Home And My Tyrannical Brother

My family, House Fols, was a noble lineage that possessed vast lands.

Father was the head of House Fols, and I had merely been given a tiny portion of his territory.

My estate and Father’s were relatively close, so after leaving my residence at night, I was able to reach Father’s manor—the main residence of House Fols—by early the next morning.

When I stepped out of the carriage with Tanya accompanying me, I was greeted by a mansion incomparably larger than my own and a single butler standing before it.

Rowen Astrea.

He was an aide and butler who had supported House Fols for many years.

“Nova-sama, thank you for answering such a sudden summons.”

“Morning, Rowen-san. If Father calls for me, of course I’m going to come.”

Rowen-san was a man interested only in serving Father.

Unlike the other servants, he neither looked down on me nor mocked me behind my back.

For that reason, he was one of the few people here I genuinely appreciated.

“Master will not return until this evening, so please make yourself comfortable at the manor until then.”

“Oh, in that case, can I use the courtyard? I get restless if I go even one day without swinging a sword.”

“Of course. Please use it as you wish.”

I slipped past Rowen-san as he bowed and headed first for my room.

On the way, Tanya spoke up.

“If he wasn’t going to return until tonight, he could have simply told you to come tonight.”

“Yeah, but if Father arrived and I wasn’t here, that’d cause problems too.”

I could understand Tanya’s point, but it was not worth worrying about.

My personal maid, however, clearly did not agree.

“More importantly, I simply don’t like this place. Every single one of them whispers about Nova-sama behind his back…”

“Tanya, your true feelings are showing…”

The servants we passed would stop and bow the moment they recognized me.

But there was always a hint of contempt in their eyes, and from farther away, I could see others sneaking glances at me while whispering among themselves.

I personally did not care, though I could not help wishing they would at least refrain from doing it when other guests were present.

Tanya remained in a foul mood the entire way to my room.

“Hah!”

I swung my sword single-mindedly.

Though, to be precise, what I was swinging was a wooden sword.

The weather was clear today, making it perfect for training.

Beneath the sun, I practiced the swordsmanship passed down directly through House Fols.

Naturally, I had made Tanya take refuge in the shade.

I could hardly leave a woman standing under such harsh sunlight.

“…I’m in good form today.”

Maybe it was because I had dreamed about that day recently, but even I could tell my forms were sharper and more refined than usual.

I had practiced House Fols swordsmanship for so many years that it had become ingrained in my body. When it came to the forms that did not rely on Haki, I was confident I had practiced more than anyone.

I had been training for quite some time when—

“You’re still at it, huh?”

Hearing a voice I would rather not have heard, I stopped the arm that had been swinging my sword.

When I turned around, my older brother, Zeroad Fols, stood at the entrance to the courtyard.

His blond hair was slightly longer than mine, and a combative expression adorned his face.

I had very few good memories of the times when Zeroad-nii-sama wore that expression.

“It has been a while, Zeroad-nii-sama.”

“I stopped by to submit some paperwork for the social gathering, and one of the maids told me the disgrace of our family was here. Figured I’d come take a look.”

Damn maid, sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.

I cursed inwardly at whichever maid had told him.

Zeroad-nii-sama disliked me.

No, rather than dislike me, he saw me as someone overwhelmingly beneath him.

To him, I was an insignificant person, while he himself was one of the chosen.

Of course it frustrated me, and I was human, so it made me angry.

But what he said was true, and I had no way to argue back.

“You’re practicing swordsmanship, right? Must be lonely doing it by yourself, so I’ll keep you company.”

“…Thank you.”

Just as I expected, things had taken a turn for the worse, but I suppressed my feelings and bowed.

It was obvious that rejecting Zeroad-nii-sama would only make the situation worse.

Ignoring me, my brother went to fetch a wooden sword.

I straightened up and moved some distance away.

I had changed into training clothes, while my brother remained dressed in refined noble attire.

We faced one another in exactly the same stance from the swordsmanship of House Fols.

Without anyone signaling the start of the match, we kicked off the ground almost simultaneously.

My wooden sword clashed against my brother’s.

Zeroad-nii-sama was the leading candidate to become the next head of House Fols.

Unlike me, he had been provided with excellent tutors and sword instructors.

And yet, if it was “only swordsmanship,” I could somehow hold my own against him.

Even if I was not blessed with a good teacher, even if I trained alone, the hours spent practicing would never betray me.

That much, I knew well.

I also knew that there were talents that effort could never overcome.

“Your swordsmanship’s as good as ever. But you still can’t do this at all, can you? Failure.”

In an instant, a pure white power surged from my brother’s body.

Dense Aura enveloped his entire body, exerting enough pressure that I could physically feel its weight.

It was the secret power usable only by members of House Fols.

The weight behind my brother’s sword multiplied several times over, becoming far too powerful for me to withstand.

The sword I supported with arms I had trained every single day without fail was effortlessly forced back.

The swordsmanship I had polished by devoting every spare moment of my life to it was knocked aside by a sword backed by the insurmountable wall known as talent.

“Man, you really are boring.”

I clearly saw the upward swing after being forced back and reacted in time.

But even using both hands, I could not fully stop my brother’s strike, and my sword was knocked from my grasp.

So I lost again, I thought.

Then my brother’s returning wooden sword slammed hard into my shoulder.

“Guh…”

It struck the bone cleanly, forcing a groan from me.

The impact from above drove me to one knee, and when I tried to support myself with both hands, a sharp pain shot through my left shoulder.

“Ah, sorry, sorry. Put a little too much strength into that. You’re first-rate when it comes to swordsmanship, right? So I couldn’t afford to hold back.”

His mocking laughter rained down from above.

Couldn’t afford to hold back, my ass, I muttered inwardly. That last blow had absolutely been deliberate.

There was already an undeniable gulf between my brother, who could fully wield Aura, and me.

It was like the difference between an ordinary foot soldier and a battle-hardened warrior.

Even when my brother held back, there was still a vast difference between us.

But I could not condemn him for it.

I was the failure, and he was the chosen one.

“No… Injuries like this happen all the time in training.”

“…That so?”

When I raised my head and forced a smile, my eyes met my irritated brother’s.

Ah, he’s probably going to keep beating me under the excuse of training, I thought, but—

“Nova-sama!”

A voice cut in.

I heard approaching footsteps, and in the next instant, a hand touched my back.

I knew it was Tanya without even needing to check.

“Oh my! What a terrible injury! I’m afraid further training today may be impossible!”

Tanya spoke loudly and with obvious exaggeration.

Leaning on her shoulder, I managed to stand.

“So with that, we’ll be excusing ourselves for today.”

“Huh? Hey, wait a second. There’s no way a sturdy bastard like him would be done in by something this minor.”

“No. It is impossible.”

Her flat, uncompromising refusal was so sharp I could almost imagine a vein bulging on my brother’s forehead.

This was getting dangerous, I thought, but before I could say anything, my brother grinned.

“Then you can keep me company instead. That’s an order from me. You can’t disobey, can you?”

He directed a vulgar gaze at her.

My brother was strong and imposing, fitting for the likely future head of the family, but at the same time, he was the sort who believed heroes should indulge in women. When it came to women, he had virtually no restraint.

He had a fiancée, but I had heard rumors that their relationship had already gone completely cold.

Recently, Zeroad-nii-sama had apparently begun setting his sights on my maid Tanya as well, and he often propositioned her like this.

“My employer is Travis-sama, the Grand Master. Furthermore, the person I directly serve is Nova-sama, so I am under no obligation to obey Zeroad-sama’s orders.”

The reason Zeroad-nii-sama had never laid a hand on Tanya before was probably because even he understood that our strict father would never tolerate him taking advantage of his younger brother’s maid.

Since we were children, Father had repeatedly ordered us to treat maids with proper decorum, never lay hands on them, and never use violence against them.

Though by now, Zeroad-nii-sama did not seem particularly inclined to listen.

Still, it was also true that there was an undeniable difference in status between Tanya and my brother.

Back when I still lived in this manor, Tanya would simply lower her head without saying anything and try to get away from him.

More than once or twice, I had asked Zeroad-nii-sama to spar with me just to give Tanya an opportunity to escape.

Each time I saw her on the verge of tears afterward, I had wondered whether getting beaten up was the only way someone like me could protect another person.

But this time, Tanya rejected him clearly.

“…Tch. Fine. Do whatever you want. …Pathetic bastard, getting protected by a woman.”

Realizing there was nothing more he could do, my brother spat out those words, threw down the wooden sword, and left the courtyard.

He really was like a storm—arriving like one, raging like one, and leaving like one.

“Nova-sama, are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. …But let’s rest for a little while.”

It was only a hard blow to the shoulder, so I could have continued training with my free arm, but I decided to rest with Tanya instead.

Considering she looked ready to cry at any moment, I thought that had been the right decision.

As she supported me toward the shade beneath a large tree, my brother’s words crossed my mind.

Pathetic bastard.

That was what he had called me, and maybe he was right.

“Sorry. Because of me, Zeroad-nii-sama went after you again…”

“No, I’m fine.”

Hearing her answer as though it truly meant nothing to her, I found myself thinking just how strong Tanya had become.