Um, so what does that mean?

　After taking a bath, I sat face to face with Shin in one of the palace rooms, sitting upright in a chair for some reason, and listened to him.

...... Do you remember the painting that was on display when you met me at the palace during the day?　Kyou-san.

　As he said this, Shin gripped the hem of the white robe he wore with a slight tint in his cheeks and cut it out.
　You're going to be able to find out more about the fact that you're going to be able to get the most out of this.
　It depicted Shin's mother and a young man and woman.
　I was told that the boy was born to the king of the land, and the girl was with another man before she was received into the royal chambers.
　So, when you think about it, Sin--

...... I'm not a child of the king of this country, I'm a child of the king's side and another man, and I'm not related to royalty.

　Singh confessed as if ashamed of his existence.

I'm ashamed of myself. ....... But wait a minute. Then where did Shin's brother go?　No, the fact that Shin was pretending to be a man in the first place, does that mean that it was her sister who disappeared?　What the hell is going on around here?

　During the day, I was going to ask you about it, but I decided not to pursue it in depth due to the presence of Shin's brother who was there.
　However, the situation seems to be more complicated than I thought, and now that I know part of the truth, I need to know everything.
　So, I asked Shin to explain the situation, to which Shin often falls silent as if troubled, but eventually decides to open his mouth.

...... It all started with my mother becoming the king's chamberlain. As I said before, my mother was already pregnant with me at this time. As I said before, my mother already had me in her care at this time, but if she found out, I would be separated from my mother's hand, or worse, banished from the palace.

"Whaaat ...... you want to go that far?

　Hearing that, you can't help but be immensely surprised.
　You'll be able to get a good idea of what you're looking for.

It's no use. In this country, bloodline is an absolute. No, not just in my country, but in many other countries. Those who are of the king's blood are royalty and rule the land. Those who do not have that blood are not entitled to it. Much of our world is built on such an aristocratic society.

　Shin's words reminded me once again of the aristocracy in the other world and the absolute priority of its blood.
　Phytis had mentioned it before.
　I thought I knew the weight of such a system from reading many novels and stories, but now that I've witnessed it, I feel indescribable.

　When I think about it, I am reminded of how heretical and unparalleled the reformation that the brave emperor made was.

Then my mother gave birth to me as the king's son and declared it so to her subjects, including the king. Then my brother was born with the king's blood, and we spent many days in the palace, but one day it happened. The rumor began to spread that my sister was an unfaithful son of the king who did not have the blood of the king.

　As soon as he says those words, Shin shudders as if remembering something.
　Seeing this, I involuntarily put my hand on Shin's trembling shoulder.
　In response, Shin slightly opens his eyes in surprise, but immediately smiles kindly and continues as if it's okay.

I don't know where the rumor came from. How he found out about it in the first place is still a mystery to me. But what is important is not that, but that the rumor was spread. And once such rumors spread, your brother who has royal blood, his vassals, and the nobles who follow them would not remain silent. As a matter of course, they targeted me and attacked me ......

　Singh tells.
　One day, an assassin attacked the sleeping three of them in their bedroom.
　The assassin was after the sister who has no blood of the king, of course.
　Shin and his brother fled with his mother to the window.
　But their mother died when she shielded them from the assassin's weapon, and then the assassin's weapon pierced her brother's side.
　He says that due to the darkness, the assassins could not distinguish which was the older sister and which was the younger brother.
　Or he was planning to kill all three of them from the start.
　Either way, the younger brother, attacked by the assassins, falls off the balcony and into the lake below. He fell into a lake below.

　Later, the assassin was captured and interrogated by his bodyguard who appeared, but he didn't mention his employer until the end when he replied that he had voluntarily removed an unfaithful woman and her daughter who had stained the blood of the royal family and the assassin was tried as the main culprit.

...... So Singh, who survived, posed as his brother, right?

Yes ....... I survived that situation, and there was no other option for me to survive beyond that.

　Shin nodded in response to my question.
　I can understand why Shin started to pose as his brother if you ask that much about the situation.

　I'm sure that the enemy inside the palace was targeted because Shin is not of the king's blood.
　Then, if the surviving Sin is discovered to be the king's bloodless sister, it will definitely be targeted again.
　To prevent this, you must tell the people in the palace that it was your sister who died during the attack and your brother who survived.

　Therefore, in order to survive, Shin may have abandoned her sisterhood and pretended to be a man in order to survive as her brother.
　There was no other way for Shin to survive.

　I don't know how much resolve and pain Shin had to endure after losing his beloved mother and brother and being left alone.
　I can't help but sympathize with Shin when I think about it.

...... does no one know about it?

...... only one person. The Kingsguard, who was my mother's bodyguard at the time. He was kind to me and my mother, who was a concubine at one time, and he was the one who suggested this way to keep me alive. He was the only person in the palace I could trust. He still stands by my side as my military strategist.

　Then, seeing that smile, I feel a little bit of relief.
　Seeing that smile, I'm just a little bit relieved.

　It's true that Shin is going through a difficult situation.
　But even so, there was someone to lend a little help along the way.
　When I learned that, I felt a new desire to help for this girl.

　It's better to help than not to help, and that's my motto.
　I simply wanted to help Shin.


　I don't want to lie to you about my desire to save you, even out of pity.

Sin. I'd be happy to help you with anything. Of course I won't tell anyone about it, just relax.

　You're going to be able to get a good idea of what you're looking for.

"Huh? I'm not doubting you. You don't need to be told that now. It's a good idea to focus on solving the country's demon problem, not on me.

　He was just as cocky as when we first met, but somehow it seemed cute now.

I know, I know, I know. So, well, I guess we'll be up early tomorrow. I'll have you hunting demons in the desert again like today.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of it.

...... I'm counting on you, Kyou-san.



◇ ◇ ◇



Oh well, it took longer than I expected to meet up with you.

　With that said, the girl - one of the seven great heroes known as the Beastman Brave - Lily gets off from the Kobda that she has been riding in, as if in a hurry.

　Since then, she and her brother talked slowly and spent time as brother and sister for the first time in a long time, and Lily arrived at the Arabian Kingdom to follow Kyou.
　It's probably already been a few days since Kyou came to this country.
　It might not be of much use to you if you came at this time, but the urge to stay close to him nevertheless, which I don't understand, made Lily head towards the palace where Kyou is said to be.

　But just then, you'll notice that the people in front of the palace are in a hurry.
　Soldiers, servants, maids, and various other people are moving about in a hurry.
　You'll be able to see the person in charge in front of the palace just as you're about to ask someone what's going on.

Is that ...... Shin?

　It was the one who had brought Kyou to this country, and his expression was somewhat more impatient than ever before.

"Shin, what's going on. What's going on here?

"!　Lily!

　When Lily appears, a look of surprise appears on her face.
　But the next moment, the words that came out of Shin's mouth made Lily look even more astonished.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that you can't get rid of it.

"What?!

　It was a startling revelation that made Lily's heart flutter like never before.