Interlude: The Bond Between Brother and Sister
FOUR days after Ernest helped her pick out a gift for Simon, Yuuri paid a visit to the Watoh Company’s main headquarters. She was there to deliver her herbal tea mixes and see Simon.
Simon was a gentle, kind man who cared greatly for his younger sister. He had some quirks, but they only helped define who he was. Yuuri understood that, but she still avoided spending time alone with him.
Thanks to Ernest’s encouragement, though, she had come in hopes of repairing their broken relationship.
“Yuuri!”
Simon charged in as Yuuri was speaking with one of the employees. He was wearing hakama as usual, but this time, they appeared to be made from hemp. He was over the moon that Yuuri had asked him to meet for once.
“Hello, Simon,” Yuuri said, dodging his embrace.
“I’ve made reservations for us. You are planning to stay for lunch, aren’t you?” Simon suggested as soon as the employee walked away.
“Yes.”
The last time she had come, she had rejected his dinner invitation outright. Today she intended to make that right.
“We’re going to a Xingkaese restaurant. It’s one I frequent, so I can assure you the food is delicious.”
As Hylant was a coveted trading partner of many nations, there were plenty of restaurants operated by people from Xingka and some of the southern nations. And several had even popped up around the Watoh Company’s main headquarters. Yuuri suspected her brother had picked a Xingkaese restaurant out of respect for her, so she wouldn’t have to worry about standing out.
“Here, Simon, this is for you. To say thank you.”
Yuuri decided to give her brother his gift. It was still a little early for lunch and the hatbox was too heavy to carry around.
“For me?”
“It’s to thank you for the hair accessories you gave me.”
Simon stared at her and, upon realizing she had her hair pulled back in the very same accessories he’d bought for her, threw both arms out and charged toward her.
“Yuuri—!”
Not wanting to suffer the guilt of avoiding him again, Yuuri accepted his very public display of affection. She didn’t think it was appropriate for two adult siblings, but it seemed necessary if they were to repair all the years of discord between them.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I can’t breathe!” Yuuri cried out, afraid if she didn’t say something, he would never let her go. Spurred by a mix of embarrassment and pain, she pushed him away.
“Ohh, I’m so sorry.”
“Go ahead and open my gift,” she said, handing him the box.
Simon delicately untied the ribbon and opened the box, lifting out the item inside. “…Oh, a hat!”
The hunting cap she and Ernest had picked out the other day had a tiny check pattern, one that looked like it would suit Simon perfectly. Though the warm knit cap was out of place with the lightweight white jacket and indigo hakama he currently wore.
“It’s supposed to be an autumn hat, so I guess it’s a bit out of season,” Yuuri pointed out, but Simon kept the cap on.
“No, this is great! Did you pick this out for me, Yuuri?”
“…Uh, well…”
“……”
“Yes, I picked it out,” Yuuri replied, selecting her words very carefully. Ernest had been the one to suggest a hat as a gift, but it was indeed Yuuri who chose the type and the pattern.
She wanted to buy it for him as a way of saying thanks. And yet, her face was guilt-ridden.
“Or was it that count who picked it out?” Simon asked, his previously sunny expression suddenly clouding over.
“Er—I mean, the count gave his input, but I was the one who picked out the pattern!”
“Oh, uh, I’m sorry, I’m not blaming you. I know I should keep my nose out of your relationships.”
“Not at all. I know you’re simply concerned about me.”
Yuuri had told neither her father nor Simon about the true extent of her relationship with Ernest—namely the fact that she had drank his blood. Simon had figured out that Ernest was a frequent visitor, though, so it was entirely possible that he had an inkling about why that was.
It was a matter of life and death, so Yuuri knew she should bring it up eventually. But she was so estranged from her father and brother that she wasn’t even sure how to broach the topic.
The impulse to drink someone’s blood hadn’t appeared right away when she became an adult. But once it did, it made her realize that she truly was a wholly different being from her father and Simon. It wasn’t exactly something she wanted to talk to anyone about.
“Shall we be going?” Simon’s eyes reflected a boundless kindness. But gazing into those eyes rekindled a colder gaze in the back of Yuuri’s mind, and so she averted her eyes.
Still she believed that she could change, little by little, with Simon’s help. She took his hand and off the siblings went.