Chapter 75
"With that, we hereby conclude the revision of the trade agreement between the Kingdom of Ridill and the Kingdom of Randall. Representatives of both countries, please sign the protocol."
Neil Clay Maywood, the Kingdom of Ridill's mediator, urged them on, and the representatives of both countries signed their respective documents.
The Kingdom of Randall was a small country sandwiched between several great powers, including the Kingdom of Ridill and the Shubalgard Empire. For that reason, it was always cautious in its dealings.
The Kingdom of Randall was constantly watching the reactions of the great powers around it, so whether it was a treaty or an agreement, reaching a conclusion always took an inordinate amount of time.
There had been more than one occasion when an agreement that had progressed to the brink of conclusion was delayed at the last minute and then quietly allowed to lapse.
That was why Neil had secretly breathed a sigh of relief when the revision of this agreement was completed without incident.
Once the signatures were finished and the meeting had settled down, a congenial atmosphere filled the room, and cheerful conversation rose from all around.
Amid it all, a woman approached Neil and spoke to him.
She was a beautiful woman with lustrous blond hair tied up and dressed in a navy-blue uniform—Bridget Graham, a diplomatic secretary.
"It has been a long time, Lord Maywood. Thank you for all your efforts toward revising the agreement."
"Miss Bridget... No, I mean, Secretary Graham. I'm glad if I was able to help in even a small way."
Neil still had trouble shaking the way he had addressed her when they were students at Serendia Academy, but Bridget did not take offense. She simply gave him a beautiful smile.
Bridget was known as a highly capable secretary, but Neil felt that she had become just a little less prickly since her days at Serendia Academy, and that her smile had grown gentler.
Neil's friendly conversation with the beautiful secretary drew envious looks from those around them.
Few people knew that Neil, who looked considerably younger than his age, was married and would soon become a father.
"Excuse me, Secretary Graham."
A young clerk from the Kingdom of Randall interrupted Neil and Bridget's conversation.
He looked to be in his early twenties. He was a young man with long black hair and silver-rimmed glasses.
When the clerk saw Bridget, he let out a soft, admiring sigh.
"I have wanted to speak with you directly for some time now."
"You are from the Kingdom of Randall..."
"Please call me Sven, beautiful lady. Ah, your lustrous hair is like roses wet with morning dew, and your beautiful eyes are as though they have captured the sun. The moment you entered this room, I distinctly felt a spring breeze blow through it. Could you perhaps be a spirit heralding spring?"
Bridget, who had been called a spirit heralding spring, looked at him with eyes darker than the sea at night, radiating an air as cold as midwinter.
Neil knew that Bridget had once confided that florid compliments like these gave her goosebumps, so all he could do was smile wryly.
Bridget pasted a social smile onto her face and turned to Sven.
"My, Lord Sven, how flattering."
"I merely gave shape to the words that welled up in my heart. Ah, the way your eyelashes rise and fall is like a butterfly with golden wings fluttering its delicate wings..."
Bridget maintained her polite smile as she cast a sidelong glance at Neil.
Her amber eyes, described as though they held the sun, glittered fiercely like a wildcat's, as if saying:
Can't you somehow mediate this?
Neil smiled awkwardly and cut in.
"Hello, Lord Winkel. Your younger brother was a great help to me during our student days."
"Oh, Lord Maywood. On the contrary, my adorable little brother was in your care."
At the exchange between Neil and Sven, Bridget drew her brows together slightly and murmured, "Brother?"
It was only natural for Bridget to be confused. She had a passing acquaintance with Sven's younger brother, but their time at the academy had barely overlapped.
"He's the older brother of Roberto Winkel, who was vice president when I served as student council president."
"Oh my."
Bridget blinked her long eyelashes and opened her eyes wide in surprise.
The large, rugged Roberto and Sven, who looked every inch a civil servant, shared little more than their hair color, so her surprise was understandable.
"So my little brother knew Secretary Graham too. What do you think? My brother is very capable and such a good boy, isn't he? I'm so proud of him."
Roberto Winkel was indeed an exceptionally capable man.
He had ranked at the top of his year in both practical and academic studies, and he was painfully serious. As vice president of the student council, he had been a tremendous help to Neil.
...But when chess was involved, Roberto became completely unreasonable.
During their time at the academy, Roberto had tried to invite Monica Everett, the Silent Witch, to serve as an adviser to the chess club. On occasion, he had even tried to storm the Kingdom of Ridill's royal castle in person. Neil had lost count of how many times he had stopped him.
As Neil gave an awkward laugh at the memory of days gone by, Sven brushed back his long bangs and spoke.
"Actually, I have plans to meet my brother later. In Sazandoll."
"...............What?"
Neil's cheek twitched at Sven's words.
Sazandoll. It was the city where Monica Everett, the Silent Witch, lived.
Roberto did not know that, and no one had told him Monica's address.
If Roberto found out where Monica lived, it was obvious that he would show up and insist, "Let's play chess."
Roberto was currently a third-year student in Serendia Academy's upper division. So why was he going to Sazandoll...?
"Actually, my brothers are staying in Sazandoll for work."
"I-I see..."
"So we're meeting in Sazandoll and spending the holiday together as brothers for the first time in a while. Roberto even took the day off from school and headed to Sazandoll the day before because he wanted to see his brothers at work. Isn't that adorable, coming from my little brother?"
"I-I see..."
As he nodded along with a strained smile, Neil prayed to the heavens.
Oh, please. Let those two avoid running into each other by sheer accident!
＊ ＊ ＊
After Sloth and Veronica fled, Monica headed outside the shop with Antony. Naturally, they were going after the escaped Sloth.
"Good heavens, though, what a surprise. I never imagined Miss Monica was one of the Seven Sages."
"U-um, please keep that a secret..."
"Of course! You have nothing to fear! I, Antony, have an excellent reputation for keeping my mouth shut!"
It was difficult to trust a man who had loudly blabbed his own circumstances to everyone, but for now, she had no choice but to take him at his word.
Melissa and Raul had stayed behind in Sloth's room, searching for the magic potion bottles among the furniture buried in snow.
According to Melissa:
'Once the shopkeeper Sloth is gone, it's obvious this place is going to be thrown into an uproar. So hurry up, grab everything worth recovering, and let's get out of here. Shorty, you go capture that big guy and that bastard Sloth. If Sloth has any magic potion bottles on him, make sure you recover them properly.'
Even after learning Monica's true identity, Melissa still called her Shorty. That was very much like Melissa.
"Um, Antony-san's younger brothers are waiting outside, right?"
"Indeed. I have four younger brothers, and two of them are in the same knight order as I am. My two brothers and I were handling this secret mission together. Our youngest brother said he wanted to observe our work, so we brought him along as well."
Was it really all right to bring a younger brother along to observe a secret mission?
As Monica stood there perplexed, Antony's voice rose slightly with excitement.
"Our youngest is such a dear boy. He's still a student, but he looks up to his big brother and says he wants to become a knight when he grows up."
"I-I see..."
"Oh! Speak of the devil. Excellent work, brothers!"
When they left the shop and came around to the back, Antony waved his hand ahead of them.
The sun was beginning to rise, but it was still dim all around, and Monica could make out only three silhouettes.
As Monica strained her eyes, Antony's younger brothers approached them.
The one in front was Theodore, smiling gently. A black-and-brown dog stood at his feet.
Walking beside him was a young man dressed in clothing styled after the desert people.
Monica remembered his face. He was Michel, the young man who had waited on her in the hall and tried to help her escape outside. Apparently, he was Antony's brother too.
Michel waved casually at Antony and spoke.
"Good work, Big Brother Antony. I confiscated Sloth's magic tools and handed him over to our men."
"Excellent work, Michel, Theodore. By the way, was Sloth carrying any magic potions?"
"No. Only the ornaments he was wearing."
Apparently, Sloth had not been carrying any of Melissa's magic potions. That meant they must all be in his room.
As Monica was thinking that she needed to tell Melissa, the person standing behind Theodore and Michel stepped forward.
"...............Huh?"
No, surely not... It couldn't be... Monica rubbed her eyes, but the person came briskly toward them.
Antony called out happily.
"Oh, Roberto! It's been a long time!"
"It has been a long time, Miss Monica."
The tall, black-haired young man slipped past Antony, who had spread his arms to embrace him, and came to stand in front of Monica.
He was the man who had once proposed an engagement to Monica at Serendia Academy on the condition that they play chess—Roberto Winkel.
As Monica's mouth opened and closed soundlessly, Antony raised his thick eyebrows and looked suspicious.
"Hm? Brother, are you acquainted with Miss Monica?"
"Yes. She's the woman I asked you and our brothers about—the one I want to win over."
It was a spring morning, with the sun rising slowly.
Beneath the dull gleam of the morning sun, filtering through gaps in the sky where pale pink had begun to mingle with the deep blue left over from night, the Winkel brothers—Antony, Michel, and Theodore—stared at Monica and shouted in unison.
"She's our sister!"
"She's totally our sister!"
"She is, isn't she?"
That was quite a leap.
Monica frantically shook her head from side to side, but apparently no one was paying any attention to her reaction.
Antony turned toward Roberto and spoke with an anguished expression.
"...Roberto, forgive me. Big Brother has cherished you from the bottom of his heart, but... the truth is... the truth is... I always wanted a little sister!"
A tear glistened at the corner of Antony's eye as he made his heartfelt confession. Apparently, he was choking back tears of emotion.
As Monica stood speechless at Antony's outrageous theatrics, Michel nodded vigorously.
"I get it, I get it~. Having five brothers is kind of a sausage fest, you know."
Michel's heartfelt murmur carried a tremendous amount of personal experience.
As Monica struggled to figure out how to react, Antony placed a hand on her shoulder.
"My sister! Next time, Big Brother will take you hunting! I'll show you exactly how impressive your big brother can be!"
As Antony leaned in, breathing hard as he peered into Monica's face, Monica sweated profusely and looked everywhere but at him. Then Michel crowded in close and gave her a syrupy, sweet smile.
"Oh, come on, Antony, big brother. Girls would rather go shopping than hunting, right? Come shopping with me, okay? Big Brother will buy you anything you want."
"U-um... u-um..."
Monica looked at Theodore as though asking him for help.
Theodore smiled as he held the intimidating-looking dog in his arms.
"Hey, do you like doggies?"
"..............."
The brothers did not look alike at first glance, but they were exactly alike in one respect: none of them listened to what other people said.
After that, Antony insisted, "Come watch the knights train! Come see how cool your big brother is!" Michel patted Monica on the head and said, "I'll buy you some sweet treats too," while Theodore began talking about dogs, saying, "We have two dogs at home too, you know."
It was almost refreshingly obvious that none of them was listening to her.
Amid all this, one man raised his voice forcefully. It was Roberto.
"Brothers, Miss Monica is troubled by this."
Oh, thank goodness. Now they'll listen to me... Monica had just begun to breathe a sigh of relief when—
"Miss Monica needs to play chess with me first. Don't worry, Miss Monica. Of course I brought a chessboard, even on this trip."
"..............."
And so, the four men's competing claims descended into complete chaos.
Before long, the brothers' argument had expanded into a debate over whether they wanted her to call them Big Brother or Big Bro. They began arguing about how much they had always wanted a little sister, and eventually even started discussing wedding dates. At that point, Monica turned her back on the four of them.
"I-I have work to do, so... I-I'll be going now!"
Monica flailed her arms and legs and fled the scene at the fastest pace she could manage.
With the boisterous cries of "Miss Monica!" and "Little sister!" ringing behind her.