Chapter 51 – Brother-Sister Talk

 

To put my influence over someone else’s will is also a part of doll magic…?

It doesn’t feel quite right… I mean, the incident with king Lereol happened after I lost my doll magic in the first place, so…

“Alty, you don’t have to think so hard about it. Things will come to light as they need to.” Tourus told me.

“… You’re quite optimistic, brother.” I replied.

“It’s important to prepare yourself for eventual contingencies, but pessimists have no future. They’re scared of bad things happening and as such, they get stuck on the same place.

“It’s much better to walk forward, towards an uncertain future instead. Even if things are complicated right now, please leave it to me, and I’ll fix it all.” Brother Tourus had a very reliable smell on his face right now.

Then, he slowly left his chair and stood by my side… He is a lot taller than what I remembered.

After that, with a compassionate smile, brother said, “A lot of things must have happened In Malgaroid and… Well, Alty, I may not be qualified to say this, as I couldn’t do anything until now, but…

“Thank you for your hard work. I know it must have been tough.” Tourus started gently patting my head as he said that.

Suddenly, an old memory resurfaced. From the time before I recalled my past life. Back when I was a kid that didn’t know anything.

I feel like Tourus used to care for me like this before.

“From here on, it’s the second act, where the baton is passed and the protagonist changes.

“Alty, you don’t need to bear the brunt of it anymore… The Sage, father, the government forces… I’ll take all of them on.” Brother told me.

“… You know of the sage?” I asked him.

“Of course. I can’t protect my cute little sister if I lose on the information warfare.

–Though it would be best if you didn’t rush after the source of the information, since it’s quite complicated. I swear I’m yours, Alty. I won’t turn around and join your enemies.” Brother told me.

“… Thank you very much.” I replied.

“Ah, you’re still a bit suspicious I guess? I suppose it can’t be helped, since right now you probably feel like you’re being swayed by the situation without seeing the whole picture, right?” He asked me.

“That’s about right.” I told him.

“It’s simple. The aristocracy wants to get rid of the Wisp family, but they couldn’t do it before because of our powerful dolls.

“However, they now found a way to get rid of the dolls, so they now decided to make false accusations against father, then send the army after us. Do you understand the gist of it now?” Tourus asked me.

“I see… But what are their countermeasures against the dolls?” I asked.

“You should know at least one of them. Maybe you even have it with you?” Tourus asked back.

“The Philosopher’s Stone?” I said.

“Bingo! As a reward, I’ll give you a bit of cake on today’s dinner.

“There are other countermeasures if one looks for it though. Especially now that the dolls are lacking on magical power.” Tourus replied.

“I’ll go to them as soon as we’re done.” I told him.

“That’s good, but don’t overdo it. You’ve always been one to try taking everything onto yourself.” Tourus said.

… Eh? That’s a bit strange.

While I am aware that I don’t usually ask others for help… I don’t think I’ve ever shown that side of me to Tourus?

“Well then, I’d like to talk a bit more about the situation on the Empire’s capital–” Tourus turned his gaze outside the window now.

It was still raining, and we could hear the thunder falling too.

“It’s about time…” As soon as my brother muttered that, we heard knocks on the door.

“Please excuse me, I have a report to deliver!” Fromos, the leader of the knights, appeared, “Just as you expected, lord Tourus, a strange sound is coming from the inside of the mountain and it is drawing closer to us.”

From inside the mountain? That’s a bit weird… And what does ‘strange sound’ even mean in this context?

However, Tourus seemed to understand what Fromos meant, “Alright then. Alty, can you stay there and see what happens through the window?

“From now on, your brother will show you some really cool things. You’ll see how reliable and amazing I am!

“Just don’t fall in love, alright? Tourus Wisp is a mother-con, but not a sis-con!” As Tourus said that, he left the conference room.

… Now what should I do?

“As lord Tourus said, I think you should see it from the window.” Fromos awkwardly said.

… I suppose it can’t be helped that he’d be troubled if his lord suddenly said that he was a mother-con.

“Ah… Alright, thank you. What about you, Fromos?” I decided to ask.

“I have something to do down below.” As Fromos said that, he chased after my brother.

… Just what is Tourus going to do?

——

Author’s Note: On a side note, Tourus’ power can only affect memories related to him, though the line between what is and isn’t related to him is somewhat blurry, with not even him knowing the full-limits of what he can or can’t do.