Lately, you seem a little cold toward me

A short rest restored quite a bit of Aili’s energy.

She hid inside her warm blanket until the air around her became so stuffy that it was hard to breathe, only then poking her head out and returning Solor his freedom.

Solor looked at Aili and brushed aside the golden strands of hair stuck to her forehead.

The stifling environment had dyed her cheeks with a layer of warmth, even covering the faint redness at the corners of her eyes.

“Feeling better?”

Solor’s voice was very light.

So light it was as if he were afraid that even a slightly larger movement might make her stomach hurt again.

“Mm, I’m better.”

Aili nodded.

In front of Solor, this was the first time she had shown such a weak appearance.

She seemed to have felt, just a little, the advantages of being female.

At necessary times, she could reveal this fragile side of herself, without thinking, without scheming.

Doing nothing at all, she could shamelessly enjoy the favoritism of others.

Unlike her past self…

Who had struggled for an entire lifetime, yet never gained even a bit of goodwill from anyone.

Even her most trusted subordinate had run off with someone else…

…

Ah, what a pile of crap.

Why did I think of that captain again.

As expected, that bastard really is the stain of my entire life.

“If you’re feeling better, then rest for a bit.
You didn’t come to eat, so I was worried and came to check on you.
If your stomach doesn’t hurt anymore, I’ll have the kitchen make you something to eat again.
I’m worried you might upset your stomach at night, so just bear with it and have some hot porridge.”

As Solor said this, he flicked his finger toward the attendants waiting by the door.

They had already been instructed before coming what actions to take based on his reactions.

Once the signal matched, they immediately turned and left to make preparations.

“……”

While Solor was arranging the attendants, Aili quietly watched him.

Only when Solor turned back did his gaze meet hers directly.

“Don’t fall asleep.
Eat a little later.”

“Mm.”

A simple response.

Only a few words in total.

Aili was talkative.

Back when she was a prince, she could chat with the ministers all day without issue, even analyzing their words bit by bit to infer details about their personal lives, trying to find exploitable weaknesses.

When facing Solor in the past, it was the same.

While exchanging sarcasm, she would also pay close attention to whether Solor might unconsciously reveal any information she could use.

Only, Solor guarded himself extremely tightly.

Out of ten sentences, perhaps half a sentence was true, and even that was often used to mock her.

They seemed to talk a lot, but in reality, there was no substance at all.

As for now…

Aili did not know what she should say.

Her usual confident self seemed to have been defeated in one blow by Solor’s gentleness.

She really hoped she was genuinely running a fever, so that was why her mind felt so sluggish.

Solor also fell silent.

In a place Aili could not see, beneath the edge of the bed, he slowly curled his fingers, thinking as well.

Thinking about what he should say next.

In any case—he did not want to leave just like this.

Ever since that fall from a high place, Aili had become strange.

Perhaps because he had been busy with work for such a long time recently and had neglected her, his impression of Aili was stuck in a vague state.

Even if he noticed her change, he could not say exactly what had changed.

Only…

She felt distant.

Too distant.

In private, Aili would not call him “royal brother.”

That kind of formal address was reserved for grand occasions, such as court banquets.

In private, she was always like a little girl who never grew up, calling him “Brother Solor” or simply “brother.”

Aili had always been like this.

As a child, she stuck close to his side, like a piece of candy melted onto him by the sun.

Solor did not resist this behavior.

It was just that after growing up, there were too many things he had to deal with, and he could no longer spare the energy to indulge his little sister.

Still, it was not as though they never met.

Even if they could not talk heart to heart every day like a family, they lived in the same palace.

They would still see each other from time to time, and exchanging greetings was no problem.

In the future, he would probably become even busier.

After all, he was the designated successor.

He would definitely need to devote more time to handling political affairs.

When he was busy, he used to think it was fine.

He felt that even managing to greet Aili a few times or share a meal together already meant squeezing out a lot of time.

But Aili’s recent distancing made him feel more and more that—

It was not enough.

This kind of interaction between them was far from enough.

Solor did not speak.

There was no expression on his face either.

Aili could tell that Solor was thinking.

She had seen this expression countless times before.

An emperor did not need to keep a smile on his face at all times.

He was a ruler, not a waiter in a restaurant serving guests.

Compared to the brother in Aili’s memories, this Solor did look much gentler and kinder.

But when he grew serious in thought, that stern expression still made her recall the past.

“…Hah… ha…”

Aili was just about to turn her head away, unwilling to look at that stern face anymore, when she heard Solor let out a long sigh.

She instinctively turned her gaze back to him.

This time, those crimson eyes did not feel as oppressive.

She did not quite know whether she liked the royal crimson color itself, or simply liked looking into Solor’s eyes.

She envied that pure royal color.

She despised how people were divided into ranks because of their color.

Yet she could never bring herself to hate the one who possessed that color.

“Aili, don’t be mad at me anymore.”

After sighing, Solor actually said such words to her.

“I really have been busy lately and neglected how you feel…
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry.
Please don’t be angry with me anymore.”

When Solor said this, his brows drooped, looking wronged and sad.

This kind of vulnerable expression was something Aili had never seen in two lifetimes.

It even felt novel to her, like unlocking a completely new character illustration.

“I already said it before.
I’m not angry with you.”

When she first woke up, Solor had already said this.

He had apologized to her.

More than once.

But Aili did not feel that she was angry at him at all.

What was there to be angry about.

Even if you stabbed me to death right now, I could forgive you.

I would even want to see whether you would shed tears while holding me as I died.

“No, Aili.
You’re completely different from before…”

“Different.
Very different?”

Hearing Solor’s words, Aili became a little interested.

Suddenly transmigrating into this body was a prank by the gods, a coincidence, and also a chance for atonement.

And really, at the end of the day, she truly was Aili.

Her father was still her father.

Her mother was still her mother.

Nothing had changed.

What had changed was only her gender and part of her experiences.

Different experiences leading to different perspectives and emotions—wasn’t that normal.

Didn’t even the Red Crow split into two people.

What could be more absurd than that.

So Eric had never resisted becoming Aili.

Aside from the trouble of having a somewhat weak body, he could accept everything else.

He had even already decided to fully become Aili.

Because she was him.

But from Solor’s perspective…

Did she seem strange.

She had clearly acted quite convincingly as a sweet, naive little girl.

Was it really not convincing.

Was it really that obvious.

Do I need to go learn from Evelia.

“No, it’s not about how different.
It’s just… ah, um…”

At this point, Solor paused awkwardly.

He hesitated to speak, his hand nervously clenching into a fist.

This prince, who could deal effortlessly with sharp-tongued nobles, was actually made nervous by a single question from his own sister.

“It’s just that you…
You seem a bit cold toward me.
I, I’m not used to it.”

But he still gathered his courage and said it out loud, his face slightly red with embarrassment.

Saying something like “you’ve been cold toward me lately” to his own sister…

It really was a bit shameful.

Family relationships were always like this.

Some words were easy to say when you were the one giving them.

But once you became the passive side, your attitude inevitably became awkward.

“……”

“…Hm?”

Hearing this, Aili blinked.

Ah.

So that was the difference.

That was indeed intentional.

After all, wasn’t that how my brother treated me before.

But even so, Aili responded to Solor with a smile.

“Ha ha, how could that be, royal brother.”

The smile looked bright.

But beneath it, there was a trace of mischievous malice.

“…There definitely is.
Aili…!”