I Was Reincarnated As The Older Brother Of A Villainess Destined to Die, So I Want To Change The Future By Raising My Younger Sister With My Own Hands. I Am The Strongest In The World, But My Little Sister Must Be The Cutest In The World - Volume 3 Chapter 6.2
“This time, my younger brother caused a tremendous inconvenience, and I apologize for it,” Weimlei said, bowing his head as he spoke.
Faced with this sudden situation, I was taken aback.
It was only natural to be surprised when I was apologized to, wondering what intentions were behind it. Moreover, the person apologizing was a member of the royal family, so it was even more unexpected for him to lower his head so casually.
I hastily tried to advise him, “Hey! Please raise your head, Your Highness. There is no need for you to bow down.”
“That’s not true. It was my family member who acted disrespectfully. It’s only natural for me to apologize as an older brother,” he replied.
“It may be the case in general sense, but please consider your status, Your Highness. Your position doesn’t allow for such a light gesture.”
“That’s why I created a situation where it’s just the two of us here. Don’t worry, there is no one monitoring me, a weak and sickly person.”
It seemed that his actions were not thoughtless. He must have considered his position and the circumstances before acting.
However, I couldn’t simply accept his words. If I were to do so, in the end, I would have no choice but to forgive the second prince, Gray. Accepting his apology would lead to that.
“Your Highness, even if you take such actions, it troubles me. I—I mean, Foranada, have no intention of showing leniency towards Prince Gray.”
It wasn’t just a matter of personal emotions. For the future of Foranada as well, I couldn’t afford to be forgiving towards Gray. I wasn’t considering any extreme retaliation like killing him, but I wouldn’t hesitate to impose some form of punishment.
Shortly after, Weimlay raised his head.
Feeling relieved that he seemed to accept my point of view, my relief was short-lived as he made yet another shocking statement.
“It seems you have misunderstood. You can consider this apology and whether to forgive my brother as separate matters. I have no intention of withdrawing your protest against my brother in exchange for this apology. I simply wanted to apologize for my brother’s misconduct. That’s all.”
What? So this is a sincere and genuine apology.
I couldn’t hide my confusion at his attitude, claiming that his apology had no value. However, there was no hesitation in his eyes, and I could sense that his words were heartfelt.
Is this guy serious?
He is a member of the royal family, and I am without any social standing. There are countless reasons for him not to bow his head… and yet, this young man disregarded all of them to take action. It was as if he was saying, “It is the duty of an older brother to apologize for his younger brother’s mistakes.”
While feeling both empathy and disbelief towards Weimlay, I asked him, “Understood. I have heard your apology, Your Highness. So, what is the reason you summoned me?”
Considering that he went through the trouble of informing me beforehand, it must be a matter of great importance.
In response, Weimlay tilted his head in confusion.
“The purpose? It was for the apology just now, of course.”
“What?”
I was dumbfounded by his response.
“So… you brought me into this room and created a tense atmosphere in the palace just for such a trivial matter?”
“It’s not trivial at all. I’ve said it multiple times already, apologizing for my brother’s misbehavior is the natural duty of an older brother. Well, it’s quite disappointing that all I can do is apologize.”
Weimlay spoke with the same seriousness in his eyes, leaving no room for doubt that he was being sincere and not putting on a facade or lying.
In other words, he genuinely invited me here solely for the purpose of apologizing.
Sigh
I let out a small sigh, trying not to be noticed.
It now seemed ridiculous that I had been on high alert, considering this invitation from the commander-in-chief of the enemy camp.
Weimlay appeared to possess a genuinely kind nature, contrary to the actions of the palace faction so far. He didn’t seem to harbor rigid prejudices, even bowing his head to someone without color. I felt that he might be suitable as the next King, not as stubborn as Gray and not as ruthless as that person… He seemed to strike a good balance.
And with that, I also began to understand his state of mind. Perhaps it would be beneficial for me to get personally involved in this situation.
At first, I had no intention of intervening. However, after experiencing Weimlay’s character, I changed my mind. I judged that it would have a positive impact on my future and Caron’s future. Above all, I was drawn to his sincerity in being able to act for the sake of his siblings without considering gains or losses.
“If you have some spare time, would you mind engaging in a little chat? As a resident of the bed, I don’t have many opportunities to talk with others.”
“Before that, may I ask something?”
I interrupted Weimlay, who had a wry smile on his face.
Without showing any particular concern, he urged me on, saying, “What is it?”
Taking a deep breath, I spoke up.
“Your Highness, you are ‘cursed by a witch.’”
Instantly, the air became icy.
Of course, it was meant metaphorically, but it felt like the perceived temperature had dropped several degrees. Weimlay’s demeanor had changed drastically.
He wiped away the cheerful smile he had before and stared at me with a completely expressionless face.
“Is that the truth?”
He implied that if I were lying or deceiving him, he wouldn’t show any mercy.
A witch is a magic user who violates taboos. Taboos are treated very seriously by religions, and it is the same in the Holy Kingdom, which has aspects of a religious state
A witch is an existence that should be despised without exception. It was only natural for him to react this way when confronted with the accusation of being cursed.
As expected, I felt no anxiety due to the unfolding situation and calmly stated only the facts.
“It is the truth. You see, I have the ability to visually perceive magic power, and I can see the pervasive black magic curse within Your Highness’s body.”
When I first met Weimlay, I was momentarily taken aback, and the cause was the curse. I witnessed the curse entwining around him like chains, leaving me breathless.
Most likely, the reason Weimlay cannot leave the bed is due to the curse. Of course, his inherent frailty plays a part, but the curse is stronger. At this rate, he is likely to die within a few years.
Perhaps his death in the game was also caused by the curse. Considering his potential as a future king, it’s not an entirely baseless speculation.
Yes, I believed that someone from either the second or third prince faction had cast the curse, and there were individuals within the palace who collaborated with the witch.
Any sensible person would immediately reject such a notion. For the Holy Kingdom, witches are natural enemies, and forming an alliance with them is an unimaginable choice.
However, considering the circumstances, I believe there is room for consideration. If it were someone from the palace faction, they could have sent cursed items to Count Putepe without leaving any evidence, and they could have used the Dark Guild to search for Nina. Above all, cursing the bedridden Weimlay would have been impossible without being inside the royal castle.
There is no evidence, but within me, it was almost certain.
Weimlay, who was gazing at me, asked, “You can visually perceive magic power. How can you prove it?”
“I have no means of proving it.”
While there are ways to prove it, revealing too much of my abilities would be excessive. The plan we discussed earlier eliminates the need to hide my abilities, but revealing everything would be going too far.
“Well, how am I supposed to believe your story then?”
“I can only leave it to Your Highness’s judgment. However, I believe it is possible to search for the source of the curse and improve Your Highness’s condition.”
Weimlay placed a hand on his mouth, deep in thought.
I had no intention of pushing him, so I decided to wait for him to gather his thoughts.
However, I had nothing to do in the meantime, so I decided to search for the cursed item that was causing Weimlay’s curse. Since I could sense the presence of the curse throughout the room, it was likely somewhere in this room.
By focusing my ability to visually perceive magic power on detecting the curse, I quickly pinpointed its location. It was inside the drawer of the table next to Weimlay’s bed, emitting a dense curse.
“I see.”
Timely enough, it seemed that Weimlay had also reached his decision. It was faster than I expected.
“Are you ready?”
“Ah, there’s no point in thinking for too long with the information I currently have.”
He shrugged his shoulders and spoke again.
“Let’s trust your words, Lord Zex. As I am now, I have no value whatsoever. If that’s the case, there’s nothing to lose by taking a gamble.”
His voice was resolute. It seemed he had made up his mind.
I nodded.
“Understood. First, let’s start with your treatment.”
“Will you be the one doing it, Lord Zex?”
Weimlay asked, with a hint of doubt.
It’s understandable for him to question it when a colorless person like me offers to perform the treatment. It is commonly known that light magic is specialized in dispelling curses.
However, there’s no problem. Even after resolving the curse of the land, I continued my research on curses. Thanks to that, I was able to independently lift the “witch’s curse” we recovered from Count Putepe’s house. If it’s a curse weaker than Putepe’s, I can easily dispel it.
“I’ll be getting closer, is that alright?”
“No problem. I have already made up my mind.”
“Very well.”
I stood up from my seat and approached Weimlay. Then, raising both hands, I chanted a spell.