Chapter 5: The Right and the Wrong

“The dog seems very attached to Shasha.”

Just a few days ago, Rictusa had been praising, “How can there be such a cute and lovable ‘puppy’?”

But now that the puppy barked and tried to bite him whenever it saw him, he coldly began calling it a “dog.”

The puppy, peacefully wagging its tail while lying on Shasha’s lap, let out a loud bark. This mischievous creature had completely captured Shasha’s attention with its “cuteness”—the ultimate weapon that Rictusa lacked.

Feeling neglected, he looked down at the puppy with a sulky expression and snorted.

“You think you’ll look like that forever? I was cute when I was young too.”

Every day he gave it overflowing portions of food, hoping it would grow bigger quickly, but strangely, it wouldn’t eat anything except raw meat dripping with blood.

“Are you actually jealous of a puppy right now?”

“N-no, not at all… By the way, Shasha, you look happy. Did something good happen? Where are you going all dressed up so prettily?”

“There’s a rehearsal for the dance at the festival next week. I specially asked the Princess to pair me with Narcissus.”

“What? Narcissus is the Princess’s attendant. Are you two close enough to be partners…?”

Rictusa slightly furrowed his brow and asked in a lowered voice.

With a slave from a defeated nation who likely harbored strong hostility toward Eodiphia? Even without him saying it, his thoughts were completely transparent on his face. Since I understood the feelings of my worried brother Rictusa, I had to explain thoroughly.

“Narcissus isn’t the kind of bad person you think he is, brother.”

“No matter if he was once a prince, who knows what impure thoughts he might harbor as a slave from a defeated country? You shouldn’t judge people by appearances alone, Shasha.”

“The Princess has approved it.”

“Couldn’t you have requested to be paired with other temple slaves or apprentice priests?”

My brother rubbed his forehead.

“But I feel more comfortable with Narcissus than with complete strangers. I’ll be going now!”

“Wait, Shasha.”

Hmm? I looked up at my approaching brother with a knowing gaze as he sighed. He placed his hands firmly on my shoulders and instructed me earnestly.

“You must always be careful. Understood?”

“I’m not a child.”

“Of course Shasha is an adult. I believe you’ll conduct yourself properly, but a brother’s heart can’t be so carefree. You never know what’s in someone’s mind.”

With gentle movements, he tied the pink ribbon around my neck into a bow. With our significant height difference and his build incomparably larger than mine, when he stroked my shoulders with those huge hands, I felt like a small porcelain doll.

Finally, he draped a fluffy feather cape over my shoulders, completing my preparation.

I was grateful to my brother for preparing the white slip dress I would wear for the ceremony and sandals decorated with flowers and berries. So I moved closer and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which made him flinch in surprise.

“Thank you for always taking care of me, brother.”

“I-it’s, it’s only natural for me to do so.”

His stiff lips barely managed to utter a word, then with a hesitant expression, he placed his hand on my shoulder. He pulled me closer and kissed my round forehead, then his lips gently touched the tip of my nose, falling away like a flower petal.

His fingers, in stark contrast to his white face, slid up to caress my red lips.

The next moment, our lips met in an instant.

“Huh?”

I looked up with surprised, round rabbit eyes and saw his brown cheeks tinged with cherry blossom pink. My brother, more flustered than I was, apologized sincerely and hurriedly, looking as though he hadn’t fully realized what he had done.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Shasha.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

Trying to quickly hide the emotions revealed in his expression, he raised one hand to half-cover his face. Through the gaps between his spread fingers, his blue eyes wavered like waves.

To think that the Commander-in-Chief, who could calmly slice through demon beasts and command the battlefield, would be so flustered over something this minor. Well, Rictusa does have a somewhat rigid side.

But it was just a kiss, right? Thinking that this level of affection between family members was common, I pulled down the fingers covering his face.

“I like it when you kiss me, brother.”

Well, rather than liking it, I meant I didn’t mind, but the former sounded better.

“Shasha.”

“That day, if you hadn’t been so considerate, I would still be a worthless orphaned maid in the imperial palace without a home or family. I’m always deeply grateful to the Duke for taking me in, so grateful that I don’t know how to repay it all.”

“Don’t talk nonsense about repaying. I didn’t adopt you as my daughter expecting anything in return.”

“Yes, I know. But I also know that such opportunities aren’t common for others. That makes me so happy and grateful that I want to express these feelings every day.”

“…”

“Um, well. I really like you, brother. I’ve been too shy to express my affection much until now, but I want to do it more from now on.”

I fiddled with the fluttering hem of my dress while confessing my honest feelings. Meanwhile, I worried if I was acting too childishly, if Rictusa would feel uncomfortable. Was I being presumptuous? As I quietly looked down at my feet with concern,

“I would like Shasha to express herself to me every day.”

His response was warm enough to make such worries seem foolish.

Did my sincerity reach my brother properly? When I looked up, I saw Rictusa smiling with an unfamiliar expression I had never seen before.

His slightly distorted eyes were filled with a strange emotion that couldn’t be defined, and his curved lips made it impossible to tell if he was smiling or grimacing.

Perhaps because of this, his voice seemed unusually thick and deep.

When I hesitated and stepped back in surprise, Rictusa gently smiled, acting as though nothing had happened, and stroked my cheek with the back of his hand.

“From now on, I’ll also express my affection to Shasha without restraint. If I had known earlier, I could have shown it long ago. Thank you for speaking honestly to me. I’m very happy to learn about Shasha’s feelings one by one.”

* * *

“We have to dance?”

Before the rehearsal began, Narcissus and I were busy filling amphoras (jars) with white feathers, pink petals, and freshly picked green leaves.

“Strictly speaking, we don’t have to dance continuously until the end of the festival. When the priests perform their elaborate butterfly dance in the middle of the festival, we stand behind them holding amphoras and then scatter flowers and leaves.”

I continued explaining about the festival honoring the twelve gods.

“Eodiphia worships twelve gods. That’s why we hold ceremonies to honor a god each month, and the methods vary. May is the month to bless Demeia, the goddess of life and fertility. We wait until the male and female priests finish their paired dances, then we bring them amphoras filled with clean water, and then…”

“And then?”

“They rinse their mouths and kiss our foreheads. Bestowing blessings even upon lowly servants like you. That’s the idea.”

“…I see.”

“After all twelve priests have bestowed their blessings, it’s time for temple slaves like us and imperial servants to pair up and dance. We form a large circle, spin around to the music, and then kiss.”

“What?”

“It’s a solemn ceremony wishing for prosperity to dwell in households.”

I replied calmly. Sigh, this is why I had no choice but to pair with Narcissus. Rather than embracing and rubbing lips with a complete stranger, it was better to be with someone I knew at least a little. The imperial servants my age were either trying to attack me for monopolizing the Princess’s love or desperately trying to seduce me.

The young apprentice priests were too busy openly looking down on their inferiors.

That’s why I chose Narcissus, but I hoped he wasn’t upset about it.

Come to think of it, I had acted on my own without asking for his opinion. Narcissus too probably thought it would be less unpleasant to be with me than to perform the ceremony with someone he had never spoken to.

“Do you dislike it? I’m sorry. I should have asked you first.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then?”

“…It’s just sudden, but I don’t dislike it.”

Suddenly, I noticed a pure white light rising softly from inside the amphora where Narcissus had put his hand. What is that? Looking closely, the light bright enough to dazzle the eyes was emanating from Narcissus’s fingertips.

He quickly withdrew it when he felt my gaze, but it was similar to the flash that burst forth when Shahan wielded his divine power.

“You know how to use this too?”

“It’s an insignificant power.”

He explained to me as I stared blankly into the amphora with parted lips.

“They distributed sacred power to princes who completed their coming-of-age ceremony. Of course, since I’m human and not of the celestial race, my power can’t compare to theirs.”

“Still, it’s impressive.”

“It has more limitations than the divine power used by priests. Plus, my ability is only for healing and completely useless outside the temple.”

Sacred power, which could only be wielded by those born of noble birth or holy knights. If Shahan’s divine power specialized in wide-range attacks, Narcissus’s sacred power seemed to be of the healing and defensive type.

My brother Rictusa, the Commander-in-Chief, also knew how to handle blade energy infused with sacred power, used to eliminate demon beasts with a single strike, so the divine powers of the three seemed similar yet distinct.

How fascinating, I thought to myself, staring intently at Narcissus’s palm where transparent light rippled.

I wish I had an ability like that too. Maybe I should try learning swordsmanship from brother Rictusa now. Though honestly, that would be difficult.

When Narcissus’s fingertips touched my cheek, the scratches I had gotten from picking leaves in the forest disappeared completely.

Warmth returned to my skin that had grown cold from dried sweat, and moist flower water began to spread on my dry, cracked lips.

“Thank you.”

His hands carefully caressed various parts of my body.

The swelling in my puffy calves subsided, and the tension in my shoulder muscles melted away. I smiled in amazement, and Narcissus stared at me intensely from just a hand’s width away.

“You said you’d come to the temple often to play with me.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve been so busy lately. I promise to come often from now on. Really.”

“I… I can’t come looking for you.”

“Were you waiting for me?”

We looked into each other’s eyes for a while, filled with an indescribable feeling. At a distance less than a hand’s width apart, where our breaths slowly intertwined.

This room where we were filling the amphora with flowers, leaves, and feathers was too narrow. 

No, even though it might be just my imagination, at this moment it felt impossibly cramped. Sensing the subtle atmosphere flowing around us, I kept my gaze fixed on the face before me, waiting only for his answer.

Narcissus carefully lifted my chin with his warm hand.

Clatter.

The amphora dropped from my hand and rolled across the floor. Flowers and leaves spilled out, blooming around my knees, and then the two shadows flickering on the temple wall slowly tilted backward.