Chapter 87

“Are you really okay, big bro? You’re his subordinate, so you should know, right? Come on, tell me.”

“I’ve said it 40 times, it’s just a few broken bones, damn it. Stop drooling while cooking and get lost. If you drool one more time, I’ll make you drool blood.”

“Why are you acting like broken bones are nothing? It’s serious.”

“Miss. Have you ever heard what kind of injuries these guys sustained on the battlefield?”

Kyle, who was preparing the patient’s meal, pushed Rizel away with an annoyed expression.

“A few broken bones are just everyday stuff for them.”

They swung their swords while laughing even after losing 2 liters of blood, slaughtered enemies calmly even with both legs shattered, and endured brutal torture without uttering a word for the sake of the mission.

“Of course, they must have been in great pain too. They’re not monsters, they’re human. Well, sometimes they’re demons. Those demon bastards who beat you for three hours with whatever’s nearby if you dare speak informally…”

“So, you’re really okay, right?”

“Is not listening to people a family trait or something?”

After finishing the cooking, Kyle clicked his tongue, saying that both siblings don’t listen to people. Come to think of it, their mother was the same. She was the kind of person you’d want to kick rather than argue with.

With that, the two headed to the room where the two patients were resting, carrying trays full of food.

Camilla and Raul, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, were devouring an enormous amount of food.

“Seconds. How does all this fit into those skinny bodies… It’s amazing how alcohol and food can heal fractures.”

“Sorry for having such a body.”

Raul, with his eyes closed, chewed on duck meat and gave Kyle a look.

Camilla also laughed and mocked Kyle.

“That brat who got beaten up for speaking informally to us has grown up a lot.”

“I got beaten for six hours with the chicken you were eating, Camilla. That’s why I still hate chicken.”

“Want to get beaten until you hate all the food in the world?”

The conversation between these comrades who had shared the battlefield was rough and crude.

For Rizel, who had never known hardship, it was an uncomfortable conversation, and she shrank back a little.

And Raul was the first to notice the change and spoke up.

“Rizel.”

“Big bro…? Are you hurt somewhere?”

“Are you uncomfortable anywhere? This place might be a bit shabby for you to stay.”

“I’m fine. But are you really okay, big bro…?”

“…I’m fine.”

Raul said that and took a squid fritter brought by Kyle into his mouth.

Still with his eyes closed, savoring the food, he suddenly brought up another topic.

“By the way, how’s the situation in the capital? If we’ve fought the Demon King, I’m worried about the Emperor and the Empress’s condition.”

“Those guys aren’t the type to go down easily. Mad dogs have tough lifelines. Thankfully, they only sustained minor injuries.”

“That’s a relief.”

The Emperor and Empress, who had faced the Demon King, were cut on their sides and thighs but managed to repel the Demon King. Of course, the Demon King didn’t get a scratch.

“Worry about yourself before worrying about them. It’s funny to see a mummy worrying about others.”

“……”

As Raul quietly picked up a duck bone, Kyle immediately knelt and started begging.

“I was wrong. I overstepped. I really don’t want to get beaten with a duck again.”

“……”

Seeing Raul still eating with his eyes closed, Kyle seemed to sense something and started gauging Rizel’s reaction.

Then, as if making a decision, he quietly muttered.

“Anyway, just because you’re a few years older, you act all high and mighty… Tsk. Beating with chicken, duck, books, chairs… It’s truly barbaric.”

At that, Camilla and Raul each grabbed Kyle’s left and right hand and sent a current and vibration through them.

“Gaaaaah!!!”

“Choose. What do you want to get beaten with today?”

“Rizel. Step out for a bit. I think I need to give a special lesson to a subordinate who’s lost his manners.”

At Raul’s request, Rizel nodded and left the room.

“Then, big bro, if you need anything, just say the word. I’ll get it for you no matter what.”

“…Alright. If something troublesome happens, I’ll let you know.”

As Rizel closed the door and left, her footsteps gradually faded away.

Raul vomited blood on the spot.

His bloodshot eyes also proved that his condition was far from normal.

It seemed like he had been barely holding on, as he vomited everything he had eaten, mixed with blood. He must have desperately held back in front of his beloved younger sister.

“…I knew this would happen. Tsk. I told you to make it with pork, but you had to be stubborn.”

“If I had done that, Rizel might have noticed.”

“Ah, how noble. Vomiting up the food someone made while wrestling with oil, it almost brings tears to my eyes.”

Kyle quietly began cleaning up Raul’s vomit with a wet towel.

“If it gets found out later, just say it’s blood from me getting beaten up. By the way, grabbing my wrist out of nowhere, I really thought I was going to die.”

“We just matched the act you prepared.”

“Ah, even though I know it’s just acting, it’s still annoying to say it?”

Kyle immediately wanted to smash a plate into Raul and Camilla’s faces, but lacking the courage and ability, he had to hold back.

“…By the way, how long do you plan to keep hiding it?”

“Hiding what?”

“Your condition, Raul. Are you planning to hide it until you drop dead?”

“Even if others know, it won’t change the outcome. I’d rather live without meaningless pity…”

“At least Miss Rizel will be sad.”

“…That child is strong, so she’ll surely overcome it.”

Raul’s condition was beyond repair.

The poison injected by the Queen, the aftereffects of various injuries from the battlefield, and the side effects of all the sorcery and enhancers used in battle.

Honestly, it was a miracle he was still alive.

“My thoughts haven’t changed. But Rizel… I don’t know. What would truly be best for her.”

Raul, seemingly confused, just stared at the distant mountains, saying nothing.

“…I really don’t know.”

Raul drifted again in a fog of confusion. Whether speaking was right, or staying silent, and what meaning such actions held.

He just wanted to let things flow, but changing the flow might only bring more trouble.

Nothing was clear.

“Well, I won’t interfere anymore… Oh, by the way, there’s a message from the Empress.”

“A message?”

“She said she’s coming to give a lecture, so wash your ears and neck and wait.”

“…Looks like that day will be my death anniversary.”

At that, Camilla chuckled and began mocking Raul, who had just been sentenced to death.

“Yeah, you’re really going to die properly. A lecture from Penelope? I’d rather jump into lava.”

“By the way, Camilla, you’re also on the lecture list.”

“…Is there a volcano nearby?”

“Her Majesty also added that if you run away, she’ll double the lecture time.”

Leaving the two terror-stricken behind, Kyle left the lord’s mansion. Then, with an annoyed expression, he kicked a stone.

“Damn it…”

He resented the fact that his benefactor’s life was running out.

“Hey…”

“Ah, damn, you scared me.”

Startled by Rizel’s sudden call, Kyle inadvertently cursed.

“Do you have a moment?”

“I have time, but I’m not okay. I just got beaten up, and my ears are still ringing…”

“Um, if it’s not too much trouble…”

“Requests that start with ‘if it’s not too much trouble’ are usually troublesome.”

“Can you tell me what kind of person big bro was on the battlefield? I think knowing now might change things…”

“Sigh… This makes it hard to refuse.”

Since it would be too much to recite an epic on the spot, Kyle took Rizel to a shabby tavern.

And then he exaggerated Raul’s exploits about 20 times. Despite his sarcastic tone, Kyle was a fervent admirer of Raul.

“So then… Raul charged at the King of Beasts…”

“And then Raul, with just a staff, faced a giant sea dragon…”

“No, listen, he threw the staff and smashed one guy’s head, then immediately used his hand blade to slice another’s throat…”

The story seemed endless, and so did their drinks.

What they overlooked was that the alcohol was incredibly strong, and strong alcohol clouds the mind.

How far had the story gone?

The next day, seeing the storyteller and his audience sprawled on the inn bed, Raul picked up his staff with a cold expression, and Camilla, who would usually laugh holding her stomach, had to stop him.

“Hey, it’s obvious they didn’t do anything. They just got drunk and passed out, and the innkeeper let them sleep here!!!”

“I trusted Kyle, but this is disappointing.”

“Calm down, you lunatic! Your sister is an adult now!!!”

“I can send a useful offering to the Dragon Queen.”

“Listen to me!!!”

While Raul and Camilla argued over Kyle’s execution, a carriage bearing the Berze family crest left the capital.

A woman with a delicate face resembling Raul’s looked out the window and quietly murmured.

“Darling. I… just… that child…”

Her meaningless murmurs faded into confusion, and she, like Raul, drifted into unknown emotions.

Buried in unknown emotions, she quietly closed her eyes.

Soon, facing that child would solve everything.

That child would obey no matter what.

A single word to return would resolve this whirlpool of unknown emotions.