Chapter 124 - What happened with Brother?

After all that, the drama finally subsided.

With the help of my sister-in-law and servants, Enzo finally managed to come to Elendale while I was busy with other tasks such as taking care of the dragon cub.

“Hey, Ruby, I was worried about you, but your face is glowing! That’s nice to see, oi! How long has it been!”

As soon as he arrived with the Pope’s delegation, he sneaked out to the entertainment district. Despite the fact that he was dragged away by the city guard, there was no sign of embarrassment on Gonfaloniere’s face.

I almost felt motion sick as he swung me around ,hugging me brightly.

He was still the same.

“Come on in… Isn’t it cold?”

“What do you mean? I thought I was going to freeze to death as soon as I arrived! Wow, but it sure is exciting to see snow after so long. It snows so much! It’s a much more romantic place than I thought.”

So romantic that you went to places like that while you were freezing to death?

I had to avoid seeing the look on my father-in-law’s face.

As for King Feanol, he just had no expression.

He seemed to have given up on understanding what was happening these days.

After some formal greetings and procedures, I had a moment alone with Enzo.

It was a sunny afternoon and the snow stopped just in time, so we walked along the promenade to the palace garden.

While Enzo was admiring the lonely appearance of the moon tower, which was almost done getting restored, I blanked out looking at the half-bloomed camellia.

“I think everyone here has a scary impression. Is it because it’s a cold country?”

“As soon as you came, you played around in a strange place and had to be dragged back, so I don’t blame them for acting cold to you.”

“Hey, I wasn’t dragged here. And it’s not a strange place, the butter liquor here is so good that I wanted to visit pubs…”

“I heard you were found busy in a gambling den. And you call yourself my older brother?”

“I-I was just watching, just watching! I am the Gonfaloniere of Romagna, and observing the traditions and customs of the people ….”

Enzo, who was saying some nonsense, suddenly looked at me with a serious look on his face.

The playfulness disappeared from his sad eyes.

“Hey, what happened with Brother?”

“Well, what did you hear?”

“I didn’t hear anything in particular. Brother never confides in me. I went to see him after a long time but he was fighting hard with Father about what happened. No, can’t call it a fight. Father almost killed him. I’ve never seen him get so mad at Brother before. It was hilarious. You should have seen it.….”

“So what did Father say to you while sending you here?”

“Huh? To me? I don’t remember. I don’t know if it’s because I’m still sleepy. I only remember him repeating his nagging dozens of times, like damn it, I’m not a baby.”

“…….”

“Oh, I think it was something like appeasing you and making you forgive your brother. If you accuse our family in any way, we’ll all be in trouble together……. Oh, I don’t know why he was telling me to do all that, I can never handle the stress!”

If the Pope saw Enzo now, he would surely want to choke him to death.

Why was I trying not to laugh?

“Anyway, what happened to you both? I think he did something wrong to you, or did he have a fight with your husband? ……Oh! Yes, he mentioned that too. Your husband did something to Brother. So did they really fight? Who won? Why did they fight? Damn it, I should have seen it!”

Should I say that my father-in-law who came to stop them won?

This guy was too enthusiastic. My ears hurt already.

“Somehow Brother looked a little sick.”

“Sick? What do you mean?”

“Not mentally sick, but he definitely didn’t look well. Did your husband do anything to him? Did you see them fighting? What happened in detail?”

Cesare was not a weak man, and certainly not a man who showed off his illness.

I suddenly remembered that moment of intense conflict I witnessed in the mirror room.

The collision between the Carnage and Shield, and even to me who didn’t know anything at that time, Carnage was a formidable sword.

The Cardinal’s shield was almost broken.….

Like Enzo said, maybe it wasn’t mental, but did he get some internal injuries?

It would be a good ending if he died after falling sick, but if it was that fatal, the Pope would have mentioned it earlier.

Or did Enzo forget about it?

It would be nice if he paid for what he did in the North.

When I didn’t answer anything back, Enzo realized that the atmosphere was a little unusual, so he quietly lowered his voice.

“Hey, why aren’t you saying anything? Did Brother try to force you to divorce him? But you don’t have to be mad at me just because of Brother, right?”

“Of course not. I just don’t have anything to say.”

“What? Why? Whyyy? I have a lot to say and a lot to hear-“

“I can’t trust Father or Eldest Brother right now. Same goes for you. Whatever Father wants, it’s none of my business anymore, so don’t expect anything.”

There was silence.

While I was facing him with a smile on my face, Enzo stared at me with a face that was a mix of dazed and lost.

Then, at last, he shouted.

“You really got married!”

“…….”

“Sorry, sorry, I just thought you were still my little sister. But can’t you cut me some slack? Now you’re from someone else’s family and I’m still not used to it, because Father and Brother have made you go back and forth so much…”

“That’s just how it is. But it doesn’t mean I don’t like you.”

“So you don’t like Father and Brother?””

“Would you, if you were me?”

Enzo seemed to be thinking about something in his own way, scratching his disheveled ginger hair for a moment.

What kind of strange thing was this man going to say now?

“I don’t know. To be honest, I wasn’t as close to you as Brother was, and you two were always close to each other since you were young. Should I say that I didn’t have time to join? I think that’s why I kept going outside as a kid. It was not someone’s fault, but it’s just that we didn’t know each other well and I didn’t have anyone’s company.”

“…….”

“Even if I don’t say anything, Brother always complains that Father unnecessarily gives work to a fool like me. It’s not that I didn’t know, I can see how much he hates me just by looking at his eyes. I thought it would go away if I acted a little cute… Anyway, you trust your husband, right? Your marriage seems to be working since you are in a position where you can’t even talk about such matters. I remember Father talking about you getting married soon but I thought it’d be more comfortable since you wouldn’t have to do the housework anymore. Ahhh, it hurts to use my brain so much….”

“I knew it was too much.”

“Wha? Wait, wait, I was going to say something… Oh right, so I only know what it looks like on the surface. You always looked happy without any complaints. Especially since you were sick at that time, I didn’t disturb you.… Honestly, sometimes I was scared of you.”

“You were scared of me? In the past?”

“No, ever since you got sick. I think it’s weird to say, but sometimes you seemed like a person with no feelings. You laughed and cried the same way, but strangely, it felt so empty……. Damn, I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were actually blaming our family even now. Even if you think I’m a fool who doesn’t deserve to be called your brother, I deserve it.”

“I told you it’s not that I don’t like you.”

When I said it in a joking tone, his awkward deep blue eyes stopped moving around and looked straight.

I decided to cut him some slack.

“So what do you want to know now? Tell me that first.”

“What do you mean, don’t you know what I want to know?”

“I don’t know.”

“What, were you always this sly? Ah…. Ahem, I honestly don’t know much, but I just want to be aware of what Brother did to you. It’s not like I can do anything, but tell me, did he hit you while arguing with you?”

“Didn’t you know? Or did you hear it and forget it?””

“…Hey, seriously…?”

“There’s nothing to be surprised about, it’s not the first time. Not once or twice.”

“What? Why would…”

“You always complained that you were beaten by Father, but I was no different. Yet I didn’t cause any trouble outside like you did.”

“……are you kidding me? He did that-“

“I don’t care if you believe it or not. It was the same for Eldest Brother. Anyway, you saw it right, in fact, I did blame you all.”

“…….”

“Well, I’m a stranger to that family now, and am completely an Omerta. So we’ll negotiate as much as we can to our advantage. No matter how much the Pope has talked about the importance of family, I am no longer a Borgia.”

Silence fell.

A bird flew away from the tree overhead, spraying snow.

Snowflakes fell and landed on his ginger-colored hair.

Nevertheless, Enzo only looked at me without even moving.

It was funny that his eyes and mouth were equally spaced out.

“……do you hate them?”

“What?”

“Do you hate Father and Brother?”

What if I do? What if I don’t? Ah this man is just…

“No, I don’t have any feelings. Just as Brother pointed out.”