"S-sister! HUAAAA!"
The boy burst into tears. He looks disheveled and unkempt. Louie must've not been taking care of himself well. The whining child immediately dived into my arms, holding me tightly. Naturally, anyone would be bewildered from such a scene after waking up.
"Huh? W-what's wrong?"
Louie mumbled a reply between his sniffles, which I couldn't make out the words. Failing to understand, I simply stroked the child's head to calm him down. What surprised me the most was the silver-haired man by my bedside. He was as stoic as ever, but there's a glint of worry in his eyes. Seeing my confused state, the man explained.
"You were unconscious for a whole week," he said.
"….I was?" I asked, and he nodded.
*Ah, right. Time flowed differently here and there, or at least is what known to me,* I thought.
My gaze fell on the crying mess by my side. Even though I was only unconscious for a while, Louie had already reacted this badly. What would happen had I left for good? Even the cold-hearted Lucius seems to be devastated from it.
"Now, now. I'm sorry for worrying you. It won't happen again, alright?"
"R-really? Promise?" Louie asked. When he raised his face, it was all flushed and wet with tears.
"Promise," I said. "You have my word."
While comforting the child, I realised that there's a larger flow of mana in my body compared to how it always was. It's not of mine, that I know. The mana felt a lot more refreshing and energising. And that exact mana is flowing through each one of my capillaries. Perhaps, Lucius and Louie had been trying to heal me while I was in the other world, thinking that I was ill. It made me glad that I had chosen to stay. Maybe this is where I am meant to be, after all.
"Agh, now I'm starving," I said, hinting it to Lucius for some food.
That was when I heard footsteps hurrying towards my room from the corridor. Once they arrived, the door flung open and two familiar faces barged in. One was a rough looking woman while the other was a long-bearded elderly man.
"I heard that ma' brat woke up!" the woman said. Her voice echoed through the room.
"Hey, Martha!" I exclaimed.
"Ohoho! It's good to see you up and well again, dame!" said Elder Samuel. His arms were embracing various potions of different sizes and colours. "This old man had brought you some medicine to ease tensed muscles."
Louie had already gotten up and wiped away his tears. His eyes were still swollen but his sniffles had quieted down. He immediately received the potions in my stead and arranged it by the small table next to the bed. Lucius offered his seat to Elder Samuel while Martha just sat on my bedside.
"I cooked a lot 'ya know?" Martha said. "Since 'ya been sleepin', I got lotsa leftovers. No one's takin' it like 'ya did."
"Haha, you must've missed me, then."
"Ya, brat! Of course I do!"
When Martha said that, it truly touched my heart. I wonder if my own mother would say the exact same thing had she been able to see me before?
"Now, have some soup first. Then, we'll have a feast to celebrate 'ya waking up!" said Martha as she handed me a large bowl of soup.
"That's a lot."
"Ya still growing, kid."
While enjoying the soup, I realised that my being in a comatose state might have concerned more people than I thought. They said that the princess came by to visit me with her fiancé. There's even a few vases of flowers, mostly given by the princess. It was told that the princess and Noah are getting married soon. Despite being occupied with the preparations, they still set aside some time to show up here somehow.
From the doorway, I noticed that a few of the other knights had gathered to see me, too. Sir William with his usual gentle smile, Justin with his messy brunette hair, a female knight with a ponytail and a freckled teenage boy. Behind them all was a maid that once offered me a towel. I'm guessing that she was the one who's spreading the news of my consciousness. There's also Bastian there with a tray of his mother's cooking, probably for me.
"Haha, there's so many people around. I'm getting a bit shy," I said.
"Dumb brat, we're all worried about 'ya!" Martha replied, swinging her arm and smacking my back.
"Ow…how could you hit a sick person!"
The rough woman burst out laughing before ruffling my hair. She immediately gestured for Bastian to come in and offered the food as a compensation. The knights also entered with the butler to offer their own little gifts and wishes.
"I knitted this for you dame," said Sir William, offering a scarf.
"You do knitting?!"
The large man nodded bashfully, saying that his skills were still amateurish, but the scarf was fairly well made. Justin simply offered a few wishes listlessly. He might've been dragged here by Sir William as a company. The two young knights were sharing encouraging words, expressing their excitement to spar with me again. Seeing all of them together, it made me realise how fortunate I am with people.
This world is not so bad, huh?
It didn't take long for me to recover from my bedridden state. It's almost the end of autumn so it's very chilly and cold. I took a few of the potions offered by Elder Samuel and it helped me regained my footing. The mana from Lucius and Louie also boosted my energy. Hence, I decided to let loose and went to the training ground. After all, I had promised to spar with a few of them.
"Dame!" the knights said in unison.
"Hey, guys. Long time no see!"
A couple of the young knights immediately approached me. The ponytail and the freckled.
"Will you spar with us today? It's been a long time since you last sparred with us," the girl said.
"Sure, Layla," I replied. "Though I might be a bit sluggish now."
"And dame, I prepared a lot of apples for you," the freckled knight said, handing me a basket full of ripe apples. It looks very sweet that I couldn't resist taking a bite from one of it.
"It's very good! Thanks, Joshua!"
That day, we trained all the way until evening. Joshua and Layla had gotten a lot better since the last time I spared with them. It took longer to take them down and their stamina had increased exponentially. It was an excellent sparring session that we go for a few more rounds. By the end of the training, all of us were soaked in sweat.
"I think that's it for me today," I said, wiping off my sweat with a fresh towel prepared on the bench. "I'll go back first, alright?"
"Yes, dame! Come by again!" the two young knights replied with a deep bow.
While I was making my way back to my room, I recognised a familiar silhouette, sitting in a stone gazebo by the fountain. It was Jeremy and he looked so out of it. Even when I approached him, he didn't notice my presence until I took a seat next to him.
"Hey, Young master!" I exclaimed. The shocked teen instantly jumped from my voice before his expression turned into one of disgust.
"Ugh…you reek of sweat!" he said.
"That's the proof of my hard work."
Not wishing to talk with me, Jeremy turned away while covering his nose. Seriously, I didn't even smell that much. This kid somehow reminded me of my late brother with his stuck up attitude. He was even around the same age as him back then. I hope he is doing well now.
Hm? Something felt off. Maybe it's just my imagination?
"By the way, what are you up to, young master? Thinking of your precious brother?" I teased.
"….go away," Jeremy said.
My baby brother used to tell me that, too. They're totally the same, aren't they? Unfortunately, I don't care. Push me away and I'll haunt every second of your life, even in your dreams!
Wait a minute…. brother? Louie never behaved that way, did he? What was I talking about?
"Just what do you want, actually?" Jeremy scowled. The frown on his face growing even more prominent.
Seeing his reaction, I couldn't help but found it amusing. He said this and that but he didn't budge from his seat. Maybe Lucius had put in some good words for me. And being the obedient little brother he is, he won't treat me badly had Lucius told him not to. I also heard that he had a talk with Lucius just now, I wonder what they were discussing about?
"I want nothing, though," I said.
When I looked over the fountain, I realised that we were facing Lucius' office. The head of Leonhart's office could easily be recognised as it had an extravagant window frame compared to the other. Maybe that's why he's sitting here. Was his brother-complex kicking in?
"Like your brother much? Wanna be like him?" I asked, wishing to tease him about it. Although I expected for him to lash out, Jeremy kept his head low, as if disappointed somehow.
*Eh, did I pulled a wrong trigger?* I thought, but my concern was cut short when he replied.
"I could never be like him," Jeremy said.
I suppose that he's feeling inferior compared to that almost perfect man. Well, he's the main character, after all. There's really no need for him to be as good as his brother. But the boy sure looks very down because of it. Since I made him this way, might as well fix it.
"Then don't," I said.
Upon hearing that, Jeremy turned and glared at me in annoyance. "You are not helping," he scoffed.
"What? It's totally normal for you to not be like him. He's him, you're you, a totally different individual," I shrugged. "Anyway, if you want to make him proud of you, you should find something that 'you' do best, not by doing something 'he' did best. I mean, everyone got their own capabilities, don't they?"
*Oof, I said something meaningful, didn't I?* I thought, feeling rather proud over it.
"…stop spouting nonsense," Jeremy replied, turning away again.
"Tch, and here I thought that I've said the wisest thing," I sighed. "Personally, I think that you are doing pretty well already. So cheer up, young master."
Before I could stand up and leave, Jeremy suddenly reached out for me.
"Hey."
"What?"
"...forget it, I changed my mind."
"Are you sure, young master?"
"Yeah, so get on your way."
"I know, I know. I'm leaving now."
Jeremy was left deep in thought after. Maybe what I said wasn't only a nonsense to him, after all. He's smart, I'm sure he'll figure out something.
Inferiority complex won't be good for development. Worse, it could even lead to depression. He's still young and setting such a high standard would be very pressuring.
Find something you like instead and grow healthily, Jeremy.