Chapter 25

After that, Fil completely recovered.

After doing all the work, he is sleeping on the floor as usual.

I always wonder, doesn't his head hurt without a pillow?

Ah, just then, one of the knights in charge of farming, Barroy, came.

Let's ask him for help.

"Fil, I want to give you a pillow. Can you lift your head a little?"

When I said this to Barroy, he widened his already large eyes and shook his head dramatically.

I was about to ask what was going on, but Barroy put his finger to his lips and pulled me to a slightly distant place.

He must have judged that we were far enough away from the house that our voices wouldn't be heard. Finally, Barroy took a deep breath.

"Sorry, but at that distance, he would wake up."

Really?

Indeed, even when he seems to be sleeping, he might still be listening.

When I tilted my head, Barroy smiled wryly.

"Do you know? We've never seen him sleep so defenselessly."

"Really?"

"I'm in the Third Army... in the north, but in the north, he almost never takes off his uniform. He's always on guard. Even when he drinks, no matter how beautiful the woman serving him is, he never lets his guard down. In fact, he never drinks anything poured by someone he doesn't know. You never know what you might be given to drink."

Is it really that serious?

I can't believe it. The Fil I know seems like a completely different person.

"We are Albes' contemporaries, so I know him from when he was young. He was clueless and fearless, and we used to do silly things together. We even got beaten up by the legion commander as a group once."

Barroy looked nostalgic, his eyes distant.

I didn't ask what they did, but for the legion commander to get directly involved, they must have done something pretty bad.

Or maybe...

"But, that fun period didn't last long. His mother was poisoned, and his father fell ill. His demeanor completely changed."

"Is that so?"

Now that I think about it, I never heard Albes talk about his parents.

He always talked about his brother, and sometimes his sister.

Recently, he has started talking about his sister-in-law, nephews, and nieces, but I've never heard him talk about his family.

I thought maybe he talked about them when I wasn't around, or maybe he didn't want to bring up the topic because we don't have parents.

But... it was like that.

I didn't know at all.

"Can I hear more about Fil's family?"

"No, no, I'm really sorry, but you should ask him directly! We can't really talk about it."

Barroy shook his head frantically.

But when he saw my face, his expression softened a bit.

"Well, he still tells silly stories in front of us. We were the ones who introduced him to this place, and we volunteered because of him. It seems he considers us trustworthy. ...But if we accidentally get too close to him while he's sleeping, he will definitely draw his sword. So we are completely useless. I'm sorry!"

You don't have to apologize so much.

It was my mistake to ask.

I apologized to Barroy and returned to the house.

Fil was still sleeping.

I gave up on the pillow and returned to my room.

I was going to put on a clean collar for my dress, but my hand holding the needle had stopped.

...Lately, I've been confused.

I've been welcoming and interacting with Fil as my brother's best friend without knowing anything, or by consciously not seeing, hearing, or noticing anything. But is it really okay to keep doing this?

Fil and Albes seem to want me to remain ignorant.

I might accidentally say something that upsets him or disrupt his peace.

Shouldn't I know a bit more to prevent that?

According to last night's conversation, which I've forgotten, Fil must get married within a year.

The lazy days at the Laguren household will last at most a year.

This time, he's taking a three-day break.

After that, how many more times will he come here? Once he returns to his original duty station in the north, it's not clear when we'll meet again.

Seeing Fil take a nap on the floor might only happen a few more times.

When Fil... stops coming here, where will he relax?

"...No, no, you don't have to be so pessimistic. Maybe a new family will heal him."

Even if it's an arranged marriage, a happy family is possible.

Albes will surely think about Fil and find a kind, bright, and strong-willed young lady.

When they have children, he will probably play with them wholeheartedly while complaining.

I can easily imagine such a scene.

But... if it happens, I won't get to see it.

"That room will become unnecessary too."

Will the guest room dedicated to Fil need to be cleaned up?

Will the extra clothes that gradually increased, the small paintings Fil brought in on his own, and the old chair he repaired every time he came here, become unnecessary?

...I don't like cleaning up rooms of people who are gone.

I hate the moment when I realize the space is empty.

I...

"Pull yourself together! Instead of worrying about the future, think about today's and tomorrow's meals!"

I slapped my cheeks with both hands.

The stinging pain brought me back to reality. The tasks I need to do also came back to my mind. I don't have time to daydream.

Thanks to my determination, the needle moved smoothly again.