The words he said with a bright smile made me speechless like yesterday.

Why are these brothers so kind to me?

Barely, to someone like me …

I don’t know how it’ll change in the future, and it’s not even worth it for now.

This kindness was awful.

Because I wanted it so badly; because I didn’t want to lose once I get it. I squeezed the blanket with my hands and calmed my beating heart.

I wasn’t confident enough to face that smile yet.

“In that sense, today is the day you spend with me! Brother took a day off yesterday, so he has to go to work today.”

Ricarda giggled and laughed in a playful voice. His playful voice soothed my heart to a certain extent.

“Brother will work busily, and I get time to spend with Daphne.”

“…is he busy because of me?”

“No.”

Wasn’t he busy because he took care of me?

With a firm, quick answer, Ricarda smiled, saying that wasn’t the case.

“It was his choice, so that can’t be because of you. It’s all because of brother himself.”

He smiled, telling me not to worry about it and disappeared for a while after asking me to wait and appeared in front of me again with a tray.

“So, today, let’s have fun with only Daphne and brother all day long?”

***

The home without Mother and Lennox but only with Ricarda and me… wasn’t quiet at all. Ricarda told me about many things and kept on talking as if he was anxious to help me.

“I heard you and brother were talking about this magic circle yesterday. Now, put your hand here, and you’ll be registered, too.”

And saying it would be useful in the future, Ricarda registered me with a magic circle moving to the capital.

After that, his destination naturally headed to the first floor because yesterday, Lennox let him know that I was guided to the house.

“This is the best place in our house.”

The next destination was the kitchen. Ricarda sat me in one of the chairs and then lifted his arms.

“I’m going to make dinner from now on. Would you like to make it together?”

“But what if I ruin it?”

I’ve never cooked before.

What if while you’re with me, you ruin the dish?

Ricarda grinned at the anxious question.

“You can’t ruin it when you make it with your brother.”

“But…”

I had a gloomy look on my face as I recalled memories from the nursery.

“If you ruin the food because of me, everyone will be angry. I always got scolded for trying to help at the nursery.”

In the first place, everyone said they didn’t need my help. I knew that the nursery and this place were different, but I was still nervous. Ricarda sat face to face in front of me and smiled softly like he had read my anxious mind.

“I am sure there’s no one here who can blame you for ruining the food.”

After that, Ricarda laughed playfully.

“If anyone says anything, I’ll give them a scolding, be it Mother or Brother. Since, Ricarda is the youngest.”

“That’s not true. Our youngest is Daphne, right?”

Faith arose from those kind words. Ricarda realized like a ghost that I was ready to do it. Even though it was a little help, he also told me he was grateful for my help.

After we completed all the preparations for the meal, the time for dinner arrived. Unfortunately, however, we couldn’t eat the food together.

“Oh, my. Mother says she can’t come in today. Lennox is working overtime, too.”

“…What about Ricarda?”

“Of course, I’ll be right next to Daphne! Let’s have a very delicious dinner together!”

‘I can’t tell her my wish tonight either.’

I was going to say that I want to learn how to write.

‘It seems like I’m falling a little bit out of it.’

I thought the beginning was half done, but It feels like I haven’t even started properly.

Most of all, I think it’s because my heart feels uncomfortable.

I glanced slightly at Ricarda. I wonder why he feels good; he just kept on smiling.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Daphne isn’t bored!”

After that, without having time to feel sullen, we had the dinner we made together. And after taking the medicine Lennox made, I lay down on a soft bed.

Being washed cleanly by magic, I wrapped my dry body gently around the soft blanket. The warmth wrapped around my body made me feel drowsy.

Seeing me like that, Ricarda smiled and sat down in a chair next to me, saying he would read me a fairy tale book.

“Once upon a time…”

It’s because he talks too much, Ricarda’s voice too, was pretty relaxing.

As I listened to his story, I began to fall asleep, unlike yesterday. Blinking my eyes and enduring the pouring sleepiness, I remembered that I completely forgot to bring up the words that I had to say because the time we spend together today was so pleasant.

“…Ricarda.”

“Yes, Daphne? I am here.”

At the sound of a bright reply as if to reassure me, I said, holding my heart as firmly as I did yesterday.

“Don’t be too friendly to me.”

“…uh?”

“I’ve never received affection in my life, but I have a lot of greed and… If I had it, I wouldn’t want to lose it.”

That’s why you don’t have to treat me well.

I was going to say so.

Ricarda blinked at my words, and stood up from his seat and said, “Why? I don’t want to! I’m going to love you always!”

“?!”

The sudden shouting of Ricarda surprised me enough to escape from my sleep. I opened my eyes wide and looked at him, and he suddenly hit his mouth.

“Oops, Ricarda, your mean mouth. You can’t be this loud.”

“…I, I mean.”

“And Daphne says things that she doesn’t have in her mind.”

Then he pinched my mouth very lightly.

“Woo woo?”

With my lips caught, I couldn’t say anything but mutter. When I tried to be annoyed as if I was protesting, he shook his head.

“You haven’t even received it properly yet, so you shouldn’t think about losing it. Then, in the end, because of your fear, you won’t be able to have anything.”

“I’m greedy for that! In the first place, I asked for the successor position in front of Lennox and Ricarda …”

It was heartbreaking to confide in what was most on my mind.

He pored over my words for a moment and said, ‘Ah!’ with a face that realized something.

“That’s what bothers you. Is that why you just kept on staring at me? Did you think that because we hate you, we’ll treat you kindly and suddenly start to ignore you one day?

“…..”

It wasn’t wrong, so I kept my mouth shut. Ricarda sighed briefly and asked me to excuse him and hugged me tightly. After putting my head on his shoulder, he gently patted me on the back.

“You can worry because you don’t know anything. You can think like that.”

“I’m sorry. I asked her to give me the position of the successor. Even if it was just words, I suddenly took that place away.”

Perhaps I should have apologized first.

“But, I still needed it.”

It may be that the conscience left in my heart urged me to apologize, and the firm commitment I made was shaken.

Ricarda said there was no need for my apology and continued patting.

“I haven’t told you yet. First of all, I’m a great wizard, and my brother is a great alchemist.”

I heard that from Lennox yesterday.

“That’s why both of us are aiming for the seat of Magic Tower and the Pension Tower.”

It was the first time I heard it. I asked, looking at him with eyes full of tears.

“Then… what about the seat as the head of the merchant group? After mother retires?”

“The seat was undecided. But just recently, there appeared a person with great talent. What was her name…? Was it Daphne?”

I couldn’t keep up with his joking voice, so I had no choice but to make a blank expression.

“So, it’s all right. Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Can I take it all? Once I get one thing, I’ll want to keep getting others too.”

“The more greedy you are, the better. You can want more. I’m going to keep on loving Daphne. You’re going to refuse me, even if I say no?”

I don’t know if everyone here would think like Ricarda, but considering that they might, I was relieved.

With the voice that soothed and comforted me, my body which was swollen due to tension slowly loosened.

As my body gradually started to loosen from tension and awkwardness, I felt tired and leaned my forehead comfortably against Ricarda’s shoulder.

Ricarda’s gentle patting on my back, like a lullaby, made me fall asleep. Soon the sound of breathing came out, and she fell asleep immediately.

* * *

Ricarda carefully placed Daphne, who was asleep, on the bed.

Then, he gently raised the blanket to the tip of her chin and used magic to raise the room’s temperature a little.

“That’s not too childlike.”

A barren and hostile environment has made a child who still needs protection into a  child who is already mature.

Ricarda gave Daphne a gentle pat on the head.

Despite saying he would treat her wounds, let alone the wounds, even minor wounds on her legs did not heal quickly. Neither Ricarda’s own magic nor his brother Lennox’s recovery potion worked properly, which made him worried. Ricarda sighed briefly and sat down beside Daphne.

“It’d be nice if you were to behave like a little kid.”

Maybe it’s because you haven’t gotten familiar with this environment, right, Daphne?

Ricarda breathed a sigh of relief, and the room’s fire gradually dimmed darker and darker.

Daphne reminded him of his childhood. Even if she was a child whom he saw just a few days ago, the child’s poisonous words and actions hurt his heart.

And he knew it wasn’t just him.

Mother and Lennox, who is late today because they are busy, probably feel the same way.

Knock Knock-

The door opened with a cautious knock. Watching Lennox with a gloomy face coming in, Ricarda smiled as if he knew he would.

“Great work today, brother.”

“What about mother?”

“Sadly, she’s working overtime again today. She’s going to come early tomorrow.”

“Daphne must have been very disappointed.”

Lennox threw off his coat to one side and strode over. Then he looked at Daphne, who was asleep quietly, and then frowned.

A week has passed since she came here, but the child has not yet found stability. And from then on until now, she had been suffering in her dreams without being able to escape her nightmares.

As Daphne shook her arms in agony, Lennox frowned and slowly brushed the child’s forehead.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

You’ll be fine. You won’t die.

I’ll help you. I’ll save you.

His hypnotizing voice did not stop until Daphne stopped crying and escaped from her nightmare.

“Ug- Ugh. I don’t- I don’t want- I don’t want to die.”

And as if it had waited, today too, tears began to flow from Daphne’s eyes.