The boy pressed his forehead. He appeared to be trying very hard to remember, but there was no way that he could. Then he said to Sigurd, “Your name.”
“Huh?”
“What’s your name?”
“I…” He couldn’t tell the truth and say his name was Sigurd. That was a name for someone from the royal family. Now that he had explained that the royal family had black hair and black eyes, he couldn’t possibly claim he was also a royal since his hair had turned white and his eyes red from the experiments. It would make him seem suspicious.
A common boy’s name in the kingdom came to mind. “I’m Richard.”
This was when he abandoned the name Sigurd.
“Richard.” The boy gazed at Sigurd—no, Richard. After mulling this over for a bit, he said, “…I don’t necessarily believe everything you say.”
Richard waited for the boy to continue. He felt like he was waiting for an axe to fall.
“So make me believe. If you are my light, then guide me. If you cannot, then I will burn you to death.”
“Leave it to me, Your Highness,” Richard replied respectfully. From now on, he would pretend to be a servant.
“Richard, what should I do?”
“First, we should head back to the castle. Your retainers are awaiting your return.”
If Sigurd had gained the incredible Power of God, the people of the castle would certainly grant him a warm welcome back. The boy’s hair and eyes were black, so it wouldn’t be hard to pass him off as a member of the Siegfried family.
“All right. Well then, take me to the castle.” The boy started walking off.
Richard just about let out an automatic sigh of relief. He had made it out alive.
But then the boy turned back to him. “Richard, you haven’t answered my question.”
“Wh-what is it…?”
“My name. What is my name?”
Richard had absolutely no reservations about giving up his name. It had originally belonged to a foolish king, and he had already thrown it away. “You are Sigurd. Sigurd of the Siegfried family.”
This was how the boy became Sigurd, and Sigurd became Richard.
The reigning king was not Brunhild’s brother.
Richard was her true brother.
And Brunhild was completely unaware of this.
Just as Richard anticipated, Sigurd was welcomed back at the royal palace because he had manifested the Power of God. Nobody noticed the switch. This was partly because the real Sigurd had never grabbed much attention in the first place and partly because the boy looked very similar to Richard’s old appearance. It wasn’t difficult to make everyone around believe the boy was Sigurd of the Siegfried family.
It was a problem Sigurd had killed all the scholars at Etherium, but they swept this under the rug; for when they sent Sigurd to an Eden as a test, he managed not only to defeat a dragon but bring it back alive. This seemed worth the death of those scholars, so the matter was settled.
When the two boys returned to the castle, Brunhild came out to welcome them. She had grown into quite the lovely girl in Richard’s three years of absence. She appeared to have been anticipating her sibling’s return. As her brother, nothing could have made him gladder. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and stroke her head.
“Welcome home.”
Brunhild hugged her brother. But the one she embraced was not Richard.
She clung to Sigurd, who had replaced him.
It was no surprise she couldn’t tell who her real brother was. Richard’s appearance had drastically changed in the span of three years. His hair had turned from black to white, and his eyes from black to red. The voice that came out of his singed throat was hoarse, and between puberty and the experiments, his face and height had also changed.
Meanwhile, the color of Sigurd’s hair and eyes and the shape of his face resembled very much the boy Richard had once been. There were some differences in the details, but people chalked that up to three years of aging.
Richard wished he could have told his sister his true name, if it were possible.
But there was no way he could do so. He was the only one who knew the current Sigurd was an impostor. If he were to blurt it out without thinking, then he would put himself and his sister in danger. Besides, with how he looked, people wouldn’t believe him anyway.
Richard could only watch his sister embrace Sigurd.
“What’s with this girl? How creepy.”
Even when Sigurd shoved Brunhild away after she tried to hug him, he could only watch.
After that, Richard would always approach Brunhild as Sigurd’s servant.
Those days were very trying but also filled with joy.
On that day when he had been prepared to die, he had wished to see Brunhild once more. Though his relationship with her had changed, he was able to spend time with her again.
And there was more to rejoice over. Brunhild grew more attached to Richard. She didn’t seem to sense he was her brother at all. But that actually made him gladder. That she would become attached to him without knowing his identity conversely meant her love was true.
But those happy days did not last long. Some time after Richard returned to the castle, Sigurd said to him, “That Brunhild is an eyesore.”
Brunhild did not grow attached to her new brother. Being a sensitive girl, perhaps she sensed something was off about the new Sigurd.
And for his part, Sigurd must not have felt Brunhild was his sister, either. She was a complete stranger to him. And because she kept him at arm’s length, he did not have the opportunity to grow attached to her.
Additionally, Sigurd was extremely mentally unstable at that time. The experiments he had undergone in Etherium had left him unable to control his emotions. He could get upset and try to kill Brunhild at any moment.
“Brunhild doesn’t seem like my sister at all. She’s unpleasant. There should be no issue killing a talentless fool like her.”
“No, that will not do. Killing a family member will besmirch your honor as king.”