Chapter 50 – Tourus Wisp

 

At the other side of the black door, there was a man sleeping. He was sitting on a chair and his head was on top of a desk.

That was Tourus Wisp… My brother.

“We can wake him up, right?” I asked Fromos.

“Please be kind with him. He has been up all night for the past few days in order to make sure everything stays in order.” Fromos replied.

“Really…?” I couldn’t help muttering.

I was still hard to believe… That older brother with his almost non-existent presence is commanding dolls and knights to hold the government’s army back…

Before I could ponder on it any further though, my brother started muttering something, stretched his arms, then rubbed his eyes with his hands… He was like a cat.

“Good morning, brother.” I said.

“Is that Alty’s voice? I’ve been waiting for you.” After saying this, Tourus finally opened his eyes, “Is Fromos next to you? Sorry, seems like I missed the opportunity to greet you at the entrance.”

“You were quite tired, lord Tourus.” Fromos said.

“Thank you for the help. I’ll take it over now, so please return to your duties, Fromos.” Tourus ordered.

“Understood. Please excuse me.” After Fromos bowed down to my brother’s orders, he left.

It was now just me and Tourus on the conference room.

“Sit down for now, Alty. You must be tired from the long journey.

“… Or do you prefer to stand and walk while you think? I’ll match you in that case.” Tourus told me.

“I’m going to sit down.” As I said that, I pulled a nearby chair closer and sat on it.

“It’s hard to talk if you’re so far away, you know? It’s out long-awaited reunion, so come closer.

“Sure, I haven’t returned to the Wisp house in the past few days, but I’m still bathing properly alright? So I shouldn’t be smelly or anything…” Tourus then smelled his own armpit, “Yeah, I’m good.”

Okay… “Uhn… Brother Tourus… Right?” I muttered, not sure what to say.

“Of course, Alty. I’m the eldest son of the Wisp family and the next leader of the house. Tourus Wisp.

“On that note, did you know that Tourus means ‘truth’ in the ancient language of the empire?” Brother Tourus replied.

“Ah… Thank you for teaching me that…” I told him.

“Isn’t your behavior strange for a brother and sister who share blood? I mean, we aren’t twins, so we don’t exactly share blood, but we’re still from the same father and mother.

“It’s been a few years since we last met, so shouldn’t our meeting be a bit more dramatic and moving!?” Tourus asked me.

Then, he opened his arms in a beckoning fashion… As if he wanted me to jump onto his arms.

Just… Who is this person? His blond hair and blue eyes are the same as mine, and his facial features resemble father’s but… It’s only in appearance that he resembles brother Tourus.

His impression is way too different. Instead of being a forgettable person that resembles a shadow, he is more like a bright shining light. He was so dazzling, that I felt like I was getting exhausted just by being near him.

How did his personality take such a drastic turn…?

“The mood is still awkward, so… Should I try guessing what you’re thinking, Alty? Perhaps it might clear things up.

“I bet it’s something along the lines of… ‘Who is this shining guy right in front of me? Is it really my brother that I’m seeing?’ right?” Tourus said.

“Well… I can’t say I didn’t wonder if you had eaten something rotten or hit your head really hard.” I replied.

“I’m 25 years old already, alright? I’m not gonna just bump by head randomly. In fact, there are quite a few madams in high society that have been captivated by me, you know?

“Though well, none of them can quite compare to mother, so I ended up coming here without tying myself to any of them.” Tourus said.

… So he is actually a mother-con? I didn’t know that and… I don’t think I wanted to know it.

“And now you’re probably thinking about how your brother is a mother-con and that’s why he didn’t get married, but that’s wrong.

“I’m going to stay single until things settle down in this country.

“But instead of staying into this topic, let me answer your worries on what we were talking about previously.

–’Isn’t he like a completely different person?’ That’s a misunderstanding, Alty. You just forgot about it.” Tourus told me.

“I… Forgot?” I asked.

“Are aware of what it means to have a unique talent?” Tourus asked me.

“I’ve read about it in several books. It’s what my doll magic is.” I replied.

“Indeed. It’s good that you’re studying plenty.

“And yeah, this isn’t just magic, but more like a divine miracle.

“I too, have access to a unique talent.” Brother Tourus told me.

“You have it too?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m using it to manipulate memories actually. Do you want to see an experiment?

“1, 2, 3, go.” Brother then, snapped his fingers.

***

Eh? There should only be dolls and knights here, but who is this person in front of me?

His blond hair and blue-eyes… The facial features that resemble my father, but more youthful…

He’s also using the white clothes that symbolize my house in a very fashionable way…

Is he dad’s secret child or something?

“Well, it’s about time, isn’t it?” The man then snapped his slender fingers.

***

Ugh!?

“You okay, Alty?” Brother Tourus hugged me, who was surprised by the sudden change, then, he looked directly into my eyes, “If you’re feeling unwell, just lie down, alright? Your older brother can put you to sleep with a nice lullaby.

“I once sang to Fromos before, and he fainted in less than a minute. He said that he had bad nightmares at the time, but at least he went to sleep. How about it?”

“Uhn… Please refrain from doing that.” I told him.

This was quite surprising.

Though also, I feel some discomfort in my brain. As if my nerves were fiddled with directly… And now, there is still some tingling feeling on the back of my head.

“Alright then.

“By the way, making someone forget everything takes a lot of effort. I usually am much more subtle with my memory manipulation.

“It’s similar to your doll magic, but with a different execution. Like climbing a mountain by using a different path.” Brother Tourus told me.

“What do you mean? My power just puts the spirits into the dolls. It’s quite different from yours.” I replied.

“Huh?” Brother Tourus started frowning for some reason, “Well, I guess you’ll understand it soon.

“Or rather, there might be already be some signs appearing.

“Alty, did the people around you ever start moving unnaturally in a way that you wanted them to?”

“Unnaturally?” I asked.

“Yes, for example, if you were walking around while thinking about wanting chocolate, then a sudden chocolate master approached you by saying ‘today is a beautiful day, Alty, so please have this chocolate!’ or something like that?” Brother Tourus asked me.

Let’s not try to understand what a chocolate master is, and instead focus on the important bits…

I can actually think of a case like this.

The audience with king Lereol. I didn’t speak anything, but he somehow understood my intention and prepared a high-speed ship.

It was far too convenient… Could it be related to what brother Tourus is saying?

“Judging from your expression, I can say that your answer is ‘yes’.

“To put your influence over someone’s will is also a part of doll magic. Remember that well.” Tourus told me.

There was something unusual about Tourus as he said that… Unlike before, he had a very distant expression now.