8-3 Part 2
The Strange Book Says to Beware of My
Brother
- mama -
Translator : PolterGlast
It was the Emperor's second son Julius, my older
brother and the Second in Line to the Throne. If asked why I don't want to see
him, it's because this man is excessively haughty and troublesome. Therefore, I
cast my gaze back to the book and decided to ignore him.
"Oi, chair."
Julius is a
middle-aged man in his mid-forties. He is suitably portly, and he had one of
the subordinates blocking my retreat prepare a chair. I believe his mother is
from the Baoto Ducal House, the most powerful noble family in the
Empire. According to Georg, the Manor Expansion Law was passed with this
man at the center.
"Mama says..."
On top of that, he was a discriminatory, arrogant mama's
boy.
"She says I am the one suitable to be the next
Emperor. So, I say to Mama: 'Maaamaa, I'm the second son, so I can't be
Emperor~,' you know? ...Oi, are you listening, Ashley?"
I can't deal with him. He's a person where you never know
where the reverse scale that triggers a tantrum is hidden. Before, he snapped
just because I muttered that I was hungry.
"Sorry, I thought you were talking to yourself. Don't
tell me you were speaking to me, Julius-sama?"
"Haa... Yes, obviously. Look, Mama says, 'Don't
associate with that brat Ashley, Julius-chan!!' Well, I didn't
really have a complaint about that... But I am your big brother, aren't
I?"
"Ah, that is true, Julius-niisan."
It's strange. They have never taken an interest in me until
now. They viewed me as if I didn't exist. Yet now, suddenly, he's "Big
Brother."
"Oh, my little brother. Ah... it just doesn't feel
right, Maaamaa..."
The bedridden Emperor said he wants to meet me. Julius
probably came to probe, thinking there must be something behind it. But there's
no way I know the Emperor's intentions.
"Oi, don't go silent. So anyway, Mama says. She says,
'It's useless to ask that eccentric', Maaamaa... but Mama won't listen to
reason, so I'll ask just in case. —Who are you siding with?"
His voice is syrupy sweet regarding Mama. But the last words
were laden with intimidating menace.
"Julius-niisan,
even if you ask that, I don't follow."
"I'm asking whose side you're taking after our father
dies! Mama..."
"There is no 'who'. We are spares for the Crown Prince.
Besides, have you forgotten my succession rank? 53rd. I have no intention of
joining stupid squabbles, leave me alone."
They think the Emperor might die. Then a power struggle will
begin. They're probing each other, thinking there's no way the current Crown
Prince will succeed peacefully.
"That's right, I know that too. That's why even Maaamaa
told me until she was blue in the face, 'Don't associate with that brat Ashley,
Julius-chan!'..."
"I already heard that story. Then please just discard
me."
Every single person in the Imperial Family is unnecessarily
intense...
"Can't do that. Hey Ashley, can't you tell Georg
to join under me? You too; if you say you'll side with me, I'll protect you. Maaamaa says no, but you're the best pawn to move Georg
and Atomina... So, how about it?"
"I don't see the logic, and you're jumping the gun.
It's not certain Father will die soon."
However, my reply seemed to be the height of comedy for Julius
Baoto Urgos. The middle-aged man smirked nastily, looking like he was
enjoying my ignorance and Father's illness.
"I hear you're meeting Father. Then you'll understand
when you see him. You better think hard about your stance too, Ashley."
"I see. I am happy to have such a kind-hearted
brother."
"Let's get along. Maaamaa says no, but~ Hahaha, you beat
Georg by a fluke, right? That means you're somewhat useful, so~ I'll
make you my comrade."
Saying whatever he pleased, Julius left the library
with his minions. By "kind-hearted brother," I obviously wasn't
referring to you.
Atomina-aneue and I were protected from people
like you. By the kind-hearted Georg-aniue. I sat in a daze for a while, but since I didn't feel like reading yet, I opened the Book of the Evil Dragon instead.
『Be
wary of him. He intends to drag you all into this. And it seems he has
absolutely no intention of quietly giving the Emperor's seat to the Crown
Prince.』
"Conspiracy dramas aiming for Father's successor are
stupid. I don't want to get involved..."
『That
will not do. If you wish to protect your precious Atomina and Georg,
discard passive ideas like running away
without getting involved.』
"We siblings just want to live quietly
together..."
I really feel relieved talking to Zirant. Although
the future this dragon points to isn't to my liking. In some aspects, it is
realistic.
『That
is your wish. Both Georg and Atomina would gladly stake
their lives to protect the Empire and its people. That is what children of the
Emperor are. Your lives could be snuffed out at any moment. You are in a
precarious situation. First, realize that.』
You're right, Zirant. If only the two of them were
the sort who would readily agree if I asked them to run away with me... how I
wish that were the case.
A future where I can live freely as just Shinza, and where Georg-aniue and Atomina-aneue can be happy. Will I be able to win that...? There was no way I could know.
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