“Sharon! Ah! Grkhhh!” Al awoke from his nightmare drenched in a cold sweat, but he immediately recoiled from the throbbing pain in his back.
“Is this... my room?”
Battling his terrible headache, he tried to recall what had transpired before he got into his bed.
“Oh, that’s right.” He remembered reaching out for Sharon, but nothing after that. More specifically, nothing after Sharon declined his help.
“So, what should I— Huh?” He spotted Cecilia by his bed, dozing off. She’d probably spent several days and nights nursing Al, as he could clearly see dark circles forming under her eyes.
“Thank you, Cecilia.” He gently pet her head, being careful not to wake her up.
“Nh! Hehehehe, don’t be so rash, Al... Mhhh...”
I wonder what kind of dream she’s having.
Seeing Cecilia’s delighted smile, Al’s face also bloomed into a smile.
“Mhhh, nooooo! Al... we’re siblings... Nahhh! ♡ Not there... Ah, stahhhp... Ahhhn!♡ Jeez... You naughty little boy...”
Seriously, what sort of dream is that? Al felt betrayed by his previous, soothing feelings triggered by Cecilia’s sleeping face.
“I always have to rely on others to save my neck.” Al thought he had finally become more competent as a king, but based on his recent actions, that wasn’t the case. He’d once again let his emotions control him, leading him to run headfirst into battle and have the tables turned on him.
“That is not true at all!” While he was blaming himself, Cecilia awoke from her slumber.
“When did you wake up?”
“When you said, ‘Thank you’.”
“Yeah, right! I’m sure you were awake all along! Urgh!”
A sharp pain ran up his back as he overexcited himself.
“Oh my, calm down! I closed your wounds, but you haven’t fully recovered yet!” she said as she expertly undressed Al to check on his wounds.
“You didn’t mindlessly charge into battle against Freiya. You were fulfilling your duties as king.”
Cecilia’s calm explanation left Al with a couple of questions, the first of which being if she was biased toward him. After all, they were siblings, and the care she showed him didn’t go unnoticed. But instead of confirming his suspicion, Al used his chance to say what had been on his mind for several days.
“Then you should rely on me, too. I noticed that you’ve been feeling down lately. Is there anything on your mind?”
“Oh my, really? Well, yes, very much so! The bill I handed you the other day—” Cecilia averted her gaze after a moment of thinking and started talking.
“You don’t have to lie to me. I always have my eyes on you, so I know when you’re telling the truth.”
For the record, he meant that as her brother, nothing else.
“Eep! Y-You’re... always watching me!?”
That small detail went right past Cecilia, of course, but Al decided to go along with the slight change in nuance and nodded to further the discussion.
“Oh my, I never thought you would see me as a woman.” Cecilia was getting more and more flushed, which led Al to the conclusion that the conversation was going further off the rails than he originally anticipated.
“Anyway, please, tell me if anything happens! I may be unreliable, but we’re siblings!”
Cecilia looked into Al’s eyes with a smile.
“Oh my, you’ve grown quite a bit, haven’t you? I will cherish my memories of the days when you were running after me.”
Wait, I don’t remember anything like that. Al couldn’t bring himself to deny that dazzling smile.
“My goodness. Now that you’re all grown up, I want nothing more than to push you down on the bed and partake in some... adult activities. I will restrain myself, however, and explain what happened.”
Proposing something so normal for siblings was strangely abnormal coming from her.
“Keep calm and listen to what I tell you. You collapsed on the battlefield and have been unconscious for two days. During that time, Freiya declared war on us. Their reason was our alleged restriction of the Freiyan Diva and our attack on the prince of Freiya.”
Her words helped Al remember some of the events, but they also raised numerous questions.
“How should we proceed after this?” Cecilia asked in a kind tone, paying extra heed not to blame Al.
“I’ll do what I feel is right,” he said, staring straight into her eyes. “I’ll save Sharon and fend off the Freiyan invasion! I can’t do that alone, of course; I’ll need all the help I can get. Would you please lend me your strength?” He phrased it like a wish, but in reality, it was only his cowardice talking.
“Oh my, have I ever declined any of your requests? Of course I haven’t! I’d gladly throw myself into a smoldering pit of fire, the depths of the ocean, or even the comfort of your bed!”
She had never denied a request from him before. Her answer was slightly uncanny, but Al showed his genuine appreciation for her undying support with a smile.