135.

However, still feeling uneasy. Repeated failures now seemed to drain even motivation. What on earth should be done to resolve this? Inette. Suddenly recalling his sister’s name, he immediately swallowed dry saliva. His throat was parched.

Whether aware or not of the young master’s shallow discouragement, the soldiers gathered in every corner cheered. At that loud noise, Johannes belatedly noticed the commotion echoing in the training ground. He swept a puzzled gaze around. An unexpected crowd. Even Winfrid, who rarely went outside, appeared near the entrance of the training ground, cradled in Griselda’s arms.

“…Sometimes you need to get some fresh air…. Aren’t you curious what’s happening? Cheer up and look at your elder brother over there…”

Hearing Griselda gently whispering to Winfrid in her arms with a faint smile, it seemed she had coaxed and soothed the child who didn’t want to come out.

“I’m tired and it’s noisy…”

Winfrid complained with a sullen expression, apparently irritated by the repeated sighs from some in the crowd gathered around. The entrance behind the two momentarily stirred. Noticing this keenly, the younger brother glared with white eyes at a few knights who had just entered the training ground.

“Wow, this is…”

One knight, upon confirming the penetrating wounds concentrated in the center of the target, clicked his tongue with a somewhat embarrassed expression. He was an archer known for his skill with the bow. The boy standing next to Johannes cleared his throat briefly, “Ahem, ahem.” The boy exchanged a glance with Johannes and flashed a knowing smile.

“Didn’t I tell you?”

He finally blurted out.

“Ah, yes. You’re right.”

Johannes shook his head with a chuckle. However, his eyes soon lost their color. His face became expressionless again as he stared back at the target. In truth, the admiration from those around him was insignificant to him. After all, he was used to it.

Originally, Johannes excelled at most activities requiring skill. Even if he didn’t always stand out, he showed at least minimal aptitude. Though there was rarely an occasion to display it, this wasn’t limited to just physical domains.

Certainly, his talent appeared brilliant on the surface, but in reality it wasn’t so extraordinary. The young man simply grasped the operating principles of observed phenomena through intuition first. A kind of sixth sense, one might say.

For instance, the posture of an archer holding a longbow while facing the target.

Standing directly in a position where the demonstrating archer was fully visible, Johannes closely observed the angles of the archer’s hand, wrist, and arm as he drew the bowstring. He also checked the position of the shoulders, spine, pelvis, and heels connected to these. Thus, the scenes of the subject before him effectively utilizing the muscles of the whole body would flow into one seamless impression without any hindrance.

Johannes knew. What he needed to observe in order to achieve the result of hitting the target ‘like that archer’ in the future.

However, this penetrating knowledge, this natural mimicry, was unintentional. It was an unconscious thought process, thus a complete instinct and one of his innate talents. Moreover, with limbs not just intact but exceptional, there wasn’t even a small stumble in directly putting what he observed into practice.

He did as he saw. As much as possible, he was proficient in all sorts of skills. Occasionally, Johannes would watch knights arguing heatedly over the superiority of various sword techniques and wonder with genuine curiosity. What’s the point of all this verbal sparring?

Just master them all in this body, and that would be enough.

“Bullseye!”

Even without trying to show sincerity, the arrow flew straight and stuck, thunk, thunk, in the center of the target. Johannes confirmed the empty quiver of the boy standing next to him and then turned away without lingering. Today’s training seemed good to end with this. Though not entirely satisfying, at least there was no pain like the previous night, so it would do. He briefly bowed to the gathered retainers in response to their encouragement and loyalty.

The entire training ground had an almost ridiculous festival atmosphere. Ah, what’s so great about this? It was obvious even to Johannes that they were exaggerating in an attempt to praise the still very young heir. As a result, he felt like a clown, but he didn’t feel the need to reproach them. Well, if it pleases you. If you’re happy, that’s enough.

“Wow, young Lord Gustavus has a bright future!”

“Valdemar! Valdemar!”

Caught up in the excitement, a young soldier stomped his feet and chanted his surname.

“Valdemar!”

“Valdemar!”

What initially burst out sporadically soon coalesced into a single vibration that rumbled across the open floor of the training ground. Having already shown all the courtesy he needed to, Johannes ignored the crowd without much response and walked towards his younger brother. If he were to respond to each of his subjects’ extraordinary displays of loyalty, his voice would be the first to give out… But at that moment.

“I can’t believe you actually did it. What a heartless bastard.”

“……”

“Try harder next time. You know the shame, don’t you?”

Xavier’s mocking voice. And the pitch-black laughter of some boys rang in his ears. Johannes’s heart sank. He unconsciously turned around. It seemed to have erupted from among the retainers standing nearby. However, behind him were only familiar faces.

The vivid timbre, as if sewn into his eardrum, was chilling. Though it had the same resonance as the cheers of this bright day, the temperature difference was greater than that between day and night. A stark contrast that could kill a person thrown into that gap.

It must have been heard in the recent nightmare. Johannes instantly composed his expression. As if it were natural, he crushed the remnants of the nightmare that had just come to mind into his impassive jaw. It was his resolve not to be swayed by phantoms anymore. With his sister also confined, even a fortnight was too luxurious for his own wandering.

“I can’t stand it. Feeling good being so great alone? Let me have a try too. I want to shoot as well.”

Giovinetta.

The image of his sister, who would approach feigning disgust at the cheers for him while being unbearably proud of her brothers, shimmered like a mirage. In fact, the person who would have enjoyed this boisterous atmosphere, this praise bordering on benign flattery, more than anyone else was his sister. You should have been standing here by my side. He raised his head, trying to suppress the pain in his spine. Already at the entrance of the training ground. Right in front of his younger brother.

“You’re reading even after coming out here?”

Johannes casually glanced at the huge book resting on his brother’s chest. The soft leather binding and green gilt edges on three sides were splendid. As even the colorfully illustrated internal designs caught his eye, he felt awkward about the dusty outdoors, though he hadn’t been the one to drag his brother out.

The wavy black things must be letters. He couldn’t read them. It wasn’t particularly shameful. After all, letters are useless to a knight.

“I’m not reading.”

“Then why is it open?”

“Just because. I’m bored.”

Winfrid closed the book with an irritable gesture. His pale cheeks instantly flushed red. Oh no. I made a mistake. Johannes reflexively looked up at Griselda. As expected. Griselda was staring at him more coldly than usual with eyes colder than usual. Come on. Apologize. Why. Aren’t you. Doing anything.

This woman really has no fear. The nanny’s subtle yet definite preferential treatment, as if she had completely lost her sense of place, was nothing new, but facing such a gaze made him break out in a cold sweat anew. Johannes tore his gaze away from the nanny and tried to joke casually.

“Bored… you say. Is that something you should be saying? Who but you, as the younger brother, should appreciate the achievement your elder brother just made?”

Winfrid, who had been silently ignoring Johannes, sharpened his gaze and briefly glanced outside.

“…All of our retainers?”

“What a disappointing thing to say. No, well. It would be a lie to say I’m not very pleased, but it doesn’t hold much meaning for me. More than anyone else, you as my younger brother should cheer for me.”

“……”

“I’m serious.”

As Johannes patted Winfrid’s shoulder, came a grumbling response.

“I’m sure Giovinetta elder sister comes before me.”

“……”

Johannes was momentarily at a loss for words. His heart was inevitably pierced. The moment he heard his sister’s name from an unexpected place, it seemed his own body reacted first. Even after the unintentionally prolonged silence, he couldn’t bring himself to deny Winfrid’s sulky words. His face had already hardened.

Having already affirmed it with his body before words, there was no way to take it back now. The shoulders cradled in Griselda’s arms seemed to shrink even more. Like a smallness not expecting anything from the outside. Like a beast trapped in a cage.

Johannes pressed his chest, surprised by the strange sensation he had never felt before. It felt as if mud had piled up behind his heart. Damp and heavy. Perhaps it was something like sympathy, or pity.

“Winfrid.”

“What.”

“Please, don’t mind the nonsense I spouted.”

Johannes blurted out purely on impulse as he met Winfrid’s gaze. His younger brother frowned.

“…What are you talking about?”

“I was insensitive. I’m sorry. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

“……”

“Actually, I’m very proud of you, but I can’t do what my younger brother does so skillfully, so I felt a bit spiteful. I behaved poorly.”

“……”

“…I’m sorry.”

Johannes stroked Winfrid’s messy hair. His brother, who had already averted his gaze, kept his head bowed low. However, judging by his small ears turning red, he didn’t seem to entirely dislike it. Seeing this, Johannes felt a strange sense of relief.

“Stand up straight. You should be proud.”

Johannes moved closer to Griselda’s apron. Slightly rising on his tiptoes, he pressed his forehead against Winfrid’s forearm and nuzzled it as if pushing. The younger brother, who had been silently receiving his older brother’s warmth, mumbled hesitantly.

“…But.”

“Yes?”

“Father…”

Johannes widened his eyes and lifted his forehead.

“What did he say to you?”

“Well…”