room, Lilia stopped in her tracks.
“Broso, may I ask you something?”
She turns back to Broso and calls out to him. Broso nodded his head.
“You have a grudge against Phrygia?”
Broso stopped moving for a moment, but quickly shook his head with a sad smile on his face. I stare into his eyes and all I see there is a sad color.
Lilia lowered her eyes and quietly exited the room.
“Lilia.”
As soon as I left, my brother came into my face.
“Can I have a word?”
“Yes, Tina, can you wait in my room?”
“Yeah.”
After watching Tina walk into her room, Lilia turned her attention to her brother. He looked around and then whispered to Lilia.
“Leave Leicester alone.”
“Yes, I have no intention of doing anything of the sort.”
When Lilia answered immediately, her brother breathed a sigh of relief, although he seemed a little surprised.
S–You’re not really going to do anything, are you?
L–I’m not going to do it. If he could do anything about it, my brother would have already done it.
Lilia does not know everything about her brother’s character. Still, she can say this much. She believes that her brother is a man with a sense of justice, which is unusual for a nobleman. That is why he disliked Lilia, who was doing whatever she wanted.
“Brother didn’t do anything?”
When I asked him about it, he seemed a little lost, but then he told me more in a hushed voice.
“I swapped a maid in Aldis for a maid in Lester. If anything goes wrong in that mansion, we’ll know about it soon enough.”
“That was a bold move.”
“He seemed quite reluctant, but I forced him to go through with it. They are counts after all.”
My brother laughed coldly and Lilia laughed happily.
S–I guess this is blood after all.
Sakura sighed, but Lilia decided not to ask.
