“Here, Sister Shia. Open wide.”
“……”
“…Sister Shia?”
“…Mm. Ah.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Sister Shia opened her mouth a little.
I brought the spoon in my hand to her lips. She chewed the food from it and swallowed.
“Here, Sister Shia. Open wide.”
“……”
We repeated this several times.
“Thank you for the meal.”
When the bowl in my hand was empty, Sister Shia spoke the customary phrase in a faint voice.
“…Thank you, Noah.”
“There’s no need to thank me. This much is only natural.”
Having lost both arms on the battlefield, Sister Shia could no longer eat by herself with any ease.
Lately, I had been feeding her.
“…I’m sorry. I’m not dependable anymore.”
After the meal, Sister Shia apologized to me. Ever since returning from the war, her manner had become terribly subdued.
Her former confidence was gone, replaced by constant anxiety.
“No, it’s all right. You’re still you, Sister Shia, no matter what happens.”
“…But…”
“You’ll always be the big sister I can depend on.”
“…Noah. Yes… Thank you.”
“I’ll go return the bowl, then.”
“All right. Thank you.”
“…Please get well soon.”
I left the infirmary where Sister Shia sat with her face lowered, looking frail, and went to return the bowl.
“It’s devastating.”
On the way, Father’s voice reached my ears.
Without thinking, I held my breath and stopped the instant I heard him.
“Every member of House Willard was put out of action at the very beginning. Noah is the only one of our younger men left… It’s a disaster.”
“…Indeed.”
The voices came from Father’s study.
He appeared to be discussing the war with his closest civil official.
“We aren’t the only ones who suffered losses… and that’s precisely the problem. Every house wants the rights and power that others have lost. Ours suffered the deepest wound.”
“You can’t return to the battlefield, my lord. Yet we must contribute to the war if we’re to preserve our standing as a great noble house.”
“A difficult matter… If it were easy, we wouldn’t be troubled in the first place. How’s Shia?”
“…She appears utterly dispirited.”
“…I see. It’s cruel, but she’s the only one our house can still make use of. We have no choice but to marry her off to someone—anyone—who will become our ally. She’s beautiful. Many men will want her.”
“…Yes, my lord.”
I had been listening in silence, but at Father’s declaration that he would marry Sister Shia off in her present state—and in the worst possible way, without considering her happiness—a sound escaped me.
“…”
Even that slight sound drew their attention.
“…Who’s there?”
“…My apologies. I happened to overhear you.”
In answer, I stepped before Father.
“…Noah. If it’s you, then so be it. But you have work of your own. Return to it. At this point, we need the connections you have as a merchant as well.”
“…Yes. Excuse me.”
Something flew wildly through my heart.
I covered the turmoil, bowed, and withdrew from Father’s presence.
“I have to return the bowl.”
The first thing I had to do was return the dishes.
“…A First World War.”
Magic was gone.
If that was so, artillery would be the goddess of the battlefield, and the soldiers’ beds would be trenches.
“Hah…”
Sister Shia had helped me countless times.
I had always been scorned as an underachiever. I bore no resentment, but I felt no familial affection either.
My father and brothers who looked down on me, and my indifferent mother, were nothing more than strangers.
Sister Shia alone was different.
“Now it’s my turn.”
In my previous life, I committed the greatest possible act of ingratitude: I died young, leaving behind the parents who had raised me without ever doing anything for them.
So this time—
In this life, I would give myself for my family.
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