47 - Side Story: Leonardo's Perspective - His Benefactor's Daughter 7
Reports from the quarantine section had begun to include the word "recovery" here and there. This must be the result of the medicine, which until now had only been given to Jean-Jacques and Black Knights with early symptoms, being distributed to the common people as well. Since this had been a concern of late, I was genuinely happy about it. I prayed that things would continue in this positive direction.
"...You look happy."
Alf, carrying a bundle of documents, entered the office while closing the door behind him. Document carrying was not normally Alf's job, but he must have taken it on as a convenient errand. Until recently, he would scold me about returning to the mansion at night, but for the past week or so, I had not heard that either. Alf was probably busy himself, unable to look after Tina. No, actually, that should be my responsibility.
...She told me not to force myself to come home if I was busy, too.
I wanted to come home even if I had to force it, but since Tina told me not to come back, I could not return until my work was done. I knew I was making my younger sister, not even ten years old, worry about me, but I was also grateful for it.
...It is not that I think she is not cute because she does not seem lonely at all, or that I will not come home until she comes crying to me. I am not declaring any such thing.
At first, I thought Bart or someone might come to call me at night. But even after two days, even after three days, no one came asking me to come home because Tina was lonely. Tina really was managing on her own, it seemed.
...Once things at the fortress settled down, I would spoil her plenty.
As I made that vow in my heart, today too, the documents Alf had brought piled up on my desk.
"This stack just needs your seal, this pile needs you to look it over, and this one needs to be committed to memory by the day after tomorrow."
Several piles formed on the work desk. For about a week now, whenever work seemed close to being cleared, Alf would bring in new piles like this.
"...Looks like I will not be able to see Tina today either."
I looked up at Alf reproachfully. I knew I could not escape work, but when new documents kept being brought in as if timed exactly when work was about to be cleared, I could not help but resent Alf.
"Speaking of which, you have been chained to your desk for a while now. You should have enough time for at least a patrol around the fortress. You could check on Tina while you are at it."
"The back gate of the mansion is off-limits except for emergencies. It is not a distance I can cover as a side trip."
"There is nothing wrong with showing your face at the quarantine section while you are patrolling the fortress, is there?"
"Even if I go to the quarantine section, Tina's face..."
I stopped mid-sentence and suddenly realized something. The reason I had not returned to the mansion lately was not just because work was not getting done, but because whenever I thought about going home, Alf would bring new documents and pile them on my desk. And that same Alf used to frequently tell me to go home, but for the past week or so, he had not. He had completely stopped voicing the complaint, "Go back to the mansion where Tina is waiting."
"...Alf, where is Tina right now?"
I asked, thinking the unthinkable. As for the Alf I had questioned, he smiled with an infuriatingly composed face.
"It is good that more people are able to leave the quarantine section."
"What does that have to do with Tina?"
This was what Alf meant when he said "you look happy" just a moment ago. Until now, only the Black Knights who had been given medicine early could leave the quarantine section, but commoners had begun to recover as well. Of course I was happy about that. But that was an entirely different matter from Tina.
"...I think it is also the result of more diligent nursing care."
"Nursing care? Come to think of it, the Sedovara Church reported that once infected and recovered, a person never catches it again. Jasper submitted a request to use recovered knights for nursing... it worked, then."
"So it seems. Thorough cleaning and changing the sheets every day has somewhat curbed worsening conditions and further infection."
"Alf."
I called his name, stopping the topic from drifting further. What I wanted to hear now was not about the recovery process of the infected people crammed into the quarantine section.
"We were talking about Tina, were we not?"
"We are talking about Tina."
Alf's pasted-on smile was infuriating. He knew, and was deliberately hiding something. And this was the face he made when waiting for me to notice.
"Where is Tina right now?"
I strengthened my tone slightly and asked again. I was aware I was making the angry face that was infamous enough to make even adults, let alone children, cry and run away, but Alf answered me as if nothing was wrong.
"She has been staying at the fortress since a week ago, and even before that she was in the quarantine section taking care of patients..."
"You made a survivor of a village wiped out by Wards' disease take care of Wards' disease patients?!"
Enraged, I slammed my fist on the desk. There was no way Alf did not understand that this was like rubbing salt into Tina's wounds. As I glared at him with anger, Alf's eyes narrowed. The fake smile he had worn until moments ago turned into a sneer.
"Says the man who abandoned Tina."
It was a valid point. I had been preoccupied with work, used the excuse that Tina said "you do not have to force yourself to come home," and had been neglecting her for over half a month. If you included the period I had left her at Aurelia's house, it was practically over a month of neglect. For a child that age, I had heard each day was incomparably more dense than for an adult. During that sensitive period, I had left Tina alone for over a month. I was not just failing as a guardian.
"Taking in a child is easy, but raising one as a guardian is not. You were already struggling to manage, and you did not even notice she was not at the mansion where she was supposed to be, did you?"
To Alf's valid point that I could not raise Tina, I had no response.
I stepped into the quarantine section. Until now, I had faithfully followed orders from above and avoided it, but now that signs of recovery were appearing, it should be fine for me to enter. The Black Knights were originally supposed to receive medicine. Even if the worst happened and I caught it, it should not be too big a problem.
I turned my head to look around the section. As the reports had said, commoners who had been suspected of infection and detained, and Black Knights who had recovered from infection, were cleaning. More thorough than usual cleaning was being done, every nook and cranny, no doubt on someone's orders.
"...Tina should be here somewhere."
"If you are looking for Tina-chan, she is washing sheets in the washing area."
Apparently she was being affectionately called "Tina-chan" now. I had not introduced her as "my little sister" to all the Black Knights, but at least the ones stationed in the quarantine section should not know that. Even without knowing she was my sister, Tina was called "Tina-chan" by the Black Knights and doted on. Somehow, that felt strange.
"...Um, Commander. Did Tina-chan do something wrong? She sometimes plays pranks, but she is really a good kid. Please do not scold her too harshly. I heard she went into the basement the other day and was put in the punishment room by the Vice-Commander..."
"The punishment room...?"
I did not even know where to start. Tina did play pranks... she did. She ate my sandwich, bit my finger, stepped on my foot -- looking back, she had done quite a lot of things.
The basement was where we had moved Jean-Jacques when his condition became severe because it was too gruesome to show other patients. We had also moved him underground because he would scratch at his itchiness and scatter blood that could become a source of infection.
And the punishment room was basically a room for holding those who had committed crimes. Apparently Alf had put Tina in there.
...I see. So she had been "staying for a week" in the punishment room.
But even though Tina had not returned for a week, what were Bart and Tabitha doing? Even if they knew she was with Alf, should they not have contacted me, her guardian, at least?
...No, it was precisely because I had done nothing worthy of a guardian that Bart and the others had likely followed Alf's instructions.
Knowing Alf, he must have said something like, "Since he is neglecting her, I will look after her for a while." The difference in credibility as a guardian, as seen by others, was glaringly apparent.
"Tina is at the washing area, then."
"Yes."
I declined the offer to guide me and headed for the washing area. As I drew closer, I could hear the lively singing voices of women. Listening carefully, Tina's faltering voice was mixed in too.
...Tina was singing? I had never heard her before.
Even while singing, her tongue still did not seem to work properly, and occasionally a "nya" or "nyo" slipped in. It was a cute, childlike singing voice, but...
...The lyrics were way too problematic. I had to make her stop immediately!
Thinking about it, the main occupation of the women in this quarantine section was prostitute. Of course, the words coming out of their mouths would not be good for Tina's education. She probably did not understand what they meant and was just singing along, but if I did not stop her immediately, I would not be able to face Tina's father. The lyrics were that full of dirty jokes, slang, and erotic references.
"Tina!"
I called out as I opened the door to the washing area. The cheerful singing from inside stopped abruptly. As for Tina, who had been called by name, she jumped in surprise and slowly, cautiously turned around.
"Ti..."
"GYAAAAAaaAAAAaaAAaahhh?!"
Just when I thought she might be happy to see me after so long, the moment our eyes met, Tina tipped over the washbasin she had been treading sheets in and fled. She dashed at full speed and clung to the door leading outside. Since this was technically the quarantine section, the door would not open unless the Black Knights standing outside opened it, but Tina started pounding on the door and crying out.
"Open up! Please, open up!! Let me out, let me out pleeeease!"
The cry was so anguished that I was shocked. It was true I had not seen her for a while, but this was the first time Tina had rejected me so thoroughly. Had she completely come to hate me for neglecting her so much?
"T-Tina? What has got you so..."
"GYAAAAaaAAaahhh!! Help, Alf-saaaan?!"
The person Tina instinctively cried out to for help was not me, but Alf. Even more shocked, I tried to take a step closer to at least talk to her, when Tina pressed herself flat against the door.
"Tina, let us at least talk..."
"What are you doing to our kid?!"
The woman's yell came from the side at the same moment as a basinful of water was dumped over my head. Baptized with soapy water, wet sheets tangled around my body. As if for good measure, the basin dropped onto my head, producing a satisfying ring against my skull.
"Tina-chan, come here! We are getting out of here!"
"Aye!"
As I pulled my head out of the basin and peeled off the sheets clinging to me, I caught perfect eye contact with Tina, who was about to be scooped up by the woman. Tina blinked her blue eyes, then stopped her escape-ready movement. Her mouth hung open for a moment, and then understanding dawned on her face.
"...Ah, Leonyaldo-san."
Her muttered voice helped me understand why Tina had panicked and tried to run away. It was the hairstyle. Tina apparently did not like my hair swept back from my forehead, and whenever I wore it this way, she either cried or did not recognize me at first. That must have been why she recognized me once I had basin water dumped on me. With a guilty look, Tina patted the arms of the woman who was holding her in an escape-ready position. This man who had burst in during laundry was someone she knew. No need to run away, he was not a suspicious person. Having to be explained this way by Tina made me feel a little sad.
"Is there an itchy spot, shir?"
This must have been her way of making amends for having completely forgotten my face and run away. In the bath for Black Knights who came in and out of the quarantine section, Tina offered to wash my hair. She had washed it once for me at Aurelia's house too, and having her small fingers work through every part felt nice. I would be happy if she washed it like this occasionally, but considering she disliked bathing together, this was probably an apology or buttering-up, something she would only do on special occasions.
"Aurelia's medicine is amazing. People with early shymptoms are getting better one after anovver."
"People with early symptoms, you mean. What is up, Tina? You are talking a lot today."
Tina was speaking long sentences I had only ever heard from her in her sleep or when she was angry. She usually only spoke in fragments at best. Curious, I asked, and she said that ever since coming here (the quarantine section), she had often felt inconvenienced by not being able to speak fluently. So she had been reflecting on that. Now, a little embarrassed, Tina said she was learning nursery rhymes from the residents here, like the song that had been interrupted earlier, and practicing speaking while singing.
...Kids really did grow up on their own if you left them alone.
While I felt relieved, I also thought that I really should not keep neglecting Tina like this. Practicing speaking with nursery rhymes was fine, but as a guardian, I could not overlook songs like the one from earlier.
"Are you having fun helping out here?"
"Fun ish weird to shay, but it is way better than being on guard duty alone."
She had people to talk to, and the Black Knights and prostitutes taught her all sorts of things. She could not do much more than small tasks, but she was happy she could do something. Tina smiled as she said this. She was more talkative than usual, and seeing her look a little proud warmed my heart. It warmed my heart, but...
...I had come to tell her to go back to the mansion.
Tina's smile made it extremely hard to bring up. As her guardian, even if recovery trends were beginning to show, I did not want to leave my little sister in a quarantine section where an epidemic was spreading. And this was the same disease that had taken Tina's parents from her. Tina did not talk much about her parents, but that did not mean she was not affected at all.
...It was hard to bring up.
Not knowing what to say, I let out a quiet sigh. As I remained unable to find words, letting Tina wash my hair, she asked, "Are you tired from work?" with concern.
"I am a guardian in name only. I have not been able to do anything for Tina."
"Leonyaldo-san is busy with work, sho it cannot be helped."
...Neglecting her on the pretext of work, and then being comforted by the little sister I had neglected... it was too pathetic.
Pathetic as it was, having family who worried about me felt a little ticklish. Family was something I had lost long ago. She was a borrowed thing, the daughter of my benefactor, but I never thought I would have a family again.
"...Huh? But if you came to check on the quarantine section, does that mean work has hit a pause?"
"No, people in this city are only just beginning to recover, and outside the city, the number of infected is still increasing."
Things would not settle for a while. And if work did not settle, it meant I could not arrange Tina's living situation either.
...I needed a tutor to give her a proper girl's education, but for studies, the Mennhisch Church would be best.
Having only adults like Black Knights and prostitutes as friends and acquaintances was also a problem, surely. Friends her own age would certainly have a good influence on Tina's growth.
"Then, can I keep helping out at the quarantine section for a while longer?"
Tina tilted her head so cutely as she asked, and I could not say "no." Then I realized. No, I remembered. What I had thought when Tina offered to wash my hair. I had thought that Tina washing my hair was an "apology" or "buttering-up." When Tina uncharacteristically offered to wash my hair, the outcome had probably already been decided.
...Tina might be good at wheedling.
When I told Alf this later, he flatly dismissed it, saying, "You are just soft on Tina."
[Author's Note]
Typos and errors will be fixed later... orz
I do not have plans to write a Tina perspective chapter, so I will say it here. The reason Tina screamed at Leonardo's hairstyle with his bangs swept back is probably that. The traumatic experience from the first night she came to the city. Leonardo's hairstyle during that traumatic experience should have been slicked back too... I think. Also, since he was in rage mode right before that, his face might have just been genuinely scary...?
I have fixed any typos and errors I noticed.