Chapter 6: Older Brother
I rarely stayed long at Shia’s place.
Most of the time, my routine was simple and predictable. I would take the morning train to the capital, spend the day there, board the evening train back, and return home the following morning. It had become a familiar cycle, almost mechanical in its repetition.
“…You’re back already.”
“Father.”
The one who greeted me that morning, as I returned from the royal capital as usual, was Father himself.
Judging by his attire and the servants bustling around nearby, he had likely been about to leave for work. His carriage was already prepared outside the mansion gates, waiting to depart.
“You went to see Shia again?”
“Yes.”
“…Hmph. That girl is troublesome as always. Still fussing over a lump of dirt.”
“….”
Calling his own son a lump of dirt.
As expected, Father was as cold as ever.
Well, to be fair, the fact that I was even allowed to remain in this household was something I should probably be grateful for. Father certainly had no desire to keep me here. The only reason I hadn’t been pushed out already was largely thanks to Shia.
“Even so, Shia-neesama is very talented,” I said quietly.
“Yes, she is,” Father admitted without hesitation. “That girl is exceptional. For her sake, I won’t say anything more. But you—don’t get in her way.”
“Of course.”
“…You’ve always been like that,” Father continued, studying me briefly. “It’s not a bad trait, but a child who is too obedient is unsettling. You give me no faults to point to, no excuse to throw you out of the house.”
“…Father?”
Well, I already knew that the moment I made a serious mistake, he would gladly use it as a reason to cast me out.
But was it really something he should say directly to my face?
Because, honestly speaking, I had every intention of clinging to this house for as long as possible.
“Never mind,” Father said dismissively. “That was merely a remark to myself. You’ve been conducting business lately, haven’t you?”
“Yes. Thankfully, I’ve been permitted to use the name of the House of Willard.”
“It has been well received. Not bad. Continue your efforts.”
“As you command.”
Wow.
I’d actually been acknowledged by Father.
I had just been promoted from “a nuisance to be expelled at the first opportunity” to “someone whose presence isn’t particularly harmful.”
While I was quietly celebrating this minor improvement in my internal status, Father had already finished everything he wanted to say. Without another word, he turned his back on me and strode toward the carriage waiting at the mansion’s main gate.
He climbed inside without even glancing back.
“Have a safe journey.”
After watching the carriage roll away, I let out a quiet breath and shifted my mood before walking across the unnecessarily vast courtyard of the mansion toward my room.
“…Hm?”
Partway there, something suddenly flew toward me.
A stone.
“…Ryuk-niisama.”
Taking a single step backward, I easily avoided the pebble and turned my gaze toward the direction it had come from.
“Hah. Don’t dodge it, you lump of dirt.”
Standing there was a boy slightly taller than me, with facial features that bore a clear resemblance to mine.
Ryuk—my older brother.
The second son of the House of Willard.
In his hand, he was already holding another small stone, ready to throw again.
“Just stand there and take the beating. Don’t get cocky.”
“…I wish you’d grow up a little more, Oniisama.”
Ryuk was already thirteen years old.
In terms of my previous life, that was about middle school age. It would have been nice if he started acting a little more mature.
…Though, thinking about it, middle schoolers were often like this.
“Ha? …You think a lump of dirt like you gets to talk back to me!?”
“I apologize.”
“Tch.”
Seeing me bow my head obediently, Ryuk clicked his tongue in irritation.
“…What, did Father talking to you earlier make you feel on top of the world or something?”
“No, not at all. Father was the same as always.”
“Hah! Of course he was!” Ryuk sneered. “A defective breed born with the earth attribute has no value!”
As Ryuk swung his arm, wind magic activated instantly.
A blade of compressed air sliced through the space between us and grazed my cheek, cutting through just the outermost layer of skin.
A thin line of blood appeared.
“This is magic,” he declared proudly. “The power of nobility. The power that a noble should have. Something you don’t possess.”
“As expected of you.”
Ryuk’s magical skill wasn’t bad.
But Shia was far better.
And more importantly, if Ryuk actually injured me seriously, Shia would absolutely lose her temper.
Because of that, he never left any noticeable wounds.
Which was why the best response was simply to stand there quietly.
Including my previous life, my mental age was well over thirty.
I wasn’t about to lose my temper over the behavior of a middle schooler.
“Tch… acting all smug,” Ryuk muttered.
If I stayed silent, it would end soon enough.
These little exchanges never lasted long.
“Ryuk-sama!”
Right on cue, a servant came running toward us in a fluster.
“Ryuk-sama, it is time for your lessons.”
“Tch…”
At the servant’s words, Ryuk clicked his tongue again. Without even sparing me another glance, he turned his back.
“What a pain.”
With that, he headed back toward the mansion.
“…Excuse me.”
The servant who had rushed over gave me a small bow before hurrying after Ryuk.
The usual scene had played out once again.
“Thank goodness for Shia-neesama…”
Even before she moved to the royal capital, Shia had ordered the servants to intervene if they ever saw me being bullied.
Even then, she hadn’t looked fully satisfied with that arrangement.
But honestly, it was more than enough.
After all, completely eliminating bullying was impossible.
Father openly called me a lump of dirt, and influenced by him, even my eldest brother looked down on me without hesitation—just like Ryuk.
The only person in this family who defended me was Shia.
And in this world, where male dominance was still the norm, there was only so much influence a woman—even a noble daughter—could exert.
Protecting me as much as she already did was the limit.
“Having that protection or not makes a world of difference. So yeah… Shia-neesama really is amazing.”
Her overprotectiveness often left me exhausted.
But there were just as many times when it saved me.
That was precisely why I wished she wouldn’t spend all her time worrying about me.
Instead, I hoped she would find someone wonderful, get married, and live a happy life of her own.