WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 158: Siblings

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The day after the council before the queen, Friedrich visited one corner of the field camp.

It was the section where particularly important figures among the prisoners captured in the previous decisive battle, such as Crown Prince Samuel and the heads of noble houses, were being held. Since they were expected to be returned early, and depending on the situation might need to speak directly with Claudia or her chief retainers, they had been transferred from the rear field camp to the front line where headquarters was located, unlike the other prisoners.

Though they were prisoners, they were all of noble status, so a dedicated tent had been prepared for each of them, and Royal Guards had been assigned to serve as security, watchmen, and attendants. Guided by a Royal Guard knight, Friedrich entered one of the tents surrounded by one platoon.

Sitting there was Count Cecilia Fargiere.

Even though they had never faced each other directly until now, she was the fated enemy with whom he had fought again and again.

"...Please leave us for a while."

"Understood."

The guiding knight left the tent, and Yurika, whom Friedrich had brought as an attendant, stood at the entrance and erased her presence.

Cecilia was not restrained, but it had been carefully confirmed that she did not have any hidden weapons. If she made any strange move, Yurika would certainly move faster. Friedrich kept enough distance that Cecilia could not grab him and sat down facing her.

Then he met her eyes.

The hegemon king's close aide. The young wise general. Cecilia, who had stood in his way until now as a formidable enemy, currently wore a listless expression as if she had given up on everything.

"...It is our first meeting, Count Cecilia Fargiere."

"Yes, our first meeting. I am glad you agreed to see me, Count Friedrich Hosenfeld."

There, both fell silent, and silence drifted for a while. Neither looked away.

The same crimson eyes. Their features too resembled each other enough that, if told they were siblings, one could understand it. Friedrich thought that while staring at the woman before him.

"...Have you heard the story I told?"

"I heard it from Viscount Gustav Eichberger, who was in charge of questioning you. Apparently, your missing younger brother may be me."

When Friedrich answered, Cecilia showed a faint smile.

"It is true that I grew up as an orphan who knew nothing of my parents in a border city along the Yudit Mountains. The time I was left at the church also matches the time your younger brother went missing. I do not think there were many crimson-haired and crimson-eyed babies who disappeared in that area at that time... But none of that is proof enough to be decisive."

"You are right. As you say... Then how about this as stronger evidence? When you were left at the church, as an infant, you were probably wrapped in pale green cloth. And in one corner of that cloth, a clover pattern was woven."

Hearing that, Friedrich let out a small breath.

The only clue to his identity. A high-quality pale green cloth, and the clover design woven into one corner. In the year he turned ten, Sister Alma, his foster parent, had told him about it. She had said it might be useful someday.

And she had also told him it would be better not to speak carelessly about that clue. So until now, the only ones he had told were Yurika and his late father Matthias. There was no way the enemy general before him should know of it, unless she had seen it directly.

"...It seems I was right. The clover was the symbol of Mother's family and was used in their crest. Mother's parents apparently sent cloth whenever a grandchild was born. When I was born, and when my younger brother was born. Mother always wrapped my brother in that cloth and put him to sleep."

"Then I am indeed your younger brother."

Friedrich's expression did not change, and his voice was calm as he answered.

"What did you think? Learning the secret of your birth."

Asked by Cecilia, Friedrich thought.

He had been born as a noble of the Kingdom of Arelia, lost his real father in war, and as a result, lost his mother as well. Without knowing anything, he had grown up in the neighboring country that was the enemy of his birth family, and then had been discovered by the living hero of Edelstein, the enemy of his father and mother, and adopted by him. He had respected and loved that man as his new father, stood on the battlefield as his successor, and fought against what had originally been his homeland. The person with whom he had fought so many strangely fated battles on the battlefield had been his real older sister, separated from him in life. His new father had been killed by that sister, and he had fought that sister to the death in the decisive battle.

It was a story so ironic that it seemed like a tasteless work of fiction. It would not have been strange if he cursed his fate and cursed God.

And yet.

"...To my own surprise, I felt no disturbance."

Friedrich answered honestly.

"Perhaps I should be shaken. Perhaps I should shout that I do not want to believe it, loathe the fact that I adored the enemy of my real father as my adoptive father, fear the fact that I fought my sister to the death, and weep over the cruelty of my circumstances... But I do not feel that way at all."

Slowly chewing over his feelings inside his heart, he turned them into words.

"From the story of the high-quality cloth I was wrapped in when left at the church, I thought I was the child of some wealthy house, and that I had been given up for some reason. Since I am human, it is only natural that I have birth parents somewhere. Now my origins have been revealed, and I have learned the circumstances by which I was given up, and I understand. That is all."

Cecilia stared silently at Friedrich as he spoke, showing no emotion on her face.

"Learning my origins does not change anything inside me. It is true that I was first born as a noble of the Kingdom of Arelia. But all the memories of my life are in the Kingdom of Edelstein. I am a person named Friedrich, who grew up in this country as an orphan, and the parent I know is the late Count Matthias Hosenfeld. He made me, who had no blood relation to him, his son. That is why I too think of him, though we are not related by blood, as my father. Even if it is true that he slew my real father, that does not change. I am grateful to the real parents who gave birth to me, but that and my love and respect for my adoptive father do not conflict inside me in any way."

Friedrich finished speaking his heart.

He had also already heard indirectly what Cecilia had said about the circumstances by which his birth mother had given him up. His real parents, Gerald Fargiere and Felicity Fargiere, had probably loved him. That was why his father had accepted him, a red-haired child considered ominous in the Loire region, and why his mother, though it may not have been a calm decision, had let him escape in order to keep him alive.

That was why he held no resentment toward his real parents. Rather, he was grateful. If it had been possible, he would have liked to tell them his thanks directly and speak with them. At the very least, he wanted to visit their graves someday.

At the same time, his love and respect for his adoptive father Matthias did not change at all. Even if Matthias had killed his real father, had as a result destroyed his real mother's life, and had changed Friedrich's life forever.

If that was a contradiction, then he could simply hold that contradiction as it was and accept it.

"...I see."

As she answered, Cecilia let a smile slip. Not fully understanding its meaning, Friedrich thought for a little and continued.

"I am sure my answer was not what you hoped for..."

"No. Rather, I am glad you said that. Please continue holding that love for your late adoptive father. As the son of the hero, I want you to live while carefully protecting what you inherited from Count Matthias Hosenfeld."

Hearing those gentle words, Friedrich showed his surprise.

"...Is that all right?"

"Yes. You have inherited the Hosenfeld county and become a regimental commander in the Kingdom of Edelstein's army. You cannot return to the Kingdom of Arelia now. If you can accept your fate without suffering over it, then that is something to be glad for... I do not want to imagine you cursing the first half of your life, cursing your own position, and living in despair of the future. I do not want you to suffer. Because you are my younger brother. Because you are the last family left to me."

Cecilia's answering voice and expression carried affection. Her voice was calm, and her expression was gentle.

That was precisely why Friedrich felt awkward.

"Thank you. But... well."

"I know. Right now, we have nothing except blood connection. We know almost nothing about each other, and we have no memories as siblings. Until a short while ago, we were trying to take each other's lives, and I do not know what relationship the countries we each serve will have from here on. If someone like me suddenly treats you as a younger brother, it will only trouble you... No, perhaps you may even feel hatred or disgust. I am the enemy who slew your adoptive father."

Cecilia spoke with a somewhat lonely tone, and Friedrich shook his head.

"I deny that last part. I do not feel hatred or disgust toward you. My father, my adoptive father Matthias, taught me. Soldiers fight because that is their duty, and there is no room for personal feelings there. One should not rejoice at killing anyone in war, nor resent anyone for being killed. True to those words, he did not resent you for killing his real son Rudolf. Therefore, I do not resent you for slaying my father."

Friedrich said that while looking straight at Cecilia, his real sister.

Cecilia laughed self-mockingly and murmured.

"No wonder I lost. You are a far better soldier than I am. Far better than someone like me, who only chased revenge for having her family taken from her."

Friedrich did not answer that murmur. After a little thought, he spoke again.

"At least for now, I cannot interact with you as a sibling. Because of my feelings, and because of the political position I occupy. I do not know how our relationship will change in the future, and I have not decided what I want it to become. But... I am glad that I was able to speak with you today."

Hearing those words, Cecilia nodded with a gentle smile.

"I am happy you said that. And I too am glad I was able to speak with you... You are no longer the baby Maximilian whom I loved as a child. You are Count Friedrich Hosenfeld of the Kingdom of Edelstein. Even so, I am truly glad to know that my younger brother lived. I have lived until now thinking I had lost all my family."

The expression on her face as she spoke looked almost like that of a girl.

Looking at that face and sensing her presence, Friedrich felt as if a scene he had forgotten until now rose from the depths of his memory. A terribly vague, yet nostalgic scene.

"...The knight standing behind me, Yurika, is my squire and my lover. I intend to marry her after the war. When I was still very young and had only just met her, when I snuggled beside her, I strongly felt that I wanted to stay by her side forever. I never understood why, but now I do."

Cecilia looked slightly surprised, but listened silently to her younger brother's story.

"I think I still had a faint memory from before I was old enough to know anything, probably from when I was a baby still in my birth house. A nostalgic and peaceful memory of being gently nestled beside a young girl like Yurika was back then."

A line of tears flowed from Cecilia's eyes as she understood who the young girl was, the one who had gently nestled beside the infant Friedrich.

"If even a little memory of when you were my family remains inside you. If the remnants of that memory are connected to who you are now. Then I feel saved by that alone... Thank you. Please stay well from now on. And be happy."

Cecilia said that with a smile. Friedrich returned the smile, nodded, and left the tent.

A general of the Kingdom of Edelstein and a general of the Kingdom of Arelia. Two people in opposite positions, still enemies for now. Whether they would live to meet again and exchange words, or whether this conversation would be the first and last chance, no one knew yet. Not even Friedrich himself.

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