◇ ◇ ◇
I sent Lili to the Duke's house and back to the castle.
Keep the horse and ask the soldier who was nearby where Will is.
"Your Highness, Wilfred, you will be in your room long after you return."
"Yes."
I exhale thinking that would happen anyway and head to Will's room.
I took the day off packing my work to keep Lili from going alone, but I think it turned out to be quite correct.
Much more stupid than I thought my brother would be, and he couldn't save me.
I was honestly too frightened when I saw Will yelling at Miss Carlisle earlier, and I didn't have a voice.
My brother escaped, but I can easily guess what would have been worse without me. If Lili and Miss Carlisle didn't have to get hurt more than they needed to, wouldn't it have been well worth it for me to leave?
"Will, it's me. Can I come in?
Stand in front of my brother's room and knock. Small, but I heard my brother respond, so I did not hesitate to open the door and enter the room.
Time slot that it will soon be evening. The western sun is plugged in through the gap in the curtain.
My brother's room has a lot of toys, ball-pushing tables, and a table for card games. There were scattered cards on the table that I didn't clean up, and I seemed to see my brother's cluttered personality.
My brother was squatting on an elbow chair in front of the fireplace, holding a square cushion over him.
- Bad behavior.
Pickles and eyebrows moved, but I can easily complain. I closed the door and walked up to Will's side. My brother's eyes look at me, but my eyes don't fit in empty.
"Will."
"... brother"
Noronoro and his brother's face moved and finally his gaze fits.
My brother said it before I opened my mouth.
"... I wonder why it doesn't work"
"Will?"
"I'm not supposed to be doing anything wrong. Yet for some reason, everything you do is empty. Chloe's reaction isn't what I know either. Why not? I did an event. You must have been on my route, right? And yet how come Chloe doesn't laugh at me? Why would you turn me down?
Will, who called it a bump, was almost like asking himself.
I exhaled an oversized sigh and said, leaning against a nearby wall.
"So I've told you many times. She said look at herself. You're just trying to fit Miss Carlisle into a casual frame and move it exactly the way it is. It's better if you think you like it. At least I won't."
My brother blinks slowly. The eyes looked a little moist.
"I just want to be happy. I'm not lying about liking Chloe either. So... if you don't have to give up on my brother, I just thought I should let her attack me..."
"I say that's a mistake.... Will, how long are you going to live without seeing reality? This is not what you call the world of games. When will you understand that it's real?"
"... reality"
Bosoli and Will mutter. The voice felt as if I was lost and twilight along the way, and I watched for a moment.
For the first time, my words arrived. That's what I felt.
"... yes, it's real. Me and you, we're here now, alive. This isn't real."
……
"And Miss Carlisle, of course. Don't take it personally that she's not a doll who makes the required moves, but a living, willing person."
……
Will shuts up. I dropped my gaze on my own lap and stood still, but my brother eventually opened his mouth without force.
"... ever since Chloe told me, 'You haven't seen me,' that word's been gobbling around my head. I think about what it means. And when I think of it, I can't stop."
"... right"
A little, but Will's eyes had the eyes of a thinker.
"Brother, I want to think a little. I'm sorry, but I was wondering if you'd leave."
"Okay, I get it."
Nod at Will's words and leave the room.
Then for about a week, my brother pulled into his own room and didn't step outside.