“So hot…”
I wiped the unwanted sweat dripping down my forehead with the back of my hand.
The leaves may have softened the sunlight a little, but it didn’t help with the high humidity in the air. The heavy air that clung eagerly to my body slowly chipped away my physical strength.
Every breath I took was rough and even a little suffocating.
“Miss Marie!”
Lily ran up to me while calling out my name.
“Please don’t overwork yourself. Why not take a small break for now?”
“Thanks, I’ve nearly finished distributing the supplies, so I’ll stop soon.”
Lily, however, lowered her brows in response.
There were only small changes in her facial expression, but I’ve come to understand them more and more. This was most likely her surprised face as if to say ‘What did I expect, honestly? She’s like this, after all,’ and I could only return a wry smile.
“Can you at least promise me to take regular breaks, please? If you start sweating again, I will be sure to apply the oil again, okay?”
Despite Lily’s baby-like face, she acts like an older sister type, huh?
When she spoke to me as if I was a baby, I couldn’t do anything but nod obediently.
By the way, the oil was used as an insect repellent. I liked how it felt on my skin after applying a thin layer. Its fragrance was nice too, so it was doubly more pleasant since I tended to sweat a lot lately. I am a young girl, after all. Of course, I’m conscious of how I smell.
I separated from Lily and ran off once more.
When I arrived in front of the house, I called out and pushed the door open.
“Excuse me~”
The first thing I saw was Rolf, who was frozen stiff in place as he stared down at his hands.
He held a pestle in his right and mortar in his left. Looks like he was in the middle of grinding up ingredients for a medicine recipe. He may have been a shitty brat, but he seemed more than willing to take on serious jobs. I wondered why he stopped his hands in the middle of work, so I followed his line of sight.
And I, too, was at a loss for words.
Michael was there, sitting with his back against the wall.
His eyes were tightly shut as if meditating.
The child resting on his lap was breathing sharply, almost to the point of panting. Their face was red like a ripe fruit, and there was no doubt they were undergoing an unbearable, excruciating pain.
Michael’s hand touched the child’s chest, which then began to glow. His furrowed brows were lit up by the light as sweat dripped past his temples.
This was the second time I had seen him use his powers.
I was too distracted with saving Klaus at the time that I didn’t remember much about his magic. Still, it felt strange seeing it like this in person. It’s no wonder that Rolf was left with his jaw hanging.
Tell me off if you must, but I could easily envision this beautiful scene as something straight out of a religious painting.
I lost track of the time as we gazed on.
Michael slowly opened his eyes. His turquoise eyes, like that of a deep, shining lake, revealed themselves from behind his eyelids, and immediately returned to their original black. A sigh was released from the lips that were tightly shut mere moments ago.
“I’m spent…”
He mumbled as he weakly lowered his shoulders and grumbled.
The child in his arms was now sleeping peacefully. Their face was still red, but there’s no doubt that they’ve regained some of their usual colours. The sleeping face was becoming more adorable by the second.
“Good work.”
I crouched to Michael’s level before offering him a towel.
Michael, who was still in a daze, focused his eyes on the towel before shifting his gaze onto my face. He nearly did a backflip.
“….P-P-Princess!?”
I quickly scooted closer to him and placed a finger on his lips; a gesture for him to quiet down. Michael immediately covered his mouth with his hand. The child on his lap continued its peaceful slumber.
“I’m sorry I surprised you.”
After apologising, I patted Michael’s soaked forehead with the towel in hand.
Once his sweat had disappeared, his face slowly turned red. Strange, his bashful face somehow looked cuter than mine. As usual, he wasn’t used to people, let alone girls. I feel like I have a younger brother even though he’s the one who’s older…
It was this expression that garnered him lots of attention and a popular target for many back in the game. Although he had slowly grown into the beautiful young man that was otome love interest material, he’s still retained that adorable meek, obedient attitude from when I first met him.
“Did you heal this little one?”
I asked as I moved my line of sight towards the child that was lying on top of Michael’s knees. Michael shook his head.
“I couldn’t cure the disease itself. I only further aided the medicine’s effects.”
Saying so, Michael put his hand on the child’s head. Both the gaze he gave to the child, along with the way he ruffled their hair, exuded genuine gentleness.
“Hey, you… No, Mister. What’s your power?”
Rolf, who was silent up until now, asked while standing beside me.
“Um…”
Michael looked between me and back to Rolf, before lowering his gaze and scratching his cheeks awkwardly.
“It’s not some weird technique or anything like that… But I guess it’s still something disgusting to see, isn’t it?”
“Huh? What nonsense! How could that ever be disgusting?!”
Rolf shot him down immediately.
Michael was taken aback, so much so that the surprise on his face was plain to see
“You relieved his fever and stabilized his breathing. Not only that, but you also shortened the time it took for the medicine to work. That’s amazing! I wanna be able to do that too. Seriously, I’m so envious.”
Rolf blurted out excitedly.
So instead of turning bitter because Michael had the same power as the village goddess, he became envious of his powers. As expected of a doctor’s child.
“You’re not scared of it…?”
“Despite Rolf’s demeanour, he’s still an excellent doctor’s son, huh.”
“What do you mean by ‘despite his demeanour,’ you ugly woman?”
Like that, you brat. I thought as I nearly gave that shitty head of his a nice smack.
The princess almost stooped low just to reprimand a cheeky kid. Uwaah~, there have been so many things going on lately that I nearly lost myself to impulse. I’ll have to be more careful from now on.
“The Kua are all very passionate about anything and everything medical, after all. Let’s calm down for now, and make sure you don’t pressure Michael, okay? I’m sure you have a lot of questions to ask.”
“I feel a little scared of it myself…”
‘But I think I’m happy that I have it.’ Michael laughed and added in a small voice.
Aah! So cute! I so want to stroke his hair~
“You’re making a gross face.”
“Shut up, Rolf.”
Upon looking at me as I eyed at Michael’s tired face, Rolf had to annoyingly comment on me not being cute or whatever.
Well, if I’m being perfectly honest, I’m not sure a princess like myself should be grinning shamelessly like this.
As I faked a cough, I handed Rolf food and supplies before leaving the house.
Glancing quickly over my shoulder, I saw Rolf chatting with Michael, genuine curiosity in his eyes. It looked like those two would get along just fine.
I closed the door with a smile.
Now then… I can still go on, but if I don’t take a break, I’ll get scolded by Lily. But more importantly, if I overestimate my own strength and fall, it’ll be them that has to pick up my slack and then some.
Once I’m done sorting out these remaining supplies, I’ll go back to Lily and let her take care of me for a bit.
With that decision in mind, I started walking, but my feet stopped in front of a certain building. This was the house that Johan was sleeping in.
Let’s see how he’s doing.
But… would it be a good idea to wake him up?
I’m curious. Totally curious, but let’s have him sleep as much as he wants. That would be better, right?
As I pondered on what to do, the door in front of me was suddenly slammed open.
“!!”
When Johan saw me, he froze on the spot.
His deep blue eyes were open wide, and as if he had just woken up, his golden hair was ruffled up in a mess. His thin lips could fit a whole watermelon. As if time had stopped for him, Johan remained still.
“Johan…?”
I carefully called out his name.
Johan’s shoulders slightly shook.
This might be a weird thing to ask, but I wonder if he was still asleep? While staring at me, Johan suddenly slapped his own cheeks. I was caught off guard by the loud Smack! his hands made.
Eh…?! Wha-…?!
What’s wrong with you, little brother?!
I was upset by my brother’s odd behaviour.
What’s happening? Is this also a symptom of the disease? No, obviously not.
Amidst my confusion, Johan rubbed his red cheeks and muttered, ‘It hurts.’ Well, of course it hurts!
What should I do? My brother went crazy!
Should I call for Wolf? B-But he doesn’t seem to be sick.
However, my brother’s eccentric behaviour didn’t end there. Far from it.
Johan separated his hands from his cheeks and stared at me. He stared straight into my eyes and gave me the biggest grin I’ve ever seen. Then he rushed towards me with such speed it was comparable to a boar.
My brother, who closed the gap in an instant before I knew it, pulled both of my cheeks. He pulled them up so my face was stuck in a weird smile. It didn’t really hurt… But it was way too unnerving.
Looking at his eyes up close, it sure resembles the clear sea. It’s so beautiful… I’m trying to escape reality here, aren’t I.
“Sister…?”
Eh-? W-What now?
I’m sure we had a proper conversation just a few hours ago.
“Wha-?”
I was so surprised that I gave a dumb reply.
Johan then asked in a slurred voice, ‘Are you real?’
So he thinks that this is a dream?
Then it was understandable. If I, his sister, who was supposed to be back at home, showed my face in the Kingdom of Wind, of course he was so surprised.
“Yes, I’m your real sister. This isn’t a dream.”
I told him with a chuckle.
Johan’s long eyelashes fluttered as he blinked numerous times, and a few seconds later, his face was red hot, as if the embarrassment was boiling him.
What’s going on this time?!
Even your dear sister couldn’t predict this sort of reaction, you know.
“So hot…”
I wiped the unwanted sweat dripping down my forehead with the back of my hand.
The leaves may have softened the sunlight a little, but it didn’t help with the high humidity in the air. The heavy air that clung eagerly to my body slowly chipped away my physical strength.
Every breath I took was rough and even a little suffocating.
“Miss Marie!”
Lily ran up to me while calling out my name.
“Please don’t overwork yourself. Why not take a small break for now?”
“Thanks, I’ve nearly finished distributing the supplies, so I’ll stop soon.”
Lily, however, lowered her brows in response.
There were only small changes in her facial expression, but I’ve come to understand them more and more. This was most likely her surprised face as if to say ‘What did I expect, honestly? She’s like this, after all,’ and I could only return a wry smile.
“Can you at least promise me to take regular breaks, please? If you start sweating again, I will be sure to apply the oil again, okay?”
Despite Lily’s baby-like face, she acts like an older sister type, huh?
When she spoke to me as if I was a baby, I couldn’t do anything but nod obediently.
By the way, the oil was used as an insect repellent. I liked how it felt on my skin after applying a thin layer. Its fragrance was nice too, so it was doubly more pleasant since I tended to sweat a lot lately. I am a young girl, after all. Of course, I’m conscious of how I smell.
I separated from Lily and ran off once more.
When I arrived in front of the house, I called out and pushed the door open.
“Excuse me~”
The first thing I saw was Rolf, who was frozen stiff in place as he stared down at his hands.
He held a pestle in his right and mortar in his left. Looks like he was in the middle of grinding up ingredients for a medicine recipe. He may have been a shitty brat, but he seemed more than willing to take on serious jobs. I wondered why he stopped his hands in the middle of work, so I followed his line of sight.
And I, too, was at a loss for words.
Michael was there, sitting with his back against the wall.
His eyes were tightly shut as if meditating.
The child resting on his lap was breathing sharply, almost to the point of panting. Their face was red like a ripe fruit, and there was no doubt they were undergoing an unbearable, excruciating pain.
Michael’s hand touched the child’s chest, which then began to glow. His furrowed brows were lit up by the light as sweat dripped past his temples.
This was the second time I had seen him use his powers.
I was too distracted with saving Klaus at the time that I didn’t remember much about his magic. Still, it felt strange seeing it like this in person. It’s no wonder that Rolf was left with his jaw hanging.
Tell me off if you must, but I could easily envision this beautiful scene as something straight out of a religious painting.
I lost track of the time as we gazed on.
Michael slowly opened his eyes. His turquoise eyes, like that of a deep, shining lake, revealed themselves from behind his eyelids, and immediately returned to their original black. A sigh was released from the lips that were tightly shut mere moments ago.
“I’m spent…”
He mumbled as he weakly lowered his shoulders and grumbled.
The child in his arms was now sleeping peacefully. Their face was still red, but there’s no doubt that they’ve regained some of their usual colours. The sleeping face was becoming more adorable by the second.
“Good work.”
I crouched to Michael’s level before offering him a towel.
Michael, who was still in a daze, focused his eyes on the towel before shifting his gaze onto my face. He nearly did a backflip.
“….P-P-Princess!?”
I quickly scooted closer to him and placed a finger on his lips; a gesture for him to quiet down. Michael immediately covered his mouth with his hand. The child on his lap continued its peaceful slumber.
“I’m sorry I surprised you.”
After apologising, I patted Michael’s soaked forehead with the towel in hand.
Once his sweat had disappeared, his face slowly turned red. Strange, his bashful face somehow looked cuter than mine. As usual, he wasn’t used to people, let alone girls. I feel like I have a younger brother even though he’s the one who’s older…
It was this expression that garnered him lots of attention and a popular target for many back in the game. Although he had slowly grown into the beautiful young man that was otome love interest material, he’s still retained that adorable meek, obedient attitude from when I first met him.
“Did you heal this little one?”
I asked as I moved my line of sight towards the child that was lying on top of Michael’s knees. Michael shook his head.
“I couldn’t cure the disease itself. I only further aided the medicine’s effects.”
Saying so, Michael put his hand on the child’s head. Both the gaze he gave to the child, along with the way he ruffled their hair, exuded genuine gentleness.
“Hey, you… No, Mister. What’s your power?”
Rolf, who was silent up until now, asked while standing beside me.
“Um…”
Michael looked between me and back to Rolf, before lowering his gaze and scratching his cheeks awkwardly.
“It’s not some weird technique or anything like that… But I guess it’s still something disgusting to see, isn’t it?”
“Huh? What nonsense! How could that ever be disgusting?!”
Rolf shot him down immediately.
Michael was taken aback, so much so that the surprise on his face was plain to see
“You relieved his fever and stabilized his breathing. Not only that, but you also shortened the time it took for the medicine to work. That’s amazing! I wanna be able to do that too. Seriously, I’m so envious.”
Rolf blurted out excitedly.
So instead of turning bitter because Michael had the same power as the village goddess, he became envious of his powers. As expected of a doctor’s child.
“You’re not scared of it…?”
“Despite Rolf’s demeanour, he’s still an excellent doctor’s son, huh.”
“What do you mean by ‘despite his demeanour,’ you ugly woman?”
Like that, you brat. I thought as I nearly gave that shitty head of his a nice smack.
The princess almost stooped low just to reprimand a cheeky kid. Uwaah~, there have been so many things going on lately that I nearly lost myself to impulse. I’ll have to be more careful from now on.
“The Kua are all very passionate about anything and everything medical, after all. Let’s calm down for now, and make sure you don’t pressure Michael, okay? I’m sure you have a lot of questions to ask.”
“I feel a little scared of it myself…”
‘But I think I’m happy that I have it.’ Michael laughed and added in a small voice.
Aah! So cute! I so want to stroke his hair~
“You’re making a gross face.”
“Shut up, Rolf.”
Upon looking at me as I eyed at Michael’s tired face, Rolf had to annoyingly comment on me not being cute or whatever.
Well, if I’m being perfectly honest, I’m not sure a princess like myself should be grinning shamelessly like this.
As I faked a cough, I handed Rolf food and supplies before leaving the house.
Glancing quickly over my shoulder, I saw Rolf chatting with Michael, genuine curiosity in his eyes. It looked like those two would get along just fine.
I closed the door with a smile.
Now then… I can still go on, but if I don’t take a break, I’ll get scolded by Lily. But more importantly, if I overestimate my own strength and fall, it’ll be them that has to pick up my slack and then some.
Once I’m done sorting out these remaining supplies, I’ll go back to Lily and let her take care of me for a bit.
With that decision in mind, I started walking, but my feet stopped in front of a certain building. This was the house that Johan was sleeping in.
Let’s see how he’s doing.
But… would it be a good idea to wake him up?
I’m curious. Totally curious, but let’s have him sleep as much as he wants. That would be better, right?
As I pondered on what to do, the door in front of me was suddenly slammed open.
“!!”
When Johan saw me, he froze on the spot.
His deep blue eyes were open wide, and as if he had just woken up, his golden hair was ruffled up in a mess. His thin lips could fit a whole watermelon. As if time had stopped for him, Johan remained still.
“Johan…?”
I carefully called out his name.
Johan’s shoulders slightly shook.
This might be a weird thing to ask, but I wonder if he was still asleep? While staring at me, Johan suddenly slapped his own cheeks. I was caught off guard by the loud Smack! his hands made.
Eh…?! Wha-…?!
What’s wrong with you, little brother?!
I was upset by my brother’s odd behaviour.
What’s happening? Is this also a symptom of the disease? No, obviously not.
Amidst my confusion, Johan rubbed his red cheeks and muttered, ‘It hurts.’ Well, of course it hurts!
What should I do? My brother went crazy!
Should I call for Wolf? B-But he doesn’t seem to be sick.
However, my brother’s eccentric behaviour didn’t end there. Far from it.
Johan separated his hands from his cheeks and stared at me. He stared straight into my eyes and gave me the biggest grin I’ve ever seen. Then he rushed towards me with such speed it was comparable to a boar.
My brother, who closed the gap in an instant before I knew it, pulled both of my cheeks. He pulled them up so my face was stuck in a weird smile. It didn’t really hurt… But it was way too unnerving.
Looking at his eyes up close, it sure resembles the clear sea. It’s so beautiful… I’m trying to escape reality here, aren’t I.
“Sister…?”
Eh-? W-What now?
I’m sure we had a proper conversation just a few hours ago.
“Wha-?”
I was so surprised that I gave a dumb reply.
Johan then asked in a slurred voice, ‘Are you real?’
So he thinks that this is a dream?
Then it was understandable. If I, his sister, who was supposed to be back at home, showed my face in the Kingdom of Wind, of course he was so surprised.
“Yes, I’m your real sister. This isn’t a dream.”
I told him with a chuckle.
Johan’s long eyelashes fluttered as he blinked numerous times, and a few seconds later, his face was red hot, as if the embarrassment was boiling him.
What’s going on this time?!
Even your dear sister couldn’t predict this sort of reaction, you know.
