Chapter 71

Having no relatives meant having nowhere to turn for help.

The Bertholdt domain wasn't wealthy. The Bertholdt family wasn't poor, but the domain didn't bring in much income. If anything, the count's personal wealth had been going into running the domain.

The Bertholdt domain had gone a long time without a master. After Albrecht Bertholdt died, his younger brother Harold Bertholdt served for a while as proxy for the count, but that was all he was — a proxy. And before he could do much of anything, Harold Bertholdt died too.

What was left was a twelve-year-old Count Bertholdt.

His guardian, Duke Grisha Lambert, was an outsider with no tie to the Bertholdt family. As guardian to the count he did receive reports on the domain's affairs, but as an outsider — not even a relative — he couldn't step in and meddle.

Until Edgar Bertholdt came of age, the Bertholdt domain just... sat there. Doing nothing. Renting grazing land to the domain's people cheaply, selling wool, as it always had. The plans Albrecht Bertholdt had drawn up long ago for developing the domain gathered dust and then went missing.

The Bertholdt domain, never wealthy but never poor either, had turned into a poor domain by the time Edgar came down to it.

And the following year, the harvest failed. Not just the Bertholdt domain — all of Alharn, no, most of the continent couldn't escape the famine.

At last a lord had come of age, and the Bertholdt domain simply collapsed. There were no stored provisions, and nowhere to turn for help. Swallowing his pride, Edgar had asked the Duke of Lambert for aid, but he couldn't lean on him long-term.

The bad harvests kept going right up until Edgar returned to the past. Outsider or not, he'd leaned on the Duke of Lambert anyway, but with one disaster on the heels of another, even the duke didn't have much to spare.

The whole kingdom, the whole continent, suffered under an unprecedented run of disasters.

"Edgar?"

"...Edwin."

Edgar took hold of Edwin.

He couldn't tell his little brother the whole of it. Taking up the count's title after their father was on him, and shouldering what came with it was on him too.

He pulled Edwin closer. Edwin seemed to hold out for a moment, then let himself be drawn in easily.

Edwin had already suffered plenty because of Edgar's stubbornness. Edgar didn't want to walk that road again. He wanted to prevent his uncle's death, and this time he wanted to be a proper adult about it.

Like his father.

You couldn't run away and become that.

"This time, I'll..."

Edwin's eyes went round. Edgar could feel his surprise, but he didn't push Edgar's arm away. If anything, Edwin broke into a wide smile and hugged Edgar back.

"I'll protect you."

"You'll protect me, Edgar?"

"Yeah."

Edwin chuckled. His breath tickled Edgar's ear.

"Okay. I'll protect you too, Edgar."

Coming from a child, it was almost funny to hear.

Even so, Edwin held Edgar's face in his small hands and made him look at him.

"Nothing's changed, right?"

"..."

"Because I'm always protecting you, Edgar."

Meeting those blue eyes — too serious for a child — Edgar's mouth went dry.

Now that he really thought about it, what had Edwin been thinking, listening to him all this time? Edgar nodded slowly.

He hadn't told Edwin about the fall of the Bertholdt domain, but this clever boy had probably guessed even what Edgar was hiding.

If everything had gone well, he'd never have made the resolution to return to the past and correct his mistakes.

"All right."

Everyone had mistakes they wished they could erase.

But not everyone got a chance as miraculous as this. Edgar didn't think he deserved a chance like this... but even so, he wasn't going to give up the one he'd been given.

"Let's protect each other."

At Edgar's words, Edwin's smile grew even brighter.

"Yes!"

Edwin tilted his head and added,

"Uncle too."

Then he added, hastily,

"And Nabi."

That part was the child in him.

Well — he was a child, after all. Edgar grinned and nodded. His cheek, still caught in Edwin's hand, went warm.

"Yes, yes."

"Hmm..."

There couldn't be anyone else left to name, but Edwin was working his lips, thinking it over.

Anyone Edwin knew...

Mattheus? Günter? Linda or Leona might come up. Lately Benito Vogel, the magic researcher, had also caught Edwin's interest.

But Edwin came out with a name Edgar hadn't seen coming at all.

"What about Grisha Lambert?"

"The Duke of Lambert?"

"He's Uncle's friend."

"..."

Edwin waited for Edgar's answer with an innocent look.

Maybe the Duke of Lambert wasn't as suspicious a man as Edgar had thought. But.

Edgar looked at the portrait of Waldemar Alharn, smiling gently. Or maybe he was even more suspicious. The Duke of Lambert.

But as long as they were in the capital, getting tangled up was a given. As long as Edgar was living in this house, and his uncle was on such easy terms with the Duke of Lambert.

"Depends on the situation."

"Hmm. You're not going to say we won't need to help him?"

"You never know."

Edgar made the very practical point.

"And what could we even do?"

"Ah. That's where you go with this?"

Edwin wrinkled his nose.

"What? A proper adult wouldn't ask a kid to protect him."

"Don't get realistic on me here!"

Edwin, sulking, stretched Edgar's cheek.

"Edwin!"

"Ugh, when's Uncle coming back? I want a snack."

Edwin darted off, but Edgar caught him and pulled at his cheeks in return.

Linda came out at Edwin's shriek to see what was going on, and shook her head at the sight of the two boys rolling around on the floor. Only a sheepdog joined in, tail whipping happily.

---

"Heh heh heh."

Edgar backed away, wary of Edwin approaching with a suspicious smirk. It had been going on for days, ever since the conversation in the gallery.

Edgar looked at Edwin. Edwin gave a wide grin.

"Ed-gaaaaaar."

"What's going on with you lately?"

"What do you mean?"

Edwin threw himself at Edgar. Clinging to his back, he mussed Edgar's hair up thoroughly and poked at his cheeks. Edgar snapped and shouted, but Edwin didn't care.

If anything, he was enjoying that too, and burst out laughing.

"Would you stop, this—!"

"It's just — when did our Edgar get so grown up!"

"What are you talking about?"

Edgar shouted, exasperated.

"I'm older than you!"

"Are you, thoooough?"

Edwin drew the words out and played innocent.

"Obviously!"

Edgar had fifteen more years of memory than Edwin.

"But we're twins."

Edwin said it easily.

Their father had said that since they were twins anyway, it didn't matter who was born first. So Edgar and Edwin didn't know which one of them had come first. If they really wanted to know, they'd been told, they could when they were older... and honestly their father was right. Order of birth didn't matter.

But that was one thing, and this was another.

"Really, Edgar. You still can't sleep without your stuffed toy."

"That's—!"

Even when he fell asleep without it, the bear was next to him when he woke up.

Edwin was the one putting it there. Edgar had never taken it to bed himself.

Having the bear did make him feel better, of course. Between Edwin's teasing and his uncle's laughter, he couldn't very well deny it any longer. But it wasn't about the bear itself — it was that the small motion of his fingers was, surprisingly, a help in settling him.

It absolutely wasn't the childish thing Edwin was making it out to be.

"But you've gotten so big now, Edgar... really, when did you grow up so much? Aww, how impressive."

"That's what I'm saying—"

Even knowing perfectly well that Edgar had returned from the past, Edwin smiled fondly and patted Edgar's head.

Who'd been born first they didn't know, but mentally, he was older. Just as Edgar was about to lose his temper —

"Ha ha ha."

His uncle, who happened to be coming out into the garden, saw them and burst out laughing.

Edwin seized the moment, looking triumphant.

"We're twins, so birth order doesn't matter! Nobody even knows who came out first."

"..."

Edgar's mouth worked silently, then he whipped around to look at his uncle.

"Uncle! Uncle, do you know who was born first?"

"Hm?"

"Between me and Edwin. Do you know, Uncle?"

"Uh... ah, you don't know?"

Meaning his uncle did.

Edgar's eyes lit up. He almost asked who had been born first — then it hit him that the answer might be Edwin.

He could barely handle Edwin as it was...

"Edgar? Curious?"

"...No!"

Edgar shook his head. And, surprisingly, Edwin did the same.

"We're twins, so that's all that matters."

"That's right. Making one of us the older brother over a few minutes is just silly."

Edgar and Edwin closed ranks and answered in perfect agreement, as though they hadn't been fighting and squabbling right up until Harold walked out.

Edgar tugged at Harold's sleeve, then his eyes went round. At home his uncle didn't bother with a waistcoat or coat, just wore something easy. He only put on a coat when he was going out.

Today, though, his uncle had even put on a tie and waistcoat. There was a snowflake-shaped brooch on the coat's lapel. Edgar hadn't thought his uncle was the type to wear accessories — where was he going, dressed like that?

"Uncle, are you going out again?"

"Huh? Oh! Uncle, where are you going?"

"There's something I need to..."

Harold smiled awkwardly and stroked Edgar's and Edwin's heads.

Of course he had somewhere to be. And... Edgar narrowed his eyes and fingered his uncle's coat. It wasn't one his uncle wore often. Much finer cloth.

Where was he going, dressed in something like this?

"Are you leaving us behind again?"

Edgar muttered, pushing his lower lip out as far as it would go.

"What? No, no, Edgar!"

Fortunately he had that teddy bear on him. He was used to it by now, and he buried his face in it. The brown fur tickled his dry cheeks.

"Kuk, hck."

Catching on to what Edgar was doing, Edwin started coughing beside him. Edgar caught the laugh mixed in with the coughing and shoved him with his shoulder.

Then he got a grip and pretended to hug the bear even harder.

"But..."

"Uncle has a really, really important appointment... okay? Uncle isn't leaving Edgar and Edwin behind, it's just..."

"..."

"Snacks — um — should Uncle bring back snacks?"

Did he think snacks solved everything?

Edgar sniffled and sighed. There was no point holding on like this. Edgar lifted his head. His uncle looked visibly relieved.

"Next time, we're coming too."

"Huh?"

"We want to go with you."

Edgar looked up at Harold with entirely dry eyes.

His uncle, as always, bent down to meet Edgar at eye level and nodded.

"Not today, but next time, we'll all go together."

He'd asked, but he hadn't thought his uncle would actually agree.

"...Really?"

"Really."

In the end Edgar stood beside Edwin and saw their uncle off. He hadn't taken a horse — it was a royal guard carriage this time.

Only after the carriage had disappeared from view did Edwin let out the laugh he'd been holding in.

"You used to hate this!"

"..."

"Getting a little too comfortable, aren't you?"

Edgar's face flushed as he clutched the teddy bear tight. Edwin, as if he couldn't help himself, poked at the bear in Edgar's arms.

"I thought you were all grown up. Still a baby, huh, Edgar."

Edwin said all sorts of odd things regularly, but there was something in his tone this time that Edgar couldn't quite put a finger on.

Instead of flaring up and lunging at Edwin, Edgar looked at him, puzzled.

Edwin just smiled.