“This way, Major!”
A clear and lively voice echoed across the spacious garden. After a late breakfast, Regina had suggested showing the flower bed she’d tended. She reasoned that they had only toured the main building yesterday.
Knowing this was the pure desire of a child wanting to spend more time with someone who would soon leave, Iberis willingly followed her.
Originally, Lucas was going to join the walk, but Regina’s opposition thwarted that plan. She shooed him away, saying she would spend time alone with Iberis.
Lucas seemed slightly shocked by Regina’s rejection, as she had always been a devoted sister, following him around like a chick after a mother hen. Still, he quickly recovered, welcoming the fact that Iberis and Regina were getting along well. In the end, he sent them off, saying he had additional matters to discuss with Thomas.
“We’re here! That’s the annex!”
After proudly showing off the flower beds for quite some time, Regina offered to guide Iberis to the annex building as well.
“Oh.”
Iberis exclaimed at the sight of the building surrounded by ivy. Following Regina across the field covered with soft natural grass, he peered inside with an intrigued expression.
Blackboards, desks, bulletin boards, and lockers… The scene unfolding through the windows was identical to a classroom he’d once seen in a movie. There seemed to be a greenhouse and swimming pool behind the building too.
“It really looks like a school.”
“It is a school! Blake School!”
Regina pointed to the sign hung at the entrance of the annex. As she said, there was a cute signboard in front of the glass doors.
“I was supposed to study here with my friends today…”
Regina trailed off, tugging at Iberis’s sleeve, urging him to go inside. The two walked slowly down the quiet corridor.
“This is the classroom, that’s the art room… and if you go out there, there’s a swimming pool!”
Perhaps because the building was modest, they reached the classroom quickly. Regina stopped her wheelchair and energetically slid open the door. She went to the front row and called Iberis, who was still standing at the doorway, with a bright smile.
“This is my desk!”
“Right in the front?”
“Yes! My friends all prefer the back, but I like the first row best! I can see the blackboard well and hear the teacher clearly!”
“I see you were a model student.”
“That’s right! I study really hard! Do you want to sit down too, Major?”
Regina patted the seat next to her.
“Hmm, the chair seems a bit small…”
Iberis sat down awkwardly, wearing an uncomfortable expression. Perhaps because he had never attended school, he felt strangely out of place.
“Next time, I’ll introduce you to my friends. There’s a village where they live if you go through the forest connected to the garden… but Thomas said not to go there.”
“There’s a village within the estate grounds?”
“Yes, all the land up to the lake beyond the forest belongs to our family. My friends’ families all work at the mansion or at the company with Thomas. They built houses and live there because commuting would be difficult. The teachers’ and security guards’ quarters are there too…”
“I see.”
“Oh, there’s also a workshop, convenience store, and cafe! A few restaurants too… Thomas said the shops in the village are run by retired employees.”
Iberis let out a small exclamation of admiration upon hearing Regina’s story. He had heard that various measures were taken for security and safety, but the scale was much larger than he had thought. To think they had even built a village so people wouldn’t have to leave the estate to go about their daily lives.
“It’s a shame my friends can’t come here when we have guests. I wanted to brag about having another big brother…”
Regina clicked her tongue and glanced at Iberis. For security reasons, the children who usually studied with her and their teachers were prohibited from entering the main building yesterday and today. Even with thorough background checks and years of built trust, it was better to be safe than sorry.
However, Regina, unaware of the adults’ complex circumstances, simply found it regrettable. She had wanted to show off Iberis, who was as handsome and cool as Lucas, whom her friends admired.
“Big brother…?”
“Yes. You’re going to marry our brother, right? That means you’ll become part of our family, doesn’t it?”
“Ah.”
“Can I call you ‘Iberis oppa’ from now on instead of Major?”
Regina asked, her eyes sparkling. Although it was disappointing that she couldn’t call Iberis her brother-in-law, she decided to be content with calling him ‘oppa’ (older brother).
“Of course.”
“Hurray!”
Regina raised both arms in delight, having obtained Iberis’s permission.
“Now you can speak comfortably to me too.”
“Huh?”
“I heard from Thomas that you’re the same age as Lucas oppa. So you don’t need to be formal with me!”
“Oh, um, should I?”
Momentarily flustered by the bold request, Iberis mumbled shyly. While Regina was indeed important to him as Lucas’s sister, he never dreamed he’d suddenly have a young sister like this.
“There you go again with formal speech! I said to speak comfortably! No big brother uses formal language with his little sister!”
“Okay.”
Iberis nodded, overwhelmed by Regina’s insistence. After hesitating briefly, he gathered his courage and placed his hand on Regina’s head. Since she hadn’t seemed cold when he held her after she fell yesterday, this level of contact should be fine.
“Thank you, Regina.”
“Hehe.”
Regina grinned, feeling the gentle hand stroking her head. Then she grabbed Iberis’s hand.
“To celebrate becoming family, I’ll give you a gift!”
“A gift?”
Iberis blinked, startled by the unexpected physical contact. Then his eyes widened at her next words.
“Major, no, Iberis oppa. You’re in a lot of pain right now, aren’t you?”
“What…?”
“I know everything. Actually, I’ve been sensing it since yesterday.”
Regina spoke with a confident tone. She looked at Iberis more seriously than usual, as if measuring something.
“You may not know, but I’m an Esper. I have the ability to heal sick people.”
Regina lowered her voice as she revealed her secret. Although the adults in the family, like Lucas and Thomas, had warned her not to tell just anyone about being an Esper, she figured it would be fine with Iberis since he was her brother’s lover and new family member.
“I may not know the exact diagnosis… but if I focus and overlay mana on my eyes, I can tell if someone is sick or healthy. To be certain, I need to touch them directly like this.”
Her golden eyes, filled with mana, sparkled keenly. Regina, who had awakened healing abilities, could recognize not only visible injuries but also internal illnesses. Thanks to this, she quickly noticed that Iberis’s body was unwell when they met.
But yesterday was so hectic that she couldn’t confirm if what she sensed was correct. So as soon as she woke up this morning, she followed Thomas and questioned him persistently.
Thomas, who had a soft spot for the young lady he’d cared for since she was a baby, confirmed that Iberis was suffering from some illness, even as he told her to ask Iberis directly for details. It wasn’t something that could be hidden anyway.
“To my eyes, your body looks, umm, how should I put it… Ah, just like a broken doll. Your mana is extremely unstable too. Honestly, I haven’t seen anything this serious… since Lucas oppa long ago.”
Regina’s expression darkened as she recalled the painful memory. The night the mansion was engulfed in flames, thinking about Lucas trapped under the burning building to save her still made her heart ache.
That night, she held Lucas in her arms as he was dying from full-body burns, praying to God to save her brother. At that moment, an unknown power welled up and her body changed.
Regina, who had awakened as an Esper, instinctively used her ability to treat Lucas. However, it wasn’t enough to save him when death’s shadow had already fallen so deeply.
But she didn’t give up. No, she couldn’t give up. Desperately wanting to save her brother somehow, Regina used her ability on Lucas until she experienced mana overload. Not satisfied with just that, she even drew upon her life force. It was a miracle born from her desperate desire to save her precious family member.
Regina, who fainted after seeing Lucas regain consciousness and feeling relieved, woke up again in the hospital. And not long after, she learned that she had a permanent disability in her legs.
The doctors that Winfried and Lucas had sought out shook their heads after examining Regina. The five or six-year-old child couldn’t understand most of the explanation, but she grasped their conclusion. That she would no longer be able to walk like a normal person.
‘I’m sorry, Regina… Sob, it’s all my fault. Because I’m worthless… Hic, sniff. I’m so sorry.’
On the day she was diagnosed as untreatable, Lucas, his hair turned completely white, hugged Regina and wept. He couldn’t forgive himself for surviving at the cost of his little sister.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
