Chapter 411

Creak—clack.

The sounds of the city drifted in from every direction. I stepped down from the Imperial carriage and looked up. Before us stood a mansion along a quiet street behind Unter den Linden—a place I had never visited before.

“You have arrived.”

A servant waiting by the gate took our luggage and carried it inside. As we followed the garden path toward the front entrance, Adrian Askanien smiled at me.

“Well? What do you think?”

“It’s my first time here. It feels… new.”

Luka had never been here before. This was my first time setting foot in Adrian Askanien’s residence in Berlin, not the one in Anhalt.

“Do you like it?”

I looked toward the gray Neo-Renaissance mansion in the distance. Its muted slate roof matched the limestone eagle statues perched along the edges. The house itself was neither especially large nor small, but the gardens were expansive, blending so naturally into the surrounding landscape that they looked like a piece of the forest had been left untouched. Carefully tended ivy climbed the walls, and unlike the current Mecklenburg-Strelitz estate with its meticulously sculpted trees in the Chinese style, the trees here had been allowed to grow in their natural forms. A robin’s nest rested among the branches of a mature crape myrtle, while the tiny birds glided back and forth overhead.

I watched them in silence before smiling.

“It’s beautiful. It suits you, Brother.”

“…….”

Adrian’s eyes widened.When he didn’t answer, I tilted my head slightly in question.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t remember the last time you smiled at something I said.”

“Haven’t I smiled plenty?”

“I mean a brighter smile.”

Smiling with his eyes, Adrian lightly tapped his own raised cheek. I looked at him in silence, then smiled again.

Silence settled between us after that. Following the servant, Adrian kept his eyes ahead and spoke almost casually.

“You’ve grown a little taller since the last time I saw you.”

“…You noticed?”

“Of course I did.”

A chill ran down the back of my neck. What does he mean, of course? It wasn’t as though I was some elementary schooler who’d shot up half a foot in a few months. I was already taller than average, and as a New Human nearing the end of adolescence, how much could I possibly have grown in three months? Had he really noticed the difference with nothing but a sharp eye… or—

Even as I deliberately steered my thoughts elsewhere and kept up the act of being calm, every little thing scraped against my nerves, raw and exposed.

“When I first bought this house, I imagined you living here with me, Luka. We’ll return to Anhalt someday, but while we’re serving the Empire in politics, we’ll need a place in Berlin. We’ll probably be here until we’re at least in our thirties.”

The future. The word crossed my mind as I answered, “Is that so? Thank you for thinking that far ahead for me.”

“I’m happy that wish came true sooner than I expected.”

Adrian Askanien smiled at me before turning his gaze ahead again. Under the evening sky, only the birdsong broke the silence.

The inside of the manor was as simple and harmonious as the gardens outside. Since I had no idea which room was mine, I followed Adrian through the halls. I committed everything I saw to memory as he led me into his study.

He looked around the room as though greeting an old friend, his eyes lingering fondly on each familiar corner. After gently running a hand over the leather chair, he sat down with practiced elegance. I stopped politely at the doorway. In truth, I had no desire to step inside, but Adrian simply beckoned me closer.

When I walked over to his desk, he opened a drawer, took something out, and held it toward me.

“Here, Luka.”

It was a key. Red, green, and white—the colors of Anhalt—set into a copper key with gemstones decorating the bow. I had a pretty good idea what it was. I lifted my eyes to meet his.

“It’s the master key. You can go anywhere in this mansion.”

I only looked at Adrian in silence. He smiled when he saw my expression.

“I told you. This is what I’ve been hoping for.”

“…….”

“You’ll still be staying at the Command Headquarters’ quarters, of course. But now that we can at least live under the same roof for a little while, surely I can ask for one thing I’ve wanted all this time. I’d appreciate it if you’d treat this place as your own home.”

For an instant, it felt as though his hand had tightened around my throat. Ah, seriously… Even something as ordinary as mentioning the Command Headquarters—a place he naturally knew about—was enough to leave my mouth dry.

I quietly studied Adrian Askanien’s face before forcing a smile.

“Thank you.”

“Good. Then…”

Then?

A growing sense of dread crept over me as I waited for him to continue. Adrian alone kept a solemn expression as he spoke quietly.

“Let me see your wound, Luka.”

“Why do you want to see it?”

Revulsion welled up from somewhere deep inside me. My throat itched. Maybe it was my airway. None of it reached my voice. All that remained was the perfectly natural question anyone would have asked.

Adrian Askanien wasn’t the least bit surprised by my response. He simply maintained that gentle expression and answered evenly.

“Like I said earlier, I’ll be staying here until you’ve recovered, Luka. If I’m going to spend that time with my beloved little brother—and decide what we should do together, or which doctor I ought to bring you to—I need to know your condition, don’t I?”

‘A doctor…’

He wanted to examine my condition. Was it my imagination, or did those words carry another meaning?

Thump.

My heartbeat echoed through my skull. Adrian Askanien leaned forward from his chair and beckoned with two fingers. I looked down at him in silence. Instead of stepping closer, I reached for the bandages taped around my neck.

“I’ll do it myself.”

“Sure.”

Adrian Askanien watched with quiet concern as I peeled away each strip of tape. The weight of the suffocating silence left me with nowhere to rest my eyes. I gathered the discarded dressings in one hand. The moment Adrian saw my neck, his brow furrowed, and his lips pressed into a thin line.

“…I heard it’s already been three days, and yet it hasn’t healed at all.”

“It’s much better than it was at first.”

“Even so, this isn’t the kind of healing speed I’d expect from a mage of your caliber. Especially after being treated at the Bavarian National Medical Center.”

“…….”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Because my friend collapsed.”

I answered shortly, then slowly closed my eyes before opening them again. When I spoke next, my gaze was fixed on the floor.

“Even staying awake is painful.”

Adrian Askanien fell silent. I never looked up, but when he finally spoke, his voice had softened.

“It reminds me of the old days.”

“…….”

“Get some rest. I’ll have a doctor come by this evening. Sleep if you want, read if you want. If there’s anything you’d like to eat, just tell the kitchen. Mr. Schiller will show you to your room.”

He smiled, though the exhaustion on his face was plain. The long train ride must have worn him out. My eyes drifted toward the doorway he casually gestured to. Mr. Schiller… he must be one of the attendants. He’s probably waiting outside.

‘More importantly… he’s just telling me to go rest?’

He wasn’t asking anything about my disposition. He wasn’t testing me. He wasn’t even taking me to a hospital. He wasn’t even trying to spend time with me?

I’d already prepared for everything. I’d checked my Retry points, gone over the modified necklace cord, pendant, and watch one last time, confirmed the password with Mecklenburg, and even sent brief messages to my friends. I hadn’t had time to wait for replies, but at least I’d warned them.

And yet Adrian Askanien was just leaving me alone.

‘I have no choice but to wait a little longer.’

The reason he’d summoned me to Italy over the weekend couldn’t have disappeared overnight.

I bowed my head and turned away. The moment his face left my sight, it felt as though the muscles that had been rigidly locked in place finally gave out. It wasn’t my reaction. But I was the one feeling it, which made it mine all the same. I steadied my legs before slowly turning back around. His eyes curved gently as he looked at me. If there’s something you want to say, say it. That’s what his gaze seemed to tell me. I answered with the same gentle smile, letting the tension leave my shoulders.

“I’m glad to finally have the chance to spend some time with you again, Brother. It’s an honor to be here, in the place where you used to live.”

“This is your—”

“Though I still don’t know why you’ve decided to stay with me until my neck heals.”

“…….”

“It’s only a minor injury. It’ll heal on its own, Brother.”

I gave him a gentle smile, one meant to reassure him and express my gratitude.

Rustle.

A breeze drifted through the open window. Adrian Askanien paid no attention to the muslin curtains swaying behind him. His eyes remained fixed on mine, gentle as ever.

“Work is important, but family comes first, doesn’t it? I came here because of your health. I’d like to spend that time with you, Luka.”

“…….”

Fine. His reason for monitoring me hadn’t changed. So why was he dragging this out? I nodded with a smile.

“I understand. Please don’t trouble yourself too much.”

The room the attendant showed me to was spotless. I stepped cautiously onto the wooden floor, but nothing warped me elsewhere, nor did I sense any trace of mana. After the attendant left, I inspected each piece of furniture one by one, feeling for any mana. Conveniently enough, the room contained nothing but furniture—no personal belongings, no decorations.

[To my beloved younger brother]

A single letter lay on the desk beside a bottle of wine. That was all.

I unfolded it.

It was only a page long, beginning with, I’m writing this aboard the train, counting the hours until I can see you again. One line stood out to me: Once we’re reunited, I doubt we’ll have much time to simply look at one another.

I felt myself losing my balance and sat down on the bed, leaning back against the headboard. It was the first real moment of peace I’d felt in the past three hours. Even if the room smelled faintly of lily-of-the-valley air freshener, and every piece of furniture around me had been used by someone else before.

‘Damn it.’

Damn it… I should be watching the persimmon tree right now. You have to wait beneath the tree if you want to catch the fruit when it falls. What’s the point of sitting a hundred kilometers away, thinking about it?

‘I came all this way. I came all this way, and yet it drifts further apart…’

The missing rosary and wooden cross had been right in front of me. If I couldn’t leave this place, everything would come to nothing. Had I been too optimistic to think I could catch the one who reduced Heike to that state in just three days? Three days ago, in this timeline, I hadn’t even known Mikhail Ismailov’s real name was Yuri Alekseyev. I’d clawed my way from zero to ninety-five in only three days, and now, just as I reached the finish line, a new obstacle had appeared.

The one connected to the traits I’d been avoiding all this time.

‘…Things had been going too well.’

Emanuel would probably look at me like I’d lost my mind for saying that, but still. Ever since returning from the Extra Chapter, I’d been following a solid path built on information. And now someone with every reason to dig into the truth behind my disposition had come straight to me.

Shameless as it was, I was only human. I couldn’t help hoping for a stroke of luck. I called upon the system for the first time in a while, wondering if it might offer some kind of help. It didn’t answer. It just displayed my status window, which now seemed utterly meaningless.

I rested my head against the wall, closed my eyes for a moment, then shifted back until my shoulders settled against the headboard.

‘There’s only one reason Adrian Askanien came all the way here.’

To check my disposition. The disposition that had changed since the Ash Wednesday Eucharist. That was all. But then why wasn’t he making a move? Was he simply taking his time because he had plenty of it?

‘Unless… he’s already certain.’

If he already knew, there’d be no reason to investigate further. That would explain why he seemed so relaxed now—but then why come all this way in the first place?

He’d said he’d call for a doctor and stay until I’d recovered. That meant he had all the time in the world. All the opportunities he could ask for. If he intended to wait, then I’d wait as well and see what he did next.

Unlike before, there was no Pie here. Only the dying glow of the evening sun, the wind, and the distant clatter of carriage hooves as families and lovers left the opera house far in the distance. I stayed by the window until some strength returned, then searched the mansion from top to bottom until I found the library. I picked out an old book and carried it back to my room.

I couldn’t even remember how I’d managed to read it. A doctor would be here soon. A Prussian doctor. That thought scattered every word on the page. I’d gotten about halfway through the book when someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock―

“Come in.”

“Your Highness, a doctor from the Imperial Central Hospital has arrived.”

“…….”

So, it had come to this.

I closed the book and rose from my seat. The doctor, who had been standing behind the servant, waved his hand lightly and approached me.

“Please, have a seat. I will only examine your condition and prescribe some medicine before I leave. My name is Brigitte Ostermann. I came at the request of His Excellency Adrian Askanien, Deputy Minister of Magic. It is an honor to be able to treat Lord Lukas Askanien.”

“So I’ve heard.”

I greeted him with a smile and sat back down. I glanced outside the room. Adrian Askanien wasn’t there. Why?

The doctor set down his medical bag and took the seat beside me. Pulling on a pair of gloves, he examined my neck. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he raised an eyebrow and nodded. Watching him from the corner of my eye, I turned to the servant.

“Do you happen to know where my brother is?”

“Oh, I just came from seeing him. He is still working.”

It was the doctor—not the servant—who answered. I narrowed my eyes for a moment before simply nodding.

“I see. Thank you.”

‘He called a doctor, then leaves me alone…’

An odd strategy. If that was the plan, why call a doctor at all?

The doctor continued examining my neck before speaking with a satisfied smile.

“The wound has been stitched up nicely. I heard you fell into a river, but I don’t see any signs of infection. It must have been treated quickly.”

“Indeed.”

“I also heard you were treated in Bavaria. The Bavarian National Medical Center really is excellent. I graduated from the Bavarian College of Medicine myself, so seeing Lord Askanien brings back memories. At this point it’s only a matter of time before it heals. Just keep applying this ointment until the stitches come out. It’s a magical medicine, so it works quickly.”

He placed a small tin of ointment into my hand, gave me the usual advice—not to turn my neck too sharply or overexert myself—and left. He never sent mana into my core or my neck. He never even checked my pulse. He simply chatted about graduating from medical school in Bavaria while examining the wound with his just his eyes, then left.

He hadn’t been ordered to investigate my disposition. He had truly come only to examine me. Why?

I fastened the buttons of my shirt, staring at the firmly closed door.

I didn’t see Adrian Askanien again until late that night. A servant knocked on my door, confirmed that I was still awake, and escorted me downstairs to the sitting room.

Unlike before, Adrian Askanien was dressed in comfortable casual clothes. The moment he saw me, he greeted me with a bright smile.

“I heard you wanted to see me.”

“Have a glass of wine with me, Luka.”

“…….”

I stared at the crimson liquid in the glass. My throat went dry. I couldn’t use a testing kit here. I couldn’t purify it with divine power, either. My heartbeat pounded in my ears.

“I never imagined the day would come when I’d share a drink with my little brother somewhere other than the dinner table.”

“A great many things have changed, Brother.”

“They certainly have.”

He smiled softly and took a sip of his wine.

“Luka.”

“Yes?”

“I wanted the world to recognize your talent and your worth… but at the same time, I wished it never would.”

“…….”

I simply looked at him.

He’s telling me this outright? Is this some elaborate confession meant to put me at ease before getting me to drink?

…No. He wasn’t nearly that simple. I was beginning to understand.

“Because I wanted you to remain inside the safe garden called House of Askanien. The world outside is far too dangerous. Especially so for you.”

Especially so for you. The words carried a deeper meaning, but asking what he meant would only be walking into his trap. Under normal circumstances, anyone would assume he was referring to the scandal from my childhood—that someone with a tarnished reputation would naturally face greater dangers.

I needed to know why he’d come. Only then could I prepare once I turned back time. So I wasn’t about to refuse the wine. Not that he’d resort to something so crude. I took a sip from the glass he’d poured for me.

“The love of the public is sweet, but you never know when it’ll vanish like a mirage. Every storm life throws at us wears down the ship we’re sailing, until one day it breaks apart sooner than it should. Even if you replace every plank, the person who stood at the helm before is already gone beneath the sea.”

“…….”

“After being remade like that again and again, you eventually become someone far removed from who you once were. The irony is that even when you want to act with complete sincerity, there are times when the only way to preserve that sincerity is to abandon it. Even if it’s the last bridge connecting you to your childhood… even if it’s the one piece you can never bear to lose… sometimes the only way to keep it is to let go of the innocence and passion you’ve been holding onto.”

I met his gaze in silence. I was certain our eyes carried the same light at that moment.

“Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

I didn’t answer. I simply took another sip of wine.

If I had truly been as young as Luka—or if I’d never stood before the public myself—I might have mistaken this for someone making pathetic excuses. But I knew exactly what he was doing. I understood. I knew the image he wanted to project.

“To protect what I love, I have no choice but to trample something else beneath my feet. Whether it’s my childhood… or my innocence.”

“…….”

“…Perhaps it wouldn’t have been that way if humanity had never gone through the Neolithic Revolution.”

Resting his chin on one hand, he let out a light, carefree laugh, tossing out the absurd remark as if it meant nothing. I nearly laughed myself at how naturally he played the part, but instead I looked toward the fireplace. The crackle of burning embers filled the silence. I watched the flickering fire cast its glow against the darkness before slowly closing my eyes. His voice drifted through the wavering flames like something out of a dream.

“Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if we had lived in Eden.”

“…….”

“A place without Anhalt. Without any of this.”

“You have quite the imagination.”

I answered like that while committing this moment to memory. No matter how calm I looked on the outside, one thing was certain. This was worth remembering.

“I’ll admit it, Luka. When you decided to step into the public eye earlier this year, I worried about you. Because I knew that once you took that first step… there would be no turning back.”

“You didn’t need to worry. I stepped forward precisely because there was no way back.”

Adrian Askanien nodded before speaking again in a quieter voice.

“But at the same time… my heart felt heavy. Heavy because of what?”

“…….”

“Making you into a target—turning you into something for the public to talk about—was wrong. But the public’s arrows are unpredictable. They’ll condemn you even when you’ve done nothing wrong. And when someone truly deserves criticism… they’ll often make them pay far beyond what they deserves.”

So? I looked at him, but his eyes never left the fire.

“I kept thinking that one day the public’s blades might be turned on me. I could already see it happening—just like now. I knew they’d try to drive a wedge between us.”

“…….”

“And if that happened, there’d be nothing I could do to protect you. My honor and reputation belong to you as well.”

Of course they do.

If I ever found myself in trouble—even if it was because of the public’s baseless accusations—he could use the trust and goodwill he’d earned to shield me. That reputation had been built for exactly that purpose. That was what he was trying to say.

“My love for you has always been genuine. But speaking about it publicly, giving interviews… that wasn’t something my heart wanted to do. It was a decision my head made.”

Ah. The corner of my mouth curled upward. I felt sick. He was talking about the day I applied for the Student Military Corps’ document screening—the day the entire Empire first learned I could use magic. The day the Imperial Dailies published Adrian Askanien’s interview. All he’d done back then was praise and support me. It wasn’t something that called for an apology. Which meant he had another reason for apologizing.

“That’s the most recent time I had to give up my innocence for the sake of what I loved. Can you forgive me?”

To put it simply, he’d realized I no longer truly saw him as a good older brother. He knew I was wary of him, and he’d guessed what had led me to feel that way. This was his attempt to apologize.

The person sitting before me now wasn’t a born killer. He was a saintly person of flawless kindness, watching over his sick younger brother seven years his junior.

“If you wish to make a confession, wouldn’t it be better to do it in a church, Brother?”

Tilting my head slightly with a faint smile, I returned Adrian Askanien’s smile in kind.

“But of course. You have nothing to ask my forgiveness for. I’ve always carried your kindness with me, deep in my heart.”

A profound happiness spread across Adrian Askanien’s face.

“It’s different now.”

“…….”

“Now I can truly be happy when I speak about you, Luka. I wanted nothing more than for you to remain safe within House of Askanien… but that wasn’t what would make you happy. I understand that now.”

I looked at Adrian Askanien. He met my gaze with nothing but sincerity.

“I know you’re pursuing your own happiness now.”

“…….”

“I’ll always be cheering you on, Luka.”

His deep voice rang clear before the fire. I answered him with a smile.

Good.

Adrian Askanien had no intention of probing my disposition.

I still didn’t know why, but his resolve was unwavering. For whatever reason, he intended to remain nothing more than a ‘loving older brother.’ That was the conclusion I reached. Which meant there was no reason for me to keep waiting.