Translator: yAmi
This dream...
I feel like I've been in this dream for a long time.
※ ※ ※
"......ey. Hey, Tullius!"
A strong shake on my shoulders woke me up from my comfortable slumber.
I blinked my sleepy eyes and saw my brother looking back at me with a fed up expression.
......It was strangely discomforting.
Would my brother, Linus Strein Oubeniel, have been the kind of person who would wake up his napping brother?
I was curious about that so I asked him.
"Oh, brother? Why are you waking me up?"
"Oh dear. Just when you have finally woken up and this is what you say."
Brother grumbled and sighed.
"We're finally at Volden, and he's still napping next to me. Of course I'm going to wake him up."
We were now at Volden.
Those words somewhat cleared my hazy mind.
Ah. I was in a carriage on my way to Volden, wasn't I? Since I was headed towards Brother’s territory, I sat beside him as a passenger enroute there.
There's nothing strange going on. I might be an oddball, since I have memories from a different world, but we were still blood brothers. It’s perfectly normal for us to be moving together.
But why were we together? Why does it feel like some of the pieces in the puzzle don’t fit together? This scenery should be perfectly natural, but something feels out of place.
As I tilted my head, I heard a chuckle from the seat across.
"You brothers are as close as ever. I'm so jealous as a fiancée."
It was my brother's fiancée, Simone, who said so with a mischievous smile.
Well, this wasn’t the norm, was it? On a journey by carriage, it was abnormal for two male brothers to sit next to each other without their beautiful fiancées.
—That's exactly what's so dizzyingly strange about this situation, isn't it?
I ignored the nipping discomfort in my chest and called out to her.
"No, no, we aren’t ignoring Miss Simone. I thought you were sitting across me so that my brother could see your beautiful face throughout the journey."
"Wha! Hey, hey, Tullius!"
"My, how flattering."
My brother's white face flushed instantly, and she responded in an amused, not-too-subtle way.
......Looking at such a scene, I couldn’t help but feel the unnaturalness I felt after waking up was just my imagination.
Ah, this must be our daily routine.
My brother, who was strict but shy, and my future sister-in-law, who handled him with grace. My life revolves around such people.
I don't know why I'm realising this now, but Simone is turning the water toward me again.
"Then again, your timing couldn’t be any worse, Sir Tullius."
"Timing?"
"Yes. You fell asleep just as we were passing through the wheat fields."
Brother snorted in amusement.
"Seriously. What kind of idiot snores away when greeted by the fruits of their efforts? It’s because you are like this that..."
"Yes, yes. We can take our time with the lecturing later. Don’t we need to make your entrance to the mansion?"
"Ahaha. Exactly. Thank you for your help, future sister-in-law!"
I quickly ran out of the carriage like a rabbit. According to the Thirty-six Stratagems, the best thing to do in a tight situation is to beat a retreat. Trailing behind me were, "Wait, I’m not done yet! What's with your terrible manners?"
While listening to his complaints, some memories came back to me.
I had consulted my brother on a proposal of mine, to improve the territory using alchemy. Specifically, we could make the soil in the fields more fertile with the help of a large number of alchemists, or we could distribute inexpensive elixirs to the poor who could not afford church services. The end result could go either way, but judging from the reaction of my brother, it went well.
My brother, however, was still blurting out something while getting off the carriage.
"—Really, you......It’s because you always behave without composure like a child that you have not accomplished great deeds."
"Are you still saying that? Do me a favour and let's discuss this later, brother."
"Fufufu, please don’t be so mean, Sir Tullius. When somebody is paying a lot of attention to you, it means they care fondly of you, so please take heart."
And Simone, as the fiancée, quickly jumped to support him.
"Besides, he seems to have a tendency to talk too much when he's with someone he's comfortable with."
"Simone, don't go off on a tangent."
Simone replied with a dejected look. However, it seemed that such a bashful tone lacking in strictness was not enough to stop a lady in a good mood.
"By the way, have you heard yet? He's wondering whether he should let you take over part of his domain or find a family for you to marry into. That's why he's being so harsh with you now."
"What, is this for real?"
That's a bit of a problem. I don’t have the confidence that I can handle such a heavy responsibility. The best I could do with my management skills learned under the few years of working alongside my brother was to help in small matters. I've no intention of following in his footsteps since I was a child, so I didn't receive any education in that area, or more like actively avoided them. I can’t possibly be tasked with ‘go handle the duties of lord from today onwards’ just like that……
I must have made a really sour face. When my brother saw my expression, he gave a surprised look while saying ‘Oh?’.
"You don't have to be so reluctant. It's true that you are using questionable techniques such as alchemy, but your measures have been producing results. As long as you have the ability, it's only natural for you to work hard to achieve further results in a position that is commensurate with your achievements."
"No, a position commensurate with achievement should only belong on the lap of brother......"
"Ah, no way."
My excuse was flatly rejected.
"Why is it that we nobles are blessed with warm clothing and food, and are served by our people? It's because we fulfil our duty as befits our noble lineage. We have the duty to protect and nurture the lands given to us by the King and to serve as the royal family's defences. To let you leisure as you please and allow your abilities to rot away is to go against our duties."
"That’s Noblesse Oblige, isn't it?"
"Yes. It's called the duty of the nobles."
It was the duty of those born into privileged positions.
......When he said it like that, I felt somewhat guilty. In any case, in addition to enjoying the benefits of the privileged class, I have also been studying alchemy abroad at the behest of my family. Since I had exercised my privileges to that extent, I should now fulfill my obligations. I have no way to refute when attacked from this angle.
With no other choice, I raised my hands slowly to surrender.
"If you say so much, I'll give it some thought...... but please don't arrange my marriage. I prefer a marriage born from love."
"You are an extravagant man, aren't you? It's not every day that a noble gets to be with someone he likes."
That's what my brother says, but it was he who achieved the 'not-so-common' thing.
Our late father had already arranged a marriage for him, but one day he fell in love with Simone, whom he met at a party. This couple caused lots of confusion, since Simone’s family was from the lower rungs in the centralist faction and especially much trouble for the other party whom brother was engaged to.
Well, with his territorial management capabilities, he was a person who could overcome any protests. I've been helping out a bit, too.
Anyways...
"Well, I can always dream right? It's not like specific plans have been made."
When I tried to defend my position, a surprise attack came from an unexpected direction.
"Oh, who is this person that Sir Tullius is dreaming about?"
It was Simone, of course, who said with deep interest. It seems that even in this world, women love to talk about their love affairs. It seemed that my sensible sister-in-law was no exception.
"For example, the young lady from St. Gallen who was your schoolmate?"
She said that she was referring to Frederica-san, who was in the same class as me when I studied abroad.
"No, it's not. She was always mean to me."
"I don't know. I think a man like you might be better suited to a woman who can be somewhat direct, don't you?"
Even my brother grinned and said so.
Simone was more on the frank side, so I couldn’t help but wonder if he was projecting his own preferences.
"If she heard this, she would just snicker."
I let out a dry laugh.
After all, when Frederica was chatting with a schoolmate and when the subject of romance came up, she was heard to have said resolutely, "I’m never going to fall in love with Oubeniel.” I might lack common sense as an aristocrat, but there’s no way for me to be that dense when such a lady had expressed herself so directly. She's not a bad person, but I don't feel like I could get close to her even if the world changed tomorrow.
