The Two Babies Changing the Original Story Chapter 32

It was a story that even Princess Elia did not know about Lady Laval.

“So, I’ll stay by your side, Princess. I’m not your brother, though.”

“…Lady Laval….”

The tip of Eli’s nose stung again.

She still missed her brother, but the loneliness she had felt earlier, like she was left all alone in the world, had faded.

“Hic…, sniff….”

Eli sniffled and began to cry again.

It wasn’t the kind of crying where her chest felt like it would tear apart, like before.

Lady Laval’s eyes also grew moist.

“I’m here by your side, Princess….”

Lady Laval pulled Eli into her arms and gently soothed her.

Eli’s chest heaved once again.

Is this really the world I’m supposed to lean on?

Is my brother truly gone?

Lady Laval’s arms were warm, but she still thought more of her brother’s stiff and rough embrace.

“Hhueng….”

Just as Eli was about to open her mouth wide and cry again—

Bang!

“Y-Your Highness! Brother! I brought her brother!”

Marquis Simon burst in, throwing the door open as if to break it.

He was carrying Clearius under his arm, dangling like a piece of luggage.

Clearius’s face, stuck under Marquis Simon’s arm, was flushed bright red with humiliation.

“B-Brother?”

That’s not my brother, that’s Duke Berndt.

Eli pointed at Clearius and asked with her eyes.

“From now on, can’t he be your brother! He’s more than qualified! He’s a man, and he’s one year older!”

“…….”

No, that’s not it….

Duke Berndt is Duke Berndt, and a brother is a brother.

At Marquis Simon’s idea, Eli could only stare at him blankly in disbelief.

“Th-Then should I go look for another brother?”

Startled by Eli’s reaction, Marquis Simon put Clearius down.

Finally freed from his fate as side luggage, Clearius shot Marquis Simon a terrifying glare.

“Ahem. I did this for Your Highness….”

“…….”

Adults are sneaky, shameless, and sly.

With an excuse like that, how could anyone get angry about treating Duke Berndt like luggage?

‘I’ll let it slide this once.’

Clearius gave Marquis Simon a sharp look, then bowed to Eli.

“I, Berndt, greet Your Highness.”

“Prince Berndt….”

He wasn’t her brother, but he was the closest to her, and being with him made her feel safe, so her heart felt even warmer.

As she relaxed, tears that had barely stopped welled up again.

Today, Eli’s tear ducts were completely broken.

“…Are you crying?”

Even though they had cried together before, Clearius looked shocked, as if he were seeing Eli’s tears for the first time.

As if something that should never happen had happened.

“Prince Berndt…, my brother, my brother….”

Eli repeated only “brother,” and tears fell drop by drop.

“Uh, um, Your Highness, so… brother?”

Clearius turned to Marquis Simon with the same expression everyone else before him had shown.

He had been dragged here in a hurry and hadn’t even heard what had happened along the way.

“So…, Her Highness is sad because she misses her brother.”

“? But Her Highness doesn’t have a bro—”

“Th-That’s exactly it! Missing someone is sad, no matter who it is!”

‘She doesn’t have a brother’ was a forbidden phrase.

Marquis Simon shouted as he cut Clearius off.

He was so desperate that it didn’t even occur to him to question whether he had just interrupted a duke.

Clearius’s eyes rolled around.

He didn’t know what a “brother” really was, but even now, Princess Elia was crying sadly.

“Uh…, for now…, stop.”

“Waaah!”

“…….”

Of course she wouldn’t just stop.

When Clearius was young, if things weren’t settled in his own heart, he also couldn’t easily stop crying.

Still, he couldn’t exactly go and make a brother appear….

“Your Highness, if you keep crying like that, your head will hurt.”

“Huaaang!”

“Th-that….”

Clearius clearly wasn’t good at comforting people with words.

But he believed that feelings could somehow get across.

Hesitantly, Clearius reached out and patted Eli on the back.

It looked a bit strange, with Eli in Lady Laval’s arms while being patted by Clearius, but Eli hiccupped and looked up at him.

‘It’s working.’

Clearius gained courage.

He kept patting her back, then took her hand.

Even as tears rolled down, Eli looked at Clearius.

Instead of words, Clearius squeezed her hand tightly, as if passing on warmth.

“…….”

Eli stared down at their joined hands for a moment, then sniffled and squeezed back with the same strength.

Clearius smiled softly.

“When you miss someone, I think you end up wanting to cry a lot.”

“Prince Berndt….”

Eli called him in a nasal voice.

At Clearius’s words, tears formed again.

This time, it wasn’t because she missed her brother or felt sad, but because the comforting feeling was warm.

“Hngh!”

Eli suddenly threw herself into Clearius’s arms.

Because Eli rushed at him so suddenly, Clearius was pushed backward and fell onto his bottom. But he didn’t loosen his arms holding her.

Later, when he went home, his bottom would probably be sore, but he didn’t show it.

If he showed that he was in pain, Eli might run away.

Right now, he just wanted to hold her and comfort her.

Pat, pat.

Clearius diligently patted Eli’s back.

She had cried as much as she needed to.

“Huff…, ngh.”

Eli lifted her head. Her nose was badly blocked, and she couldn’t breathe properly.

Lady Laval quickly brought some tissue and held it under Eli’s nose.

“Blow.”

“Beee!”

Looking down at the obedient Eli, Clearius grinned.

Would this be what it feels like to have a little sister?

Even her face, a complete mess from crying, looked cute. Her pink hair was all messy and fluffy, making him want to touch it.

“Shall we go for a walk?”

“Mm….”

“A walk might make you feel better.”

Eli only stuck out her lips, unable to make up her mind.

She wasn’t calm enough yet to go out and do something.

Still, going for a walk with Clearius sounded nice.

Clearius added one more suggestion to the wavering Eli.

“If you don’t want to walk, I’ll carry you on my back.”

“!”

Wavering….

…Let’s go!

It was a powerful and heavy blow, enough to make the swinging scale tip all at once.

Seeing the light sparkle in Eli’s eyes instead of tears, Clearius smiled brightly.

A sniffling princess was cute too, but a lively princess with shining eyes was much nicer to see.

“D-Duke Berndt, will you really be all right?”

No matter how sturdy the bloodline of House Berndt was, a child was still a child.

The adults were nervous that something bad might happen if Clearius carried Eli.

“Yes.”

Clearius confidently offered his back to Eli.

Carrying Eli would be much easier than the daily training he did.

Though he had never carried anyone before.

“Please get on.”

Just like the knights had done for him when he was young, Clearius crouched down in front of Eli and offered his back.

Eli hugged Clearius’s neck tightly and clung to him.

Soon, Eli’s warmth stuck to his back.

“……!”

That warmth flowed warmly into Clearius’s chest.

The princess’s body was warmer than he had expected.

And the arms wrapped around his neck were soft and squishy.

Since they were both kids, Clearius was also somewhat soft, but compared to Eli, he was firmer and rougher.

“Let’s gooo!”

Eli quickly got excited and shouted as if she were riding a horse.

Her breath touched his ear, then pulled away.

This time, even his earlobe grew warm.

At this rate, his whole body might start burning.

Clearius took a deep breath, letting out the hot air, wrapped his arms around Eli’s legs, and put strength into his own legs.

“Hup!”

“Kyaa!”

Eli’s body lifted high into the air.

It was lower than when her brother had carried her, but to Eli, her viewpoint was still much higher.

Eli wriggled and bounced around.

“Ugh, w-wait….”

Lifting Eli up was something he could manage skillfully thanks to his usual training.

But Eli bouncing around on top of him was a different problem.

Clearius’s legs wobbled. At the same time, so did his pride.

‘I can’t even properly carry the princess!’

It was a fatal blow to his pride as a man.

Seeing Clearius’s shaking legs, Lady Laval forced a bright smile and tried to help.

“No matter what, you have your dignity as a duke. Shall I hold her instead?”

“No!”

But Eli refused.

“It’s fine.”

Clearius also firmly refused, standing up for his pride.

This is training…. Part of training….

I’ll do it. No matter what, I’ll do it….

“If you keep bouncing like that, His Grace will have a hard time.”

Instead of offering to carry her, Marquis Simon tried to calm Eli down.

“Oh! Sorry…. Was it hard?”

“No! Even if you jump rope on my back, it’s not hard at all!”

Clearius’s clenched-teeth bravado burst out.

“…Ahem.”

“…Hmph.”

The two adults barely managed to swallow their laughter.

Clearius’s face turned red in a different way.

This stupid bravado.
He didn’t know why he kept blurting it out like a habit whenever he was in front of the princess.