Chapter 22
“Thank you for your kind words, Head of the House.”
The conversation with Father, which lasted a little over an hour, ended without any major problems. I merely nodded quietly as he offered me countless words of praise and encouragement, along with promises of support.
Even Ludwig Friesna himself apparently couldn’t recognize his son in this state.
“So, how should we divide the rooms?”
In the corridor after the conversation, the underachiever clapped her hands and turned to us. Julia answered languidly.
“Let’s do as we did in the mountains. Ellie and I can share a room….”
“I-I’ll share a room with Miss Rene.”
Ellie cut in as though she had been waiting for her chance. Julia and the underachiever looked at her curiously.
Ellie pressed her tightly clenched fist against her chest and continued.
“I-I have something I really want to discuss with Miss Rene. We didn’t get a proper chance to talk in the mountains, either.”
The underachiever tilted her head.
“Something you want to discuss? What is it?”
“It’s about studying. I have a few things to ask her.”
I answered in her place.
“Studying?”
“Yeah. Things like memorization methods for textbooks and efficient mana manipulation.”
I looked at Ellie as if to say, ‘Right?’
“Y-yes!”
Ellie nodded enthusiastically.
“Hmm, really?”
Only then did the underachiever step back as though she had no choice.
Julia, who had been standing there absentmindedly and watching the three of us, nodded with a small yawn.
“Then let’s do that. Miss Ellie and Miss Rene will use a room on the second floor, and Miss Julia and Miss Ria will use one on the third.”
Julia turned away with a languid expression. She already looked tired from going out for the first time in a while.
“Tsk… Yeah, if it’s about studying, it can’t be helped.”
The underachiever shrugged and slowly followed Julia up the stairs. Around the middle of the staircase, she turned back to us.
“Aren’t you two coming?”
“I’ll stop by the restroom first.”
At my suitably vague answer, Ellie nodded enthusiastically as well.
The underachiever stared down at us for a moment, then cheerfully said, “All right, then. See you both tomorrow,” and quickly went up the stairs.
We stood there for a while, listening to Ria’s footsteps fade away. Then we turned and headed toward the west wing, where my sister’s room was located.
“Oh, Brother, you really are an excellent actor.”
“What acting? I just said whatever came to mind.”
“Even so… If it were me, I would’ve panicked and my voice would have trembled….”
Ellie looked at me with sincere admiration.
The praise felt good, but being admired over something so trivial left me feeling strangely embarrassed. I merely shrugged and changed the subject.
“That reminds me, Ellie, can I ask you something?”
“Y-yes! Anything!”
“How were you so sure that I was Evan?”
It was a question I hadn’t had the presence of mind to ask in the restroom.
Ellie answered without showing much hesitation.
“Your fingernails.”
“My fingernails?”
“Yes. You have a habit of biting your thumbnail when you’re nervous.”
“Ah… So that’s why you kept fidgeting with my hand.”
I certainly did have that habit. It was a childish habit I still hadn’t managed to break, despite my sister and mother pointing it out countless times.
“But isn’t that alone a little insufficient? Biting your nails is a fairly common habit, too.”
“Of course, there were plenty of other things that seemed off to me besides your nails.”
“Such as?”
“For example… well….”
After hesitating for a moment, Ellie glanced up at me.
“The way you carry yourself… perhaps?”
“The way I carry myself?”
“Yes, I could sense your distinct presence, Brother. It was hard to explain in words, but… somehow, I just knew.”
“Hmm….”
So it was my distinctive presence.
“Then do you think you could convince my sister of that ‘presence’?”
No matter how much Ellie helped me, there was no way my sister, who understood better than anyone else in this world how difficult soul transfer was, would believe me without question.
To persuade my sister, I would have to offer several circumstantial clues amounting to something close to physical evidence. I had to think of a few before meeting her.
“To convince Sister Erica… hmm….”
Ellie also seemed to have fallen into deep thought. By then, we had entered the quiet passage connecting the main building and the west wing.
I, too, began considering ways to persuade my sister as I gazed silently up at the ceiling.
We had been walking for quite a while when, suddenly, a huge shadow blocked our path.
“Huh?”
A shadow? Where had that come from? I lowered my gaze, puzzled.
The black uniform of a hulking figure suddenly filled my field of vision.
“Ah, Reinhardt. It’s been a while.”
Ellie greeted him with genuine warmth.
“Ugh….”
By contrast, my breath suddenly caught in my throat.
The moment I saw the bald, egg-shaped head jutting above the black uniform, a dull ache seemed to prickle through one side of my stomach.
“……Miss Ellie.”
Egg bowed politely to Ellie, then immediately fixed me with a stare. Keeping his eyes on me, he asked Ellie,
“I was under the impression the banquet was over.”
“That’s right. I’m on my way to see Sister Erica.”
“Her?”
Egg’s glare at me grew even more intense.
Feeling a twinge of guilt, I lowered my head without thinking. By then, Ellie seemed to have noticed something strange as well and tilted her head.
“Are you acquainted with Miss Rene?”
“Yes. We are acquainted.”
Only then did Egg turn his gaze away from me and look at Ellie.
“May I ask what business brings you to her?”
“Do I need a reason to see Sister Erica?”
“……”
Egg once again looked me over intently.
‘That bastard, seriously….’
I was practically traumatized already. Those fists of his packed one hell of a punch.
“Reinhardt! It’s rude to stare at a lady like that!”
Thanks to Ellie getting angry on my behalf, Egg’s gaze didn’t linger for long this time.
“It’s getting late, so please don’t stay too long.”
He soon gave a brief bow and stepped aside in the corridor.
As I suspected, even Egg couldn’t bar the way to a guest of Lady Clostermann.
“I will. Thanks.”
Well, Egg letting me go so readily was also a sign of how much he trusted my sister’s abilities.
‘Once I reveal my identity to my sister, you’ll be the first one I rough up.’
I gave Egg one last sharp glare, then hurried after Ellie down the corridor.
After walking for a while, Ellie gave a small laugh and turned to me.
“Come to think of it, Brother, you used to call Reinhardt ‘Egg,’ didn’t you?”
“I did. He’s a perfect egg, no matter how you look at him. Just look at that head of his.”
“Hehehe.”
Ellie covered her mouth as she giggled, then quietly matched her steps to mine.
“Come to think of it, this is the first time we’ve been alone together this late since the day you stayed over at my place.”
“Right. You were ten then, weren’t you?”
“Oh… You remember?”
“Of course. I remember just about everything about you, Ellie.”
As I said, Ellie was practically my little sister.
“We had chicken for dinner that night. You weren’t very good at picking the meat off the bones, so I did it for you. Remember?”
“……Oh, yes. I definitely remember.”
“You looked so cute, gobbling up each piece as I picked it off, like a baby bird.”
“C-cute….”
Embarrassed by the memory of her childhood self, Ellie’s face turned slightly red as she lowered her head.
I chuckled and gently ruffled her hair.
“Well, now you’ve grown into a fine young lady.”
“A-a lady? I’m not quite there yet….”
“Why not? You’re plenty grown-up now, Ellie. Isn’t it about time we started talking about your engagement….”
I suddenly found myself speechless. Come to think of it, could the ‘Brother’ she had mentioned earlier be…?
“Ah, ah! W-we’re here already! Sister Erica’s room!”
Ellie had apparently heard the word ‘engagement’ as well, because she looked visibly flustered and changed the subject.
“Ah… yeah.”
It felt a little strange, but for now, I nodded.
Right, that was something I could ask about later. I steadied my pounding heart with a deep breath, then turned to Ellie with a serious expression.
“Ellie.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Actually, I… No, Rene and my sister don’t exactly get along, you know?”
“Oh… Is that so?”
“Y-yeah. It’s a long story.”
How could I possibly explain that whole convoluted history to her?
“Anyway, that’s why I’d like you to go in first and explain the situation.”
“Me…?”
“Yeah. Sister Erica cares about you a lot.”
Since Ellie was like a little sister to me, she was like one to my sister as well.
“Ah… yes. I’ll give it a try.”
Ellie nodded with a fairly serious expression. I smiled faintly and patted her on the back.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
The plan was simple. Ellie would go in first and put my sister at ease, after which I would cautiously reveal myself.
After that, I planned to prove my identity with secrets only Evan could know—our mother’s birthday or our father’s favorite food, for example.
“Yes, Brother.”
Ellie nodded seriously once more and stood in front of the door.
Knock knock-
Ellie promptly rapped on the door.
“Come in.”
My sister answered as if she had been expecting her. Perhaps Egg had already contacted her via communication magic.
Ellie glanced back at me one last time, then opened the door and stepped inside as though she had made up her mind. I leaned against the corridor wall a short distance away, anxiously waiting to hear what she would say.
At last, I heard Ellie’s voice.
“I found Brother Evan.”
“……What?”
“Rene is Brother Evan.”
……Ellie was far more direct than I could ever have imagined.