My Brothers Are Not Villains

Chapter 2

Maiches visited me often.

It was a slight change from the past when the maid would go to announce, “The young lady has woken up,” only to return alone each time.

Now, Maiches  would enter my room ahead of the maid, as if he couldn’t afford to waste any of the time I might be awake, considering I could faint again at any moment.

He would hold my hand, which only seemed capable of releasing shallow breaths like a patient with lung disease, and chatter away about everything that had happened while I lay in bed.

Even though I hardly reacted—too exhausted to do so—sometimes I would let out a weak laugh, “Heh…” at a funny point, and Maiches seemed to enjoy even that.

“So, a week ago, I…”

Maiches  was a bit different from what I had read about in the novel.

Because of that nickname and those charges—ones that were a bit embarrassing to mention—I had thought he’d be the type to look at people seductively from the moment he was born, charming everyone around him.

But then  I saw Maiches with my own eyes was nothing like that licentious magician… Ahem, that character in the novel.

For one, he wasn’t as stoic as I had expected; he talked a lot and smiled often.

The only time I felt he resembled the image in the novel was when we were still somewhat distant from each other.

Back then, he was an eleven-year-old boy who only ever managed a crooked smirk that barely counted as a smile, but now…

“Heh heh heh.”

He had become a boy who smiled like a fool. At first, I even thought he might have a split personality…

I laughed inwardly at his expression and then, belatedly feeling a surge of injustice, swallowed back tears.

I felt so sorry for Maiches , who smiled so innocently, knowing nothing of what lay ahead.

Why did this kind-hearted boy have to bear such a cruel fate?

Maiches  … This world has set out to ruin both your life and mine. We’re in a novel that’s a tragic story just for us…

And, true to the setting of a sickly extra in a tragic novel, I fainted the moment I thought that. It was maddening…

Just like in the early life of Aiel, I drifted in and out of consciousness.

And every time I woke up, I had to work to accept the changing surroundings.

One day, the interior of my room had completely changed.

My room had always been clean, with the maids sweeping and polishing it daily, but it was a stark, white space that felt somewhat empty.

But one day, when I opened my eyes, a pastel pink ceiling filled my vision.

For a moment, I thought I had reincarnated again…

If Maiches  hadn’t quickly calmed me down as I gasped in shock, I might have actually passed away.

“This is…”

I didn’t even need to finish saying “What is this?” for Maiches  to understand and immediately respond.

“How is it? I wasn’t sure, so I decorated it with things that young ladies your age supposedly like!”

I blinked and looked around. As he said, it was just like that.

The cream-colored wallpaper, matched with the ceiling, looked soft and warm, and the newly furnished furniture in the room was quaint, white, and delicately matte.

My gaze settled on the drawer handle of the smooth, white vanity.

A small, luxurious carving of a bright red rose, encased in vivid green leaves, was nestled there.

Everything looked like a room where a cherished daughter of a wealthy family might live.

Come to think of it, the rather unsightly holy symbols and devices that had been practically keeping me alive were all gone.

They were necessary to focus the divine power and blessings from the priests who regularly visited.

“Is this… okay?”

Maiches understood and responded again.

“There’s been some progress in the research. Now, I can manage your body with my magic instead of relying on divine power. It’s probably better for me to take care of it directly than to leave it to someone else.”

Even the holy water that the maid used to pour on my body to prevent bedsores and keep me functioning was no longer needed.

Maiches  was likely telling the truth when he said the research had progressed.

After all, he’s the genius magician who, in four years, will somehow push me to the very edge of normalcy.

Lying down, I only moved my eyes to scan the room again.

And then I asked again.

“Is this… okay?”

This time, Maiches  didn’t quite catch my meaning.

“What is?”

I awkwardly glanced up at the sparkling chandelier, adorned with individually set jewels.

As far as I knew, it was still a while before the Ruedeliz family would start making serious money.

Wait, could it be? Surely, the head of the Ruedeliz family, notorious in the original story for mistreating employees, wouldn’t be skimming off their salaries, right?

“The people in this house… their wages… cough, are they being paid properly?”

Unfortunately, I fainted before hearing his answer.

I must have used up my energy faster than usual due to the emotional shock.

But I found out the answer when I next opened my eyes.

When I woke up again, the mansion had completely changed…

How did I know? The view outside my window was different.

My room was definitely on the second floor, but the view beyond the window that day seemed oddly elevated, with thick trees… or something similar.

As I wondered why our garden didn’t look that big, Maiches began to explain, looking like he had been waiting eagerly to say something.

“The research went well, so we had a lot to sell. We’re paying everyone properly, including bonuses, and we’ve got plenty of money left—more than enough.”

“Hmm…”

“I’m not that kind of person, Aiel…”

“…”

“…”

“… Heh.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Not because it was funny, but because it was cute.

As Maiches  , now looking relieved, gazed down at me, he chuckled softly along with me.

“Anyway, Aiel, don’t worry about things like that.”

I answered with a simple “Okay,” but honestly, I was still worried. How could I not be?

Everyone knew that after the death of the former Count Ruedeliz, there were plenty of people eager to carve up this house for themselves (a detail briefly mentioned in just a couple of lines in the novel).

Maiches  must have noticed the anxious look on my pale face because he gently brushed my hair aside.

“Don’t worry. Aiel… Yes, think about what flowers you’d like to plant. When we stroll through the garden later, tell me, and I’ll decorate it entirely as you wish.”

Maiches’s ash-gray eyes were pure as he said this, and his gaze had grown a bit higher.

The hands that carefully tucked me in, the shoulders that leaned slightly against the wall as he waited for me to faint… fall asleep again, grew stronger with each passing day.

Because of this, I thought quite a lot of time had passed.

I was purely guessing based on how much Maiches  had grown.

Then, on a summer day when the sunlight poured in white through the windows,

When I finally stepped out of bed and stood on the floor with both feet, I didn’t doubt that four years had gone by.

But then…

“How old am I now?”

I asked, swallowing a few times to soothe my dry throat.

Maiches , holding my arm firmly to keep me from falling, replied in a voice choked with emotion.

“Nine…”

“Nine? Not eleven?”

“Yeah… Our Aiel is nine years old.”

Maiches  gently hugged me, careful not to hurt me.

Resting my chin on his shoulder as he bent down to match my height, I blankly stared at the pale mint-colored silk wallpaper of my room (which had been redone again).

I wasn’t sure what had happened, but unlike the original story, I had started living like a person again after just two years.

“Maiches …”

“Yeah, I’m listening.”

I gently pushed against Maiches’s firm chest.

Even though I didn’t use much force, he quickly let go of me. I looked into his moist eyes.

I swear, I couldn’t find even the slightest hint of madness in them.

“…”

In that moment, I felt a foolish glimmer of hope sprout within me.

As I raised my hand to cover my mouth, Maiches, thinking I was about to vomit, quickly held a golden bowl in front of me. With one arm, he effortlessly supported my trembling body.

Embarrassed, I quietly pushed the bowl away.

It was far too shiny to use for something like that, and this wasn’t the moment for dry heaving.

“Maiches …”

“Yes, speak. I’m listening.”

The original story has changed… I swallowed those words, unable to bring myself to say them aloud.

The deaths of Count Ruedeliz and his wife flashed through my mind, as if urging me to snap out of it.

The part of the original story that I knew but couldn’t stop.

But this situation wasn’t a dream. I had stood on my own two feet outside the bed not after four years, but after just two.

This small change might seem insignificant when looking at the story as a whole. It probably is insignificant, but…

“Aiel?”

Look at him, Maiches  is so bright and pure like this.

Isn’t this… a meaningful change?