Chapter 5 - I Will Prove My Worth.

The coachman seemed quite surprised to see Cassadin with me, but he didn’t mention a thing. Soon after, I heard the sound of the coachman starting the carriage.

Even after boarding the carriage, Cassadin was tightly gripping my hand while sitting next to me, with his gaze also fixed on my face.

“Are you going to let go of my hand?”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

He looked a little reluctant to let go as he slowly untangled his hand from mine. As I watched him do that, I looked at him and said with a smile,

“You don’t need to be sorry.”

“…”

“You’re part of our family now, after all.”

Hearing that, Cassadin’s ears turned bright red. Seeing such a thing happen made me laugh a little.

I knew better than anyone that he was appeasing me in order to survive right now, and he wasn’t actually feeling that way. This was already my second life, how couldn’t I know?

But that wasn’t a problem for me. It was purely because of his skills that I brought him in.

So I was going to do everything to tame Cassadin.

Until we reached the Earl’s mansion, Cassadin never took his eyes off me. Despite his intense gaze, as if he were trying to read my inner thoughts, I just continued to smile.

To impersonate a kind and innocent sister.

“We’ve arrived.”

The first person to greet me upon our arrival at the mansion was my one and only father.

My father scanned Cassadin from head to toe with his arms crossed, then he began to interrogate him.

“Aren, is this the man you were talking about?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… Is that so? What’s his name, and how old is he?”

At my father’s question, Cassadin bowed his head and answered him,

“My name is Cassadin, and I am eighteen this year.”

“I see. Can you tell me what you’ve been doing at where until now?”

“…I was a slave gladiator.”

Hearing Cassadin’s answer, wrinkles appeared on my father’s forehead.

“…A slave gladiator?”

“Yes.”

And now it was my turn to interrupt.

“Father.”

“Aren, just wait a minute. I know what you said, but a slave…?”

“Don’t you trust me? It was my choice to bring him here.”

When I spoke to him with certainty, the wrinkles on my father’s forehead deepened.

“Aren. Regardless of the situation, to bring in a slave as a younger brother, what is…”

“You told me earlier, Father. You said you’d grant me any wish as my birthday gift.”

“Hahh-”

My father’s deep sigh dug a hole into the ground.

I knew very well that I was asking an unreasonable request from my father, but knowing the future, I had to make Cassadin my younger brother.

That way, neither my father nor I would die.

Eventually, my father’s tightly pursed lips opened back up.

“Aren, I understand you mean well, but…”

My father trailed off as he looked at Cassadin with a dissatisfied expression.

‘Well, I didn’t exactly tell him I would bring a slave.’

Bringing a slave out of nowhere and asking him to be accepted into the family as a younger brother would be enough to drive anyone crazy.

But this was the best option. As far as I knew, Cassadin was the only one who could stand against Damian, the Master of Swordsmanship.

“Let’s do this, then.”

“…?”

“What if we watch over him for a few days, and if he seems fine, we shall accept him into the family. We still don’t know enough about this boy to make a decision yet.”

Father pointed at Cassadin as he spoke. When I looked at Cassadin, he smiled at me, as if to say he was okay.

And when I turned my gaze back to Father, I could see his expression was resolute, indicating this was the most he was going to compromise.

“I understand, Father.”

This was better this way. He was also going to need some time to adjust in our mansion.

“But first, I will guide Cassadin to his room, and come back.”

Upon hearing that, one of my father’s eyebrows arched up. I could read the thought, ‘Why would a slave need a room?’ written on his expression.

I grabbed Cassadin’s wrist before my father could respond with any objection.

“Let’s go.”

Cassadin blinked several times before curving his eyes and giving a soft smile.

“Yes.”

And I couldn’t help but chuckle at his discretion in not calling me ‘Sister’ in front of my father.

I took Cassadin inside the mansion, specifically to the room right next to mine. It was to make the process of taming him with love and care easier by keeping him as close as possible.

“I’ve always wanted a younger brother. Finally, this room has found its proper owner.”

I casually lied without even blinking twice. Maybe it was because I had just come back from the dead, but the lie flowed out of my mouth so naturally. And it was all because of that damned Damian.

Then I opened the door to reveal a clean and well-organized room. The bed looked big enough for several people to lie in comfortably, and the other furniture was also unmistakably new.

After briefly surveying the room, Cassadin turned to look at me and asked,

“…Can I really stay here?”

“Of course, why not? Oh, but you should take a bath first.”

I took a moment to watch Cassadin look around the room, then rang a bell to call for the bath attendants. Soon, the attendants who were to assist Cassadin with his bath entered the room.

“Make sure he’s cleaned thoroughly.”

The attendants’ eyes widened momentarily upon seeing Cassadin, but they soon started to move quickly.

“This way…”

Once I had confirmed the bathroom door was closed, I called a famous male clothing designer.

Skimming through a booklet of clothing designs, I ended up buying a large variety of clothes, figuring anything would be better than the rags that Cassadin had been wearing.

“Th-thank you!”

A grin crept up the designer’s face that he couldn’t hide.

The attendants must have also changed his clothes after bathing him, since Cassadin appeared in a clean bathrobe instead of his usual dirty clothing.

Then the designer, following my gaze, let out an odd sound.

“Gasp!”

There stood a man, radiating with an elegant aura that made it hard to believe he was a slave, though the only thing he did was bathe.

His moist silver hair shone so brilliantly that even the sun would bow its head in his presence.

The designer, seeming to have forgotten where he was, stared at Cassadin in awe.

“That’ll be all. You may leave now. Make sure the ordered clothes are delivered as soon as possible.”

“Ah, yes! U-understood.”

Only after I spoke did the clothing designer regain his senses and scramble out of the room. I just continued to look at Cassadin without saying a word, then gestured to the bath attendants to leave as well.

‘I’ll have to give them a raise.’

“…Do I look strange, Sister?”

Once the attendants left and we were now alone, Cassadin came closer to me, asking me that question.

“No, not at all.”

“…”

“Instead, the problem is that it suits you too well.”

When I answered him with a smile, Cassadin also smiled as if he was pleased. However, a shadow fell across Cassadin’s face not long after.

“Sister, is it okay for someone like me to receive this kind of treatment…?”

“Cassadin.”

I gently wrapped my hands around his that were expressing his anxiety. His long eyelashes, slightly lowered, were trembling.

“Don’t say things like that. From now on, you are my family.”

“…Sister.”

“I’ll try to convince Father, so you just rest here comfortably in your room.”

After saying that, I turned to leave the room and give him some time alone, but Cassadin quickly grabbed my wrist.

When I looked back, he opened his mouth again.

“…I will prove my worth here.”

After he said that, he let go of my wrist. Then I lightly patted his back to reassure him as I responded,

“Alright. My room is right next door. If you need anything or have something to say, feel free to come anytime.”

“Yes, Sister.”

Cassadin answered with a nod. And just as if he had never been anxious, a gentle smile spread across his face.

But for some reason, I felt a strange sense of discomfort seeing that, so I turned around and returned to my room.

‘…What was that?’

Cassadin’s actions had an undeniable elegance to them. It was to the point where I, who was well-versed in etiquette from frequently visiting the palace to heal the royal family, was impressed.

No one could have guessed that Cassadin was a slave gladiator. Even those who knew he was a slave might be hesitant to meet him now.

[…I will prove my worth here.]

Cassadin was also incredibly quick-witted. Perhaps he already knew I had a motive for approaching him.

Well, he was the man who beat Damian in a swordsmanship tournament and was the Crown Prince’s closest aide in my previous life, so I couldn’t underestimate him in any way.

If that were the case, taming Cassadin would solve that problem.

After organizing my thoughts, I headed toward my father’s office.

When I opened the office door and peeked inside, I could see Father sighing as he massaged his temples.

Making eye contact with him, Father looked about 10 years older than just a moment ago. Bringing Cassadin with me must have been a pretty big shock to him.

“Aren, a slave! I absolutely cannot accept this.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you beforehand.”

I gathered my hands together to show I had no excuse. Seeing my reaction, my father sighed even deeper.

“Do you really intend to make a slave gladiator your younger brother? I would already be having difficulty with this if you asked him to be an escort knight, but a brother! What I could do to that boy right…!”

“Father was the one who said we should wait a few days, wasn’t it?”

I explained the situation to him in a calm tone.

“Father, think about it. We have healing powers, but that doesn’t mean we can violate the national law. If war breaks out one day, you, the only male of the family, will have to go…”

“…”

“But what if we bring someone else into the family? I’m talking about someone who is talented enough to return alive from the battlefield.”

“…Aren, don’t tell me that was what you intended from the beginning, was it?”

My father stared at me in disbelief.

His ocean-blue eyes, the same color as mine, wavered precariously. Unable to meet his gaze directly, I lowered my head and answered.

“I’m sorry, Father.”

I don’t want to lose you ever again.

I swallowed the rest of the sentence back into my throat.

Even if Cassadin did participate in the war in my father’s stead, he was going to return safely anyway.

When Father didn’t respond to me for a while, I lifted my bowed head again. But when I saw my father’s face, my eyes widened in shock. There were tears welling up in his eyes.

“Father?”

When I approached Father in surprise, he wiped away the tears from his eyes with his hand.

“I’m sorry. For making you think of such matters.”

“Why are you apologizing to me, Father?”

I held my father’s hand, which he was using to wipe away his tears. It hurt my heart to see Father cry.

“The person who should apologize is me. I’m sorry for acting up, Father.”

“No, it’s not, not at all.”

My father looked at me, still with teary eyes, and waved his hand as he added,

“I understand your intentions. We’ll wait a few more days.”

“Father.”

“Could you leave me to myself for a while? I need some time to sort out my thoughts.”

My father’s hand was trembling faintly. And there was only one answer I could give in this situation.

“Of course, Father.”

Thud. I closed the office door and let out a small sigh. Looking out the window, I saw that the crimson sun had already set on the horizon, and the sky was growing dark.

It was just about this time of day when Damian stabbed a sword into my body. I couldn’t help but place a hand over my perfectly healthy heart. It was beating properly.

‘I healed your heart condition, but you stabbed a sword into my heart.’

Then, from a distance, I heard the cry of a large bird.

For some reason, the bird’s cry sounded like a human’s scream that was reminding me. Reminding me not to forget who killed me.

Even if it was just to repay the pain I felt from Damian tenfold, I couldn’t afford to lose Cassadin.

But first, I had to make sure Cassadin was completely on my side. Having sorted out my thoughts, I headed to Cassadin’s room.

Knock, knock.

Arriving at Cassadin’s door, I knocked on it with the back of my hand.

“Cassadin, are you in there?”

There was a faint rustling sound from inside the room, then, after a moment, the firmly closed door opened.

“Sister.”

The bathrobe he had been wearing was now gone. And Cassadin greeted me, dressed in a neat uniform.

“I felt a bit uncomfortable wearing just a bathrobe, so I put on one of the outfits from the wardrobe…”

When I didn’t reply, his gaze dropped slightly, as he added,

“…Does it look strange?”

How could it? There was a definite beauty emanating from his perfectly structured physique and muscular body from his years of gladiator fighting.

“No, it suits you incredibly well.”

Thinking that I should procure a few more wardrobes, or rather, clothes, I then asked him.

“Can I come into your room for a moment?”

“Yes!”

Cassadin smiled brightly, as if he were overjoyed by my request.

As soon as I entered his room, I rang the bell rope in the room. Soon, a servant came into the room, pushing a cart full of food.

Dishes that made one hungry just by looking at them were placed on the table one by one. There were potato croquettes, chicken stew and pumpkin velouté, juicy steak, and so on.

The servant who had transferred all the food looked at Cassadin’s face belatedly and blushed like a ripe tomato, then bowed her head and said,

“W-well then, I will take my leave.”

Clack.

‘Is he really that good-looking?’

Without saying anything, I inspected Cassadin’s face as he was looking down at the food laid out in front of him.

Long eyelashes that were cast downwards, deep violet eyes, a sharp jawline, and smooth, fair skin.

…He is good-looking. I felt I could now understand a little why the people were so angry when I took Cassadin from the arena.

“Sister?”

Maybe I was staring a little too hard at him, because, at some point, Cassadin was now looking at me, not at the food.

“Ah, sorry. It’s just that you’re so handsome.”

When I told him honestly, his ears blushed instantly. I glanced at him and gestured at him to eat the food, moving an indivisible spoon toward my mouth.

“You must be hungry. Go ahead and eat.”

“Is it really alright for me to…”

“I told you. I brought you here, so you’re part of our family now.”

He must still be pretty anxious, and probably not used to receiving this kind of treatment yet. I’ll have to treat him well enough that he forgets about his days as a slave gladiator.

I’ll fulfill whatever wish you have, so in return, protect me and our father, Cassadin.

“Go on, eat.”

It was only after I urged him again to eat that he hesitantly lifted his spoon. Just when I saw him take a sip of the soup, I realized the source of the oddity I had been feeling since earlier.

It was that he, a slave, was acting according to noble etiquette.