MBFUV

Chapter 6

“Your right ankle is hurt too. You should see a doctor soon,” said César as he wiped the blood from my knee with a handkerchief.

Sophia, my maid, said she would do it, but he refused and kept the handkerchief.

“It’s late, so the castle doctors have already gone home… I’ll call them back right away.”

“N-no! I don’t think the bone is hurt. Just tell them to come tomorrow morning.”

Calling someone back after work? That’s just cruel. I didn’t want to be that kind of person.

“But what if it’s serious? What if you can’t walk again?”

“If it were that serious, I’d already be screaming in pain. I’m fine.”

“But your ankle is really swollen…”

“Where’s the first aid kit?”

“The first aid kit? Oh, I’ll go get it!”

Why was he looking for that? I just wanted to send him away already.

“Lord Valdeon, thank you for your help, but it’s late so—”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Was he even listening to me?

Why does no one ever listen to what I say?

César didn’t wait for my answer. Without hesitation, he took off my shoe.

I pulled my bare foot back in embarrassment.

“W-What are you doing?”

“Your foot is swollen. If you keep the shoe on, it might cut off circulation. I’ve treated small injuries since I was young. You can trust me.”

“I-It’s not that…”

This was weird. But he acted like it was totally normal.

“Does it hurt here?”

“Ahhh!”

He pressed on my ankle and the pain made my vision go white.

That was definitely payback for headbutting him earlier.

Sophia brought the first aid kit, and César calmly picked out a few medicines.

He applied ointment to my knee and wrapped my ankle with a bandage like a pro.

I had no idea what to do and just rolled my eyes around awkwardly.

This is so uncomfortable!

Thankfully, he broke the silence.

“Are you really planning not to see Arno anymore?”

“Unless he changes his mind.”

“He must be having a hard time.”

“Yeah, right. He’s probably stretched out in bed, not even thinking about me.”

“Arno? Not thinking about you?”

César stopped wrapping the bandage and scoffed, like I just said the most ridiculous thing.

“I’ve never seen a guy talk about his sister so much.”

“About me? Wow… What did he say?”

He must’ve been complaining about me nonstop.

“Arno would rather quit the academy than not see you. Is that really what you want?”

I paused.

Did I really want that?

All I wanted was for Arno to stay close to me, with our family.

When I was five, our mother died from an illness.

Since then, our once-lively castle became cold and dark.

I never wanted to go through something like that again.

“If there’s another way…” I trailed off.

Like if all the original novel’s characters just disappeared…

Or if César left the academy…

But that would never happen. They weren’t crazy enough to leave for no reason.

What if I just burn the academy down?

Why didn’t I think of that before? It’s so simple!

“You shouldn’t try to burn or destroy the academy. It was built with backup buildings all over the place in case of war or emergencies. It won’t do much good.”

“Wait… Did I just say that out loud?”

“No… You just had the look of someone planning arson.”

Wow. He’s scary.

“Can you read minds or something…?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Right…”

Still, it felt like he read my thoughts. My heart skipped a beat.

He smiled at me and said,

“Then how about this? I’ll make sure Arno doesn’t get hurt again.”

“Huh?”

“If something bad does happen to him again, I’ll help you get him out of the academy. What do you think?”

That was unexpected. I didn’t know how to respond.

Why would César Valdeon say that?

“Why would you do that, Your Grace?”

I looked at him suspiciously. He smiled gently.

“As a thank-you for inviting me to your estate?”

“You’re thanking me like this?”“Well, doesn’t this show more sincerity?”

Sincerity, huh…?

A quote popped into my head:
“There’s no such thing as free beef. At best, people give away pork.”

But this wasn’t pork. This was clearly beef.

Which meant César must have some reason to keep Arno close.

I stared at him with doubt, but he just smiled calmly like I had nothing to worry about.

He’s totally suspicious.

“…You’d really do that for me?”

Still, it wasn’t a bad offer. No reason to say no.

He held out his pinky.

“Promise.”

More protection couldn’t hurt. After some thought, I hooked my pinky around his.

He smiled proudly, patted my head, and stood up.

“Alright, time for little kids to sleep. Make sure to call the doctor tomorrow.”

Then he lifted me up and gently placed me on my bed.

“Good night.”

Now finally alone in the quiet room, I buried my face in my pillow.

Thanks to the wild day, I quickly fell asleep.

* * *

The Next Morning

Word had already spread that I got hurt.

My lovely brother came banging on the door early in the morning.

I wanted to yell at him, but he brought a doctor—still in pajamas, barely awake.

So I stayed quiet.

Luckily, the doctor treated me, and after taking some medicine, the pain started to ease by the afternoon.

Using some info from the servants, I snuck out to the garden where Arno and César were supposed to be.

“You’re not supposed to walk on that leg!”

“I’m fine, so leave me alone, Sophia.”

“S-Sir!”

As my maid chased me, I covered her mouth and hid under some bushes.

Soon, I heard the two of them walking nearby.

“…I think so.”

Huh? I leaned in to hear better.

“I’ve already killed too many.”

César’s cold voice floated down on the warm summer breeze.

His words were strange—totally out of place for the nice weather.

What did he say? Killed what?

I furrowed my brows and listened harder.

“There was no other choice.

“We might have to kill more.”

WHAT?!

I was completely shocked.

“We’ll find a way.”

Their footsteps faded.

I finally let out a breath I’d been holding.

Arno’s voice hadn’t sounded surprised or upset.

That meant he already knew. Was he involved?

My hands trembled.

I adjusted my position and took out a telescope.

They were still talking with serious expressions.

I couldn’t hear, so I tried to read their lips.

“Kill… kill… kill them all?”

The word “kill” kept floating around in my brain, so it looked like that’s all they were saying.

“My lady, I don’t think that’s what they’re saying. Let me see,” said Sophia, clearly frustrated.

She took the telescope and peeked.

“‘To…day’s… lunch… what… to… eat…?’”

I looked at her in disbelief.

I could’ve done better than that!

“Sophia, don’t say your thoughts out loud.”

“No! I swear the young master said that!”

“Give it here.”

I sighed and snatched the telescope back.

While we were bickering, the two had gone their separate ways.

I looked toward Arno’s light blond hair shining in the sun—it almost looked silver.

And then I saw my own hair, the same color, hanging over my shoulder.

Arno walked through the garden, smelling flowers and pausing every few steps.

His green eyes matched the leaves and were full of flowers.

“He really is like a dog…” I muttered.

I turned my gaze to the fountain.

There was César again, playing with the water like a child.