35 - Side Story: Leonardo's Perspective Benefactor's Daughter 4
A few days ago, I sent Alf to pick her up, but Alf, with Tina in tow, still has not returned. If he switched horses and rode hard, he could make a round trip in three days, but he said he could not do that with Tina along. The period Alf requested was six days, and since that has not passed yet, he is not particularly late, but I found myself looking out the window with a restless feeling. She was a girl whose existence I had not even known until just a month ago, but now she occupied my thoughts whenever I had a spare moment. I think being introduced as "my little sister" had a big effect. If I had simply been introduced as my benefactor's daughter, my heart probably would not have been this unsettled. Of course, I would have raised her with the same care regardless.
...I need to clean up before Tina comes.
I dropped my gaze to the mountain of reports and documents piled on my desk and let out a quiet sigh. Normally, there would not be this many documents piled up. At most, we would get apologies from Black Knights who caused trouble, reports on supply procurement and neighboring countries' movements, and documents requiring the fortress lord's seal. There were never mountains of documents piling up every single day like this.
...Still, the infection in the city seems to have settled down for now.
The number of people newly falling ill within the fortress has also decreased. It is probably the effect of ordering masks to be worn throughout the fortress, not just in the quarantined area, and isolating patients who would become new sources of infection. The possibility of new infections has decreased, but people are still developing symptoms in the quarantined area. Those who were isolated on suspicion of infection turned out to indeed be infected.
...This time, because we could find infected people by investigating Jean-Jacques's social circle, it was good that we could easily find patients in the early stages where the medicine is effective.
If infected people had been left unnoticed, the infection would have spread at more than twice the current speed. Since Black Knights train their bodies daily and have stamina, they showed signs of recovery soon after taking the medicine.
...The problem is the patients who are not knights.
Because of the severe shortage of medicine, it is still not permitted to administer it to anyone other than Black Knights. Aurelia's medicine only works in the early stages, and there is not much of it. Therefore, as expected, treatment is deprioritized for severe cases with no hope of recovery, as well as women and children.
...If I could divert the portion allocated to Jean-Jacques to others, I could save several non-knight patients who still have a chance of recovery.
There was an order from the capital not to let Jean-Jacques run out of medicine. I can see he is already severe, but because of that, we cannot suspend his medication.
...Was it Wards Disease that Aurelia mentioned?
It is apparently a disease first discovered long ago in a small village called Wards in a neighboring country. After infection, the incubation period is three to seven days. A high fever continues for seven days and seven nights, and when the fever breaks, intense itching and pox cover the entire body. Then the fever returns, and in that heat, the patient scratches their throat raw and dies.
...If they survive until the second fever breaks, it seems they sometimes recover.
There are records of it claiming not just hundreds or thousands but tens of thousands of lives, yet there are only a handful of records of people surviving even after becoming severe. Jean-Jacques's chance of survival depends on whether he can be counted among those few cases.
...Right now he is in the middle of that intense itching, is not he.
It seems that groans have been leaking from Jean-Jacques's sickroom every day. The pained screams are apparently so severe that even other infected patients do not want to go near his room. Several people are caring for the patients in the quarantined area, but apparently, they decide who looks after Jean-Jacques by lottery every time. Jean-Jacques is reportedly scratching himself raw all over his body with a nightmarish expression right now.
...The fact that I can only say "reportedly" is the problem, is not it.
The capital is closely watching Jean-Jacques, and orders from above to allocate medicine have also come down to me, the one entrusted with the fortress. The orders say that the fortress lord protecting the border must never go near the quarantined area, so as not to be infected. So no matter how concerned I am about the infection situation, I can only get information in the form of reports. Even though I am the fortress lord.
...That aside, where did Jean-Jacques pick up the infection?
The disease did not infect Tina, who lived in the village, nor me, who spoke with the infected Saromon. That makes me think Jean-Jacques must have done something in the village without our knowledge.
In the afternoon, news finally arrived that Alf had returned. With Tina, of course. The Black Knight who brought the news was also excited, saying he was with an incredibly cute child. The fortress is a military facility with no relation to glamour, and since one section is being used as a quarantine facility to contain the epidemic, the atmosphere inside is tense. With a lovely little girl visiting such a place, it probably provides some comfort. Every time a Black Knight sent to Aurelia's house returned, one after another spread the word that "the Commander's little sister is super cute." I wondered if they had no other topics to discuss, which was somewhat sad as the nature of knights, but it is unavoidable since Tina is indeed adorable.
"Finally back, Alf. Tina, it has been a while..."
Tina, who was shown into the office, was hiding shyly behind Alf's legs. It had been half a month since I last saw Tina, but she was as adorable as ever. Her hair, which Aurelia always kept in complex braids, was today decorated with a large lace ribbon. Since Tina was so cute, I instinctively reached out to pick her up, but she hid behind Alf's leg.
...Huh? Why is she hiding?
I vaguely thought her embarrassed expression was because she was shy about our reunion after so long. But it did not seem like that at all. Peeking out from behind Alf, Tina's blue eyes were welling up as if she was about to cry. Looking closely, I could see strength in her fingers gripping Alf's leg. The fabric was wrinkled from her tight grasp, and her thin legs were braced, showing a will to resist as if to say she would not be easily picked up.
...Why is she not wearing shoes?
I noticed the legs she was bracing herself with and felt something off. She should have been wearing sandals at Aurelia's house, but now she did not have them. Not just sandals. She was standing with only cloth wrapped around her small feet.
"Maybe she forgot about you since she has not seen you for half a month?"
Alf said something malicious. I tried to deny it, saying that is ridiculous, but I noticed Tina looking up at me timidly.
"...Leonyaldo-san?"
Tina called me uncertainly. I thought it was Alf's bad joke, but apparently Tina had genuinely almost forgotten my face.
...It is definitely not because my face is scary.
Since it seemed she had remembered, I reached out again to pick her up. This time, she did not resist. However, I could tell that Tina was tense in my arms. Her body was stiff throughout, and she did not move.
After we stared at each other in silence for a while, Tina pursed her lips in an adorable pout and reached for my bangs. There was no time to stop her. In an instant, my hair was thoroughly messed up, and the bangs I had styled with hair product fell over my face. I kept my bangs swept back to at least appear older since I am too young to be a fortress lord, but apparently Tina did not like it.
"...Mm, just as I thought, Leonyaldo-san."
Staring intently at my face with my bangs down, Tina nodded with satisfaction. Then she finally showed me a smile. The excess tension left Tina's body, and I felt the weight in my arms increase.
...So she did not forget my face. She just did not recognize me at first because my hairstyle was different, is that it?
With Tina in my arms, I looked at her cloth-wrapped feet and asked her what had happened. Still with her lisping speech, Tina earnestly explained. Aurelia was as usual, apparently spending most of her time in the workshop. Tina had continued helping as much as she could, but one day the materials finally ran out. It was normal for Aurelia to go out to gather more, but that day she did not return even after dawn. Worried, Tina went deep into the forest and found Aurelia, who had thrown out her back and could not move.
...I am glad I left Tina there. The wise woman's medicinal arts were quietly on the verge of being lost.
If Tina had not been there, no one would have noticed Aurelia's condition, and by the time the Black Knights noticed, Aurelia might have already died. I did not leave Tina there out of concern for Aurelia's safety, but I am glad it worked out.
"What happened to your sandals? You were wearing them, right?"
"Looking for Aurelia-san, lost them in the forest."
I do not think something as big as sandals would be lost so easily. There are things deep in that forest that I do not want Tina to see. Since Tina did not seem to want to talk much about the sandals, I stopped asking about what happened in the forest.
I sat Tina down on a chair and removed the cloth wrapped around her feet. I was a little surprised by how small Tina's feet were, small enough to be enveloped by my hand. I knew she was small, but I did not think she was this small.
I quickly measured her size and took notes. I handed the notes to Alf and asked him to send word to the residence. My retrieval of Tina was complete.
I wanted to shower Tina with affection now that she was finally here, but as the one entrusted with the fortress, I could not be preoccupied with my little sister. Especially now, during an emergency with a lot of work. I had to finish my work as quickly as possible and make time for Tina.
...It is good that Tina is a good girl who follows instructions.
I told her to sit quietly, and Tina did as she was told, waiting obediently in her chair. At first, I secretly felt elated that Tina was there and kept stealing glances at her, but eventually I concentrated and immersed myself in work.
Suddenly, something moved in the corner of my vision, drawing my gaze. When my eyes met Tina's blue ones, Tina froze with an expression like a child caught misbehaving. The thought of why Tina was here floated up, and I quickly remembered. I had been so focused on finishing work as quickly as possible that I had pushed the fact of Tina's presence to the back of my mind. Quite impressive concentration, if I do say so myself.
I had called her here only to neglect her and even forget her existence. Feeling more than a little awkward, I called out to Tina. She had been following my instructions to sit quietly, but she had moved on her own, so there must be a reason. When I asked what was wrong, Tina's stomach growled adorably.
"...Tina? Come to think of it, did you have lunch..."
"Haven't eaten."
Looking away shyly, Tina answered honestly. Her cheeks were faintly flushed. The embarrassed Tina was intensely adorable, but before I could be hit over the head with the blunt force of my sister's cuteness, I was shocked by my own negligence. I had not noticed. I should have been able to consider that possibility, but I was so elated to finally have my little sister here that I could not even think of such an obvious thing. Since Tina and the others had come to the office around the time I finished my lunch, I had simply assumed she had already eaten.
...That is right, I still have something in my drawer...?
I searched my drawer for something to stave off hunger. I should have some sweets hidden there as an emergency measure for when I do not have time to eat or when my head is too tired. I found a tin from the same shop where I had bought the honey candy I gave Tina, and opened the lid. There was still more than half the sweets left inside.
"It is delicious."
When I quickly popped a sweet into her mouth, Tina smiled happily. Her smile was lovely, but right now I just felt incredibly apologetic. I could not even notice my little sister was hungry. What kind of brother was I? My poor little sister could not even ask for food and had faithfully followed her brother's instructions.
Since Tina was eating the sweets so happily, I decided to give her the whole tin. It was the least I could do by way of atonement. Since Tina's small body made it difficult to eat sweets while holding the tin, I sat her on my lap. With the tin on her lap, Tina began eating the sweets.
...Ah, I am happy right now.
There were plenty of things I should reflect on as a brother, but here I was, holding my adorable little sister on my lap, watching her happily eat sweets. If this is not happiness, then what is?
I watched Tina eat for a while, then remembering there was something I had to say, I spoke to her. Tina stopped bringing the sweets to her mouth and looked up at me.
If she is hungry or needs shoes, I want her to tell me properly. I honestly told her what I had just realized, that I am apparently not good at picking up on hints. I never imagined that when I said "wait quietly," she would endure her hunger and keep waiting obediently. I felt pathetic for not noticing. At this rate, even if I told her she could rely on me and lean on me as her brother, I probably could not earn Tina's trust.
After apologizing with a full round of reflection, Tina seemed to understand. She nodded, then tilted her head as if wondering if she really could say it.
"Well, I have something I want to say right away. Okay?"
"Hm? What is it? Do you want something to eat..."
This was my little sister's first request. Feeling inner joy as a brother, thinking I would grant anything I could, I was stunned by the word that followed "pee."
Tina may be small in body, but she is a clever, sensible girl. I have heard that girls mature faster internally than boys, and looking at Tina, that theory seems correct. That Tina, Tina who seems mentally older than she looks, had used a childish word like "pee" toward me, a man and an adult. I felt like I had made her say something very embarrassing.
"I am not a doll that just sits. I need to pee."
With Tina's following words, I felt like I had been called out. Like she was telling me I was treating her like a doll.
For the clever Tina, it must have been very embarrassing to say "pee" to me. But she judged that if she did not say it that way, I would not understand. That is how unreliable I am as a guardian. Indeed, I think I have just been doting on Tina as cute, cute without properly seeing her.
This time, I sincerely reflected on that.
Leonardo-san, when will you be able to graduate from the title "Benefactor's Daughter" for your side stories? Well, even if you graduate, I feel like the title would just become "My Little Sister" or something. If you only read the side stories of this series, it is a cute little girl novel. The main story is from that little girl's perspective, so she is not just a cute little girl, though.
I will fix any typos later... orz
I have fixed any typos I found.