Late summer passed and early autumn came.
A few days after Nainiae left, the people in the mansion calmed down a bit. Lloyd, who was walking on the corridor by himself, had a serious look on his face.
‘Get a grip, Lloyd. That lass is going to die anyway.’
A few days ago…
Lloyd’s older brother, just watched Nainiae coughing blood on the corridor. The look on Ryan’s face couldn’t be crueler. Lloyd was thinking about that moment.
‘Was that right?’
That day, Lloyd thought he should save the maid. Lloyd was agonizing over if he was really wrong that day.
‘If our father was here… Our father would have definitely…’
Lloyd’s father…
Count Stein Fin Iphelleta.
Lloyd was certain that the Count would have thought the same as Lloyd.
Iphelleta house was that kind of house.
Lloyd was certain that saving Nainiae was the right answer.
‘In that case, is it all right to think my big brother is wrong?’
That day, Ryan slapped Lloyd’s face and told him to just watch and let the girl die. Thinking about Ryan’s voice, Lloyd’s face crumpled.
‘No. My big brother always makes the right choices… He could not be wrong. His choice must have been the right one.’
Lloyd grew up always chasing after his big brother’s footsteps.
To Lloyd, Ryan was always right, and Ryan was always cool, magnificent.
From a perspective, to Lloyd, Ryan was more of a father to him than Stein, Lloyd’s real father. Thinking about Ryan, Lloyd bit his lips as he thought that his own conclusion was correct.
‘It’s for the sake of our mother.’
It was for his mother, who was chased out of the mansion while being falsely accused of wrong doings. Lloyd thought about his mother, but then he suddenly stopped walking.
“Falsely accused of…”
‘Falsely accused?’
Lloyd was not able to finish the sentence.
He was well aware of what transpired during last spring.
“…”
Back then, he believed there must have been some misunderstanding. However… looking back at it now, he couldn’t help but to have a question mark float up.
“No, no, Lloyd! Don’t think about it!”
He was getting a headache. It was pulsating. He shook his head hard and got rid of the useless thoughts. He started to walk again.
Ryan said they should just watch and let a dying girl be.
His mother tried to make Iris eat poisoned soup.
Lloyd believed that those were not wrongdoings.
He believed that they all must had reasons.
“My brother did it for the successorship. My mother did it for us. That must be why… That must be…”
Saying them through the mouth was making Lloyd feel like the reasons were even more ridiculous. Lloyd had a displeased look on his face. He slowly turned his head and looked out the window.
‘… Riley.’
He could see the garden through the window.
Riley, the third born son of Iphelleta house, looked sleepy. He was all stretched out on the chair as he sat with guests. Lloyd’s eyes lowered all of sudden.
* * *
Cool breeze was blowing at the garden.
There was an Archbishop that came to visit Riley. With the man sitting in front of him, Riley kept on yawning, big enough to wonder if he was going to tear his mouth from opening it too wide. It was not certain if Riley was listening to what the man was saying at all.
“… So?”
“Ah, yes… So, now that it is fall, I’m recommending that you come to visit Solia for vacation often.”
“To Solia?”
Until recently, Rebethra had been saying things indirectly. Now, he was directly asking Riley to come to Solia.
“Because of that dragon?”
With sleepy eyes, Riley, uninterested, asked about the dragon in the prophecy.
“Pardon?”
“It looks like it. Are you asking me to come to Solia because of the dragon that Priestess mentioned?”
“Ah, no! That’s not why! No way. Ha ha!”