Chapter 75

My brother pressed his temples and shook his head forcefully, as if the source of his pain was there. He folded the paper and thrust it back at me.

"…………"

"…………"

Holding the memo paper, I stared at my brother in a daze.

After all, the words he blurted out...

They were the first line of Japanese I had written on the memo paper! 'The concept of this inspection is clothing, food, and shelter!'

No one else could read it, right? Was the safety myth about to be shattered?

No, no, why would my brother...?

My brother sighed.

"I'm sorry. It seems to only contain the schedule for the inspection."

What did you think was written there! I thought, but more importantly!

"Brother, can you read it?"

This is the important part!

"...Yes, but not everything."

What do you mean!

"Why..."

In a daze, a murmur escaped my lips.

"I..."

As if recalling something, my brother spoke.

"Because you... always use those characters."

He pressed his temples again.

"I tried to... study them in the past...?"

His words trailed off. He shook his head a few times and exhaled deeply.

"Anyway, I can read it."

"Is that so..."

I inadvertently gripped the memo paper tightly. Wrinkles formed on the paper.

Ugh. Now, with the memory disorder my brother has—.

When we had tea, I thought about it, but the guilt I felt towards my brother from the past...

In my childhood, I treated my brother coldly, yet he even tried to learn Japanese...! No, I remember him looking at the correspondence table I made between 'Esfera language' and 'Japanese' with great interest...!

I didn't care at all...!

Yet, he managed to read Japanese...!

Because he's one of the main characters? The perfect superhuman is truly formidable...

But.

Even if he's a perfect superhuman, learning an unknown language shouldn't have been easy.

I know this better than anyone.

"...I'm sorry, Brother."

"? Why are you apologizing?"

...Yeah.

I could only return a wry smile.

"Just a feeling, I guess."

It probably doesn't mean anything.

It's pointless to apologize to a brother who has forgotten the past... but it was too late, and the words just came out. ...Like with Derek in our childhood. I wonder if I could have done better back then...

No, it's complicated because I seemed to have given up but hadn't really. I also had a sense of caution towards the original work.

Hmm, but...

As I continued to reflect,

"About those characters..."

My brother spoke.

"......?"

"A few days ago, I wouldn't have been able to read them even if I saw them."

"Then, when you saw them in my room?"

"That might have been the trigger."

In other words, the lid on my brother's memories has loosened...?

"Octavia, it seems that my memories from the past have some discrepancies."

"......"

I was surprised. I didn't expect it from my brother...

"The first person to point this out was Derek, seven days ago."

And the suspicious Derek brought this up to me at the semi-ball.

"At the time, I thought it was impossible. ...Just my imagination."

But, my brother began to analyze himself.

"Upon reflection, even if it's a minor issue, it's strange to ignore any abnormality related to myself. ...It's not like me. Even now, as I'm talking to you, a part of me still concludes it's just my imagination."

"Why are you telling me, then?"

"My memory discrepancies seem to be related to you, Octavia. ...Another reason is that, due to this memory disorder, there might be inconvenience during today's inspection. I thought I should inform you... I reconsidered after reading that."

Reconsidered means he didn't intend to tell me at first. But, seeing the Japanese on the memo paper... realizing he could read it... changed his mind?

I looked at my brother's face across from me. —Is it the influence of his original memories? It feels like he's more open to talking now than before we got in the carriage...

"I have a question."

There was no answer, but his expression said to go ahead.

"Do you have any idea why this happened, Brother?"

"Why... the cause."

My brother crossed his legs and put his hand to his chin. He seemed to be recalling something, but there were no signs of distress. Very calm? However, there was a hint of discomfort on his face.

"...It must be the work of someone. But, I don't know who. Someone who can get close to me and who I don't usually guard against. Manipulating someone's memory is not something that can happen in the normal world..."

"You are the evidence, Brother."

From the way my brother is talking, it doesn't sound like someone suspicious approached and did something?

Someone close... maybe someone I know? ...No way. I shook my head internally. Because no one comes to mind.

Another thing that concerns me—

"...Have you lived without any sense of discomfort regarding your memories until now, Brother?"

"Yes."

"Then, it's strange that changes have occurred suddenly in the past few days."

Could Derek's question have been the trigger, or was there another factor? If it was caused by someone, could it be related to people coming and going?

The only person I know who has been away from the castle for a while is my younger brother, Alex. But, that's probably not related...

No, the fact that it came from Derek is important. Derek doesn't appear in the original work. Is that related?

As someone who could manipulate memories, the first person who comes to mind is 'that young man'...

'The hearts... romantic feelings of the main characters, I won't tamper with. Hearts are complicated, you know.'

He said that.

Well, emotions and memories are different, but does it mean he won't interfere with the main characters? In other words, with Serius... my brother and Sir Silas.

I think he keeps his word.

So, even if it's 'that young man', and I'm thinking about it, is he the culprit...?

If I force the idea that 'that young man' is involved, could it be Rust's doing because of the same face? But, that would mean Rust got close to my brother. Rust isn't someone close to me or my brother, nor has he been around since childhood.

I looked down at the memo paper I was still holding.

What I can do—

I took out a homemade mini pencil with a cap from the inner pocket of my dress. A different one from the one I use for writing in my diary, with a shorter handle.

The first thing I can do is add a note.

I wrote 'Be careful with Brother's memory! Just in case!' quickly. —Although, I don't think this will cause any problems. By the way, there's no evidence for this!

Then, I read through from the first line to the last.

...No matter how many times I review it, it's fine as a regular inspection. Completely okay.

However, if I look at it from the perspective of being a decoy to catch the culprit, something is missing.

I glanced at my brother. He was looking out the carriage window. In my past life, I would have been squealing at this profile!

I also looked out the window.

We had already crossed the Esfera Bridge, so the carriage should stop in a few minutes.

The route for the inspection carriage was completely set. All paved roads = safe roads. No other carriages are visible. Because the royal carriage is passing, other carriages are temporarily banned from the road! There's even a traffic stop!

There are other bridges connecting the castle and the town, but I heard they are blocked off.

All to restrict the movements of the culprit.

The plan is to tighten security and catch the culprits when they make a mistake, I think.

But!

"Brother."

"?"

My brother turned his gaze from the window to me.

"There's one thing I want to confirm with you."

"Confirm?"

"Yes. This inspection is not just an inspection. Both of us have a purpose."

My brother's gaze sharpened slightly.

That's right.

We're allies, but in one aspect, my brother and I are enemies!

"And both of us, Brother and I, are decoys, right?"

"The enemy seems to be targeting the royal family."

"But, the real target should be me, right?"

I placed my left hand, which was wearing a glove to hide the bandage, on my chest.

After all, the plan was to target my inspection.

According to the information I got from Hieu, it's targeting the princess!

Or, they might have targeted the weaker one... the one who seems easier to attack! After all, it's me and my brother. One with no combat ability and one with considerable combat ability. Honestly, if I were the culprit, I would target me! I would avoid the perfect superhuman!

"That's why, I want to make the utmost effort as a decoy."

My brother blinked in confusion. I added another question.

"Is today's security arrangement foolproof?"

"Of course. Otherwise, we couldn't conduct the inspection."

He answered immediately.

Great! The answer I expected.

"Then, no matter what happens, you will protect me, right, Brother?"