Chapter 87
*Bianca’s point of view .
The house had been bustling, but now it was quiet, as if the liveliness from earlier was a lie .
The treated and the sick were all resting peacefully together . Several crewmembers went out drinking with some nobles and were living their lives in the city .
Though I felt tired, I wasn’t that keen on sleeping just yet .
I rinsed my face and wandered about inside the house, and before I knew it, I had arrived at a certain room .
“…”
I finally knocked on the door after a short hesitation .
A humble voice replied from within the room shortly after .
I rested my hand on the door knob, but I couldn’t turn it . It wasn’t because it was rusted, but because of my own weakness . After taking a deep breath, I poured my strength into it and the door opened with a creak .
The man who was recently on the verge of death was peacefully sleeping in the creased bed . A young figure on a chair sat by his bedside with a thick book on his knees . Perhaps that’s his way to pass the time .
The young man raised his face and called out to me with a steady voice .
“Sister . ”
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
I asked after a short silence . My brother, Michael von Diebold, returned a humble smile .
I entered and closed the door behind me . Michael gave me a troubled look when I sat down at the end of the bed .
“Sis . ”
The voice was a bit cramped this time . I responded with a hand gesture .
“It’s fine . He’s not going wake up that easily . ”
That guy was drained at the end of the day, in both the mental and physical sense . I would be surprised if he even wakes up today .
Whether I had convinced Michael or not, I didn’t bother to find out .
Looking at Michael’s face, a complicated feeling welled up inside me . Was he happy? Was he lonely? I couldn’t tell .
Back then, he used to grow his hair long enough to cover his face, as if hiding behind it . Now, that frightened gaze of his had completely disappeared . Those dark azure eyes were now filled with gentle compassion .
“You’ve grown quite a bit . ”
I said . Michael acknowledged my words with a bitter smile .
“That’s not true . I haven’t changed at all . ”
After hearing his reply I answered him with my own wry smile .
You have changed . Tremendously .
You’ve started to voice your opinions more often while even making eye contact . Don’t you realise it?
Michael was different now . Not only on the outside, but on the inside as well .
But let’s not dwindle too much into it . Because there’s the other half of me that didn’t want to admit to the change . I didn’t like the thought that he was turning into someone else I didn’t know . It was an unreasonable feeling, like I was a child throwing a fit .
“Let me say this again; it has been a long time, Michael . ”
“Yes . It’s been a while, sis . I’m sorry we couldn’t meet more often . ”
“Having such a heartless brother makes me sad, you know?”
Teasing him a little, Michael returned a troubled face .
Ever since Michael ran away from home, he had never gone back even once . It all started after he had earned an apprenticeship to become a priest of the Great Temple .
After that, he became an apprentice magician in the castle . I understood that because of his position, there would be various restrictions on him to a certain degree . It wouldn’t be out of the question if he wasn’t allowed to come home . However, when he was still being taught under the Great Temple, he definitely still had the time to visit at least once a year . Simply put, Michael didn’t want to return home .
I understood that it couldn’t be helped .
After all, my parents didn’t have any room for Michael in their hearts .
Children with innate magical powers were often dismissed by their own parents .
Although our parents didn’t neglect him completely, they weren’t attentive either . Ultimately, it wasn’t a simple situation .
Our father had a mistress .
It was not just messing around either . They were in love since they were little . If given the chance, he would have married her, and not Mother .
That mistress lived under the same roof as Father . She was the perfect image of an innocent girl, loved by father and everyone around her .
Mother, however, didn’t live in the Diebold household .
Her strength dwindled day by day . She was jealous of the mistress and had kept her feelings bottled up inside to breaking point . In the end, her mind finally gave in .
A handful of maids were assigned to look after her in her bedridden condition . She had to survive day after day in that bedroom, forbidden to go anywhere else . But a turning point came . My mother became pregnant .
The mistress had a son . Although my Mother was the lawful wife, she didn’t have any son of her own . Because of that, the mistress’ son was adopted by the household, but he was still a bastard child . Many of Father’s relatives raised an eyebrow when the mistress’ child was welcomed as the official heir and eldest son .
Several of Father’s acquaintances distanced themselves from the family and he became restless because of it .
And in the midst of all that came Mother’s pregnancy .
Father now cared for her once again .
Even though she gave birth to the baby girl that was me, Father came back to attend to Mother . No, that’s not the right way to put it . It was as if Mother had became the lawful wife she was supposed to be .
Michael was born the following year . To this long-awaited eldest son, everyone was happy, especially my Father .
It was probably Mother’s happiest moments .
But that happiness didn’t last long .
The mistress who was robbed of her lover became full of sorrow and began to suffer . Since Father couldn’t ignore his first love, he went back to attend to the mistress .
Mother knew all too well what he was doing, but despite that, she often appeared to be in a good mood . I hated the fact that Father was jumping back and forth between the two . Maybe the reason why I dislike men was caused by my childhood experiences with Father .
I decided that I would protect Mother and my brother in Father’s stead .
Especially my little brother . In my eyes, he was adorable .
Mother often slept for long periods of time, so it was just me and Michael that kept each other company .
That’s when I first noticed his ability .
It happened during the spring when I was just six years old .
I was playing in the garden when I got pricked by a thorn on the roses . As blood dripped from my finger, it was not me but Michael who started crying .
Michael wrapped his hand around mine and whispered ‘Pain go away . ’ repeatedly . I thought it was the cutest thing in the world . I was so happy .
I was about to say ‘It’s healed!’ just to make him smile, but I never got the chance .
There was no wound .
Blood trails were still there, but the wound had disappeared without a trace .
I couldn’t understand what I was seeing and thought it was a different finger .
But when I examined the other fingers, there was still no wound .
A throbbing wound just suddenly disappeared . Even a child would know it was something abnormal .
I asked Michael if he was the one who did it .
We tried again . This time I pricked myself with a thorn on another finger and he cured the injury in an instant . I definitely didn’t misunderstand .
I hugged Michael who had an anxious expression and thanked him with a smile . After that, I had him promise me not to use his powers in public .
In the next few years to come, Michael’s abilities were never discovered .
He was trying desperately to mediate between Father and Mother . They often fought with each other . He probably thought that he was the only one who could take care of this broken couple .
He started awkward conversations and constantly retained a fake smile . For Michael who was an introvert, it must have taken a lot of effort .
During this time, Mother, like me, got pricked by a thorn in the garden .
I couldn’t blame Michael for what he did .
He probably wanted them to smile again .
He thought Father and Mother would also smile at him like I did when he healed me .
But after he cured her finger, what he got instead was dreaded fear and sickening hatred .
Father branded him as a monster and swore that Michael could not have been his son .
He blamed Mother for having raised a demon .
Mother was frightened of Michael and fled the room .
She was already weak . After she went mad, she cried herself to death .
Michael who was left behind blamed himself for what had happened .
A young child was prostrating in front of me while his head rubbed the floor . He vehemently apologised for killing Mother and taking Father away .
It was not Michael’s fault . How could such a gentle child commit such heinous crimes?
He only wanted everyone to laugh . He only wished for gratitude in return .
But no matter how many times I told him that it was not his fault, he never took my words to heart .
Michael gradually withdrew from society . He grew bangs to hide behind and started walking with his back arched forward . He rarely left his room and never spoke with any of the servants . I was the only one he would still talk to .
At the time, Father only cared about his reputation and would never let us out of the house .
He would also never approach us . I wasn’t even allowed a private tutor . Thanks to him, even though I am a noble, I grew up lacking in key areas . But I didn’t care about that .
I wanted to run away from home .
I didn’t have any plans to get married . I thought that maybe I’ll become a nun .
I was shocked when Michael ran away from home without telling me, but I was glad he did anyway .
Especially right now, as I looked at him, I was sure he made the right choice .
“Hey, Michael . ”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Do you regret it?”
‘About what?’ wasn’t a reply that came back .
But I was sure the meaning of the question was conveyed over to him .
Michael used his ability to save Klaus .
It was the magic he had kept hidden all this time . The traumatic powers that broke our entire family apart .
An enormous amount of guilt would definitely come with using such powers .
The wound from when he was branded a monster by his own parents surely ran deep .
But even so, Michael laughed out loud . With his gentle eyes, he continued to laugh ceaselessly .
“Sis, have you been talking with the princess?”
Hey, Michael .
How long has it been since you were able to laugh like this?
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