NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 136 - 39. Lately, There's Been a Story (1)
Carl’s expression slowly changed after hearing her last question. At first, she was surprised, but in the end, she noticed his eyes became sad, resembling hers.
“That’s not true.”
“Lie!”
“I really mean it. Because…”
“How can I trust someone as greedy as you…?”
The arguments flared up again when things seemed to have calmed down. This time, Carl suddenly made a loud noise. This was because he felt he needed to explain before Fanora became sadder.
“Europa is not what I was looking for!”
“!?”
“I can explain everything. So please listen, Lady Fanora.”
He was worried about Fanora’s physical condition. He thought her condition might deteriorate again if her body temperature rose after getting angry, so he decided to reveal everything.
“If not Carl, then who?” She asked back slowly with a tearful gaze.
Carl looked into her eyes and continued his next words with difficulty. “…To my sister-in-law.”
“…?”
“I’ll give it to my sister-in-law.”
If it’s his older brother, there’s one person she remembered. Fanora thought of the second son, Carlos, whom she had met at Andras Mansion.
“If it’s Carlos’s wife…”
“Not my second brother.”
But the answer that came back was unexpected.
Carl stroked his face with a dry hand and spoke in a subdued voice. “My oldest brother.”
Come to think of it, Fanora has never heard of Andras’s eldest son. It was strange though. The eldest daughter, second son, and even third son all have a reputation, but why is the eldest son never being mentioned?
“I wanted to give the holy relic of eternal life to my deceased eldest brother’s wife who is dying.”
The reason was not difficult to see.
Soon, Carl continued speaking with a look on his face that seemed to recall the past.
February 15, 4XX.
18 years ago, a boy was born into the Marquis Andras family. The child was given the common name ‘Carl.’ When he grew up, he had red hair and red eyes as if to prove that he was of the same lineage as them.
“Older Brother!”
It was also natural for him to inherit the temperament of the late Marquis.
“Older Brother! Look at this. I won again.”
“Oh my…”
One morning, the young Carl left his swordsmanship teacher covered in blood and meekly welcomed his older brother. The man, Carl called older brother, shouted in contemplation when he saw the blood stains on the training ground.
“When someone collapses, you have to call a doctor first, Carl!”
When other family members compliment him for doing well when he beats someone…
The young Carl looked at the man who appeared and tilted his head. “Doctor?”
Pale light-colored hair, thin bone structure, and soft features. He was a rare sight in Andras. And the person with this characteristic was none other than the family’s eldest son, Killieon Andras.
“That’s right. If you leave him like this, he could die.”
“He’s going to die because he’s weak. Then that person was wrong.”
Killieon hugged his young brother, Carl, lifted him up, and said with a sad face. “It’s not wrong to be weak. The real fault is to use strength against innocent people.”
Carl at this time was too young to understand his brother’s words properly. Still, he liked his older brother. Other family members looked down on his older brother, calling him the family disgrace, but Carl was always close to him.
“Older Brother~”
The temperament that Carl inherited has stood out since adolescence. He was talented enough to stand out among Andras of all time. If you teach him one thing, he knows ten, and he easily wins a sparring match with an adult knight.
“You…”
But as his talent blossomed, Carl’s tendency toward violence grew along with it. As he got older, he behaved more cruelly than any other Andras. He didn’t feel any guilt even after killing his opponent and didn’t hesitate to harm weaklings.
“Look at this. I won again this time.”
In particular, Carl liked the moment when their life was cut short. He thought it was interesting when the dim life in a person’s eye blinked away. It was the only interesting sensation in his boring life. So, for a while, he indulged in excessive sparring.
“Carl! What are you doing!”
“!?”
Carl Andras saw his older brother angry for the first time. The kind older brother who would let him sit on his lap and read a story to him every time he saw him looked at the training ground and screamed.
“When you hit them, these people are in pain. But why do you always hit people meaninglessly? Huh?”
“What’s wrong with getting hit? It wasn’t that bad.”
“Other than you, other people feel sad when they get sick! Death makes people around them sad too!”
“Really? That’s weird.”
The eldest son held his younger brother’s shoulder and said, “No, it’s us who are weird!”
Carl tried to counter what he said, but he couldn’t. Because his older brother started crying.
“The humans in this mansion say that weak people in the world are wrong. They teach that winning is all that matters. But… the truth is, it’s our family that’s truly wrong.”
“…”
“We’re doing something wrong, Carl.”
“…”
“Precious lives shouldn’t be taken away carelessly. Outside this mansion, everyone takes it for granted.”
Carl was embarrassed when he saw his older brother dripping hot tears, which made him apologize without realizing it.
“O-Older Brother. Don’t cry. I was wrong.”
He felt bad seeing his older brother crying. So he had no choice but to promise. He said he wouldn’t kill people carelessly from now on. Only after hearing those words did the oldest son stop crying.
“Carl, I want you to grow up to be a kind person.”
Carl had no idea how to be kind. So he didn’t readily answer. But a year later, Carl finally started to get a grip on his life.
“Older Sister! Your class ended early today.”
“Are you on your way from sparring?”
“Yes!”
One day, he met his older sister who went back to her room after finishing her successor’s class. She ignored the eldest son next to Carl, looked at her younger brother, and spoke. “I heard about it from Carlos. You’ve developed your sensitivity recently, right?”
“Sensitivity?”
“Eyes that can tell lies.”
When Carl nodded, the eldest daughter, who was expressionless, frowned. She clicked her tongue and felt something was missing.
“What a waste. You would only add to your family’s worries even if you were born properly.”
“Yes?”
When Killieon heard this, he shouted, “What are you talking about to a child?” but she didn’t even blink an eye.
“Did I say something wrong? Why would mother ruin her body to give birth to one child after another? She was trying to make a backup since no child would succeed her if I died.”
“I see.”
“But to be born as a male…”
When she thought of her mother, who was sick, she kicked her tongue again as if feeling angry.
“It doesn’t help.”
Killieon hurriedly blocked Carl’s ears, but he could still hear those words. He stared at his sister leaving.
“There’s nothing you can’t do! Ignore it because it’s all nonsense. Understand?”
“I guess that’s why my mother made that expression when she saw me.”
“Uh, huh? No, that’s not it.
Carl could understand many things now. Why his parents scolded him for being useless, and why his name was a common name used by commoners.
They have been disappointed in me since I was born.
He was grateful just for being born. This world was well worth being born.
“Carl. Sincerely… it doesn’t matter how you were born. You know that, right? I saw with my own eyes the moment you were born.”
“Really? How was it?”
“I was happy to have a cute little brother like you.”
And his older brother knelt in front of him and looked at him. Andras’s eldest son spoke in a warmer voice than ever. “I was just happy that you were born healthy. I’m sure many people besides me think that way. So, don’t pay attention to things like that.”
Carl liked his older brother’s words. He liked it when he patted him on the back because he was worried that he might get hurt, and he liked it when they sneaked to the kitchen to eat snacks today.
“Older Brother.”
“Huh?”
Killieon was a kind person. Then, if he watches what he does and follows along, he too will become a kind person. Carl seemed to finally know how to be a kind person.
“But what does it mean?”
“…”
“Huh?”
“Why don’t you read a book together after you bring the snacks? I’ll read you an interesting novel.”
“Yes.”
Carl has followed his eldest son’s footsteps since then, looking at how he behaved. He smiled often, never forgot to say hello when he encountered someone, and his voice was always gentle.
“Imitating his voice would be too much, right?”
And while looking at his older brother, Carl learned a strange fact.
Uh?
People always looked scared in front of other family members. The villagers and servants only smiled brightly when faced with his older brother. Looking at people smiling broadly as they saw his older brother’s smile made him feel good.
“…”
The kind older brother who makes others smile and Andras people who make others cry. It was obvious which one was right.
Carl was at an age where he could discern right and wrong. In the end, he changed his attitude toward life. He should become someone like his older brother. His eldest brother also taught him ethics and kindness daily, so his behavior gradually improved.
This behavior is bad. Since Older Brother said it’s bad!
Carl no longer kills people outside the battlefield, and the number of his sparring sessions has also been reduced. Killieon was overjoyed at his transformation.
“You’re doing well, Carl!”
“Yes!”
“Learning how to be kind will definitely help your happiness. If you find someone you love later, you might lose that person if you hurt them.”
“The one you love? Older Brother, are you talking about a lover right now?”
And around this time, the eldest son of the Andras family found his destined love. It was a woman from the west named Haniel.
“I can’t wait for the wedding day to come!”
The Andras family didn’t allow their marriage at first. It was because Haniel’s family was very poor, and she was a woman known for her weak body.
Andras’s family had a tradition of marriage for generations. In order to make strong descendants, the head of the family took a military man as their husband. Still, at the same time, in order to maintain the family fortune, they married the remaining children as if selling them off to a wealthy family.
“I see.”
However, Killieon had no intention of being used as a tool to increase Andras’s power.
“Carl, I will give you a lot of cake at the wedding.”
The eldest son, who was sincere, had already slept with Haniel before the marriage and created the fruit of love. When things became like this, the Andras family had no choice but to marry him off in order to protect their honor.
“Really? Older Brother definitely promised.”
Killieon eventually got the marriage he had hoped for. And if the story had ended here, it would have had a happy ending. However…