Jansi’s eyelashes trembled faintly.

His body felt heavy.

As he regained consciousness, the feeling of his body being weighed down was suffocatingly painful. Jansi knew the cause of this pain.

He had always lived carefully controlling his power that could go wild at any moment, but on the night of the eclipse that came once every three years, it was beyond his control.

Struggling with all his might to control the power that was leaking out, he lost consciousness after seeing the sunrise…

This was the sensation he felt when he woke up the next day.

Jansi raised his heavy eyelids and stared blankly at the familiar ceiling.

The first thought that came to him was-.

‘How pathetic, I am.’

It was self-loathing.

He had remained in the camp to protect Elodie, but he couldn’t even handle his own power and only hindered everyone while trembling.

How ugly must he have looked?

As Jansi pressed the back of his hand against his eyes and let out a bitter laugh, he suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Wait.

“……Lili.”

He hadn’t immediately thought about how Elodie would have been left alone after he lost control.

He needed to confirm Elodie’s safety.

Jansi moved his body, which wasn’t responding to his will, and almost rolled off the bed.

“Lili.”

Would she have surrendered immediately? He hoped she had.

What if she had gotten hurt trying to resist unnecessarily?

But if she really had surrendered, they would have lost.

His steps were unsteady as he walked. Jansi staggered out of the bedroom and walked down the corridor.

He felt he could only calm down after seeing that Elodie was safe.

As Jansi stumbled down the stairs, he was quickly discovered by the mansion’s servants.

Their faces turned pale as soon as they saw the young master who should have been sleeping in his bedroom.

“Y-young master?”

“Young Master Jansi. The doctor said you still need more rest. Please go back inside!”

“That’s right, Young Master. Please go back and rest more.”

There was another reason why they were surprised.

He, who always compulsively buttoned up to the last button, had come out in his sleeping attire.

The black leather gloves he always wore were nowhere to be seen.

He looked so disheveled that it was hard to believe it was Jansi Perdia.

It was obvious at a glance that he wasn’t in a normal state, so they needed to send him back to his room quickly, but fearing that Jansi’s power might activate, everyone hovered around without daring to touch him.

“Should we bring the Duke?”

“But he’s out right now……”

“Then maybe the Duchess or Young Master Carlot…!”

“I-I’ll go!”

As one servant hurriedly ran out to fetch someone who could stop Jansi, they bumped into someone coming from the opposite direction.

“Ah, Miss!”

“It’s Miss Elodie!”

At the appearance of one person, the servants’ expressions filled with joy as if they had met a savior.

“I’m sorry. You see-.”

“It’s okay. But why are you all gathered here?”

“Well, about that……”

The servant who had bumped into Elodie glanced back.

There stood Jansi, staring blankly at Elodie.

“Brother?”

“Lili.”

“Is something wrong?”

“……Are you alright?”

Their voices overlapped.

Elodie carefully observed Jansi’s condition.

Jansi’s eyes were strangely unfocused, and both his cheeks were flushed.

Anyone could see he looked like a patient. Moreover, what was with that attire?

‘Is he trying to give the servants nosebleeds?’

Elodie was the only one who could take responsibility for Jansi, who was unaware of how fatally attractive he looked.

“I’m fine. It seems you’re the one who’s not okay, brother.”

“I’m fine. I……”

Jansi staggered closer to Elodie.

As he reached out to embrace Elodie, Jansi hesitated.

He was afraid.

Before, he had held her hand without a second thought, but she might have changed her mind after seeing him lose control.

Maybe she didn’t want to touch him anymore, like everyone else.

He didn’t want to confirm that.

Especially not from Elodie.

If that happened, he felt he truly wouldn’t be able to stand up again.

It was then, as Jansi was about to withdraw his hand.

“What’s this about.”

A seemingly indifferent whisper was heard, and then a warm sensation enveloped his hand.

The touch of her hand holding his was affectionate.

Soon, Elodie’s refreshing energy flowed into him.

As the aftereffects of his loss of control, the purifying power circulated through his body, making his heavy body feel much lighter.

Jansi looked at Elodie with surprised eyes.

There was not the slightest trace of fear towards him in Elodie’s expression.

Elodie was the first to speak.

“Why are you out here?”

“I wanted to check if you were okay, Lili……”

“Wow! So you came out to greet me?”

“……Is that how it works?”

Jansi’s expression relaxed.

‘It’s okay now.’

Elodie, who had given a small nod to signal the servants, gently pulled his hand.

“I heard you’re not supposed to move yet, so let’s go back inside for now.”

“……Okay.”

Like a baby bird following its mother, Jansi followed Elodie without resistance.

Despite Jansi’s insistence that he was fine, Elodie made him lie down on the bed again, tucked him in well, and pulled up a chair to sit.

Pulling down the blanket that had been covering up to his eyes, Jansi asked.

“How did the magic tower battle go?”

“Of course……”

Elodie said with a serious expression, dragging out the end of her sentence.

Did we lose? Enjoying Jansi’s bitter smile, Elodie grinned widely.

“We won!”

“We won?”

“Of course.”

At least they had won, which somewhat eased Jansi’s mind.

However, that didn’t completely erase his guilt for losing consciousness and leaving Elodie alone.

“……I’m sorry, Lili. I should have protected you.”

“It’s okay, brother. I’m not badly hurt, and more importantly, we won.”

“Still, the fact that I held you back doesn’t change.”

“That’s not true.”

“Now that my flaw has been revealed, I should step down from the heir position.”

“What?”

Jansi smiled bitterly, lowering his eyes.

“I’m not qualified. How can I lead a family when I can’t even control my own power?”

‘Oh dear.’

As Elodie had expected, Jansi was digging himself to the Earth’s core.

Probably nothing she said would get through to him.

What should she do?

How could she boost Jansi’s self-esteem?

Well, she didn’t know.

Though unsure if it would help, Elodie decided to try anyway.

“Brother.”

“……Yes.”

“Everyone has weaknesses.”

Jansi didn’t respond. Elodie continued with a bright smile.

“Even I do. You’ve seen it, right? I have no talent for physical activities.”

“……Haha.”

“But I didn’t give up. Because if you give up, nothing happens.”

“……”

“What’s important is whether you accept that weakness and become a better person or not.”

Elodie firmly grasped Jansi’s hand with both of hers.

“Now, you’ve gained the opportunity to become a better person.”

Jansi stared at his hand held by Elodie. Elodie’s words were so positive that they seemed like a dream.

The heir of Perdia.

The world’s standards for him weren’t so kind.

This incident had probably dragged the Perdia family’s reputation through the mud.

He couldn’t bear to face his parents.

Jansi bit his lip and hung his head low.

“This power is, too, much, for me…… I just can’t……”

He wanted to run away from this duty. To a remote place where no one would point fingers at him even if he lost control.

If he gave up everything and ran away, he wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. He wouldn’t have to wear a fake mask and act like the perfect heir.

He couldn’t even remember what kind of person he originally was anymore.

As if he had been consumed by the pretense.

There was no response. Yes, Elodie must be tired of him too, and didn’t want to say anything more.

But…… Elodie grasped his hand even tighter.

“I’m here for you.”

“Lili……”

“No matter how many times you lose control, I’ll stop you every time.”

Jansi slowly raised his head.

Their eyes met.

Those pale pink eyes held a strong will despite their soft color.

It was the most beautiful color Jansi had ever seen.

Jansi’s face contorted as he tried to hold back tears while smiling.

“……Why go to such lengths?”

Elodie answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Because you’re my brother.”

“……”

“We’re family, aren’t we?”

Elodie casually used the word ‘family’.

The very fact that this word came from Elodie’s mouth was deeply moving.

Because he and the Perdias had only caused Elodie pain.

Jansi had deceived Elodie, and the Perdias had neglected her.

Yet this foolishly kind child forgave everything and accepted them as family.

How could he ever repay this enormous heart?

It was overwhelming and burdensome…… but he couldn’t let it go.

“That’s right, we are family.”

Jansi pulled Elodie’s hand and pressed it to his forehead. His anxiously beating heart began to regain its composure.

Elodie was right. He had Elodie who would stop him no matter how many times he lost control.

Finally, Jansi looked straight at Elodie and asked.

“Lili. I know it’s a shameless request, but will you help me?”

“Of course.”

As if she had been waiting for just that question, Elodie answered with a bright smile.

Ah.

My adorable little sister.

He could assert that there would never be anyone more precious in his entire life.

***

The cold tea was bitter.

“Tsk.”

Gabe clicked his tongue and poured the tea onto the floor.

The expensive carpet with its antique pattern quickly became soaked.

Thud. Gabe carelessly dropped the teacup as well and looked at his conversation partner across from him, arms folded.

“It seems you didn’t like the tea. We’ve recently received some good tea, I’ll bring it next time.”

Ignoring the kind words, Gabe called out the other person’s name.

“Belissa.”

“Yes, Lord Gabe.”

“What do you think was the cause of this magic tower battle’s failure?”

Gabe was extremely irritated by the fact that they had failed to obtain the large rift.

He had believed without a doubt that they would win the magic tower battle, yet they had failed spectacularly.

Moreover, it was the best opportunity to eliminate Jansi, but they had failed at that too.

Having watched the entire situation through the communication magic tool developed by the Western Magic Tower, his anger was beyond words.

Belissa’s expression immediately darkened.

“It’s all because of my inadequacy. I’m sorry, Lord Gabe.”

Gabe looked at Belissa with meaningful eyes.

‘Surely Belissa isn’t having any foolish thoughts.’

No, that was absolutely not the case.

Wasn’t it Belissa who first suggested using Angellus’s collateral branch with amplification power to eliminate Jansi Perdia?

In the end, it wasn’t without some harvest.

They had discovered that Jansi couldn’t properly handle his own power, and that scene had even spread throughout Somnia.

The fall of the heir, huh? The Perdia family’s reputation must have hit rock bottom by now.

The corners of Gabe’s mouth curled up slightly.