PASP Chapter 11

“Who, Levian?”

“N-No. The young lady I served before.”

“…Is that so?”

The fierce aura that had been rising at the word “who” subsided at “young lady”. This time, the lukewarm palm fiddled with Egru’s lime-green leg. The hand lightly gripping Egru’s calf slid down smoothly. D’Élysée compared his wrist to his brother’s ankle. Every part of Egru’s body was utterly unimpressive and thin.

“That’s unexpected. You didn’t do that kind of thing when I was around.”

“Le… I mean, someone I know introduced me.”

Egru deliberately refrained from mentioning Levian. It was better not to bring up topics that made his brother uncomfortable.

“Well, whatever.”

D’Élysée also seemed to be letting it slide despite knowing.

“You’re not doing it now?”

“Ah, the young lady left for another country due to marriage issues.”

“I see. Don’t you miss her?”

Egru recalled his last memory with the young lady.

“You filthy half-breed bastard! Don’t ever show your face to me again! Do you understand?”

A pointed shoe flew and landed at Egru’s feet.

“Do you know who I am? I’m from the Mayfield family! You’ve made a huge mistake! Just wait! I’ll make sure you regret this!”

Egru’s recollection ended with the young lady’s shouts. Egru answered his brother’s question with moist eyes.

“Sometimes… I miss her.”

“Didn’t you miss me?”

“Huh?”

Egru’s lips stiffened. His heart, which had been thumping steadily, started to pulse. Long-buried emotions made his blood rush through his entire body.

“I, I missed you. I missed you so much.”

His voice instantly became choked. D’Élysée merely smiled softly at the genuine emotion.

“How much did you pay for that lily of the valley earlier? Even though you have no money.”

“Don’t, don’t worry! I can afford that much!”

“Didn’t you buy it to suck up to me? So you’re one of those materialistic people too, brother.”

“It’s, it’s not like that.”

“How much.”

“Huh?”

“How much was it.”

Egru closed his mouth with an anxious expression. D’Élysée calmly brushed up his bangs and said:

“I’m not trying to give you the money back, so don’t worry and just tell me. What would I find pretty enough to give back to you, brother?”

Only then did Egru feel relieved.

“Thirty coppers.”

Though it was clearly marked as three coppers, the florist had charged thirty. When asked, he said the price was different for non-humans. As it was treatment Egru had experienced countless times before, he accepted it without complaint.

“Really? That’s more expensive than I thought. One or two coppers should be enough. Where is this place?”

“Actually, I wanted to prepare a bouquet…”

“Forget it. I know your situation all too well. You came to borrow a large sum of money just today, how could you have had any extra?”

Egru opened his mouth but no sound came out. He had nothing to say even if he had ten mouths.

“Just answer me. Which flower shop is it?”

“In, in front of the Papal Headquarters square…”

“Hmm, move your hands.”

D’Élysée unhesitatingly lifted Egru’s shirt to look at his stomach. He grabbed the entire old robe and lifted it up.

‘Hup.’

Egru reflexively tensed, puffing out his stomach. He inhaled as much tasteless air as possible. He wanted to look at least a bit bulkier in front of his brother.

“…I can feel your ribs.”

D’Élysée said. As his thick thumb gently stroked Egru’s side, the lime-green skin twitched.

“You didn’t eat anything today, did you? Because of the lily of the valley?”

“N-No. I ate a lot before coming.”

“…Really?”

D’Élysée smiled brightly. He dropped his hand, and the bunched-up robe fell heavily.

“That’s great then. I was thinking of bringing you some finger food from the reception, but I really didn’t want to go back there. The attendees were so annoying that it was hard to take even a step. It’s full of delicacies that commoners can’t even dream of, but well, you said you don’t need it. I’m really glad.”

“Of, of course! Don’t worry!”

Egru answered confidently. Seeing his brother smile so assuredly, D’Élysée somehow grew quiet. His bright green eyes rolled once.

“Why didn’t you tell me about your neck injury earlier? I was surprised at first, thinking it was an imprint.”

“It, it was nothing.”

“Right, try to understand. Our boys can be a bit too playful. Even calling you a half-breed is because of that.”

D’Élysée relaxed his hand and massaged the back of Egru’s neck.

“Don’t take it too badly, okay? It’s not that they hate you.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“When you encounter the deaths of comrades often, moral standards tend to loosen. On the battlefield, many… you know, right? Magical races and magical beasts have some visual similarities.”

Egru nodded vigorously. After a moment of silence, D’Élysée casually asked:

“Where were you all this time?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking where you lived all this time. I thought you weren’t in the district.”

“East-Easthole.”

“Ah, if it’s the slums, that’s understandable. Well, it’s a lawless zone where even proper population surveys aren’t conducted.”

D’Élysée slowly looked Egru up and down.

“But priests go there to volunteer every week, didn’t you ever receive rations? It shouldn’t be bad enough to just starve like this.”

“Rations?”

“Probably to a resident who’s something like a representative there… Oh.”

As D’Élysée stopped speaking, Egru tilted his head in confusion. After a short fake cough, D’Élysée changed the subject.

“By the way, that tailcoat under your robe, did you wear it to meet me? It’s your favorite formal wear, isn’t it?”

“Ah… you noticed. That’s right.”

Color returned to Egru’s cheeks. It was amazing how D’Élysée alone noticed what no one else had. For reference, Levian had called the tailcoat Egru had splurged on a “rag”.

“That’s unusual.”

D’Élysée rested his elbow on the bed mattress and propped his chin.

“You only used to wear that when meeting Levian. I was sent to the orphanage not long after that, I think.”

“Th-That, I’m sorry…”

Egru lowered his head. D’Élysée could certainly feel that way. After all, it was a tailcoat he had worn because of the business Levian had recommended. To not look shabby in front of the investor Levian had introduced. Although it was a secondhand item, he had bought it for a considerable sum.

At first, it had loose threads and holes all over, but he managed to mend it by sewing for several nights. He couldn’t express how happy he was. It was the first time he had such a neat piece of clothing.

“Take off your robe and show me properly, brother.”

“Do, do you really want to see?”

“Of course. I want to see it after so long.”

After hesitating for a while, Egru carefully unbuttoned his robe. He stood up briefly to neatly fold the robe and place it on the floor. As he finally climbed back onto the bed with effort, he saw his brother’s brightened face.

“You look like a little gentleman.”

“Little gentleman?”

“You look great, my brother.”

Egru’s long pointed ears perked up. It had been a long time since he heard his brother’s praise. The tips of his ears, covered in soft down, fluttered like spring butterflies.

“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this day.”

D’Élysée said, burying his forehead firmly in the curve of Egru’s thigh. At the heavily pressing sensation, Egru took a sharp breath.

“Actually, I wanted to spend time with you. Especially on a day like today, mmm.”

D’Élysée suddenly hugged Egru’s legs and curled up. Egru startled slightly. While he was trying to figure out if something was wrong, D’Élysée’s plump lips parted.

“…I think the wine I drank before coming here was too cold.”

“Oh, oh, are you okay?”

“Would I have said anything if I was okay? My stomach hurts a lot. Rub my belly, brother.”

“Oh, lie down quickly. I’ll take a look.”

D’Élysée reluctantly laid down in the middle of the bed. As his heavy body relaxed and lay flat, the mattress where Egru was sitting sank deeply before rising again. Egru, maintaining his balance, tucked the blanket tightly around his brother.

“Should I take off your uniform?”

“No. Then my stomach will get cold again.”

“But the dress pants must be uncomfortable.”

“Then should I just undo the buckle?”

D’Élysée obediently followed his brother’s words. Egru blew warm breath into his cupped hands. His palms, quickly warmed, carefully slipped under D’Élysée’s loosened uniform shirt.

Egru was initially relieved. It wasn’t as cold as he thought. Still, just in case, he massaged the abdomen in circular motions.

“Brother, wait.”

“Hm?”

“No, continue.”

“Okay.”

For some reason, D’Élysée thrust his hand into his pants pocket. As if tightly grasping and restraining something that kept trying to rise. Egru continued to warm his brother’s stomach with dedication, without stopping. He smiled brightly as the temperature under his palm rose faster than expected.

‘Th-Thank goodness. Judging by how quickly it’s warming up, it doesn’t seem to be an upset stomach.’

Egru didn’t notice his brother’s head tilting back slightly. He was focused solely on one purpose.

‘You, you can’t be in pain, D’Élysée.’

In the calm, sunken bright green gaze, Egru diligently moved his hands.