Don’t Worry, I’ve Already Grown Up

“I’m sorry, truly sorry.

I know this is my fault.

I’ve really been too busy lately, and… ah, I have to apologize again.

I might become busier and busier as time goes on.

You know it too, I still have to help Father Emperor deal with some trivial and troublesome matters…”

Looking at Ellie’s smile, although it was a flawless one, as her brother he could still see the mischief hidden within it.

“Of course I know, Royal Brother.

At my age now, I’ve long understood these things.”

There was no change in the smile on Ellie’s face, and the corners of her lips were still curved upward.

Although her smile was a little dark, it had to be said that seeing Solor in such an awkward state put her in a particularly good mood.

This smile could be considered a genuinely heartfelt one.

“You talk as if you’re very old…

How old are you, really.”

As her older brother, hearing his younger sister say something so self-aware about growing up made his heart feel somewhat complicated.

When she was little, he would always say things like “When will you grow up.”

But when she actually said such words herself, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness brought on by the passage of time.

By coincidence, while they were talking, a servant brought in the prepared vegetable porridge.

Seeing that Solor and Ellie were still conversing, the servant quietly set the porridge down and withdrew.

Solor sat by the table.

Just like how people on the phone unconsciously make small movements like kicking stones or digging at the ground, Solor also spoke while picking up the vegetable porridge.

He stirred it gently with a spoon to let the steam escape.

“Ellie… don’t put so much pressure on yourself.

As the heir, these are things I should do and responsibilities I must bear.

I’m really sorry that I haven’t come to see you during this time…

But when you fell from such a height, I was truly worried.

I was terrified…

You were already frail to begin with.

I was so afraid that after that fall, you might never open your eyes again.”

As Solor said these words, he treated the bowl of porridge in his hand like a shield to hide his gaze.

He stirred the steaming porridge, letting his eyes hide behind the rising heat.

It was as if only then could he say more.

He was actually not someone good at expressing emotions, especially toward his own family.

As the eldest son of the family, he needed to pay extra attention to whether his words and actions were proper.

Toward outsiders, it was fine to shamelessly put on a mask and treat everything as social courtesy.

Toward his friends, he would provide as much help as possible.

But in the end, it was nothing more than an exchange of interests.

I befriend you.

You are loyal to me.

A mutually beneficial friendship.

But inwardly, when it came to family, he was just like any ordinary person.

Faced with familial affection, he couldn’t say that slightly cloying word, “love.”

People are always ashamed to express their true feelings toward family.

Clearly, they think so deeply in their hearts.

But when it comes to their lips, they don’t know how to say it.

Even when they occasionally want to say it, they can only casually blurt it out while joking around.

Solor was more or less like that.

When facing familial affection, he could never truly speak those feelings aloud.

“Don’t worry, Brother.

I’ll train my body properly.”

Ellie was still smiling.

Her words seemed to follow naturally from Solor’s.

Train her body?

Hmm—this was indeed something worth considering.

It wasn’t that she wanted to live for a very long time.

She just wanted her body not to become a burden when she needed to do something.

In the past, as the Second Prince, he had undergone proper training.

He wasn’t some scholar who stayed in the palace reading books all day.

When he was young, in order to gain the support of the people, he had actually gone to the battlefield.

Although his abilities couldn’t compare to the assassins of the Nightingale House, he was still stronger than ordinary people.

In the final battle of his previous life, if he hadn’t deliberately thrown himself onto Solor’s sword, Solor would have had absolutely no chance of victory.

But now, this body might struggle even to lift a sword.

After all, just running a few steps left her exhausted.

Wielding weapons would be even more difficult.

So Ellie was seriously considering whether to train her body.

She didn’t really care whether she would eventually die of illness.

But she couldn’t die before finishing what she needed to do.

If that happened, what redemption would there even be?

That would be far too regrettable.

“If you want to train, the first step is to eat properly.

You don’t even eat dinner.

How can you possibly build up your body like that.”

Listening to Ellie’s words, Solor reached out.

He finally scooped up a spoonful of porridge.

He personally brought it to Ellie’s lips.

Ellie paused slightly.

As she breathed, she could smell the vegetables and the porridge.

Her lips could feel the heat rising from it.

Then she chuckled softly.

She opened her mouth.

She blew gently on the porridge Solor had fed her.

She took it in one breath.

She chewed lightly a couple of times.

She swallowed it with a gulp.

“Does it suit your taste?”

Solor looked at Ellie’s expression.

It hadn’t changed much.

He still felt somewhat worried about her physical condition.

“Yes, it’s very delicious.

And thank you to Royal Brother for feeding me personally.

But I said it already.

I’m not a child anymore.

You don’t need to take care of me to this extent.”

“……!”

After Ellie said this, Solor froze for a moment.

He looked at the hand he had raised to feed her.

He awkwardly tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Ah—I was—”

It was such a simple act of caring for family.

But having it pointed out so directly by Ellie made it feel strangely awkward and embarrassing.

He had just been too absorbed in what he was saying.

He hadn’t even noticed that he had subconsciously done this.

And just as Ellie said, even if Solor didn’t want to admit the changes brought by time, Ellie truly was no longer a child.

“Leave the rest to me, Royal Brother.”

As Ellie said this, she stretched out her hand.

She took the bowl and spoon from Solor.

She propped her leg up.

She supported the bowl with her knee.

“Next, just get some proper rest, Royal Brother.

It’s already late.

I saw you sleeping on the sofa today.

You must be very tired.

During this rare break, get a good night’s sleep.

I’ll be fine.”

Holding the bowl, Ellie tilted her head to look at Solor.

She was still wearing that sensible and adorable smile on her face.

“……”

Hearing Ellie’s words, Solor awkwardly scratched his cheek with his finger.

After his gaze wandered aimlessly for a moment, he still ended up looking at Ellie.

“Didn’t you just…

Say that you wanted me to stay here with you for a while?”

This time, Solor had finally learned to use Ellie’s own words against her.

It was a small act of retaliation.

But could this really be called retaliation?

At most, it was just him forcing himself to be a little firm for once.

As for Ellie, she blinked in surprise.

Just like Solor earlier, she used the spoon to stir the porridge in the bowl.

“Haha, alright.”

She smiled again.

Her expression looked much more natural than her earlier mischief.

“We really…

Haven’t chatted together like this for a long time, Royal Brother.”