The Price of Impulsiveness

Kallios, lacking any social tact, stayed by my side until my coughing fit finally subsided. I lifted the napkin covering my lap and hid my face behind it.

“First Princess.”

“If the Miles Count family enters the capital, it will create a very interesting dynamic.”

I wiped away the grain of rice that had been forced up my nose and the tears from coughing. Kallios, who had been stroking my back, placed a hand on my shoulder. I crumpled the napkin and tossed it onto the table.

“Sierra.”

It was the first time I had heard him call her by her name. It was a firm call, rather than a tender one.

I focused on deboning my quail, which now had a gaping hole in its belly thanks to my clumsy excavation. It was slower and much messier than when Kallios did it. Was mine tougher? I speared a piece of meat and put it in my mouth.

I chewed the fatty meat thoroughly, along with the words I wanted to say to the little princess who was pretending to be an adult. It would look bad for two adult brothers to gang up on their ten-year-old sister. I was also curious to see what Kallios would say. I couldn’t really imagine him saying anything “brotherly.”

“I am receiving a lot of help from you. I appreciate it.”

Was he starting with a compliment? His tone was robotic, like he was reading from a textbook, but that was normal for him, so it didn’t bother me much. I nodded when he mentioned things I knew while chewing on the roasted garnish, and I checked Sierra’s expression when he mentioned things I didn’t.

“You did that too?”

Occasionally, I was genuinely surprised. Visiting the Academy’s Faculty of Medicine to offer encouragement and selecting three commoner students as scholarship recipients? As someone who lived his first life as a common citizen and his second as a patient, I never would have thought of that. To think a ten-year-old kid did that on her own without being told.

“I thought that would be better than me just learning things.”

Sierra made a shy excuse and picked up her fork. I moved to continue eating with her but stopped in my tracks.

“You are doing well.”

Kallios lightly ruffled the hair on the back of my head. This felt a bit strange. Being in a position where I was being patted by my younger brother. But in this atmosphere, it felt wrong to tell him to move his hand. I quietly put a piece of meat from the end of my fork into my mouth.

“So, won’t you give me a chance as well?”

His hand brushed against the nape of my neck before pulling away. I shrugged my shoulders at the ticklish sensation.

“Even if I cannot match the reincarnation of the Founding Emperor, I want to prove that I can at least be a decent Emperor.”

The door opened, and an attendant entered. Sierra put down her fork, and Kallios returned to his seat. The quail plates were cleared, and after-dinner wine was served. The end of this long meal was finally in sight.

I lifted the gold goblet in front of me and took a sip. It was sweet, as expected of a dessert wine.

Kallios had politely declined Sierra’s suggestion. Truthfully, I had hoped he would scold her sternly… but Kallios saying such things wouldn’t work on Sierra. Although her attitude had softened slightly, she still didn’t particularly like him.

Kallios drew the line at the right spot. I should be the one to do the scolding.

Well… not today. Tomorrow, no, the day after. After Sierra has had some rest from her hard work.

Feeling more at ease, I asked Kallios.

“By the way, how old is that Count’s son?”

It’s not that I was interested in him. No matter how smart he is, he couldn’t possibly compare to our Sierra. I just asked out of curiosity, but Sierra—why are you suddenly so fidgety?

Kallios answered in his usual textbook tone.

“He is thirty-eight.”

First, I downed the rest of my wine in one shot.

The cleanup of the Kaian Duchy went faster than expected. After taking a few heads as an example, including the (former) Count of Rostion, the rest immediately prostrated themselves. It was fitting for a country that couldn’t last two months against Kallios’s army. Though it was my country now.

As the documents regarding the suppression of rebels and personnel changes decreased, my already non-existent workload diminished even further. It’s good that the country is stable, but I hate having less work. Lately, my only joy has been doodling on documents instead of signing them. A life confined to a room without the internet is so harmful. To think I’d take up work as a hobby. It’s something I never could have imagined in my past life.

“Isaac.”

Isaac, whose cheeks had grown hollow from the stress of managing the fief, approached me. I handed him Sierra’s letter, which I had finished reading.

“Store this.”

“Will you not reply?”

“No.”

Isaac looked like he wanted to say something, but seeing my dissatisfied expression, he just took the letter. The drawer of the fine mahogany desk, which had been neglected since the table was used for everything, was opened by Isaac’s hand and then shut with a ‘thud.’ I sprawled out on the sofa and leaned my head back.

I had banned First Princess Sierra from public activities. Until she turns fifteen. Initially, it was until she was twenty, but she cried so sorrowfully and Kallios chimed in saying it was excessive, so I reduced it by five years.

When I was ten… I jumped off a high point at a construction site and broke my leg. Twice. That means I did it again even after tasting bitterness once. Ten-year-olds are naturally the age to cause those kinds of accidents. No matter the environment, the fact that she was using her head for things like politics meant she was incredibly smart.

But no matter how smart she is, she’s ten.

Did I jump because I thought my leg would break? I probably had my own thoughts in my head. I thought I could land gracefully if I did this or that. I thought the cloth cape tied around my neck would open like a parachute. Sierra must have been the same. She must have thought it through and concluded it was the best course of action.

I was angry.

Not at Sierra, but at myself.

A ten-year-old can be like that. It’s okay for them to think the world is easy and believe everything will go as they planned. But as a guardian, I shouldn’t be like that. I should have applied the brakes appropriately so that the child’s recklessness could become a challenge and her shortcomings could become experience.

If Kallios and I weren’t Sierra’s brothers, her proposal would have been accepted…

And she would have willingly walked into that path without even knowing how dangerous it was.

As I lowered the arm I had resting on my stomach, something caught on the back of my hand. I picked it up to check. A box engraved with the Emperor’s crest. It was sent by Kallios. I pushed it away without even opening it. Isaac took it without asking why.

After scolding Sierra until she cried and sending her back, I also got very angry with Kallios. A ten-year-old kid suggests a marriage alliance with a thirty-eight-year-old bachelor, and you say what? Give you a chance too? You should have grabbed her and spanked her immediately! You’re fanning the flames instead of putting them out. Then Kallios said: “The Miles heir is not a bachelor; he is a widower who lost his former wife.” This brat…

Just thinking about it makes me fuming! I jumped up and then lay back down, stroking my chest. Perhaps because the Dragon Blood is fire-attributed, it was particularly sensitive to intense emotions like anger. Furthermore, as if the Dragon Blood’s condition had improved along with mine after ‘that night,’ it did not hesitate to reveal itself.

My fist, which had struck the table in a fit of rage, was enveloped in flames.

Kallios, who had been sitting with an expressionless face regardless of whether I was angry or scolding him, pulled me into an embrace at a speed that felt like he had flown.

While holding me tightly with one arm as I stood there stunned, he grabbed my still-burning fist. It was a real fire that instantly scorched the dark red cloth on the table, but strangely, his hand was fine. It was probably thanks to the red aura wrapped around his hand. At the time, I didn’t know about such things and was just panicked by the sudden flames.

Just like when I touched the Breath of Capre, the erupting fire was sucked into him.

Of course, it wasn’t as smooth as that time. The fire crawled up my arm as if trying to escape. Due to the intensifying flames, my favorite navy formal suit became sleeveless. The awakening heat was felt belatedly. It wasn’t agonizingly painful, but it wasn’t okay either.

“It’s hot.”

I think that’s what I said. Because it was hot. What if my arm burns away like this? My anger was devoured by fear. As if I had never been angry at Kallios, I clung to his clothes. I think I might have thought that he would do something about it this time too. Kallios. Kallios. Every time I called him, he stroked my back and spoke.

“It is alright. Just think of passing it to me. The pain, the suffering, all of it.”

For me, who couldn’t easily calm down, he said the same thing several times.

“It is alright, Brother. Give it all to me.”

Only when the fire finally calmed down—no, when it was devoured by Kallios—could I see his face. With his usual expressionless face, he picked up my tattered self and laid me on the bed.

I told him to leave, and he said he was sorry.

Contrary to my expectation that I would be very sick, I was perfectly fine after waking up. If anything, I felt light. It was as if I had been panting while submerged in water up to my chin, but the water level had dropped to my shoulders. I realized after a long time what it felt like to breathe comfortably.

Was it because I let out the accumulated energy? I don’t know.

I had been ill for ten years, but I never tried to learn about the Dragon Blood. No, in fact, I was indifferent to most things. I’m going to die anyway, so what’s the use of knowing. Half was resignation, and half was escapism.

Hmm… Kallios seems to know a lot.

Should I ask?

I reached out my hand. A light box was placed on my palm. Isaac is quick-witted in these matters. I don’t know how uncomfortable it was without you. Stay close from now on. Although you’ll be away again next quarter to manage the fief.

I opened the box engraved with the Emperor’s crest. Inside was a pocket watch made of platinum. The one I received last time had melted in the heat. I took out the watch, gripped it, and then put it in my pocket.

Since then, I had rejected Kallios’s visits several times, so now he was sending gifts. Yesterday it was a burgundy formal suit, and the day before yesterday it was a beautiful, heavy fountain pen.

“I should write a letter.”

I sat up.

“Bring out the one I received the other day.”

Actually, I had tried it as soon as I received it, and the ink color was very pretty. A sparkling purple. It was too heavy to use for long, but it wouldn’t be bad for writing a single sentence telling him to stop by when he’s free.

I sat at the table Isaac prepared. I picked up the magnificent fountain pen made of gold and black iron.

I couldn’t send the finished letter right away.

While I was waiting for the ink to dry, Viscount Timothy came to visit. He was the one Ilios had handed over, saying he was a useful fellow, as Ilios was returning to his primary post as the Imperial Physician. He is capable, just as Ilios guaranteed, but he is a coward.

“I greet the Grand Duke.”

I’m not going to eat you, so why is your voice trembling so much? I received the greeting with the kindest smile possible.

“Yes. What is it? I recall receiving the report this morning.”

Viscount Timothy was looking only at the floor while clutching the hem of her skirt with both hands. Normally, a conversation is held while looking into each other’s eyes, but I couldn’t force that on someone so nervous. I wanted to give her a cup of tea to relax… but it would be better for her to say what she has to say and leave. They say there’s no cure if you drink water and get indigestion. While writing a few short sentences for the letter, I rubbed the ink that had gotten on the side of my hand.

“That… I have come to… deliver news that may… dare I say, disturb Your Highness’s ears…”

“Just the main point.”

I heard a gasp. No, I said I’m not going to eat you. I wiped my hand with the wet towel Isaac handed me. Sparkling ink is very pretty when you use it, but it’s a pain to clean up. Sparkling powder still remained on my palm and between my fingers.

“Viscount Weaver has gone missing…”

“What?”

I slowly turned my gaze. Viscount Timothy said, now almost on the verge of tears.

“I heard he went missing after being caught in a monster wave… while participating in Academy field training…”

What is this now? I put down the wet towel as if throwing it and reached out my hand. Even while crying, Viscount Timothy did not forget her duty. She took a scroll and two bundles of documents from the secretary behind her and handed them to me.