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Ishuel was the third son of the Basilian family.
Though he was Karha’s twin, he was born later, making him the youngest.
But that was only in name.
Ishuel never really thought of himself as the youngest.
Because, frankly, he was far more mature than Karha.
He respected and relied on Belzeon as his elder brother, but honestly, Karha was such a child that Ishuel felt he should be the older one.
His perspective shifted slightly after their mother’s death.
On a day of torrential rain, her funeral was held with a coffin filled only with flowers.
Young Ishuel, too young to grasp death, simply wondered where his mother had gone.
So he searched for her every day.
The little boy wandered until his feet blistered and his legs swelled, but no one stopped him.
Or rather, no one could.
The entire Basilian household was in a daze.
Kierne, Belzeon, the castle’s servants—all of them.
No one had the capacity to look after Ishuel.
Especially Kierne…
It was a miracle he hadn’t followed their mother into death.
With Kierne spiraling into madness, Belzeon gradually took over the estate’s duties, and the servants scrambled to support him.
Everyone poured their strength into keeping the Basilian Count’s estate from collapsing until Kierne regained his senses.
A child like Ishuel wandering the castle and its grounds all day, searching for his mother?
No one had the time to care.
The only one who looked after Ishuel back then was Karha.
“Hey, where’re you going alone again?”
“Looking for Mother.”
“She’s not here.”
“That’s why I have to find her!”
When Ishuel snapped, Karha would reluctantly tag along.
That wild, beastly boy played the role of a brother quite well back then.
Ishuel still wouldn’t treat him like an older brother, but he started to see him as somewhat dependable.
When they returned home exhausted under the evening sunset after wandering all day, Ishuel felt a deep gratitude toward Karha.
I should be good to him too.
He thought about it a lot.
And he genuinely tried to be.
Taking care of Karha made Ishuel feel proud.
The void left by their mother was vast, but he thought they were managing well enough on their own.
That illusion didn’t last long.
One day, while Ishuel was searching near the castle alone, he overheard a conversation among women who’d come to help with work.
“Did you see what he was wearing?”
“Ugh, how embarrassing.”
“No kidding. I’m mortified just seeing the Basilian boys like that.”
The word “Basilian” made his heart drop.
Ishuel hid deeper in the bushes.
“They’re supposed to be a prominent eastern family… Don’t they have any shame?”
“Oh, but they’ve had a tragedy recently. We should pity them.”
Their sympathetic words dripped with mocking laughter.
They burst into giggles.
Someone shrugged and said, “You can tell they don’t have a mother.”
In that moment, Ishuel felt as if someone had set his face on fire.
His cheeks burned red with shame.
The humiliation was unbearable, but he couldn’t muster a single shout.
Terrified they’d know he’d overheard, he scrambled away in a panic.
Back in his room, Ishuel stood before a mirror.
“…”
A scruffy urchin stared back.
Uncombed, tousled hair.
A crookedly tied ribbon.
A shirt hem sticking out.
Wrinkled, worn-out pants with frayed knees and the wrong length.
Dirty, scuffed shoes from trudging through the dirt.
A face tanned brown from the sun.
He didn’t look like the third son of the Basilian family, rulers of the Black Forest.
What should he do?
Ishuel stared blankly at his shabby appearance for a long time.
Then he cautiously brought a hand to his head.
Combing his hair roughly with his fingers seemed to help a little.
Gaining a bit of confidence, he tried retying the ribbon.
But he’d never done it before, and it felt awkward.
No matter how many times he tried, it didn’t come out right.
He was struggling with the ribbon when—
“Hey, what’re you doing?”
Karha flung the door open and walked in.
He gave Ishuel, standing before the mirror, a puzzled look.
“Not going out today?”
Ishuel scrutinized his twin.
Karha, who was sloppy about everything except sword training, looked even worse than him.
As Ishuel stared, Karha tilted his head curiously and asked, “You okay?”
“No, I’m not!”
Anger surged suddenly.
The ribbon that wouldn’t tie right, Karha’s disheveled appearance, and his own cowardice in fleeing from those mocking words—everything was unbearable.
Ishuel burst into tears.
“It’s not true that we don’t have a mother!”
Sobbing loudly, he wailed, and Karha scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“What’s wrong with you…?”
He clumsily pulled out a handkerchief to comfort him.
But seeing the wrinkled, frayed handkerchief only made Ishuel cry harder.
“I hate this!”
Crying all day, Ishuel made a firm resolve.
He’d never let this happen again.
Never.
“So, yeah, that’s kinda why I got into clothes.”
Ishuel continued casually.
“Funny, right? It started as a sense of duty, but now it’s different. Once I got into it, it was actually fun.”
He tilted his chin arrogantly.
“I like looking good. With a face like mine, I owe it to the continent to polish it up, don’t I?”
His words sounded conceited, but with his face, they were oddly convincing.
Chesha nodded unconsciously.
Hata, listening nearby, nodded in agreement too.
“Anyway, I hope there’s something decent at the hat shop. It’s the Basilian family’s social debut. I want to make sure no one looks down on us.”
Ishuel poked Chesha’s cheek and added, “And I want to put the prettiest dress on my little sibling.”
Seeing his bright smile, Chesha felt a pang in her chest.
Oblivious to her emotions, Ishuel chuckled.
“This is the first time I’ve told this story.”
He shrugged, saying he hadn’t even told Karha.
“Weird, right? I always want to tell you everything. It’s like I feel at ease with you around. Karha, Brother, Father… everyone softens up around the youngest.”
His words naturally pulled her into the family’s embrace.
Clutching the puppy tightly, Chesha blurted out, “I’m gonna go to my room.”
“What? Was my story boring?”
Ishuel whined, trying to keep her there, but she brushed him off.
“I’m tired and wanna sleep early.”
Rejecting him more firmly than usual, she stood her ground.
Grumbling, Ishuel finally relented.
“Fine, I’ll walk you to your room.”
Chesha held the puppy, and Ishuel carried Chesha in his arms.
As he slowly walked her to her room, he subtly tried to coax her into playing more.
He even offered to read her a bedtime story if she was too tired to stay up.
But Chesha kept her lips pursed in a triangle, ignoring him.
With no choice, Ishuel set her down at her bedroom door.
“Sleep well, little sibling.”
“You too, big brother!”
Click.
The door closed.
Inside her room, Chesha set Hata down on the floor.
She stood still for a moment, lost in thought.
Ishuel’s casual recounting of his past.
The clothes meant for the Basilian family, taken by another.
‘I was going to play dumb…’
Her heart kept stirring, unsettled.
“Hata.”
“Yes, Lichesia!”
Hata raised a paw in response.
Chesha declared impulsively, “Let’s open the shop for a bit.”
“Okay!”
Hata answered reflexively, then froze in shock.
The little puppy bounced in place, exclaiming, “…What?!”
“And contact the Miya boutique too.”
With a determined look, Chesha announced, “I’m gonna wear the prettiest clothes.”
