337 - Brother and Sister Date 1
"Good morning, Leonardo Big Brother."
"Good morning, Tina."
I woke up in the morning, tidied myself up, and entered the living room. After confirming Leonardo's presence there, I felt relieved. I'd been checking repeatedly since yesterday, but it seemed I was really happy that Leonardo was here. Far from growing independent from my brother, being apart for a while had completely worsened my brother complex.
I sat down next to Leonardo, who was relaxing on the lounge chair, and drank some warm herb tea. During the summer, lemon water was pleasant, but lately it had gotten cold, so it was warm herb tea. And Leonardo, whether summer or winter, always had coffee when he was relaxing. I once asked him why coffee, but the reason was a truly silly one, typical of a boy. Apparently, as a child he saw a knight drinking bitter coffee and thought it looked cool, and admired it. Since then, he said, he kept drinking coffee even when it was bitter, wanting to become an adult who could enjoy coffee. And whether from the fruits of his tearful efforts, it seemed his palate had now become able to even enjoy bitter coffee.
...I have to wonder why anyone would go that far to drink it, though.
I was fine with not having any for a while, since last night I'd accompanied Leonardo and had a bitter experience. I'd drink it with sugar and milk for a few more years, and even when I grew up, I'd probably only drink it occasionally to keep Leonardo company.
"Tina, we were apart for about eight months this time... have you gotten used to the capital?"
"I've gotten used to living in the detached palace, but I still want to go back to the city of Grenore."
Since he asked if I was used to it, I answered cautiously with 'I want to go back to Grenore.' I had no intention of letting him say 'if you're used to it, you'll be fine living in the capital like this.'
"...You've gotten used to living in the detached palace, haven't you?"
"I've gotten used to living in the detached palace, yes?"
Oh my, he rephrased it, I thought, tilting my head. Apparently, whether I'd gotten used to living in the detached palace was what mattered, and it wasn't about whether I'd live in the capital from now on.
Wondering if he had something to discuss, I set my cup on the table. As if sensing I was ready to listen, Leonardo also set his cup down.
"I know I'm saying this just after coming back, but... I'm thinking of making my rounds of the fortresses this winter, like every year."
"...But weren't you in the capital last winter?"
"That's because I won the martial arts tournament in the capital last year. But this year is different."
"You haven't entered any martial arts tournaments this year, have you?"
He spent last winter in the capital because he won the martial arts tournament there. If he was going to say that, then this year he hadn't entered any martial arts tournaments. At the very least, at the four fortresses where Leonardo reigned supreme, with the Commander away and preparations for war with the Saenard Kingdom, they shouldn't have been in any position to hold tournaments.
"It's true that no fortress held tournaments, but we had a war this year. Regardless of the usual rotation, we're holding the rites at Lugmilama Fortress this year."
"That's a decision, isn't it? Not a discussion."
It wasn't a consultation, nor was he probing my feelings. He was just informing me of a decision already made. It annoyed me, so I pinched his thigh.
"Even though you only just came back, you're going away again."
"Instead, you can indulge yourself to your heart's content during the autumn."
Leonardo spread his arms wide as if to say 'bring it on,' so since he offered, I put some force behind it and repositioned myself onto his left knee. Even with a child's weight, having me sit on one knee must be getting hard for him. I thought he deserved to feel a little pain, so I sat on his knee, but Leonardo's eyebrows didn't even twitch. Was my momentum not enough? I lifted my hips to add another strike, but his hand swiftly slipped behind my knees and lifted me up. He then sat me down on both his knees, so my attack must have been working after all.
"I should have graduated from sitting on your lap by my tenth birthday, shouldn't I?"
I was a little annoyed at having been so easily bested. Looking up at Leonardo's chin from this close distance for the first time in a while, I saw some stubble he'd missed shaving, so I pulled it in retaliation. Pulling his beard was more clearly effective than pinching his thigh or jumping onto his knee. I heard a small yelp that was probably a reflexive 'ow.'
"...You climbed onto me just now, didn't you?"
"I did sit myself down on your left knee."
But it was Leonardo who fully placed me on his lap. I was hardly at an age to sit on my guardian's lap and act spoiled, so I made sure to protest this.
"I'm not at an age to cling to my brother and act spoiled anymore, so shall I change how I act spoiled to spending lavishly?"
I lightly threatened him that I'd make demands, but it didn't faze Leonardo at all. On the contrary, he latched onto it, asking if there was something I wanted.
"I'll buy you anything. What do you want?"
"I have plenty of things and sweets already. Let's see..."
I thought for a bit, but even though I was the one who brought it up, nothing came to mind. And if I tried to end the conversation with something cheap, I felt I'd just end up settling on food again, like sweets or seasonings.
"...If I had to say, I want my brother."
I had more than enough things, but I was sorely lacking in person. These days, the brother who should be closest to me was away for long stretches, and while I'd started having something like interactions with my aunt and cousin, Leonardo was still Leonardo, special. When I thought about what I wanted, only time with my brother came to mind.
"You can indulge yourself all you want during autumn."
"But autumn is already more than half over, you know."
Just as the conversation came full circle, it was time for breakfast.
"Leonardo Big Brother, let's go on a date."
When I consulted Hermine-sensei about age-appropriate ways to act spoiled, she suggested asking him to take me out somewhere. She said memories are better than things. I think half of it was probably her worrying about my being a homebody. Lately I did go outside the detached palace, but almost always to the annex of Siegwald's residence. Or to the Menhishumi Church, where the printing workshop was. Both were familiar places I went to by carriage, so they didn't really feel like going out.
"So, is there anywhere interesting in the capital? I've never done anything like proper sightseeing."
"...Is that so?"
When I thought about it, it really was true. I'd never particularly minded it, but even though I was staying in the so-called 'capital,' a big city that ordinary people would probably dream of visiting, I'd been holed up in the detached palace and had never once set foot in any proper sightseeing spots. Even though I'd already been living here for over a year. I had to reflect on that. I really was too much of a homebody.
...Well, I did have a lot of things to do, you know?
Reading Saint Yuuta Hiraga's research materials, making transcriptions, trying to create secret arts starting from processing the materials, translating prescriptions into the Erath language, making a manuscript for a bobbin lace guidebook, printing books, having tea parties with Basilia and Mikaela... looking back, my life surprisingly had plans almost every day. I never even had time to think about wanting to visit sightseeing spots.
"I thought I was living freely, but it's not much different from how I spent my time at the Grenore residence, is it?"
Hmm, I thought, re-evaluating my own behavior. Aside from going out to the garden to play while walking Kokumaro, I was basically always indoors at the Grenore residence too. I never found it hard to pass the time studying or doing embroidery, so I don't think I ever wanted to go outside out of boredom.
...Yeah, it's gotten worse, my shut-in tendencies.
When I thought about it, in Grenore I voluntarily took Kokumaro for walks, but at the detached palace I was forced into twice-daily walks by Alfred, aka Alf, so you could say I'd regressed. It was the result of prioritizing what I could get done too much, wanting to return to Grenore quickly.
"Come to think of it, Tina, you don't really know the city of Grenore that well, do you?"
"I know the main street and the central street because I went around with Elke and the others a few times during the festival. Actually, you banned me from going anywhere else, Big Brother."
I did know the back alleys too, but only to the extent that Leonardo had carried me through them when moving during the Spring Flower Festival. If asked whether I remembered the routes, I wouldn't be confident. Thinking about it anew, I was surprised at how narrow a range I really lived in. And I was relaxed enough not to find it painful. If I were a boy full of curiosity, I'd have run out of the house long ago.
"...When you go back to Grenore, maybe you should broaden your range of activities a bit?"
He told me there was even a theater there, though small compared to the capital, and I was surprised. I only learned just now that the city of Grenore had such a facility.
I tried asking Leonardo to take me out, but I felt I'd chosen the wrong person. Leonardo was a workaholic. Even in a city as vast as the capital, the only places he could think of for fun were the pleasure district or bars. There was no way he'd come up with stylish restaurants or delicious cake shops, and it was questionable whether places like sightseeing spots and entertainment areas popular with young people were even in his head as information.
So when I consulted Alfred, aka Alf, he recommended going to see a play, as a place where it wouldn't look odd to bring a well-dressed young girl. It was the kind of establishment that neither I nor Leonardo would likely have noticed the existence of in our entire lives.
...As expected of Alf-san! He's reliable!
After I presented a clear goal and asked Leonardo to take me to see a play, things moved quickly. If the master of the detached palace said he was going, tickets were secured immediately, and once the venue was decided, Leonardo didn't have to worry about finding a place suitable to bring a young girl. The only commotion was the lady's maids getting excited about their interest in theater-going.
...I thought since we were in the capital, I'd let Elke and Petrona experience watching a play too, you know?
It seemed theater-going stirred a maiden's heart more than I'd expected. Even Ulrika and Rebecca, who usually kept their emotions off their faces during work, wanted to be attendants that day.
...Well, it's fine. Leonyaldo-san seemed to be getting all excited too, you know?
The words 'date with little sister' seemed to be quite appealing to my brother. I followed Alf's advice and asked him to 'take me to see a play,' but Leonardo came back with a full set of tickets for the plays currently running in the capital. There were five theaters in total, large and small, and three of them were currently showing performances. If we saw all of them, we could probably take each of the lady's maids and maids at least once. It would be too much of an imposition on the theaters to bring all of them as 'attendants' at once.
...Somehow, this was turning into a date that was going to wear me out.
Time's up.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.