“Sister.”

A young man peeked out from behind the returning maid.

He was my younger brother, Theodore, sixteen years old.

He was a dark blonde with the same color as me.

With a well-shaped face.

His blue almond eyes were kind and gentle.

 

“Good morning. How are you feeling?”

“Uh, yeah…I’m fine.”

Theodore had a chair brought to the bedside, sat down, and received a tray of soup from the lady in waiting. He slowly stirred the contents, took a spoonful and brought it to his mouth.

“Okay, the heat seems just right.”

He took another spoonful of the soup and offered it to my mouth.

“Here you go.”

This is…

“Hey, aren’t you going to eat it?”, Theodore smiles at me.

“Yes, um…”

“Okay, aaaah…”

—Wait a minute. Why is my brother making me eat the soup and not the lady in waiting? It’s too embarrassing!

Even though he’s my younger brother, to be honest, he feels like a stranger to me right now…or rather, siblings wouldn’t do something like this in the first place, right?!

I looked at the maids as if to ask for help, but before I knew it, they had moved to the corner of the large room and were standing by the wall with their eyes downcast. It was as if they had become a wall….

“Sister—Xia.”

Suddenly, Theodore called my name and brought his face close to mine.

“It will get cold, eat quickly, okay?”

So close, so close to my face! Why did he bring his face so close to mine that I could almost breathe on it?

Theodoro, who was staring at me with a smiling face as I was unable to move due to surprise and shame… furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to eat?”

“Oh, um…I’ll eat it myself…”

“No, you can’t do that, you don’t have enough strength in your arms yet. It would be dangerous if you spill it.”

That’s true, but!

I was about to send my gaze to the wall, thinking at least to the ladies in waiting, when I was suddenly grabbed by the chin.

Theodore forced to open my mouth with his fingertips, then inserted a spoon to pour the soup into my mouth.

“Look, you didn’t eat it fast enough, so it got cold.”

The soup that went down my throat did indeed feel a little cold.

“Next time, open your mouth properly yourself.”

With that, Theodore scooped the soup again and brought it to my mouth.

“……”

If I don’t open it, it will be forcefully poured down my throat again.

I opened my mouth in resignation, and this time the moderately warm soup slid down my throat.

With a satisfied smile on his face, Theodore brought spoon after spoon.

After he had feed me the soup, he picked up one of the items on the plate next to the bowl of soup with his finger.

“The soup alone won’t help you regain your strength,” he said, “So you should eat some fruits.”

A small red, glossy fruit, I think it was called…berry.

“Okay, aaah!”

I opened my mouth as he urged me to, unable to refuse. As I bit into the berry, the sweet and sour taste filled my mouth.

“Is it good?”, Theodore asking me that as he put one in his own mouth,

“Yes, it’s very sweet and tasty.”

After alternating between the fruits in my mouth and his own until the plate was empty, Theodore stood up with a satisfied look on his face.

I thought I would finally be released….

He handed the tray to the lady in waiting, then in place took a napkin, and when she returned, Theodore tried to wipe my mouth with it.

“I could have done that myself…”

“That’s fine.”

He even had to wipe my mouth…!

Before I could try to escape, my mouth was wiped.

…I can’t believe my younger brother would do something like this to me.

 

 

 

“Sister? Your face is red… Has your fever risen again?”

His large palm touches my forehead.

———It’s more because I’m embarrassed than because I have a fever.

Even before he lost his memory…was he treating me like this?

At this age…normally, a boy wouldn’t get along so well with his sister. Even that girl…

—usually? That girl?

I… who was I comparing him to?

“Sister? Are you sure you’re okay?”

The worried face of my younger brother appeared right in front of me, and I came back to my senses.

“Ah, yes…”

“Get some rest, okay?” Theodore gave me a sweet smile as he gently stroked my head.